Sacred Synod!

The bishops of Monmouth, Bangor, St Davids (Bp-elect), Llandaff (Abp), Swansea and Brecon and St Asaph in Sacred Synod, 2016.  Source: Church in Wales

The bishops of the Church in Wales will meet in Sacred Synod on Sunday 5 January in Brecon cathedral to confirm the election of Cherry Vann as Bishop of Monmouth.

Pictured above is former Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan in Sacred Synod in 2016. He retired to his newly built Cardiff bunker in January 2017 after engineering the disastrous election of the first female bishop in the Church in Wales.

Much has happened since the new bishop of St Davids was appointed. She lost no time in surrounding herself with women clergy, turning Wales' national shrine into a feminist enclave while trying to eject elderly male priests from further service in her diocese. 

Gone in mysterious circumstances is the then bishop of Monmouth giving rise to claim and counter-claim in a long, drawn out process which did no-one any favours apart from his replacement which turned out to be more about the mission of feminism in the Church than the redemptive mission of the Church.

Persistent rumours of an improper relationship continue to dog another bishop on the bench while John Davies, bishop of Swansea and Brecon, has replaced Barry Morgan as Archbishop of Wales promising 'more of the same - but faster'. He has proved to be true to his word, dragging the Church in Wales into the secular world at an increasing pace.

Barry Morgan was replaced as bishop of Llandaff by LGBT campaigner, June Osborne, following in the footsteps of Joanna Penberthy. The previously tipped Sarah Rowland Jones, vicar of St John's in the heart of Cardiff, was instead made Dean of St Davids, offering Osborne the opportunity of extending the sexual diversity of clergy in her diocese by filling the resulting vacancy at St John's by a transgender vicar who appears to believe that her primary mission is to normalise transgenderism.

The sexual revolutionary mission of the Church in Wales continues with normalising same-sex relationships following the appointment as bishop of Monmouth of Cherry Vann who invited her electors and Monmouth diocesan officers to Bishopstow before Christmas for 'drinks and nibbles' with the new bishop and her partner Wendy.

The Notice of the meeting of the Sacred Synod to confirm the election of Cherry Vann was posted the day after the drinks and nibbles party. It states: "This will be a public meeting and, should any member of the Church in Wales wish to draw to the bishops' attention any matter in relation to this episcopal election, they are invited to attend the meeting in person."

Much has changed in the sixty + years since this photograph of Church in Wales bishops was taken when five bishops held Oxford Firsts in Theology:

Source: Anglican Misfit

Sacred in name only, it is unlikely that any member of the Church in Wales attending the Synod will wish to draw to the bishops' attention any matter in relation to this episcopal election given the current mission of the Church in Wales.

This is where it is leading. The new 'norm': Proud dad Reuben Sharpe has revealed how he gave birth to miracle baby Jamie with partner Jay in Britain’s most modern family - and even the couple's doctor was transgender.

2020 is the anniversary of the disestablishment of the Church in Wales. Preaching to the converted and those willing to 'go along to get on' the 2020 Vision video has been viewed a mere 2,840 times in the five years since its appearance in September 2014. A make believe world skips over the reality of the situation as regular, adult Sunday attendance continues to plummet; 14% down from 30,424 in 2014 to 26,110 in 2018.

The 2020 Vision initiative seeks a "reimagined Church in Wales" agreeing to support the "continued development of a unity scheme - the Church Uniting in Wales - incorporating Methodist, Presbyterian, United Reformed, and Baptist Churches alongside the Church in Wales."

There will be nothing sacred about Sunday's synod. It will merely confirm the bishops' intention to separate further the Church in Wales from the Holy Catholic Church to which it jokingly claims to belong - 'locally adapted' into a do-as-you-please Church.

Happy New Year!

Happy Christmas!

Nativity. Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (1714 - 1789). Private collection, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Wishing you a Joyous Christmas

and a Happy New Year!

Advent IV: Reflecting in the darkness

The Advent Wreath                                                     Source: Church of England

"Advent marks the beginning of the church year. It is a time for reflection in darkness, for renewal of hope and for a movement towards a beginning." - Church of England Advent and Christmas

For many Anglicans the 'renewal of hope' has taken an unexpected turn. It truly is a time for 'reflection in darkness'. 

They have not lost their faith but they have lost their Church, abandoned by bishops who claim to be moved by the Holy Spirit but follow the spirit of the age, the Zeitgeist.

The clearest possible signal of the direction of the Church of England, as in the Church in Wales and other liberal Provinces,  has come from the Archbishop of York designate who believes that the Church should look to society rather than to scripture and tradition for guidance.

Consequently thousands of Anglicans have been left by their Church to reflect in darkness. Some have made the journey across the Tiber. For others that journey presents its own difficulties, particularly for disaffected Roman Catholics who found their spiritual home in the catholic and reformed Anglican Church.

Pray that the truth will be revealed. Pray for Gavin Ashenden who will be received into the Roman Catholic Church today, for those led astray by errant bishops and particularly for all those left reflecting in the darkness. 

Caption corner 20 December 2019

Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn post election    Source:Twitter  

As usual printable captions will appear under Comments.

Stephen Cottrell: A bit of an oik from Essex?

The Archbishop of Canterbury with Archbishop of York Designate Stephen Cottrell,  Source: CofE

A bit of an 'oik from Essex' has been nominated as the new Archbishop of York in succession to Dr John Sentamu. Not my description but Stephen Cottrell's description of himself in a Sheffield Diocesan Development Day lecture in 2011.

A gifted communicator, his appointment is understandable given the liberal direction of the Church of England. He had been widely tipped to succeed Richard Chartres as Bishop of London but lost out to former head nurse Dame Sarah Mullally.

A critic of the church for its 'shortcomings' in promoting BAME clergy into senior positions and a supporter of the ordination of women who looks forward to seeing a female archbishop of Canterbury, he can count himself lucky that he has not found himself sidelined like other men, a victim of his own political correctness.

Asked by the Guardian about the issue of same-sex relationships which has "divided the church for more than 20 years", he said there was “absolutely no place for homophobia in our church, and absolutely everyone, regardless of their sexuality, is welcome in our church”.

Christian Concern tweeted differently: "@CottrellStephen has previously shown he has no respect for Biblical truth on human sexuality and marriage."

Cottrell's appointment has caused some controversy, so much so that a spokesperson for the Church of England has issued a Statement on the Archbishop of York designate, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell denying accusations made against him by "a pressure group". He was said to have told clergy that 'if they disagree with the approach the Diocese is taking on matters of human sexuality' they should follow their consciences and leave.

The implication in the statement is that 30 clergy are lying or mistaken.

In June 2019 gafcon uk issued a statement by representatives of conservative evangelical clergy from the Diocese of Chelmsford confirming that “we are used to being told that we don’t belong”.

Christian Today reports the same issues with claims and counter claims in an article "Stephen Cottrell's appointment as Archbishop of York exposes divisions in the Church of England":  One thing is sure Stephen Cottrell's liberal views offend many orthodox Anglicans who have been left out in the cold by a self-styled inclusive church.

 Liberal Bishop Becomes Archbishop of York, No. 2 in Church of England was the headline in the New York Times: "Cottrell has been outspoken in his support for women clergy and has said everyone is welcome in the Church regardless of their sexuality."

Commenting on Bishop Stephen Cottrell's Presidential Address to Diocesan Synod on Saturday 11 March 2017, Andrew Symes of Anglican Mainstream wrote that Cotterell has given "one of the clearest indications yet of the next stage of major change in the Church of England’s approach to sexual ethics" after he called for “prayers of thanksgiving” for same sex relationships.

Ironically Stephen Cottrell replaced the openly gay priest Jeffrey John as bishop of Reading in 2004 after John was pressured to step down by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

One can only speculate on the trajectory of Cottrell's career had Jeffrey John not been persuaded to step down as bishop of Reading but Jeffrey John must have been feeling particularly sick on reading of Cottrell's elevation. More able than many Dr John has played by the rules while lesser clergy have flaunted them. Had he defended the Church's traditional teaching on marriage he would have gained wider support.

By teaming a new, liberal Archbishop of York with an ineffectual Archbishop of Canterbury the Church of England looks destined to stray even further from biblical truth with a further exodus of disaffected Anglicans.

In conclusion, a quote from The Spectator in an article The slow, strange race to be the next Bishop of London by Ysenda Maxtone Graham, author of The Church Hesitant:

"But my money (and other people’s, too) would be on Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford. He was state-educated in Leigh-on-Sea, so can be ‘a bit cor-blimey’, as some have said to me. It’s true that his recent talk in the cathedral to his clergy included the phrases ‘Who gives a toss?’, ‘Flush down the toilet’ and ‘What the bloody hell?’ But he grows on you. He’s a scintillating public communicator, straddles both the Evangelical and the Anglo-Catholic traditions, is self-deprecating, funny, articulate and imaginative. If he’s chosen, we’ll just have to blot out the Chartres voice from our memory: no point in comparing them."

Also mentioned in Ysenda's article is 'the once-tipped June Osborne' who seemed to have been 'shunted into sidings as cathedral dean and may well go no further'.

She did. Swept up by the Church in Wales, again at Jeffrey John's expense.

At least, in Cottrell terms, Dr John is "welcome in our church" which is more than many Anglicans can say.

Postscript [23.12.2019]

From Church Times:

"Bishop Cottrell had 'spoken out — when many others have been silent — about the need for the Church to respect and honour the LGBT+ community'." - Jayne Ozanne, a member of the General Synod and a prominent LGBT campaigner.

"He’s a great teacher and communicator of the faith, he’s rooted in Catholic spirituality, he speaks his mind, and he’s a voice for LGBT inclusion." - Revd Dr Johanna Kershaw, Associate Priest of Outwood, Stanley, and Wrenthorpe, in Wakefield.

Social care

From age uk:

Dear Reader,

I need your help today with social care.

With a new Government just starting to make plans, we have a huge opportunity to make sure that fixing care is a top priority for their first year in office.

I want to see a care system that’s free and available to every one of us when we need it. One that allows us all to grow old with dignity, without forcing us to sell our homes to pay for the support we need.

If tens of thousands of us come together and call for this, we’ll be impossible to ignore. So please will you sign my letter to the Prime Minister and help make care fair?

Sign the letter HERE

Our new Government has the power to fix care once and for all. Together, we can make it their priority to do just that.


Thank you for your help,

Eorann, Age UK Campaigns Team

Another page turns

ANGLICAN BISHOP AND QUEEN’S CHAPLAIN CONVERTS TO CATHOLICISM

While he was a chaplain to the Queen, Gavin Ashenden objected to the reading of the Koran at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow. The Koranic chapter on Mary, read from the lectern at the service of Holy Communion explicitly denied the divinity of Jesus. 

Under pressure from Buckingham Palace, Dr. Ashenden resigned his royal chaplaincy in order to be free to challenge the rising tide of apostasy in the Church of England.

His wise counsel, particularly on Anglican Unscripted, has been greatly appreciated by disaffected Anglicans whose Church has left them.

Consecrated as a Missionary bishop to the UK and Europe by the Archbishop of the Christian Episcopal Church, Bishop Ashenden struggled, without pay, to provide an element of leadership for orthodox Anglicans. Without a formal structure he effectively used the Internet to perform his ministry.

It says much for his integrity that he was asked by a Roman Catholic bishop to use his skills for the benefit of the Kingdom as a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

Our loss is their gain. May he continue to be blessed in his ministry of truth.

Postscript [19.12.2019]

Gavin Ashenden: Why I’m becoming a Catholic

A million miles from Victor Sylvester!

Victor Sylvester and partner                         Photo Credit: Photo Agency/Fanpix

The BBC's much anticipated Strictly Come Dancing spectacular climaxed on Saturday night.

By public vote the winner was ex-Emmerdale soap opera star Kelvin Fletcher and his partner Oti Mabuse.

For those of us long enough in the tooth to remember Victor Sylvester and the BBC Television Dancing Club, Kelvin's samba was a million miles away from ballroom dancing of old but re-captured by Emma Barton with her partner Anton Du Beke in their Viennese Waltz.

This Twitter clip sums up the change. 

Just like the church and society!

No Christians allowed

Welcome - but not if you are a Christian                                Source: CBNNews

From CBN News:

No Christians Allowed: Muslim UN Officials Block Syrian Christian Refugees from Getting Help

"Christian Syrian refugees have told CBN News that they have been blocked from getting help from the United Nations Refugee Agency, the UNHCR, by Muslim UN officials in Jordan.

"One of the refugees, Hasan, a Syrian convert to Christianity, told us in a phone call that Muslim UN camp officials 'knew that we were Muslims and became Christians and they dealt with us with persecution and mockery. They didn't let us into the office. They ignored our request.'

"Hasan and his family are now in hiding, afraid that they will be arrested by Jordanian police, or even killed. Converting to Christianity is a serious crime in Jordan.

"A clear pattern of discrimination by the United Nations refugee agency in Jordan against Christians. And it appears to be one reason that while tens of thousands of Syrian Muslim war refugees have been settled in the United States and Britain, only a small number have been Christian."

And the two governments that could stop this persecution of Christian refugees – the US and Britain – have done little to nothing about it."

Full CBN News report HERE.

I doubt that this problem will be mentioned in cosy inter-faith gatherings far away from suffering Christians.

£10 million church fund targeted to support free love

Note the Diocese of Monmouth's statement on mission and priorities: "Our mission and priorities. We work with stonewall.org.uk". 

That statement sums up the current direction of church and state. 

The Church in Wales has initially allocated £10 million to an Evangelism Fund for dioceses to 'enact their strategies on evangelism and church growth'. The Diocese of Monmouth, soon to be headed by the first openly same sex partnered woman bishop, has targeted evangelism fund money to plug same sex relationships through @MissionMonmuth #lovewithoutlimit. 

Earlier this month Anglican Mainstream published an article “The Tory Party at prayer”?  If so says their Executive Secretary, Andrew Symes, the Church of England reflects the new ‘conservatism’ of the secular progressive elites, not tried and tested values.

Bishops fail to grasp the anti-Christian philosophy behind the LGBT agenda, he says:

"It is the Conservative Party which introduced the change in the definition of marriage; which has overseen and facilitated the exponential rise in ‘gender transition’, and is now pushing through the new Relationships and Sex Education programmes in schools. Rather than oppose this, or at least equip faithful Christians to understand the rapid cultural change and live distinctively in relation to it, the C of E has taken the side of the sex and gender radicals. This website has tracked many examples of this, but just in the area of education: following on from the release of Valuing All God’s Children, the C of E’s LGBT-affirming guidance on ‘homophobic and transphobic bullying’ co-written with Stonewall was released two years ago; Church of England primary schools are using the transgender lobby group Mermaids to ‘train’ staff and governors and backed by Diocesan education departments in doing so, and now senior leaders have expressed approval for the new RSE programme in this document released last week....

"No doubt many Bishops see RSE as a done deal and not worth risking the relationship between church and government; some see the new regulations as merely a way of teaching children to be positive about difference and kind to others, without understanding the anti-Christian philosophy behind the LGBT agenda. But this ideology like a virus has proved adaptable: previously attaching itself only to the political left and secular atheism, it has morphed to be find a home also among Conservative politicians and church leaders. The long march through the institutions is almost complete."

Transforming institutions means allowing drag queens to read same sex storybooks to children.

It means encouraging bishops to support pride events in which naked men parade in front of impressionable young children.

It is making a mockery of Christ's sacrifice when he was dragged through the streets to the Cross.

Police with Wesh Pride                                           Source: Twitter @PrideCymru

“Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.”

Diane Abbott is missing

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn  Source: Independent/PA

Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary and former lover of party leader, Jeremy Corbyn has been conspicuous by her absence in the General Election campaign. 

An Express report suggests: “They have hidden Diane Abbott from the cameras, not only because her son was arrested after allegedly biting a police officer, but because she literally makes no sense at all when she speaks. And yet she is the shadow home secretary, who in a few days might find herself in charge of the country’s police forces and MI5, which she once said should be abolished."

According to the MailOnline, Abbott's privately-educated son, 28, was arrested after 'biting one police officer and spitting at another outside Foreign Office' where he used to work. He was bailed to appear back in front of magistrates in February by which time his mother could be Home Secretary.

There have been too many instances when Abbott's bungling have given the impression that she is simply not up to the job, examples here and here, but old loyalties may prevail.

Many voters would feel more comfortable if Diane Abbott were missing from the political stage permanently.

Ask your candidate to reject Stonewall's manifesto

Source: Citizen Go

From CitizeGo:

Stonewall have produced an 18 page election manifesto which they are asking candidates to make a public pledge of support for. While it is not unusual for lobby groups to produce election literature, the sheer scale and depth of Stonewall's maifesto demonstrates the extent to which they wish to influence government policy and public life. Other lobby groups, such as for example, the World Wildlife Fund and the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Royal College of General Practiioners have kept their manifestos to 1-2 pages. 

Stonewall is already influencing policy in every area of public life and has managed to achieve institutional capture of many of our public bodies such as the police force and education authorities, where they are pushing an agenda which seeks to trample all over the existing rights and freedoms. Their manifesto seeks to embed these more deeply. We can already see the effect that they are having in schools, universities, local police forces and local authorities across teh country.

Candidates in this general election need to be challenged to uphold the fundamental freedoms we all enjoy, which enable social life to be lived decently. This is why we are asking canddiates to explicitly reject the Stonewall manifesto and instead pledge to support the following 5 principles:

1. Say no to Reform of the Gender Recognition Act

2. To keep single-sex prison facilities, rape shelters, lavatories, changing facilities, sports categories and sports facilities

3. To uphold fundamental freedoms of conscience and freedoms of expression

4.  To protect parental rights, young children and vulnerable adolescents

5. To uphold the impartiality of our public bodies, many of whom seem to be have been unduly influenced by Stonewall's ideology

Pledge to reject Stonewall's election manifesto HERE

Difficult questions!

A meat cleaver that the 'Three Musketeers' plotters planned to use in their attack (West Midlands Police). Source: INDEPENDENT

Usman Khan, perpetrator of the latest Islamist terrorist atrocity in London, will have expected to be greeted by 72 virgins as his reward for being 'martyred' for his faith when he was shot dead by police.

The two young people Khan killed were taking part in a prisoner rehabilitation program. Khan had been invited to participate but the hand of friendship was of no consequence. Whatever good work his victims were doing to help Khan and other ex-prisoners, they were still classed as infidels in the  ideology to which Khan subscribed.

He would have regarded himself as a martyr because he, along with many other Muslims, was waging war on the kafir. The fact that his targets were innocent was irrelevant. In their book non-Muslims are regarded as 'unbelievers' deserving punishment, as do erring Muslims who can be sentenced to death for their apostasy .

Khan was sent to prison as a convicted terrorist. He entered a 'breeding ground for Islamist extremism' where he lied about his de-radicalisation as permitted under his ideology thus earning early release from prison.

The Independent reported following an earlier terrorist incident in 2018 that three prisoners, the  'Three Musketeers', mingled with fellow extremists they met in jail. They reinforced their beliefs there before turning their attention to "wreaking bloodshed" in the UK.

The lead commissioner for Countering Extremism told the Independent at the time: “Experts and those working in prisons have raised significant concerns with me about the spread of extremist ideas and behaviours among serving prisoners. This includes the risk that individuals are becoming more extremist in prisons. There are also fears about what happens when prisoners who advocate extremist beliefs and behaviour – whether Islamist or far-right supporters – are released into our communities.”

After the latest killings outraged commentators again demanded answers to some "difficult questions" about early release and de-radicalisation but what drives a desire to kill and maim innocent people who do not share their beliefs?

That is the most difficult question but it will not be addressed for fear of attracting accusations of Islamophobia, a label concocted to ensure that, unlike other faiths, Islam is beyond question.

Postcript [04.12.2019]

Five boys and pastor among 14 Christians shot dead in Burkina Faso church massacre
"An Islamist extremist attack on a church in Komondjari Province, south-east Burkina Faso, during Sunday morning worship on 1 December."  - Barnabasfund

Far away from London and one of many Islamist attacks abroad which are seldom mentioned in the British media.

These are not about historical events. Christians today are being persecuted all around the world.

From the Interim Report of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians:

"Violent persecution exists in many forms. Firstly there is mass violence which regularly expresses itself through the bombing of churches, as has been the case in countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia, whereby the perpetrators raise levels of fear amongst the Christian community and attempt to suppress the community’s appetite to practice its right to public expression of freedom of religion and belief. State militaries attacking minority communities which practice a different faith to the country’s majority also constitutes a violent threat to Christian communities such as the Kachin and Chin people of Myanmar and the Christians of the Nuba mountains of Sudan. The torture of Christians is widespread in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Eritrean prisons, and beatings in police custody are widely reported in India."

If Islam became dominant in this country why would Christians here be treated differently to Christians abroad?

Postcript [07.12.2019]

Islam has three political strategies; immigration, population and violence. Reflections on Usman Khan...
"There is a precondition for rehabilitation -- you've got to want it ... it doesn't just happen through educational programmes
Facts of 'terrorist' killings are clear but our society is divided by the meaning" - Bishop Gavin Ashenden 

Confirmation

 "The new bishop of Llandaff's first presidential address at a Llandaff diocesan conference makes informative reading. Strong on sociology but weak on theology and spirituality she should sit easily on a bench of bishops devoid of such talents.
Formerly five of the bishops in Wales held Oxford Firsts in Theology."
- From an entry 'Sociology replacing religion' in October 2017.

There was much hype about the former Dean of Salisbury beginning to transform Llandaff as soon as she crossed the Llys Esgob threshold.

She has - but not as one might have expected as the illustration shows.

In 2016 the Bishops of the Church in Wales wrote a Pastoral Letter to "all the faithful" concerning admission to Holy Communion of all the baptised "by virtue of their Baptism alone".  There were objections that the decision was based on dodgy legal advice,

In the rite of confirmation the Holy Spirit is invoked to come upon those who are to be confirmed.

At the Governing Body of the Church in Wales in September 2017 a private members’ motion asked for the time to consider in more detail documents prepared by the Bench of Bishops and for their period of introduction to be extended by a year to enable greater consideration of its implications. The Mover said "some people had theological objections to the change and their opinions should be heard."

The motion was carried. Discussed again in April 2018 at the  meeting of the Governing Body the bishop of St Asaph told delegates: "We are in the business of creating faithful disciples of Jesus Christ; enabling people to grow into a living faith." He added without any hint of irony: "We are a church which believes in theological debate and as a Bench of Bishop’s we are open to discussion."

There has been no meaningful debate with traditionalists but there was a brief nod to orthodoxy when a Confirmation service took place on 3 October in Llandaff Cathedral led by a Society bishop. Bishop Philip North was invited to celebrate and to confirm candidates.

I have seen no official report or photographs of the event. Some have suggested this was probably out of  official embarrassment due the numbers present. However, this is one report which appeared on Twitter: "Standing room only in the Cathedral for a Diocesan Confirmation @LlandaffDio and the most candidates I think I have ever seen. What utter joy. Thank you @BishopJuno and @BpBurnley. God is good!"

There is no such holding back in the Winter issue of Croeso in which the sacrament of Confirmation is subsumed under a story about same-sex marriage, the joys of the Gathering (an ecumenical LGBTQ+ safe space)! and a mini celebration in the candidate's local church with "flags and prayers for LGBTQ+ folks."

The liberal drift has indeed engulfed the Church in Wales.

From her gay friendly base in Llandaff, June Osbourne has followed the example of the bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy in promoting the LGBTQ+ cause while the third woman bishop to be appointed, Cherry Vann, bishop elect of Monmouth confirms the priorities of women clergy with a talk at a Rochdale Pride event on 'the Church of England's Pastoral Principles for living well together'.

Sociology has replaced theology but it should come as no surprise.

Writing for Virtue Online, Biblical Anthropologist Alice C. Linsley who served as a priest in the Episcopal Church for 16 years addresses 'Ten reasonable objections to women in the priesthood':

1. The Church is not a democratic body.
2. Women's ordination is linked to homosexual activism.
3. Women's ordination is rooted in Feminist thought.
4. Women priests perpetuate confusion about gender.
5. Women priests represent rejection of the authority Scripture and Tradition
6. Women priests cause confusion about the Eucharist.
7. Women priests represent a denial of the Fathers' teaching.
8. Ordination of women to the priesthood undermines women's ministries.
9. The feminization of the clergy discourages men's participation in the church.
10. A female at the altar blurs the biblical distinction between life and death.

The paper is confirmation of how sociology has replaced religion in liberal Anglicanism.

Bishop of St Davids is right but probably wrong

Joanna Penberthy is right to encourage people to vote and to vote wisely in the forthcoming General Election.

Probably she will not. The first female bishop in Wales is a proud Corbynista which may account for the subliminal red vote going into the ballot box on the St Davids diocese web site and the red X on the ballot paper rather than the traditional graphite pencilled X.

Former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove has warned that Jeremy Corbyn is a danger to national security and unfit to become Prime Minister. Sir Richard who spent 38 years with the intelligence service warned bluntly: "Do not even think of taking the risk of handing this politician the keys to No. 10."

"Jeremy Corbyn and his then-lover Diane Abbott
 visited communist East Germany together in the
1970s "                 Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd

 According to a report in The Sun Jeremy Corbyn was "granted access by communist East Germany to go behind the Iron Curtain in the 1970s. He travelled with his then-lover, and now Shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott." He also attended a wreath-laying ceremony for Palestinian terrorists who "castrated and murdered Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics".

The Daily Mail has accused Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and Diane Abbott of being "unashamed apologists for terror, who have devoted their lives to befriending the enemies of Britain while undermining the very institutions that keep us safe in our beds."

In her video address to electors the bishop of St Davids says that in what is "undoubtedly the most important election in British history", we will be voting on "what sort of people and what sort of behaviour we want to see in those we elect to Westminster. Ask yourself: Does this person have my community's interests at heart? Can I trust them?"

Based on the above press reports the Corbynista cannot be trusted.

Numerous Anglicans in Wales can testify that Penberthy and her fellow bishops on the bench are not best placed to speak of trust.

They promised twin integities to provide mutual flourishing when women were admitted to the priesthood. A promise they quickly dropped while developing an 'inclusive' Church which excludes anyone who follows scripture and tradition, effectively excommunicating them for believing what most of the world's 86 million Anglicans believe.

Why would anyone believe a bishop in the Church in Wales?

Caption corner 23 November 2019

"Stand up for the truth and ‘challenge falsehoods when we hear them’, say Archbishops Welby and Sentamu"                                                         Source: C of E

"In their 2019 General Election message, Archbishops @JustinWelby and @JohnSentamu urge voters to uphold the Christian values of truth, humility and love." - Twitter.  Hmmm!   Full video here.

Path to extinction

Source: Church Growth Modelling 8 July 2015

"The Bishop of Monmouth-elect, the Ven. Cherry Vann, said that it would be a 'sad day if all the focus on growth was just about numbers', but that 'we can’t ignore the fact that church congregations, generally speaking, are either stable or declining'." - Twitter @ChurchTimes

Cherry Van is right on course to discover far more about decline when she takes her notion of stability to Wales.

The Church in Wales is heading for extinction in around 20 years time along with the Episcopal Church of Scotland and the US Episcopal Church. Fortunately for her and her liberal colleagues she will have retired before the collapse leaving others to sort out the mess the 'progressives' have created.

Decline continues as traditional roles are overturned. Over the last couple of decades, women have been leaving mainstream Christian churches at about twice the rate of men while more women than men are entering clergy training in the Church of England.

Promised benefits of the ordination of women have not just failed to materialise, they have been reversed.

In 1993 when Michael Alison (Second Church Estates Commissioner, representing the Church Commissioners) moved, That the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure, passed by the General Synod of the Church of England, be presented to Her Majesty for her Royal Assent, he said:

"For those millions of people, the Church of England, with its formal state link, is a kind of valuable stalking horse by which they can bring pressure to bear on the powers that be to promote or to maintain Christian standards in education, complex moral and ethical issues, and so on."

Instead we have bishops who advocate same-sex marriage in Church and appear oblivious to the dangers of confusing children by spreading LGBT propaganda in primary schools in the guise of sex education.

In 2015 the Church Growth Modelling blog forecast that attendance figures for the Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church of the USA (TEC), indicated extinction dates around 2040. The Church of England was "on the margins of extinction with some calibrations say yes, just; some say no, just."

The liberal leaning Canadian Episcopal Church must be added to the list.

Regular attendance figures from Canada show that the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) is in serious trouble, "running out of members in little more than two decades if the church continues to decline at its current rate". Statistics for 2017 indicate that average Sunday attendance has dropped to 97,421. The rate of decline is increasing suggesting an extinction date also of 2040 based on 'five different methodologies'. Figures for baptism, confirmation, marriage and funerals show an even faster rate of decline.

There is a common factor. Churches that have adopted liberal programs are in decline while conservative Protestant churches which take a more literal view of the Bible continue to thrive.

On his retirement the Archbishop of Wales reflected that he had supported numerous secular causes, including gay marriage. He has also backed women clergy during his 'leadership'. Commenting on the consecration of the Church in Wales' first female bishop he said: "I think that was pretty important as a matter of justice, as a matter of equality and as a matter of doing what was right".

No theology; pure secularism.

On gay marriage, Dr Morgan had previously called for the church's view on same-sex marriage to change with popular opinion adding "That's quite something, I think, in a church that hasn't always been known for its liberalism."

The Anglican Church is now soaked in liberalism and heading for disaster. Liberals have what they want at the price of extinction.

In Wales, Membership and Finance figures for 2018 show "continued decline in most measures of participation in parish life." Regular Sunday attendance has sunk to 26,110 or 0.8% of the population. The political appointment of Ms Vann to the position of bishop of Monmouth has been welcomed by liberals who no longer see the traditional teaching of the Church as relevant.

In the Church of Ireland clergy have objected to the appointment of a conservative bishop because of his membership of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). These clergy believe that GAFCON’s policies "are 'antithetical' to the principles a Church of Ireland bishop must commit to in the rite of consecration. These include 'fostering unity, care for the oppressed, and building up the people of God in all their spiritual and sexual diversity'" showing how far many Anglicans have strayed like lost sheep.

This from Church Times illustrates how absurd the liberal position has become in undermining traditional beliefs: The Dean of Waterford, the Very Revd Maria Jansson, told The Irish Times that "the Bishops’ attendance at GAFCON had undermined unity within the Church. 'How can Bishops Harold Miller and Ferran Glenfield reconcile the vows they made at their consecrations as bishops ‘to maintain and further the unity of the Church’ with their support of GAFCON, which stridently endeavours to undermine that very unity?', she asked."

More to the point, how can liberally progressive bishops reconcile their vows to maintaining the unity of the Church when they represent a small and shrinking percentage of the 87 million Anglicans worldwide?

The Church is in crisis. Only 2% of young adults identify as C of E. 

Interlopers have changed the Anglican Church to satisfy their own desires, driving forward an agenda to validate a lifestyle incompatible with the Gospel.

From Virtue Online: "Progressive Pansexualist 'Christians' have declared war on orthodox believers. Their goal is not mere acceptance, but to overthrow the moral order and destroy conservative churches who hold the line on faith and morals."

What we are left with is not Christianity but Churchianity and it is spreading.

Anglicans often described themselves as “Episcopally led and Synodically governed.” That is fine so long as bishops remain guardians of the faith but many are in the forefront of aggressive change, putting 'progressive' provinces at odds with mainstream Anglicanism.

Now Pope Francis is calling for a 'synodal' Church giving progressive Catholic bishops a similar platform to Anglican bishops for driving forward change with claims of being moved by the Holy Spirit.

Is there no end to this madness?

Caption corner 15 November 2019

  #JustLove for @Pontifex                                                                                                                                           Source: Twitter @JayneOzanne

As usual publishable captions will appear under Comments. 

Welcome and Beware!

Visiting Newport Cathedral on 31 October Wendy observed this "Amazing poster on entry to the Cathedral".

If Wendy is unknown to readers, especially those in the Monmouth diocese, reading the bishop-elect's letter to her electors should clarify and explain how the 'inclusive Gospel of Jesus Christ' has become 'amazing' to some in the Church in Wales:

 8th November 2019

"From the Venerable Cherry Vann    

Dear Electors,

A lot has happened since we last met on 17th September 2019 and I am looking forward to moving in to Bishopstow at the beginning of December and beginning a new ministry among you in the new year.

As a way of thanking you for the part you played in the three day marathon that was the Electoral College, Wendy and I would like to invite you and some of the diocesan officers to Bishopstow for drinks and nibbles on Thursday 19th December, 5.00 – 7.00pm. Please come for all or for part of those two hours, as you are able. It would be lovely to see you for a more relaxed and informal conversation for however long you can come. 

In the meantime, be assured of my prayers for you and for the Diocese of Monmouth and please do pray for Wendy and I as we prepare to leave Manchester and move to a new life and ministry in the Church in Wales. 

I very much look forward to seeing you again  

Prayers and good wishes

Cherry"

It is not clear from Cherry's letter what part of  her episcopal ministry Wendy will be sharing in but this must be another first for the Church in Wales which, in the words of the bishop of Llandaff, has "unhealthy preoccupations with gender and sexuality".

The Church in Wales press office and the Diocese of Monmouth declined to comment on whether the cohabiting bishop-elect is in a partnered same-sex relationship but nevertheless the appointment is a slap in the face for the Governing Body after they rejected a bid by the bench of bishops to ditch traditional teaching on marriage and allow same-sex marriage in Church.

It is also a snub to the Anglican Communion position that marriage is intended to be a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of a man and a woman. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is not inviting same-sex spouses to the 2020 Lambeth Conference of bishops.

More welcome in the divided diocese of Monmouth would have been a spiritually uplifting appointment, not another nod to inclusivity, a euphemism if ever there was one, and further division.

Remembrance Day 2019

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them."

Lest we forget.

Hurt

The obvious hurt expressed in this interview by a lifetime Labour supporter whose conscience told him that his Party no longer represented the traditional values he stood for reminds me of the breakup of the Anglican Communion.

The response of the extreme Left which now dominates the Labour Party was to claim that Ian Austin was “employed by the Tories”.

This is reminiscent of the takeover of the Anglican Church by trendy, Left leaning bishops and their feminist allies. If more people had had the guts to speak out for Anglicanism we may have been saved from the actions of mean spirited bishops who ignore scripture and tradition and have no regard for anyone who gets hurt.

The contagion is spreading to Rome. Fortunately some have the guts to speak out while Pope Francis denounces Amazon Synod critics as racist!

A Female Diaconate!

Representatives of the Women's Ordination Conference stage a protest in front of St. Peter's Basilica
at the Vatican on Tuesday, June 8, 2010.   Source: Washington post Photo by Pier Paolo Cito

 "Amongst a lot of social change, we too continue to see the loss of Sunday churchgoing. And this can feel as if we’re in terminal decline. Add to that the loss of connectedness many once had with the church – now more than half our neighbours happily describe themselves as having ‘no religion’. And then add the lost trust in what the church stands for - ask anyone under 30 what they make of the Church and they’ll pretty soon mention our unhealthy preoccupations with gender and sexuality. Those multiple losses feel really significant for those who love the Church and all it stands for."

The words of the bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, delivered in her Presidential Address at the Llandaff Diocesan Conference 2019 following her observation that churches in the Gwent Valleys had suffered 'a 37% loss of membership within just the last few years'.

Despite similar evidence from other Anglican Provinces that have ordained women, the Roman Catholic Church appears oblivious to the dangers of creating a female diaconate. It is clear from experience in the Anglican Communion that ordaining women deacons provided them with a stepping-stone in a planned progression from women deacons to women bishops resulting in exclusion for many and indifference to their plight.

Once women deacons established a toehold in the Anglican Church, equality of opportunity, not theology, took hold. The rest is history. People who rarely if ever set foot in a church have become arbiters of what is or is not acceptable in Anglicanism as liberal leaning bishops strain to be evermore relevant to society.

In 2010 the US Washington Times reported the results of a Poll that showed 80% of Catholics were 'comfortable' with the idea of women priests but it is worth remembering that the US Episcopal Church started the Anglican rot which spread to England and Wales resulting in many faithful Anglicans finding themselves effectively unchurched.

Other Catholics claimed that the Catholic Church would never ordain women but within a decade of that poll Pope Francis appears open to reversing claims made by Pope John Paul II that the Church had no authority to ordain women (1994) and those who continued discussing women’s ordination were effectively excommunicating themselves (1998).

One Catholic bishop, Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, has claimed that the Amazon Synod was being used as a “tool” to change the Church and create “a new kind of religion", a situation familiar to orthodox Anglicans who find themselves excluded by newcomers.

Speaking after the conclusion of Rome’s Amazon Synod which approved a document calling for  further discussion on allowing women deacons, the former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, described a male-only priesthood as "codology dressed up as theology".    

It is difficult to take such women seriously when their interests appear to be more about feminine power than spreading the Gospel. True they use the Gospel but for their own ends. They talk of love and inclusion but are content to see women and men who do not share their views excluded, leaving them with no church to attend and no pastoral care.

Continuing her presidential address at the 2019 Llandaff diocesan conference June Osborne said "So many want to tell me how church life enriches their existence and is precious to them."

Church life did that for many others before they were excluded but the breed of woman that seeks power in the Church couldn't care less who is hurt on their march to the top. Instead they complain of discrimination and misogyny if anyone dares to disagree with them as they look to society for support.

Osborne started her address by referring to the September Electoral College which chose a new Bishop of Monmouth. She described the decision as excellent saying, "I know Archdeacon Cherry Vann will be an outstanding bishop for our friends in Monmouth."

There have been rumours that Cherry Vann was not the choice of Monmouth diocese and that their candidate was rejected which suggests yet another stitch up by the Church in Wales establishment in pursuit of their liberal agenda.

In her first interview following her election the bishop-elect said: “I am also aware that the church is struggling to be relevant in people’s lives. I want to work with people to find ways of communicating, what is essentially, a message of love and hope to people who find the institutional church difficult or inaccessible."

St Paul spoke of love in action. He also said: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

The movement for ordaining women to the priesthood peddles a false concept of equality in defiance of the message received through scripture and tradition which have been followed by generations in a broad Church. All has changed.

After women were ordained deacons in the Anglican Church demands for priesting quickly followed employing claims of discrimination and misogyny if they were denied what they claimed was the next logical step. They claimed that it did not mean that women wanted to be bishops, until they were priests.

After women were admitted to the priesthood, it was the 'stained glass' ceiling and promises of mutual flourishing if women were allowed to become bishops. Another false promise. 

Now that there are women bishops parity is demanded using the usual slogans of discrimination and inequality. Parity has already been achieved in the Church in Wales following the 'election' of Cherry Vann.

In her presidential address Osborne referred to the "lost trust in what the church stands for" adding: "ask anyone under 30 what they make of the Church and they’ll pretty soon mention our unhealthy preoccupations with gender and sexuality".

That preoccupation has been manifested most prominently in female bishops. Presumably they haven't finished yet.

Rome beware.

Rugby victory

Rugby fans celebrate in Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg, after Springboks win  the Rugby World Cup.                                 Source @BBCSport

There may have been disappointment for many as their teams were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup but few begrudged South Africa's win when their Captain, Siya Kolisi, lifted the Webb Ellis Cup a third time to match New Zealand's record three wins.

Wales lost to South Africa by just three points in the semi-finals after many of Wales' star players were injured. Even so, fewer penalties against Wales could have seen a different result but it was not to be. 

The pain felt by the losing sides and their fans quickly evaporated after witnessing the success of the Springboks, seeing what it meant for their fans back home where many suffer great hardship due to poverty and corruption.

The host nation, Japan, was a model of hospitality while their rugby team was an inspiration to aspiring players. The players in general too, while playing hard, did so in an admirable spirit of friendship along with the fans. Some others sports would do well to follow their example.

Double standards

Sydney Anglican Archbishop Glenn Davies has said to supporters of same-sex marriage:
‘Please leave us.’  Source: Guardian. Photograph: David Moir/AAP

The Bishop of Liverpool rebuked the Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, after he called for gay marriage supporters to leave church saying he ‘seems to want to exclude people rather than to engage with them’.

That's rich.

From the Guardian: "Archbishop Glenn Davies said last week that those who supported same-sex marriage should abandon the church. If people wish to change the doctrine of our church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views – but do not ruin the Anglican church by abandoning the plain teaching of scripture,” he said. “Please leave us.”

The Australian Newcastle Herald reports that "Anglicans have joined two other Australian dioceses to support same-sex marriage church blessings at a Hunter Synod where Bishop Peter Stuart said he had "spoken frankly" to a Sydney archbishop against the move. Newcastle Anglicans strongly supported changes to church rules that could allow clergy to bless same-sex marriages and protect clergy in a same-sex marriage from church discipline."

The Dean of Newcastle, the Very Reverend Katherine Bowyer supports the diocese's move to bless same-sex marriages. She rejected comments by the Archbishop of Sydney that supporters of same-sex marriage should leave the church, saying differing views deserve respect.

Her views and those who side with the Bishop of Liverpool have nothing to do with traditional Church teaching.

The Archbishop of Sydney is correct. If Western Anglican leaders had adopted the same approach many of us would still have a church to attend.

Dean Katherine Bowyer's attitude typifies the double standards of liberal Anglicans amply illustrated by Mae Cymru the Welsh offshoot of the feminist organisation Women and the Church.

Mae Cymru recently tweeted an article from cruxsolablog An Open Letter to John MacArthur (re: Beth Moore). The author states:
"Recently John MacArthur commented that Beth Moore (Christian leader and teacher) should “go home.” As I have pondered this over the last few days, I wondered what Paul would say to John. So, I wrote an open letter.

It is not my intention to comment on the letter's content. Readers of the letter can draw their own conclusions but I was drawn to the double standards of the new breed of Anglican.

The membership secretary of Mae Cymru the Ven Peggy Jackson, Archdeacon of Llandaff and scourge of  orthodox, often cradle Anglicans is a late convert to Anglicanism. Their idea of engagement is exclusion dressed up as inclusion.

Before Barry Morgan imported her from the Church of England as his hatchet woman the then Rev Canon  F A Jackson wrote in a paper for GRAS (Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod):

"New individuals with conscientious difficulties over women’s ministry will simply have to make personal decisions and individual choices, to find accommodation as best they can – just as many already have to do over a host of other current issues, some very uncomfortable, where people find themselves representative of a view which is not that sanctioned by the ‘church’ as a whole, and upheld through Synod and Parliament." 

Ten years later with attendance figures still plummeting, thousands of often cradle Anglican women and men have been abandoned by their Church.

Far from relenting Jackson has attempted to turn the screw ever tighter by seeking to exclude from ordination anyone who does not conform to her wishes, misrepresenting genuine theological doubt about sacramental assurance as misogyny.

The concept of twin integrity has been all but abandoned. As Sir William Fittall said in response to a complaint:
"To expect someone whose theological conviction does not enable him to receive the sacramental ministry of women routinely to turn up to a celebration of Holy Communion when he cannot discover in advance whether he will be able to receive Holy Communion seems to me to be asking too much."

Following the appointment of a third woman bishop in the Church in Wales half the bench will be female.

The diocese of St Davids has been quickly feminized after the appointment of the first woman Bishop. She lost no time in appointing a woman Dean. Two female minor Canons have also been appointed. If the Canon in Residence is a female cleric the sub-Dean is the sole male priest at Wales' premiere place of pilgrimage.

There is no indication for pilgrims who will be celebrating yet the Cathedral online Worship Sheet merrily quotes St David's last words to his followers, “...Be Joyful, Keep the faith and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do...”

The Bishop of Liverpool should have looked closer to home before whinging about the Church in Australia.