Caption corner 29 January 2019

"Will you lead or shall I? "                                                                                                                                           Source: Church in Wales

A usual publishable captions will appear under Comments.

Costa Compostela

As the above letter indicates, there are 'a few' surplus seats left on the plane the Church in Wales' DBF has chartered to fly the bishop of Llandaff and her clergy team on a 'pilgrimage' to the Roman Catholic shrine of Santiago de Compostela. No doubt most of the walking involved will be to the bar and back.

Anyone wishing to avail themselves of this magnanimous offer should note their pariah status. This is not an invitation to join the clergy school. In fact those wishing to benefit from the 'mini pilgrimage' are cautioned against booking accommodation at Hospederia de San Martin de Pinario.

One can see the sense of this from jolly June's perspective. She will not welcome outsiders injecting a sense of reason into the proceedings, neither will she want any witnesses to the après school activities, particularly from retired clergy who may have a somewhat jaundiced view from her perspective of the direction the modern Church in Wales is taking.

What does this caper cost? If 45 surplus seats @ £350 per seat are taken up, that nets £15,750 to offset the cost which has not been revealed but a guesstimate of the total cost is possible.

The Hospederia has 81 rooms. Taking two to a room that equals a maximum of 162 places plus around 45 surplus plane places

Llandaff diocese lists over 200 clergy, some of whom are retired. Wikipedia shows 105 paid clergy. With non-stipendiary clergy  let us assume a 200 seat plane at £350 per seat. That amounts to £70,000 just for the flight. Adding estimates for food and accommodation the total cost is likely to be in excess of £100,000.

From the Llandaff site: "This regular clergy school, in May 2019, will be used to train and equip priests to teach and lead pilgrimage in their own communities."

But there are already regular parish pilgrimages in the diocese, particularly to Walsingham. A youth pilgrimage from Llandaff to Walsingham in 2017 cost a mere £140 in comparison.

A project is underway to revive the historic Llandaff to Penrhys pilgrimage route running from Cardiff to the the top of the Rhondda without an expensive jolly to encourage it.

There is a cruel irony in jolly June's jolly to Santiago de Compostela. From James 1:27, "Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: ... to keep oneself unstained by the world", something the bench of bishops signally fails to do, thus lurching the Church into one crisis after another. Better the six bishops went and stayed there.

Wrong direction

Pub talk in Llandaff . The bishop of Llandaff with the bishop of Monmouth before his absence from duty        Source:  Church in Wales

Following in the footsteps of her sister bishop Joanna in St Davids who has made appointing women a priority while seeking to rid her diocese of  elderly male priests by sending them 'Dear John' letters in thanksgiving for many years of devoted service to Christ, the bishop of Llandaff has appointed the Revd Dr Jan van der Lely to be Canon Chancellor according to Church Times 'appointments'.

Llandaff Cathedral previously announced the appointment as a new Residentiary Canon.

There are other similarities. Both bishops have an appetite for getting passionately involved in liberalising the Church. June with her megaphone and Joanna with her microphone using the Church to push their sex and gender agendas.

Following the import of the Church of England's first transgender priest, jolly June has imported the Chair of Modern Church to be Canon Chancellor of Llandaff Cathedral.

Among the Vice Presidents of Modern Church are the Most Revd Barry Morgan, former Archbishop of Wales and the Very Revd Prof Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. Say no more!

Modern Church promotes liberal theology with resources on marriage, sexuality & gender identity. Right up June's street!

The whole armour of God has become redundant for anyone who wants to succeed in the Church in Wales. All that is needed is a rainbow scarf and knickers.

Church in Wales in denial

Church in Wales bishops

The duplicity of Church in Wales bishops knows no bounds.

Responding to concerns expressed by Anglican Essentials Wales in the Church Times in advance of their inaugural conference in March, a spokesperson for the Church in Wales said that it was “committed to proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God, and this includes both a call to personal faith and commitment, and bearing witness to God’s call to justice and peace in society.

“All major policy decisions are, and have been, taken either by its Governing Body, which is made up of elected representatives from across the Province, or in consultation with it. This is a fair and democratic process, representative of the whole church, and we believe it is the best place for people to express their views and seek to bring in change.

“We do not recognise the criticism expressed by Anglican Essentials Wales as a fair description of our common life.”

'Proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God' in the Church in Wales has become how the bishops presume to interpret the message.

In the interests of 'democracy' they have embraced “a thoroughly this-worldly message” instead of upholding orthodox faith and practice.

Far from representing 'the whole church' as claimed, traditional Anglicanism is not officially represented. In an appalling breach of faith, commitments given to secure the ordination of women were abandoned when Bishop David Thomas retired.

Faithful worshippers have been left with nothing while overtures continue to be made to high profile minority groups who claim to be persecuted while enjoying their privileged status with access to special chaplaincies.

Movements such as Mae Cymru claim to be "a group of people with a vision of the Church in Wales as a community of God’s people where, regardless of gender, justice and equality prevail". That is exclusively on their terms.

'Gender, justice and equality' have become twisted. Love is everything so everything is permissible. But it is not agape, it is Eros, blatant sexual licence that has little if anything to do with the Gospel message.

Sad to say the ordination of women has proved to be nothing to do with equality. It is about power. Feminist power. Feminists demand equality. Equality demands equality 'regardless of gender'.

In the Church in Wales that means parity regardless of suitability, embracing everything LGBT+, advocating transgenderism and working towards same sex marriage even though the innovation failed to win the necessary votes at the Governing Body of the Church in Wales.

The bench did not accept the 'democratic' decision against same sex marriage in church after a heavily weighted discussion in favour. Instead they decided that more work was needed to implement their decision, using their Governing Body as a tool, drawing participants into heresy. 

In my entry Another farcical Church in Wales 'consultation'? I outlined how the bench of bishops use consultations to cherry pick comments they find favourable while binning those which fail to accord with their predetermined agenda. Their idea of democracy.

Small wonder that the Church in Wales is in terminal decline. The latest press release shows that Wales' struggling rural churches look to tourism for survival. The churches will be fitted out with sleeping stalls and 'services built for cycling'. Services for the faithful are no longer required.

The Church in Wales has entered into dialogue with followers of Witchcraft, Atheism, Peace Mala, Hare Krishna, Sufi, Islam, Yungdrung Bön, Judaism and Druids. Only orthodox Anglicans are regarded as beyond the pale. Unworthy of consideration because they remain true to the historic Apostolic faith in common with Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

That is the 'fair and democratic process' of the Church in Wales.

Caption corner 18 January, 2019

  Sign adopted for St Davids 'Parsonage Emergencies'  Source: Church in Wales

Other suggestions for the use of this sign are invited. Publishable contributions will appear under comments.

Absent bishop

Bishop Richard Pain                                                                           Source: Twitter @ChurchTimes

Over the weekend a Church Times tweet reappeared with curious regularity suggesting a possible early end to the saga of the long absent bishop of Monmouth, Richard Pain.

Glowing tributes from the bishop's supporters after the story broke along with current publicity suggest a concerted effort to reinstate the bishop as the victim of unfounded allegations.

No details of his absence were made known until an article appeared in the Western Mail forcing the story into the open and ending a curious silence which gave rise to much speculation and damaging rumours.

Given the almost saintly qualities poured on him by his supporters it is difficult to imagine  how any possible grievance could have been raised against such a bishop, a procedure which is not used lightly.

According to the Church Times the bishop is "spoken well of by his flock", presumably following a statement by 'six area deans and eight ministry area leaders in the diocese' who described their bishop as "a deeply kind and caring pastor to his clergy" and "much loved and respected not only among the clergy of the diocese but also amongst the lay members of the church from across the diocese in the parishes and communities amongst which he has served."

Appointed assessors 'exonerated' the bishop of unspecified wrongdoing but he remains absent at the archbishop's request while mediation is in process.

The bishop of Monmouth along with the bishop of St Asaph and bishop of Swansea and Brecon (now archbishop) were together at St Michael's College, Llandaff 1982-83.

The bishops of Swansea and Brecon, Monmouth and St Asaph                Photo: South Wales Argus

To avoid any suspicion of an old boy's network in operation, clarification of the grievances made against the bishop of Monmouth is needed to eliminate any doubt and restore confidence if he returns to episcopal ministry.

Anglican Essentials Wales

Source: Anglican Essential Wales

From their web site: "Anglican Essentials Wales is a national movement of lay and ordained Welsh Anglicans united in their common commitment to upholding orthodox faith and practice. Drawn from across the various traditions of the Anglican Church we are dedicated to the propagation of the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ in a post-Christian Wales.

Our purpose is to:

• provide a forum, a rallying point, and an identity for all "orthodox Anglicans" in the Church in Wales
• provide a voice for this constituency to the leadership of the Church in Wales, to other Anglican constituencies, and to the world

In the rapidly changing culture of Wales, where the Christian Church has moved from central to sidelined in half a lifetime, Christians need to present the unchanging gospel of a Saviour who is the same yesterday, today and forever. How should the Church in Wales attempt this task?  What should change and what shouldn’t?  This will be focus of our 2019 conference on Missional Anglicanism."

Details of the inaugural conference may be found here.

Thanks to regular commentator Whamab for this link.

Caption corner 10 January 2019

Source: Twitter

As usual captions will appear under Comments.

Postscript [22/01/2019]

Finding faith

In this video published on Nov 8, 2018 the Bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy, was the first to testify in a series of videos that describe how senior members of the St Davids diocesan clergy "came to discover the faith that sustains them."

When Penberthy was elected the former Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan said of the 'election', “This is an historic moment for the Church in Wales as it hasn’t been possible to elect a woman bishop until now. But what is really important to stress is that Joanna wasn’t elected because she was a woman but because she was deemed to be the best person to be a bishop. She has considerable gifts – she is an excellent preacher and communicator, can relate to all sections of the community, is a warm, charismatic, caring priest and someone who is full of joy."

The election was widely regarded as a political fix.

In her December 2018 Ad Clerum bishop Penberthy wrote:

"We are not called to persuade people of the truth of our particular religious

opinions so as to feel better as we surround ourselves with those who agree with us. We

are called to be communities of flawed people, open to the healing love of God that we

might live that truthful open-eyed healing love admidst [sic] “the present form of this world

that is passing away.” (I Cor 7:31)."

The bishops have certainly surrounded themselves with people who agree with them - to the exclusion of faithful Anglicans who were promised an honoured place in the Church but abandoned after archbishop Morgan and his bench sitters achieved their objective of turning the Church in Wales into a club for liberal, like minded people.

Contrary to what bishop Penberthy claims, there is only one way to the Father, through Jesus Christ, not through other gods, paganism and witchcraft.

Jesus charged His disciples, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Today, Anglican bishops write their own version of the Gospel message.

Postscript [09/01/2019]

Church of England bishops out of touch with clergy:

Oxford diocese in meltdown as clergy reject bishops' view on sexuality

Untenable

The bishops of Bangor, St Davids, Monmouth, Swansea & Brecon (Archbishop), St Asaph and Llandaff .                                                Source: Church in Wales

As the Monmouth diocese saga drags on, the position of the bench of bishops and the bishop of Monmouth in particular is becoming increasingly untenable.

‘Show people the power of our faith’ said the Archbishop of Wales at his enthronement (pictured) when he challenged churches to rehabilitate and refresh how they explained the Gospel message. But being a Christian, he said, was not about just going to church.

According to the archbishop, "young people would high-five the prophet Job and queue for selfies with Jesus if they properly understood Christianity".

Referring to the witness of young people he observed: "They are keenly aware of the need for social and economic justice, the stewardship of creation, and equality of opportunity; they are equally aware of the need for a society free from any form of prejudice rooted in anything which is part of the individual identity, gender, race, origin, religion or orientation of anyone."

The 'progressives' gospel.

Generally young people no longer go to church. Consequently the average age in dwindling congregations is often around 70 with few if any families left to provide continuity. The Church has become irrelevant to society.

The message reaching the people is not one of faith but one of impotence.

A recent article in the South Wales Argus, Bishop of Monmouth Richard Pain has not carried out official work for six months, was met with complete indifference and resulted in only a few derogatory comments about bishops and the Church.

The article appeared in the Argus after "Parishioners" raised "serious concerns about what is going on within the Diocese of Monmouth."

Bishop Pain's supporters want him to be reinstated in apparent ignorance of the nature of the complaints made against him. 

Contrary to the views of sources who have remained silent, the bishop has been eulogised with threats by his supporters to withhold funds due to the diocese unless the bishop returns to duties, thus prejudging the outcome of a mediation process.

Of one thing we can be sure. The departure of the bench of bishops from the true Gospel message has rendered their position as ambassadors for Christ completely untenable.

Caption corner 2 January 2019

Toronto Anglican Bishop Kevin Robertson marries his homosexual partner in cathedral Bishop Robertson (left) with Mohan Sharma and
Bishop Susan Bell of the Diocese of Niagara (Photo) Source: Virtue Online

As usual publishable captions will appear as comments.

2018 Top Ten

Celtic Bishops visit the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome.                                                                                                        Source: Twitter

The entry When in Rome topped the list of reads in 2018.

                   Former giants of the Church in Wales before bishops were replaced by 'prefects'.
Five held Oxford Firsts in Theology.     Source: Anglican Misfit

In a sense When in Rome typifies the direction of the Church in Wales (CinW) today under bishops who possibly would have have made it to area dean or perhaps archdeacon in years past and two who would not have been ordained.

A week long jolly in Rome for the entire bench for a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity after Anglican bishops deliberately imperiled any move to unity, widening the gap between orthodox and progressives by Renouncing the Faith.

The bishops of the CinW along with the Church of England bishops thumbed their noses at the Roman Catholic and Holy Orthodox churches when they warned of the consequences for unity of admitting women to the priesthood.

Sat at the table with the Archbishop of Wales is the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church [1st from left]. The archbishop was so impressed with the credentials of the Primus that he would invite him to speak at the September 2018 meeting of the CinW Governing Body in favour of same sex marriage, widening the gap between orthodox and progressives even further.

Not giving a fig for Christian unity other than on their own terms and openly promoting behaviour contrary to scripture and tradition, it would be bad enough for one bishop of the CinW to have turned up in Rome, but all six!

No 2 on the list, Holy smoke commented on the report which described Llandaff Cathedral as "a wonderful place with committed clergy and staff. It has a healthy attendance at services with many young people and a wealth of skills and experience in the congregation." Despite the glowing report the Llandaff saga rumbles on along with frequent expressions of unease with domestic affairs in Bangor. Monmouth is currently under the spotlight while the institution continues to paddle along, apparently unconcerned.

The ten blog entries with the most views in 2018 were:

When in Rome...! 17 January 2018, 145 comments

Holy smoke 30 May 2018, 124 comments

The cost of change 14 February 2018, 70 comments

Church in Wales Ministry Areas 20 January 2018, 53 comments

Unholy row in Diocese of Monmouth 22 December 2018, 29 comments

Wimmin called to ministry 28 February 2018, 51 comments

Yr eglwys a'r Gymraeg: 'Dechreuad' ond mwy i'w wneud 29 January 2018, 56 comments

The Monmouth saga 24 December 2018, 34 comments

Church in Wales bench of bishops in renewed push for same sex marriage 2 September 2018, 36 comments

What a gay couple of days! 19 April 2018, 56 comments

Again typifying the direction of the CinW today, from The cost of change, No 3 on the list, their view of the world beneath them

View enjoyed by Church in Wales Representative Body staff                                     Source: Twitter

Happy New Year!