Preparations are underway to celebrate what has become one of the major festivals in the Church in Wales, Gay Pride week, 'giving a voice' to those who claim to be persecuted.
As Archbishop Barry Morgan said way back in 2008: "There are a huge number of gay clergy and gay partnered clergy" adding that "there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be bishops and they will be. We’re not arguing about if, we’re just arguing about when."
Now that the Church in Wales has appointed an openly lesbian bishop, claiming to be persecuted while running the show has a hollow ring. It is more about tactical advantage than persecution as outlined in Would I Lie to You?
As part of their 2020 LGBT+ campaign the diocese of Llandaff is launching their first ever LGBT+ prayer writing competition to celebrate LGBT+ History Month 2020: "We’re inviting you to write an original prayer based around the theme Power of Prayer. Your prayer could feature in our forthcoming LGBT+ prayer book and may be spoken at the Faith Tent Eucharist at Pride Cymru."
The diocesan press release invites readers who may be looking for inspiration to watch the above Prayer for Pride video. In fact it is another propaganda tool claiming discrimination while twisting the meaning of love.
News from Wales has announced a special service in North Wales "celebrating diversity and the legendary Ladies of Llangollen" which takes place at St Collen’s Church in Llangollen on Saturday 22nd February, including a blessing of the tomb of the Ladies of Llangollen.
According to the report: "The service is timely following a recent report issued by the bishops of the Church of England on same-sex marriages. This report has hurt, disappointed and discouraged many LGBT Christians...this service will send out a powerful message of inclusion, hope and welcome to all LGBT people across the land."
That is, inclusion, hope and welcome for an alleged oppressed minority but exclusion, no hope and goodbye to Anglicans who are among the majority of Christians who remain faithful to the teaching of the Apostolic Church.
Following the statement by the Church of England's House of Bishops that for Christians marriage is the lifelong union between a man and a woman and remains the proper context for sexual activity, trendy bishops started to break ranks, distancing themselves from the guidance.
Quick off the mark, the bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, issued a statement saying that she was “deeply frustrated and saddened” at the guidance. "I recognise that it has fanned into flame unnecessary pain and distress and I wish to acknowledge my part in that", she said.
Again using love to justify her stance Treweek added, "The word ‘love’ emanating from the generous love of God is one that needs to be heard and lived, and I am extremely sorry that it has not been heard in the publication of the House of Bishops".
In the House of Commons civil partnered vicar's son Ben Bradshaw questioned the Second Church Estates Commissioner on the guidance. Alleging that the Church "still treats its LGBT+ members as second-class Christians", he told the House that "serious questions" will be asked about the Church of England's established status if it stands by its position on opposite-sex civil partnerships.
Justifying her enthronement as the first openly gay bishop in the Church in Wales the bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, said, “God has given us a world teeming with difference and diversity".
That is their own diversity, soon to be enshrined in the forthcoming Church in Wales LGBT+ prayer book.
It is not difficult to identify the real second-class Christians in the Anglican Church.
What is the point of getting people to write prayers for an LGBT+ prayer book with the hope of having them used in the Faith Tent? When the people of Judah had turned away from doing what God had required of them, the prophet Isaiah, speaking on God's behalf, said, "When you hold out your hands to me in prayer, I shall turn away my eyes. Though you offer countless prayers, I will not listen." It is high time that the Church in Wales started teaching people to listen to and to follow God's will, not lets make it up as we go along.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I can suggest a prayer which will not be included in their book.
Father God, because you love this world so much that you sent your Son to die an agonizing death to bring all who accept him home to your kingdom; hasten the demise of the Church in Wales where it seeks to obliterate the message of your Son and his holy apostles, and to replace it with a gospel of death. Send your holy angel Michael and all the angels under his command to oppose these messengers of destruction, and so, may the pure and unadulterated gospel of Jesus shine in an ever darkening world. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Similarly, what is the matter with the Church of England's bishops that they cannot stand proud of two thousand years of Christian teaching and tradition. The Church is called to be counter-cultural, so what is so wrong with saying what society doesn't want to hear? It was not only Rachel Treweek, who adopted the apologetic stance - other English bishops joined her.
As for Ben Bradshaw, I would be prefer to belong to a Church that stood shoulder to shoulder with Christ; than to belong to one that quaked in its boots every time disestablishment raised its head. I am sure that the silent majority would agree.
Seymour
Amen to all that brother.
DeleteA difficulty for an 'established' church in what's now an overwhelmingly secular society is that when a conflict emerges between being 'Church' and being 'England', being England tends to prevail.
DeleteBut if that should mean ceasing to 'be Church', what's the point of the institution?
Galatians chapter 1
ReplyDeleteBob
"A forthcoming LGBT prayer book!" Who dreamt this up. The LGBT community rightly seeks inclusion - which is already the norm in most churches - and then somebody in the hierarchy creates division by proposing an LGBT prayer book! What madness! How is this meant to support unity and inclusivity? Whoever made this decision is doing a grave disservice to the C in W which is already in dire straits. This damages even further the little credibility it has left.
ReplyDeleteNemesis
The faith deviant is now being spread openly among Church in Wales schoolchildren attending St. Teilo's high school, obviously with the blessing of the bench.
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/TheGatheringCardiff/?__tn__=kCH-R&eid=ARD1_2PaDeBTWgddbsINr-YOQF-zmCjr9chwNvhlo5iYzfT-07MyAPuFsEMYnolXKfZVXlws2hnuGqOJ&hc_ref=ART10vb6ssEKWdN63VqYxNwGaMeP054GYOBkDnkFzwLW35t1iQNv1JlYnphw7BUO_Rs&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARAG1kpM9ex4YByfu_ZqCEzm6Bk8x23Kxt8IEgC8bMyHi4GbJ3_xSAQApcUT_aEsZyxZ6yNVr1_3LhrCiDSDnZYGrcTkW-A1_t13eXUTOJEgaLpQRvRZpUNBwmnQmv6PuMyZZ6ze7eLg_31tD6E64oR6CulxRpisNIyIlSMam40hIrl-4HNEy2VMNXpzaXvF35tAaDGwC3obbrF_nluH9GuQtluan4vxD-ezt27VzUknN6zmMxQCRvGtXzzNdKLVzVtFGCVI-wVmO3IIorpkpiGmpuDnpZyrWYcU4ezT2vD1SE5hw3NDA4oElyLT49iTOxVvoH3s3Fm-IOC5PlSzILdyuITwbtvFXOK4xMsGu8k90nbX
Quite so Lux Et Veritas. See previous entries, Building bridges https://ancientbritonpetros.blogspot.com/2018/09/building-bridges.html and The big lie https://ancientbritonpetros.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-big-lie.html
DeleteBob Woods, No. 36 of 46, on the Pinc list 2018 "played a key voluntary role at St Teilo’s Church in Wales School in Llanedeyrn, promoting respect for difference. He has been an inspirational role model for young people which has given them the confidence to be frank about their sexuality and the confidence to say so in public and amongst their friends and family."
St Augustine's Rumney has strong links with St Teilo's. The vicar is in a same sex civil partnership. He recently thumbed his nose to the CofE's latest pastoral guidelines on civil partnerships by prominently sporting rainbow cufflinks at the consecration of the first lesbian bishop in the Church in Wales. See On the rocks https://ancientbritonpetros.blogspot.com/2020/01/on-rocks.html
Do the parents know this LGBT proselytising and propaganda pushing is taking place in what is supposed to be a Christian high school?
DeleteHave these gay lobbyists tried taking their roadshow to the local Islamic, Jewish or Catholic schools?
If my daughter was still in school there I would remove her immediately.
"the hierarchy creates division by proposing an LGBT prayer book"; but we already have LGBT services in Bangor diocese. Of course there is no separate service for those who want a Prayer Book Eucharist or Evensong, and no-one dare even publicise who is celebrating at the cathedral in case all those traditionalists turn up with their misogynistic attitudes!
DeleteMight I suggest that people post use an online app such as Tiny.cc to shorten those horrendously long web addresses to a manageable length?
ReplyDeleteWhy?
DeleteJust copy/cut & paste.