Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI RIP

 

May Angels lead you into paradise;

may the Martyrs receive you at your coming

and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem.

May a choir of Angels receive you,

and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.

Christmas Greeting 2022

Gari Melchers, The Nativity, 1891

 

My depiction of the nativity this year sums up the general mood and suffering of many.

Nevertheless, with hope,

Very Best Wishes for a Happy Christmas and Peaceful New Year

Modern Britain

That it should come to this in Great Britain today. A woman is arrested for silent prayer on a public street. 

Have police officers nothing better to do? We didn't have any of this nonsense before police constables were elevated to police officers.

Meanwhile in Scotland 'changing gender' is to be made easier so that a man can self identify as a woman and enter women only facilities.

The country is going mad.

Theology today

Source: Church in Wales Diocesan press releases

News from Monmouth: "Bishop Cherry, in consultation with Dean Ian, has appointed the Revd Dr Manon Ceridwen James as Honorary Canon Theologian at St Woolos’ Cathedral." Bishop Cherry is 'delighted' that Manon has accepted this invitation. No surprise there!

Theology in the Church in Wales today is not what it was. Today, verses in the Bible are twisted to suit secular circumstances or ignored altogether so it is not difficult to understand that the same sex partnered bishop is delighted with her new appointment. 

 Two previous blog entries, Misogyny, repression and stigmatisation and Par for the course drew attention to Canon James' book on Welsh feminist theology Women, Identity and Religion in Wales.

It claimed to offer "significant and original insights into women, Welsh identity and religion":

"Women, Identity and Religion in Wales by Manon Ceridwen James, a Canon at the Cathedral, is the first comprehensive study of its kind from a present-day perspective. At the heart of the book are conversations with thirteen women whose lives and experiences reveal how women facing misogyny, repression and stigmatisation are able to respond with resilience and humour." 

A regular critic of this blog commented under my previous entry that bishop Cherry is  a "focus for unity and you [another commentator] would do well to apply the 'by their fruits' axiom in regards to assessing her ministry."

The previous paragraph of the biblical text was conveniently ignored: "Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."

Defender of the Faith

King Charles III signs an oath to uphold the security of the Church in Scotland during the Accession Council at St James’s Palace, London,
where King Charles III is formally proclaimed monarch.   Source: Premier Christianity/PA Images /Alamy Stock Photo

The Tablet reports that King Charles III recently heard testimony of a Catholic priest who escaped 'abduction and death threats' in his native Nigeria from where there are regular reports of abduction and killings. 

Googling 'abduction and death threats in Nigeria' immediately delivers Christian Student Running from Death Threats in Nigeria. There are links to other stories of persecution, particularly of Christians. Muslim militants who perpetrate these atrocities are often referred to as ‘bandits’, much like those found guilty of the sexual exploitation of 1400 children in the Rotherham from 1997 to 2013 were described as of Asian or Pakistani origin.

It is surprising, therefore, to read again that whilst King Charles III is due to inherit the title ‘Defender of the Faith’, a clause will be added to his coronation oath in order to recognise that he serves all religious faiths and not just the Church of England.

No purpose can be served by inserting a clause to ‘reflect modern, multicultural Britain’ if it embraces an ideology that is capable of creating so much misery for so many.

Charles has already sworn an oath as Defender of the Faith when he was formally proclaimed King Charles III in September.

Despite the confusion spread by woke bishops the faith of the Church of England is the Christian faith which teaches that there is only one way to the Father.

Either we believe that or we do not.

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS ‘MASSIVE SOCIAL REENGINEERING’

From C4M

 Dear marriage supporter,

Redefining marriage to include same-sex couples constitutes a “massive reengineering of our social life” by the state, an influential Christian scholar has said.

Kevin DeYoung, a pastor, theologian and popular author, wrote that redefining marriage has a huge impact across swathes of areas because of the gender-neutral assumptions it enshrines. Same-sex marriage falsely assumes “the indistinguishability of gender in parenting, the relative unimportance of procreation in marriage, and the near infinite flexibility as to what sorts of structures and habits lead to human flourishing”.

Same-sex ‘marriage’ enshrines in law a “faulty” view of marriage, “one that says marriage is essentially a demonstration of commitment sexually expressed”, DeYoung writes.

But marriage isn’t just about commitment and sexual expression. It is about the union of a man and a woman, and is a pre-political institution which predates the state and exists independently of it. The state recognises this marriage relationship and gives it legal standing, “for the common good and for the well-being of society”. Foremost in its purpose in doing so is the “well-being of the child” which is the natural fruit of the marital union, for: “Kids do better with a mom and a dad. Communities do better when husbands and wives stay together.”

The problem is that by expanding the definition of marriage, the whole institution is weakened as the meaning of marriage is changed: “same-sex unions cannot be accepted as marriage without devaluing all marriages, because the only way to embrace same-sex partnerships as marriage is by changing what marriage means altogether.”

DeYoung speaks wise words. Too many people, whether Christian or not, slip into the trap of thinking that while they are personally opposed to same-sex marriage, they ought in fairness to support the ‘right’ of gay people to marry one another. But this fails to understand that redefining marriage weakens all marriages and thereby harms us all.

At C4M we urge those who know same-sex marriage to be wrong to have the courage of their convictions and insist that the definition of marriage should not be changed.

If you would like to support us financially, you can do so using the button below.

PLEASE DONATE

Yours faithfully,

Colin Hart

Chairman

Coalition for Marriage (C4M)

Christianity on the wane in England and Wales

Homage of the Archbishop of Canterbury at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. Source: Royal UK

The latest release from the ONS Census 2021 reveals  that "for the first time fewer than half of people in England and Wales describe themselves as Christian."

The ONS release emphasises that the religion question is voluntary but 94.0% (56.0 million) of usual residents answered the question in 2021, an increase from 92.9% (52.1 million) in 2011. 

“No religion” was the second most common response, increasing by 12.0 percentage points to 37.2% (22.2 million) from 25.2% (14.1 million) in 2011.

Wales had a greater decrease in people reporting their religion as “Christian” (14.0 percentage point decrease, from 57.6% in 2011 to 43.6% in 2021) and increase in “No religion” (14.5 percentage point increase, from 32.1% in 2011 to 46.5% in 2021) compared with England and Wales overall.

Following my previous entry a commentator trolled: "Another possibility is the infantile and derogatory nature of the thoroughly unChristian contributors to this site. The rest of us, however few in number, do at least try faithfully to address the injunction to love one another and leave the judging to God."

So what is a Christian? What is love? We are made a Christian at our baptism when we pledge to turn away from sin, reject evil and remain faithful to Christ to the end of our life.

Many of us are challenged for being unchristian because we do not accept the secularisation of Christianity. "All you need is love" say revisionists using the word synonymously for same sex relations despite the various forms of love referred to in the Bible.

Church going has declined because for many it has ceased to have any of the 'otherness' of old. Others continue to attend from habit or to seek affirmation of their life style based on the claim that 'all you need is love'.

The issue is coming to a head.

Warning bells are sounding as the coronation of  Charles III approaches. The King's coronation must not be 'woke-fest celebration of so-called modern Britain', former minister Sir Edward Leigh told the Commons. The event must be a 'spiritual one', he said. 

Concerns had been expressed following an interview in 2015 whether Charles would be 'Defender of Faith' or 'Defender of The Faith'. This was the response of the then Prince of Wales:

"No, I didn’t describe myself as a defender: I said I would rather be seen as ‘Defender of Faith’, all those years ago, because, as I tried to describe, I mind about the inclusion of other people’s faiths and their freedom to worship in this country. And it’s always seemed to me that, while at the same time being Defender of The Faith, you can also be protector of faiths. It was very interesting that 20 years or more after I mentioned this – which has been frequently misinterpreted – the Queen, in her Jubilee address to the faith leaders, said that as far as the role of the Church of England is concerned, it is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country. I think in that sense she was confirming what I was really trying to say – perhaps not very well – all those years ago. And so I think you have to see it as both. You have to come from your own Christian standpoint – in the case I have as Defender of the Faith – and ensuring that other people’s faiths can also be practised."

The desire to protect freedom of beliefs is laudable but contradictory in part given the nature of some 'religions'. Under Article 9 of the Human Rights Act 'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.'

One has only to read the appeal from Release International to see how Christians are persecuted in Muslim countries. Blasphemy laws are used to persecute Christians in Pakistan while Islamic terrorism is rife in Africa.

One cannot justify defending a political ideology that does not respect the rights of others and mandates the death sentence for apostates.

Breaking the trend in the census results apart from the increase in “No religion”, there were increases in the number of people who described themselves as “Muslim” (3.9 million, 6.5% in 2021, up from 2.7 million, 4.9% in 2011) and “Hindu” (1.0 million, 1.7% in 2021, up from 818,000, 1.5% in 2011).

In 2015 a survey found that Islam was the fastest growing religion in the UK while the Church of England was in decline. "In 1983, the number of people following Islam stood at 0.6% of the population compared to a little under 5% in 2014." It needs no encouragement

In the past, leaders in the UK and in the USA have claimed that Islam is a religion of peace despite all the evidence to the contrary. Many in the Anglican Church follow the same line.

The BBC has already taken the lead in promoting Islam by appointing Muslims as Religion Editors. If this spills over to the coronation of King Charles the Church of England may as well shut up shop now along with the Church in Wales where the 2021 census showed that Wales had a greater decrease in people reporting their religion as “Christian” (14.0 percentage point decrease, from 57.6% in 2011 to 43.6% in 2021).

Postscript [01.12.2022]

From Christian Post: Christians are being butchered in Africa. What are we going to do about it?

"The number of Christians who paid with their lives for their faith was 5,898 in 2022, which is up from 4,761 in 2021, according to the Open Doors USA organization.

"Out of that number, around 4,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria by Islamist groups, such as Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, and Ansaru, which teach that Christians should either convert to Islam or die."

What are we going to do about it? 

Religious and political leaders can stop endorsing Islam's claim that it is a religion of peace.

Congregational Catholics

Cardinal Reinhard Marx and fellow bishops from Germany meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Nov. 17, 2022 | Vatican Media. Source: CNA

At the Collation & Installation of the new Dean of Llandaff, the Rev Canon Richard Peers, the retiring bishop, June Osbourne, repeated the claim that "the Church in Wales is part of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church", a claim rejected by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches following the unilateral action of some Anglicans to ordain women to the priesthood.

 The bishop invited the Dean-designate to make the following declaration:

"I do solemnly declare my belief in the Faith which is revealed in Holy Scripture and set forth in 
the Catholic Creeds and to which the historic formularies, namely the Thirty-nine Articles of 
Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons as
published in 1662, bear witness; and in public prayer and the administration of the Sacraments,

I will use only those forms of service which are allowed by lawful authority, and none other. And
I hereby undertake to be bound by the Constitution of the Church in Wales, and to accept,
submit to, and carry out any sentence or judgement which may at any time be passed upon me
by the Archbishop, a Diocesan Bishop or any Court or the Tribunal of the Church in Wales."

Somewhat removed from the faith of one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Dean of Llandaff is in a same sex relationship living openly with his partner. The campaigning bishop of Monmouth is also living openly with her partner in a same sex relationship while the Archbishop of Wales is a re-married divorcee.

How can this be? 

Anglican beliefs allow local discretion under The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral :

1. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the revealed Word of God.

2. The Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian Faith.

3. The two Sacraments,–Baptism and the Supper of the Lord,–ministered with unfailing use of Christ’s words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him.

4. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the unity of His Church.

'Locally adapted' opens a can of worms. The liberal agenda took hold in the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA, now TEC). In 2003 Anglican provinces declare 'impaired' or 'broken' relationship with ECUSA following the consecration of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay priest to be consecrated a bishop in a major Christian denomination, as bishop of New Hampshire.

Within a generation liberal revisionists have taken control of many Anglican provinces. The Church in Wales has become a joke among orthodox Anglicans and the wider Christian fellowship. The Church of England teeters on the edge of disaster as bishops push their latest deception, Living in Love and Faith.

Liberal provinces face extinction while Anglicanism elsewhere thrives. In the USA, Alarm Bells as Episcopal Church Decline Accelerates but nothing deters the revisionists. If at first they don't succeed they try, try and try again until they have their own way.

For those Anglicans who swam the Tiber the same ominous signs are appearing as German bishops meet with Pope Francis amid concern over Synodal Way

The president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, said he will not deny blessings for same-sex couples.

The Synodal Way "is a controversial discussion process underway in Germany with the declared aim of addressing the Church’s clerical sexual abuse crisis by debating and passing resolutions on whether, or how, Catholicism needs to change (“develop”) its teaching – and the Catholic Church therefore change its approach – to questions of sexuality and the exercise of power, including doctrine and the sacraments."

The Church of England Synod voted to ordain women to the priesthood and to the episcopate. The Governing Body of the Church in Wales followed suit. The Church of England is seeking to emulate the Church in Wales, blessing same sex partnerships as a precursor to same sex marriage in Church. Disaster looms closer.

Faith by committee is not the faith of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Ultimately it has led to Jesus being depicted as a "rosy-cheeked Christ with breasts, beard and make-up jumping in front of a rainbow".

As Tony Barber wrote in the Financial Times yesterday, "The American priest and author Andrew Greeley once said: “The opposite of Catholic is not Protestant. The opposite of Catholic is sectarian.” But just as secular politics in western countries is a battleground between mutually suspicious conservatives and liberals, so Greeley’s appeal to respect differences of religious opinion is drowning in a doctrinal struggle for control of the Roman Catholic Church."

Postscript [04.12.2022]

Greek City Times The Ordination of Women in the Orthodox Church: Revealing The Truth

Thirty years on...

Dawn French playing the Rev Geraldine Granger, Vicar of Dibley, who dons a joke bishop's hat
 in a 2013 Comic Relief sketch.  Source: Mail Online

A tweet from one of the Church of England's celebrity priests indicates that thirty years on from the approval by General Synod of the final legislation for women to become priests, a third of all those who are in ordained ministry are women and 31 women have been made bishops.

The Rev Kate Bottley along with the fictional Vicar of Dibley are about as far removed from the traditional view of priesthood as we could have possibly imagined 30 years ago but they fit in perfectly with the aims of Women and the Church. Their 'charitable' objectives are purely secular -

"The promotion of gender equality and diversity with the Church of England as experienced by both lay and ordained people for the public benefit by:

1. The elimination of discrimination on grounds of gender;

2. Advancing education and raising awareness in gender equality and diversity;

3. Conducting or commissioning research on equality and diversity issues and publishing the result to  the public; and

4. Cultivating a sentiment in favour of gender equality and diversity."

The secular aims of gender justice, equality and inclusion are far removed from the 'otherness' enjoyed by churchgoers thirty years ago. They have split communities and friendships as false notions of equality have replaced theology. 

More 'diversity' has resulted in bishops and archbishops abandoning traditional understanding of biblical teaching which has been handed down over two millennia.

The Five Guiding Principles which provide guidance for candidates for ordination in the Church of England have been consistently undermined by WATCH under the mask of ‘institutionalised discrimination’, something the absent bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy, regularly complained of.

When pressed to describe the alleged discrimination the best the bishop could come up with was that some people disagreed with her. That precisely sums up the attitude of WATCH. 

The same tactics have been adopted by LGBT complainers to accuse anyone who disagrees with them of discrimination and homophobia with no evidence whatsoever, something with which readers of the blog will be very familiar.

All of which has led to blessing same sex couples with same sex marriage on the horizon, which is driving Western Anglicanism further away from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of which they claim to be part of in such as the Five Guiding Principles.

It is predicted that the Church of England will be extinct by the 2060's and the Church in Wales well before that.  Equally dead!

Remembrance Sunday

For the Fallen

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

We will remember them."

The long grass

One of four questions asked at the last meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales was:

 "Following the recommendation in the Harries Report, Ministry Areas have been introduced across the Province. Also in the report was the recommendation to reduce the number of Dioceses. What progress has been made with this?"

Answer given by the Bishop of Monmouth 

"Thank you for this question, Cathryn.  The Harries Review report does indeed make reference to the number of dioceses, but its references to the reduction in their number are predicated on an initial period of closer working together, amalgamation of committees and a move to three administrative centres.  Only when that has been operating for some years (the report suggests three) should a judgement be made as to whether or not to reduce the number of dioceses. 

The Harries report also makes the good point that any move to reduce the number of dioceses would consume a lot of time and energy when we should, arguably, be occupied with more important matters.  The Church in Wales Review Implementation Group, which advised on the implementation of the Harries report’s recommendations, also considered this not to be an area of high priority. 

But, your question Cathryn is a very helpful prompt to remind us about the Harries report’s recommendations about closer diocesan and provincial working and the streamlining of structural administration.  We are considering this in our discussions relating to the 10-year plan, but I think it is fair to say that we could have made more progress in this area over the last ten years.  There are some instances of good inter-diocesan working and sharing of resources but, of course, more could be done.  I would hope that your question will encourage us at both provincial and diocesan levels to look more urgently at what resources can be pooled and administrative functions shared.  It is, after all, a matter of exercising good stewardship and making the best use of the resources God has given us.

So, basically Cathryn, no substantive work has been undertaken to reduce the number of dioceses, but I am hopeful that we can strive for more progress on the integration of administrative structures and operations.  Whether this leads us towards a reduction in the number of dioceses is something we will discover."

This recommendation was referred to in Area Ministry: the Business Solution dated 24 September 2012.

From Section 15 of the Church in Wales Review:

"The present number and shape of dioceses may not be ideal. If we

were starting again we would have three. However, the present number and

configuration works and we think that the Church should continue, at least for the

next four years, with the present six dioceses. ... These recommendations should be reviewed after three years, with a view to evaluating the effectiveness of the change. At that point a judgement should be made about whether or not the church is best served by six dioceses with three administrative centres, or three dioceses. If the latter, we believe there should still be the same number of bishops as at present, namely seven."

Ten years later another punt into the long grass with senior and administrative staff increasing to minister to less and less members.

Pied Piper of Oxford

The bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, has decided to ditch his baptismal vows and turn from Christ following the example of the former archbishop of Wales.

Other bishops have swiftly followed. No doubt more will join them as they follow the herd listening to the simpering stories of 'suffering' peddled by Jayne Ozanne and the Ozanne Foundation.

The Church in Wales is a prime example of what happens when Anglicans abandon their baptismal vows. Blessings of same sex unions will soon be followed by marriage in church of same sex couples when the bishops have bent the minds of the puppets on the Governing Body. 

The Scottish Episcopal Church and the The Episcopal Church of the United States have trod the same path. All are in decline.

The revisionists could not care less for the pain and suffering of those, often cradle Anglicans, who have been effectively excluded from the church for keeping their baptismal vows.

Secularism is killing Anglicanism.

'Love' and 'Hate'

It is a sad reflection of the Church in Wales that anybody who attempts to uphold traditional teaching in the Church can be described as 'hateful'.

The self styled Mthr Rosematy Hill SMMS, a long time LGBT promoter, recently had her same sex partnership blessed. Of her charity she will pray at Mass for those she apparently regards as sinners for believing in the sanctity of marriage.

On Twitter she describes herself as "Vicar for Children, Family & Community in @EastCardiffMA  & School Priest in @StTeilos. Unashamedly LGBT+. She/Her. Students will not be followed back."

Police with Welsh Pride

Source: Twitter @PrideCymru

Children are unashamedly used in promoting the LGBT agenda. The tweeted photo on the left shows a shouldered child carrying  a rainbow police flag. The tweet promises treats to come; "From a dog show to drag story time, we can’t wait for you to stop by! 🐶👑"

 

Regular LGBT defence comes from @CommsGuyMatt who could well be mistaken for the Llandaff diocesan LGBT liaison officer, 

Complaining of homophobia himself he is not averse to mocking a critic of same sex blessings by reversing the gender to tweet 'Ooh she's angry! 😂'

One wonders why Llandaff diocese tolerates the use of official channels for private purposes but then  CommsGuyMatt is a member of bishop Osborne's 'Leadership Team', a bishop who has spent much of her episcopal ministry advancing the LGBT cause to the detriment of the Church. Something she has tried to perpetuate by the appointment a new same sex partnered dean to take office just before she retires.

Indoctrination: How Woke Conquered the Classroom

 

Calvin Robinson.

Nolights

This is the page returned on clicking the link below: 

"church in wales As-it-happens update ⋅ October 18, 2022

NEWS 

What does the Church believe?

The Church in Wales

The Church in Wales believes and proclaims the Good News of Jesus Christ, namely: that God is active and personal, a Father who cares for his ... "

It seemed most apt. 

The Church in Wales is in a mess, struggling to quantify its beliefs when its bishops have substituted secularism for the Christian faith as received.

The secular agenda of the bishops is leading their flock away from scripture and tradition by embracing secular trends that are at odds with traditional beliefs held by the majority of Anglicans around the world.

What the majority of Anglicans continue to believe has been rejected by the Church in Wales bishops in favour of woke secularism. The sanctity of marriage has been abandoned. Anything goes in the misuse of  the meaning of 'love'.

I have seen no 'Highlights' of the September 2022 meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales, hence 'Nolights' rather than 'Lowlights'. 

Elsewhere there was the announcement that "The Church in Wales will spend more than £100M of its capital reserves over the next decade to help its churches serve their communities more effectively." 

Throwing money around is not going to save the Church in Wales. The bishops need to get back to basics if they care anything for the souls of the faithful.

Postscript [31 Oct 2022]

Highlights - September 2022 Now available on the Church in Wales website.

The sinking ship

As 'Jolly June' Osborne prepares to sail off into the sunset on retirement she leaves behind a trail of discontent. There will be few tears spilt over her departure but many on the wreckage she leaves behind.

Thumbing her nose to scripture and tradition she has already set the scene for her successor by hastily installing a dean of her choice rather than letting the new bishop make the appointment. The new dean is a priest living openly in a same-sex partnership who was involved in some discontent over his involvement in the Percy affair during his time at Oxford.

He should fit in well, not only in the diocese but in the province which is foundering on the rocks of secularism following a string of political appointments.

In her long running battle with the former dean the bishop was forced to face allegations of bullying after it was decided that she had a case to answer. The allegations were subsequently withdrawn. 

Meanwhile the Revd Vicki Burrows, the Garth Ministry Area Leader, wrote of a "culture of fear" in the diocese in the Church Times (Letters, 17/24 December) and called for the suspension of the Rt Rev June Osborne, after the bishop was accused of "bullying and harassment".

The vicar resigned saying that she “can no longer minister with any sense of integrity in Llandaff”.

Bishop Osborne's response was to appoint the Rev'd Ian Yemm, "who is married to Bernhard, an NHS doctor", in what appears to be another attempt to pre-empt a decision by the Church in Wales.

No doubt the bishop of Llandaff with the again absent bishop of St Davids were influential in the appointment of the first lesbian bishop, the bishop of Monmouth, who also lives with her same sex partner giving the impression that their ministries have more to do with the promotion of homosexuality than the sanctity of Christian marriage.

What of the bishop of St Davids? The original announcement in August of Joanna Penberthy's latest sick leave  promised updates as they became available. I can no longer find that notice, perhaps because there have been no updates which is typical of the mushroom method of management in the Church in Wales.

This is what happens when sociology replaces theology.

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

But whatever the cause, the latest Church Growth Modelling is bad news for the Church in Wales as well as other denominations as wokeness replaces holiness:

"The Church in Wales contains a mixture of churchmanships, and for many years all were on the conservative side. However, in the last 25 years, it has become increasingly liberal. In common with most historic UK Christian denominations, it has steadily declined since 1960. This analysis investigates the likelihood of decline leading to denominational extinction.

"The Church in Wales is forecast to be extinct by 2038."

The author writes, "Churches do not grow by becoming like society and attracting people, but by becoming like Jesus and converting people."

Exactly.

Strictly woke

Strictly 2022 contestants                                                                                                                              Source: BBC Media

You can read everything you need to know about Strictly Come Dancing 2022 here - according to the BBC.

Others have a different story. From Mail Online: "The first live show of the new series of Strictly Come Dancing was watched by an average of 6.8 million viewers, according to overnight ratings. This was a drop in viewing figures from 2021's first live show which was watched by an average 7.9 million."

The reason according to other reports is that Strictly Come Dancing has become the BBC’s latest woke box-ticking exercise. Allison Pearson wrote in the Telegraph: "From mis-matched same-sex couples to the show’s first contestant with dwarfism, it’s clear producers value ‘inclusion’ over entertainment."

The show is following the same trend as the Eurovision Song Contest with next to no link between actual performance and voting. Even the judges appeared to be influenced by the tightness of a contestant's trousers which three commented on before what I thought was a lack lustre performance.

How far this has come from the Television Dancing Club which I commented on in 2019 when I wrote A million miles from Victor Sylvester! The BBC commented in 2014:

"Television Dancing Club first took to the floor on 27 January 1948. It was presented by popular band leader Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra, and brought some much appreciated glamour into the homes of viewers struggling with post-war austerity. Its mixture of dance lessons, competitions and show-dances proved a great hit and it launched television’s fascination with ballroom dancing that continues to this day."

Glitz without guilt. Those were the days.

Never, never, never trust a bishop!

Binding together                                                                                                                                            Source: FaceBook

'Never, never, never trust a Tory' was the infamous tweet from the bishop of St Davids. 

The bishop, Joanna Penberthy, issued an apology after a torrent of complaints: "On March 25th, 2021 I put out a private tweet about Conservative Party supporters which has caused offence and for which I sincerely apologise."

She later went on extended sick leave and has again been signed off. Readers will not wish the bishop ill but why did she not do the honourable thing and resign having offended just about everyone in her diocese and beyond who were not of her party political persuasion?

Archbishop Cranmer wrote in his blog, "The apology issued by the Bishop of St Davids (of the Church in Wales) in the wake of her ‘Never never never trust a Tory‘ tweet is disingenuous. It is expediently sly. In short, it is a lie."

The archbishop of Canterbury was 'deeply embarrassed,' but not Andy John, the future archbishop of Wales, who as the senior bishop issued this statement:

  “I think the question whether Bishop Joanna resigns is done and dusted”, Bishop Andy states. “She made clear that she regretted what she had to say… I think if we cannot provide a way in which people can acknowledge wrongdoing, learn from their mistakes, and come back, then it begs questions about whether we believe people can change. Whether or not we think the Christian faith is about second chances. To me, fundamentally, it’s about that. And those who are baying and frothing at the mouth seem to me to be part of what I think is quite pernicious in society: which is that we dress up in virtue – or in the language of virtue – a kind-of campaign to persecute.”

In a previous blog I wrote, "Having found 'Biblical support for church gay marriages' the divorced and re-married bishop of Bangor can no doubt justify anything he fancies."

The whole bench is committed to gay marriage. Some just cannot wait. 

The above photo has a caption from the Revd Sarah Hildreth-Osborn, leader of the chaplaincy service for the LGBTQIA+ community in the diocese of St Asaph where Gregory Cameron is bishop:

 "A huge thank you to Gregory K Cameron for conducting such a beautiful and life giving service for us at St Grwsts at lunchtime today, the blessing of our marriage. A reminder to all that it is only love that sets us free!!! Thank you so much Bishop Gregory 💕"

 As one correspondent put it, "If that isn’t mimicking a wedding, I don’t what does . . . binding with his stole and presumably saying, "Those whom God hath joined . . ."

The Rt Revd Gregory Cameron  received the Religious Leader Award 'for his leadership within the Church in Wales in bringing them to a point of enabling same-sex blessings'.

A news item issued by St Asaph diocese in December 2021 described the award as "Bishop Gregory honoured for his outstanding contribution to the lives of LGBT+ people of faith."

The bench has jumped the gun before. They could not wait to see a woman bishop celebrate the Eucharist so imported a converted Jewish, Episcopalian woman bishop from the United States before women bishops were legal in the Church in Wales.

These actions typify the current bench of bishops. 

What of others 'of faith' in the Church in Wales? They count for nothing. The Church in Wales has become obsessed with promoting just about anything LGBT+ . 

The bishop of Monmouth is the first same sex partnered bishop. The bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne appointed the first transgender priest and has recently appointed a same sex partnered dean of Llandaff, thus perpetuating their main mission as she retires. 

Osborne has long been associated with rumours of bullying tactics with a disciplinary panel finding she had a case to answer. 

The Vicar of Radyr submitted her resignation saying that she could no longer, with integrity, knowing the many things she knew, serve in the diocese where she believed a 'culture of fear' exists. A diocesan survey conducted after her initial exposure 'brought up the same results'.

Today it has been reported that the vicar of Aberporth has "quit his post after revealing a lengthy battle with mental health he says brought him to the brink of a nervous breakdown.

"In announcing his intention to leave the Anglican Church In Wales he also had harsh words for Bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy."

The Rev Christopher Frost said: "Earlier this week I tendered my resignation as vicar which was accepted by the Archbishop of Wales in the absence of Bishop Joanna."

The bench does as it pleases. They have no regard for the Christian message as received and delivered by others. Instead they distort it, a pretence intended to validate their own opinions while deceiving others.

The bench has become a self perpetuating clique leading others to perdition. Honour escapes them.

 

It leads one to believe never, never, never trust an Anglican bishop in Wales.

Postscript [27.09.2022]

Leaving the Church in Wales...but not the church in Wales. A broken vicar's story. God bless him.

  

"Bishops in our Church have too much power and far too little accountability which has the tendency to make a little chaos in our diocese particularly. When the bishop is installed, who is pleasant to be with in person, but who makes very divisive and unwise decisions that bring the whole Church into disrepute while also having a catastrophic effect on clergy morale is a problem being keenly felt in our diocese today. Also over the past five years or so, the teaching of the Church in Wales has been pulled very hard into what I consider to be a wildly liberal theological direction, one that no longer really represents truly the teachings of Jesus Christ on a number of key moral issues that are facing our society today. So the banner of the Church in Wales, the Anglican Church in Wales, is becoming one which is becoming just a bit too difficult for me in good conscience to work under any more." - Rev Christopher Frost in a video posted to YouTube.

History in the making

The King and Queen Consort sign the visitors’ book in Llandaff Cathedral                                                                                                      Source: Anglican Ink

The shock of the Queen's death was quickly followed by a stream of well rehearsed state events culminating in her late Majesty's state funeral yesterday. It has been history in the making. 

Deserving of special praise for their 'flawless' professionalism were the young guardsmen who carried the Queen's coffin.

Nearly everything went as planned. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury did well, concentrating in his funeral service sermon on the Queen's faith and the place of Jesus Christ in her life, an example for our woke Anglican bishops to follow but hardly likely.

It fell to Wales narrowly to avoid disaster. Visiting Llandaff Cathedral on his tour of the four nations of the United Kingdom HM King Charles III with his Queen Consort visited Llandaff Cathedral for a service of prayer and reflection for Queen Elizabeth II. 

As the King and Queen processed up the aisle to sign the visitors book, Camilla made an expert recovery  after her heel became stuck in one of the cracks not covered over. The bishop of Llandaff looked unconcerned as she smiled and nodded to members of the congregation as she processed behind His Majesty. 

Fortunately Camilla grabbed the King's arm to steady herself before freeing her shoe. One can only speculate on the consequences if the Queen Consort had fallen, possibly breaking an ankle or worse. 

June has appointed a new Dean of Llandaff, the Reverend Canon Richard Peers. He will need our prayers. He is currently Sub Dean at Christ Church Oxford and 'lives with his partner Jim, a garden writer, and their dog Teilo'.

Although I have not seen the announcement I hear that June will retire in December following the installation of the new dean. She leaves behind her a string of vanity projects, examples here and here, while her cathedral crumbles.

One would have thought that the bishop would have left the appointment to her successor but there is no honour among a bench who have robbed the Church in Wales of its heritage.

HM Queen Elizabeth II

Pray for the repose of the soul of HM Queen Elizabeth II who died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon

May Angels lead you into paradise;

may the Martyrs receive you at your coming

and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem.

May a choir of Angels receive you,

and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.

Bishop of St Davids to miss GB as she takes more sick leave

The Bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy                                               Source: Western Telegraph

A statement posted on 31 August 2022 sent to all clergy in the diocese of St Davids announced that bishop Joanna is currently on sick leave. The three territorial archdeacons of St Davids, Carmarthen and Cardigan have been appointed by the bishop as her Commissaries. It is not clear whether her sick leave is related to her previous absence.

In June 2021 a call was made by a Conservative MP for her resignation over her 'divisive views'.

The bishop was earlier signed off on sick leave after apologising for a much criticised tweet that she had posted in which she had urged: “Never, never, never trust a Tory.” 

Presumably she will miss the next meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales which is to be held on Wednesday and Thursday 7 and 8 September 2022 at ICC-Wales, Newport. 

The Agenda and papers can be found here but say little.

Drakeford's Pride Cymru

Welsh First Minister at Pride Cymru August 2022  Source: Twitter                                  August bank holiday traffic traffic congestion around Newport  Source: ITV 

  
On the left, no doubt enjoying the crush, First Minister, Mark Drakeford, can be seen in one of the "best photos from Pride Cymru" says Wales Online. 

Mr Drakeford prides himself on cancelling the desperately needed M4 relief road around Newport in South Wales. 'That decision is over', he said, as though the decision mattered only to him. He added, 'There is no point in people hankering back to it'. It may be over for him. For others it is still the obvious solution to a desperate problem.

On the right, the usual bank holiday traffic chaos on the M4 around Newport, the gateway to Wales. 

When Drakeford vetoed the proposed extension he said, instead he would be "concentrating on the alternatives" for solving the major traffic problems in the area. 

A "Network of Alternatives" suggested upgrading the South Wales Main Line and building six new stations between Cardiff and the River Severn, improving train services between Cardiff, Newport and Bristol:

"The rail backbone would be supported by new rapid bus and cycle corridors across the region, especially within Newport. Taken together, over 90% of Cardiff and Newport’s population would live within a mile of a railway station or rapid bus corridor if the proposals are taken forward. Many these recommendations can be delivered through upgrades to the existing rail and road network.

As part of their strategy "Ministers believe “road user charging” schemes are one potential way of encouraging people to use public transport, walk or cycle instead of driving but Newport City Council "does not support the implementation of a local toll on the M4".

Removing local traffic from the heavily congested M4 is not going to help through traffic held up by frequent accidents because there is no diversion apart from the inappropriate Southern distributor road, another accident black spot. 

It is not clear to me what Drakeford's strategy would be if/when these additional public transport facilities are provided if people do not use them. Something for him to consider in his retirement as he prides himself for saving a few toads and newts thought to be in danger if the proposed bypass had gone ahead. Also for those people stuck in queues on the M4 because there is no proper alternative way around the many road accidents.

So far there has just been more chaos affecting the Welsh economy with people missing events, finding themselves on the wrong side of the Prince of Wales bridge instead of listening to a pop concert. 

One can only imagine the congestion if Cardiff had pursued their desire to host the Eurovision Song Contest there. 

Others still see the M4 relief road as the obvious answer to a major problem. Drakeford's pride is the obstacle. 

The chaos continues.

Road to hell

Hat tip to Orthodox Faith @since33                                                                            Source: Twitter

An interesting juxtaposition.

The above from Orthodox Faith and this pointer to a message from the Archbishop of Wales.

Llandaff at Lambeth 2022

Bishop of Llandaff with Archbishop Moses Deng at Lambeth 2022             Source: Church in Wales

In my previous entry I commented on the bishop of Monmouth's reflections on Lambeth 2022 and how she focused on the greatly increased number of women bishops and the well publicised presence of seven LGBT+ bishops.

The bishop of Llandaff is on the same track giving her views here. In her first paragraph she writes: "There has been hurt - plenty of hurt - but one thing has remained clear - the Church in Wales bench of Bishops continue to affirm their love and support for our LGBT+ sisters and brothers.

They made their views clear in their statement Draft Lambeth Call “undermines and subverts” LGBT+ people, say Bishops. In the statement issued ahead of the Lambeth Conference, the bishops pledged to work to amend the passage "to reflect more adequately our understanding of their equal place in the Church".

So I ask again, where is the love and support for those sisters and brothers who have been left with no sacramental or pastoral provision? Where is the love and support for those who follow God's word as received through the Bible and tradition? Instead they are punished for their faith.

Recently an Anglican lifeboat for faithful Christians has been launched in Australia. The Anglican Church in North America is now 10 years old and very successful as this interview with Archbishop Foley Beach indicates.

Alternative provision has existed in England since the Church of England voted to accept the ordination of women.

In Wales there has been nothing after provision was withdrawn by archbishop Barry Morgan at the first opportunity. 

Love and support in Wales is clearly conditional on affirming bishops who share an unnatural obsession with redefining marriage.