Equal marriage!

Secure: Ben Bradshaw and his civil partner Neal Dalgleish.
Mr Bradshaw has drawn the ire of gay rights campaigners by
 opposing gay marriage  Source: Mail Online

When Ben Bradshaw was the first MP to enter into a civil partnership he argued that 'Britain doesn't need gay marriage'.

The son of an Anglican priest, he is now following the Gadarene bishops of the Church of England and the fallen bishops of the Church in Wales pushing for so called 'equal' marriage. 

Marriage is between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others and for life. Supporters of 'equal' marriage are using secular equalities legislation to suggest that those who believe in orthodox teaching on marriage do not believe in equality and discriminate against them. This was Bradshaw's approach.

From Hansard Volume 726: debated on Tuesday 24 January 2023-

"(Urgent Question): To ask the Second Church Estates Commissioner if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting of Church of England bishops on equal marriage in the Church of England."

Mr Bradshaw asked the Second Church Estates Commissioner if he "Will he explain to Parliament how continuing to discriminate against lesbian and gay Anglicans in England is compatible with the unique duty of the established Church to serve everyone?

Presumably the MP for Exeter is unaware or simply ignores the plight of the many Anglicans who are no longer served by the established Church because they believe in the orthodox teaching of the majority of Anglicans throughout the world.

The same could be said of the member for Rhondda, ex-Anglican priest, Sir Chris Bryant who claimed in an emotional speech that 'There is an awful lot of pain'. 

Indeed there is, particularly in Wales where orthodox believers have been abandoned by their Church.

Sir Chris spoke of a Churchwarden who had lovingly cared for the church and had fallen in love with someone of the same sex but could not be married in the place to which the warden's life had been devoted.

Perhaps the member for Rhondda could spare a similar thought for all those orthodox Anglicans, many of whom have been benefactors and hard workers who maintained their churches only to find themselves excluded by secularists who are using the Church to satisfy their own desires.  

This is the trajectory of the Church of England under the 'guidance' of its most senior bishops as seen by Anglican Ink:

The Archbishop of Canterbury was assailed outside Lambeth Palace last night by gay activists who denounced his leadership of the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith process. He complained of getting “flak” from opponents of the Church of England’s decision to allow the blessing of same-sex partnerships while Global South archbishops warn that the adoption of gay blessings would lead to the removal of Welby as leader of the Anglican world. 

Gay sex not a sin, Archbishop of York says, if blessed by the CofE.

Homosexuals must no longer be chaste in order to lead godly lives, Bishop of London says.

'Equality' is replacing theology. God help us all.

Postscript [28.01.2023]

 #comeoutforlove... as the Actress said to the Bishop.

 In this instance the actress is a political activist, atheist and humanist who came out as a lesbian in 1994. Just the person to have the archbishop's ear. 

Caption corner 24 January 2023

 Miss Barbara, Drag: A History of Transvestism
Source: Twitter St James Piccadilly

Publishable captions will appear under comments.

73rd Bishop of Llandaff

The 73rd Bishop of Llandaff, Mary Stallard                                                Source: Church in Wales

The 73rd bishop of Llandaff is to be the feminist campaigner Mary Stallard, currently assistant bishop  in Bangor. Someone already committed to the secular strategy of the bench.

A popular choice judging by the reception of the assembled mini-crowd made up of those who, presumably, are prepared to go along to get on.

Some of the comments already received under other threads have been less than enthusiastic to say the least.

Bishop Stallard was appointed by Andy John after his elevation to archbishop to run his diocese while he was busy running the Province. This despite the Church in Wales Review recommendation to cut the number of dioceses.

By implication the archbishop will now be considering who to appoint as his new Asst bishop.

Unless nobody else could be persuaded to take on the job one can only speculate on the quality of the other candidates. 

Presumably men are no longer eligible in the Church in Wales.

Postscript [24.01.2023]

ELECTORAL COLLEGE: BEHIND THE SCENES By Rev'd Zoe King, Electoral College member and Ministry Area Leader in Barry.

For a list of Llandaff College members click HERE.

Two cheers for the C of E

Archbishop  of Wales Andy John blesses a locomotive                                    Source: Herald Wales

The intention is in the title, Living in Love and Faith (LLF). The situation would have been clearer if LLF had been titled Living in Sin and Faith.

Today it has been announced that "For the first time, under historic plans outlined on Wednesday 18 January 2023, same-sex couples will be able to come to church to give thanks for their civil marriage or civil partnership and receive God’s blessing. The Bishops of the Church of England will be issuing an apology later this week to LGBTQI+ people for the “rejection, exclusion and hostility” they have faced in churches and the impact this has had on their lives."

Two cheers then for the declaration "The formal teaching of the Church of England as set out in the canons and authorised liturgies – that Holy Matrimony is between one man and one woman for life – would not change."

If the example of the Church in Wales is followed there will be moves to allow same sex weddings in Church as happened when the ordination of women to the priesthood was declared a half-way house having achieved their initial goal.

According to the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell: 

"This is not the end of that journey but we have reached a milestone and I hope that these prayers of love and faith can provide a way for us all to celebrate and affirm same-sex relationships.

"Over the last six years, we have been confronted time and time again with examples of the rejection, exclusion, and hostility that many LGBTQI+ people have received in churches.

"Both personally and on behalf of my fellow bishops I would like to express our deep sorrow and grief at the way LGBTQI+ people and those they love have been treated by the Church which, most of all, ought to recognise everyone as precious and created in the image of God.  We are deeply sorry and ashamed and want to take this opportunity to begin again in the spirit of repentance which our faith teaches us."

The trajectory is obvious. 

I do not know of anyone who has been confronted with examples of "rejection, exclusion, and hostility" of the many LGBTQI+ Abp Cottrell refers to. Only unsupported allegations by activists who label anyone with a contrary opinion to theirs as homophobic.

By contrast many others have experienced rejection and hostility resulting in exclusion simply for striving to remain faithful to their baptismal promises.

Church blessings have become commonplace. Some argue that if inanimate objects, as illustrated above, and animals can be blessed, why not same-sex unions. 

Inanimate objects and animals do not have souls, the cure of which is entrusted by the bishop in the clergy with the words "Receive this cure of souls which is both yours and mine."

Civil partnerships are in themselves a blessing but nothing is ever good enough for those seeking to secularise the Church. 

Anglican Bishops

Church in Wales new bishops consecration 2022                                                                                                                                           Source: Church in Wales

The election of the 73rd bishop of Llandaff commences on January 18 following the retirement of June Osborne who was appointed by the bench of bishops in 2017 after the failure of the electoral college to agree on a candidate.

A disaster waiting to happen, Osborne was tipped to be one of the first bishops in the Church of England. Instead she was appointed Dean of Salisbury. With a background in sociology Osborne was a prolific LGBTQ+ campaigner but suffered from allegations of bullying. She was found, on the balance of probability, to have a case to answer until the then Dean of Llandaff withdrew his allegations and resigned. 

The Vicar of Radyr also resigned as incumbent and Ministry Area Leader saying that she could no longer, with integrity, knowing the many things she knows, 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'. 

New bishop Joanna Penberthy in 2017    Pic: BBC

The 'best person to be a bishop', in the eyes of former archbishop Barry Morgan, has been another disaster. The bishop of St Davids has been on a second bout of sick leave since the end of August 2022 with no official updates which is reminiscent of the secrecy surrounding the extended absence of the former bishop of Monmouth. The only news is this report from a commentator under a previous entry:

"Yesterday at meeting of LMA's priests archdeacon updated us on Johanna La Loca. Her sick leave has been extended again - to end of February, as she is suffering from depression and anxiety. At present on half pay, her stipend will cease on 28 Feb. Is this the moment she resigns and diocese starts to recover? It was suggested that people ought to write to ++ Andy to pile on the pressure. Lovely thought if we can celebrate St David's day sede vacante."

'Affirming Love' Pride Eucharist with bishop
Cherry Vann . Source: Twitter

Joanna Penberthy along with the bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, campaigned vigorously on secular matters while the bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, is patron of Open Table. 

Following her appointment the Church in Wales tweeted:

"Find out more about the new Bishop of @MonmouthDCO @cherry_vann in an interview with her on @BBCWomensHour today from 10am."

I tuned in on catch up. There was nothing spiritual, just sex. See The Bishop of Monmouth and partner.

Contrary to biblical teaching, bishops in England and Wales are hellbent on conforming to the pattern of this world rather than being transformed.

In the Church of England there has been the predictable outcry from Women and the Church (WATCH) following the appointment of the Rt Rev Philip North to be the 10th Bishop of Blackburn:

Their Chair, the Rev Martine Oborne tweets under the heading 'Trying to lift the lid off the ongoing sexism & discrimination in the CofE & how this impacts women. Chair of WATCH but these tweets my own'. 

More apt would be Using the Church for self validation at the expense of others. 

Oborne said of the Bishop of Backburn appointment: "The appointment sadly reflects … institutional discrimination in the church and we are effectively told that we must just suck it up and get on with it."

This is a familiar feminist tune, regularly tweeted by the WATCH chair and well worn by bishop Joanna Penberthy. Disagreement is labelled discrimination regardless of facts. Integrity has been replaced by duplicity.

Inclusive Church said Bishop North's views made it "a painful appointment". 

So what is the problem with Bishop North's appointment? 

Simply it is because his beliefs are not based on false notions of equality but on biblical teaching and tradition along with the vast majority of Anglicans and the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Holy Catholic Church showing the 2% accepting the ordination of women (OW)

Provision was made in England and Wales for those who, in conscience, could not accept the sacramental ministry of women. WATCH has been picking at it ever since. In Wales Barry Morgan simply abandoned provision following the retirement and untimely death of the Provincial Assistant Bishop David Thomas.

Pray that the Electoral College meeting in Llandaff will follow the example of the Church of England and elect a holy man of God to be the next bishop of Llandaff, not leaving the appointment to a bench of bishops to appoint another in their image when they have clearly lost their way. 

Fare Share Volunteers

From Fare Share:

"With the help of our valued volunteers, we deliver nearly 2.5 million meals every week to vulnerable people across the UK.

How you can help

At FareShare, we stop good food from going to waste and give it to people who need it.

We have 32 warehouses across the UK (these locations are marked on the map below).

Volunteers are integral to the daily operations of our warehouses, helping in volunteer roles such as Driver, Driver's Assistant, Warehouse Assistant and Admin Assistant. Some sites have additional roles too."

If you are interested in volunteering click this link  to see the warehouse locations and watch the videos to find out what a day in the life of a volunteer at FareShare involves.

Users

Source: Twitter

It is a sad reflection of society today that I am again pushed for my first comment on the news in 2023 onto a familiar theme.

It is hard not to take notice when images such as that above appear with ridiculous claims that are contrary to biblical truth. 

The latest person to claim 'God's will' is the 'first non-binary Church of England priest'. A 'first' the Church in Wales has missed out on.

As friction over LGBTQ issues worsens in the global Anglican church, the ONS has published 2021 census data which show that around 1.5 million people (3.2%) identified with an LGB+ orientation (“Gay or Lesbian”, “Bisexual” or “Other sexual orientation”), comparatively few when compared with the 43.4 million people (89.4%) who identified as straight or heterosexual.

These figures illustrate the extent to which the tail wags the dog in western Anglicanism.

There is no escape from the propaganda. The London 2023 New Year fireworks display which, for many, represents a new beginning was filled with political propaganda including a ‘we’re here, we’re queer’ celebration of LGBT rights which illustrates the depths of homophile infiltration, even among young children and how adept their strategists have been at manipulating public opinion. 

What is particularly offensive is how the Church has, and is, being used to further the interests of a relatively small group of people who have no regard whatsoever for the faith of those they have displaced.

Their desire to validate a minority life style at the expense of others cannot be met with silence less it implies tacit acceptance of the fantasies of these users of the Church.