A man of integrity

Warren Gatland has been head coach of Wales for 149 matches                                                                             Source: BBC/Photo Huw Evans Picture Agency

 On Friday 31st January 2025 France starts The Six Nations 2025 season kicking off against Wales. In the meantime Wales' head coach Warren Gatland awaits news of his fate with his customary humility.

Questioned after a record 11th successive Test match defeat he said he agreed "whatever the best decision is for Welsh rugby". 

Wales has had a disappointing run of results as have other teams over the years but let us put it into proprtion.

Country populations published for the 2023 World Cup showed Wales with a population of only 3 million compared with England's 57 million, Ireland's 7.2 million and Scotland's 5.5 million. Italy was 61 million, France 68.5 million and Japan a whopping 123.7 million.

When it comes to most registerd players France leads with over half a million compared with Wales'  83,120 registered rugby players. South Africa has the second highest number with 405,438 while England is third with 382,154 registrations. New Zealand comes 4th after Australia. Ireland is tenth and Scotland 15th.

Wales have punched well above their weight over the years and, like Scotland and Ireland, will do again.

Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) bosses have been reviewing the outcome of the autumn series and will determine if Warren Gatland will be in charge for next year's Six Nations season. 

The Review should be completed before Christmas. Hopefully it will be a happy one for a coach who has given so much to Welsh rugby.

Postscript 20.12.2024

Warren Gatland will remain as Wales' head coach for the 2025 Six Nations

Restoring the Value of Parishes

All Saints Bakewell, a parish church in Derbyshire                                               Source: Wikipedia. Photo: Bert Camenbert 

From CIVITAS

Restoring the Value of Parishes: The foundations of welfare, community, and spiritual belonging in England

Esme Partridge, November 2024

The parish church has been a foundational part of cultural life in England for hundreds of years. England’s 12,500 parish churches are ‘treasure houses’ of national history, containing the memories of our ancestors as well as the rich architectural and musical heritage of Anglicanism. Parishes also bring together local communities, providing charitable services – including food banks, childcare and counselling – worth billions of pounds per year.

Yet parish churches across the country are now in crisis. Crumbling buildings, declining attendance, and sharp reductions in clergy all pose a considerable threat to their survival. In the past 50 years, over 2,000 churches have been made redundant, with some 300 of these closing between 2016 and 2021 alone. Congregations have been shrinking in size since the 1960s, but fell by a further 19 per cent following the pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of stipendiary clergy in the Church of England has almost halved since 1959, leaving many churches without a priest dedicated to the parish.

Though this decline can to some extent be attributed to lower levels of religiosity and community attachment in today’s Britain, this report argues that management decisions made by the Church of England itself have also played a major role. These include moves to cut funding to local churches and ministers – in some cases merging up to 23 parishes into one ‘mega-parish’ served by a single team of clergy – and instead directing resources towards central bureaucracy: on average, the Church now employs one administrator for every three and a half priests. Hundreds of millions of pounds have also been funnelled into ‘strategic development funding’, intended to experiment with radical new ways of attracting people to the Church. These have mixed results and, according to some critics, often represent a departure from Anglican traditions and belief.

Restoring the Value of Parishes diagnoses what has gone wrong with the Church of England in recent years, and makes the case for returning to what works: supporting local clergy to continue serving their communities via parish churches. This will require Church management to restore its confidence in the parish as an institution that is uniquely placed to provide a refuge from the challenges of modernity. At a time when the public sector is diminished and invisible in many communities, the parish can be an ideal starting point for the renewal of civic life. If the Church wants to be more ‘relevant’, the author argues, it should stop trying to reinvent itself and instead embrace its unique position as a source of tradition, sanctity, and community solidarity in an uncertain world.

...

Saving the Parish… now and for the future

Caption corner 6 December 2024

Publishable captions will appear as comments.

Assisted living, not assisted dying

"It’s assisted suicide, not assisted dying."               Source: Christian Concern

The assisted dying bill is to be debated by MPs on Friday. If the bill becomes law it will allow some terminally ill people to have a medically assisted death but as Christian Concern explains, it will be assisted suicide, not assisted dying.

The motivation is understandable. A slow, painful death from an incurable disease is a burden most would seek to avoid but a quick easy death cannot be guaranteed. With proper palliative care that is not an option people would have to face. 

Recognised as the founder of the modern hospice movement Dame Cicely Saunders said: "You matter because you are you. You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die."

A few months ago a relative who was terriried of dying was admitted to a hospice. She died peacefully under their loving care. Such care should be available to all.

If patients can be kept pain free, even if it results in death, that is a far better alternative than the slipery slope of assisted suicide with its added pressure of 'doing the right thing' to relieve others of the strain.

Postscript [28.11.2024]

Speaking ahead of the Second Reading of the assisted suicide Bill, crossbench peer Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has discussed the potential impact of the Bill on people with disabilities.

Church of England in crisis

The Archbishop of Canturbery celebrating 25 years of women’s ordination to the priesthood in 2019                Source: CofE

Now, thirty years after the first ordinations of women to the priesthhood, one of their number, the Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, is calling on Justin Welby to resign.

She has decribed the archbishop's position "untenable" following a damning report into abuse by a prolific child abuser associated with the Church.

She is not alone in her demand. The Revd Dr Ian Paul, a member of General Synod and the Archbishops’ Council, has, among others, initiated a petition calling for Welby's immediate resignation:

"Given his role in allowing abuse to continue, we believe that his continuing as the Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer tenable. We must see change, for the sake of survivors, for the protection of the vulnerable, and for the good of the Church—and we share this determination across our traditions. With sadness we do not think there is any alternative to his immediate resignation if the process of change and healing is to start now."

The archbishop is already under fire for making comments contrary to the doctrine of the Church of England after expressing his views on gay sex outside marriage.

One abuse survivor has demanded a “clean sweep” of senior clergy members. Allegedly, 7 or 8 bishops knew what was going on.

MPs are already considering a call to remove Church of England bishops from House of Lords, thus lessening their influence. 

If Welby does resign no doubt there will be fresh demands for a woman to become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury providing feminists with yet another opportunity for celebration their success in the Church. 

Update

Archbishop of Canterbury resigns

BBC report here.

Remembrance

Two women were lost on D Day, Sister Mollie Evershed and Sister Dorothy Field, Standing With Giants.     Source BBC News

 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, 

We will remember them.

Church closures

An abandoned church in Newington, Gloucestershire. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/Alamy                        Source: Guardian

Simon Jenkins writes in The Guardian: "The Church of England is panicking about declining congregations – here’s what it should do instead. Too many beautiful church buildings are going to ruin. Councils could run them better. Let them."

But could they? If uncut verges and weed infested streets are anything to go by, perhaps not. 

Church mainteneance, particulalry churchyard/burial ground mainteneance will become a serious problem as congregations decline and churches close.

Quoting the Bishop of Chelmsford, Jenkins writes: "The Church of England is in a state of “panic and fear”, of “deep anxiety”, and should stop being obsessed with numbers and face the reality of decline. So says one of its bishops, Guli Francis-Dehqani, of Chelmsford. It’s not hard to see why. Two years ago, as weekly worshippers re-emerged after Covid, church statisticians were desperate to see if they would return at least to their 2019 numbers, when about 854,000 people turned out to church. In 2023, that figure was just 685,000.

"Put another way, 169,000 weekly worshippers have vanished over a four-year period. Fewer people now go to their parish church than attend a local mosque or a Catholic mass. It is all very well for bishops to urge the church to stop worrying over “targets” and “growth” – to leave the planning to God and stick to praying. But the decline in attendance is relentless. At the turn of the century, 1 million people went to church each year; in 1980, the number was 1.3 million. Since cathedral worship is rising, something is clearly going wrong with parish churches, even under the present evangelical archbishop, Justin Welby. It cannot simply be that ever fewer Britons are professing the Christian faith, as is the case across Europe."

Church going can become a habit, hence Churchianity rather than Christianity. Covid broke that habit for many churchgoers while equality diversity and inclusion have replaced theology, scripture and tradition. Consequently minorities rule.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is the latest to succumb to secular relationship values commenting in a podcast "that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship and whether it's straight or gay".

That is not to judge the sentiments expressed by the archbishop, that will be left to Another. Rather it is to uphold the principle of traditional Christian marriage.

Secular notions of equality have become paramount. Churches are closing. Welby is treading the same path as the Archbishop of Wales and the Primus of Scotland.

The Bishop of Chelmsford is one of the front runners to replace Just Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury which would tick all of today's important boxes

Church and state leaders appear impotent as the British landscape  changes before their eyes. 

While churches close mosques spring up blasting out prayers five times a day from 5 AM. 

With no churches to go to and an alien culture foisted upon them, Anglicans will be like foreigners in our own land.

Scottish Episcopal Church drops bullying tribunal against Scotland's first female bishop

Bishop Dyer was suspended in August 2022.                                                                                              Source: STV News

In 2024 it ws reported that bishop Anne Dyer was to face a disciplinary tribunal after being suspended in August 2022.

In a document outlining the reasons for the decision to drop the bullying tribunal, lawyer Paul Reid KC said: "It has become apparent that the prospect of giving evidence, and in particular facing cross-examination in a public forum, is a source of anxiety for a number of potential witnesses." He added: "Given the already difficult situation in the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney, a public trial very materially risks, whatever its outcome, of making an already difficult situation worse."

According to Mail Plus, angry parishioners in the Scottish Episcopal Church are threatening to leave while others have vowed to remove it from their wills after bullying complaints against its first female bishop were dropped.

In 2022 the bishop of Llandaff found herself in the clear after the Dean of Llandaff withdrew his charge of bullying following an extended period of sick leave. 

The Vicar of Radyr at the time resigned 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.

Then there were two! 

Postscripts

Four Scottish bishops urge Dyer to consider her position - Church Times

(26.10.2024)

Bishop accused of bullying now on sick leave - BBC News

Reminiscent of St Davids diocese in the Church in Wales. Another 'social worker' in clerical clothing.

Black hole

Source: X (formerly Twitter)

The Government's decision to cut the winter fuel allowance for all but the country’s poorest pensioners looks particularly harsh when set against revelations about gifts to the prime minister and Cabinet members.

From BBC News: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality received since becoming prime minister, following a backlash over donations. A Labour peer donated more than £32,000 worth of clothing and spectacles to Sir Keir when he was leader of the opposition, which he has not paid back.

Addressing the Labour Party Conference Liz Kendall MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said, "Conference, focusing Winter Fuel Payments on the poorest pensioners wasn’t a decision we wanted or expected to make. But when we promised we could be trusted with taxpayers’ money, we meant it. And when we’re faced with a £22 billion black hole which the Tories left this year – we had to act."

The absurdity of the Government's position can be observed from this clash between Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. On the one hand the Government claims to be desperate to save money by penalising the elderly while on the other they claim to be doing all they can to pay out money to thousands of pensioners who are eligible for pension credit but have not claimed because of their inability to do so through personal circumstances such as dementia or the complexity of doing so.

The £22 billion black hole has been disputed by the Tories but even if true, the government with an economy of £2.27 trillion does not need to penalise vulnerable pensioners. There is money available.

The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, is to spend £22 billion on a Carbon capture and storage project when, according to Recharge, "Capturing CO2 emissions using direct-air-capture (DAC) technology requires almost as much energy as that contained in the fossil fuels that produced the carbon dioxide in the first place, according to new analysis."

The United Kingdom does not exist in a bubble. Other countries produce much more CO2 which is released into the atmosphere.

Better to plant more oxygen producing trees to capture CO2 for a fraction of the cost than to put pensioners at risk.

Postscripts 

[10.10.2024] From Age UK: 

Yesterday, Age UK’s own Equality Impact Assessment was released. It presents the true harm of the Winter Fuel Payment cut. 82% of pensioners in poverty or just above the poverty line will lose up to £300 in energy support this winter.

The assessment looks at age, sex, disability, living arrangements and region – it’s the most important moment for the campaign so far. It shows that the vast majority of older people on low incomes won’t get the Winter Fuel Payment, so the Government must change course.

Will you help by sharing these findings with your MP?

  

 Yes, I'll email my MP    

[11.10.2024] 
1, The Prime Minister describing the plight of pensioners when in Opposition.
2. Financial Times report: "UK Treasury refuses to disclose key details of £22bn fiscal ‘black hole’. 

The government has also refused to publish an assessment of the impact of means-testing winter fuel payments on pensioners.

EFCW statement in response to the recent statement by the Bishop of St Asaph at Governing Body

 

The bishop of St Asaph addressing Governing Body         Source: CT/CinW

Statement from the Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales:

At the recent Governing Body meeting the Bishop of St Asaph made reference to EFCW and previous communications with the Bench of Bishop’s in his answer to a question on Conversion Therapy. His answer can be found here or in the Church Times here. Our response is printed below.

The original 2021 letter to the Bench of Bishops (with their original statement appended) and subsequent correspondence which were referenced are linked underneath.

We regret the interpretation put upon the EFCW letter of June 2021 to the Bench of Bishops in the Bishop of St Asaph’s response to Question 1 at the recent September meeting of the Church in Wales Governing Body. This letter was written to the Bench in good faith, as part of an ongoing dialogue, and we are saddened that reference was made to it in a situation that did not allow a right of reply or clarification before the Governing Body, and in its subsequent publication and distribution. We wish to rebut the implication that EFCW (wittingly or unwittingly) endorses conversion therapy.

EFCW does not, and never has, promoted coercive or abusive practices. Nor do we promote or encourage “practices in which pressure is brought upon vulnerable LGBTQIA persons to submit to efforts aimed at the conversion of their sexuality including attempted exorcisms and worse”, which we also agree are abhorrent.

As evangelical Anglicans we uphold the authority of Scripture over every aspect of our lives, as detailed in Articles 6, 7, 19 and 20.  We are concerned that reducing the role of the Church to one simply of “welcome, acceptance and friendship” as the Bishop of St Asaph indicates, without the freedom to discuss the whole Canon of Scripture, or its application to daily life, would undermine the holistic pastoral care and discipleship journeys of those in our congregations. 

We would also wish to have protections allowing prayer to take place with people, at their request, in the way the Bishop of St. Asaph suggests, namely “that God’s grace can be operative in the situation, and that a person would know God’s guidance and blessing, without a defined outcome”.

Full details here.

GB question and Bishop Gregory's answer in 'Highlights' (Session Two).

The Great Church in Wales Giveaway

Original source: X (formerly Twitter)

The Church in Wales has announced that it is to invest almost £10m in four projects designed to promote growth in church attendance in Wales. 

The Church explained that "The grants are being made from the Church Growth Fund, in which the Church is investing £100m to support projects in a once-in-a generation opportunity to resource confident and consistent evangelism throughout Wales."

The diocese of Monmouth is dedicating £1 million to 'help grow new worshipping communities' by targeting local schools.

This news has not been universaly welcomed.

The South Wales Argus described it as a 'Cynical move' to use schools to ease 'plummeting' church membership. 

Their community content editor writes: 

"Campaigners have urged local authorities to ensure schools 'will not be used as mission fields', after the Church in Wales announced plans to 'build stronger links' with schools in South Wales.

"The diocese plans to install a 'Schools Engagement Pioneer' in areas including North Monmouthshire, Islwyn and Abergavenny to focus on 'relationship-building with primary and secondary school-age pupils in a manner which goes beyond school assemblies'."

A spokesperson for he Diocese of Monmouth explained that it has secured funding of more than £1m to help grow new worshipping communities by building stronger relationships with schools.

What is a Church in Wales 'worshipping community' today and what sort of relationships?

Recently a pride service was held at Newport Cathedral. Their same sex partnered bishop preached. The Celebrant was transgender.

For building 'inclusive' relationships in the Church in Wales see this entry published six years ago. The then preacher now occupies an influential post at Newport Cathedral while the concelebrant has been appointed bishop of Bardsey.

For the love of Christ?

Caption Corner 20 September 2024

 

Source: X (formerly Twitter)

As usual publishable captions will appear as comments.

Conned

The Labour winter 2024 - 2025.               Source: X (Twitter)

Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Government secured a majority of 120 in the winter fuel allowance vote to cut the payment for all but the country’s poorest pensioners. A few Labour MPs rebelled with a Labour Government, yes, a Labour government, to paraphrase Neil Kinnock's 1985 conference speech, winning by 348 to 228. 

As Leader of the  Opposition Starmer criticised the Tory Government for even considering moves to cut back the winter fuel allowance. Now in government his excuse for changing his mind was blamed on an 'inherited black hole', much of which results from paying off the Unions which allows engine drivers to manage on £70,000 a year - until they demand their next cost of living increase.

Ah! says Starmer, but pensioners will receive £460 a year extra next April when the triple lock increase is due to be paid, ignoring the fact that April 2025 is after Winter 2024 when pensioners need the money to heat their homes and conveniently forgetting that the pension increase in April is to help pensioners keep up with the cost of living.

Agreed, there are State pensioners with private pensions but many will need to have saved their well earned pension to ease their pain because of long NHS waiting lists. That could mean £20,000 for hip surgery (£13,500) - double for some - and £6,000 for cataracts followed by the prospect of having to pay for one's end of life care.

These are often pensioners who have 'done their bit', serving their country in the armed force on National Service before working hard all their lives to make better lives for their children and grandchildren, only to see their inheritance being squandered. 

They will deservedly feel conned as well as feeling the cold as they shiver this winter.

Source: X (Twitter)

Governing Body Highlight

 

There was one highlight at this month's meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales. That was the presentation at agendum 16 Open Doors – supporting the persecuted Church.

My readers will have been here before. There have been various entries highlighting Christian persecution around the world, for example,  What it means for others to be a Christian.

How Christians suffer for their faith can be seen in an earlier 2022 video from Open Doors.

Many Christians are prepared to die for their faith while others call on the love of Jesus to justify Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DIE) which dilutes their faith. The contrast could not be more stark.

Postscripts [07.09.2024]

1. From The Christian Post - Five companies that are scaling back DEI, LGBT advocacy

2. From Anglican Futures - Will the Church in Wales be extinct in 15 years? "...it appears the Bishops of the Church in Wales seem determined to drive the church over the precipice."

Church in Wales attendance statistics

 

The Archbishop of Wales addressing Governing Body, September 2023                     Source: Church Times/Church in Wales

One of the highlights of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales (CinW) used to be the Membership and Finance Report but no more.

The Annual report and Accounts 2023 presented by the Representative Body prepared for September 2024 meeting of the Governing Body summarises the position as follows (page 9):

"3. Accelerated decline in church attendance

The continuation of declining attendance

and an increasing age profile would result

in declining financial income for dioceses:

this would lead to an inability to present

established patterns of ministry to the

whole of Wales. The Representative Body

endeavours to maintain the highest financial

support to dioceses possible. Also, a

renewed focus on mission and evangelism,

including additional financial resources being

made available, aims to stimulate church

growth. A membership app is being rolled out

to assist with monitoring church attendance

statistics."

'Declining attendance' puts it mildly. British Religion in Numbers (BRIN) showed that the average Sunday attendance (over 18) in 2004 was 41,771. By 2009 attendance had dropped to 36,836.

Ten years on, CinW adult Sunday attendance (over 18) was given in their Membership and Finance Report as 30,424 in 2014. A year later it was 29,019. [See Sept 2016 entry.]

I have been unable to find any reference to current attendance figures for some time which suggests that the Church in Wales has something to hide.

Access to the 'membership app' referred to in the RB Report is by invitation, thus obscuring the data from inquisitive eyes.  I wonder why?

Lay Presidency

From The Living Church: Lay Presidency Comes to the Church of England "The Church of England’s blessings for same-sex couples, which stop short of marriage rites, have prompted a comparable protest from low-church evangelicals."

Not that it will bother the Church in Wales which has long since ceased to keep the faith. Nor will it affect those of us who have effectively been denied the sacraments following archbishop Barry Morgan's shameless withdrawal of sacramental and pastoral provision for Anglicans who do. 

As Anglicanism becomes more secularised the number of attendees tumbles. Collapse is inevitable.

The Church Growth Modelling forecasts, optimistically, the extinction of the Church in Wales by 2060 with just 3,000 in attendance.

That it should come to this!

Caption corner 17 August 2024

 

Source: X (formerly Twitter)

As usual publishable captions will appear as comments.

Truth and justice?

Rev Dr Bernard Randall Source: Christian Today (Photo: Christian Legal Centre)

From Christian Today:

"A chaplain who was sacked after telling school pupils that they did not need to agree with LGBT ideology is seeking a judicial review into the dismissal of his misconduct complaint against the Bishop of Derby. 

"Dr Bernard Randall lost his job at Trent College, Nottingham, over his comments in a 2019 sermon and was reported to the government's terrorism watchdog, Prevent, and the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). After an investigation, the Diocese of Derby's safeguarding team concluded that he was a safeguarding risk to children and he lost his licence to officiate. 

"Prevent, the TRA, and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) all said they would not be taking any action against Dr Randall. 

"Despite this, the Diocese of Derby has refused to renew his licence, meaning he remains barred from preaching." 

Full report here. See also Christian Concern video on X (Twitter) here. How it started here.

Orthodox beliefs are now regarded as somewhat quaint in the Anglican hierarchy as is Christianity among the political elite.

Truth and injustice prevail.

Postscripts

 [16.08.2024] When will bishops be held to account? "If you challenge the progressive establishment, prepare to be abandoned by the hierarchy of the Church of England" - Rev. Dr Bernard Randall

[17.08.2024] Christian Concern Press Release: "Patron of ‘Educate and Celebrate’ whose schools’ gender identity teaching led to Christian chaplain blacklisting charged with sexual abuse against children"

Fresh start

First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan           Source: Pembrokeshire Herald

 Today is the feast of The Transfiguration, the same day that Eluned Morgan has been voted in as Wales’ first female First Minister following the resignation of Vaughan Gething after four months of turmoil.

After the eccentricities of Mark Drakeford and the poor judgement of his successor the people of Wales will be hoping for a Welsh government transfiguration.

Despite devolution the Health Service in Wales has crumbled.

Paying into the NHS throughout their working lives, long waiting lists for hospital treatment are forcing the elderly, particularly, to spend their savings on private treatment to avoid living out their retirement in pain.

The First Minister will need a miracle worker to sort out the mess. We wish her well. The task is not an enviable one.

Why?

Paris Olympic Games 2024 opening ceremony                 Source: X (Twitter)

The above image is taken from one of a number of  Twitter entries showing a parody of The Last Supper in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic games in Paris.

A video is included an article by Must Read Alaska with the comment "The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics is one long drag show."

It certainly was a change from the customary format designed to show off Paris but diversity bordered on deviancy.

Founded on love and forgiveness, Christianity is an easy target that has been used by feminists, Islamists and others to further their own cause. 

Why the Olympic movement allowed itself to be similarly used deserves an explanation.

Postscript [28.07.2024]

Two interventions in the House of Lords on the threat to our Christian heritage:

Lord Pearson talks about the threat of Islamic terrorism. People that do, are accused of Islamophobia. 

He says its the "the modern world's most violent religious ideology". 

Lord Green of Deddington, on the effects of mass legal and illegal migration

“It’s likely children born today to an indigenous British couple will find themselves in a minority in our country by the time they reach their late 40s, yes, my Lords, a minority in their own country”

Church of England follows Wales into the wilderness

The Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron blesses
the Revd Lee Taylor and his civil partner, Fabiano da Silva Duarte.
Source: Church Times

From Premier Christian News: 

"The Church of England has moved closer to offering standalone services for the blessing of same-sex couples. Members of the Church’s legislative body have backed proposals to trial the specific services from 2025 as part of the Living in Love and Faith process.

"The services are set to begin in 2025 as part of a three-year trial, pending the provision of 'pastoral reassurance' which would allow clergy and congregations opposed to the new arrangements to be overseen by like-minded bishops." Details here.

So the Church of England is following the Church in Wales in which a couple received the first same-sex  blessing in 2021.

 Commented at the time: "On Monday 6 September, the Church in Wales voted to allow its clergy to bless same-sex ‘marriages’ and civil partnerships. This was not entirely unexpected given the decline of Christian doctrine and ethics within the Church in Wales in recent years." - The Church in Wales abandons the Christian faith.

It has also abandoned those Anglicans who strive to keep the Christian faith.

Discrimination and violence against women

 

An ideology that permits the behaviour described above has no place in civilised society yet its adherents are courted by politicians to gain their support. Even supposedly Christian leaders fall into the same trap.

The goal of Islam is to take over the entire world because they believe that Muslims have a right given by their God, Allah, to "take over the lands of the inferior non-Muslim nations where infidels do not believe in Islam and refuse to worship Allah."

The fate of the West in Muslim eyes has already been made clear. 

How can anyone who enjoys their freedom vote for supporters of such an ideology?

Postscript  08.07.2024

The Islamist threat to the West explained by a Palestinian ex-militant.

Faith 5%

The six Church in Wales diocesan bishops with the newly appointed 'youngest ever bishop' (left)   Source: Church in Wales

An  extract from a 'Faith' News Alert from the Church in Wales:

"Some people say 'the Church is always after your money' and that money shouldn’t be discussed in church. We believe that with over 2,350 verses in the Bible relating to money and possessions, the subject cannot be ignored. Indeed, the Church in Wales recommends that its members should give 5% of their take-home pay to the Church. We believe that the way we deal with our money speaks volumes about our discipleship. Giving money is part of giving the whole of yourself to God."

In many churches money is necessarily discussed regularly as they try to make ends meet while struggling to pay their diocesan 'share'.

Using some rounded numbers, in Wales 5% of average monthly take home pay of £2,000 amounts to £100 (around £25 per week) which is earmarked for the Church before more deserving causes.

One may ask, What could be more deserving than the Church? There are many deserving causes. The poor. The hungry. The dispossessed. Many relying on charity. The list is endless.

Instead of being a place for worship the Church has become increasingly politicised providing a platform for secular causes, a situation many resent supporting with predictable consequences.

The Church in Wales has long since ceased to be an example of good stewardship, maintaining a bloated structure reminiscent its former thriving self. 

In 2012 the Harris Review recommended structural changes including reducing to three administrative centres (Recommendation XXII) followed by Recommendation XXV: "The recommendations XXII, XXIII and XXIV should be reviewed after three years and a judgement made about whether the Church in Wales is best served by six dioceses with three administrative centres or whether it would be more effective to reduce to three dioceses, together with four area bishops."

Instead the bench of bishops have extend their empire, adding assistant bishops, advisors and administrative staff while turning the Church into a home for factional groups seeking to  'legitimise' their secular activities at the expense of the faithful.

The Church in Wales says, "We believe that the way we deal with our money speaks volumes about our discipleship." - Exactly!

With dwindling membership a once thriving Church has become largely irrelevant to former worshipers.

Fortunately the good shepherd knows His sheep and His sheep know Him.

Ordinariate Episcopal Ordination

 

Father David Waller, second Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady
of Walsingham. Source: Catholic News World

I have heard little of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham of late but tomorrow (22nd June) marks a special occasion for the Ordinariate with the Episcopal Ordination of the Revd David Arthur Waller as the second Ordinary, and first Bishop Ordinary, following the retirement of Monsignor Keith Newton.

From their web site:

EPISCOPAL ORDINATION OF BISHOP-ELECT DAVID WALLER - Live Streaming Links

Friday 21st June at 6.00pm  

Solemn Evensong and Benediction together with blessing of episcopal insignia at Our Lady of the Assumption Warwick Street.

Livesteam link - www.ordinariate.live

Saturday 22nd June at 11am

The Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Elect David Waller at Westminster Cathedral

The principal consecrator will be His Eminence Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Livesteam link - Westminster Cathedral YouTube channel

Sunday 23rd June at 10.30am

Solemn Mass at Our Lady of the Assumption Warwick Street,

when Bishop David will take possession  of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Livesteam link - www.ordinariate.live

We pray for Bishop-elect David as he takes on his new responsibility and give thanks for the ministry of Monsignor Keith Newton as the Ordinariate's first Ordinary.

Keir Starmer on Islamophobia

 

In the above video Keir Starmer speaks to Sadiq Khan about how Khan celebrates Eid before going on to discuss Islamophobia which he describes as 'intolerable'.

A phobia is a "persistent, irrational, intense fear of a specific object, activity, or situation (the phobic stimulus), fear that is recognized as being excessive or unreasonable by the individual himself." 

There is nothing irrational, excessive or unreasonable about the fear of Islam, a political ideology that sees non-Muslims as infidels. Three things you should know about Islam can be viewed here.

Douglas Murray is one of the few prepared to put the problem of fact and fiction into perspective as he does here.

Islamophobia (as explained here) is an invention designed to grant special privileges that Islam would deny to others.

Witness the fate of Iraqi Christians in 2014 when Islamists gained control there. It is happening to Christian Armenians in Azerbaijan.

The Christian Middle East is now predominantly Muslim, the fate of Great Britain if some Muslims have their way.

In April The Express reported that a "new survey found that nearly half - 46 percent - of British Muslims sympathise with Hamas while a third wished for Shariah law to be implemented in the UK."

Sadiq Khan says it is a priority for him to "build thousands more homes in London for Muslims to live near mosques and halal food shops."

"If Islam ran the country, it would be the end of all our freedoms" warns an ex-Muslim lady.

Starmer's vote gathering is truly offensive in a Christian nation. 

Postscript (28.06.2014)

Post by Rafe Heydel-Mankoo, including a prophetic Christopher Hitchins video on X here

Archbishop attracts further criticism

The Archbishop of Wales (right) and gay pride supporters, the sub-dean of Bangor
 and former Mayor      Source: Twitter

Martin Shipton writes in Nation Cymru:

 "Questions are being raised about the judgement of Archbishop of Wales Andy John after the emergence of concerns relating to potential financial irregularities in his home diocese of Bangor.

"Several Church in Wales sources have independently contacted NationCymru to criticise the Archbishop for creating a situation where one cleric – the Rev Canon Siôn ap Rhys-Evans – was effectively running both the diocese of Bangor and its cathedral. He has been on gardening leave since February 29."

Continuing their mushroom method of management the church remains silent about the absence of the sub-dean of Bangor.

Shipton continues, "One Church in Wales source told us: 'The Church is doing its best to keep a lid on this and make sure it doesn’t become a public controversy. But the fact is that the Archbishop made a serious mistake when he appointed Sion Rhys-Evans as the Sub-Dean of Bangor Cathedral in 2021. The fact that he’s in charge of both the cathedral and the diocese is a major problem and he may live to regret it'."

The archbishop's judgement has already been called into question for ignoring the teaching of the Church having remarried after his divorce form his first wife. Also for appointing an assistant bishop who is engaged to another man implying future marriage which contrary to the teaching of the Church in Wales.

Not the symbol of unity his flock expects.

D-Day: 80th Anniversary Thanksgiving and Apology

D-Day on 6 June 1944 was the largest amphibious invasion in history and was vital in the defeat of the Nazis in the Second World War. Source: Forces Net

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site gives the number of D-Day allied casualties as 156,000. Allied deaths totalled over 4,000 during Operation Overlord. 

On the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings we remember with gratitude all those who perished in conflict and grieve for families who lost loved ones defending our Island only to see their hard won freedom surrendered to an alien ideology. Examples here and here.

Churchill was right.

His resolve:

"We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."
 -Winston Churchill, House of Commons 4 June 1940.

His warning:

"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."
- From Churchill Gets the Last Word on Islam (Middle East Forum)

His warning must not go unheeded.

Postscript 13.06.2024

Darren Grimes on the madness of the West’s new religious double standards
https://x.com/darrengrimes_/status/1800868307148718315

I don't believe it!

Former Dean of Llandaff, Rev Gerwyn Capon Source: CinW

From the Diocese of St Asaph:

The Bishop of St Asaph has announced the appointment of a new Archdeacon of Montgomery.

The Revd Gerwyn Capon will take up the post following the retirement of the current Archdeacon, the Venerable Dr Barry Wilson, in August.

Scottish Episcopal Church bishop Anne Dyer to face a disciplinary tribunal

Bishop Dyer  has a month to enter her plea ahead
 of the hearing in Edinburgh in September. Source: Mail Online

From Mail Online: "Scotland's first female bishop has been accused of bullying but claims she's actually a victim of sexism. As the Right Reverend Anne Dyer faces a church court... just what is the 'conduct unbecoming of the clergy' that could see her axed?" Full report here.

In a previous entry (2018)  I commented on a statement by the new Episcopalian Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in which she made it clear she was not interested in restricting herself to "prayers, pews and parochial parish life". She would be focused on "fighting for social justice, sexual equality".

Clearly she would have been better employed as a social worker than pretending to be a man of God. 

Postscript (14.06.2024)

From BBC News: "Members of the Scottish Episcopal Church who raised concerns about the behaviour of Scotland's first female bishop are urging its senior leader to address what they have described are "baseless accusations" of homophobia and misogyny." Details here.

From Wikipedia: "In February 2021, Dyer was accused of bullying by a number of clergy, laypeople and church employees in The Times.[15] In March 2021, the College of Bishops commissioned Iain Torrance to lead an Independent Review into "difficulties" in the Diocese following a series of allegations regarding the Bishop.[16] In August 2021 the College of Bishops announced their intention to defer publication of the report and move to a second stage of reviewing." Details here.

Election farce

 

Standing in the rain outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced that there would be a General Election on 4 July, 2024.

Inclement weather was not the only thing Rishi Sunak was forced to deal with. He had to battle against a loud speaker which almost drowned him out as protesters played 'Things Can Only Get Better'!

Protesters now do as they please, disrupting the free movement of traffic, defacing works of art and public monuments, all under the guise of free speech.

Those of us who are sick and tired of protesters who abuse our freedoms to beat us over the head with will have ample opportunity to demand to know from candidates what they and their Parties propose to do to defend true British values against such abuse.