Altar reverence

Source: Church Times

Church Times (£):
"THE consistory court of the diocese of Leicester has refused to grant a faculty for the introduction of a new altar frontal at St Nicholas’s, Leicester, displaying the Progress Pride flag and incorporating a cross in the design.

"The Progress Pride flag was 'not a Christian emblem', the Chancellor Naomi Gyane said. While it was 'a sign of welcome for people from the LGBTQIA+ community, and although not itself political,' it was, she said, 'a secular contemporary emblem used for many causes and contemporary discourse'."

From the same article:
"He [Dr Ian Paul. one of the objectors] stated that the purpose of the table at which holy communion was celebrated was to focus the congregation on remembering the death of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and not to focus on contemporary and political issues; and that the presence of the Progress Pride flag introduced a tension with the teachings of Jesus and the scriptures as a whole into the centre of the rite of communion."

Exactly! Take note the Church in Wales. See here and here.

 Church in Wales, St Augustine's Rumney                                                                   Source: Twitter

Backwards in Faith: A preposterous proposal

 Simon Cowling, Dean of Wakefield                               Source: Yorkshire Post

Some readers may have received this statement from Forward in Faith:
Forward in Faith notes the Dean of Wakefield’s decision to comply with the ruling of the Independent Reviewer, Sir William Fittall, in his report on Wakefield Cathedral by making available to the complainant a service rota with information about the identity of those who will be celebrating the Eucharist in the Cathedral.

"This is a welcome first step towards making Wakefield Cathedral once again a truly inclusive church in which traditional catholics are made welcome and encouraged to flourish. We hope for even greater generosity in future."

From the dean's response:

"I have now notified Sir William that I intend to keep the existing policy in place, but with a significant adjustment which I believe to be in line with the spirit of his conclusions. I will be offering a pastoral, face to face, meeting with anyone who is a regular member of the worshipping community at Wakefield Cathedral who is unable for reasons of conscience to accept the priestly ministry of women. This will afford the space for a shared conversation and the opportunity for me to offer to send a paper copy of the quarterly rota when it is published. This will be on the understanding that it is for their personal use and that it may change at short notice. I am pleased to say that I have already had such a conversation with the individual whose letter of concern prompted the Review and the person concerned is reflecting on this offer."

-  The Very Revd Simon Cowling, Dean of Wakefield, 12 June 2019

A member of the congregation of Wakefield cathedral wrote to the Independent Reviewer under the House of Bishops declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests expressing concern at a change of practice concerning the publication of names of those due to preside at celebrations of Holy Communion in the Cathedral.

The Independent Reviewer concluded that whether or not the dean and chapter routinely publishes the names of celebrants was "a matter of judgement for them" but the information should be supplied in good grace to anyone who asks for it in advance so that "they can make an informed choice over whether to attend a particular service in the light of their theological conviction in relation to gender and ordained ministry."

"Reciprocity and mutuality mean that the majority and minority need to avoid putting stumbling blocks in the way of each other or giving offence: members of chapter need to act with generosity, forbearance and pastoral sensitivity to any cathedral worshippers - especially regular members of the cathedral community - who are unable on grounds of theological conviction to receive the sacramental ministry of women priests; similarly the latter need to show respect to all chapter clergy and seek to maintain the highest possible degree of communion."

The highest possible degree of communion can best be achieved by not setting artificial barriers which frustrate those who on theological grounds are unable to accept the sacramental ministry of women priests.

The bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines said of Dean Cowling: “Simon has wide parochial and cathedral experience, and, working with good colleagues, he will bring significant gifts, knowledge and wisdom to the task of leading Wakefield Cathedral.” Intimidation might have been more apt.

The Dean of Wakefield's response to Sir Williams Fittall's conclusions is to 'afford space' for a 'shared conversation' and the opportunity to offer to send a paper copy of the quarterly rota when it is published on the understanding that it is for  personal use and that it may change at short notice. [My emphasis - Ed.]

There is no need for confrontation, just some respect for the views of orthodox Anglicans who find themselves in a minority in the church of England for keeping the faith shared by millions of others in the Anglican Communion.

Archbishop Barry Morgan performed a similar stunt in Llandaff Cathedral in 2012 when, as acting Dean, he abandoned the concept of twin integrities. Worshippers were expected to await the entrance of the celebrant to discover if they had been conned into appearing to support the ordination of women.

There is nothing to be gained from such mean spirited actions and everything to lose.

The Dean of Wakefield said, "I take my responsibility for playing my part in that search very seriously and it is my sincere hope that the way forward I have outlined will be received in the same spirit with which it is offered." I hope not.

Church in Wales Lowlights April 2015

"Places like Wales you can write off with Brazil as either in the pocket or in the mindset of Katharine Jefferts Schori in the hard left." - Anglican Unscripted 172 (@12.38)

The recent meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales was dominated by the representation of women in the church: "Equality agenda responsibility of the whole Church" see pages 4 and 5 (of 8) in Highlights. It did not occur to them that self praise is no recommendation.

Never one to shrink from voicing her own opinions as if they were representative of the Holy Catholic Church, the Venerable Peggy Jackson "saw a disconnect between who we are and who we think we are. 'We must address our own issues. We want positive action, not positive discrimination.' She urged women to step up and take responsibility". Peggy and her chums may be big fish in a very small pond but in no way are they who they think they are.

But Barry did not have it all his own way. Another of his chums, the Lord Harris of Pentregarth, a former Bishop of Oxford and "a leading CofE liberal thinker" who thinks that the "Koran should be read at Prince Charles' coronation" (here), inserted an unpopular recommendation in the Church in Wales Review:

Recommendation XLII
1) Fees for occasional offices should be paid into church
accounts and go towards the cost of the Share in the Ministry
Area.
2) Clergy stipends should be recalibrated to ensure that they are
comparable to that of neighbouring Anglican churches.

As a former Dean of Llandaff was fond of saying, that went down like a cup of cold sick with Church in Wales clergy who rejected the idea. The motion was lost, with 48 votes against, 34 for, and 27 abstentions. Again there is nothing like self-interest for moving the soul. Much like the "Damascus Rangers" who in a flash saw which side their bread was buttered after the Church in Wales decided for themselves that there was no theological objection to the ordination of women.

From page 27 of the Review report, "The Church in Wales is unusual in allowing clergy to keep fees for funerals, weddings and other occasional offices. This system is open to abuse and we find it unacceptable". It is an oddity of the Church in Wales that other Provinces are held up as exemplars when it suits and then dropped or otherwise ignored. Recall how the Code of Practice in the Church of England was held up as an example of care and compassion in the debate on women bishops only to be dropped after the motion was successfully amended to accept the innovation before a code for Wales was agreed by those for whom it was intended!

Compare also the use of discretionary funds: "Care for those in need is an essential feature of Christian discipleship and an important part of the Church’s work. At the same time this work needs to be effectively managed. In the past people in need have turned to the clergy for help from Discretionary Funds. This role for the clergy is no longer appropriate. - But fine in the Church in Wales! Christ had a word for that. 

One of the oddest moments occurred in Question Time with the question:

 Will the Bench of Bishops, recognising that current Church policy is to instruct all clergy to use fermented communion wine at the Eucharist, consider in individual and exceptional circumstances, for pastoral reasons, permitting a cleric with the approval of the bishop, to offer a separate chalice of non alcoholic communion wine? 

Bishop Gregory responded:

"The question opens out unexpected theological intricacies. The Anglican Lambeth Quadrilateral said that "the two sacraments ordained by Christ himself—Baptism and the Supper of the Lord—are ministered with unfailing use of Christ’s words of institution and of the elements ordained by him." This means the use of wine—the fermented juice of the grape—is essential to proper celebration of the sacraments. The reception of bread alone should be pastorally sufficient when well explained to anyone who has difficult receiving alcoholic wine." 

At last, I thought, some theological sense but then Bishop Gregory added: "Dealcoholicised wine is available for use in the Eucharist; and a discrete second chalice could be used". So how long before the Liturgical Commission recommends a change to "took the cups"? Perhaps in due course, on its road to non-conformity, the Church in Wales will encourage the use of optics and individual communion glasses in the part of the church set aside for coffee so that everyone can do their own thing.

The main issue for the Archbishop, his campaign for same-sex marriage, remains hovering in the background. It is currently being discussed around the Province in preparation for it to be imposed regardless of the outcome of any discussions, just as the Code of Practice was imposed after disregarding the outcome of provincial meetings which agreed that adequate provision should be made for Church members who were opposed on theological grounds to the ordination of women. If the bishops of the Church in Wales kept the faith there would be nothing to discuss. "Places like Wales you can write off". Seems so.