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.

Leading by example!

This morning two of the items to arrive in my in tray referred to His Grace the Archbishop of Wales. The first was an alert about the NATO summit to be held in Newport, South Wales in September (see second half of the article):
"THE Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan, has come out in support of anti-Nato protestors. A Church in Wales spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that the archbishop had signed the No Nato Newport 'statement of opposition.'

However she said the archbishop wouldn’t be taking part in protests themselves, due to take place in the days leading to the September event...'We are a broad church, literally,' she said, saying she didn’t know the Archbishop’s motivation for joining in. 'It’s all about helping magnify the voices of the little people that are being bombed and droned,' she added.

Dr Morgan's concern for "the little people" is touching but selective. The little people in his "broad church" dare not speak openly for fear of retribution if they criticise Barry's agenda. It is noticeable that in general only commentators wishing to secure favour with the Archbishop such as the Diocesan Secretary and his staff have used their own names when making unsubstantiated accusations against commentators.

The second item was a comment in response to the previous entry, Discretionary funds @ 9:45AM on July 5, 2014: " I am happy to facilitate the tabling of a proposal at the PCC that such collections are only contributed to audited funds".

To avoid retribution others need to step forward so I would urge all readers who are PCC members in the Church in Wales to propose similar action along the lines:
'That this Council resolves, for the furthering of the mission of the Church in Wales in the Diocese of Llandaff, within a framework of full accountability, that collections at confirmations and institutions in this parish will, after expenses have been defrayed, be donated only to those accounts which are the subject of annual audit and publication.'

Discretionary funds

Original design: Faizan Dawood

Discretionary Funds [Guidance from the Church of England] 

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.

It is important that there should be the closest possible working relationship between the Church and other agencies (Social Care Services etc.) in responding to calls for help. At national level there is great concern for the safety of the clergy and there is need to be aware of the danger if clergy are seen as dispensers of cash. 

Inevitably with discretionary funds there is need for confidentiality (usually between incumbent and churchwardens), but in these days of much closer scrutiny by Charity Commissioners, Inland Revenue, etc. There is increasing need for openness. The greater the degree of confidentiality, the greater is the suspicion of the possibility of misappropriation. 

For the above reason any Incumbent’s Discretionary Fund should cease forthwith and should be replaced by a system of discretionary help provided on a non-cash basis as recommended in “Clergy security: A Discussion Paper”, issued by the Advisory Board for Ministry. Every effort will be made to work in partnership with Social Services or other appropriate agencies. 

If the PCC decides that there could be circumstances when financial contributions from the PCC funds could be deemed appropriate, clear procedures need to be in place for authorising such payments. It should be clearly understood that no payments of this kind can be authorised by any single person. Any discretionary payment needs to be authorised in writing by at least two of a nominated group of people who should then not sign the cheque for the payment they have authorised. For audit purposes a receipt should be obtained in all cases and this should be filed with the signed authorisation for the payment and a photocopy of the completed cheque. Such payments in total should be included in the annual Statement of Financial Activity (“SOFA”). 

http://www.cofesuffolk.org.uk/assets/downloads/governance/Diocesan%20Handbook/E8%20Guidelines%20for%20handling%20money%20rev%203.docx.pdf

The following paragraph is all I can find for the Church in Wales:

5.  THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (Functions)

The PCC’s responsibilities are not limited to the eight areas set out above (see here). Specific mention is made (Chapter IVC section 8(4)) that, with the exception of Special Trusts and the Incumbent’s discretionary fund, parish finance should be under the control of the PCC. The PCC is a channel of communication between the parishioners and the Bishop.

One anonymous diocesan commentator under the previous entry, subsequently using the pen name Lawabiding complained "Whether it's moaning about Women, Bishops, Assistant Bishops, those who try and drag the church into the 21st Century, Ancient Briton and its followers always have some kind of axe to grind." 

It seems to me and to other commentators that there is a legitimate axe to grind here. This is not only for transparency but for the protection of clergy. If the bishops really want to drag the Church of Wales into the 21st century they should at least get their priorities right and follow the example of the Church of England. 

The amounts are not trivial. According commentators the Llandaff Diocesan Accounts show a grand total of £243,511 for the years from 2005 to 2013:

Year   Mission Fund    Discretionary Fund    Total

2005  £ 6,488              £ 11,985                     £ 18,473

2006  £ 3,911              £ 12,202                     £ 16,113

2007  £ 3,791              £ 17,556                     £ 21,347

2008  £ 6,077              £ 18,083                     £ 24,160

2009  £12,976             £ 18,627                     £ 31,603

2010  £12,922             £ 18,720                     £ 31,642

2011  £11,461             £ 19,095                     £ 30,556

2012  £15,196             £ 19,095                     £ 34,291

2013  £16,231             £ 19,095                     £ 35,326

This is not to suggest that funds have been misappropriated, rather it is the case that, as the Church of England recognised some time ago, "This role for the clergy is no longer appropriate". Meanwhile the long suffering parishioners are asked to give more!