Rumours abound that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will resign after the coronation of King Charles III.
He has said that he hoped to remain the Archbishop of Canterbury until he reaches retirement age in 2026, if he is in "good health" and "people are happy" with him in the post.
Very many people are unhappy with Welby's performance as Archbishop of Canterbury, including the majority of Anglicans. Schism looms. Will he go?
Welby's role in turning a Christian coronation service into a multi-faith event has not gone down well.
His 'off-piste' oath plan has backfired. "Buckingham Palace officials fear the Coronation oath could cloud the ceremony due to the criticism surrounding the 'Homage of the People'."
Those of us old enough to recall the solemnity of Queen Elizabeth's coronation will witness a different ceremony, one built around wokery to include people with entirely different beliefs, some of which reject the Christian message.
The Coronation Liturgy shows that the Epistle (Colossians 1: 9-17) is to be read by a Hindu Prime Minister. Hindus worship many gods so which god will the Prime Minister have in mind?
Nothing seems to matter in the Church of England other than being conformed to the world.
On that score, if Welby were to retire, the Archbishop of York and the bishop of London have both shown themselves to be unsuitable.
"I hope that we will not just ‘look to your own interests, but to the interests of others.’ ...May God hold us in the redeeming love of Christ and bless us with the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
The guiding presence of the Holy Spirit is evident not in the Church of England but in GAFCON:
"Despite 25 years of persistent warnings by most Anglican Primates, repeated departures from the authority of God's Word have torn the fabric of the Communion. These warnings were blatantly and deliberately disregarded and now without repentance this tear cannot be mended."
The Archbishop of York has not heeded the message. In his presidential address at the April 2023 York synod he claimed that "We are not judged by 'doctrinal orthodoxy' but 'love', reminiscent of TEC presiding bishop Michael Curry's Love is the way!
What the Church of England needs is an Archbishop of Canterbury can bring the Church back to faith as neatly explained here by Calvin Robinson in his Common Sense Crusade.
In a service with a distinctive Welsh flavour, including harpists, songs, prayers and Bible readings in Welsh, Stuart Bell was consecrated on Saturday 18 March as bishop to serve within the Anglican Convocation in Europe.
Led by Archbishop Foley Beach representing the Gafcon Primates, and Bishop Andy Lines, the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Network in Europe, the service marked a significant moment in the history of the Principality.
Stuart will assist Bishop Andy Lines in providing support and encouragement, oversight and accountability for ACE clergy and congregations within Wales. His consecration represents the continuing provision by the global Anglican family of a home for those seeking to remain faithful to the Biblical gospel of Jesus Christ and uphold historic, orthodox, biblical, confessional Anglicanism.
In his sermon, Archbishop Foley emphasised that the ministry of a bishop is to ensure the message of the church remains the message of Jesus, by teaching the Word of God, defending the faith and proclaiming Jesus boldly and unashamedly.
Asked about Stuart’s consecration, Archbishop Foley said, “It will now give the people of Wales a godly and faithful bishop who upholds the theology and moral teaching of the Bible and our Anglican tradition.”
Stuart himself reflected, “It seems to me that this a twofold testimony. A testimony as orthodox Anglicans in Wales to the Biblical gospel of Jesus Christ which is our responsibility to faithfully present to all who will receive it; and, sadly, a testimony specifically against the Church in Wales which has stepped away from that Biblical gospel.”
In his greeting to the congregation Stuart publicly re-affirmed three life-time commitments: “Firstly to Jesus Christ as my Lord and myself as his disciple. Secondly to the Scriptures as recorded in the Bible, to believe them, to trust them, to seek to live them, and to preach them faithfully. Thirdly, I re-affirm my commitment to Wales, to commend Christ to Wales and to seek to bring Wales to Christ… until my last breath.”
"Bishop Stuart's consecration represents the continuing provision, by the global Anglican family, of a home for those seeking to remain faithful to the Biblical gospel of Jesus Christ and uphold historic, orthodox, biblical, confessional Anglicanism."
An upbeat Archbishop Barry Morgan in 2013 with his Ass bishop and then Dean, Janet Henderson before her shock resignation. It's been downhill for Llandaff ever since. Photo: Church Times
Few if any people have sympathy for a mother who abandons her children.
In 'Mother' Church in Wales under Barry Morgan that is exactly what happened to Anglicans who remained true to the faith of the Holy Catholic Church, something the Church in Wales claims to do but patently does not as it becomes more and more secularised.
Reading about the new structure set up in Australia by GAFCON to help conservatives in dioceses that bless same-sex marriages re-opens old wounds for 'traditionalists' in Wales.
A new Diocese will "operate in parallel with any Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. It will have a Bishop, and the normal structure of an Anglican diocese such as a synod (church parliament and a standing committee)", something that Morgan and his cronies refused to do. Society bishops are banned from ministering in Wales.
Other Provinces have made provision for those who, in conscience, are unable to accept progressive ideas contrary to scripture and tradition. In Wales, after an initial nod to ensure the success of bills to allow women to be ordained, traditionalists have been abandoned without thought or consideration from bishops charged with caring for all.
Other Provinces have not been so heartless so why have Anglican bishops in Wales been so cruel?
One obvious answer is that traditionalists are a thorn in the flesh in a Church in which matters of the flesh and sexual preference are considered more important than one's faith.
Archbishop Morgan was determined that there would be no long term alternative pastoral or sacramental provision for those who did not share his secularised vision of the church.
Seeing himself as a 'progressive' bishop, Morgan followed the secular, feminist agenda of admitting women to the priesthood and to the episcopate regardless of scripture and tradition while liberalising sexual attitudes to permit same sex marriages in Church. He showed no consideration for those he regarded as opponents once the measures were approved.
Morgan even promoted his his own interpretation of the Bible to advance his cause and was promptly shot down.
The archbishop imported ambitious clergy from England to aid his cause leaving him with egg on his face. Most spectacularly following the resignation of the Very Rev Janet Henderson from her position as Dean of Llandaff after only a few weeks in post. That led to all manner of speculation and rumours of a non-disclosure agreement.
More recently Morgan's manoeuvrings which led to the 'election' of Joanna Penberthy as bishop of St Davids came badly unstuck. He had promoted Penberthy as 'the best person to be a bishop'. Experience suggests the reverse was true.
Another of Morgan's casualties, Ass bishop David Wilbourne, complained of a "sustained campaign forcing him to quit". He often reminded anyone prepared to listen, or not, that he knew John Habgood, not the best acquaintance for some. It has been claimed Habgood 's intervention was responsible for the Church of England's acceptance of the ordination of women.
The Rev Peter Mullin wrote in The Telegraph (£), 06 Feb 2012: "This stinking fish has been a long time on the slab. Back in 1992, the church voted to admit women to the priesthood, but this was only agreed upon the intervention of the then Archbishop of York, Dr John Habgood, who insisted that there were “two integrities” within the church: the one that could accept women priests and the other that could not. Room must be made for both. If Dr Habgood’s agreeable compromise had not been accepted then there would not have been a majority in favour of the ordination of women".
The Church in Wales and the Church of England now ordain women. While the Church of England maintains the two integrities, traditionalists in Wales have been abandoned.
Initially bishop David Thomas was appointed Provincial Assistant Bishop but archbishop Morgan made it abundantly clear that there would not be another when Bishop Thomas retired in 2008.
Another of Morgan's imports from the Church of England, Peggy Jackson used her position as Archdeacon of Llandaff to do all that she could to get rid of traditionalists, leaving them "to make personal decisions and individual choices, to find accommodation as best they can".
She, in turn was to be humiliated when Governing Body rejected her mean private members motion which called on the bench of bishops to "cease to ordain those who, refusing the sacramental ministry of women, expect to rely upon the conscience clauses of the Code".
Nevertheless, the process of abandonment in Wales continues. After Barry Morgan's retirement, the new Archbishop of Wales signalled no change in policy. There would be more of the same - but faster.
Barry Morgan made no secret of the fact that he would not oppose the appointment of a gay bishop. A strong contender to replace him was Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans.
From Llandaff stalemate: After three days of deliberations (note the link comes under 'Politics'), the Electoral College of the Church in Wales failed to produce a bishop-elect or, as the Rev Peter Ould tweeted, the Church in Wales "couldn't quite bring itself to elect Jeffrey John as Bishop of Llandaff".
While some argued that the appointment of Jeffrey John would attract too much attention for the wrong reason, others suggested that he was just too bright for the rest of the bench who feared they would be overshadowed.
The Church in Wales has two more imports from England sitting on the bench. A partnered lesbian elected bishop of Monmouth and an LGBT+ banner-waving sociologist who was appointed to Llandaff where she enjoys experimenting in her diocese regardless of the effect on existing congregations.
In Llandaff the continued absence of Barry Morgan's placement, Dean Gerwyn Capon remains a puzzle, as does the cause of the swift departure of his predecessor, Janet Henderson but given the mire Janet no doubt found herself in I would guess that she told Barry Morgan what he could do with his scheming.
It says much about an archbishop who prides himself on his Welshness that, save for the one exception who escaped back over the border, he imported failures from England to do his bidding.
So faithful Anglicans across Wales have been abandoned, as Peggy Jackson directed, to find accommodation as best they can.
Some will have found an accommodation in the Church in Wales, presumably with fingers firmly crossed, while others will have advanced their careers, putting their souls in peril in the process. Others just have their memories.
Wales must be among the worst provinces in the Anglican Communion but who cares?
The Archbishop of Canterbury with Archbishop of York Designate Stephen Cottrell, Source: CofE
A bit of an 'oik from Essex' has been nominated as the new Archbishop of York in succession to Dr John Sentamu. Not my description but Stephen Cottrell's description of himself in a Sheffield Diocesan Development Day lecture in 2011.
A gifted communicator, his appointment is understandable given the liberal direction of the Church of England. He had been widely tipped to succeed Richard Chartres as Bishop of London but lost out to former head nurse Dame Sarah Mullally.
A critic of the church for its 'shortcomings' in promoting BAME clergy into senior positions and a supporter of the ordination of women who looks forward to seeing a female archbishop of Canterbury, he can count himself lucky that he has not found himself sidelined like other men, a victim of his own political correctness.
Asked by the Guardian about the issue of same-sex relationships which has "divided the church for more than 20 years", he said there was “absolutely no place for homophobia in our church, and absolutely everyone, regardless of their sexuality, is welcome in our church”.
Christian Concern tweeted differently: "@CottrellStephen has previously shown he has no respect for Biblical truth on human sexuality and marriage."
Cottrell's appointment has caused some controversy, so much so that a spokesperson for the Church of England has issued a Statement on the Archbishop of York designate, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell denying accusations made against him by "a pressure group". He was said to have told clergy that 'if they disagree with the approach the Diocese is taking on matters of human sexuality' they should follow their consciences and leave.
In June 2019 gafcon uk issued a statement by representatives of conservative evangelical clergy from the Diocese of Chelmsford confirming that “we are used to being told that we don’t belong”.
Commenting on Bishop Stephen Cottrell's Presidential Address to Diocesan Synod on Saturday 11 March 2017, Andrew Symes of Anglican Mainstream wrote that Cotterell has given "one of the clearest indications yet of the next stage of major change in the Church of England’s approach to sexual ethics" after he called for “prayers of thanksgiving” for same sex relationships.
Ironically Stephen Cottrell replaced the openly gay priest Jeffrey John as bishop of Reading in 2004 after John was pressured to step down by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
One can only speculate on the trajectory of Cottrell's career had Jeffrey John not been persuaded to step down as bishop of Reading but Jeffrey John must have been feeling particularly sick on reading of Cottrell's elevation. More able than many Dr John has played by the rules while lesser clergy have flaunted them. Had he defended the Church's traditional teaching on marriage he would have gained wider support.
By teaming a new, liberal Archbishop of York with an ineffectual Archbishop of Canterbury the Church of England looks destined to stray even further from biblical truth with a further exodus of disaffected Anglicans.
In conclusion, a quote from The Spectator in an articleThe slow, strange race to be the next Bishop of London by Ysenda Maxtone Graham, author of The Church Hesitant:
"But my money (and other people’s, too) would be on Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford. He was state-educated in Leigh-on-Sea, so can be ‘a bit cor-blimey’, as some have said to me. It’s true that his recent talk in the cathedral to his clergy included the phrases ‘Who gives a toss?’, ‘Flush down the toilet’ and ‘What the bloody hell?’ But he grows on you. He’s a scintillating public communicator, straddles both the Evangelical and the Anglo-Catholic traditions, is self-deprecating, funny, articulate and imaginative. If he’s chosen, we’ll just have to blot out the Chartres voice from our memory: no point in comparing them."
Also mentioned in Ysenda's article is 'the once-tipped June Osborne' who seemed to have been 'shunted into sidings as cathedral dean and may well go no further'.
"Bishop Cottrell had 'spoken out — when many others have been silent — about the need for the Church to respect and honour the LGBT+ community'." - Jayne Ozanne, a member of the General Synod and a prominent LGBT campaigner.
"He’s a great teacher and communicator of the faith, he’s rooted in Catholic spirituality, he speaks his mind, and he’s a voice for LGBT inclusion." - Revd Dr Johanna Kershaw, Associate Priest of Outwood, Stanley, and Wrenthorpe, in Wakefield.
In his Petertide 2018 message the Archbishop of Wales uses the current obsession with soccer and hysteria surrounding the World Cup tournament to spice up his appeal for people to become involved in lay ministry. He says he is certain that there are "thousands of faithful people in our churches around Wales" who could do a huge amount to strengthen and build-up our ministry. He goes on to plug the 'Theology for life' course.
Ummm, thousands of faithful people? At the last count there were only around 28,000 mainly elderly regular attenders in the Church in Wales representing less than 1% of the population. There were 5,963 regular attenders under the age of 18 which, remarkably, is against the trend of continual decline but probably the result of parents seeking a place for their offspring in a church school before disappearing again.
In a province numerically smaller than many dioceses in the Church of England, Oxford has 65,000 worshippers, Chichester 47,000, most congregations are dominated by the elderly, some exclusively. In London with 89,000 worshippers, Pastoral Assistants are typically in their early to mid-twenties and considering a vocation to ordained ministry in the Church of England.
In Wales, dream on! In my experience and that of others, many volunteers who felt called to a lay ministry would have been the last people I would have wanted calling in times of distress. Some were totally unsuited to the ministry to which they believed they were called but it was difficult to convince them.
Given the Church in Wales' apparent policy of accepting anything that moves if they show the slightest inclination towards ministry, lay ministry could do more harm than good.
As for the 'Theology for life' course, the Church in Wales does not do theology. It does what it refers to as equality. That is not 'equality' in the normal sense. It is a feminist euphemism for parity which applies a quota system instead of offering equality of opportunity based on ability and suitability. It is pure sexism.
What, then, is the Church in Wales teaching having abandoned the faithful, many of whom used to carry out the numerous tasks claimed by the archbishop as being left to the clergy. It teaches that the church must be relevant to society, adopting secular values.
As the number of women clergy increases cultural relativism expands. Our common heritage with the majority of Anglicans fades as spirituality gives way to sexuality. Far from saving the Anglican Church, feminists are destroying it, starting in the US and now rampant throughout the West.
In an article headed 'Could feminists save the Anglican Church?' the "brilliant theologian of the feminist movement", Rosemary Radford Ruether, is quoted as claiming that "Christianity has always absorbed cultural change to match people’s real lives – thankfully. Yet Christian doctrine seems to be continually out of step with social progress". The article goes on:
"Feminism has produced some startling and radical theologies over the years, making it possible for women to claim their place in the Anglican Church hierarchy as priests and bishops. "Christian feminists are working to subvert the patriarchal dogma of Christianity from within, dealing with some awkward, misogynist biblical passages and some awkward traditionalists. Read Mary Daly or Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza and it becomes possible to imagine Christian symbols in ways that are not oppressive. "Feminist theology attempts to re-frame Christianity to allow oppressed groups access to God, who, it turns out, does not privilege the male, white, middle class and heterosexual humans after all. Queer theology, like feminist theology, operates at the boundaries of the Church, though there is much more hope, acceptance and optimism at the grassroots. "Feminism started a theological ball rolling....feminists worked tirelessly to talk the church out of its most blatant sexist dogma. The same process is happening for the LGBTQ Christian community. Of course, sexual identity is much more than being able to be married in church, but it would be an outward sign of theological transformation."
If anything the archbishop's appeal indicates how desperate the Church in Wales has become in its terminal decline, diluting priestly ministry as it identifies more with nonconformists and a United Church for Wales than the Holy Catholic Church of which it claims membership:
"Since the Church in Wales continues to share the historic episcopate with other Churches, including other Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches, which continue to ordain only men as priests or bishops, the Bench of Bishops acknowledges that this decision on ministry and gender is set within a broader process of discernment and reception within the Anglican Communion and the whole Church of God." (Code of Practice)
Within the Anglican Communion, many provinces have gone their own way in the Global Anglican crack up. They have little in common beyond their historical links with the Church of England.
The majority of Anglicans look to GAFCON to Celebrate Gospel of God. Meeting in Jerusalem at the largest international gathering of Anglicans in 50 years, the GAFCON chairman, Nigerian Primate Nicholas Okoh, said that the West is now among the most secular nations on the planet, which sadly includes the Church of England, to which the Anglican Communion owes its origins and for which, he said, we still have a deep affection.
"The essence of the Gospel has virtually been lost in the nations of the West, and if it is to recover its spiritual identity, it must once again embrace that same Gospel or face irrelevancy, decline and finally obliteration.
"The mostly western churches have compromised on sexuality issues and that is viewed here, by these evangelical Anglicans, as a road down which they will not go for fear they jeopardize both the true nature of marriage that is exclusively between a man and a woman, and worse, damaging to their very souls.
"It is not without its significance that of the 11 active Primates here, five are from Africa, two are from the Argentine and Brazil, one is from Australia and Southeast Asia (Myanmar) with just one from the U.S. That the U.S. role which was for years so prominent, and now so reduced, indicates the shift in global Anglicanism from the Global North to the Global South."
OUR GLOBAL ANGLICAN FUTURE
To proclaim the gospel, we must first defend the gospel against threats from without and within. We testify to the extraordinary blessings on this Conference, which leads us to call upon God even more, that the Anglican Communion may become a mighty instrument in the hand of God for the salvation of the world. We invite all faithful Anglicans to join us in this great enterprise of proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations.
When the Archbishops of Wales and of Canterbury hold minority views which are contrary to the beliefs of the majority of Anglicans and the wider Church, further decline is inevitable.
Explaining how the deception works, Dr Ashenden explains how "a 3rd wave feminism extended parity into the area of social and sexual engineering. It involved the re-imagining of gender. Making gender flexible and fluid according to the preferences of the imagination.
"The strategy was first feminism and the introduction of the virus of equality , then gay marriage , based on the same artificial notion of equality, then the eradication of gender in the mind with transgenderism. And then paedophilia."
Referring to the latest Canadian propaganda videos "which show the increasing sexualisation of children as they are educated to become ‘allies’ of the LGBTQI++ , the bishop provided a reference to this sample video
"Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man"!
This goes way beyond tolerance and understanding. How did we allow ourselves to get here?
Most of the 32 gay MPs and peers managed to get to the IoS photocall Teri Pengilley/Independent
In February 2016 the Independent published this picture of 28 MPs and peers. It was reported to be the largest number of publicly out parliamentarians photographed together at one time.
On the BBC Breakfast show this morning [advance to 2:13:00] it was reported that there are now 45 LGBT MPs (7%), an increase of 40% since 2015. A record 208 women MPs were elected but they "still make up only 32% of the total number of MPs", the implication being that well short of parity, the latest buzz for women clergy, women are under represented
The Office for National Statistics' bulletin: 'Sexual identity, UK: 2015' shows that in 2015, 1.7% of the UK population identified themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) so similarly LGB people are over represented.
The Church of England (CofE) LGBTI network Changing attitude estimates that about 10% of clergy are LGBT, almost six times the national average, indicating a level of influence which has resulted in the CofE softening its stance on LGBT issues.
In 2015 the Telegraph reported that the House of Commons had more gay MPs than any other parliament in the world, up to 32 from 26 in the previous parliament indicating from the latest figure that the trend is upwards. In the CofE there is growing acceptance of same sex marriage with the possibility that the CofE will follow the lead of the Scottish Episcopal Church. In Wales the bench of bishops came out strongly in favour of same sex marriage but were defeated. The two new women bishops are strong LGBT advocates.
As an indication of how little the Bible informs CofE thinking, 'Gay rock star' Vicky Beeching has been given the Thomas Cranmer Award for Worship by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Compare that with the number of former worshippers who have been deprived of the opportunity to worship because their church has left them.
Archbishop Justin Welby has also been 'honoured' in joining Muslims breaking their daily Ramadan fast. No doubt his halal experience will have been convivial. He tweeted: "@JustinWelby at @AlKhoei for a Big Iftar with friends of various faiths. Through hosting an #iftar we find out more we have in common. 10:14 PM - 12 Jun 2017".
There is nothing in common with the orthodox faith of Christians especially in Muslim countries where homosexuals are killed and Christians are slaughtered in countries such as Egypt simply for not being Muslims.
Small wonder that the GAFCON Primates have asked the Anglican Church in North America to take on the task of providing a missionary bishop for Scotland. Long overdue in Wales and now increasingly likely in England on current trends.
Churches coming together (CNS)Church moving apart (Church in Wales)
As the Catholic and Orthodox Churches continue to come closer together the Anglican Church in the UK drifts further away from the unity of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church with every ill-advised congregationalist move it makes.
During his visit to the Coptic Church in Egypt, Pope Francis joined with the Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual head of the Eastern Orthodox churches, in placing flowers, lighting a candle and praying at the site where dozens of Coptic Orthodox Christians were killed by an Islamic State militant last year. Video here.
Christian Today reported: "As Christians face an increase in violence around the world and especially in the Middle East, there are significant signs that the major Churches are coming together, with the blood of martyrs acting as the 'seed of unity'." - But not the inward looking Anglican Church.
The contrast could not be greater. Coptic Christians are regularly attacked and killed in Egypt. Christians throughout the Middle and far East are constantly targeted by Muslims but in Great Britain Islam is affirmed as a religion on a par with Christianity while the Anglican Church pursues its fixation with secular matters.
As Scottish Anglicans move towards same sex marriage their leader has warned that GAFCON should "stay out of our territory" while the Church of Ireland is split over whether it should liberalise its stance on same sex marriage. Meanwhile the Church of England continues its shared discussions before its expected capitulation to the LGBT lobby in opting for secularism.
The bishops of the Church in Wales will still be smarting over their failure to lead the charge towards same sex marriage but they lost the plot years ago. Many congregations are elderly with little sign of younger people joining them. Indeed, for many youngsters in Wales religion has become a no go area. Some are even petitioning for an end to compulsory prayers in Wales' schools. They gained more than 870 signatures of support in less than two weeks. Without new blood collapse is inevitable.
Perhaps the experience of readers is different to mine but from what I hear, any faith visits to children in their formative primary schools are often carried out by female Methodist ministers, sometimes by an evangelical nonconformist but never by a traditional male Anglican priest.
I had hoped to be more positive in my outlook after Barry Morgan's retirement but I fear I was too hasty in my April entry, A promising start, when I reported that the bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the senior bishop on the bench of bishops, told the Governing Body to "put evangelism at heart of ministry".
My positive outlook crashed with the appointment of the bishop designate of Llandaff who has made it clear that her priority is to appoint more women to senior roles until parity is achieved. That is feminism, not evangelism. An appointment which, incidentally, has been met with a stunned silence in Llandaff after the clamour created by claims of homophobia, subsequently disproved, because the Dean of St Albans failed to secure the votes he needed.
So no new broom to address the disillusionment created by Barry Morgan as he bent the church to accord with his own views. Just more of the same. Take it or leave it. Many have decided to leave it, doubtless with more to follow. As Church of England rejects have been appointed in Wales the best of Welsh talent has left for England while the laity have opted simply to leave altogether.
One wonders how all those clergy who abandoned their former colleagues and faithful parishioners for a career in the Church now feel as they look at the state of the Church in Wales and see that they have no prospects in Wales.
Many more clergy and laity will be examining their consciences after the appointment of two female bishops. Doubtless many red lines will become distinctly pink but for others it will be the end of the road. A sorry, unnecessary predicament. In that, Morgan and his bench sitters have been cruelly successful. Opposition has been virtually wiped out in some areas, but at great cost, ignoring the expressed wish of the majority in consultations for alternative provision, leaving the fate of the Church to the Jackson/Wigley/MAE Cymru cohort.
Does anything matter anymore in the do-as-you-please Church in Wales? What of those who broke their Llandaff Electoral College oath of silence and the shameless campaigners including the unnamed bishop who put LGBT issues before the Church? No doubt that will be swept under the carpet by the bench along with everything else.
While some will find reasons to stay put, others will continue to leave. Evangelism is fine but for what? A church in which faith managers have shattered the parish system, interpreted the Bible to justify their own secular desires and ignored the wishes of its members when asked for their views while still claiming to be members of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
How many more must leave before the bishops get the message? Without acceptable alternative provision, leaving is the only option for anyone who wants to keep the faith.
Christ Church, Rhosybol, on sale for £45,000 Source: Daily Post
This is just one of twelve redundant churches currently offered for sale by the Representative Body of the Church in Wales following closure for worship which could be your new home. How many more to follow?
Worship often took place twice and more in bigger churches on Sundays, many with a daily Eucharist during the week. That was before they became the means of spreading political correctness, misapplying notions of gender equality to the priesthood, substituting equality for theology.
With few exceptions Church attendance continues to fall year by year. Ironically, in one of the largest ever surveys of peoples' attitudes towards the role and influence of churches in local communities published in Christian Today, more than a third of UK adults surveyed said that they would "campaign to keep their nearest church from closing because it provides 'vital' services to its local community." Without supporting members, who would maintain them?
In former years five of the bishops of the Church in Wales held Oxford Firsts in Theology. The bishop designate of Llandaff studied social sciences. When interviewed by BBC TV News she was very much into gender parity so regardless of merit no doubt there will be an explosion of female appointments in Llandaff along with St Davids where the first woman bishop was appointed. Bishop Penberthy is a strong supporter of MAE Cymru, an organisation spreading feminism in the Church Wales under the guise of equality but only as they see it.
In response to my previous entry some commentators became exercised over a suitable spiritual home for disillusioned Anglicans. Sadly, as the declining numbers indicate in all but a few churches, most Christians do not look for an alternative. They give up in despair and stay home. Robbed of its mystery and otherness, church-going has for many become another weekly social occasion while others turn up at Easter and/or Christmas expecting their church to be there for them.
The obsession with gender politics has been a disaster. It has spread from the acceptance of the ordination of women to demands for acceptance of just about every sexual permutation including same sex marriage, the red line for many Anglicans.
Woe betide anyone who dares to hold a contrary opinion or to question the basis of different beliefs. Witness the Tory MP forced to stand down after a sixteen year old student and LGBT rights campaigner did not like the answer to her question after she asked him if he was planning on attending the Isle of Wight's first ever pride event.
Shades of Germaine Greer who was pilloried for expressing her personal opinion that she did not think post-operative transgender men are women, an opinion shared by experts.
Devout Christian Tim Farron the leader of the Liberal Democrat party was hounded until he gave a politically correct answer when asked if he thought that homosexuality was a sin. He had no support from the Church of England.
The first Church of England vicar to marry his same-sex partner has announced his resignation as a parish priest complaining that the CofE is 'institutionally homophobic'. He claimed that he and other gay and lesbian clergy were 'barely tolerated'.
That is an odd claim given the experience of remaining churchgoers, a claim which also contradicts the experience of the Rev Sally Hitchiner who told viewers of the BBC Breakfast programme on 30 April while discussing the marriage of Pippa Middleton that she was to "marry" her same sex partner next month.
Many, particularly younger, people today simply shrug their shoulders and say, So what? It doesn't affect me. But it does. As churches close some are converted into mosques while new Islamic centres are being built to accommodate the growing number of Muslims resulting from immigration and higher birth rates. Mohammed already tops the list of most popular baby boy names in England and Wales.
Islam is not tolerant of homosexuality. Woman count for less than men. It is ironic, then, that the politics which have split the Church will be unacceptable to the predominant faith group when Islam becomes the largest religion in the world by 2070.
If church leaders spent as much time exposing the ideology that is stamping out Christianity in its birthplace as they do on gender politics and affirming Islam there would be less need for GAFCON to send a missionary bishop to our shores to speak for traditional marriage.
Meanwhile in New Zealand a transgender weightlifter is causing controversy. Olympic Weightlifting NZ high performance manager Simon Kent described Hubbard's performance as 'magnificent'. "This is such a new issue for society to have a conversation about," said Kent, of the transgender question. "It really challenges how people respond to it - it's not something that is openly discussed and talked about." [My emphasis - ED.]
The joy of the Christian faith is simply expressed in this rendition of the Te Deum (H/T Anglican Pastor). There is a far more stirring, majestic example here. It is punctuated by loud blasts on the organ which echo my feelings of exasperation and probably that of many other traditionalists at having been left by the Church.
Exhibiting their profound ignorance of matters spiritual, the response of New Anglicans to traditionalists has been "Go to Rome if you don't like it" or, from the mainly menopausal feminist brigade, "Get used to it, we are in charge now". There have been no concessions in Wales. The only message is keep giving. For what? While the Church of England genuinely valued all church members as true Anglicans when binding provisions were made for faithful worshippers who, in common with most Christians, cannot accept the ordination of women on theological grounds, the attitude of the Church in Wales (CinW) has been take it or leave it. Theology is rejected while the latest secular fads are adopted by the bench of bishops for dissemination to congregations through largely compliant clergy.
Sunday by Sunday we are served with helpings of the latest Christian Response from an Anglican Perspective (CRAP) heavily laced with a misguided view of equality that has everything to do with political correctness and nothing to do with Christianity as the Gospel is bent to accommodate the latest alleged injustice. It is indeed very odd that the Bible can be taken literally in circumstances which threaten our very existence while bending other parts to suit a fashionable political stance.
Led by the Archbishops of Canterbury, York and Wales with the Archbishop of Westminster often in step, Christianity is continually being sold short to its own detriment with misapplied views on neighbourliness while giving succour to Islam as Muslims abroad continue to convert non-Muslims by the sword if necessary and in the UK demand more and more special privileges to enhance their status such as opting for Sharia, a legal code that systematically discriminates against women, children, apostates, blasphemers, non-believers (infidels), adulterers, and homosexuals. Imagine the outcry if Christians espoused such discriminatory values.
The CinW is fast reaching the end of the road with extinction predicted in a generation. The possibility of the first woman bishop in Wales draws ever closer making it even more difficult for traditionalists who have remained in the Church to continue their membership. Not that there should be a woman bishop in Wales. Better that the measure be rescinded as a breach of faith since the promises of care evaporated as soon as the bishops had their way with their ultimate plan unfolding.
Moving from feminism to their next PC project the bench of bishops has made it perfectly clear that the CinW is to fully embrace the LGBT agenda en route to the acceptance of same sex marriage, again under the guise of 'equality', while the Church of England talks her way into it with 'Facilitated Conversations' concluding with this mumbo-jumbo. If LGBT people are having such a hard time being accepted, how are there so many openly gay and lesbian people in the Church with clergy very much in evidence promoting their particular life style and often viciously condemning anyone who dares to hold a contrary view to theirs? Women deacons were not enough. Women priests were not enough. Civil Partnerships were not enough. What next? The slide is endless.
True Anglicanism is expressed here in a Pastoral Letter by the Most Revd Nicholas D. Okoh, Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman, the GAFCON Primates Council, making all those pennies we saved in little cardboard boxes in Sunday School worthwhile. Too late for many, there are now just 'empty boxes, empty gestures, empty words'. Read the sorry tale of the final straw for an ex-CinW worshipper here.
For many traditionalists the final straw has been drifting in the breeze while searching for that crumb of comfort but there has been none, nor will there be. The Church in Wales is going from bad to worse with Credo Cymru apparently impotent. As Dr Morgan approaches retirement he will have much on which to reflect having brought the Church in Wales to her knees, not in prayer but in desolation. What a legacy.
So is there any point in being a traditional Anglican? Unless you are exceedingly fortunate I think not. But Christianity is not dead. "Be joyful and keep the faith!", even if your church has left you.
The bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC). Source: SEC
"Today the Scottish Episcopal Church, meeting in its General Synod in Edinburgh, takes the first step in a process which may lead to same sex couples being able to marry in our churches and to our clergy being able to enter into same sex marriages [SSM]. It is a two-year process. In 2016, the voting needs to produce a simple majority in each of the three 'houses' – laity, clergy and bishops. The second and final stage in the process will be reached in 2017 when two-thirds majorities will be needed in each house". - The Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews,Dunkled & Dunblane and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Full report here.
Bishop Chillingworth writes: "Within churches, human sexuality issues have the capacity to expose deep fault lines in our understanding of faith. Some see the full inclusion of LGBT people as a matter of justice. Jesus was a person always open to those excluded by others – the lepers, the adulterous woman, tax collector and sinners. Would he not have been also open to LGBT people? Others point to the authority of scripture which in some places warns against same sex relationships. They call us to an understanding of God's law and life as it has been understood from the creation. So this is an important moment for our church. "
The problem with the 'full inclusion' argument is that Christ healed the sick and told the sinner to sin no more. In what category does LGBT fall? LGBT people can hardly claim to be excluded when they are driving the agenda. The legal effects of a civil partnership are almost identical to marriage. To agitate for SSM is counterproductive.
The bishop concludes: "It is not just about whether we can find agreement, it is about whether what we do is within our understanding of our faith."
Unfortunately for Anglicanism, faith has become too malleable. Ultimately will there be anything left if SSM in church is adopted?
The GAFCON Jerusalem cross has been brought from Jerusalem where the first GAFCON was held in 2008. It was carried in procession during the final communion service. It will stay in Nairobi until the next GAFCON to which the Conference committed itself.
"Synod to consider women bishops ‘ombudsman’"
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I discovered the above juxtaposition while looking through the entries on the 'Anglican Mainstream' site (Right hand column). Under the picture of the GAFCON cross was this entry: Synod to consider women bishops ‘ombudsman'. (Story here).
From the days when you could buy a 'penneth' of chips with one old penny I well remember Sunday School posters which illustrated life in areas of Africa which were known then as Tanganyika, Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Every Lent we eagerly collected coins in sealed cardboard boxes to aid the spread of the Gospel in Africa. Now the countries which spread the Word in those far off days are being taken to task for re-interpreting scripture to justify the wants of minority groups from women's ordination to same-sex relationships. Read Peter Ould's important article on Pilling here.
The women bishops measure was lost fairly at Synod but the result was not accepted. A more aggressive, winner-takes-all campaign was launched by Women in the Church (WATCH) and their supporters. Desperate to have women bishops at any cost, the latest proposals have been published. The Church of England should have "an ombudsman-style arbitrator" to rule on rows about the issue of women bishops: "The Church's ruling general synod will decide next month whether to introduce an "independent reviewer" to resolve disputes between Anglicans." ... "Under the latest proposals it is hoped can break the deadlock, an arbitrator – similar to a health service ombudsman – would rule on disputes about the guarantees offered to traditionalists."
For the love of God, how has it come to this? Essentially because, while claiming the contrary, WATCH along with their fellow travellers are more concerned with power and authority than serving as chief pastors. Pope Francis put it concisely when he consecrated two new bishops last week, the Episcopacy is a service, not an honour:
“It is Christ who, in the bishop's ministry, continues to preach the Gospel of salvation and to sanctify believers, through the sacraments of the faith”, he said. “Indeed, 'episcopate' is the name of a service, not an honour. It is the bishop's responsibility to serve rather than to dominate, according to the commandment of the Master: 'the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves'”...Finally, Francis encouraged them to pay close attention to “those who have strayed from the fold of Christ, because they too have been entrusted to you by the Lord. Pray for them (full report here).
This issue is now so politicised that the media constantly report it in secular terms of women's rights and job opportunities with no regard for conscientious beliefs. The BBC report referred to above links to a previous article in which "BBC Radio 4's Charlotte Smith, a regular church-goer herself, samples the views of clergy and congregations". One churchgoer told her "It is absolutely ridiculous, it looks like we are stuck in the 1740s. My daughter loves this Church because of our attitude towards women but says she is not going to come back to the Church of England 'til they actually get this sorted out." Not thy way O Lord but mine!
And this: "The issue was certainly enough to bemuse the 10 and 11-year-old girls at a recent schools day at Winchester cathedral. They were not really planning careers in the church. Singing and doctoring seemed better options to them. But they could not understand why women could be vicars but they could not be bishops. Some of the volunteers working in the cathedral were equally mystified. "If women are made priests, inevitably, if they're good, they should become bishops," one said." Doubtless nobody bothered to explain that it is a problem of the Anglican Church's own making because in the wider church, woman are not admitted to the priesthood.
Despite that, opponents of the ordination of women, including other women, who simply want to keep the faith of the Holy Catholic Church are constantly portrayed as bigots and misogynists as though they are against women per se. That is absurd. So what is the problem? There isn't one. It is simply that a contrary view is not tolerated. WATCH and their supporters want outright victory with no provision for opponents. Claims of being demeaned as second class bishops are mere devices to crush any opposition using secular criteria because they don't have a theological leg to stand on.
That is why they are now pointing to the Church in Wales as an example after the shabby procedure there resulted in a vote to accept women as bishops with no statutory provision for dissenters, a decision greeted with loud applause by 'broad church' Anglicans! The Church in Wales campaign has been as devious and underhand as in the Church of England with suggestions of collusion by the bishops but they are not interested in anything Pope Francis has to say because Rome does not recognise their orders. Once we have women bishops neither will many Anglicans.
"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love"!
"Welby, an evangelical, is a supporter of female bishops. He is also, like the prime minister and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, an old Etonian." That wasthe Guardian's reaction following the news that Justin Welby was to replace Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury. Perhaps it is because he is an old Etonian that he has been "reassessing his own views" on marriage and sexuality.
Public schools have long had a reputation for same sex activity which may have influenced the thinking old Etonians such as the Prime Minister who (regretfully) forced through the gay marriage legislation and Boris Johnson who supported it although old Etonian Welby voted against it. As the Telegraph put it: Although Archbishop Welby comes from the born-again evangelical wing of the Church and voted against David Cameron’s Same-Sex Marriage Bill, he has recently spoken about wanting to get his “mind clear” on the issue.
The issue is to be top of the agenda at GAFCON in Nigeria later this month when an “action plan” on marriage and sexuality will "reassert a traditionalist interpretation of the Bible" which is seen by some as "a challenge to Archbishop Welby". He told a meeting in August that the Church needed to face up to the fact that most young people, including Christians, thought that its stance on gay marriage was “wicked”. So? That doesn't make them right.
Has the Archbishop also considered that "Ofsted claims that most pupils don’t know who Jesus was"? He should do because he is backing a move in his own Church to introduce what is being likened to “Sunday school for adults” because the Lord’s Prayer, the 10 Commandments and the Beatitudes are now so "unfamiliar to a modern audience".
If Justin Welby is wobbling on marriage and sexuality, he should be sure to wobble in the right direction. Jesus didn't look to the ignorant asking what they should have. He sent his disciples to teach what they had received from Him:
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - The Great Commission
