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).

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?

Lowlights: GB September 2023

Governing Body voting                                              Source: Church in Wales

The Church in Wales goes green is the main message to come out of the meeting of the Governing Body (GB) earlier this month.

Attendance may be in crisis but was not mentioned, apart from a brief reference to decline in one of the reports. That is despite the GB's guiding notes which state:

"Every year, a report on the current membership and finance statistics of the Church in Wales is presented to the meeting. This covers key information such as: church attendance, the level of financial giving towards the work of the church, details of what parishes are spending their money on."

Session Three was about 'Priorities, Growth and Resilience'. One of the items covered in discussion groups was "What stops us from growing?"

The Church in Wales, like the Church of England, The Episcopal Church in the US and others have become self-centred rather than God centred, using the name of Jesus as a passport to earthly desires. - Jesus loves me, therefore I do as I please.

The secularisation of the Church in Wales was made obvious by the archbishop of Wales when he commented on the recently announced 'historic appointments of Canons at Bangor Cathedral'. 

He said, "It is a real joy to be able to announce the appointment of eight new Canons to the Cathedral, five Honorary Canons and three Foundation Canons. .... Together they bring with them an enormous breadth of skills and experience to their new roles, enabling the Cathedral’s common life and witness to be a place where all can come and experience faith, hope and love. Each of these new Canons has been invited in recognition of the significant contribution they have made, and continue to make, within their field of expertise, and I invite you to join with me in praying for them as they take up their new positions and responsibilities."

The Canon Preacher's experience of the Anglican Church is short. He was ordained Deacon in 2021 after becoming an Anglican in 2020 but more importantly for the archbishop he becomes the "first gay, black Canon to serve in a Church in Wales Cathedral, a pioneering moment that highlights its commitment to diversity and inclusivity." 

Just the sort of experience the Church Wales has come to value above all else. But there is more.

'Glastonbury priest'         Sourcee: CinW

A new priest welcomed to the diocese of St Asaph by bishop Gregory is "part way through a professional doctorate exploring better ways for neo-Pagans and Christians to have open conversations about faith." 

 She should receive a good welcome from the Peace Mala while the Church in Wales struggles with its identity.

As the decline of the Church continues more senior executives are hired. The latest is a Director of Mission and Strategy on a salary of up to £70,000 p.a.

On the plus side, perhaps the archbishop of Wales feels better able to cope with his workload having sanctioned all these appointments. 

Last year he felt the need for someone to share the leadership of his Bangor diocese with while serving as Archbishop of Wales as if that were an onerous task. He appointed an assistant bishop who has since been appointed bishop of Llandaff with no replacement assistant bishop. Perhaps he discovered that he is not that busy after all being responsible for the souls of less than 1% of the population of Wales.

What about the souls of Anglicans in Wales? Pew sitters have been led astray by their bishops while others have simply been abandoned in the shift to secularism.

A timely reminder of the dire situation Anglicans in the Church in Wales find themselves comes from Bishop Stuart Bell a former Church in Wales priest who was ordained as an Assistant Bishop in The Anglican Convocation in Europe in March after serving in the Church in Wales for 51 years.

In an interview with Dr Tony Rucinski of Coalition for Marriage (C4M), Bishop Bell said the Church in Wales’ 2021 decision to bless same-sex partnerships was "hugely significant". He told Dr Rucinski that "substantial" numbers have left the Church in Wales, following its decision to turn its back on the Bible and go with contemporary culture.

He rebuffed claims the Church’s move was compassionate, saying: "Justice and compassion are not rootless, they are rooted within truth and they are rooted within Christ and they are rooted within an authority that is completely unchanging."

The Bishop warned that we are being seriously misled by people whose hearts are set on "anarchy and nihilism". That voice is growing stronger by the day and is being promoted at government level and  by the media, he said.

He urged Christians and traditional marriage supporters to be absolutely resolute in the face of LGBT activists’ attempts to push the country into a state of "total gender confusion and sexual confusion".

Full details of the Christian Institute interview can be found here. 

The response of the Church in Wales was: Clergy told to keep breakaway bishop at arm’s length. "No ministers affiliated with the Anglican Convocation in Europe should exercise ministry or leadership in a Church in Wales context, unless the explicit written permission of the appropriate Church in Wales diocesan bishop has been given."

That came as little surprise to the many Anglicans abandoned by the handful of heretic bishops in the Church in Wales for keeping the faith as received in common with millions of Anglicans around the world.

This is the legacy handed on by a former bishop of Bangor, later archbishop, Barry Morgan who decreed after the retirement of Bishop David Thomas that there would be further alternative Episcopal oversight 'over his dead body'.

Now in comfortable retirement Morgan's legacy lives on. He continues to meddle in Church affairs showing no shame for leaving so many faithful Anglicans who had been in his care in a spiritual desert, a situation perpetuated by the bench of bishops to this day to their utter shame.

 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

How many will fight the good fight?

Former Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, with the Ven Andrew John (right) on his
appointment in 2008 as Bishop of Bangor. Source: BBC

When archbishop Barry Morgan secured the election of his favoured candidate to be bishop of Bangor after the death of bishop Tony Crockett in 2008, the average adult Sunday attendance in the Church in Wales was around 37,000. 

It was predicted then that church attendance in Wales could decline to less than a quarter of that level

and, if proved true, "by 2050 Wales will be home to the smallest church-going population in Britain."

In 2018 the equivalent Sunday attendance figure was 26,110 representing 0.8% of the population of Wales. Extinction of the Church in Wales is predicted by 2040.

Archbishop Barry Morgan is seen by many as the architect of the demise of the Church in Wales, aided as he was by the example of his heretical mentor, US Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori.

The bench of bishops now places Governing Body decisions above biblical teaching, something that enabled bishop Crockett to refer to Church members who followed biblical teaching as heretics.

The heretics in the Church in Wales are not shunned Anglicans who keep the faith but its bishops who have abandoned the faith as received as they press ahead to undermine the sanctity of holy matrimony, the union for life of one man and one woman. 

The Church in Wales bishops made it clear in the September 2021 meeting of the Governing Body where their loyalties lie. For them a vote at GB overrides the Church's Formal statements of faith,

The bench is seeking to make God in their own image as they warn others against keeping the faith.

They wrote to their clergy following the ordination to the episcopacy of the Rev Stuart Bell, the former Rector of the Rectorial Benefice of Aberystwyth, with a warning:

 "A decision by members of the Anglican Convocation in Europe (ACE) to stand apart from the oversight of the bishops of the Church in Wales, and of the Churches of the Anglican Communion in communion with us, means that Church in Wales clergy should stand back from receiving communion at services held under the auspices of the ACE. No ministers affiliated with the Anglican Convocation in Europe should exercise ministry or leadership in a Church in Wales context, unless the explicit written permission of the appropriate Church in Wales diocesan bishop has been given.

ACE bishops responded: 

"Contrary to what Archbishop John and his Bishops have said, it is the the Church in Wales which has placed itself out of communion with the majority of Anglicans worldwide by departing the historic, orthodox, biblical faith. Faithful Anglicans living under such failed oversight need a spiritually safe home and a hope for the future. We are grateful that Gafcon has provided this by authorising ACE as a genuine Anglican jurisdiction."

Church in Wales bishops are leading their congregations into heresy. Church members must stand firm and 'fight the good fight', challenging the Church's departure from the 'historic, orthodox, biblical faith' as witnessed by the vast majority of Anglicans.

Postscript [02.04.2023]

The fightback begins in the Church of England.

Church Times reports: "Ten London clergy launch schismatic deanery chapter over same-sex blessings."

Statement from the Diocese of London:

"The Diocese was first informed a few hours ago that a group of clergy in the City of London is seeking to set up its own parallel, unregulated structures, outside of those of the Diocese of London and the Church of England. This unilateral move would have no legal substance.

"The initiative has been announced publicly, without discussion, at a time when constructive ongoing dialogue continues here in the capital, and across the country, following the House of Bishops’ proposals in response to the six-year Living in Love and Faith process. As a Diocese, we remain committed to working together through our differences, recognising the strength of our shared faith in Christ, and all that brings us together."

The long grass

One of four questions asked at the last meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales was:

 "Following the recommendation in the Harries Report, Ministry Areas have been introduced across the Province. Also in the report was the recommendation to reduce the number of Dioceses. What progress has been made with this?"

Answer given by the Bishop of Monmouth 

"Thank you for this question, Cathryn.  The Harries Review report does indeed make reference to the number of dioceses, but its references to the reduction in their number are predicated on an initial period of closer working together, amalgamation of committees and a move to three administrative centres.  Only when that has been operating for some years (the report suggests three) should a judgement be made as to whether or not to reduce the number of dioceses. 

The Harries report also makes the good point that any move to reduce the number of dioceses would consume a lot of time and energy when we should, arguably, be occupied with more important matters.  The Church in Wales Review Implementation Group, which advised on the implementation of the Harries report’s recommendations, also considered this not to be an area of high priority. 

But, your question Cathryn is a very helpful prompt to remind us about the Harries report’s recommendations about closer diocesan and provincial working and the streamlining of structural administration.  We are considering this in our discussions relating to the 10-year plan, but I think it is fair to say that we could have made more progress in this area over the last ten years.  There are some instances of good inter-diocesan working and sharing of resources but, of course, more could be done.  I would hope that your question will encourage us at both provincial and diocesan levels to look more urgently at what resources can be pooled and administrative functions shared.  It is, after all, a matter of exercising good stewardship and making the best use of the resources God has given us.

So, basically Cathryn, no substantive work has been undertaken to reduce the number of dioceses, but I am hopeful that we can strive for more progress on the integration of administrative structures and operations.  Whether this leads us towards a reduction in the number of dioceses is something we will discover."

This recommendation was referred to in Area Ministry: the Business Solution dated 24 September 2012.

From Section 15 of the Church in Wales Review:

"The present number and shape of dioceses may not be ideal. If we

were starting again we would have three. However, the present number and

configuration works and we think that the Church should continue, at least for the

next four years, with the present six dioceses. ... These recommendations should be reviewed after three years, with a view to evaluating the effectiveness of the change. At that point a judgement should be made about whether or not the church is best served by six dioceses with three administrative centres, or three dioceses. If the latter, we believe there should still be the same number of bishops as at present, namely seven."

Ten years later another punt into the long grass with senior and administrative staff increasing to minister to less and less members.

Bishop of St Davids to miss GB as she takes more sick leave

The Bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy                                               Source: Western Telegraph

A statement posted on 31 August 2022 sent to all clergy in the diocese of St Davids announced that bishop Joanna is currently on sick leave. The three territorial archdeacons of St Davids, Carmarthen and Cardigan have been appointed by the bishop as her Commissaries. It is not clear whether her sick leave is related to her previous absence.

In June 2021 a call was made by a Conservative MP for her resignation over her 'divisive views'.

The bishop was earlier signed off on sick leave after apologising for a much criticised tweet that she had posted in which she had urged: “Never, never, never trust a Tory.” 

Presumably she will miss the next meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales which is to be held on Wednesday and Thursday 7 and 8 September 2022 at ICC-Wales, Newport. 

The Agenda and papers can be found here but say little.

Highlights September 2021 - the big fix

Church in Wales Governing Body September 2021                                                                                                                                                   Source: YouTube

Highlights of the Church in Wales (CinW) meeting of the Governing Body, September 2021, have been published. 

Highlights for bishops of the CinW they may be but for the vast majority of Anglicans, they will be anything but that. Attracting widespread criticism, the process has been a gigantic fix.

Built around a Bill to authorise a service of blessing for same-sex partnerships, the meeting's opening prayers invited us to show "love, compassion and concern for all those who are anxious about the day's debate, especially for the members of the LGBTI+ community." Especially for the LGBTI+ community! Do others merit no concern?

Even the response 'In your love and tenderness, remake us' was geared towards voting in favour of the measure. The cleric leading the prayers was far from neutral having already been remade, 'living happily' in a civil partnership with a younger man, he is a noted LGBT activist in common with all three women bishops.

One of the more illuminating speeches came from the Revd Dr Jonathon Wright (S&B), who submitted an amendment that, according to the Chair, Judge Andrew Keyser QC, 'touched on a fundamental part of the Bill'. Dr Wright wanted to have it delayed until it could be considered holistically as part of the Church’s doctrine on marriage, and introduced with same-sex marriage at some future date.

The bishops were in no mood to stop and reflect on their actions, typified by the response the bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, also in a same sex civil partnership, said that it would be "a huge missional and pastoral opportunity lost for yet another generation. . . The cry will go up, ‘How long, O Lord, how long?'"

Not the Lord, bishop Vann but GB members. The amendment was lost by 77 votes to 27, with no abstentions. 

The Bill itself was proposed by the bishop of St Asaph who was "conscious that some members saw the Bill as a departure from Biblical teaching and the historic faith of the Church", probably his most accurate statement, but nevertheless he asked if members would be “bold enough to take a decision in favour of faithful love and mercy, which will bring hope and joy?”

The bishops won, the Bill passed. The Church in Wales lost.

Church in Wales attendance down 5% 2014-2015

Source: The Church in Wales Membership and Finances 2015

The average Sunday attendance of worshippers over 18 in the Church in Wales dropped another 5% between 2014 and 2015 according to the latest figures published in The Church in Wales Membership and Finances 2015. That represents just 0.9% of the population of Wales.

British Religion in Numbers (BRIN) puts the problem of declining numbers into perspective. In 2004 the Over 18 average attendance on Sundays was 41,771 making the 2015 figure of 29,019 all the more startling, a fall of 12,752 on the 2004 figure (-31%), but the Church in Wales simply carries on regardless continuing its "Gadarene slide" as VirtueOnline puts it in Viewpoints.

Attempts to bolster numbers by adding 'Non-traditional Acts of Worship' such as Animal blessings, Café churches, Teenscreen clubs and Interfaith engagement have served only to emphasis the decline: "Overall, it would seem that just over 30,000 people in total participate in some form of nontraditional worship, compared with 36,000 in 2014".

The Membership and Finance Report (pdf) is way down the Agenda at item 19 for the next meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales to be held 14 - 15 September 2016. There will be a Motion: That the Governing Body do take note of this report.

Given the seriousness of the situation one would have thought that 'taking note' of the Report is somewhat short of the mark but with "Evangelism" coming last on the agenda it puts the current state of the Church in Wales in context. 

The Report follows "Admission to Holy Communion – Pastoral Letter " [item 18]. There is no clue as to what surprises the bishops have in store in their Pastoral Letter which is to be "distributed at the time", a device favoured by the bench sitters to avoid anyone with an enquiring mind being forewarned.

This is reminiscent of the same sex marriage manoeuvring and of the women bishops saga which provided a worthless code of practice for anyone who holds their faith in conscience making the forthcoming Conference to "preserve the breadth of Anglicanism in Wales" all the more confusing. Dr Morgan has remained true to his word that there would be alternative Episcopal oversight in Wales 'over his dead body'. He retires as Archbishop of Wales in January 2017 so is there to be new life? Simply to carry on as before would make nonsense of the conference.

The un-Christian Jackson/Wigley Amendment to the women bishops legislation established that unlike other Anglican provinces 'provisions for conscience should not be included in the body of  formal legislation' and that 'legislation should not include structural provision to accommodate dissent' thus removing the prospect of any meaningful sacramental and pastoral provision for church members who in conscience could not accept the ministry of women bishops.

It would be absurd to have a male assistant to a woman bishop on whose authority he would act so given that there will be no "structural provision to accommodate dissent" in Wales the way forward must be to allow Society bishops to minister in Wales. The Welsh bishops have already invited US women bishops to celebrate the Eucharist in the Church in Wales and I see from Item 20 on the GB agenda, "Evangelism – Report from the Evangelism Conference", that Bishop Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, was able to lead 2 key sessions. To refuse loyal Anglicans access to Society bishops would not just be uncharitable, it would be hypocritical.

As the Church in Wales continues to decline in numbers the Ordinariate is increasing and is gaining more priests. In this month's edition of New Directions, the Chairman of Credo Cymru (FiF Wales) quotes the previous Archbishop of Wales Rowan Williams who stressed the value of promoting internal ecumenism. By allowing bishops from outside Wales to minister to 'traditionalists' the bench would regain some much needed credibility and provide a reason for worshippers to remain in the Church in Wales.

Mission Llandaff

Source: Twitter #speakingthegospelintoourcontext

Many of the comments received following my blog entries are centred on the diocese of Llandaff, its Cathedral and its personnel from clerical top to lowly bottom. 

The situation in Llandaff is dire. In the Cathedral church there are complaints about poor accounting practices, a lack of openness and bullying tactics being used to counter honestly held opinions expressed for the good of the Cathedral church. Whatever the financial situation it has not prevented the clergy from enjoying four days in Oxford at the expense of Llandaff's pewsters.

Had the discussions in Oxford been about the parlous state of the Church in Wales, especially Llandaff Cathedral, or of the mission of the Church in general, the jolly in Oxford may have been understandable but Mission Llandaff has more to do with the missionary position than mission itself with topics such as "faith gender sex".

After a session on "Every age should look to its own context for our expression of faith" Prof. Diarmaid MacCulloch posed the question: "Is there a theology of sex and marriage?" A popular broadcaster, Prof. MacCulloch was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England but declined ordination to the priesthood because of the church's attitude to his homosexuality, unlike many clergy today, including bishops, who brazenly flout the rules, putting their own desires before the well-being of the Church.

Following on from the bishops' failed bid to persuade the Governing Body of the Church in Wales to adopt their strategy of permitting same sex marriage in church, Mission Llandaff looks nothing more than a blatant attempt to ensure that the Bench's carefully crafted 'not blessing' prayers are used in Llandaff diocese churches, contrary to the decision of worshippers while they are pressed to give more money to support policies they don't agree with.

Bullying is back on the Agenda

Photo: Church in Wales

Bullying, or 'alleged' bullying, rears its ugly head at the forthcoming meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales.

In Question time (Item 16) on Day 2 the Archdeacon of Llandaff continues her campaigning. She demands to know:
 "What steps have been taken by the Standing Committee and dioceses to
circulate the (Todd) “Report on the Representation of Women in the
Church in Wales 2015” to deaneries and parishes, and what actions have
been taken in response to the recommendations?"

This late entrant to the Church seems more intent on advancing the role of women in the Church regardless of merit than proclaiming the Gospel message as received.

The Todd Report was debated at GB last April. Here is a flavour.

Dr Gill Todd (Swansea & Brecon):
 "The proposals in the report, she said, were designed to "achieve change and embed gender equality unequivocally in the Church in Wales for ever; and, secondly, to make the Church in Wales recognise the joy that comes from men and women working together in God's name; and the pain that comes from continued discrimination and bullying. A failure to recognise the gifts, calling, and vocation of others is a failure to demonstrate Christlike behaviour."

The Archdeacon also adds her name along the Rev Jan Gould of Llandaff to the question:

 "In the light of the final communiqué from the Primates of the Anglican

Communion after their meeting in January, can the Bishops outline how

they propose to respond now to continuing calls by the LGBT members of

the Church in Wales and their supporters for full and equal inclusion and

acceptance?

That anyone from Llandaff could add their names to such a question seems ridiculous from what I hear and read about Llandaff. Granted some commentators complain of not being accepted although no evidence has been produced and I do not know anyone who has experienced it. The question alleges that there is not "full and equal inclusion and acceptance" in which one has to ask, how do all the gay clergy manage to perform their ministry?

On a practical level, if the questioners have the laity in mind, what do they propose? Stewards and welcomers asking, "Excuse me, are you gay?" so that they can give them an affirming hug? When it comes to worship a person's sexuality is irrelevant so why would anyone see the need to flag it?

Such questions are bullying in themselves. They present statements as factual then demand action regardless of proof but it is this statement by Dr Todd which takes the prize for double standards:

 "Bullying also played a part in persuading women to leave the Church, she said. Many victims "vote with their feet, and leave the organisation. Unfortunately, they also leave the bully to make the next person's life a misery." [My emphasis -Ed.]

Considering how many worshippers have left the Church, including many devout women, over the ordination of women and the bullying which took place at all levels in order to secure the vote, such statements would be laughable if they were not so pathetic, especially when the prime bully continues to pursue his agenda against the real victims when it is he who is out of step with the teaching of the wider Church.