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| Church in Wales parish church of SS Andrew and Teilo, Woodville Road, Cathays, Cardiff. Source: Wikipedia |
The parish church of SS Andrew and Teilo has followed the revisionist path of the Church in Wales to the letter but that has not saved parishioners from being sacrificed by bishop June Osborne. Her latest strategy, presumably for growth, is to give away their church. Parishioners are far from pleased.
From their petition Save St Teilo's - Save Our Community:
"In March 2019 the members of St Teilo’s church have been informed that a decision has been made by the Bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, to give their church away to an evangelical church called Holy Trinity Brompton. The decision was made with no consultation with the clergy or members of the congregation and wider community and she says the decision is final."
"In March 2019 the members of St Teilo’s church have been informed that a decision has been made by the Bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, to give their church away to an evangelical church called Holy Trinity Brompton. The decision was made with no consultation with the clergy or members of the congregation and wider community and she says the decision is final."
Popularly known as St. Teilo's, the parish church became St. Andrew and St. Teilo after the nearby St. Andrew's church was rededicated as Eglwys Dewi Sant.
Before its rededication St Andrew's was a chapel of ease to St John the Baptist Church, the civic church in the heart of Cardiff now dedicated to the advancement of transgenderism following the bishop's appointment of a transgender activist vicar.
Before its rededication St Andrew's was a chapel of ease to St John the Baptist Church, the civic church in the heart of Cardiff now dedicated to the advancement of transgenderism following the bishop's appointment of a transgender activist vicar.
Led by a female priest the parish of SS Andrew and Teilo has an "inclusive ethos" and is "formally associated with the Inclusive Church movement". They responded to the Church in Wales initiative taking up the Seven Sacred Spaces model to shape their mission life, something the former bishop of Llandaff, Archbishop Barry Morgan referred to as "places of pilgrimage", an unfortunate link in June Osborne's year of pilgrimage initiative as she prepares to fly her diocesan clergy much farther afield in her widely ridiculed Costa Compostela initiative.
Famed for its Alpha course, Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) describes itself as "a vibrant Anglican church in the heart of London, passionate about seeing lives changed in the name of Jesus." In 2017, the Church Revitalisation Trust (CRT) was established to help build on this momentum of church planting in strategic cities across the UK:
While the success of HTB is to be admired, it is no reason for the bishop's high handed action, destroying one congregation in the hope of starting another. That is not church planting.
"Church planting is a process that results in a new (local) Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship center or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation. For a local church to be planted, it must eventually have a separate life of its own and be able to function without its parent body, even if it continues to stay in relationship denominationally or through being part of a network." Wikipedia
Church of England Bishops set out principles for church planting.
Among their guiding principles [20 ii]:
"We expect those responsible for church plants to commit themselves to work
to the best of their ability in cooperation with the other churches in the local
area, including the church in whose parish the new church plant is located, as
an integrated part of deanery and diocesan structures. They should aim to use
some of their resources to support the mission of their neighbours and expect
to make regular financial contributions to the diocese, as an expression of the
mutual responsibilities that are a normal part of church life."
Church in Wales bishops have been resolute in refusing permission for orthodox bishops to cross the border. HTB plants have their own bishop for church plants, the Bishop of Islington. There is no indication how this would work in Wales.
We have been here before.
Revisionist bishops have destroyed orthodox Anglicanism in Wales, sacrificing faithful worshippers in pursuit of their secularist agenda. If attempting to address the resulting decline with another experiment is June Osborne's answer parishioners is not taking it lying down.
You can sign their petition here.
Postscripts [22.03.2019]
Church Times: Church in Wales launches its first resource church
[25.03.2019] Anglican Unscripted coverage:
