A feminist future for the Church in Wales

Women bishops with former TEC Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori (front right)                                                            Source: Religion Media Centre

I have commented previously on the feminisation of the Church in Wales. See other examples here and here. 
                           

From the St Padarn's Institute Annual Report September 2020 - August 2021 there are more women than men training for ordination:

"From September 2020 - August 2021 there were 28 full time and 30 part time candidates preparing for lay and ordained ministries. The average age of a person training to be a stipendiary priest in this period was 48. The average age of a person training to be a non-stipendiary priest was 57. Most training for ordination are female (70% for stipendiary ministry and 54% for non-stipendiary ministry. Since we train all whom our bishops sponsor, the numbers entering training are not directly in our control. Nevertheless we note that the historic concern that younger stipendiary ordinands tended to be men is no longer valid."

Source: St Padarn's Institute Annual Report September 2020 - August 2021

This represents yet another shift in role models for young boys in their formative years when their school teachers are likely to be women, a trend continuing in medicine and dentistry.

Following the appointment of the assistant bishop in Bangor the Church in Wales there are now four women bishops and three male bishops.

In the Church, ambitious women appear to model themselves on Eve rather than Mary. 

Ms Stallard's appointment to the episcopacy is a case in point. Asked for her views on whether or not to enshrine provisions for traditionalists in the constitution of the Church in Wales if legislation were brought forward to permit women bishops she said, "I would vote against the Bill put forward by the bishops unless it is amended to allow women to be Bishops with no special provisions enshrined in law for those who object."

Another example of the attitude championed by the former archdeacon of Llandaff, Peggy Jackson: if you don't like it, leave.

Sadly in attracting women to ordained ministry, the Church is more likely to attract 'Eves' who are intent on advancing themselves and their gender at the expense of others.

It is no accident that women taking over the Church show no compassion for those who are guided by scripture and tradition because they represent the true Christian Church, unlike the former Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church Katherine Jefferts Schori used as a mentor for bishops in the Church in Wales despite being regarded as un-Christian.

What next?

VATICAN: MARY IS MUSLIM-CATHOLIC BRIDGE

"The Marian academy in Rome launched a 10-week webinar series titled "Mary, a model for faith and life for Christianity and Islam" in collaboration with the Grand Mosque of Rome and the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy.

"Based on his belief that Mary is "a Jewish, Christian and Muslim woman," Fr. Gian Matteo Roggio, organizer of the Muslim-Catholic dialogue series on Our Lady, is seeking to mobilize Mary as a model of "open borders" between religious and multicultural worlds.

"Islamic historian Raymond Ibrahim told Church Militant that "this series is yet another attempt to try to convince Catholics that Islam is somehow similar to their Faith when, in fact, Islam appropriates the names and sacred auras of biblical figures but then recasts them with completely different attributes — ones that reaffirm Islam as the 'true' faith."

Raymond Ibrahim previously blasted the grand imam of al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb for "repeatedly contradicting all the lofty sentiments in the document he signed with the pope," as the Holy See marks the anniversary of the Abu Dhabi deal, which was signed Feb. 4, 2019.

"In an exclusive interview with Church Militant, Ibrahim called out the "doublespeak" of Sheikh al-Tayyeb "if only when speaking in Arabic and appearing on Arabic media, as opposed to when 'dialoguing' with naïve Western leaders who are all too eager to believe what they want to hear."

In October 2020 Church Militant reported that Pope Francis' Muslim dialogue partner Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayyeb had demanded "an international law banning criticizing or insulting Islam — a day before three Catholics were slaughtered in Nice's Notre-Dame Basilica."

POPE TO HOST INTERFAITH PRAYER AT ‘BABEL’

"VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Pope Francis' proposed interreligious prayer service for Muslims, Yazidis, Mandaean-Sabean and other religions at the site of Ur during his Iraq visit is being slammed as more evocative of the 'Tower of Babel' than the 'House of Abraham.'

"Nottingham University's Hebrew Bible scholar Gavin Fernandes told Church Militant that "there are several reasons why this is a bad choice of venue for such an event."

"The academic ... expressed surprise that the interreligious meeting was being held in the shadow of a ziggurat explicitly evocative of the Tower of Babel in the book of Genesis — a structure representing totalitarian humanism and flagrant defiance of God."

Having seemingly embraced idolatry, what next?

OVER 100 CATHOLIC LEADERS CONDEMN ‘SACRILEGIOUS AND SUPERSTITIOUS ACTS’ AT AMAZON SYNOD

Postscript [10.03.2021]

What next? - ‘Muslims are triumphantly declaring that the pope has surrendered to Islam’

"ERBIL, Iraq (ChurchMilitant.com) – Pope Francis’ Iraq trip has triggered a tidal wave of mockery on social media, with Muslims gleefully announcing that the pontiff has surrendered to Islamic supremacy, an Iraqi Muslim convert has told Church Militant...

"While the pope’s visit has certainly created a feel-good atmosphere among Catholics, Aza is predicting that 'the collateral damage for evangelism among Muslims' will be monumental." Full report here.

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful 2017

Adoration of the Shepherds by Friar Juan Bautista Maíno (1569 –  1649)

From the angel Gabriel:

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And, behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:26-38 (KJV)

Happy Christmas!

Pilling: It's all about Eve

It is ten years since Michael Kalmuk and his long-time partner Kelly Montfort recited their solemn Anglican vows that would bless their relationship in what was described as the World's first "official" Anglican same-sex blessing. They had been together for twenty-one years and spent much of their careers working with people with disabilities. Story here.

Unless one is homophobic it is difficult not to be touched by such a story but the Rev. Margaret Marquardt who conducted the ceremony said in her homily that it amounted to "an act of healing for gay and lesbian people throughout the Anglican church"! In another report here she is quoted as saying said that it was an affirmation of "God's presence" in the couple's relationship, making one wonder if she was familiar with the Bible or simply chose passages to re-interpret Holy Scripture  according to her will, now common practice in liberal Anglicanism. 

A similar story can be read in the report of House of Bishops Working Group on human sexuality, the Pilling Report, where natural sympathy leads to the wrong conclusion that members of the clergy should be allowed to offer blessings to same-sex couples (summary here). Another of the report's recommendations is that The whole Church is called to real repentance for the lack of welcome and acceptance extended to homosexual people in the past, and to demonstrate the unconditional acceptance and love of God in Christ for all people. This it seems to me is the main thrust of the report. God loves all, we have been beastly to gays so same-sex unions should be blessed by the Church as an act of repentance. This conclusion ignores biblical facts but there was not unanimity. The report includes a dissenting statement by the Bishop of Birkenhead who said that he was "not persuaded that the biblical witness on same sex sexual behaviour is unclear". It is true that gays have been treated badly in society but I have not witnessed the reported lack of welcome and acceptance in the Church and don't know of anyone who does, quite the contrary.

The item in the report which I find most illuminating is the advice given by a female 'expert' which so baffled the Review Group that it is included as a separate Prologue "Living with holiness and desire". As Pilling remarks in his Forward, "One of our advisers, [the Rev Dr] Jessica Martin, challenged us to think about human sexuality more widely than most of our evidence was leading us to do. We asked her to write a paper which now forms the prologue to the report. We wanted to give others a chance to read it and reflect on it and we feared that, if we tried to integrate it into the main body of the report, much would be lost."

After her opening statement "Desire begins and ends with God", implying that its all His fault, the Rev Dr waffles on page after page implicating St Augustine of Hippo in the process before her aim is made apparent in the final sentence: "In Christ all things may be made new, every failure may be made the occasion of a generous forgiveness", or to put it another way as Pilling does, to demonstrate the unconditional acceptance and love of God in Christ for all people, ergo, same-sex blessings!

The Rev Sharon Ferguson, Chief Executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) welcomed the Pilling recommendations as "a small step of the Church of England towards greater inclusion but urges them to continue this work to enable the church to witness effectively to God’s love for all", echoing the Prologue message, God loves us, so what the hell!

Speaking on behalf of the Inclusive Church we have another female cleric, the Very Rev’d Dianna Gwilliams, Dean of Guildford Cathedral and Chair of Inclusive Church who says: "We hope that this will enable all Christians to find ways of celebrating the covenantal love between people which reflects the love of God for all people."

The House of Bishops has become incapable of coming to any conclusion without using women to do their thinking for them but only women who represent the old Eve. Women in the image of Mary, the new Eve, who gave us the Church in the Body of Christ have no say. Accordingly, even when it is absolutely clear that marriage is the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others and that Christ deliberately chose men, not women, to be his Apostles, they work their way around these awkward facts by spinning a yarn about inequality which, if true, must have been what Christ intended. But He saw no inequality, only difference.

The process which gave us women deacons and priests, soon to be women bishops, is being repeated. Not quite as grand as Charles and Camilla but gay couples will be able to get married in a Registry Office before their grand Church service which will appear to be a marriage ceremony. That is a very small step from an actual marriage ceremony, just as women claimed it was only a few words separating deacons from priests.

Shortly after the World's first "official" Anglican same-sex blessing took place, an article in Orthodoxy Today was published under the heading 'Thoughts on Women's Ordination'. One sentence particularly stands out: "Virtually every Protestant group that has decided to ordain women has to one degree or another begun to reject Biblical language and images of God in favor of images more acceptable to feminist theology." Pilling it seems is no exception.

Women: the life and death of the church

 

Historically the church owes much to women, none more so than to Mary: "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." Luke 1:38. Her Son honoured their gifts assuring women of an enhanced status in the church from earliest times. Over the centuries Christian women have responded with selfless giving, ministering to those in need while nurturing their families as well as the wider family of the church. Indeed it is difficult to imagine how the church could have survived without their devotion but ironically it is because of a vociferous minority of women that the church is now in peril. Not satisfied with being deacons they have realised their ambition to be ordained as priests and now demand ordination to the episcopate to satisfy their lust for power in the name of equality.

There are many thousands of non-Christian women in the world who are treated as mere possessions, often suffering appalling cruelty and abuse but instead of tackling this obscene inequality, the church is targeted with claims that the ordination of women will rid the world of misogyny, homophobia and the brutalization of women. Considering that many of the worst excesses occur under Sharia law it is not clear how this is to be achieved especially when Christian men as well as women are considered by Muslims to be inferior to them.

The blunt fact is that these women are not representative of their sex but have bamboozled a gullible House of Bishops into believing their cause. In consequence the church is in turmoil. Each so-called 'liberation' has led to another resulting in the current demand for same sex unions. We live in a world of delicate balance, in a thin film surrounding a pale blue dot in the vastness of space. There are many dependencies which secure our existence, none more so than the nature of male and female, each with a complementary role to play for the benefit of each other and most importantly to secure the future of our children. That balance has been upset in society and is being extended to the church with devastating consequences.

The revisionist changes have done nothing to secure the future of the church. On the contrary, it has been estimated that at the present rate of decline the Church of England will be dead within a generation. Women have sustained the Church for two thousand years but now we are witnessing her painful death because of the selfish few.