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.

Misery areas: a clarification from Lord Harries

Lord Harries of Pentregarth, former Bishop of Oxford                          Source: LGBTConservatives

 The Rt Revd Lord Harries of Pentregarth, author of the 2012 Church in Wales Review has written to the Church Times about Maintaining ministry despite declining numbers. He wrote: "It was very good to read that the Church in Wales has made such progress in implementing the recommendations of the review that I chaired ten years ago (News, 11 March). At the same time, I can very much understand the frustrations of those clergy who have found that the new system has not worked for them (Letters, 18 March). 

Lord Harries goes on to "clarify" a few points:

"Our main recommendation was that the parish system as we have known and loved it is no longer sustainable. We recommended that every parish should continue to have a worshipping community, but that it should in most circumstances be led by a self-supporting priest or licensed lay minister. We envisaged really big ministry areas, with 20 or more parishes, which would have a small team of paid clergy, who would be appointed first to this and only then to one or more of the parishes, if they were large enough.

"We realised that there was a danger that clergy would just go on being asked to take on more and more parishes in a way that was unsustainable rather than be part of a structure that required a different mind-set. Obviously, the success of this new system depends on each worshiping congregation’s being able to raise up its own leadership team, and we did not underestimate the real difficulty in doing that in rural areas with tiny congregations.

"In their letter, the clergy who are not happy about ministry areas point to a lack of growth, even decline, under the new situation. But we did not believe that the new structure would by itself bring about growth. Our concern, quite simply, was with the sheer survival of the Church in Wales in what is going to be a very difficult period for a long time to come, for reasons that have nothing to do with the structure of the Church, but have to do with our failure to recapture the imagination of our culture for the Christian story.

"Congregations may remain small for some time, but they will be there, and 'A small church is not a failed church,' a lesson that I learnt from Tony Russell, a colleague when I was Bishop of Oxford.

"I believe that the Church in Wales is to be congratulated in facing up, ten years ago, to the seriousness of the situation and that there are important lessons to be learnt by the Church of England from our recommendations, particularly in rural areas."

Noted for his liberal views, Lord Harries believes in so-called 'equal' marriage and "warmly welcomed" the Marriage (same sex couples) Bill.

Also, from Wikipedia: "On 11 February 2017, Harries was one of fourteen retired bishops to sign an open letter to the then-serving bishops of the Church of England. In an unprecedented move, they expressed their opposition to the House of Bishops' report to General Synod on sexuality, which recommended no change to the church's canons or practices around sexuality. By 13 February, a serving bishop (Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham) and nine further retired bishops had added their signatures; on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod, plunging the Church of England into 'turmoil'."

Lord Harries does not comment on the 'do as we please' Church in Wales bishops and its top heavy structure.

Physician heal thyself!

Do you want local churches to flourish?

Ven Cherry Vann, bishop elect of Monmouth               Source: Church in Wales

 From a Diocese of Monmouth job advert appearing in the Church Times:

"Do you want local churches to flourish?

"Monmouth Ministry Area is looking for 2 Ministry Area Leaders to share Ministry Area Leadership for the whole area and each to be incumbent of a group of parishes within it. One incumbency has a more urban base.

"The whole area has18 churches (6 looked after by House for Duty priests) A team of 13 active retired priests and a Reader Focal Ministers in most churches."

There are some sad average Sunday attendance figures in the Monmouth Ministry Area Profile which no doubt account for the advert headline. Granted they serve many small rural communities but with ageing congregations it is difficult to see how these churches are to flourish.

The average Sunday attendance figures are:

The Monmouth Town Group: Mitchel Troy 18, Monmouth Priory Church 51, Overmonnow 46, Rockfield 8, Wonastow 6.

 The Monmouth Rural Group: Cwmcarvan 3, Dingestow 9, Llanfihangel Ystern-Llewen 12, Llangattock-Vibon-Abel 12, Penyclawdd 10, Tregaer 8.

The Llanishen Group: Llanfihangel Tor-y-mynydd 15, Llanishen 5, Llansoy 7, Trelleck Grange 5.

The Llandogo and Tintern Group: Llandogo with Whitebrook 42, Tintern 7 (Estimated)

The problem extends beyond the Church in  Wales. The Mail Online reports that a typical Anglican congregation in England numbered just 27 worshippers last year. "Over a decade congregations fell by 15 per cent, church marriages by a third, and fewer than one in ten babies were baptised."

Churchgoing is becoming increasingly unpopular. Why?

Responding (@18.27) to a LBC questioner in my previous entry Justin Welby said he was "deeply, deeply sorry" that "the Church has historically been deeply intolerant, with society as a whole, but the Church has no excuse. Jesus said to someone caught, someone dragged up in front of Him, 'those without sin cast the first stone' and we shouldn't be throwing stones" as if to imply that Jesus condoned sin.

The Christian message would have been much clearer if Welby had quoted Jesus when asked by the woman caught in adultery: "Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.”

Biblical teaching has become so selective that for many people sin has been abolished so there is no need for redemption.

Welby also said: "People have to realise the reality of people's lives. The reason he is a Christian is because God came into the middle of the complexity, he didn't simplify it, he embraced it. It's what we need to do".

Hate the sin but love the sinner has become love the sinner so never mind the sin implying that Christ died on the Cross in vain.

Churches cannot be expected to flourish by surrendering the faith of Christ crucified to a 'do-as-you-please' society.

Yesterday's man

It doesn't say much for the new Archbishop of Wales when the old is invited to share his destructive views with Bangor clergy school.

Barry Morgan of all people! Wrecker in chief of the Church in Wales with his radical policies spouting a load of old cobblers.

He persists in perpetuating the myth that the clergy have to do everything - apart from working together.

There are some clergy who pull above their weight but there are others who are bone idle. I could give him a few names.

In reality hard working, conscientious clergy have simply had enough of politics. Many of the more able have jumped ship leaving Ministry Areas in Wales in a sorry state. Who better to blame than long suffering laity for supposedly leaving it all to the clergy.

Morgan should realise that many of the problems have been caused by forcing out hard working laity leaving the Church of Wales on the verge of collapse.

He doesn't give a damn for them, nor do the increasing numbers of senior staff left in charge while area cooperatives struggle to survive with inadequate pastoral support.

When he retired he pledged that he would not interfere. Another broken promise.

Sad, deluded and failure are three words that spring to mind.

What a gay couple of days!

Bishop of Llandaff is surrounded by senior staff                                                      Source: Twitter

A nice little jolly for senior staff in the diocese of Llandaff has been highlighted on Twitter: "The Llandaff Senior Staff are enjoying the hospitality of Mill House Retreat Centre for a couple of days of team building including our new Archdeacon! Down to work!" 

No dingy church hall for them. Compare the lifestyle at the top with Ministry Areas struggling to make ends meet and it is clear where priorities lie in the Church in Wales. 

Archbishop John Davies was right in his presidential address to members at the recent meeting of the Governing Body when he acknowledged that the church was facing ‘confusing and challenging times’. He urged members to follow the example of people in the Bible by putting their faith in God and acting confidently to make change happen. 

There has been a flurry of archdeacon appointments lately. The appointment of the Archdeacon of Margam follows the appointment of an additional Archdeacon in Monmouth to jolly along the switch to Ministry Areas with more advertised in the expectation that they will improve a dire situation.

From 'Ministry Share: A Guide' issued by the diocese of St Davids: "Put simply, it is the financial cost of spreading the Gospel and maintaining ministry in our diocese, shared among all the parishes of St Davids. It is a commitment of our faith, rather than a tax or imposition, which finds its beginnings in the earliest days of the church and a very similar financial pool of funds is described in Acts.

It is more about spreading the load than spreading the Gospel. The widows' mites funding life at the top.

The current position is unsustainable. The guide explains that the funds required for the pool are calculated each year in the diocesan budget. The Bishop and senior staff have to calculate the number of clergy required and this is the biggest single item in the budget.

A commentator pointed out under a previous thread, Taking stock,  "Meanwhile....Cwmbran has gone from 5 full time clergy to a ministry area with no paid clergy since August....a roaring success hey? 5 churches and a CiW school.......but the parish share has remained at over £120K per year.......But at least the governing body will be debating politics soon, that will really help this crisis and grow the Church!

Not all change is for the better it seems.

Postscript [24.04.2018]

Emergency food bank supplies increase in Wales

The number of emergency food bank supplies given to families in crisis in Wales increased by 3% in the past year, figures show. The Trussell Trust food bank network said 98,350 three-day food bags were given out from April 2017 to March 2018 - 35,403 of which were to children.  BBC News report here.

Church in Wales Ministry Areas

In response to my previous entry, commentator O.wot.a.blunda wrote:
"In the meantime morale among the clergy is at an all-time low. The misery areas or whatever they're called now are a complete shambles, with PCCs and all sense of order having gone to the wall. No one wants to be a ministry area leader except for newly ordained clerics who haven't a clue how to run a parish much less a ministry area. Some long-time clerics I suspect would rather drink poison than take up that role.
I'm surprised that you haven't spent more time discussing this awful mess on the Ancient Briton blog. Who would have thought that the Church in Wales review would have resulted in such a dreadful mess." [My emphasis - Ed.]

Perhaps this should serve as the opportunity for other readers to share their experiences. To date the hopes expressed in the lead video are not evident. Instead there is anecdotal evidence of disillusionment and regret.

"Let anyone with ears listen" said one of the propagandists in the video. The expectation was for a "new flourishing", a vibrancy resulting in "re-imagining ministry, revitalising the churches and rejuvenating the people".

The Anglican News Service explained the plan thus:
"From ministry areas to community cafes, changes happening in churches across Wales can be seen in a short film now available online. The 2020 Vision film highlights stories from each of the six dioceses in Wales which show how they are responding to the Church in Wales’ strategy for growth."

There has been no growth, only decline, contrary to the expectations of Ministry Area devotees, much like the suggestion that women priests would revitalize the Church and halt decline. The reverse is true.

The only 'benefit' for the Province of Wales accrues to the bishops and an increasing number of senior staff while the workers beaver away to develop a system nobody really wanted apart from Archbishop Morgan's devotees. Compare the inactivity on other recommendations in the Review to trim administrative offices and downsize, possibly to three dioceses [Section 15 of the Church in Wales 'Harries' Review].

Better still the Church in Wales should be returned to the Church of England so that England and Wales can at least go down united.  Prior to disestablisment in 1920, there were four dioceses in Wales. The Diocese of Monmouth was created in 1921 and the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in 1923.

In 2008 "new figures" compiled after an analysis of membership of religious bodies revealed the numbers attending church on a monthly basis could fall from 200,000 to fewer than 40,000 over the next four decades, less than the average attendance at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge football ground. Church in Wales regular attendance figures were already down to 28,291 in 2016.

The bishop of Bangor said in Sept 2013 that the speedy adoption of Ministry Areas was for positive reasons about "new ways of doing church" but he acknowledged that "it is undeniable" that the Church in some places is in crisis. The position is much worse in 2018.

The "landmark report" by Church in Wales which recommended replacing parishes with ministry areas, was summarised by Wales Online in September 2012.

The Church in Wales claims that "Ministry Areas reflect huge changes which have taken place in our society. The parish system, as originally set up with a single priest serving a small community, was put in place when people lived and worked in the same parish. All this has now changed – the communities to which people now belong are very varied and people travel freely."

Given that the entire province of Wales with its six diocesan bishops including an archbishop is about the same size as a diocese in the Church of England, one has to wonder why the struggling Church of England has not adopted the idea.

Law & Religion UK commented: "Our post in July 2012 observed that many of the symptoms underlying the CiW Review were present, to a greater or lesser degree, in the Church of England, and there is clearly much for those within both Churches to consider" but there were important differences. Unlike other churches in the Anglican Communion [the CIW] does not have a fully developed system of synodical government. Suspending parishes in the Church in Wales is a much easier matter, legally, than it is in the Church of England and Deaneries, as at present constituted [in the CiW], are not always a natural geographical unit - fuller details here - indicating that it was easier to get away with in Wales.

Readers of Highlights which reports on the Church in Wales’ Governing Body meetings  might have expected a fuller explanation of 'progress' but the cat was let out of the bag by the Revd Dr Stephen Wigley representing the Methodist Church who "welcomed the greater co-operation between denominations brought about by the change to Ministry Areas", strengthening the view that the Church in Wales looks to Nonconformists and the 'Uniting' church for survival, see more examples here, here, here and here.

The first Ministry Area in the diocese of Monmouth was formally inaugurated in April 2015, consisting of nine parishes in and around Usk. Three years later the "Job of the week" announced on Twitter is for Director of Mission and Archdeacon of the Gwent Valleys. Details here.

Remuneration & Benefits package

• Archdeacon’s stipend of £37,115 p.a.
• Final salary pension scheme
• 4-bedroom detached house in Abercarn village, with easy
  access to the Archdeaconry and Newport (the administrative
  centre of the Diocese)
• Expenses for all travel from home

The path to nonconformity is becoming expensive. Clearly there is little to shout about. If the Ministry Area scheme were a success I would have expected to find some positive signs but 'Googling' reveals nothing of substance.

Perhaps commentators will provide more insight.

The cost of success

This image from Twitter (H/T Anglican Mainstream) shows the celebration of a lesbian civil partnership at Southwark Cathedral with "Eucharist, Dinner and Dancing". 

It was joyfully attended by the Very Rev'd Professor Martyn Percy Dean of Christ Church Oxford, who pressed Philip North either to renounce his membership of The Society or to decline his nomination as bishop of Sheffield, and his wife Emma Percy, Chair of WATCH who likes to refer to God as a 'She'. 

Taken with the errors committed at the recent General Synod in York, this is another example of how far Anglicanism in Great Britain has become a do as you please religion.

In another recent post on Anglican Mainstream the question was posed, Why is the Episcopal Church near collapse? A note of caution was added: Ed:  The author of this article is not mentioned, nor is it dated.  We believe it to be several years old, but we consider it suitable for posting as the situation has not improved and the article clearly shows the effect of revisionism.

The rot started in the US. If ever there was a cautionary tale to heed one would have thought that the brakes would have been applied but instead progressives in this country have held up TEC as an exemplar.

After all she has done to bring down the Episcopal Church in the United States, their former Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, was invited to proclaim the Gospel at the consecration of the new bishop of Llandaff, ignoring the Church in Wales' own Basic Guidance concerning the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist:   "[17.] The Gospel is normally proclaimed by a deacon, where available...and, from the Appendix, It is the duty of the deacon to proclaim the Gospel."

The Gospel stunt was a distraction which focused on the advancement of women in the Church rather than giving glory to God with the central focus of the liturgy being Christ himself (General Guidelines).

Another posing opportunity for women bishops       Source:Salisbury Journal

Back at the parish ministry area level, this comment was received following my previous entry which confirms worrying reports about Ministry Areas:

".... you mention 'inspiring our poor worn out hard working priests'
I agree with you but the management push to force ministry areas everywhere, is doing the opposite. Team leaders here in Monmouth are hard to come by as no one wants to run 3-4 parishes with less and less team members. Cwmbran, became a ministry area and went from 4 full time clergy, to two, the curate recently was moved to Malpas Ministry Area as no one would apply for it, so the remaining ministry team leader has resigned and is off to Llandaff as a team vicar. So soon no full time clergy......but hey plenty of lay readers who have been ordained...........(is it me or is that bad theology?)
I gather Llandaff has a chap going round full time, telling PCC's how wonderful ministry areas are......."

In the wider sphere, an observation from Pope Benedict XVI who sent a "sobering" message at the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner saying he was moved at the dubia cardinal's ability to "live out of a deep conviction that the Lord does not abandon His Church, even when the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing.

What liberals claim as progress is the cost of their success. At the official level Anglicanism is all but finished in the US with Great Britain not far behind while blind progressives still insist that it is they who are right!

But all is not lost. Please read this hopeful message: To the Anglicans of Great Britain.

Postscript [28.07.2017]

Read a review of material from Southwark Cathedral to mark civil parterships  here.

Delusions

Delusion 1

Reluctantly, the US authorities have had to conclude that the shooting of 14 civil servants at a Christmas party in California was not the act of a disgruntled employee but one inspired by Islamic fundamentalism: "The investigation so far has developed indications of radicalisation by the killers and of potential inspiration by foreign terrorists organisations".

Nervousness in recognising the facts is understandable. How many more silent potential killers lurk among us? Predictably ISIS have claimed credit but the sad fact is that even when ISIS and all other fundamental Islamist organisations are defeated, the ideology still comes from the book Muslims are required to study from their earliest years. The answer is in proper education, enabling Muslims to question a faith which in Christian terms must be misguided. So long as people are allowed to believe that they can gain a place in paradise by murdering innocent people there will be no change.

In Christianity the greatest of faith, hope and charity (love), is love. By contrast Islam rewards believers at the expense of unbelievers. The characteristics of love and forgiveness are embedded in Christian consciousness, even of nominal and lapsed Christians which leads them to welcome others who reject democracy and regard Christians as inferior. It is a delusion to think that Muslims would allow non-Muslims the same freedom that they demand in our midst yet to question their allegiance is condemned as Islamophobia. If believers cannot question their beliefs and come to their own conclusions they will be forever at the mercy of those who would control them, a devastating lesson learnt all too late by many Christians.

Delusion 2

The leader of the Labour Party was quick to take credit for Labour's victory in the Oldham by-election. Labour Deputy leader Tom Watson said "If this was a referendum on Jeremy Corbyn, then he has won. It was a decisive victory with our share of the vote going up. I hope our MPs look at this result." It was not a referendum. The local verdict was that the electorate simply had confidence in their local lad. It had nothing to do with Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

The decision of Parliament to ignore the artificial border between Iraq and Syria was a difficult one for MPs. Mr Corbyn likes to base his authority on grass roots support but what is that worth when supporters resort to bullying tactics, sending threats and offensive material to MPs who voted according to conscience?

Delusion 3 

The Anglican Church in this country continues to grapple with the consequences of following the liberal lead of the US Episcopal Church. As attendance continues to decline in line with these liberal innovations the Church of England ("A Christian presence in every community") has even considered a Beeching style closure of churches, leaving a Christian presence in some communities.

The relentless pursuit of a liberal agenda in the Church in Wales where a policy of exclusion continues to operate has resulted in an exercise to keep the current episcopal elite and their supporters in the style to which they have become accustomed by substituting Ministry Areas for Parishes with lay people doing most of the work regardless of whether they are qualified to do so beyond a programme of rudimentary lay training.

Archbishop Morgan thinks it a wonderful idea (here, page 2): "So things are on the move and what has been fantastic about all this is how the parishes concerned have got excited about the prospect, embraced the vision and seen for themselves the advantages that accrue. That is much better than a centrally imposed plan that people do not own."

The question has been raised, "What hope for the Church in Wales?" -  When meetings do not address the problem of alienation there is something wrong with the organisation they exist to serve. Read the alternative view here.

Area Ministry: the Business Solution

Map: Wikipedia

Landmark report by Church in Wales recommends replacing parishes with ministry areas: 
"Key recommendations include replacing traditional parishes with "ministry areas" modelled on the catchment areas of secondary schools. Each area could include around 25 parishes." - WalesOnline.

In reality the 'landmark report' only repeats what the Archbishop of Wales forecast back in 2006 in a lecture organised by 'The Christian Centre for Rural Wales' when Dr Morgan said:
  "there are provinces across the Anglican Communion in America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and in many dioceses of the Church in England and now in Wales, which have begun to examine the setting up of local ministry teams without diminishing the role of the clergy, but which take the discipleship of all God’s people seriously.  Instead of seeing the Church as a community centred around a priest, the church itself is seen as a corporate body which becomes a ministering congregation.  In other words, it ceases to be a congregation which is ministered to but becomes an active congregation and lives out God’s mission in the world."

So the 'Independent Review' is effectively an endorsement of Barry's plan based as usual on the performance of the failing Episcopal Church of America. In this example of area ministry we have the now familiar liberal agenda in a PowerPoint presentation, a business based solution to confront the shrinking membership of the church.  [Download viewer here if required.]

Those members who have already been active in the Church in Wales, seeking to live God's mission in the world, will be sadly disappointed having responded to their Archbishop's urgings to take part in the Review. Evidently eager to tackle the top heavy structure resulting from severe losses suffered in their church, it was suggested by a clear majority [that has a familiar ring! - Ed] that the number of dioceses be cut to three, no doubt with commensurate reductions in senior posts but while the Review recommends that the number of administrative areas be reduced to three, the seven bishops would remain - even if the number of dioceses is eventually reduced! This was the assessment of the 'independent review':

 15. Dioceses: their number and administration
We have received a wide variety of views on how many dioceses there should be
in Wales, fluctuating wildly between one and the opinion that every deanery
should be a diocese! The majority view was probably that there should be three
or four dioceses, with some re-drawing of boundaries. However, we believe that
this is the wrong time to be changing the number and shape of dioceses. It would
occupy time and energy for the next ten years and distract the church from the
urgent changes which are necessary now, irrespective of the number of
dioceses. 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.

No doubt the seven bishops will be well satisfied that the Lord Harries of Pentregarth managed to produce a report which they think makes the Church in Wales 'fit for purpose'. Actually the Lord Jesus Christ did that long before these revisionists started tinkering with His plan. The consequences for the US Episcopal Church can be read here.