Just one more time?

The Very Rev Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans                                                            Source: Premier

It has been announced that the Very Rev Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans and high profile advocate of normalising homosexuality in the church is one of two gay priests to be shortlisted to become bishops in the Scottish Episcopal Church. 

Pundits speculated that Llandaff was Jeffrey John's last hope of preferment. He is 65. He lost out to June Osborne who was appointed by the bench of bishops, may God forgive them. 

The Church in Wales now has two female bishops committed to so-called gender equality and normalising homosexuality which is designed to make the many homosexual clergy appear acceptable regardless of scripture and tradition.

Jeffrey John is an amiable fellow in a celibate civil partnership but his views on homosexuality and faith have caused much distress, not least with his Out 4 Marriage video. He also came in for some well deserved criticism over his claim that Jesus healed the Centurion's "gay lover", refuted here.

The Scottish Episcopal Church has followed the lead of the US Episcopal Church on gay marriage with the appointment of Canon Anne Dyer, the first female bishop in the SEC. Canon Dyer is "strongly in favour" of gay marriage.

With two gay priests on shortlists to become bishops the slide continues.

Update [04.06.2018]

The Very Rev Andrew Swift has been elected as the new bishop of Brechin. 

New Anglicanism: secularism with ritual?

"Recent developments in The Episcopal Church with respect to a change in their Canon on marriage represent a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching held by the majority of our Provinces on the doctrine of marriage. Possible developments in other Provinces could further exacerbate this situation." - Scottish Episcopal Church Agenda and Papers, General Synod 2016.

Last month the Scottish Episcopal Church voted to allow same-sex couples to be married in church.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have been criticised for inviting the proposer of the Scottish gay-marriage motion to the General Synod meeting in York, placing a group of the Synod’s laity and clergy in an “invidious” position.

There should be nothing to discuss if a change is "a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching" but the Archbishops of Canterbury and York appear to be one-track minded on this issue. In January 2016 there was an explanation in The Telegraph explaining how the Anglican Communion came to find itself in this mess.

Much has been made of changing attitudes towards gay marriage but how many simply go with the flow? That public opinion has shifted is hardly surprising in a do-as-you-please society which fails to recognise the absurdities of the new 'anything goes' mentality.

In what could be a "world first" an eight-month-old Canadian baby has been issued with a health card that does not specify the child's sex. It has been done at the request of parent Kori Doty, a non-binary transgender parent who identifies as neither male nor female. The obvious is no longer obvious.

The Holy Smoke podcast above poses the question: Are Christians warming to gay marriage? For secularists same sex marriage is defined in terms of equality, regarding any opposition as discrimination. That religious groups are apparently falling into line indicates not so much a change in view of the sacrament of marriage, rather it indicates how the church has been infiltrated by lobbies determined to advance their agendas at any cost.

Civil partnerships were introduced to ensure that homosexual couples are not discriminated against. For the Anglican church to introduce same sex marriage would be to turn it into a secular institution with ritual, a return paganism.

Update [09.07.2017]

Reporting on GS Misc 1158 - Proposals for the Pastoral Advisory Group on Human Sexuality and the Development of the Teaching Document (item 8 on Saturday's Agenda at the York Synod) - Archbishop Welby "hoped a document would be available for discussion at the synod in early 2020 'though on a process this complicated we cannot be pinned down relating to time'."

Had the Archbishop maintained Christian doctrine ‘founded in scripture, in reason, in tradition, in theology and the Christian faith as the Church of England has received it’, the Church would not have the complication.

Winding up the debate on her motion calling for a ban on the practice of Conversion Therapy aimed at altering sexual orientation, Ms Jayne Ozanne quoted a tear jerking letter from a retired homosexual priest in his 90's who complained about homophobia in the Church. This has been alleged so often that the bishops believe it when in my experience the reverse is true, often with the innocent on the receiving end as some gays seek to extend their influence at the expense of others.

Next up: Church of England to vote on transgender services. To follow, 'polyamorous' marriage?

Postscript

Please also read Sin at Synod - How the Church forbad forgiveness by Gavin Ashenden and listen to Peter Ould losing it in his Podcast T is for Tearing up the Rules of Anglicanism.

What hope can there be for Anglicanism in this country?

"Gay marriage is here to stay",

thus says the Bishop of Buckingham (hat tip to Anglican Mainstream).

Well know for his trendy social intercourse the Rt Rev'd Dr Alan Wilson graced the Queering Paradigms network to deliver the keynote speech in which he claimed that "nothing bad happened in the UK after the introduction of same-sex marriage two years ago and that the Church of England is slowly accepting the concept" before adding the latest LGBT clerical mantra, "it was merely a matter of time before the controversy surrounding gay and transgender unions would turn to acceptance everywhere, even in his church".

The fact that same sex marriage is tearing the Church apart is obviously irrelevant to +Buckingham.

The Queering Paradigms network is "dedicated to examining the current state and future challenges of Queer Studies from a broad trans-disciplinary and polythetic perspective, and by interrogating numerous social, political, cultural and academic agendas". Professor Bee Scherer introduces himself as the founder of Queering Paradigms and Professor of Religious Studies and Gender Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University.

In the video the professor explains Queer Theory as "An academic area challenging traditional concepts of binary genders and other ideas around sexuality". He described it as "a daring and rebellious form of thinking about who we are and assumptions about fixed gender". Rebellious indeed.

That anyone can hold such a position let alone indoctrinate our young people with such notions is bad enough but to be supported by a bishop of the Church of England expounding views contrary the Church's position on marriage shows the level to which some of our bishops have sunk. Will any stand up for the faith?

Feeding Islam and ripping the Church apart

Source: Twitter

A sharp-eyed reader has drawn my attention to the menu offered last Thursday at the Cardiff University Chaplaincy: halal chicken casserole! Next Thursday's lunch will also be halal. In fact halal dishes appear to be their regular offering. I appreciate that the Chaplaincy caters for mixed faiths but why do Islamic meals take precedence in a supposedly Christian country?

There is much more to concern the faithful than a meagre halal meal for £1. The Anglican Chaplaincy boasts a seminar at which the Very Rev Jeffery John promoted gay marriage and Canon Jeremy Pemberton talked about life with his 'husband'.

Following his defeat at the Church in Wales Governing Body in September last year Archbishop Barry Morgan said "It would be 'foolish' to bring forward a bill for same-sex marriages in church at the moment. It would be a very brave or perhaps a very foolish Bench of Bishops who were to bring the bill before the governing body at this stage because that might just rip the church apart and lead to the acrimony that has been absent from this debate."  [My emphasis - Ed.]

The intent is clear.

Notwithstanding the dire effects on church attendance resulting in church closures and the loss of the historic parish system, the same procedure is being adopted as was employed in the campaign for the ordination of women followed by their admission to the Episcopate. If at first you don't succeed keep trying until the church is left only with like minded people led astray by a bench of bishops, bar one, who have abandoned the Apostolic faith of the Holy Catholic Church for a dictatorship of  relativism.

When the bishops report back to the Governing Body in April their conclusion appears obvious.

Christianity is in danger. Mosques are already opening their doors to entice the unwary. Closed churches and chapels are being converted adding to the twenty-one Mosques already in Cardiff. Two of the seven chaplains in Cardiff University are Muslim. They need no help from the Church in Wales.

The agenda may be music to the ears of the Archbishop but it is not the Gospel and it is already ripping the church apart.

Postscript [23.02.2016]

The Cardiff University Chaplaincy 50 years ago with Fr Bruce E Davies, RIP surrounded by communicants for the Ash Wednesday Eucharist.

Postscript [24.02.2016]

In response to worries about traffic problems it has been suggested that this new Cardiff mosque was needed to allow only 30 worshippers to pray. Pull the other one! This was a second application. No doubt there will be another mirroring the Church in Wales', if at first you don't succeed, try again until you get what you want.

WITCH way

House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests

Chrism Masses: Report of the Independent Reviewer

"Part of the package enabling the consecration of women to the episcopate in the Church
of England was the introduction of a process for the resolution of disputes relating to the
operation of the House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests
(GS Misc 1076). The Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests (Resolution of
Disputes Procedure) Regulations 2014 provide for the appointment of an Independent
Reviewer to consider individual grievances from a parish as well as more general
expressions of concern arising from the operation of the House of Bishops’ Declaration.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, with the concurrence of the Chairs of the
Houses of Clergy and Laity of the General Synod, confirmed my appointment to this new
role which took effect from 17 November 2014.

2. On 13 April 2015, Hilary Cotton, Chair of Women and the Church (‘WATCH’) wrote to
me expressing WATCH’s concern about the fact that a number of chrism masses were to
be held in 2015, as in former years, at which bishops of the Society of St Wilfrid and St
Hilda (‘the Society’) – an ecclesial community dedicated to maintaining catholic teaching
and practice within the Church of England – would preside. Ms Cotton asked in what
possible way continuing these occasions honoured the five principles embodied in the
House of Bishops’ Declaration, in particular the first two of those principles and the call
in the Declaration to promote mutual flourishing...."

“Mutual flourishing is, we believe, not meant to be about each group flourishing
independently, ‘tolerating’ the other’s presence, but flourishing together even
though that causes tension – which is why all clergy renewing their vows
together would seem to be a case in point.” - Chair of WATCH

Now that women bishops are part of the structure of the Church of England, that mean-spirited, feminist group,WATCH seek to unpick the agreement which gave them what they wanted so that

"those within the Church of England who, on grounds of theological
conviction, are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or
priests continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of
the Anglican Communion, the Church of England remains committed to
enabling them to flourish within its life and structures",

'flourishing' can be only on WITCH terms. True to form!

The complaint was not upheld. Report here.

With crisis reports appearing such as "Demise of Christianity: 1,000 churches could shut across Britain as congregations shrink" and "'Gay marriage' all about attacking Christianity, says author" one would have thought there were more pressing issues but the feminist cause must be served regardless. Their campaign has always been motivated by politics rather than spirituality no matter what the cost, especially to others who do not share their distorted view of the Apostolic Church.

See also "WATCH your backs - they really are hunting you" on the Let nothing you dismay Blog.

Postscript [10/08/2015]

A report from the Independent Reviewer regarding All Saints, Cheltenham:
In multi-parish team benefices, licences issued to female assistant clergy (other than members of the Team) should specify the nature and extent of the ministry they are authorized to undertake in resolution parishes." H/T Forward in Faith

Postscript [14/08/2015]

From Ruth Gledhill " The CofE needs a fresh start to reconcile its differences" here.

The not so quick and the dead

The Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby pays a visit to St Alban's
  Academy in Highgate                                                                        Photo credit: Birmingham Mail

In my previous entry I referred to a report that the Archbishop of Canterbury was to visit a school in Birmingham where 80 per cent of its pupils are Muslim and just eight per cent of its pupils are Christian. He has. A report on his visit to St Alban’s Academy can be read here.

The reports I have seen so far concentrate on gays and gay marriage. Referring to Church of England’s laws the Archbishop said, "Marriage is between one man and one woman for life and sexual activity should be confined to marriage" before adding that he [like many of us -Ed.] has many gay friends who do "incredible" work. He  admitted that he "struggled" with his views on homosexuality adding: "I’m listening very, very closely to try to discern what the spirit of God is trying to tell us." That sounds like sandy ground to me, just as in Wales where 'consultations' are taking place to to be ignored, as before, if they don't meet their Archbishop's expectations set out here.

Important though the sanctity of marriage is it was this quote which worried me more:

"Answering a pupil who asked whether he would encourage him to convert from Islam to Christianity, the Archbishop said: 'I am not going to put pressure on you, and I wouldn’t expect you to put pressure on me'."

'Pressure' is reserved for Muslims who have no scruples about gaining converts for Allah. Examples here and here; ideology here. From another report today on the Facing Islam Blog:

"ISIS has abducted dozens of Assyrian men, women and children, including 12 from Tel Hurmiz, 15 from Tel Goran. They have been brought to Jabal Abdul Aziz. The residents of the villages of Tel Shamiran (approximately 50) and Tel Jazira (about 40) are being held captive in their own villages by ISIS.

 A number of churches have been destroyed, including the church in Tel Hurmiz, one of the oldest churches in Syria, the Mar Bisho church in Tel Shamiran, the church in Qabr Shamiy and the church in Tel Baloua.

Three weeks ago ISIS ordered Assyrians in the region of Hassaka to remove the crosses from their churches and to pay jizya (Christian poll tax), warning residents that if they failed to pay they would have to leave or else be killed."

The Principal of St Alban’s Academy told reporters: "Our collective Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu parents and those of other faiths or none send their children to St Alban’s because of its high expectations and good discipline founded on strong moral and religious principles and because they recognise the value of children being encouraged and supported in their faiths. Despite the fact that the school has a Church of England ethos, its multi-faith intake means it has strong partnerships with various establishments including Birmingham Central Mosque. [My emphasis - Ed.]

The Principal talks about a Church of England 'ethos' but I see little evidence in the reports. Perhaps he is unaware that it is the duty of all Muslims to convert infidels to Islam believing that "Islam is the one true faith that leads to salvation". Archbishop Welby may have been caught on the hop but I was disappointed that he didn't grasp the opportunity presented to him when asked about conversion.

Muslims need to know Christ. How else are we to conquer the evil that is being allowed to spread around the world on the absurd pretext that Islamic extremists have nothing to do with Islam? They are emulating their prophet while non-violent Muslims are spreading their religion surreptitiously. Turning the other cheek is one thing, turning away from Christ is quite another. According to research by the Pew Research Center, "in 34 of the 38 countries where the question was asked, at least half of Muslims believe that Islam is the one true religion that can lead to eternal life in heaven". We need more Christianity and less political talk so that people know the truth.

If I may Archbishop, some recommend reading from 2 Timothy 4:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Welby wobbling the wrong way

 Archbishop Justin Welby                                                                          Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA

 "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 was the 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

There's no womb is the new in

Remember Dave's claim: "The NHS is safe in our hands"? In a Daily Mirror/Daybreak poll, 82% of responders didn't think so. There is a moving, professional account of the reality here which some will find surprising.

One of Dave's major delusions is that he has improved the institution of marriage by making it available to everyone. After the gay marriage bill was rammed through parliament with all the supposed safeguards we now have: Church of England to be Sued for Refusing to Perform Same-Sex Marriages, Just a Month After Prime Minister Promised Protection. Read the full story here.

For old-timers it is all very confusing. Following the announcement that Ellen DeGeneres is to host the Oscars in 2014 she tweeted: "It's official: I'm hosting the #Oscars! I'd like to thank @TheAcademy, my wife Portia and, oh dear, there goes the orchestra." Barrie Drewitt-Barlow pictured above (right) with boyfriend Tony wants to go into his church and marry his husband. He  said “I am a Christian – a practicing Christian – my children have all been brought up as Christians and are part of the local [Church of England] parish church in Danbury.” Since neither has a womb they made other arrangements to have their children. Both are named on the birth certificate of their twins, who were "conceived with a donated ovum and carried by a surrogate in California". They have since "acquired three more children through similar means and opened Britain’s first surrogacy business catering especially to same-sex partners".

Lacking a womb is the new in thing. From the Guardian Weekend Magazine: "When his son Max was born six months ago, Yotam Ottolenghi didn't think it was anybody else's business. Now, after five years of trying to become a father, he explains why he wanted to share the long, hard road to gay parenthood". He and his partner Karl met the surrogate mother, Melanie, through an agency in Los Angeles. She had first become interested in "alternative parenting" while watching The Oprah Winfrey Show! She had four children of her own and had been a surrogate once before using a donor egg.

Melanie and her egg donor received medical treatments to co-ordinate their menstrual cycles before the donor was flown to a clinic in LA where, using the standard IVF process, eggs were retrieved and fertilised in a test tube using the father's donated sperm. The full story can be read here.

The joy of the gay fathers is clear for all to see. What the 'motherless' children will think of the arrangements in years to come remains to be seen but one thing is clear, having no womb is no impediment to parenthood today but with costs of "at least $100,000", will Dave's next promise be free motherhood for all at the point of delivery?

"The Christian faith is based on trust". What a joke!

"In the church you do have to accept a certain amount of trust. After all, if you can't accept that trust is pretty fundamental in the church, then where are we? The whole base of the Christian faith is based on trust."

- Lord Harries of Pentregarth, former Bishop of Oxford

Since the House of Bishops can no longer be trusted to care for all, the implication in Bishop Harries' remark is that they are no longer Christian. You can listen to his interview here. A strong advocate of blessing civil partnerships in church he was rather coy about discussing the current controversy of gay marriages in church saying, "there is a prior and more important step and that is actually warmly to welcome civil partnerships and offer a blessing for them. That is what I think the church could do and what it should do". 

Bishop Harries continues to push the liberal strategy of change by stealth while denying traditionalists what they were promised, an honoured place in the church. If the bishops want to restore trust in themselves they must show due contrition and make proper provision acceptable to orthodox Christians in their care.

Another politician in clerical clothing

 In the latest helping of the views of the Archbishop of Wales in WalesOnline we have Organ Donations, Devolution, Gay Marriage, Homosexuality, Women's Rights, Demographics and the Welsh language. Unlike Her Majesty the Queen who broadcast a simple Christian message in her Christmas Day broadcast [see previous entry], here is another cleric who finds it much easier to preach politics from the privilege of the pulpit than to offer himself for election. The closest Dr Morgan gets to God is when he talks of the decline of the church, again abdicating any sense of responsibility with the words: “At the end of the day, the church is not the clergy and the church is certainly not bishops. The church is the whole people of God.” - If that is the case, why does he insist on ploughing his own furrow contrary to the direction of the universal Apostolic church to which he professes allegiance every time he recites the Creed?

Apart from the dwindling few he has gathered around him, the 'whole people of God' as he sees them couldn't care less for the views of the Archbishop according to the results of the 2011 census which showed his diocese of Llandaff as home to areas in the UK with the highest rates reporting no religion. Caerphilly takes the lead on his patch: Some local authorities in Wales also reported some of the highest levels of no religion. Caerphilly had the largest percentage point increase since 2001 of 16.7 to 41.0 per cent . Blaenau Gwent, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Torfaen also saw large increases of no religion with 16.0, 15.5 and 15.4 percentage points respectively.

I hear on the grapevine that managing the decline of the Church in Wales has already run into trouble with problems implementing the 'Harries' Review. Despite a great deal of time and effort looking at clustering parishes this is now regarded as a non-starter. Also, as if to kick a man when he is down, Dr Morgan's cherished plan of making the Diocese of Llandaff the Archiepiscopal see will not take place in the foreseeable future. Added to which parsonages will not be sold off as recommended and the Archbishop has admitted that he has no power to close buildings so churches will continue to be used until they fall into disrepair for lack of funds and, presumably, become unusable on grounds of safety. None of this really matters to the bishops because all seven of them keep their jobs (I use the term advisedly) regardless of further decline below the 1% of the 'whole people of God' they care for in Wales, allegedly. This strategy also keeps all the bums on the bench so that when women bishops take over they will have somewhere to sit while wondering where all the people have gone. As senior appointments now go to outsiders, they could of course spend their time learning Welsh so they can talk among themselves in their 'home' language since a vast amount of money has been spent on translations for Welsh speakers, now down to 19% of the population and a tiny fraction of churchgoers practically all of whom no doubt would be bilingual.

Dr Morgan is very keen on supporting (some) minorities. He was particularly miffed at not being consulted over plans to exempt the Church in Wales from David Cameron's same-sex marriage proposals claiming that it would make the Church in Wales appear homophobic. What an appalling claim for an educated man to make, even worse by a cleric and more so by a bishop. It is not homophobic to believe that marriage is a life-long union between one man and one woman. But this is just another smokescreen. It is an attempt to conceal Dr Morgan's main aim which is to enhance his liberal credentials at any cost in the same way that he proposes a sleight of hand to allow the admission of women to the episcopate by making supposed provision for those opposed when he has already indicated that there will be no provision other than on his terms. If he were to offer himself for election, who would vote for such duplicity?

Disestablished and ignored or overlooked?

Has the Church in Wales been ignored or overlooked? Not a mention in the gay marriage saga despite their Archbishop being so decidedly pro-gay. This must have come as a severe blow to His Grace as he hopes to impress the Crown Nominations Commission with his liberal credentials, unless of course his nomination was simply a ploy to send nobody of any standing to the Commission. After all he represents only 1% of the people of Wales - oddly the same percentage as the people claiming to be gay or lesbian - but surely that would be too cruel even for someone who has been so divisive in his church and improbable since he represents the views of the ruling elite of liberal extremism. 


Could it be then that the Church in Wales was thought to have no place in the consultation? After all, one of the complaints of the Church of England about gay marriage is that it could lead to disestablishment, the position of the Church in Wales. Perhaps they have a point! But do I detect a split in the Welsh bench? Their response to the gay marriage consultation makes some valid points, particularly so on the Scope of the Consultation, a welcome change from the usual tub-thumping by the Archbishop about gay rights which have been relegated to an oblique reference to pastoral care and support in the final paragraph, something he refuses to grant to congregations in his own church who do not follow his liberal agenda. Perhaps the other Welsh diocesan bishops have finally realised what a mess the Archbishop and his liberal chums have made of the Anglican Church.

Small change at the top

bskyb

Various reasons were given alongside the local election results explaining the poor performance of the coalition parties. At the grass roots there were complaints about bringing forward controversial issues that were not in manifestos such as gay marriage and Lords reform while senior Opposition politicians had much to say about the unfairness of government policies when the rich gain as the poor suffer. 

Amidst all the arguments one area is beyond dispute, executive pay. According to a report by the High Pay Commission last year the pay of top executives had increased by more than 4,000% in the past 30 years, compared to a mere threefold increase in the average worker's salary, fuelling the gap between the highest paid 0.1% and the rest of British society.

After the recent Aviva shareholder rebellion the Independent is now encouraging more shareholders to revolt. But not all senior executives ride the gravy train. Prominent among them in this campaign is the ex-Greggs chief, Sir Mike Darrington who heads up Business Against Greed. His video is a breath of fresh air. You can watch it here.

UK Gay Men Want Church Weddings

An interesting statistic from care2 crossed my desk this morning: "A survey of gay men in the UK has found two fifths want a church wedding". Looking at the results, the study also reveals that "almost two thirds (60%) of gay men feel the Government should enforce the lifting of the ban with the Church who, despite the change in legislation, is refusing to bless gay couples wishing to marry in church".

These are remarkable statistics given that research in 2007 suggests that only 15% go to a church 'once a month' - now the measure of 'regular'! So are gays more spiritual than non-gays? Apparently yes but the feeling that the Government should enforce the lifting of the ban on gay couples wishing to marry in church has nothing to do with religion; it has more to do with human rights without regard to the sensitivities of religion. 

As ever some of the comments in response to the care2 article are as interesting as the subject matter with complaints of anti-gay sentiments levelled at anyone daring to disagree. Homosexuality is a fact of life which, in my experience, is accepted without prejudice. In Christian terms marriage is also a fact of life with the joining together of a man and and a woman for the procreation of children. A partnership is what it says, simply a legal joining together free of sexual connotation. The Church of England web site sets out its position clearly: 

"You’re welcome to marry in the Church of England whatever your beliefs, whether or not you are christened and regardless of whether you go to church or not. It’s your church, and we welcome you!" 

That welcome is to be married on the church's terms. It is not something to be imposed from outside. The LGBT community does itself a disservice in wishing to see religious freedom restricted in the church while demanding every freedom for themselves. 

'islam' in the church

    

       All for Jesus me dear, all for Jesus me dear,
       this our song shall ever be;
       for we have no hope, nor Saviour,
       if we have not hope in me!

'Islam' in the church? The notion is not as far fetched as one might think. Submission, or the word 'islam', under the feminist god of political correctness is the goal of GRAS. In their arsenal of disapprovals is another word, 'integrity', which they cannot countenance any more than they can accept that true Christian belief may not accord with their injunctions or those of their related sisterhood WATCH.


What has inspired this outburst? The Church Times has published an article by Ed Thornton, "No promises were broken, says GRAS". The author of the Report has combed through all the relevant legislation to 'show' that no promise was made to those who disagree with them. In a piece of exceptional personal interpretation, the Rev'd Rosalind Rutherford convinces herself that, regardless of any intention of Synod to accommodate Christians who look to a higher Authority for guidance than synodical debate, feminist orthodoxy puts the 'sisterhood' under no obligation to look further than their own self interest. In their 'reading' of the Bible, supporters of women's ordination were able to claim justification for their belief because no objection could be found in the Bible - despite being axiomatic throughout the main body of Christendom and the threat to unity it created. Now this feminist lobby has the gall to suggest that by denying traditionalists acceptable sacramental and pastoral oversight they are doing so in the interests of unity. 


We have come thus far by giving-in to their every demand out of Christian charity, allowing women to progress from the biblical Deaconess to Deacon and Priest and now to the threshold of the Episcopacy, albeit in what has become a declining church having put themselves outside the main body of the Universal Church. Another report spotted today shows similar stealth by the gay community in advancing their their objective of having civil partnerships accepted as marriage, an issue that raises more obstacles to church unity.  



For traditional Christians, the problem is summed up in a quote in Rutherford's paper:
"People who never went into a church were really glad that the Church of England had been prepared to say that discrimination is not God’s will." Of course people who "never went into a church" will take the same secular view as church feminists but if "discrimination is against God's will", why do they continue to discriminate against traditionalists?  Answer, they are an obstacle to the feminisation of the church.