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."

Environment Agency drops ‘mother’ and ‘father’ from policies

Source: GOV UK

 

From Coalition for Marriage:

Dear marriage supporter,

The Environment Agency has removed the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’ from its staff policies.

The quango said it has instead started using “primary carer” in its maternity, paternity and shared parental leave policies to make them ‘gender-neutral’.

The revelations come in the agency’s 2020 application to LGBT lobby group Stonewall to be included in its list of “top 100 employers”, recently seen by the Times (£).

The agency also said it had told workers they can request “more than one passcard... in order to be able to express different identities on different days”.

A staff survey was also said to have asked employees to confirm whether their gender identity matched the “gender I was assigned at birth”.

The public sector agency added that it brought these ideas to bear on procurement, stating that for all relevant contracts, “we ask potential suppliers to submit details of their EDI [equality, diversity and inclusion] policy as part of their submission”. It is a fair bet the agency will be looking for similar transgender-friendly policies from its contractors and suppliers as it has introduced internally. If so, it is using public funds as leverage to spread contentious gender ideology among private companies.

The latest revelations add to a picture of the crucial differences between men and women being erased as gender ideology spreads unchecked through public and private institutions. What kind of twisted ideology is it that sees mother and father as problematic concepts to be expunged?

Taxpayer-funded institutions like the Environment Agency should not be wasting public money on trying to erase basic facts about human biology or spreading nonsense about people changing sex, perhaps depending on the day of the week!

Much more needs to be done to stop this absurd ideology from doing any more harm than it already has. At C4M, we continue to fight against anything which undermines real marriage.

If you would like to support us financially, you can do so using the button below.

Please Donate

Yours faithfully,

(Signed) Colin Hart

Chairman

Coalition for Marriage (C4M)

See also

 Environment Agency goes woke for Stonewall from The Christian Institute.

and 

'Stonewall still receiving £1.2m in taxpayer subsidies' {16 January 2023}

Diversity, equity and inclusion gone mad.

Brainwashed

"No more lies and fairy tales."

Answering a question at the Senedd about the inclusion of trans athletes in sport, the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, acknowledged it was an "argument that divides people" but confirmed that he believes "transgender women are women" after being pushed to define what a woman is during a session at the Senedd.

Mr Drakeford said: "My starting point is the same as Penny Mordaunt’s – the UK minister responsible at the time – who said that the UK Government’s starting point was that transgender women are women. That’s my starting point in this debate...I do not understand the point that the member makes that you can be too inclusive. To me, inclusivity is absolutely what we should be aiming for here.

He is wrong. Inclusivity has become a nightmare, forcing people to accept what logic dictates is absurd. It is imposed in the workplace and in schools with individuals demanding the use of preferred pronouns. Everyone is being caught up in a charade that attracts accusations of homophobia if there is any hint of dissent as J K Rowling discovered for tweeting that 'transgender women cannot change their biological sex'.  

A man may go through various procedures to make him appear to be a woman but male cannot be changed to female or vice versa. 

Some poor souls embark on irreversible procedures which they later very much regret. The above video was posted in support of a Twitter thread by @TullipR which reads: "I want to tell everyone what they took from us, what irreversible really means, and what that reality looks like for us. No one told me any of what I’m going to tell you now." The description is heart-rending as is the video.

All the more disturbing, then, to read that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health  has lowered its recommended minimum age for starting gender transition treatment, including sex hormones to 14 with some surgeries done at age 15 or 17.

According to a trans activist woman who detransitioned in 2018 many people who have gender reassignment regret the decision and want to return to their original sex. Charlie Evans says that hundreds of people who want to return to their original gender have contacted her since she announced her de-transition and stopped taking her hormone therapy. 

She said, "The number of young people seeking gender transition is at the highest it has ever been, but little is reported about how many of them regret the decision later, finding they are unhappy with their new gender."

Others counter that it was the best thing they ever did. One trans woman speaking on the BBC's Prejudice and Pride programme claimed just that, largely it appeared because she was able to buy and wear a pair of women's suede boots which she had coveted for years, a relatively harmless desire compared with the trauma of a penectomy. 

She had been married and had a family before transitioning but the happiness felt by her and those like her is no excuse for expecting the rest of us to accept self identification theories made fashionable in gender studies .

But where is the leadership?

We should be able to expect more from our political leaders than a nod to what is trendy in defiance of the facts.

NHS miscarriage statistics illustrates the absurdity of pandering to the few. In this example 'Women' was changed to 'people' because "the word woman in the eyes of the NHS is a word which dare not speak its name all because they are afraid of upsetting a tiny minority in the intolerant trans activist cult."

We should expect more not only from our political leaders but our religious leaders, trendy bishops who preach inclusivity and diversity contrary to biblical teaching. 

As one commentator put it, bishops these days are more likely to be informed by the Guardian than by the Bible.

Postscript [18.06.2022]

From The Telegraph (£): "We are sacrificing our children on the altar of a brutal, far-Left ideology. The medical profession is crumbling in response to radical transgender activists" - JORDAN PETERSON

Video reading here:

Double standards

Sydney Anglican Archbishop Glenn Davies has said to supporters of same-sex marriage:
‘Please leave us.’  Source: Guardian. Photograph: David Moir/AAP

The Bishop of Liverpool rebuked the Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, after he called for gay marriage supporters to leave church saying he ‘seems to want to exclude people rather than to engage with them’.

That's rich.

From the Guardian: "Archbishop Glenn Davies said last week that those who supported same-sex marriage should abandon the church. If people wish to change the doctrine of our church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views – but do not ruin the Anglican church by abandoning the plain teaching of scripture,” he said. “Please leave us.”

The Australian Newcastle Herald reports that "Anglicans have joined two other Australian dioceses to support same-sex marriage church blessings at a Hunter Synod where Bishop Peter Stuart said he had "spoken frankly" to a Sydney archbishop against the move. Newcastle Anglicans strongly supported changes to church rules that could allow clergy to bless same-sex marriages and protect clergy in a same-sex marriage from church discipline."

The Dean of Newcastle, the Very Reverend Katherine Bowyer supports the diocese's move to bless same-sex marriages. She rejected comments by the Archbishop of Sydney that supporters of same-sex marriage should leave the church, saying differing views deserve respect.

Her views and those who side with the Bishop of Liverpool have nothing to do with traditional Church teaching.

The Archbishop of Sydney is correct. If Western Anglican leaders had adopted the same approach many of us would still have a church to attend.

Dean Katherine Bowyer's attitude typifies the double standards of liberal Anglicans amply illustrated by Mae Cymru the Welsh offshoot of the feminist organisation Women and the Church.

Mae Cymru recently tweeted an article from cruxsolablog An Open Letter to John MacArthur (re: Beth Moore). The author states:
"Recently John MacArthur commented that Beth Moore (Christian leader and teacher) should “go home.” As I have pondered this over the last few days, I wondered what Paul would say to John. So, I wrote an open letter.

It is not my intention to comment on the letter's content. Readers of the letter can draw their own conclusions but I was drawn to the double standards of the new breed of Anglican.

The membership secretary of Mae Cymru the Ven Peggy Jackson, Archdeacon of Llandaff and scourge of  orthodox, often cradle Anglicans is a late convert to Anglicanism. Their idea of engagement is exclusion dressed up as inclusion.

Before Barry Morgan imported her from the Church of England as his hatchet woman the then Rev Canon  F A Jackson wrote in a paper for GRAS (Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod):

"New individuals with conscientious difficulties over women’s ministry will simply have to make personal decisions and individual choices, to find accommodation as best they can – just as many already have to do over a host of other current issues, some very uncomfortable, where people find themselves representative of a view which is not that sanctioned by the ‘church’ as a whole, and upheld through Synod and Parliament." 

Ten years later with attendance figures still plummeting, thousands of often cradle Anglican women and men have been abandoned by their Church.

Far from relenting Jackson has attempted to turn the screw ever tighter by seeking to exclude from ordination anyone who does not conform to her wishes, misrepresenting genuine theological doubt about sacramental assurance as misogyny.

The concept of twin integrity has been all but abandoned. As Sir William Fittall said in response to a complaint:
"To expect someone whose theological conviction does not enable him to receive the sacramental ministry of women routinely to turn up to a celebration of Holy Communion when he cannot discover in advance whether he will be able to receive Holy Communion seems to me to be asking too much."

Following the appointment of a third woman bishop in the Church in Wales half the bench will be female.

The diocese of St Davids has been quickly feminized after the appointment of the first woman Bishop. She lost no time in appointing a woman Dean. Two female minor Canons have also been appointed. If the Canon in Residence is a female cleric the sub-Dean is the sole male priest at Wales' premiere place of pilgrimage.

There is no indication for pilgrims who will be celebrating yet the Cathedral online Worship Sheet merrily quotes St David's last words to his followers, “...Be Joyful, Keep the faith and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do...”

The Bishop of Liverpool should have looked closer to home before whinging about the Church in Australia.

Double standards

The thought police are having a field day.

From renowned philosopher to star Australian rugby player, alleged statements and views that do not correspond to 'correct' thinking spell trouble from people who believe they have the right to tell us what to think.

The BBC reported that Conservative academic Sir Roger Scruton had been sacked as head of a government housing body following comments in an interview with the New Statesman in which he referred to  Islam, China and George Soros.

Downing Street said, presumably without checking, that the comments were "deeply offensive".

Claiming that Scruton had been misreported, Adrian Hilton, AKA Archbishop Cranmer, tweeted: In an educational context, any academic supervisor would consider this a serious breach of ethical standards, and would fail him. To manipulate a quotation in order to fabricate an interpretation which inflicts harm on the interviewee is devoid of morality and integrity.

This is unethical journalism. You can't interview someone and then edit their comments so that readers will infer racism, when clearly Roger Scruton was referring to the generational replication of communist ideology.

Sir Roger has written An apology for thinking in The Spectator.


The Independent reported that Israel Folau is to be sacked by Rugby Australia after refusing to respond to attempts to contact him following his "homophobic and hateful" social media outburst, ruling him out of this year’s Rugby World Cup.

According to the Mirror England rugby star Billy Vunipola could also face disciplinary action from the RFU for refusing to unlike an Instagram post published by Israel Folau. "Rugby is an inclusive sport and we do not support these views" the RFU said in a statement.

That is, selectively inclusive. As in new Anglicanism, orthodoxy is excluded.

Many people of Polynesian heritage take their religion seriously. Folau is alleged to have said that "hell awaits" homosexuals. That does not make him homophobic and hateful. In communicating his Christian beliefs to others based on his understanding of scripture he is warning others so that they may be saved, as was the Christian street preacher who was arrested for breaching the peace because he was being "islamophobic".

One of the errors Sir Roger Scruton was accused of was questioning the definition of Islamophobia. He said he stood by comments he has made in the past that Islamophobia was a "propaganda word invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to stop discussion of a major issue".

Robert Spencer claims in Jihad Watch that the term was invented in the 1970s:

"According to the French philosopher Pascal Bruckner, 'At the end of the 1970s, Iranian fundamentalists invented the term ‘Islamophobia’ formed in analogy to ‘xenophobia’. The aim of this word was to declare Islam inviolate. Whoever crosses this border is deemed a racist. This term, which is worthy of totalitarian propaganda, is deliberately unspecific about whether it refers to a religion, a belief system or its faithful adherents around the world'.”

The double standards are plain to see. Christianity is kicked around as a fabrication while Islam has become inviolate.

The video above shows the continuing plight of Christians in Africa. They are being murdered and dispossessed by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in what amounts to a program of ethno-religious cleansing but there is no mention of the atrocities in the mainstream media. By contrast, petrified by accusations of Islamophobia extended coverage of the Christchurch massacre was assured.

Closer to home from a Diocesan press release Llandaff is to hold 'A day to explore spirituality and prayer' in a joint event with their neighbouring Monmouth Diocese.

One of the highlights, will be the opportunity to "learn about spirituality and prayer in the Islamic traditions" while Islam denies that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the Cross to save others.

Sadly that has become the norm reducing the opportunities for more people to be saved as Christ Himself commanded.

Postscripts [14.04.2019]

1. The Australian Christian Lobby stands with Israel Folau and supports his right to express his beliefs.

“When a belief is disagreed with, however vehemently, it should be critiqued, not censored. That is how a mature, democratic society works.”

Censoring a belief does not change the fact that it is part of the identity of millions of people. In fact, it will only cause greater conflict and friction over time.”

2. Watch: 'They just turn up at night and kill Christians'

Nigerian priest shares his harrowing experience of persecution.

"They come at night shouting and by sunrise they leave a trail of destruction with dead bodies of women, children and men whose only guilt is their Christian belief."

Postscript [17.04.2019]

Belfast Telegraph - Peter Lynas: Today’s secularism leaves no space for Billy Vunipola... or Ashers

Jolly June's folly?

Source: Twitter

Last year the Pride Cymru Eucharist Service was celebrated by Joanna Penberthy, the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales. In another first, the Rev Sarah Jones, the first transgender priest in the Church of England, was chosen to celebrate Holy Eucharist in a move that could be regarded as a calculated snub to supporters of traditional marriage.

It is a mystery why someone who has complained about being "OUTed" (see the 3.45pm event, above) would want to attract so much publicity but the Rev'd Sarah Jones is not shy when it comes to preaching about same sex marriage:

From her own website: "Before ordination Sarah played on the UK acoustic music scene...Sarah also speaks to conferences and groups on a range of topics including sex and gender, social influence, leadership and diversity."

Currently Rector of St Mary’s Ross-on-Wye, St Michael’s Walford and St Michael’s Brampton Abbotts, Sara Jones has been appointed to the post of Priest in Charge of The City Parish of St John The Baptist, Cardiff, described as being at the heart of Cardiff City Centre and a significant post in the Diocese of Llandaff.

From St John's website:
"The City Parish of St John the Baptist is among the oldest in Cardiff. The church is next to city centre's covered market, and is the oldest remaining mediaeval building in the city after Cardiff Castle, dating from the 12th century.

"Cardiff University Chaplaincy and its main campus are within the City Parish."

I have found no obvious explanation for this import from the Church of England to be vicar of the capital's civic church so unless she was the only applicant it appears to be yet another case of Church in Wales politics which saw the first woman bishop appointed.

The bishop of Llandaff was appointed by the bench of bishops after the rejection of Dean Jeffrey John's candidature. Undoubtedly better qualified than the current bench, Jeffrey John's promotion of the LGBT agenda was too much for many. He also came Out4Marriage.

Barry Morgan and his bench sitters failed in their bid to get the Church in Wales to accept same sex marriage but the bishop of Llandaff has appointed an advocate of that policy to one of the most significant posts in the Diocese of Llandaff in a move that appears to be a calculated thumbing of the nose to those who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others and for life, the official position of the Church in Wales.

Sexuality, tolerance and institutional inclusion

 Changing attitude in St Davids Diocese                                            Pub talk in Llandaff                                   Source: Church in Wales

By accident or design 'sexuality, tolerance and institutional inclusion' were some of the 'hot topics' under discussion when young people were invited to ‘Grill the Bishops’ in a Cardiff pub this week. Sexuality not spirituality was the first word in the diocesan press release.

Asked about the way forward for the church on the LGBT issue, Bishop June said, “The way forward is that the church gets past the issues that it is struggling over and embraces marrying couples in church of whatever sexuality.”

The event was organised jointly by the Revd Becca Stevens, young vocations advisor for Monmouth Diocese and the Revd Wendy Tayler of Llandaff Diocese. There is an amusing link from the Monmouth Vocations site to a series of photographs on Facebook showing June's dominant use of the microhone although Richard did have to manage his wine glass, no doubt conscious of 1 Timothy 3:3. Looking through the photographs I was left wondering if +Richard was there as her minder or was ♀June mentoring him on the 'inclusive' Church in Wales.

There was nothing amusing about an earlier diocesan press release in which the bishop of St Davids rejoices in her Presidency of a new group aimed at "offering a ministry of welcome to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians" which has been launched in St Davids Diocese, Changing Attitude Transnewid Cymru (CATAC). 

That is despite the presence of numerous gay people in the church who, far from being unwelcome, are in many senior positions.

"It asserts that there is integrity in being both Christian and gay and that, for many people, it is a God-given reality, not a sin or sickness, and that LGBT people offer evidence of the fruits of the Spirit. In her address to the group’s inaugural Eucharist in St Patrick’s Church, Pennar, near Pembroke Dock,  group President bishop Joanna Penberthy suggested it "seeks a re-evaluation of Scripture and tradition". She said:

“After 2000 years, we are still learning how to work out our Christian faith. We are learning to cope with changing attitudes. Love is patient, it is kind, not envious or boastful, arrogant or rude. (St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians). “Let us be able to express what we think in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 13 

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal…". In other words, anything is acceptable in love.

But there is no love outside full inclusion of LGBT people. Outsiders are not even permitted an opnion.

Prior to her 'secret' baptism, Gavin Ashenden wrote in his blog entry 'Meghan Markle, Justin Welby & The Use And Abuse Of Baptism':  "The Reich Church of our day has given way not over race but over gender, not to a fascist culture but to the new-Marxist values and concepts, peddled and enforced by universities, schools, state agencies, the police, and more recently the judiciary.

 "The neo-Marxist or cultural Marxist agenda sets itself not only against Judaeo-Christian revelation and values, but goes further to set itself against free speech."

Neo-Marxism or cultural Marxism is described by Bishop Ashenden in Anglican Unscripted #374 [@ 9.12] as a process beginning with feminism which presents as equality and fairness and then moves on to gay marriage because of the notion of equal treatment and re-imagining gender which moves on to the whole trans movement. 

The Christian Post reports that Queen's University in Belfast has denied a Christian ministry's request to screen a new documentary featuring the testimonies of people who have left homosexuality. An exact reason why it couldn't show the documentary at Queen's Film Theatre was not given but the university's response "suggests that the film doesn't match its idea of inclusivity".

Given her endorsement of CATAC (Changing Attitude Transnewid Cymru), a national organisation working towards the full inclusion of LGBT people in the life of the Anglican Communion, the bishop of St Davids would agree with that. So by implication would the bench of bishops.

It was reported after the appointment of bishop Joanna Penberthy that her election was a "stitch up". Indeed, her name was being circulated widely as the next bishop of St Davids long before her 'election' despite her inability to communicate in Welsh, the first language of many in her diocese.

Both she and June Osborne had known track records of using the church to push their feminist, LGBT agenda. The bishops who appointed them are complicit because they must have been aware of this. They should all pack their bags and take their neo/cultural Marxism with them.

Postscript [09.03.2018]

There is more propaganda from the bishop of St Davids using the sanctity of St Davids Cathedral to promote feminism in the church dressed up as equality in another press release 'International Women’s Day: The Bishop & the Suffragette'.

One hundred and ten years after suffragettes Emmeline Pankhurst, Annie Kenney and Mary Blathwayt signed the Visitor's Book much has changed. Read how much in 'Feminists reign supreme – men are the new second sex' by By Kathy Gyngell in The Conservative Woman which illustrates how out of touch ♀Joanna is.

She stopped short of referring to the promiscuous lesbian love trysts of the suffragette leaders. An opportunity lost in her promotion of Changing Attitude Transnewid Cymru.

Women in the Church

The 'dark' side.

"Women bishops would humanise the priesthood" said the then Archbishop of Canterbury in 2011. Dr Rowan Williams warned the Church hierarchy to prepare for the “culture change” that would come with the “full inclusion” of women. Not the full inclusion the Archbishop would have expected. Instead it is inclusion to the exclusion of anyone with views not in accord with Women and the Church (WATCH) and their fellow travellers as highlighted by the "Sheffield controversy".

At the time Ann Widdecombe was closer to the truth when she said,  "Christianity in Britain today is under severe persecution. And it will get much worse. I do not resent this persecution. I welcome it. For it will weed out the pseudo-Christians, the wimpish bishops and the caved-in Synod. By persecution we discover who our true friends actually are." In 2017 that has come to pass.

Feminists have mercilessly used the Church for their own political ends. On the face of it WATCH ran a legitimate campaign, as they saw it, for the ordination of women. But, as with the world wide web, there is a dark side. A deception which has been gnawing away at the soft underbelly of Anglicanism. Say anything, do anything to gain the advantage. Thus the five guiding principles were agreed allowing women to become bishops in the Church of England. Perhaps they were crossing their fingers behind their backs as they voted but either way, they have reneged on the agreement rendering the whole procedure untenable.

Critics of WATCH were accused of misogyny from the earliest days when Canon Lucy Winkett said in a keynote speech, "Never mind Gordon Ramsay, we have in modern society a new F-word: Feminism." Extracts from her speech can be read here, eg,

Now women are on the inside, are exercising authority in
state and church, although the power is not yet equally
shared and the pay is certainly not equal. We are in a
new situation; I am not here to make a case for women
to be bishops – that case is obvious...

From the historical perspective of exclusion, women are
able to speak with authority from long centuries of marginalisation,
to bring these perspectives into the decision
making structures of society and church.

In the West, we live in a half changed world. There are
now very few areas of public life not open to women –
except those protected by organised religion."

In their campaign WATCH have used Christian values as a weapon to secure an advantage over their target audience, secularists and Anglicans who have been brought up on 'love thy neighbour', 'turn the other cheek', etc. Many have been bullied into submission for fear of being branded un-Christian while the majority outside the Church either do not care or have become so secularised they no longer understand the issues. When Bishop Philip North withdrew from his appointment as Bishop of Sheffield a BBC News reader said it was because 'his congregation' had complained.

Similar tactics, including false accusations, are being used by LGBT campaigners to bully the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales into appointing the Dean of St Albans to Llandaff. In an undignified campaign Members of Parliament have become involved. They have been led to believe that Dr John has suffered discrimination because he is in a civil partnership.

The MPs wrote "We understand that Dr John, a fluent Welsh speaker, was born in Tonyrefail in 1953. He grew up there and went to Hertford College, Oxford where studied both Classics and Modern Languages and was awarded a First. He was ordained to a title at Holy Nativity, Penarth. From Penarth he went back to Oxford to study for a DPhil and became Dean of Divinity to Magdalen College."

Many Welsh Anglicans have been asking themselves why, as a fluent Welsh speaker, Dr John was not appointed to St Davids in what looks more than ever like the politically motivated appointment of the first woman bishop in Wales. A gay priest and friend of Dr John’s for 40 years said "There’s homophobia everywhere but that’s no reason to stop a gay person from becoming a Bishop."

It is not homophobia and not because Dr John is gay and living in a civil partnership. The reasons why Dr John was rejected are open to speculation but for Church members who have been alerted to the controversy it is because he has campaigned for same sex marriage in Church which was rejected by the Governing Body. Moreover, he has used an unorthodox interpretation of the Bible account of the healing of the centurion’s servant in Luke 7 to justify his stance.

Looking to feminism, to gay rights or any other secular cause to swell congregations is not what the Church is about. That has failed. Decline continues. False claims by campaigners are leading astray a politically correct audience for selfish, political ends. That is not the Way of the Cross.

The Host

St Augustine's church Rumney, Cardiff                                                                                                                               Source: Twitter @CATACymru . Jul 17

There was a time in the Church in Wales when the the Host had nothing to to do with advancing secular causes. Male and female, gay and straight went to church as the Body of Christ even if in many parts.

Today the Church in Wales 'hosts' secular minority causes such as feminism and homosexuality from St Asaph in the North to Rumney in the South. The latest group to have their cause taken up by the secular elite known in Wales as the bench of bishops is Changing Attitude Trawsnewid Agwedd Cymru. Their goal, "full inclusion & equality of opportunity for LGBTQIA people in the Church in Wales & the Anglican Communion".

Given the prominence of gays in the church, 'inclusion & equality' has to be taken to mean dominance since their very presence at all levels proves that they are anything but excluded. The Archbishop of Wales is so keen on advancing the homosexual cause that he hoped that he would be able to consecrate a gay bishop before consecrating a woman bishop.

So absurd has this campaign become that while cancer sufferers have to beg for treatment which costs 43 pence, the Government chooses to offer gay men a daily pill costing £400 a month to support their life style.

As a gay recipient put it, "I've seen the panic on the face of previous boyfriends when they are awaiting their [HIV test] results - it's a huge fear and it affects everything you do. To be able to have sex without having that fear hanging over you all the time is huge."

"Changing history in the church!"                                                  Source: Twitter @FlintshirePride 

Welcome to the gay church of Wales - unless you are in the minority struggling to keep the faith. 

There is no 'inclusion & equality' for you.

Postscript [11.12.2016]

Readers clicking on the 'hosts' link in paragraph 2 will note that viewing the Iris Prize documentary All One in Christ is now confined to a private audience. An extract can be seen in a BBC clip here.

Given the purpose of the film was to educate people about the way gay people have been "ostracised and mistreated because of their sexuality" the exercise seems to have lost its point. As Dr Morgan put it, "I hope this powerful film will bring home to all the scale of the damage done and ultimately help change attitudes within the church." This farce indicates that his starting point should be with the Bench.

Scottish Episcopal Church votes to consider accepting SSM

The bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC).                                                                                                                                          Source: SEC

"Today the Scottish Episcopal Church, meeting in its General Synod in Edinburgh, takes the first step in a process which may lead to same sex couples being able to marry in our churches and to our clergy being able to enter into same sex marriages [SSM]. It is a two-year process. In 2016, the voting needs to produce a simple majority in each of the three 'houses' – laity, clergy and bishops. The second and final stage in the process will be reached in 2017 when two-thirds majorities will be needed in each house". - The Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews,Dunkled & Dunblane and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Full report here.

Bishop Chillingworth writes: "Within churches, human sexuality issues have the capacity to expose deep fault lines in our understanding of faith. Some see the full inclusion of LGBT people as a matter of justice. Jesus was a person always open to those excluded by others – the lepers, the adulterous woman, tax collector and sinners. Would he not have been also open to LGBT people? Others point to the authority of scripture which in some places warns against same sex relationships. They call us to an understanding of God's law and life as it has been understood from the creation. So this is an important moment for our church. "

The problem with the 'full inclusion' argument is that Christ healed the sick and told the sinner to sin no more. In what category does LGBT fall? LGBT people can hardly claim to be excluded when they are driving the agenda. The legal effects of a civil partnership are almost identical to marriage. To agitate for SSM is counterproductive.

The bishop concludes: "It is not just about whether we can find agreement, it is about whether what we do is within our understanding of our faith."

Unfortunately for Anglicanism, faith has become too malleable. Ultimately will there be anything left if SSM in church is adopted?

Postscript [11.06.2016]

GAFCON offers alternative oversight to Scottish Anglicans

Whatever happened to Auntie?

In a statement on the BBC's website, Tunde Ogungbesan (pictured), head of diversity,
inclusion  and succession at the BBC, said: 'The BBC is a diverse organisation,
whichever way you look at it'. Source: Mail Online

From the Mail Online: "One in six BBC stars 'must be gay or lesbian or disabled' by 2020 says new staff-hiring guidelines at the corporation".

Long gone are the days of 'Auntie knew best' when every fad, fiction and fantasy takes precedence over journalistic excellence and quality of production.

"A statement from a BBC spokesperson said: 'We are making good progress in our work to make the BBC a truly diverse organisation, but there's more to do and we're always keen to improve. 'Almost half of our workforce is made up of women and the proportion of our workforce who are black, Asian and other ethnic minorities is at an all-time high. 'We'll continue doing what works but also develop new and innovative ideas to do even better, and we'll set this out in our new diversity strategy shortly'."

So that is what is happening to BBC programmes. Instead of concentrating excellence in production no matter what colour, race or gender, first priority is given to a politically correct ticking box mix.

How does this work in practice? If all are treated equal, how do the staff-hiring guidelines work? While a disability may be obvious on interview, it would appear to defeat equality objectives if one has to declare one's sexuality on an application form.

How many future 'straight' stars may we be deprived of because the BBC insists on a quota of 'gay, lesbian or disabled' folk. How long before someone like the Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Succession decides that all manner of minorities must be represented to ensure the Corporation appeals to the diverse BBC audience?

The British public would be better served if the Beeb looks to content regardless of gender and ethnicity. Come back Auntie, we need you.

Postscript [28.04.2016]

From BBC News under Arts and Entertainment: BBC to quiz recruits on family background.

Staff joining the BBC will be asked about their socio-economic background, as part of a bid to increase diversity at the corporation.

Candidates will be asked if they were entitled to free school meals, and if their parents attended university.

Anonymised job applications will also be extended for core roles.

The plans come after the BBC faced pressure from ministers to increase numbers of staff from under-represented backgrounds.

Read all about it here