Archiepiscopal duplicity is no recommendation

Archbishop Justin Welby, C of E (right), with Archbishop John Davies, Church in Wales, Primus Mark Strange,
Scottish Episcopal Church and Archbishop Richard Clarke, Church of Ireland, outside St Patrick’s Cathedral 
in Armagh at the close of the 2019 European Regional Primates’ Meeting. Photo Credit: Church of Ireland.

Archbishops Welby and Davies with Primus Mark Strange, plus the Archbishop of Armagh and the new Archbishop of York wrote to the Financial Times recently warning the government that its new Brexit bill could set a "disastrous precedent". 

Anglican archbishops are well placed to speak about disasters given their performance, bringing the Anglican Church in these Isles to the brink of collapse.

Promises made to secure the ordination of women and their subsequent admission to the episcopate quickly evaporated after their goal had been reached. 

Not only have the unchurched lost their spiritual base but those going along with the notion that faith follows secular fads will also find themselves unchurched when Anglicanism collapses, probably within a generation.

Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan refused to appoint another Provincial Assistant Bishop after the retirement of bishop David Thomas so orthodox Anglicans have been left without spiritual oversight, contrary to promises implied in the Code of Practice, cunningly crafted by Barry Morgan's misandrist placement, Archdeacon Peggy Jackson.

Principle 4 states: 

• The Church in Wales therefore remains committed to enabling all its members to flourish within its life and structures as accepted and valued. 
• Appropriate provision for them will be made in a way intended to maintain the highest possible degree of communion and contributes to mutual flourishing across the whole Church in Wales.

'Traditionalist' Anglicans were betrayed. 

There is no mutual flourishing. All Anglican churches in the South Wales dioceses of St Davids, Llandaff and Monmouth are now headed by women bishops. Society bishops are barred from entering Welsh dioceses so traditionalists seeking sacramental assurance are forced to travel to England for the Chrism Mass.

Many of the disowned faithful Anglicans are committed Christians who gave gladly of their time and money, helping to maintain parish communities. As extinction looms, their loss to the Church in Wales is not mourned by the bishops. Instead, extra senior staff are employed to enforce unwelcome change while clergy going along to get on take to social media to maintain a presence with Twitter trivia.

In the Church of England the House of Bishops made a similar declaration:

• Since 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; and
•  Pastoral and sacramental provision for the minority within the Church of England will be made without specifying a limit of time and in a way that maintains the highest possible degree of communion and contributes to mutual flourishing across the whole Church of England. 

Unlike the Church in Wales, the Church of England has maintained episcopal provision for traditionalists through The Society but it stretches the imagination to regard such provision as 'mutual flourishing'. 

Women and the Church (WATCH) and their supporters constantly undermine attempts at mutual flourishing, as illustrated by the treatment of Bishop Philip North who was pressed to withdraw after being appointed Bishop of Sheffield. It was said his opposition to female priests would “cause significant pastoral and public damage to the church”. 

Such hypocrisy. Promises made at Synod and by the Church in Wales as a means of securing the necessary votes were false yet the Archbishop of Canterbury has the nerve to lecture others on justice and honesty. 

To a thinly populated House of Lords Justin Welby said: 

"What above all we are called to do in this country deeply embedded in our Christian culture and history is to act justly and honestly. We cannot do so if we openly speak of breaking a treaty under international law reached properly, on which peace in part of the UK relies....Politics, if it is to draw out the best of us, must be more than just the exercise of binaries, of raw majority power unleashed. It exists to seek truth, to bring diverse peoples together in healthy relationships.....In the Church of England, my Lords, we are all too clearly aware of the shame that comes with failing morally. Let us not make the same mistake at National level."  

Given their duplicity the archbishops are the last people who should be offering advice to others while making such a mess of the Anglican Church.

Northern Ireland politician, David Burnside wrote to the News Letter: The archbishop does not speak for Church of Ireland members like me when he attacks the UK internal market bill.

Eurosceptic MP Steve Baker said that Boris Johnson should consider cutting ties with the Church of England after the Brexit bill was criticised by senior figures of the church.

Sir John Redwood MP claimed that the five Anglican leaders were "misusing their position" in going against the wishes of the nation for the UK to be independent.

There will be many Anglican who share such sentiments.

Making a difference!

Church of England women bishops                                                                                                                                                               Source: Church Militant

When the Church of England formally approved plans for women bishops the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said: "Today we can begin to embrace a new way of being the church and moving forward together. We will also continue to seek the flourishing of the church of those who disagree."

Hilary Cotton, the then chairwoman of Women and the Church (WATCH), said she would like to see women ultimately make up a third of bishops, around 40 posts, "in order to make a difference".

They certainly have.

Mutual flourishing of those who disagree soon flew out of the church window.

Now Church Militant reports that "Nineteen prelates, including five women bishops, abstained from a pro-life vote as Britain's House of Lords voted 355–77 to approve the government's extreme abortion regime in Northern Ireland.

"Bishops Sarah Mullally (London), Rachel Treweek (Gloucester), Vivienne Faull (Bristol), Christine Hardman (Newcastle) and Elizabeth Lane (Derby) belong to the cohort of 26 Church of England bishops who sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual.

"Seven male bishops, shamed by a previous Church Militant exposé, voted against the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No 2) Regulations statutory instrument on Monday. 

"Even though the House of Bishops at the Church of England's General Synod stated in February that 98.3% of abortions in the United Kingdom are immoral, only Apb. Justin Welby (Canterbury) and Bps. Paul Butler (Durham), Christopher Cocksworth (Coventry), Timothy Dakin (Winchester), Julian Henderson (Blackburn), Donald Allister (Peterborough) and James Newcome (Carlisle) voted pro-life in Parliament.

"'Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?' asks the prophet Isaiah. The answer appears to be yes, if she happens to be a bishop in the Church of England," lamented Dave Brennan, director of pro-life Brephos.

""One argument for having bishops with 'real-life experience' is that they can apparently bring their insights to bear on 'real-life' issues," Brennan noted. "But that hasn't happened with bishop of London Sarah Mullally who, despite having been a midwife and the U.K.'s chief nursing officer, is mum on abortion." 

"One argument for having these 'Lords Spiritual' — and indeed an established church — is that they can be the moral conscience of the nation. If this is the caliber of our 'conscience' as a nation, it is no wonder we are plunging into such dissipation," he added. "

Not a difference one might have expected!

A dysfunctional family

Rowan Williams preaches at Eucharist during a Sept. 24 clergy day in the Diocese of Los Angeles.                  Source: Diocese of Los Angeles/Janet Kawamoto

Addressing a gathering of clergy and laity in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said the Anglican communion is "fractured but still a family":

“I am saying ‘Anglican family’ rather than ‘Anglican Communion’ because we’re a very fractured communion but we’re still family – like so many families, quarreling till the cows come home. What gives us our family solidarity is, of course, that dependence on God’s call, God’s welcome. We are, at the moment, in the middle of a period of colossal uncertainty in the life of our Anglican family. There is uncertainty, division, a measure of suspicion still and a sense that our conventional and inherited ways of being Anglicans together across the world have come under almost unmanageable strain."

In fewer words, we are no longer a body of Christians with a common faith and discipline. Our Anglican family is dysfunctional. It is dominated by expressions of intolerance and vengefulness. As the Archdeacon of Llandaff bluntly put it, anyone who could not accept the new order would have to make their own arrangements.

Wikipedia describes Anglicanism as "a Western Christian tradition which has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation."

In recent times the Church of England, instead of leading by example, has followed the 'madness' of the Episcopal Church of the United States ((ECUSA) endeavouring to make the Church more relevant to society's perceived needs, liberalism has replaced tradition as described in my previous entry.

Abp Williams acknowledged that as Archbishop of Canterbury he had to make 'uncomfortable adjustments at both ends of the spectrum, liberal and conservative, north and south' to keep everyone at the table but he believes a problem-solving-by-committee approach no longer effectively addresses current challenges.

Too late anyway. The damage has been done. Self governing Provinces like the Church in Wales have voted for disunity. Family members who, in common with the vast majority of Christians, strive to remain loyal to the faith of the Anglican Church as received have been marginalised or excluded, divorced from the Church they lovingly cared for before it was ripped from them.

The bride of Christ has been torn apart by those who would stand in the person of the Bridegroom. Rowan is right when he compares Western Anglicans to families, quarreling till the cows come home. But the quarreling is now amongst the liberal rump deciding how far the revisionists can go.

There are parallels with society. The nuclear conjugal family traditionally comprised a family group consisting of a (female) mother, a (male) father and their children. As a consequence of formalising same sex relationships and the acceptance of genders differing from the biological sexes of male and female primary school children are to be taught that some children have two mothers or two fathers.

This has gone so far as to compel a transgender man who gave birth with the help of fertility treatment to attempt to register himself as the child's father. Although he lost his court battle the ruling was attacked by campaigners and lawyers including the judge as a blow to the rights of trans parents and their children with calls for legislative reform.

In another case a Christian doctor has been told that his belief in the Biblical view of what it is to be male and female is "incompatible with human dignity".

An NHS A&E doctor for 26 years, he was forced out of his job working for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after refusing to identify clients by their chosen gender instead of their biological sex as explained in this video:

One might have thought that the Church would stand for truth but Western Anglicanism has confounded the truth by supporting divergence. The family is fractured.

Not content with fracturing our own family, feminists are intent on fracturing the Roman Catholic Church to advance their political agenda.

The Llandaff Diocese of the Church in Wales is embarking on an 'ambitious Year of Pilgrimage' to reinvigorate its work and worship as part of the Church’s 2020 centenary celebrations. Traditionally the Cathedral Church of St David in Pembrokeshire has been a place of pilgrimage but it has been turned into a feminist enclave making it difficult for orthodox pilgrims to participate fully.

This WomensOrdinationConf tweet was 'liked' by St Davids Cathedral staff:
"They don't just want a seat at the table. They want to rearrange the seating, in sense, by reducing clerical privilege, by focusing on ordination as more a call to serve than a pathway to power". The Women's Ordination Conference describes itself as "A voice for women's equality in the Catholic Church".

Mutual flourishing in the Church goes out of the window after women take power. The Bridegroom and His bride become tools for revisionists to help overturn convention no matter who is hurt.

When mutual flourishing is allowed the results can be remarkable as illustrated by a tweet following a recent Confirmation service at Llandaff Cathedral presided over by the Bishop of Burnley, Philip North: "Standing room only in the Cathedral for a Diocesan Confirmation @LlandaffDio and the most candidates I think I have ever seen. What utter joy. Thank you @BishopJuno and @BpBurnley. God is good!"

Rowan Williams is reported to have said that as it is the Church in Wales has no future. The Church of England is not far behind.


Postscript [08.10.2019]

'Pick your own sex' plans are shelved: Equalities minister Liz Truss abandons drive to relax laws around changing gender.

Anglicanism in England and Wales today

No pun intended?                                                                 Source: Twitter @guardian

From the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby:

"Great fun celebrating 25 years of women's ordination to the priesthood at @lambethpalace today!

We're here at Lambeth. Behind me you can see priests and indeed deacons from all over the country who have come to celebrate 25 years since the ordination of women to the priesthood began in the Church of England. We've had great fun, it's been a very happy gathering and we're going to press on."

Great fun and happiness for some but hell for others as the Church of England presses on, abandoning her commitment to 'mutual flourishing'. Such commitments are easily dropped after goals have been achieved.

Pressing on means unpicking the agreement that let loose ordained women in the Anglican Church.

Pressing on means excluding anyone who does not conform to the new regime.

As strident 'Eves' seek their own fulfilment at the expense of others, countless 'Marys' who have followed the example of the mother of God, serving others rather than themselves, have been forgotten after nurturing the young in the faith and providing continuity in the Church for generations. They have been cast out by women who constantly celebrate their own 'success' on social media while leaving the vanquished to fend for themselves as best they can. Great fun!

The establishment is complicit. Mutual flourishing was simply used as a device to win the debate in the same way that 'Shared Conversations' are being used to advance the LGBT+ agenda in the Church.

 Figures published by Anglican Ink answer the question put to the CofE General Synod, Who has flourished under mutual flourishing? 

Since the enactment of the legislation in 2014:
• 22 women have been ordained Bishop;
• 4 women have been appointed Deans
• 23 women have been appointed Archdeacons
• 31 women have been appointed Residentiary Canons

The diversity monitoring data for those appointed to senior roles since that time indicates that:
• 1 diocesan bishop;
• 2 suffragan bishops; and
• 1 archdeacon
identify themselves as either traditional catholic or conservative evangelical. However, the labels which people use to describe their church tradition do not necessarily correlate with whether they are unable for theological reasons to recognise the priestly or episcopal ministry of women.

In Wales the situation is even more dire.

In the latest edition of New Directions, the former Chairman of Credo Cymru, Jeffrey Gainer, writes about the Church in Wales "Then and Now". He considers the challenges facing traditional Christians in Wales.

I quote:

"It should surprise nobody then that some younger clergy have gone elsewhere, some to England and some to other communions. The numbers are not large, but they are significant signs of the narrowing of the basis of Anglican fellowship in Wales where the bishops have throughout refused to provide any structural provision for traditionalists even though the innovations in sacramental life and teaching that they have promoted have made the inherited structures less unifying. The sense of collegiality between bishops and clergy is reduced in some instances and some clergy from Wales renew their ordination vows by attending chrism masses outside the province as result. This practice has developed after the Provincial Assistant Bishop, who ministered to traditionalist clergy and laity, was not replaced after his retirement in 2008. No theological explanation for this decision was given then or since; there was no consultation with Credo Cymru, the organization representing traditionalists. Recently, the relatively new Archbishop of Wales, acting on behalf of the whole bench of bishops, declined to meet with representatives of the same organization to discuss matters of concern and argued that the positions of both sides were evident. It was simply a matter of episcopal fiat again. Likewise, at the most recent meeting of the Governing Body, held at Cardiff, the archbishop stated publicly that the code of practice was purely in the hands of the bishops, and could be torn up tomorrow should they so wish.

"...the Church in Wales is similar to other Anglican provinces from North America to Australasia which have striven to commend their claims by accepting the social mores of the societies in which they are set and have ended up being ignored as offering very little that is distinctive. Especially since the major social changes of the 1960s all churches in Western Christianity have had to confront the issue of the extent to which they challenge or conform to profound change in attitudes and behaviour. As has been remarked by many, the fault lines in belief and practice nowadays do not run so much between denominations as within them. It might be supposed that Anglicanism with its inherited patterns of diverse churchmanship might be better equipped to face this challenge but that is a claim that is more optimistic than accurate. In fact, the Anglican churches have found that whilst engaging with contemporary culture they have been tempted to capitulate to that culture. Part of the reason may be that without a strong centre such as the Papacy, they are tempted to follow the model of provincial autonomy. The Lambeth Conference has failed to fulfil the role of securing eucharistic communion and mutual recognition of ordained ministries, a clear sign of a breakdown in common faith. After all, in 2008 a third of the Anglican episcopate did not even attend the Conference which also did not issue teaching, say on the family, as the 1958 Conference had done. What has ensued is a pragmatic acquiescence in provincial autonomy. In Wales this has led within a few years to unilateral innovations affecting the administration of the sacraments.

"Some may suppose that the recent rejection of a private member's motion at the Governing Body points in a different direction. It is true that Archdeacon Peggy Jackson's motion  was heavily defeated after ten speakers criticised its attempt  to bar traditionalists from access to the ordination process. However, what should not be missed is that not one bishop voted against this illiberal proposal and that two of their number, Joanna Penberthy of St Davids and Andrew John of Bangor voted for it. Moreover, the indications are that in Bangor the policy advocated by the motion has been the de facto reality for some time. In St Davids, a traditionalist parish with one of the strongest congregations, and with a significant ministry to children and young people, has been told that it will not have a resident cleric although it is still expected to contribute over £60,000 in ministry share. Another parish, elsewhere in the diocese, and one which did not ask for a male bishop to officiate at confirmation, will have a new priest resident in its parsonage after only a month's interregnum. This strikes many as anomalous, to say the least."

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that orthodox Anglicans in England and Wales are held in contempt for not conforming to this world.

Archdeacon Jackson's divisive motion beaten

Archdeacon of Llandaff with club

Tweets from Governing Body of the Church in Wales indicate that Peggy Jackson has failed in her latest bid to divide the Church in Wales.

Votes cast:

For               19
Against        63
Abstentions 20

Conscience is not dead.

She should now graciously drop her club and heed her Archbishop's advice:
listen to the voice of God, of the Teacher, of the Spirit and each other’s voices too.




Postscript [10.05.2019]

From Church Times:

Archbishop John Davies who abstained on the vote over the proposals said after the Governing Body meeting that, as far as he was concerned, there was no need to change the code of practice.

He rejected suggestions that the debate had exposed a lack of trust between various factions in the Church. The code of practice was purely in the hands of the bishops and could be torn up tomorrow should they so wish, he said, a situation that was bound to cause concern to traditionalists. “There is, perhaps, a lack of security”, he added.

Archdeacon Peggy Jackson insisted that it was not her intent to drive conservatives or Anglo-Catholics out of the Church. 'Anglican Unscripted' commentators [@ position 19] viewed it differently: having won the battle she was intent on shooting the prisoners.

Women bishops defy Governing Body

Jolly June          Source: Twitter@LlandaffDio

Within the Church in Wales, those who on grounds of theological conviction and conscience are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion. The Church in Wales therefore remains committed to enabling all its members to flourish within its life and structures as accepted and valued. Appropriate provision for them will be made in a way intended to maintain the highest possible degree of communion and contributes to mutual flourishing across the whole Church in Wales. (Principles. Women Bishops Code of Practice) 

It appears that the newly appointed women bishops in the Church in Wales are happy to defy their Governing Body in an act which can only be described as a visible sign of disunity, showing no regard for the procedure which enabled them to be appointed bishops.

At ordinations presided over by the first female bishop of Llandaff, as a mere gesture towards the agreed Code of Practice, arrangements have been made for a male bishop to step forward for the laying on of hands if the ordinand, on grounds of conscience, is unable to receive the sacramental ministry of a woman diocesan bishop.

I understand that similar arrangements have been made for ordinations carried out by the bishop of St Davids. The gesture is clear.

The rules were changed unilaterally by the Church in Wales to grant the wish of women who claimed to be 'called to ministry', even though the Church in Wales claimed to share the historic episcopate with other Churches, 'including other Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches, which continue to ordain only men as priests or bishops'.

No provision was made for those, who on grounds of theological conviction and conscience, are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests. Instead the Governing Body voted for a Code of Practice.

Under the Code, "Individual members of the Church in Wales who, on grounds of conscience, are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of a woman diocesan bishop, shall not be required to do so against their conscience, and alternative provision shall be made".

For the Code of Practice to have any meaning it must be seen to satisfy the consciences of those for whom it was intended but I understand that the new female bishops are making their own arrangements, thus placing orthodox ordinands in an impossible position.

The procedure has become so far removed from when the Provincial Assistant Bishop presided at ordinations that it lacks any integrity whatsoever.

The minister in the Sacrament of Ordination is the Bishop. The celebrant presides over the whole service – the interrogation of the candidates, the laying-on-of-hands (assisted by other priests who are symbolically receiving the new priests into the presbyterium) and the celebration of the Eucharist.  Importing another bishop (solely because he is male) to step in and lay hands on any candidates who have conscientious objections to the sacramental ministry of women, far from being a gesture of accommodation, turns the whole business into a charade of misogyny.

The curious arrangements proposed in Llandaff and St Davids do nothing to solve the basic problem of conscience either, since it is a requirement in the ordination service that those being ordained receive Holy Communion from the bishop who is the celebrant.

It has been said over and again that we do not have a problem with women; our problem remains the unilateral departure from the practice of the undivided church and by far the greater part of Christendom whose orders we have always claimed to have shared.

Traditionalist Anglicans in Wales are not alone in their struggle to survive. In the Church of England specific provision was made for men and women who in conscience are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests but there has been a constant chipping away at the agreement. For the latest developments see the Forward in Faith document Nomination to the See of Sheffield: Lessons Learned.

When it comes to women's ordained ministry there seems to be far more of the old Eve than the new.

Mutual flourishing - that it should come to this

Synod voting to approve women bishops in 2014                                                  Source: BBC video

The Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) campaigned for women to become priests in the Church of England from 1979 to 1994 when the ordination of the first women took place at Bristol Cathedral. The Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure was passed by General Synod on 11 November 1992.

MOW was succeeded by Women and the Church (WATCH). In 2014 the General Synod of the Church of England formally approved plans for women bishops. There are now 2 diocesan women bishops and 10 suffragan bishops, one of which, the bishop elect of London has already been tipped to be the first woman Archbishop of Canterbury. But that is not good enough for WATCH. Their way must prevail and they are 'Just getting started'.

Following the selection of the first women bishops support was reportedly growing within the Church of England to rewrite its official liturgies to refer to God as a female and same sex marriage is high on the agenda.

In a BBC interview after the 2014 Synod vote which approved women bishops Canon Rosie Harper said "This is the culmination of many people's lifetime work and we've got there and it's been hard, it's been painful and all we've achieved is equality. We're not looking for superiority for women but we do now have equality."

That is not how it appears with the passage of time.

Also interviewed by the BBC, Archbishop Justin Welby said, "We rejoice that we have this opportunity to show a point. These remarkable women. There are some very wonderful ones. Today we can begin to embrace a new way of being the church and moving forward together (my emphasis - Ed.). We will also continue to seek the flourishing of the church of those who disagree."

Perhaps Canon Harper's name was on the archbishop's mind when he referred to "embracing a new way of being the church and moving forward together". Listening to Canon Harper's presentation at the Faith Debate on the future of the Church of England in December 2014. She said that without some considerable changes "the future of the Church of England is very bleak".

Harper went on to say, "In the context of global agony at the effect of bad religion, the C of E has simply lost the trust of the Nation and leaders in the spiritual and ethical values of our society. As a church which will not sign up to equalities legislation and scorns some aspects of human rights, it has moved in the opposite direction from the changes that society see as fundamental, ethical reform.

"OK they were bemused by the struggles to allow women to become bishops but I tell you, they are repelled by the way we claim to have God's authority to treat LGBTI people not only with discrimination but with downright cruelty."

If the church didn't follow Canon Harper's way of thinking she hoped the church does die out. It has followed her way of thinking and the Anglican church in the UK is constantly shrinking. The C of E has moved to reflect society rather than inform it. The LGBTI agenda is firmly established pressing the church to abandon the traditional view of marriage. Politics not faith has become the motivating force.

In 2016 the C of E’s decline was expected to continue for another three decades with figures of 18 people per 1,000 regularly attending church falling to 10 per 1,000. An 81-year-old was eight times more likely to attend church than a 21-year-old.

WATCH has gained so much influence that in 2018 Christian Today reports that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York find it necessary to call on parishes to recommit to a 2014 agreement that allowed for women bishops but also promised traditionalists who oppose female ordination 'mutual flourishing'.

There is no mutual flourishing in the Church in Wales. where two of the six diocesan bishops are women with the same agenda as their counterparts in England. The bench appears unable or unwilling to recognise the fact that the Church in Wales is on the rocks even after throwing the faithful overboard.

The Church of England supposedly supports 'mutual flourishing' but the Philip North Sheffield fiasco casts doubt on the integrity of those who signed up to mutual flourishing simply to achieve the culmination of many people's lifetime work to achieve equality as Canon Harper claimed.

That it should come to this!

Mutual flourishing