St David's Day - 900 years on

The Dean of St Davids (second left) with cathedral clergy                                                                   source: Friends of St Davids

Friends of St Davids Cathedral will have received a message from the Dean, Sarah Rowland Jones, wishing all a 'joyful celebration of St Davids Day, and blessed and holy Lent'. 

The message begins:

"As St David’s Day approaches, I’m delighted to share with you details of two upcoming TV programmes, and a whopping 25 radio programmes, which are being broadcast between this weekend and Easter, wholly or largely about St David and aspects of the 900th anniversary of the papal recognition of Dewi as an 'international saint' and of two pilgrimages to St Davids being of equal value to one to Rome. I'm quite bowled over that BBC Radio Wales in particular have embraced the celebrations quite so enthusiastically."

The Dean enjoyed a jolly in Jerusalem to help her consider whether David may have made a similar journey. Wondering why she could not have contemplated the conundrum at her desk in the Deanery I listened to her broadcast on All Things Considered. In her 4 minute interview with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III, his opinion was that it was quite likely that David did visit Jerusalem. 

The Dean asked the Patriarch to explain 'Patriarch' and 'Patriarchate'.

Advance to position 22 of the All Things Considered video for the Patriarch's probably unexpected answer in which he explained that the patriarch is the "living  testimony to the Apostolic Succession. That is to say that the Patriarch of Jerusalem is the successor to the first bishop, not only of Jerusalem but of the whole Church of St James, the brother of Our Lord. This succession has been without any break throughout the ages."

 

That is something for the still absent bishop of St Davids to contemplate privately as she celebrates the granting of a privilege from Pope Callixtus II in Rome that two pilgrimages to St Davids Cathedral were equal to one to Rome.

In my 28 February 2019 entry Bishop steals clothes I reported how the bishop had high-jacked Credo Cymru's motto "Be joyful and keep the faith". 

It was ironic then, now even more so. The Church in Wales abandoned the received faith years ago.

The ordination of women closed any hope of unity with Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Now the Anglican Church is split by the decision of some western provinces such as the Church of England and the Church in Wales to bless same sex marriages.

We were warned by the apostles:

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.-  The Letter of Jude (17-19)

Medieval Pilgrimage Way - Llandaff to Penrhys

The walk begins at the West Door of Llandaff Cathedral.
Pilgrims would travel from the cathedral all the way to Penrhys
(Image: Mark Lewis) source: WalesOnline

In a recent article, The hidden spot in the heart of Cardiff that marks the start of a medieval pilgrimage route,  Wales Online published details of how to retrace the steps pilgrims made hundreds of years ago along the Penrhys Pilgrimage Way. 

The walk begins at the West Door of Llandaff Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Jolly June Osborne, bishop of Llandaff who, instead of taking this meaningful walk through the Welsh countryside in the footsteps of former pilgrims, chartered an aircraft to fly her clergy to Spain to kick off the Llandaff 2020 Year of Pilgrimage at great expense to the diocese and an unnecessary cost to the environment. 

After a false start, priests from more than 100 churches in Llandaff travelled to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain for their Clergy School taking the form of a pilgrimage from Monday, 13 May to Friday, 17th May, 2019.

The bishop of Llandaff's idea was to embark on an 'ambitious' Year of Pilgrimage to 'reinvigorate its work and worship' as part of the Church’s 2020 centenary celebrations under the hashtag #LlandaffInSantiago.

In a presentation to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales in April 2019 reported in Highlights April 2021,  Jolly June said:
 "In preparing for the year [of Pilgrimage], the diocesan clergy had gone on a pilgrimage together to Santiago de Compostela. Some said it was lavish but I wanted us to be together in a place where prayer had long been valued. The sense we gained there of being companions on a road together has been with us since then. 2020 was still a Year of Pilgrimage and we found ourselves on an untrodden road. God was teaching us how to tell his story and build for good."

The Year of Pilgrimage fizzled out in the Coronavirus lock down but that left the diocese with greater opportunities to reinvigorate its work and worship. Coming up to 3 years after their expensive 'pilgrimage' to Santiago de Compostela little has changed.

Still embroiled in a long term battle with her Dean on charges of bullying, he remains doggedly in place while disillusioned clergy leave for pastures new leaving the diocese of Llandaff - where faith matters(!) - to pursue its now well trodden path, telling a 'joyful story' of Queer Theology.

Minorities

Credit: PoliticalCharge/DailyKos

In a move influenced by Black Lives Matter, Minorities should have a say on future Church of England bishops to improve diversity, reports Mail Online:

"All future Church of England bishops should be approved by a representative from black or minority groups, leaders have recommended. The reforms will give a black or ethnic minority churchgoer an effective veto over who lands the most senior posts. The move, which was influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement, follows a year of Anglican agonising over race...The authors said the BLM movement ‘provides a particular context to the conclusion of our work and brings into sharp focus the issues of diversity highlighted throughout our report’." 

According to the New York Post, Marxist BLM leader and co-founder reportedly "raked in big bucks from jail reform initiative". 

NYP also tweeted that the BLM founder has 'built up a million-dollar property empire with at least four homes'. Something else for the Church of England's Marxist bishops to ponder.

Another minority, the Church in Wales, reports that "the Church is on track to be more inclusive, better organised and equipped and more focused on outreach", according to their Archbishop who was making his final Presidential Address to GB members before he retires in May.

The Archbishop's hope was that the Church "might grow in an ever-deepening, radically inclusive love for each other and for those not yet a part of us".

 'Inclusive' has come to mean openly gay while many have been set apart by the policies of the Bench of Bishops. 

Charity begins at home but there is no love in the Church in Wales for anyone who fails to comply with their woke agenda. 

Source: Church in Wales

One of the ironies of the GB meeting held online earlier this week was the enthusiastic support for a private members motion calling for 2022 to be a year of Biblical literacy.

Voting was: For 92, Against 1 with 3 abstentions.

Archbishop Davies supported the motion 'with all his heart' but the problem for the Bench is not literacy (the ability to read and write) but interpretation.

The Rev Dr Kevin Ellis who seconded the motion posed the question: How can we tell the story if we don't know it? Quite! The more so if the story is re-interpreted for reasons of political expediency.

The Standing Committee reported that:  "A  Bill to authorise experimental use of proposed revisions to the Book of Common Prayer (a service of blessing following a civil partnership or marriage between two people of the same sex) has been submitted to the Standing Committee by the Bench of Bishops", undeterred by earlier criticism that it is not legitimate to set aside the Church’s traditional understanding of what the Bible has to say about same-sex relationships to satisfy a handful of homosexuals and lesbians who may or may not choose to avail themselves of the opportunity of having their union blessed. Explanatory memorandum here.

The divorced and re-married Bishop of Bangor who will be the senior bishop in the Church in Wales following the archbishop's retirement and first inline for election to Archbishop if Buggins' turn applies again. He has also been told that his plea for gay marriage was not convincing.

Another well received Report, Faithful Stewards in a Changing Church (Understanding Ordained Ministry in the Light of the 2020 vision) concludes as follows:

Our Pilgrimage

            If the metaphor of an expedition has any merit, then ours is not simply a long trek in

a wilderness (however much it may seem that way at times). It is a pilgrimage from an upper

room in Jerusalem to the multicultural Wales of today, in which we follow in the footsteps of

Jesus Christ, in whose life we minister. Like any long pilgrimage, our own has experienced

many highs and lows, times when we have marched on with energy and determination and

times when we have become lost among the temptations and concerns of our world. But in

every stage, those called to ordained ministry have rediscovered their priestly vocation to

offer themselves in holy service to all within their care. As we embark on the next phase of

our pilgrimage within the fast-changing social landscape of 21st-century Wales, it is our prayer

that we may come to embrace a renewed vision of our shared ministry to God’s people and

find our deepest joy in Christ Jesus “in whose service lies perfect freedom”.

'Multicultural Wales of today' has come a long way from the upper room in Jerusalem. 

The Bench of Bishops is hell-bent on interpreting the Bible to reflect secular changes but as the bishop of Monmouth aptly reminded GB, only a tiny minority of the population of Wales, less than 1%, regularly attends Church in Wales services. 

Another minority (mis)leading a minority.

Year of Pilgrimage - not

Social distancing was not required at the Llandaff diocese clergy 'pilgrimage' school in Santiago de Compostela                                            Source: Twitter

The Diocese of Llandaff 's Year of Pilgrimage has fizzled out. The Coronavirus lock down saw to that.

In what she described as an 'ambitious' plan, the bishop of Llandaff flew all diocesan clergy, plus various hangers-on, to Santiago de Compostela as a precursor to the Year of Pilgrimage which was designed to 'reinvigorate its work and worship' as part of the Church’s 2020 centenary celebrations.

Some hope.

With extra time on their hands during the pandemic clergy could read about the depressing pilgrimage of the Church in Wales from birth to death in a book edited by Professor Norman Doe under the title A New History of the Church in Wales: Governance and Ministry, Theology and Society.

At £74.99 for the hardback edition if anyone is still interested in the Church in Wales a paperback version is available at just over £25.

Chapter summaries can be found here.

False start for Llandaff 2020 Year of Pilgrimage

Church in Wales primary school children's "insightful visit" to South Wales Islamic Centre "learning
 about  the mosque, the Islamic faith and how light is important to Muslims."  Source: Twitter

Click here to see Barnaby Bear gazing in awe at the 'beautiful stained glass' windows on display in the mosque, identifying ways light is important/displayed in the Islamic faith, ie, that for Muslims, Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.

Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

Re-tweeted by Llandaff Diocese: "A multi faith Pilgrimage! This is exactly what the Year of Pilgrimage is all about! Have a great day." Really!

Jesus also said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Does Jolly June and her sycophants not understand that Islam denies that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the Cross in the greatest act of redemptive love? Clearly not.

Stained Glass in Wales lists numerous churches and cathedrals with stained glass windows illuminating the Christian pilgrimage so why take impressionable young children to a mosque rather than to a cathedral or a parish church? 

The Diocese of Llandaff launched its Year of Pilgrimage with a special service in Llandaff Cathedral on Sunday 12 January, 2020. It was claimed that 'Llandaff’s Year of Pilgrimage aims to celebrate Christian heritage and reinvigorate church life across South Wales'.

Christian pilgrimage is generally regarded as a journey to a Christian shrine or a sacred place to enrich one's faith so not the best start for the Llandaff 2020 Year of Pilgrimage, helping young school children to identify ways light is important in the Islamic faith.

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.

'Gif of God'

Orthodox worship                                                                                                                          Source: La France Orthodoxe

Latin worship                                                                                                                                          Source: CatholicEnfield

Anglican (CofE) worship                                                                                                                                  Source: Telegraph

These three photographs illustrate what, in part, has gone wrong with Anglicanism. Mystery and awe have given way to liberal secularism aided by technology.

The Church of England is encouraging clergy to embrace social media as it strives to make the church more relevant to society. In doing so it has lost its sense of otherness.

In church the focus of attention should be on the altar. In this example, which involves a presentation the Church of England's Learning Labs Road Show, a screen becomes the focus, not for spreading the gospel but for 'practical advice on using social media'.

Information is spread at the touch of a button but frequently it is not the Christian message.

Justin Welby has been enthusiastic about his 'pilgrimage' to India but it is all about politics. His performance is serverley put into context in the latest edition of Anglican Unscripted starting @28.50.

Liberal evangelist Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes recently shared the news on her Twitter account that she "Deleted slightly facetious last tweet. Read manifestos. Joined the Greens. Resigned from Labour. Let’s get changing the system not just tinkering with it, it’s the system that’s broken not just the individuals running it - unsurprising that they play the system. People do."

For others it is not so much politics but pride that matters as illustrated by this tweet about a visit to a neighbouring parish and the shared welcoming video.

Anglican clergy regularly tell us how 'very excited', 'thrilled' and 'proud' they are to share their daily experiences on Twitter as here:
"Very excited to be doing a placement at @ChesterCath as part of my curacy! So far I've met lovely people, seen parts of the cathedral that I didn't know existed  (and probably won't find again) and had some really interesting chats... And been to two services and held an owl!" - Wow!

Ex-Communard, the Rev Richard Coles, who has a habit of popping up everywhere recently shared this experience on Twitter:
"In a fit of conscience I told my host that I had to pee in his jug because I was trapped in my room this morning (due to his poor maintenance of the door handle). He now wants the jug destroyed rather than just thoroughly washed. I think this is an over reaction." He might have been advised to micturate elsewhere!

This passion for spreading personal experiences is part of the Gif of God initiative reported in the Telegraph in 2016:

"In the age of instant communications, when some people are thought more likely to venture into their parish church in search of Pokémon than pilgrimage, clergy are being advised - gently but firmly - to keep up with the tide.

The Church of England has issued new guidance to clerics and congregations to help them navigate the seemingly bewildering array of new apps and sites to incorporate into church life...

...clerics with time on their hands after visiting the sick, conducting services and writing sermons are encouraged to make their own Gifs – animated images – to spread the Christian message online."

Spreading the Christian message online would be a novelty.

#CofERoadshow                                                                                                            Source: Twitter

God loves a cheerful giver

Llandaff diocese 'pilgrimage' to Santiago de Compostela                                                 Source: Twitter  #llandaffinsantiago

Next time pew sitters are asked to dig deeper to keep the Church in Wales afloat, they should go to the source of this triptych.

Participants have been adding their memories of how they were wined and dined in Spain after some brief strolls approaching the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great while parishes were left without clergy, often struggling to make ends meet.

The fruits of their jolly, if any, should be apparent in the Year of Pilgrimage.

Bendable figures to replace Compostela 'pilgrims'

This photo of Hospederia San Martin Pinario is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The Church in Wales Lent course has details on page 13 on how to make a Pipe-Cleaner Person from a 12 inch pipe cleaner. Clear instructions are available at How to Make Bendable Figures Using Pipe Cleaners.

The course booklet suggests that if one Pipe-Cleaner Person is made each week through Lent, it can become a ‘symbol’ of "how we would like to become a more generous people, how we would like to become more generous stewards of God’s creation, and how we seek to welcome others into our churches with a generosity of heart and spirit."

A generous welcome is constantly extended to allegedly 'marginalised' people, especially lesbian, bisexual, gay and transexual (LGBT) people which is somewhat of a puzzle since they have been happily worshipping with the rest of us for as long as I can recall.

By comparison any whiff of orthodoxy has become as welcome in many churches as something stepped in before entering.

The Bible teaches that Marriage is sacred. If same sex marriage is permitted contrary to the official teaching of the Church in Wales as has been suggested by the Bishop of Bangor, a significant hurdle for LGBT people will be overcome leaving only a few inconvenient verses of Scripture to be revised or ignored as has become the custom of those who matter in the Church in Wales.

I have heard it suggested that generous stewards sitting in the pews who follow the Lent course could make pipe cleaner priests to substitute for their own clergy when they are away on June’s Santiago de Compostela jolly.

The bishop of Llandaff's generosity has been the focus of much attention in her desire to "train and equip priests to teach and lead pilgrimage in their own communities", something that could easily be achieved at minimal expense in the diocese of Llandaff drawing on the experience of clergy already well versed in leading pilgrimages.

Chartering an aircraft to fly all Llandaff's clergy to Santiago de Compostela is even more surprising since it is been reported that the Cathedral, the destination for Camino pilgrims, has been undergoing extensive renovations resulting in limited access and the suspension of the pilgrims' mass which may have been one of the few attractions of this compulsory jolly.

With no Camino walk and the main attraction in Santiago de Compostela closed for renovation, a few slides in a more accessible local venue should suffice instead of transporting all the diocesan clergy to Hospederia de San Martin de Pinario but that would lack the grandeur of a clergy school befitting the new breed of managers masquerading as bishops in the Church in Wales.

Might one suggest that a suitable posture for Lent bendable figures would be kneeling in prayer that the Church in Wales returns to orthodoxy before she fades into a distant memory of former glory.

Costa Compostela

As the above letter indicates, there are 'a few' surplus seats left on the plane the Church in Wales' DBF has chartered to fly the bishop of Llandaff and her clergy team on a 'pilgrimage' to the Roman Catholic shrine of Santiago de Compostela. No doubt most of the walking involved will be to the bar and back.

Anyone wishing to avail themselves of this magnanimous offer should note their pariah status. This is not an invitation to join the clergy school. In fact those wishing to benefit from the 'mini pilgrimage' are cautioned against booking accommodation at Hospederia de San Martin de Pinario.

One can see the sense of this from jolly June's perspective. She will not welcome outsiders injecting a sense of reason into the proceedings, neither will she want any witnesses to the après school activities, particularly from retired clergy who may have a somewhat jaundiced view from her perspective of the direction the modern Church in Wales is taking.

What does this caper cost? If 45 surplus seats @ £350 per seat are taken up, that nets £15,750 to offset the cost which has not been revealed but a guesstimate of the total cost is possible.

The Hospederia has 81 rooms. Taking two to a room that equals a maximum of 162 places plus around 45 surplus plane places

Llandaff diocese lists over 200 clergy, some of whom are retired. Wikipedia shows 105 paid clergy. With non-stipendiary clergy  let us assume a 200 seat plane at £350 per seat. That amounts to £70,000 just for the flight. Adding estimates for food and accommodation the total cost is likely to be in excess of £100,000.

From the Llandaff site: "This regular clergy school, in May 2019, will be used to train and equip priests to teach and lead pilgrimage in their own communities."

But there are already regular parish pilgrimages in the diocese, particularly to Walsingham. A youth pilgrimage from Llandaff to Walsingham in 2017 cost a mere £140 in comparison.

A project is underway to revive the historic Llandaff to Penrhys pilgrimage route running from Cardiff to the the top of the Rhondda without an expensive jolly to encourage it.

There is a cruel irony in jolly June's jolly to Santiago de Compostela. From James 1:27, "Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: ... to keep oneself unstained by the world", something the bench of bishops signally fails to do, thus lurching the Church into one crisis after another. Better the six bishops went and stayed there.

Commendable but...

"A Poor Upbringing?"                                                    Source: Church in Wales

Eisteddfod focus on child poverty. A Provincial press release from the Church in Wales draws attention to the issue of child poverty. "Church volunteers are stepping in to provide food and support for struggling families as cuts to public spending impact on child poverty."

All very commendable. - "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27.

Also, "Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2: 15-17.

The latter quote comes after "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment" in a section headed Favoritism Forbidden.

Another type of poverty has been created in Wales. Spiritual poverty. The process started by Barry and his bench sitters and carried on by Abp Morgan's successor, as they favour the ordained ministry of women and all the LGBT baggage brought with it above traditional, often cradle, Anglicans. 

No mercy has been shown to former and existing Anglicans who who have clung to the catholic faith. No tolerance and no support after the position of Provincial Assistant Bishop was buried by Abp Barry Morgan in indecent haste at the earliest opportunity without discussion. Provincial episcopal visitors as enjoyed in the Church of England are banned from providing sacramental and pastoral oversight in Wales.

Too many career minded clerics 'saw the light' after it became clear that Governing Body decisions were to carry far more weight than scripture, tradition and reason. Wittingly or unwittingly, they have aided the bench of bishops in turning the Church in Wales into a pit of misery, soon to disappear down its own orifice.

Ministry areas are struggling. Clergy are in short supply. So much so that lay people are conducting services, including Communion by Extension where "the sacrament is taken to a church from another church within the benefice, where the Holy Eucharist has previously been celebrated". A measure encouraged to keep the bishops in the style they mistakenly believe they are entitle to.

Further decline seems inevitable.

The bishop of St Davids followed by the bishop of Llandaff lost no time in advancing their secular causes while complaining that they had been discriminated against because people disagreed with them. Holding the view that the ordained ministry is not open to women is not discriminatory, it is the position of the Holy Catholic Church

Feminism and LGBT issues have become so dominant in the Church in Wales that traditional faith is seen as unacceptable, casting former loyal Anglicans into spiritual poverty.

Nobody cares, least of all the "chief pastors or shepherds" despite what is claimed:
 What distinguishes the Church from other communities, at least in its own self-understanding, is that it is a ‘spiritual’ community – a fellowship/community of the Holy Spirit. That is, it claims to participate in the Spirit of God and to be established as the community it essentially is by the Spirit of God. - The Church and its Ministry

Surrender of the C of E to the ‘zeitgeist’

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins - "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" Proverbs 16:18) yet gay pride is being celebrated by the Anglican Church. Rainbow altar frontals have become commonplace and Cathedrals bless Gay Pride proclaiming “diversity” as the new gospel. 

Gay Deans are in vogue. In the latest instance from the Church of England, Ely Cathedral redefines Christianity; – Anglican Unscripted and the surrender of the C of E to the ‘zeitgeist’.

In Wales it is reported that "MajorPride" has been planned to "celebrate the diversity of the community in Llantwit Major  where the church are "happy to host events"

One wonders what St. Illtud, the founder-abbot and teacher of the divinity school known as Cor Tewdws, located in Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) would have made of that.

Already steeped in gay pride the first woman bishop in the Church in wales was shoe-horned into St Davids in a political move which caused much dissension while the second woman bishop with similar credentials continues to do her own thing. 

The bishop of Llandaff intends to take all her licensed clergy, Stipendiary and Non-Stipendiary, on a charter flight pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in May 2019. She must be hoping that airline pilots, air traffic controllers and baggage handlers play ball and do not strand all Llandaff diocese clergy in Spain.

Worse still, God forbid, if the plane were lost, this carefully crafted plan would leave the entire diocese without clergy but by then most services may be conducted by the laity anyway.

As the bishops go about the country's business, faithful worshippers continue to be excluded in favour of men who prefer to be thought of as women and vice versa despite their biology, women who want to marry women and men who want to marry men using parcel-post to deliver the means of creation.

What a legacy. 

Llandaff Remainer Rewards

From an avid reader in the Llandaff diocese of the Church in Wales

Jolly June's jollies

Source: Twitter @BishopJuno

The bishop of Llandaff is right keen on jollies. The latest announced is a diocesan clergy school in 2019. The venue, Santiago de Copostela to help equip clergy for "ministerial priesthood and leadership within the Diocese".

From a note accompanying Jolly June's June Ad Clerum: " We are delighted to announce that the first Clergy School will be held in Santiago de Compostela from May 13th – 17th 2019. You will know that Santiago in Northern Spain is the location of the shrine of St James the Apostle and for many centuries has been the destination of pilgrimage routes known as ‘The Camino’. We see this Clergy School as equipping us as a Diocese for a Year of Pilgrimage, an expression of our Centenary celebrations in 2020."

June thought some may find it bizarre to go to Spain when we have so many magnificent pilgrim routes here in Wales. Spot on.

Jetting off to Rome, a luxury retreat in Devon. Now she is taking her clergy to Santiago de Compostela.

As clergy become thinner on the ground with lay leaders taking up the reins, how kind of Jolly June to treat those remaining to a jolly in Spain. Paid for by savings on stipends?