No honour among thieves

 

In This is not Dibley I referred to the MailOnline story: "Remind me, it is 2023, isn’t it?’: Why has the Cornish town Dawn French loves risked such an unholy row by refusing its own Vicar of Dibley?"

The report: 'Cornish church reverses ban on female vicars' has given church feminists and toadying MPs a field day.

These feminists have used the Church for their own political purposes, accusing, scheming and reneging. Promises and agreements that enabled them to reach their goal mean nothing.

Listen to the blatant misrepresentation by the chair of WATCH as she seeks help [to] bring "discrimination" in the Church of England  to an end. As did the recently retired bishop of St Davids, WATCH regard difference of opinion, even when based on fact, as discrimination and prejudice

There have also been attempts to redefine gender language used about God. In The Mother Church: Turning God Trans published in Crisis Magazine [a recommended read - AB] it is suggested that a disproportionate number of those pushing for change would appear to be 'left-wing female vicars'.

No honour from certain MPs either, including the the Father of the House, a self-declared WATCH supporter, who appear unable or unwilling to distinguish between equality and theology regardless of measures agreed to,

Anglicanism in this country is dying. The Church in Wales is leading the decline with their one-track strategy of inclusion and diversity which again uses the Church to advance a political cause at the expense of others. 

If only a fraction of the effort put into their latest 'outreach-social justice' drive had been devoted to the excluded things may have been different. St Davids diocese is watched with trepidation as they prepare to elect their new bishop. Scripture, reason and tradition must not again be sacrificed to secularism.

Despite denials the Roman Catholic Church is creeping in the same direction in proposing women deacons and Catholic LGBTQ+ advocates. This has arisen as a real possibility through the Synod on Synodality, which was launched by Pope Francis in October 2021.

This is a repeat of the push for Anglican women deacons. It was claimed that it did not mean that they would become priests if made deacons. As deacons they argued that it was discrimination if they could not be ordained to the priesthood followed by the threefold ministry argument that it would be discriminatory not to allow women bishops.

Now that they have achieved their aim and converted Anglicanism to conform with their own desires they want to get rid of anyone who does not share their warped ideas of equality.

There is no honour among thieves.

Ageing Christians

About a quarter of the young adults who dropped out of church said they disagreed with their church’s stance on political
and social issues. Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images.  Source: The Guardian

The above image is from a Guardian article Losing their religion: why US churches are on the decline.

Where the US episcopal church (TEC) has been the Church of England has been quick to follow and the Church in Wales even quicker. Consequently the latest 2021 census figures confirm what has been apparent to all but the Church hierarchy for some time. 

Christian Today has summarised a data set from the 2021 Census which reveals that "Christians are the oldest on average among people of faith in England and Wales. The average age of a Christian is now 51. By contrast, those describing themselves as Muslim had the youngest average age of 27 years old, followed by those who reported "no religion" - 32 years old."

People of faith are lumped together as though there is little difference between them. That was the position of the newly elected bishop of Llandaff when she responded to a question put to her by the Secretary General Muslim Council of Wales Abdul-Azim Ahmed on the BBC's 'All Things Considered' on the census results and the 'growth of minority religions across Wales' in particular.

Bishop Stallard said that she had always been helped and encouraged by people of faith of diverse traditions. She had spent a lot of time as a student studying Hinduism and Buddhism and had been encouraged in her faith by a Muslim sister. A great comfort for persecuted Christians living at the sharp end around the world!

Presumably the bishop had so little time for biblical study that she skipped over "I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" and the the Great Commission: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

The Bible counts for little in new Anglicanism other than to provide an opportunity to take passages out of context to provide some phoney legitimacy to the latest hot issue such as Living in Love and Faith (LLF) which many bishops are eager to endorse without any theological reasoning, probably because there isn't any. 

By contrast a small group of bishops has published a 'short theological summary of the doctrine of marriage as the Church of England has received it'. 

Hooray for them but too little too late as the census figures indicate. Without younger people replacing the aged Anglicanism will surely perish.

Not woke enough to be a vicar so blocked from ordination

Trainee priest Calvin Robinson                Source: Mail Online 

The MailOnline reports that despite spending more than £20,000 of parishioners’ money on sending him to study theology at at St Stephen’s House, Oxford, Calvin Robinson was blocked from becoming a priest in the Church of England by a white bishop for saying that Britain is not a racist country.

Lecturing him about racism in the church, the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, told Calvin, "As a white woman I can tell you that the Church IS institutionally racist."

They had been discussing the Church’s race policy, which Calvin had been vocally objecting to for some time. The bishop could not understand that as a black man, he simply did not share her – and the Church hierarchy’s – view on this contentious issue.

He says, "The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has proclaimed that the Church of England is ‘deeply institutionally racist’ and called for ‘radical and decisive’ action. Last year an Anti-Racism Task Force recommended using quotas to boost the number of black and ethnic-minority senior clergy, introducing salaried ‘racial justice officers’ in all 42 dioceses and launching ‘racial justice Sunday’ once a year."

Calvin said that he fundamentally disagreed with this approach, which is based on a faith in divisive Left-wing Critical Race Theory, instead of the teachings of Christ. I believe it is divisive and offensive.

The Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev Jonathan Baker, told Calvin that there had been ‘a lot of turbulence’ over some of the views he had expressed online and on TV. It was no secret that senior figures in the Church disliked him. 

Calvin said, "I am after all a traditionalist – which means I do not believe in the ordination of women – and I have never been afraid to voice my criticism of the Church’s drift away from what I, and many of its parishioners, think are its core values. I did not expect everyone to agree with me, but what I did expect is the right to express my own opinions. I had always been taught that the Church of England was a broad church."

Emails obtained via data-protection rules revealed that bishops at the very top of the Church of England had been closely scrutinising Calvin's public comments: ‘His political agenda is I guess what you would call libertarian – anti-woke, anti-identity politics, Covid-sceptical,’ the Bishop of Fulham wrote in one email. ‘His tweets get him into trouble sometimes and there have been complaints to the Bishop of London that he shouldn’t be ordained.’

Calvin was to be ordained as a deacon with a part-time role as assistant curate at St Alban’s Church in Holborn, central London. In February the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev Jonathan Baker, told him the role was ‘likely to prove problematic, and would not lead to a fruitful or happy formation for you in your early years in ordained ministry’. He offered to reduce his media work but was told he would still not be able to take up the proposed role because ‘that moment had passed’.

At a meeting with Calvin, Bishop Mullally insisted the decision was not about his politics, but because his ‘presence’ on social media and TV ‘is often divisive and brings disunity’.

The Rev Kate Bottley              Source OK

Presumably the bishop of London has not noticed the ever present Gogglebox star, the Rev Kate Bottley on TV and elsewhere along with countless clergy who constantly tweet their trivia on Twitter.  

Kate is described on Wikipedia as "a Church of England priest in North Nottinghamshire, a role which she combines with her other roles of journalist, media presenter and reality television star. She appears frequently on British radio and television as well as in newspapers." 

As Calvin pointed out, it’s not just issues of race and gender. 

It seems the Church will affirm any liberal progressive secular view, but clamp down on conservative views, either political or theological.

"If you defend family values, the sanctity of marriage, all human life being sacred, or the fact that God made us male and female, you will face opprobrium" he said.

"Something has gone wrong. The established Church is entering apostasy, and the faithful masses in the congregations and the hard-working clergy deserve better."

Exactly!

Postscript [01.06.2022]

 From Twitter: Cancelled by Woke Church of England - Calvin Robinson

The penalty for keeping the faith. Welcome to the club!

Resigned to Anglican Bishop Blunders!

The Bishop of Reading, Olivia Graham, attracted more criticism than she might have anticipated after the first of four 'environment' talks on Care for creation. 

The Rev Peter Ould tweeted: "What rampant heresy is this @oxforddiocese? God did not pour 'godself' (searches Bible for word) into the Universe. God and the universe are clearly distinct. This is basic theology."

After criticism of the bishop's video message Oxford diocese added this comment: "A number of commentators have said that the core message of this film by the Bishop of Reading is pantheistic or panentheistic. Of course, this isn’t the intended message of the film. Read a response from Bishop Olivia here." As a woman of some notoriety might have said: Well she would say that, wouldn't she?

Up North, the Bishop of Carlisle is facing calls to quit after he wrote – but later withdrew – a character reference for a paedophile priest. The issue became public after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) released its report into the Church of England's handling of child sexual abuse. The inquiry’s damning report concluded that the Church of England failed to protect children from sexual abuse.

The Church in Wales did not escape criticism in the IICSA Report. The Inquiry found that "to date, the Church in Wales has never had a programme of external auditing, so there has been no independent scrutiny of its safeguarding practices. It also highlights record-keeping as a significant problem for the Church; the Inquiry’s sampling exercise demonstrated both poor record-keeping and a total absence of records in some cases."

'Barry Morgan's true legacy!' wrote a regular commentator under a previous entry. 

The former Archbishop of Wales did much to encourage the like-minded to interpret scripture as they pleased in pursuit of their secular, political goals. Something that attracted a stinging response from An Anglican Theologian among others.

Liberal drift is the legacy of Western Anglicanism. Oceanographer and former Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, mentor of women bishops in Wales, left the Episcopal Church in a dire state of decline, foundering like the Church in Wales with the Church of England following close behind.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Anglican Communion, has often faced criticism, most recently from child sex abuse victims who have called for the Archbishop to quit. 

Archbishop Welby said that the damning findings of the IICSA inquiry were a 'big wake-up call' but he refused calls to resign insisting that he was "better staying in the role to continue his work"!

There have been previous calls for archbishop Welby to resign here, here and here. In the unlikely event that he were to go there would be more problems. His replacement would be political, not spiritual, causing more problems for the Anglican Communion.

As the current Archbishop of Wales said when he replaced Barry Morgan, it would be more of the same but faster, thus further hastening the demise of the Church of England and Western Anglicanism.

Last Night at the Proms

Remainers at the Proms singing Land of Hope and Glory                                                                                                                                             Source: BBC

I wonder what Sir Malcolm Sargent would have made of it.

A self-proclaimed 'Queer girl with a nose ring' waving the pride flag after singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow to "unify" an audience already unified in music.

The proceedings were brought to a close with the utterly incongruent spectacle of 'Remainers' in EU berets singing Land of Hope and Glory while waving EU flags.

US mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton waving a Pride flag to "unify the audience".               Source: BBC

Political activism gone mad.

Postscript [19.09.2019]

Love is the thing. Presiding bishop Michael Curry drawled it out at the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. 

Liberal infiltrators into Anglicanism continually talk of love, conveniently rolling all forms of love into one. 

The BBC is at it too. 

US mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been elevated to the status of national treasure having 'unified' the nation under the gay pride flag rather than the traditional Union Flag as she sang Rule Britannia at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms. 

Yesterday I received a promotional email from the BBC celebrating love as portrayed at the Proms.

They are also telling school children ‘There are more than 100 gender identities’. 

Discover more with the BBC!

More rank hypocrisy from the Bench

"The Archbishop of Wales and the Church in Wales’s four serving diocesan bishops are calling on the UK’s political leaders to commit to the rule of law and work together to secure the prosperity of our country." 

- Provincial press release

Full statement HERE.

It is a bit rich when the Bishops of the Church in Wales place on record their "evident concern for the well-being of our democratic processes and constitution in the United Kingdom" when the Bench of bishops regularly ignores democratic processes.

Consultations in the Church in Wales have been regularly ignored when the results have not accorded with the wishes of the Bench. 

Extract from an entry on 9 August 2016:

"Diocesan meetings were organised at considerable expense to discuss a Code of Practice designed to cater for faithful Anglicans who, on theological grounds, were unable to accept the ministry of women bishops. The wishes of the majority were ignored, see True to his word: "Over my dead body!". Then there was the farcical taking of opinions about allowing same sex marriages and/or blessings in church, see Marriage: Dodgy discipleship?. Barry and his bench sitters simply did what they wanted when the result did not fit their secular agenda, see Bishops' rank hypocrisy. So why should anyone expect other than a predetermined outcome this time?" 

Physicians, heal thyselves springs to mind again.

Mark who?

Source: BBC

Whilst congratulating Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford on his election as leader of the Labour party in Wales and likely First Minister in succession to Carwyn Jones, it says much for Welsh politics and devolved government that many people in Wales, not to mention elsewhere, had to be told who he was.

Polling 53.9% of the vote in the second round after Eluned Morgan was eliminated Vaughan Gething the Secretary for Health and Social Services came a creditable second.

One must hope that the realisation of office will enable the First Minister to look beyond such matters as extending the smoking ban to town and city centres and giving the parents of newborn babies a 'bundle of essential items'.

The integration of health services and social care along with ending the M4 bottleneck for traffic coming into Wales need urgent attention. That is how he will put his name on the map, hopefully for the better.

Diversity!

Dr Who used to provide regular family viewing many years ago when the children were growing up.

They now have children of their own. Accustomed to advanced computer graphics they are not easily upset by such as the Daleks.

Asking one of my grandchildren if he found a particular computer game too gory after seeing blood being splattered everywhere he looked at me in astonishment and explained that it was not real.

After reading that the new Dr Who played by Jodie Whittaker was 'a triumph for diversity' I thought I should take a look so watched the new series on Sunday evening.

The current Dr Who is far removed from William Hartnell, the original doctor. I was reminded of a youthful-looking Emily Thornberry. The word that came to mind was not diversity but tokenism.

Gender swapping is not diverse, it is perverse. Sex is determined by chromosomes, XX for a female or XY for a male, yet people born in New York City are to be allowed to have their sex recorded as 'X' in another nod to LGBT rights.

The NYC Mayor signed the provision into law with the words, "We want to make sure that people are not dependent on the subjective judgement of anybody else including a doctor"! That will be no comfort for the women prisoners sexually assaulted by a fellow inmate who self-identified as a woman and had previously raped two women.

In the next episode Dr Who meets 'civil rights icon' Rosa Parks.

When William Hartnell played Dr Who entertainment was entertainment, not political posturing.

Another jolly!

Bishops of Llandaff and St Davids with their mentor Katharine Jefferts Schori            Source: Twitter

There is news on the grapevine that June's jollies are more extensive than previously recorded, most recently accompanying the bishop of St Davids to the US.

Presumably they met up with their mentor, the former 'heretical mentor' to Barry Morgan, Katharine Jefferts Schori. She preceded Michael Curry as presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church (TEC) which has taken the lead in secularising Anglicanism. That explained her popularity with Barry and his bench sitters in Wales and the deference shown by the current Archbishop of Canterbury to Michael Curry.

Throwing away the best opportunity ever presented for taking forward the Great Commission, Justin Welby proposed presiding bishop Curry to preach at the Royal wedding, offering one of the foremost advocates of same sex marriage a platform to speak to around 2 billion people around the world in the knowledge that he favoured policies contrary to those of the Church of England. *

Readers may wonder why reputedly able women need mentoring after Barry Morgan confidently proclaimed without qualification that Joanna Penberthy was the best person to be a bishop. Presumably June was at least second best.

The purpose of the US visit is not entirely clear but I would be surprised if Joanna and June were not entertained by their episcopal, feminist counterparts. TEC has been in the lead in promoting same sex marriage and penalising anyone who is unable in conscience to accept TEC's liberal policies.

Consider just one example of many. A letter written to a local newspaper by a disillusioned correspondent in 2013. He was "saddened and appalled" by the "vindictive and mean-spirited language" Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori used in her "ugly" sermon:

"Alluding to Bishop Mark Lawrence as a 'tyrant' and comparing him to 'citizens' militias deciding to patrol ... the Mexican border for unwelcome visitors' was unconscionable. And to say, 'It's not terribly far from the state of mind evidenced in school shootings, or in those who want to arm school children, or the terrorism that takes oil workers hostage,' was despicable. That any Christian, much less a presiding bishop, would use such invective and incendiary words says more about the speaker than the person she is attempting to vilify.

"However, she is the same person who has spent over $22 million [currently estimated to be around $50 million - Ed.] to sue churches over their property, who refused to sell a church back to its congregation and instead sold it to a Muslim organization, and who sued beloved, retired bishops because they challenged her authority. It is not surprising that the fruits of Bishop Jefferts Schori's leadership of TEC are a significant decline in members, controversy and confrontation with the majority of the Anglican Communion, and financial problems resulting in the need to sell prized land in Manhattan."

Although the reason for the latest jolly is unclear, the similarities between TEC policies and those favoured by the bench are plain to see raising the suspicion that 'More of the same - but faster' promised by the new archbishop of Wales will see the jolly feminist pair taking the lead on further liberalisation given their secular credentials.

That will be more women clergy in the drive for parity regardless of suitability and more LGBTQI+ initiatives leading eventually to same sex marriage given the enthusiasm of the bench for the change.

What a catastrophe for the Church in Wales these politically motivated appointments have been.


Postscript [03.06.2018]

* Reported in the Mirror:

Meghan and Harry's preacher Bishop Michael Curry destined for Britain's Got Talent final after THAT impassioned royal wedding sermon.

The American bishop will deliver a special message for the remaining contestants as they prepare for the performance of their lives.

The "most watched show on TV" provides yet another platform for the presiding bishop of TEC, thanks to Archbishop Justin Welby. Curry sounds good but he has a distorted, permissive view of God's "almighty hands of love" that allows people to pick and choose what to believe leading them astray, as did his predecessor.

Well done Welby!

The Joy of Easter

The Easter message is the same whether celebrated in the simplicity of an Ethiopian Orthodox tent (above), the magnificence of a Russian Orthodox cathedral, the shared experience of the Holy Fire ceremony in Jerusalem or in an Anglican church. 

But there is a difference in sharing that message. It is summed up by Bishop Gavin Ashenden in 'The Joy of Easter – Heaven not hell, Life not death. – A homily on the Resurrection 2018'.

For many of us in the Anglican Communion the mystery, the 'otherness', is something lost. Mystery has given way to the politics of inclusivity, engaging in the politics of public life rather than spreading the message

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Wishing all Orthodox readers a Happy and Blessed Easter.

Minority mania

British Army recruitment drive.  Source: Telegraph                               CREDIT: ARMY/PA WIRE  

It has afflicted politics. It has afflicted the Church. It has afflicted schools. - the latest example here. Now it is afflicting the British Army. The advancement of minorities has reached absurd levels.

The latest government reshuffle boasted of fairness to women and fairness to ethnic minorities. With merit giving way to political correctness, some junior and middle ranking appointees must be wondering if, by upping the numbers of women in government and new ministers from ethnic minorities, their success had more to do with their colour or gender than merit. Selection should be based on merit not positive discrimination for political correctness.

Anglicanism is obsessed with sex and minorities while some schools seem set on confusing children even more than they need be when growing up by encouraging transgenderism which has resulted in alarming increases in gender dysphoria.  Toilet facilities which have stood the test of time are being changed to satisfy the sensitivities of a few transgender people and gender-neutral language has been introduced in place of gender specific pronouns to avoid making assumptions.

A new politically correct Army recruitment drive includes a series of films which ask "Can I be gay in the Army?" and "What if I get emotional in the Army?", in a bid to appeal to potential soldiers from different backgrounds. There is a clip explaining how space can be made available to allow Muslims to pray.

Retired Army officer Major General Tim Cross commented on the recruitment drive saying, "It happens to focus on the Muslim community; my point is we have Gurkhas, we have Sikhs, all faiths represented in the British Army, and what we don't want to be doing is isolating other people by focusing on these particular communities."

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said it was "neglecting the main group of people who are interested in joining" and will not solve the "recruiting crisis".

The head of the Army, General Sir Nick Carter, said that the rethink was forced by the fact that there are 25% fewer white 16 to 25-year-old males - a group that traditionally formed the force's recruitment base. He said: "Our traditional cohort would have been white, male, Caucasian 16 to 25-year-olds and there are not as many of those around as there once were, and our society is changing and I think it's entirely appropriate for us therefore to try and reach out to a much broader base to get the talent we need in order to stay in that combat effectiveness."

That sounds very much like today's Anglican Church. Ignore the main group and advance minorities regardless of the consequences. There is a wider issue here. One of normalisation, currently being used by progressives in the Church, familiarity brings acceptance.

Islam is a supremacist ideology. Anyone who watched 'House of Saud: A Family at War' on BBC2 last night should be left in no doubt of the seriousness of the problem of funding so-called 'extremists', often fighting each other for being perceived as the wrong sort of Muslim. They are not extremists. They are following their faith to the letter as they understand it. For many it is what they have been led to believe.

According to a UN study, "Young men who leave their homes to fight for terrorist groups in Syria mainly come from disadvantaged backgrounds, have low levels of education and 'lack any basic understanding of the true meaning of jihad or even the Islamic faith'."

Ironically the Quran cannot be verified and questioning the Quran is not allowed. In his article What, Indeed, Is the Quran? (H/T Anglican Mainstream)  the Rev James V. Achall, SJ writes:

"The Quran is a book that tells us of the life and mission of Muhammad, the prophet. The book specifically denies that Christ was the Son of God or that there is otherness in the Godhead. Yahweh and Allah is not the same God. In the Quran, Christianity as such is simply rejected as having no validity. It need not be totally suppressed if its members accept second-class citizenship and pay a tax. We may not like to hear this teaching, but no good Muslim, unless he is trying to deceive us, has any doubt that Allah is exactly as he is described in the Quran. The Quran is a book about man’s complete submission to Allah. It will gladly overturn the world to make this submission prevail. It will only fail if it is prevented."

By constantly embracing Islam's supremacist ideology it is being validated when it should be contested, explaining that it is Islam that has no validity and that failure to scrutinise the ideology condemns about a fifth of the world’s population to unnecessary servitude rather than God's mercy.

Sense and nonsense

John Sentamu, Archbishop of York  

The Archbishop of York and the Archbishop of Wales have both been in the news recently speaking about immigration. John Sentamu fled Idi Amin’s regime in Uganda for the UK in 1973 so unlike the Archbishop of Wales he has some experience in the matter. Dr Sentamu has taken the biblical view inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Dr Morgan's view is typically academic emphasising the popular political but partial view that EU migrants help sustain our economy and health service.

Of course immigration has benefited the UK but in a controlled manner. Evidence from Europe, particularly in Germany where opinion has changed sharply, shows that a huge influx of mainly young Muslim men has not been as rosy as Dr Morgan suggests. Had we not voted to leave the EU hundreds of thousands of migrants would have been eligible to move to the UK from Europe.

Dr Morgan is quoted as saying that "the Christian faith compels us to affirm the dignity of every human being and to offer help to anyone in need. Britain has always in the past shown generosity, kindness, solidarity and decency to those facing persecution, even at times of greater deprivation and difficulty than the present time" but unfortunately Muslims are not reading from the same book.

The Archbishop's words also sound very hollow to members of his own church who continue to believe in the authority of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. They have been left in a spiritual vacuum without sacramental assurance and pastoral support since Dr Morgan refused to appoint a replacement after Bishop David Thomas retired as Provincial Assistant Bishop eight years ago.

Politics were in evidence when Dr Morgan was thanked at the last meeting of the Governing Body for his "extraordinary" service to the Church. The Chair of the Governing Body’s Standing Committee praised the Archbishop for his Presidential Addresses and the sermons on "church governance matters, women bishops, the Anglican Covenant, etc. You have explored devolution, climate change, Gaza, gender and sexuality, parenting, assisted dying, organ donation and much more, he said as if Dr Morgan were retiring from the Welsh Assembly. He went on, you use public media so effectively that on all these issues the imperatives of the gospel are heard. They are always carefully constructed, based on extensive reading and scholarship, and learning lightly worn. They are listened to with respect even by those expert in their own field." Not a view taken by others when Dr Morgan's 'scholarship' was queried following his last Presidential Address entitled ‘Biblical stories can reveal a new understanding of same-sex relationships’. It was widely ridiculed.

The praise heaped on the Archbishop made no mention of the steep decline in church attendance or of the divisions caused in the Church in Wales under Dr Morgan's leadership. He must have had his tongue in his cheek when the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon praised Dr Morgan for his "leadership" of the Church in Wales "at a time when significant changes in society have caused us to examine some of our own disciplines, some of our own opinions and practices". Bishop John said that Dr Morgan's approach to walking those paths, to examining possible changes, has been to "remind us of scripture, tradition and reason" and has done that "cogently, consistently and compassionately". A more accurate description would have been in the absence of scripture, tradition and reason as Dr Morgan pursued his political agenda thus secularising a diminished Church.

It is clear that the bench of bishops live in their own little bubble. Although they claim membership of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church they go their own way having ignored pleas of the Orthodox and Catholic churches and forged closer bonds with local Free (or non-conformist) Churches under the guise of Ecumenism.

The bench of bishops appear to have their heads in the sand unless it is their ultimate desire simply to be a tiny segment in the Uniting Church in Wales. In a tribute to the Bishop of St Davids as he prepares for retirement, Dr Morgan described Bishop Wyn as a "quintessential Dean and a rather reluctant bishop". That is true. Bishop Wyn is greatly admired for his extraordinary work as Dean of St Davids but in a video interview marking his retirement he sadly illustrates how the bishops of the Church in Wales all appear to become infected by 'Bazzeritis'.

Referring [@29 mins] to people who 'tend to slag the church off in terms of decline' Bishop Wyn highlights a small but stable congregation of 8, ignoring the massive decline in church attendance under Dr Morgan's leadership. If that had been his vision as Dean, his Cathedral would not be the jewel in the Church in Wales' crown that it is today, especially when compared with the sorry state of Dr Morgan's Llandaff Cathedral.

Is it any wonder that so many of us feel like refugees in our own Church?

Let me tell you

Last night my wife and I settled down in front of the television to enjoy an evening at the Proms. We were in for a shock. The second item was Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you, written specially for the soprano, Barbara Hannigan. She was in good voice with clear diction so we concluded that Ms Hannigan was actually singing gibberish in tune with political and religious life today.

Most of the utterances of politicians and senior church people sound like gibberish to those of us who recall days when there was a sense of order and progression rather than regression. Can it be any surprise then that those of much riper years feel that the world has been turned upside down. Politics and religion are not what they were. Minorities rule.

In past decades 'Statesman' was a part of our vocabulary, used to describe a skilled, experienced, and respected political leader or figure. It has become redundant, even archaic. But how many political and religious leaders or figures are worthy of respect when the traditional values we hold dear have been turned upside down, either to court public favour or to justify a particular lifestyle?

The allegations of a double life led by Keith Vaz MP is the latest in a string of scandals to hit the political elite in Parliament and another blow for Mr Vaz who, according to a Telegraph article published in 2009, "claimed more than £75,500 in expenses for a flat in Westminster despite his family home being a £1.15 million house just 12 miles from parliament"!

Sadly there is seldom any sense of shame in politics. Let me tell you has become the motto in public life. When David Cameron's luck ran out following his promised Brexit referendum in which the government substituted scaremongering and threats for facts, he didn't hesitate to reward his chums with honours for their failure and award disproportionate pay rises to his advisers.

We should be able to expect better from the church, particularly the Established Church of England but the same thumbs to the nose is in evidence. Encouraged by the success of WATCH in ignoring scripture and tradition the LGBT agenda is in full flow. Following the 'revelation' that the Bishop of Grantham is living in a gay relationship, a letter quickly appears from fourteen Church of England clergy in same-sex marriages calling on bishops to do more to include gay people in the life of the Church.

If gay people are not already included in the life of the church why are there so many gay clergy? They are included. What they really mean is included on their own terms to legitimise same sex marriage in church.

The Let me tell you attitude is about 'me' rather than 'you'. It has seen the meaning of inclusion, equality, love and respect so perverted that their true meaning is no longer acceptable, bringing charges of misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia and the rest. Which brings me to transgender restrooms, the height of stupidity which puts minority 'rights' above the safety of women and children. It sums up the Let me tell you philosophy.

Gender fluidity

Source: BBC

In March last year it was reported that there was a shortage of chicken sexers in the UK. The procedure can be read in the BBC report but suffice to say a bump makes the difference. If it has one, it is male.

Generally speaking humans are identified at birth as being either male or female by being with or without the bump which translates into being registered as a boy or a girl. That is not to say that behavioural differences go unnoticed in later life. Indeed many performers have profited by making capital out of contrary behaviour.

Julian and his friend Sandy in 'Around the Horn' on steam radio were the cause of considerable merriment in the 1960s but in retrospect many of us may not have fully understood the full extent of the innuendo, since translated into law. No longer the subject of humour, self-deprecating or otherwise, we are now expected to accept 'gender fluidity', an issue nicely put into perspective by Melanie Philips in The Spectator.

I have no desire to trivialise what may be a serious problem for a minority of people but gender fluidity is quickly becoming the new in thing after homosexuality under the sponsorship of Her Majesty's Government. In a government backed survey, children as young as 13 are asked to pick from a list of twenty-five genders: 

Source: Mail Online

Critics have accused the sponsors of ‘exploiting’ teenagers for political ends. Too right. Following on from the same-sex marriage debacle this smacks of another government campaign biased towards harvesting votes from minorities regardless of the consequences. 

To exploit the adult population for political ends was a disgrace but to exploit vulnerable children in the same manner is inexcusable.

WITCH way

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

Chrism Masses: Report of the Independent Reviewer

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

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

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

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

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

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

The complaint was not upheld. Report here.

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

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

Postscript [10/08/2015]

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

Postscript [14/08/2015]

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

Liberal values

Women in waiting                                                                                                Photo credit: Telegraph/Jane Mingay

From today's Sunday Times (here £) "Most bishops... do not automatically qualify for a seat in the Lords and there had been fears that it would be a decade or more before a churchwoman sat on parliament’s red benches. Now, in a historic move championed by Nick Clegg, the law will be rewritten so that female bishops jump the queue when a place among the 'lords spiritual' comes up. The first could be appointed to Westminster’s upper chamber as early as next year."

Last year Mr Clegg was awarded an A-plus for hypocrisy in this Mail Online report: "This week it’s the announcement that he — an atheist and the leader of a party that has pledged to make faith schools more inclusive — has succeeded in getting his son into one of the most over-subscribed Catholic state schools in Britain. Entry to the London Oratory School is dependent on at least one parent not only being Catholic, but regularly attending Sunday Mass at the Brompton Oratory for at least three years. Even with these strict criteria, the school had 800 applicants for its 160 places. How very fortunate that the Cleggs were, as the Deputy Prime Minister put it himself yesterday, ‘lucky’ enough to get one."

Mr Clegg is an atheist married to a Catholic. He told the Mail Online that he wouldn’t impose his political will on his wife when it came to educating their children. But that has not prevented him from imposing his political will on religious matters.

In a radio phone-in Mr Clegg said that he would like to see the disestablishment of the Church of England which would lead to the Queen's removal as the head of the church: "In the long run it would be better for the church and better for people of faith, and better for Anglicans, if the church and the state were over time to stand on their own two separate feet." Mr Clegg believes that the Anglican Church would “thrive” if no longer “inhibited” by its role at the heart of the British constitution.

The Anglican Church in England and Wales was supposed to "thrive" following the ordination of women to the priesthood but last month the Bishop of Truro warned that the Church of England has only "five or six years" to save itself. Previously, when the Bishop of Blackburn launched a 12-year-plan to attract younger people to the Church he feared that unless the Church reinvented itself in his own diocese, it would disappear like the region’s textile industry.

An elected House of Lords has been a "long-cherished goal of the Lib Dems" but plans to reform the second chamber had to be abandoned after the Conservatives "broke the coalition contract" (here).

Perhaps Mr Clegg is getting his own back, doing the same for the House of Lords as women's ordination has done for the Church, steady decline.

Well said Mr Dean

It was back to North Wales last Saturday for another Dean's installation, this time the Dean of St Asaph, who, in his own words said, "What I am looking forward to most is the worship, utilising all the resources available to us to celebrate the Christian faith in our observance of the festivals through the year." Words echoed by Bishop Gregory, “.... this cathedral is to be a place of encounter, of revelation, of the handing on of the truth of God’s powerful call to conversion in Jesus Christ.”


How refreshingly Christian. Not the politics pushed by the neighbouring Dean of Bangor nor of their Archbishop who must be bitterly disappointed that Nigel Williams isn't Nigella giving a boost to "Bazzer's" aim of parity in senior posts in what he clearly sees as his church. 


Time to move over Archbishop and let your flock hear less politics and more of the Christian message while you still have a church.

May it please Your Majesty!

Funny old game, politics. Her Majesty the Queen, Defender of the Faith and Head of the Church of England wears a funny hat as she listens to children read from the Quran.

Hopefully none of the bits that would see an end to Christianity!

“One Church, one Faith, one Lord”

In my youth, our church choir used to sing the last line of each verse of Thy hand, O God, has guided, with great gusto: “one Church, one Faith, one Lord”, lingering lovingly on those last words.

The fifth verse said much:

And we, shall we be faithless?
Shall hearts fail, hands hang down?
Shall we evade the conflict,
and cast away our crown?
Not so: in God’s deep counsels
some better thing is stored:
we will maintain unflinching,
one Church, one Faith, one Lord.

Rather than ‘maintain our church unflinching’, the Anglican church has become irrelevant to most British people except for rites of passage. Ecumenism has given way to inter-faith dialogue while Christians are persecuted abroad. Our tolerance has become our undoing. From The Telegraph: “In non-faith state schools, Christian assemblies are being dropped in favour of multi-faith worship, despite a legal requirement for Christian collective worship, and children are no longer taught the Lord's Prayer” according to an Ofsted report:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7805772/Schools-failing-to-teach-children-the-core-beliefs-of-Christianity-says-Ofsted.html

Reports from Wales indicate that their politically obsessed Archbishop is to dine out in celebration of inter-faith dialogue "aimed at promoting understanding and tolerance across the country in the wake of international terrorism fears."

http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/dynamic/press_releases/display_press_release.php?prid=4955

Tolerance and understanding are fine but we are not all playing by the same rules. Christianity is being undermined in our own country.

In some predominately Muslim schools mentioning Jesus is now regarded as unacceptable. The God of Abraham has to be the same God for Jews, Christians and Muslim or there would be three gods so if “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” why do we deny that truth by not proclaiming the Christian message? As another hymn aptly puts it:

The Church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is his new creation’
by water and the word;
from heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride,
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Legendry101#p/a/F374EFA5EB9DCAD5/0/WtZ5JrDd8OE

Our church is dying while her leaders play politics. Faith needs to be nurtured; it is much more than a history lesson. Our ministers both sacred and secular must act quickly before it becomes no Church, no faith, one Lord.