"As part of legislation to ordain women bishops, passed by the Church in September, the Bishops have to draw up a Code of Practice to ensure all members of the Church, including those with conscientious objections to the decision, continued to feel accepted and valued in it." - Church in Wales. [See previous entry here.]
The first of the consultation meetings were held on 22 January in the dioceses of Bangor and Llandaff. I have received no reports on the Bangor meeting but I understand that the Llandaff meeting in Pontypridd attracted well over 100 Church members including around 20 clergy who responded to the Archbishop's invitation "to consult as widely as possible with church members in order to reflect their views as best we can."
The open meetings in each of the six Welsh dioceses are are being held for members to have their say on what provisions the code should include. The meetings will be followed by a discussion at the Church’s Governing Body meeting in April. The next meeting will be held in St Davids Diocese tomorrow, 28 January at 7pm in Holy Trinity Church hall, Aberaeron.
The open meetings in each of the six Welsh dioceses are are being held for members to have their say on what provisions the code should include. The meetings will be followed by a discussion at the Church’s Governing Body meeting in April. The next meeting will be held in St Davids Diocese tomorrow, 28 January at 7pm in Holy Trinity Church hall, Aberaeron.
At the Llandaff meeting the Provincial Episcopal Visitor (PEV) was the favoured solution. This was the conclusion of Credo Cymru (FiF Wales) in their written submission: "We consider that the easiest way to achieve such a solution would be to make use of bishops from other provinces and give them limited authority to act within Wales, with clear authority from the diocesans concerned." *
This would be a positive step to ensure that all feel accepted and valued but sadly some still feel that despite the overwhelming desire of traditionalists to reach an amicable solution, the Archbishop is in no mood to give ground and interpret "in order to reflect their views as best we can" as meaning 'as before'. If that proved to be the case the Bench would be guilty of an unforgivable deception. Members should 'keep the faith', go to the meetings, and make their voices heard for the sake of the Church.
* Correction:
Following further enquiries I understand that 'PEV' was used as a shorthand for alternative Episcopal oversight while Credo Cymru did not limit their proposal to Provincial Episcopal Visitors. Their suggestion was 'episcopal visitors' from 'other provinces', a subtle difference. I apologise for the confusion but the inference is the same. What is being asked for is sacramental assurance by whatever means.
* Correction:
Following further enquiries I understand that 'PEV' was used as a shorthand for alternative Episcopal oversight while Credo Cymru did not limit their proposal to Provincial Episcopal Visitors. Their suggestion was 'episcopal visitors' from 'other provinces', a subtle difference. I apologise for the confusion but the inference is the same. What is being asked for is sacramental assurance by whatever means.
