Living in sin and faith

Church of England General Synod: Bishop of London's Living in Love and Faith Presentation February 2023                              Source:The Church of England

The General Synod of the Church of England has backed plans put forward by its bishops to bless gay couples. 

The motion was brought by the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, following six years of work on questions of 'identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage' known by its fully loaded title Living In Love And Faith.

For opponents of the motion it could have been more accurately described as living in sin and faith.

There was no justification of the bishops proposals based on scripture, tradition or reason. Only alleged experiences of victimhood, one of the six ways homosexual activists manipulate public opinion.

If true, there has been a remarkable turnaround, particularly in Synod membership.  

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said priests would have the option to bless gay couples, but could choose not to. He told the Synod, "No-one has to offer these services and no one will be disadvantaged if they don't." 

This is very reminiscent of the step by step approach that led to the ordination of women. Revisionists do not give up. They bind their time, wearing down the opposition until they reach their goal. When the dust has settled the Church of England will surely follow the example of the Church in Wales and push for same sex marriage in Church.

As for Cottrell's assurances, Synod has only to look to the experience of Anglicans in the Church in Wales where similar assurances amounted to nothing. There has been no outcry about the shoddy treatment of traditionalists or protests of discrimination against those forced to leave.

Women and the Church (WATCH) will continue their war of attrition with their constant allegations of sexism and discrimination until they completely wreck the Church that nurtured them.

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!

Steps to oblivion

Roman Catholic Women Clergy                                                                                                                                            Source: Roman Catholic Women Priests

"The woke Pope epitomises liberal illiberalism. The ‘merciful’ leader of the Catholic Church is persecuting a harmless minority: traditionalists." - Tim Stanley writing in The Telegraph reported here.

Stanley writes: "The Pope, you have probably read, is ever-smiling, merciful and tolerant. Towards some, that might be true; for others, it’s a cruel joke. His treatment of traditional Catholics, to give just one example, is a case study in liberal hypocrisy."

That has a familiar ring for Anglicans, particularly in Wales.

'Will he, wont he?' articles about the Pope's intentions on the ordination of women have appeared with increasing regularity', often driven by a sympathetic media obsessed with their interpretation of equality but with no understanding of priestly ministry or theology.

 Initially Francis sounded sympathetic to the notion of women priests but then denied it while appearing to leave the door open  to discussions on setting up a female deaconate, the first step on an incremental path chosen by revisionists in the Anglican Church.

Hence the question: Is Francis laying the foundation for women to become recognized priests?. The move has been described as "a huge step forward for gender equality in the largest religious denomination" but the priesthood is not about gender equality.

Officially opening the ministries of lector and acolyte to women, Pope Francis said that there was nothing new about women proclaiming the Word of God during liturgical celebrations or carrying out a service at the altar as altar servers or as Eucharistic ministers. In many communities throughout the world these practices are already authorized by local bishops.

The direction is obvious. As 'local practices' are allowed to spread they appear increasingly commonplace leading to acceptance as normal.

According to Roman Catholic Women Priests (RCWP), which describes itself as "an International Movement within the Roman Catholic Church", women 'priests' are already ministering in over 34 USA states and are also present in Canada, Europe, South and Central America, South Africa, Philippines and Taiwan. They have prepared a video 'Making Catholicism relevant' showing several worshiping communities and their liturgies.  

Germany's Synodal Assembly has voted for Catholic women deacons by large majority with further calls for gay blessings and married priests. Pope Francis has encouraged the process of synodality, a process of discernment which he describes as listening to the Holy Spirit through the word of God, prayer and adoration after listening to one another.

In another move, a group of Catholic and Anglican theologians has publicly called on the Vatican to review and overturn a papal document from 1896 that declared Anglican ordinations "absolutely null and utterly void", something on which Pope Francis has spoken sympathetically and which many have been praying for but now complicated by decisions within various provinces of the Anglican Communion to go it alone and ordain women.

As I wrote in a previous entry, "One would have thought that the innovation of ordaining women in the Anglican Communion would have provided the Vatican with sufficient experience-based evidence that, in general, women who seek ordination are advancing themselves not the Kingdom of God.

Tim Stanley is right. It should be plain for all to see. 'Traditionalist' Roman Catholics are being marginalised as Anglicans have been marginalised, left to witness the destruction of their Church while revisionists advance, step by step, by any means available to them encouraged by false prophets

Who would have thought it possible but a foot in the door is all that is needed, the first of a series of incremental steps to oblivion.

No laughing matter

Archbishop Barry Morgan with Joanna Penberthy at her consecration.                                                                                               Source: ITV/Church in Wales

From ITV 21 January 2017 

Fateful words:

"This is an historic occasion for the Church in Wales, as well as a being hugely significant moment for Canon Joanna. It is marvellous that it is possible for us to appoint women, as well as men, to all three Orders of ministry and to regard that as now being the norm. What matters is not gender, but suitability, character, gifts - and that was why Joanna was elected as Bishop."
Dr Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales

"Suitability, character, gifts - that was why Joanna was elected as Bishop."

Those words must be ringing in the ears of anyone who really cares about the Church in Wales as their spiritual home. It is no longer a laughing matter. 

Once again the 'mushroom method' of management is being employed by the bench. Consequently worshippers remain in the dark regarding events in St Davids diocese as they were in the diocese of Monmouth which led to the departure of bishop Richard Pain. 

In St Davids diocese the bishop should have resigned in June after her position became untenable but there is no indication of an acceptable resolution for those she has offended, just extended sick notes.

In June senior clerics in St Davids diocese issued a statement: "Bishop Joanna is unwell and, on the advice of her doctor, will be away from work for the next month." The period of sick leave has been gradually extended. This time beyond the dates of the diocesan conference. On the advice of her doctor, bishop Joanna Penberthy will be away from work until the middle of October. 

The September 2021 edition of Pobl Dewi has been published without a prayer for the bishop. Perhaps that says something in itself!

A comment on a previous entry indicates that congregations and giving in the diocese are shrinking as a result of bishop Penberthy's tweets which caused offense to so many.

There is now a wider problem for the Church in Wales. In a statement reported in Christian Today, the Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales (EFCW) claimed that there have been and will be "resignations from clergy, lay readers, worship leaders, church wardens, Sunday school teachers and parishioners. A number have withdrawn their regular giving to their churches." 

The EFCW had been consulting their members and were calling for the appointment of a bishop to "give voice" to those who believe in the traditional Christian teaching on marriage and sexual morality. 

Some hope given the treatment of traditionalists who were left with no pastoral or sacramental oversight after archbishop Morgan achieved his revisionist goals.

Offending worshippers appears to be all that the bench of bishops is capable of. 

They have treated loyal worshippers like pew fodder as they rail-rolled their zeitgeist legislation through Governing Body, the latest of which is to permit same-sex blessings.

The consequences are already looking dire.

Their hypocrisy!

Source: Church in Wales

"There can be no room for seeking to undermine sincerely held views. Neither should we seek to walk away from each other." - Church in Wales bench of bishops.

The hypocrisy of it. 

Highlighted in Provincial News, top of the Agenda for the forthcoming meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales from  September 6-8 is a Bill to authorise a service of blessing for same-sex partnerships. 

"Same-sex couples will be able to have their civil partnership or marriage blessed in Church in Wales churches for the first time if new legislation is passed next month (September)."

No doubt seeking their usual secular support an article has already appeared in BBC News. 

The bishops have issued a set of ‘Pastoral Principles’ intended to 'guide people towards thoughtful and considerate discussions'.

Introducing them they say: “There can be no room for seeking to undermine sincerely held views. Neither should we seek to walk away from each other. Our union in Christ is at the heart of our life and the bonds and character of our baptism hold us together; sharing a commitment to each other as together we seek the Kingdom of God. We hope these materials will stimulate this quality of engagement.”

But that is precisely what they have done to faithful Anglicans who have not been swayed by secular desires. Undermined for years they have been ignored by the bench and left with no hope.

Clearly regarded as less worthy than same-sex couples desiring a blessing of their union, the bishops have walked away from traditionalist Anglicans who hold sincerely held views with no thought for their spiritual welfare.

One has to wonder if the bishops of the Church in Wales really do believe in the Kingdom of God.

Church in Wales abandonment

 

An upbeat Archbishop Barry Morgan in 2013 with his Ass bishop and then Dean, Janet Henderson
before her shock resignation. It's been downhill for Llandaff ever since.          Photo: Church Times

Few if any people have sympathy for a mother who abandons her children. 

In 'Mother' Church in Wales under Barry Morgan that is exactly what happened to Anglicans who remained true to the faith of the Holy Catholic Church, something the Church in Wales claims to do but patently does not as it becomes more and more secularised.

Reading about the new structure set up in Australia by GAFCON to help conservatives in dioceses that bless same-sex marriages re-opens old wounds for 'traditionalists' in Wales.

A new Diocese will "operate in parallel with any Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. It will have a Bishop, and the normal structure of an Anglican diocese such as a synod (church parliament and a standing committee)", something that Morgan and his cronies refused to do. Society bishops are banned from ministering in Wales.

Other Provinces have made provision for those who, in conscience, are unable to accept progressive ideas contrary to scripture and tradition. In Wales, after an initial nod to ensure the success of bills to allow women to be ordained, traditionalists have been abandoned without thought or consideration from bishops charged with caring for all. 

Other Provinces have not been so heartless so why have Anglican bishops in Wales been so cruel? 

One obvious answer is that traditionalists are a thorn in the flesh in a Church in which matters of the flesh and sexual preference are considered more important than one's faith.

Archbishop Morgan was determined that there would be no long term alternative pastoral or sacramental provision for those who did not share his secularised vision of the church.

Seeing himself as a 'progressive' bishop, Morgan followed the secular, feminist agenda of admitting women to the priesthood and to the episcopate regardless of scripture and tradition while liberalising sexual attitudes to permit same sex marriages in Church. He showed no consideration for those he regarded as opponents once the measures were approved.

Morgan even promoted his his own interpretation of the Bible to advance his cause and was promptly shot down.

The archbishop imported ambitious clergy from England to aid his cause leaving him with egg on his face. Most spectacularly following the resignation of the Very Rev Janet Henderson from her position as Dean of Llandaff after only a few weeks in post. That led to all manner of speculation and rumours of a non-disclosure agreement. 

More recently Morgan's manoeuvrings which led to the 'election' of  Joanna Penberthy as bishop of St Davids came badly unstuck. He had promoted Penberthy as 'the best person to be a bishop'. Experience suggests the reverse was true.   

Another of Morgan's casualties, Ass bishop David Wilbourne, complained of a "sustained campaign forcing him to quit". He often reminded anyone prepared to listen, or not, that he knew John Habgood, not the best acquaintance for some. It has been claimed Habgood 's intervention was responsible for the Church of England's acceptance of the ordination of women. 

The Rev Peter Mullin wrote in The Telegraph (£), 06 Feb 2012:  "This stinking fish has been a long time on the slab. Back in 1992, the church voted to admit women to the priesthood, but this was only agreed upon the intervention of the then Archbishop of York, Dr John Habgood, who insisted that there were “two integrities” within the church: the one that could accept women priests and the other that could not. Room must be made for both. If Dr Habgood’s agreeable compromise had not been accepted then there would not have been a majority in favour of the ordination of women".

The Church in Wales and the Church of England now ordain women. While the Church of England maintains the two integrities, traditionalists in Wales have been abandoned.

Initially bishop David Thomas was appointed Provincial Assistant Bishop but archbishop Morgan made it abundantly clear that there would not be another when Bishop Thomas retired in 2008. 

Another of Morgan's imports from the Church of England, Peggy Jackson used her position as Archdeacon of Llandaff to do all that she could to get rid of traditionalists, leaving them "to make personal decisions and individual choices, to find accommodation as best they can".

 She, in turn was to be humiliated when Governing Body rejected her mean private members motion which called on the bench of bishops to "cease to ordain those who, refusing the sacramental ministry of women, expect to rely upon the conscience clauses of the Code". 

Nevertheless, the process of abandonment in Wales continues. After Barry Morgan's retirement, the new Archbishop of Wales signalled no change in policy. There would be more of the same - but faster.

Barry Morgan made no secret of the fact that he would not oppose the appointment of a gay bishop. A strong contender to replace him was Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans.

From Llandaff stalemate: After three days of deliberations (note the link comes under 'Politics'), the Electoral College of the Church in Wales failed to produce a bishop-elect or, as the Rev Peter Ould tweeted, the Church in Wales "couldn't quite bring itself to elect Jeffrey John as Bishop of Llandaff".

While some argued that the appointment of Jeffrey John would attract too much attention for the wrong reason, others suggested that he was just too bright for the rest of the bench who feared they would be overshadowed.

The Church in Wales has two more imports from England sitting on the bench. A partnered lesbian elected bishop of Monmouth and an LGBT+ banner-waving sociologist who was appointed to Llandaff where she enjoys experimenting in her diocese regardless of the effect on existing congregations.

In Llandaff the continued absence of Barry Morgan's placement, Dean Gerwyn Capon remains a puzzle, as does the cause of the swift departure of his predecessor, Janet Henderson but given the mire Janet no doubt found herself in I would guess that she told Barry Morgan what he could do with his scheming. 

It says much about an archbishop who prides himself on his Welshness that, save for the one exception who escaped back over the border, he imported failures from England to do his bidding.

So faithful Anglicans across Wales have been abandoned, as Peggy Jackson directed, to find accommodation as best they can.

Some will have found an accommodation in the Church in Wales, presumably with fingers firmly crossed, while others will have advanced their careers, putting their souls in peril in the process. Others just have their memories.

Wales must be among the worst provinces in the Anglican Communion but who cares? 

Certainly not its bishops.

Thank you - for what?

A voice from below!
Archdeacon Peggy Jackson (right) retires   Source: Church in Wales/Twitter

Llandaff diocese, Twitter: Join us this #NationalThankYouDay as we say DIOLCH - THANK YOU to all our Priests and Deacons whose dedication to serving God and their community is utterly inspiring! You folks are amazing!

Do the people in Llandaff know or understand anything about the Church in Wales? Or are they simply perpetuating the bench of bishops' strategy of marginalising any faithful Anglicans who do not fit the new, secularised profile of the Church in Wales. If Archdeacon Jackson had had her way, the Church in Wales would have barred from ordination anyone who objected, on grounds of conscience, to women clergy thus making a mockery of the promises made to allow the ordination of women.

At Governing Body in 2019 the mean spirited Archdeacon of Llandaff introduced a private members motion asking Church in Wales bishops to refuse to ordain anyone who objected to women clergy, reneging on the twin integrity formula which allowed Jackson to enjoy the privileges conferred on her by archbishop Barry Morgan as his chief hatchet woman.

Jackson was supported in her endeavour by the now disgraced bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy, and the current senior Church in Wales bishop, Andy John, bishop of Bangor, whose private life attracted much speculation before his divorce and re-marriage. 

The two other bishops present, John Davies (Swansea & Brecon) and June Osborne (Landaff), signalled their lack of opposition to the measure by abstaining.

What amazing folks!

Responding to the debate the Archdeacon of Llandaff said that those who entered the priesthood were clear that the Church was not “in two minds” about women’s ministry. Those who found themselves “at odds” with a particular aspect of what the Church believed must “protect and operate their own arrangements and conscience how best they may.” 

Her aim as a former member of GRAS was clear despite her disingenuous claim after losing the vote that it was not her intent to drive conservatives or Anglo-Catholics out of the Church.

Others saw it differently: "Having won the battle she was intent on shooting the prisoners."

Archdeacon Jackson along with her co-conspirator, Canon Jenny Wigley, had already been successful in amending the Bill proposed by the bench of bishops to enable women to be consecrated as bishops. Their amendment substituted a meaningless, voluntary code of practice for the statutory provisions contained in the bishops' bill.

Illustrating the bench of bishops complicity, the Church of England Newspaper reported at the time: "The Bishops had backed a two-stage process with a first vote to establish the principle and a second bill to amend the constitution to make provision for traditionalists. When an amendment allowing women bishops to be appointed one year after a single bill was proposed by Archdeacon Peggy Jackson the bishops made it clear that they would not regard a vote in favour of the amendment as ‘disloyal’."

The archdeacon's private members motion was to be the coup de grâce but even some of her most loyal supporters could not stomach her mean, vindictive attitude to their fellow Anglicans. 

In the debate she complained it was 'hurtful' for her when she experienced 'denial or worse' from those who could not accept her calling. But for her, the only acceptable Anglicans are those whose vision of Anglicanism matches hers in a Church which, at 0.03% of the Anglican Communion and falling is way out of step with the vast majority of its 85 million Anglicans. Such is the conceit of these entrists.

The many faithful Anglicans who have been effectively un-churched by archdeacon Jackson's brutal implementation of the policies of 'His Darkness' are entitled to ask: Thank you for what?

Postscript [12.07.2021]

Bosom pals             Source: Youtube

From the Choral Evensong to mark the retirement of the Venerable Peggy Jackson. 

Captions welcome.

Repent, the end is nigh - for traditional Anglicanism

The Church of England is once again calling for repentance. This time for "historic links to the slave trade and anti-racism training" according to a leaked report referred to in the Mail Online: 

It claims that the Church of England will order a 30 per cent quota for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) candidates on its leadership programme and demand 'repentance' for historic links to the slave trade.

A Church of England taskforce was set up by the Church after the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said he was 'sorry and ashamed' that 'we are still institutionally racist'. Only one of the 42 diocesan bishops come from BAME backgrounds.

Officials are also planning to provide information "giving context to church statues which may have caused 'pain or offence' as part of plans to tackle discrimination".

The Church of England has previously called for repentance over the role of Christians in 'centuries of antisemitism'. 

And of course there was the call to the Church to 'repent' for its treatment of lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians after 'more than 100 senior Anglicans signed an open letter calling on the Church of England to do so.

There is unlikely to be a call to repentance for the treatment of 'traditionalist' Anglicans forced to keep the faith without pastoral and sacramental support.

Anglicanism has been ditched by the Church of England and other Anglican provinces such as the now irrelevant Church in Wales which continues to pump itself up by promoting same sex marriage as it accelerates the demise of Anglicanism in Wales.

We cannot undo the past, nor can we repent for actions of our predecessors however 'sorry and ashamed' later generations may feel. 

As for removing statues, far better to use them as teaching aids to help get one's message across. 

How would Welby feel if he were to be immortalised in stone only to find his likeness shattered by future generations who held him responsible for helping to destroy Anglicanism in favour of secularism.

Postscript [30.03.2021]

The BAME agenda

Disabled women of colour are encouraged to apply for the post of Dean of Hereford to exploit the Cathedral's treasures including the Magna Carta, Chained Library and Mappa Mundi in its mission.

I tried the reference http://ctjob.uk/JN9090 for more information but it did not work for me.

I am not in the running anyway!

Llandaff clergy school off to a flying start

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.

The 2019 clergy school is being held during Christian Aid Week in Santiago de Compostela, the location of the shrine of St James the Apostle, to 'train and equip priests to teach and lead pilgrimages in their own communities'.

In a novel twist the school suggests a cunning plan designed to demonstrate how not to organise a pilgrimage, even by plane, when the main attraction, the pilgrimage Cathedral, is closed for renovation. Brilliant!

As a bonus the 'misunderstood' Archdeacon of Llandaff may provide her personal insight on how not to do things after her failed attempt to hoodwink the Governing Body into believing that female ordinands in the Church in Wales are persecuted by the few surviving traditionalists.

Follow on Twitter: #LlandaffInSantiago

Off message

"Transgender Anglican priest" the Rev Sarah Jones 
Source: Twitter @SarahJonestoo

The Rev Sarah Jones prides herself on being the first transgender priest in the Church of England. She illustrates the fact on her Twitter account using her profile picture to push what she appears to regard as her prime priestly ministry.

Her appointment as vicar of the City Parish of St John the Baptist, Cardiff, in the heart of Wales' capital city sends a clear message regarding the priorities of the bench of bishops despite the rejection of their policies by the Governing Body.

Imported by the bishop of Llandaff as if there were no suitable candidates in the Church in Wales for this high-profile, civic church position, her message is clear. LGBT LGBT LGBT with transgender as the latest buzz.

Jesus said, "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 everything I have commanded you."

The reverse is happening.

Advocates of the ordination of women who claimed that there was no biblical objection to women presbyters now ignore clear warnings about morality, cherry picking verses that appear to support their case and ignoring others.

It has gone further. Men can now choose to be regarded as women and vice versa with a special welcome for transgender people in the Church of England while traditionalist Anglicans continue to be marginalised. Transgender people are actively encouraged to become Church of England priests on the pretext that "the church's reputation as being unwelcoming towards gay and transgender people is causing young people to stay away."

On the same wavelength as the four Church of England bishops in the diocese of Oxford currently in the news, the Welsh bench of bishops continue aping bishops in the collapsing US Episcopal Church despite many obvious signs of failure.

They need to be disciplined but there is no discipline. A law unto themselves, they do as they please. Hence the slide into obscurity.

The archbishop continues the disastrous policies of his predecessor, but faster. Bangor carries on regardless of endless criticism. Having lit the rainbow touchpaper the 'tree-eating' bishop of St Asaph sits back and contemplates the next copse. St Davids and Llandaff  dwell on misandry and the promotion of transgenderism while Monmouth fades away without explanation or comment.

There is no recourse. They continue taking the money and look forward to unearned pensions on the backs of pew sitters who are expected to dig ever deeper to support the unsupportable.

It could only happen in the Church.

Pilgrimage

Source: Fr Michael Fisher, New Directions

In the October issue of Forward in Faith's magazine, New Directions Fr Michael Fisher pays homage at the windswept chapel of St Non in Pembrokeshire - 'In the steps of pilgrims'.

Pilgrimage is a hot topic in the Church in Wales, particularly in Llandaff where Bishop June has decided that the Llandaff Clergy School in 2019 will take the form of a no expenses spared pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain.

Perhaps +June was unaware that much closer to home St Davids Cathedral has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. In the twelfth century Pope Calixtus II declared that the shrine was so important that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome and three were equivalent to one to Jerusalem.

The extract from Michael Fisher's article illustrates the harsh reality for traditionalist pilgrims in Wales. Given the increasing number of women clergy the chances are that pilgrims who are unable on grounds of conscience to receive the sacramental ministry of women will be denied the opportunity of receiving Holy Communion when visiting St Davids Cathedral.

Elevating secular issues above theology, Joanna Penberthy has said she finds it hard to take that a group of people see women as "that different". Either she has no grasp of the issues involved or she simply lacks any sense of charity by ignoring them.

If, as a bishop, she thinks it is hard for her she  should spare a thought for those in her care who are suffering the results of feminist ambitions in the Church in Wales. Faithful women and men, often cradle Anglicans, have been left with absolutely nothing after years of Anglican devotion.

As bishop-elect of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy commented:
 "As someone who in the early years was at the receiving end of prejudice and discrimination, I have absolutely no intention of dishing that out so I think it's important that everybody feels free to be honest about their opinions and about their misgivings."

When challenged +Joanna was forced to admit that the alleged discrimination amounted to nothing more than a difference of opinion. Whether she has a short memory or has had a change of heart, the evident misandry in her attack on faithful, elderly male clergy under her care illustrates the 'couldn't care less unless you are one of us' attitude of the bench of bishops and many of the newly ordained clergy, echoing the infamous claim “There is no place for you in this church”.

If Joanna Penberthy is, as archbishop Barry Morgan claimed, "the best person to be a bishop" that doesn't say much of the rest of the bench. By their fruits you will know them!

The bench of bishops appear to be completely ignorant of the fact that within a generation there will be no Church in Wales for anyone to find a place in according to expert opinion here which confirms a conclusion reached back in 2015 here.

Doubters among the few remaining Anglicans who still regularly attend diminishing services should look around at the aging faces with no young families to provide future congregations for the new brand of clergy who committed to change, usually for their own benefit.

Whether they see it or not, former bishops have been heard to say that the Church in Wales is finished.

A sad end for faithful pilgrims.

Fit for purpose?

The bishops of Bangor, St Davids, Monmouth, Swansea & Brecon (Archbishop), St Asaph and Llandaff .                                                Source: Church in Wales

All dressed up but nowhere to go. The Church in Wales has no future.

That is the conclusion of bishops who are not deluded by their own sense of importance. 

Much has been made of dwindling attendances at Sunday services, apart from at the Governing Body (GB), but why does anyone attend services at a church that has lost its way? It cannot be for theological reasons because the Church in Wales has abandoned theology for the Zeitgeist.

Conclusions reached at GB are no longer based on scripture and tradition but on the whims of a manipulative bench of bishops. Biblical truths are ignored or misinterpreted to make them appear more plausible.

Faithful Anglicans who are unwilling to accept false doctrine have left the church thus strengthening the hand of remaining members who are willing to conform.

If the mission of the Church in Wales is based on false doctrine its evangelism will lead people astray so it must be better for the soul to be a believer on the outside than a non-believer on the inside.

To be cast out by remainers with false accusation of misogyny, homophobia and of not believing in equality is the flowering of weeds sown by bishops who have interpreted the Gospel to accommodate secular trends resulting in churchianity rather than Christianity.

The Church of Wales is deformed with no apparent chance of correction. All of its bishops continue to show allegiance to posturings of the former archbishop. A form of succession which perpetuates his brand of radicalism has developed into a ministry not of hope but of despair. The consequences are dire.

For worshippers no longer able to tolerate the hypocrisy of the bench of bishops there is not the range of options available to disaffected Anglicans in England.

Assistance that may have been provided by provincial episcopal visitors from England to allow traditional parishes to flourish has been stymied by mean-spirited shepherds and shepherdesses who refuse to allow PEVs to cross the border.

Consequently most of Wales has been turned into a spiritual desert for traditionalist Anglicans. The faithful have been abandoned while the Church in Wales continues to pretend to be in fellowship within the Holy Catholic Church.

It is generally assumed that disaffected Anglicans will turn to Rome as the only practical alternative for those who need to find another spiritual home.

That is not so simple for conscientious worshippers who are drawn to the 'catholic and reformed' worship provided by the Anglican Church.

The Ordinariate was set up by Pope Benedict XVI to maintain Anglican patrimony. It allowed 'Anglicans to become Catholic while retaining elements of their identity', not that there is much opportunity to participate in Wales other than in SE Wales.

If that option is available the process of reception into another church after a lifetime of Anglican devotion is not an attractive option, particularly for those in declining years, often widows or widowers, cradle Anglicans who hoped to die as Anglicans as did their husband or wife.

In the absence of Anglican churches abroad visiting Anglicans have been permitted to receive at the local Catholic church but that does not apply in the wilderness created in Wales so the faithful are denied Holy Communion.

The bench of bishops speak of an inclusive church based on equality. It includes some but not others. There is no equality in that.

They are not fit for purpose.

In good faith and bad

A row has broken out in the diocese of Oxford because, horror of horrors, an advert for a new vicar at St Barnabas and St Paul with St Thomas the Martyr Parish specifies that it is seeking a male priest.

This is entirely within the rules adopted when the Church of England agreed to ordain women but of course rules are there to be broken now that feminists in the Church have what they always wanted - control.

According to an Oxford Mail report the advert provoked outrage in the community with one councillor 'slamming the church' for being 'too cowardly' to confront misogyny, presumably unaware that many women are more opposed to the ordination of women than are men and are suffering the consequences of effectively being excommunicated, a matter of complete indifference to the type of women who are calling the shots in the Church.

Showing her apparent ignorance of the workings of the Church, Labour city councillor for West Oxford Susanna Pressel said she was 'shocked and appalled' and asked: "What century are they living in?" She went on: “They have several excellent women church wardens who do most of the work. It’s profoundly insulting to regard them as not good enough to be paid for what they do. It’s such a pity that the government has exempted churches from the legislation that enforces equal opportunities in every other organisation of any size.

“The Church of England has the power to prescribe equal opportunities within their churches, but they are too cowardly to confront these dinosaurs and to challenge their misogyny."

It is not clear whether Cllr Pressel ever darkens the door step of a church other than perhaps in connection with her civic duties but in any event her understanding of the roles of vicar and churchwardens appear to be strictly limited.

Her support on the other hand for the 20th anniversary of the Oxford International Women’s Festival may explain her outrage. The theme was 'Pioneering and Inspirational' women.

Following on from the outrageous protests at the appointment of the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev Philip North, to become Bishop of Sheffield, this is yet another case of feminists bashing the church regardless of the facts and agreed procedures.

It was no surprise to read, therefore, that Emma Percy, chair of  the feminist pressure group Women and the Church (WATCH) said that she would like the church to be in a place where ‘people don’t worry about or have to specify the gender of their priest’ although she was kind enough to stress that she ‘respected’ the parish’s decision.

In England and in Wales women cried, begged and cajoled, promising to abide by agreements made but the ink was hardly dry before the wrecking began.

It is interesting to read in hindsight a WATCH paper written by the then canon F A Jackson, now archdeacon of Llandaff having been imported by the former archbishop of Wales to drive forward his secularisation of the Church in Wales.

The intention is clear. Despite claims to the contrary, there is no room for traditional Anglicanism in today's church. This from a woman who was welcomed by the Anglican church at a difficult time in her life only to do her damndest to punish men and women who do not share her self-centred approach to Anglicanism. In doing so the spiritual lives of many who were faithful Anglicans long before Jackson took to religion have been ruined.

One of the brightest stars in the Church in Wales, a traditionalist Anglican who towered above the bench, was told “There is no place for you in this church”. By contrast one of the many men he inspired to become ordained has risen to the top having bowed to Barry Morgan's secularist agenda.

Traditional Anglicans in the Church of England have, for the time being, access to alternative  episcopal oversight, something denied Anglicans in Wales where a 'brood of vipers' pretended to care but clearly did not.

The Code of Practice claimed "The Church in Wales therefore remains committed to enabling all its members to flourish within its life and structures as accepted and valued".  They reneged on the agreement to provide acceptable pastoral and sacramental oversight for traditionalists by refusing to re-appoint a Provincial Assistant Bishop and have forbidden other bishops to cross the border to support them.

Consequently Anglo Catholicism in Wales has been virtually eliminated. If by some miracle there were a change of heart there is hardly anything left of the Anglican church itself as it crumbles into obscurity leaving the architects of its demise to sit out their retirement on their un-earned pensions.

The media along with ill-informed outsiders continue to use secular values to attack Christianity from a position of ignorance while protecting political ideologies which would bridle free speech. For Christians and Anglicans in particular the outlook is grim.

Many were surprised at the choice of words used by the former Archbishop of Canterbury in reaction to the lost vote in 2012. In a speech to the General Synod he said, "The failure of the vote in the house of laity...had made the church's governing body appear "wilfully blind" to the priorities of secular society before adding that "the ultimate credibility of the Church does not depend on the goodwill of the wider public. We would not be Christian believers in divine revelation if we held that."

The Church of England, as represented by those in authority, is no longer blind to the priorities of secular society. Hence the mess we are in which is clear for all to see except the wilfully, spiritually blind.

The hypocrisy of it

The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd John Davies, makes the case for changing the Church in
Wales’s position on same-sex relationships at the recent meeting of its Governing Body, in Lampeter
Source: Church Times/Picture credit Church in Wales

From Church Times

Addressing their Governing Body the Archbishop of Wales claimed that the status quo on same-sex relationships was unsustainable.

"For him and the bench, it was simply a question of 'justice', he said. 'We have people in our congregations in committed same-sex relationships who can be baptised, confirmed, admitted to holy communion, and even be ordained in the case of civil partnerships. To say to them that, when it comes to formally affirming [and] recognising your relationship in some form, we can’t do that, and you must retreat into the shadows at the moment. . . I don’t think it’s any longer fair or sustainable'."

The bench have traditionalists in their congregations who have been baptised, confirmed and admitted to holy communion but they are also committed to the teaching of Christ through scripture and tradition.

They have been rejected so are unlikely to be ordained despite pledges in the Code of Practice.

That is unsustainable by normal standards but acceptable in the Church in Wales.

The stench of hypocrisy is overwhelming.

Viewed from the outside: The Church in Wales is dead.

At position 3.30 in the above video, the decision of the Church in Wales to find a way to introduce gay marriage is discussed.

Described along with the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Brazilian Church as "the least healthy Anglican churches in the world in terms of growth, membership and viability", the Church in Wales was said to be "drowning fast". Coincidental  or not, all three along with the US Episcopal Church were said to have led the charge on gay marriage.

The treatment of conservative elements by the hierarchy in Wales, particularly under former archbishop Barry Morgan, comes in for particular criticism: Traditionalists have been demonised as 'evil' or 'mentally deluded' for not thinking the same way as the bench.

It is a "dreadful environment" for traditionalists in the province of Wales says the Rev George Conger. They no longer want to raise their heads above the ridge because they are going to get their head chopped off.

Described in the video as a fertile mission field because "the faith is still there", the possibility of revival in Wales has been stymied  by the refusal of Church in Wales bishops to allow AMIE and other conservative elements to cross the border.

That was no barrier to the woman bishop invited to celebrate the Eucharist at Llandaff Cathedral even before women bishops were legal in the Church in Wales.

In the 'inclusive' Church in Wales you are welcome only if you are allied to the prevailing culture. Within a generation, says Conger, the Church in Wales will be gone. It is even less healthy than the Church of England which has twenty years to pull out of the nosedive. The Church in Wales has even less time. 

"The faith is still there but the leadership and institutions have failed. The Church in Wales is a dead church."

Murder but no revolution.

I dislike the phrase 'loved ones' but their fate sums up an impending catastrophe.

All those Parish and daughter churches so lovingly cared for by worshippers who lie buried in churchyards, perhaps to be joined by those for whom the penny has still to drop. Their graves will become overgrown with no-one to care for them as the churches close and are sold or left to decay.

Nobody in the liberal Church in Wales seems to care beyond short term gain. Ambition, gratification and relativism are all that matter.

A sad end to Anglicanism in Wales. Nobody will be tried for their crime, not in this life, but you have to wonder if the bishops believe in another life anyway. 

Church in Wales bench of bishops in renewed push for same sex marriage

FiF National Assembly 2013

Bishop of St Davids celebrating in the Pride Cymru faith tent

Forward in Faith (left)




       Backward in belief (right)









In biblical times priestesses were associated with pagan temples and fertility rites.

They and their sympathizers are now calling the tune in many churches, especially in Western Anglicanism.

Joining the homosexual obsessed bench of bishops which is hell bent on reflecting society rather than preaching the Gospel, the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales lost no time in identifying with LGBT campaigners. She was quickly followed by the second woman bishop who likewise flaunted her LGBT sympathies.

When the next vacancy arises the clamour will not  be for deeply spiritual man capable of steering the bench back on course but for parity resulting a half-and-half bench of women and men united in their desire to secularise the church.

The LGBT campaigning by the new women bishops made it clear where their main sympathies lay which explains their otherwise apparent lack of suitability for the office they hold, particularly so in the conservative Welsh speaking diocese of St Davids.

The same traits are evident in the Church of England and in the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC). Appointments have become managerial rather than spiritual. Consequently same sex marriage has become a recurrent theme in the Anglican Church as a new breed of bishops reflect rather than inform society about Christian beliefs and values.

The former Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, failed to force through gay marriage but his successor ('more of the same— but faster') is hell bent on forcing through this secular policy which is alien to Christian belief and out of step with Anglican teaching.

So desperate is the bench to ram through their secular policy that the Primus of the SEC, Mark Strange, has been invited to speak at the next meeting of the Governing Body to be held 12-13 Sept 2018.  He made headlines by calling for gay marriage in church in 2015 resulting in the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, threatening to ban the SEC.

Bishop Strange said: “The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church voted to change its canon on marriage. This decision was ours to take as a self-governing province of the Anglican Communion."

Strange indeed that the will of the Anglican Communion to remain faithful to the teaching of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church can be pushed to one side by manipulating a synod which is often dominated by activists and sycophants resulting in decisions contrary to the will of the membership.

In Wales the bench has developed a strategy of using 'advisory' consultations to supplement the heavily loaded 'advice' received from the Doctrinal Commission of the Church in Wales. This works only in the bishops' favour. It rubber stamps their decision if favourable to them but ignores results which they regard as unfavourable.

This procedure, contrary to the wishes of the majority, led to the silencing of many faithful Anglicans who felt bound by their faith rather than by GB decisions which merely reflect the whims of society.

Little surprise, then, that the latest (2017) Church in Wales regular attendance figures show a further fall of 3% to 27,359 representing only 0.8% of the population of Wales. Confirmations are down a massive 36% reflecting the ill-thought through policy of  'Confirmation no longer required for Holy Communion thrust on the church by the bench'.

Planned giving has also fallen for the seventh consecutive year, despite individual members continuing to "give sacrificially". The average giving per Sunday attender in 2017 was £9.65 per week.

Agendum 9 to be discussed at the next meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales is
Same Gender Relationships (continued)
Question and answer session with the Most Reverend Mark Strange, Primus of Scotland followed by discussion. Background paper, together with a procedural note (Word doc).

The introduction to the background paper is a pathetic attempt to justify pushing LGBT politics to the fore. The archbishop concludes his preamble with "Among the challenging issues currently facing the Church and its Bishops is that of the pastoral care of those, both lay and ordained, who are in same-gender relationships or who have same-gender sexual orientation."

In other words, pandering to a minority which is over-represented in the church in comparison with the total population of the UK.

At this point it is worth remembering that the bench could not care less for loyal, often cradle, Anglicans who have striven through all the problems put in front of them to uphold the faith of the Church handed down through the ages.

They are regarded as a dispensable minority. The former archbishop, Barry Morgan, signalled his intention to sideline worshippers who did not accept his plan to turn the Church in Wales into a sex-obsessed shadow of its former self in his outright refusal to appoint a replacement Provincial Assistant Bishop after the highly respected bishop David Thomas retired. He died a broken man after the way he was treated by the bench.

Continuing his duplicitous statement the current archbishop writes:
"As for the ways in which the Church should care for them there is clear division about the leadership which the Bishops can or should properly offer. There are those who call upon us to give a lead and make a change.  There are others for whom any such change would be seen as anathema.  But both groups are valued parts of our Church family which the Bishops are called both to lead and care for pastorally. And those whose lives, faith and loves are at the centre of this particular matter are to be found in our congregations, they are members of our Christian family and some are certainly serving members of the Governing Body.  They are not, in other words, people on the outside, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ and in faith."

Having cast aside  the 'lives, faith and loves' of traditionalists, Davies is able to claim that "those whose lives, faith and loves are at the centre of this particular matter are to be found in our congregations, they are members of our Christian family and some are certainly serving members of the Governing Body."

That is despite the constant complaints that LGBT people are excluded!

In a one-sided statement of intent, the Primus of the SEC has been invited to address Governing Body. He has already revealed that he had been in love with a man - presumably the reason for his invitation to speak.

The SEC Primate represents a church in which the first woman bishop to be enthroned made it clear that she is not interested in restricting herself to "prayers, pews and parochial parish life". She is focused on "fighting for social justice, sexual equality". Like the bishop of Llandaff  she was also appointed by bishops keen to get their secular message across.

There is no mention in the archbishop's note of the major row which erupted with half the paid clergy in one region of SEC rebelling over the appointment of their new bishop.

Neither is it mentioned that one of the largest churches in Edinburgh has voted to split from the Scottish Episcopal Church amid tensions over its decision to become the first Anglican body in the UK to endorse gay marriage.

If anything, the Scottish example is one of schism brought about by same sex marriage and appointments being made to increase the clamour for it.

By contrast there is no representative from the Church of Ireland Bishops who said there is "little appetite" across the entire island to redefine marriage.

In that regard, one priest has had the courage to stick his head over the parapet and put down the question:
"Are the Bench of Bishops able to explain why a Primate whose province upholds (and has reaffirmed) the doctrine of marriage as currently outlined in our prayer book, such as the Church of Ireland, has not been invited to speak on their processes for welcoming the LGBT community in the Church whilst not permitting same sex marriages, in order to complement the invitation of the Rt. Rev. Mark Strange and add to these important discussions?"

Bravo! But a lone voice crying in the wilderness.

Many people are drawing the conclusion that despite outward appearances the majority of Western Anglican bishops must be gay or have gay tendencies but that does not explain the urge to allow same sex marriage in church. Same sex partnerships have equal rights so why marriage, particularly marriage in church?

The Commandment 'Thou shalt not commit adultery' includes sex outside marriage. By permitting same sex marriage in church, mission accomplished having already re-written scripture to justify homosexuality.

Bishops may have no regard for their own souls but that is no excuse for putting the souls of their flock in jeopardy.

They have no business changing church doctrine on the basis that "the decision was ours to take as a self-governing province of the Anglican Communion". That attitude serves only to destroy the Communion that binds Anglicans together.

The church needs to clear out these impostors before all is lost.

Postscript [03.09.2018]

From a Church in Wales Provincial press release: Governing Body meeting – September 12-13 2018

"Examples of how churches across Wales are reaching out and taking the Christian message to those around them will be seen in a film at the meeting of the Church’s Governing Body which takes places on September 12-13 at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

"The film features six evangelism projects, one from each of the Church’s dioceses, and will form part of a report on evangelism and church growth."

This is the contribution form the Diocese of Monmouth in a film that clearly scratches around for ideas but more importantly for the bench of bishops provides further propaganda designed to sway Governing Body members into voting in favour of their same sex marriage in church policy:
Inclusive church – promoting an open and welcoming church at Rumney, Cardiff

Bishop Andy John

"The film will be introduced by the Bishop of Bangor, Andy John, on Thursday morning (September 13). He says, 'We want to show the amazing work which churches all over the country are doing to take Christ’s message of love out to the communities around them. They are not stories we hear about in the news and neither are they reflected in our membership statistics. But they speak powerfully of lively and enthusiastic people, inspired by the love of God and a ‘can do’ approach that is making a difference and changing lives'.”

Actually Andy, when it comes to the church we hear about little else. Inclusive church, bonds with other faiths, regardless of their beliefs, but nothing about the thousands of faithful Anglicans the bench has displaced.