More 'firsts' for the Church in Wales

The John/Starkey wedding, Bangor 2021      Source: Facebook

From Church in Wales Provincial news: 'Archbishop of Wales announces historic appointments at Cathedral':

"The Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, has announced the appointment of five distinguished individuals to serve as Honorary Canons at Saint Deiniol's Cathedral in Bangor. These appointments mark significant milestones in the Church in Wales, as they encompass a range of 'firsts' ."

Among the firsts is the second Mrs Andrew John, the Rev Naomi Starkey, who has been appointed one of three foundation canons who will be members of the Cathedral Chapter.

Another first is author Fr Jarel Robinson-Brown who becomes "the first gay, black Canon to serve in a Church in Wales Cathedral, a pioneering moment that highlights its commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Father Jarel, who will become Canon Preacher, holds joint British and Jamaican citizenship and is a much sought after preacher, having spoken recently at St Paul’s Cathedral, Yale Divinity School, and Oxford, Cambridge and Durham Universities. He is also co-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Christian Charity OneBodyOneFaith."

Among previous Church in Wales firsts are the first transgender priest and the first same-sex partnered lesbian bishop.

He/She?

Transgender couple who expect to welcome their baby soon,                               Source: BBC News 

She wants to be 'he'. He wants to be 'she'. He and she want a baby but 'she' doesn't have a womb so he ('she') has to carry the baby.

One would have thought the pickle the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, found herself in before deciding that a female prison wasn't the ideal location for a transgender rapist would have put the breaks on accepting individual whims. 

Not in Wales. The Welsh government has unveiled new proposals to follow Scotland and make it simpler for someone legally to change their gender.

The chaos is set to continue as Church of England bishops announce that they are launching a major 'project on gendered language' so that God could be referred to in 'non-gendered' terms in Church of England services, for example, 'Our non-gendered parent who art in heaven', the sort of language favoured by feminists in Women and the Church (WATCH) who have welcomed the start of "another project in the Church of England to look at the development of more inclusive language in our authorised liturgy."

Also back in the ring is patron of Humanists UK, Sandy Toksvig, who says, "I can't let the Church of England hurt LGBT people". She told the BBC: "Here's the thing about 'equality', it is not a word that you qualify, you either have it or you don't have it."

Whilst it is understandable that feminists in the Church will seek to bend scripture and twist theology for their own ends, non-believers such as humanists who have no interest in theology or the Church should mind their own business. 

Bishops of the Church must stand firm as doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving themselves.

Never, never, never trust a bishop!

Binding together                                                                                                                                            Source: FaceBook

'Never, never, never trust a Tory' was the infamous tweet from the bishop of St Davids. 

The bishop, Joanna Penberthy, issued an apology after a torrent of complaints: "On March 25th, 2021 I put out a private tweet about Conservative Party supporters which has caused offence and for which I sincerely apologise."

She later went on extended sick leave and has again been signed off. Readers will not wish the bishop ill but why did she not do the honourable thing and resign having offended just about everyone in her diocese and beyond who were not of her party political persuasion?

Archbishop Cranmer wrote in his blog, "The apology issued by the Bishop of St Davids (of the Church in Wales) in the wake of her ‘Never never never trust a Tory‘ tweet is disingenuous. It is expediently sly. In short, it is a lie."

The archbishop of Canterbury was 'deeply embarrassed,' but not Andy John, the future archbishop of Wales, who as the senior bishop issued this statement:

  “I think the question whether Bishop Joanna resigns is done and dusted”, Bishop Andy states. “She made clear that she regretted what she had to say… I think if we cannot provide a way in which people can acknowledge wrongdoing, learn from their mistakes, and come back, then it begs questions about whether we believe people can change. Whether or not we think the Christian faith is about second chances. To me, fundamentally, it’s about that. And those who are baying and frothing at the mouth seem to me to be part of what I think is quite pernicious in society: which is that we dress up in virtue – or in the language of virtue – a kind-of campaign to persecute.”

In a previous blog I wrote, "Having found 'Biblical support for church gay marriages' the divorced and re-married bishop of Bangor can no doubt justify anything he fancies."

The whole bench is committed to gay marriage. Some just cannot wait. 

The above photo has a caption from the Revd Sarah Hildreth-Osborn, leader of the chaplaincy service for the LGBTQIA+ community in the diocese of St Asaph where Gregory Cameron is bishop:

 "A huge thank you to Gregory K Cameron for conducting such a beautiful and life giving service for us at St Grwsts at lunchtime today, the blessing of our marriage. A reminder to all that it is only love that sets us free!!! Thank you so much Bishop Gregory 💕"

 As one correspondent put it, "If that isn’t mimicking a wedding, I don’t what does . . . binding with his stole and presumably saying, "Those whom God hath joined . . ."

The Rt Revd Gregory Cameron  received the Religious Leader Award 'for his leadership within the Church in Wales in bringing them to a point of enabling same-sex blessings'.

A news item issued by St Asaph diocese in December 2021 described the award as "Bishop Gregory honoured for his outstanding contribution to the lives of LGBT+ people of faith."

The bench has jumped the gun before. They could not wait to see a woman bishop celebrate the Eucharist so imported a converted Jewish, Episcopalian woman bishop from the United States before women bishops were legal in the Church in Wales.

These actions typify the current bench of bishops. 

What of others 'of faith' in the Church in Wales? They count for nothing. The Church in Wales has become obsessed with promoting just about anything LGBT+ . 

The bishop of Monmouth is the first same sex partnered bishop. The bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne appointed the first transgender priest and has recently appointed a same sex partnered dean of Llandaff, thus perpetuating their main mission as she retires. 

Osborne has long been associated with rumours of bullying tactics with a disciplinary panel finding she had a case to answer. 

The Vicar of Radyr submitted her resignation saying that she could no longer, with integrity, knowing the many things she knew, serve in the diocese where she believed a 'culture of fear' exists. A diocesan survey conducted after her initial exposure 'brought up the same results'.

Today it has been reported that the vicar of Aberporth has "quit his post after revealing a lengthy battle with mental health he says brought him to the brink of a nervous breakdown.

"In announcing his intention to leave the Anglican Church In Wales he also had harsh words for Bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy."

The Rev Christopher Frost said: "Earlier this week I tendered my resignation as vicar which was accepted by the Archbishop of Wales in the absence of Bishop Joanna."

The bench does as it pleases. They have no regard for the Christian message as received and delivered by others. Instead they distort it, a pretence intended to validate their own opinions while deceiving others.

The bench has become a self perpetuating clique leading others to perdition. Honour escapes them.

 

It leads one to believe never, never, never trust an Anglican bishop in Wales.

Postscript [27.09.2022]

Leaving the Church in Wales...but not the church in Wales. A broken vicar's story. God bless him.

  

"Bishops in our Church have too much power and far too little accountability which has the tendency to make a little chaos in our diocese particularly. When the bishop is installed, who is pleasant to be with in person, but who makes very divisive and unwise decisions that bring the whole Church into disrepute while also having a catastrophic effect on clergy morale is a problem being keenly felt in our diocese today. Also over the past five years or so, the teaching of the Church in Wales has been pulled very hard into what I consider to be a wildly liberal theological direction, one that no longer really represents truly the teachings of Jesus Christ on a number of key moral issues that are facing our society today. So the banner of the Church in Wales, the Anglican Church in Wales, is becoming one which is becoming just a bit too difficult for me in good conscience to work under any more." - Rev Christopher Frost in a video posted to YouTube.

Brainwashed

"No more lies and fairy tales."

Answering a question at the Senedd about the inclusion of trans athletes in sport, the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, acknowledged it was an "argument that divides people" but confirmed that he believes "transgender women are women" after being pushed to define what a woman is during a session at the Senedd.

Mr Drakeford said: "My starting point is the same as Penny Mordaunt’s – the UK minister responsible at the time – who said that the UK Government’s starting point was that transgender women are women. That’s my starting point in this debate...I do not understand the point that the member makes that you can be too inclusive. To me, inclusivity is absolutely what we should be aiming for here.

He is wrong. Inclusivity has become a nightmare, forcing people to accept what logic dictates is absurd. It is imposed in the workplace and in schools with individuals demanding the use of preferred pronouns. Everyone is being caught up in a charade that attracts accusations of homophobia if there is any hint of dissent as J K Rowling discovered for tweeting that 'transgender women cannot change their biological sex'.  

A man may go through various procedures to make him appear to be a woman but male cannot be changed to female or vice versa. 

Some poor souls embark on irreversible procedures which they later very much regret. The above video was posted in support of a Twitter thread by @TullipR which reads: "I want to tell everyone what they took from us, what irreversible really means, and what that reality looks like for us. No one told me any of what I’m going to tell you now." The description is heart-rending as is the video.

All the more disturbing, then, to read that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health  has lowered its recommended minimum age for starting gender transition treatment, including sex hormones to 14 with some surgeries done at age 15 or 17.

According to a trans activist woman who detransitioned in 2018 many people who have gender reassignment regret the decision and want to return to their original sex. Charlie Evans says that hundreds of people who want to return to their original gender have contacted her since she announced her de-transition and stopped taking her hormone therapy. 

She said, "The number of young people seeking gender transition is at the highest it has ever been, but little is reported about how many of them regret the decision later, finding they are unhappy with their new gender."

Others counter that it was the best thing they ever did. One trans woman speaking on the BBC's Prejudice and Pride programme claimed just that, largely it appeared because she was able to buy and wear a pair of women's suede boots which she had coveted for years, a relatively harmless desire compared with the trauma of a penectomy. 

She had been married and had a family before transitioning but the happiness felt by her and those like her is no excuse for expecting the rest of us to accept self identification theories made fashionable in gender studies .

But where is the leadership?

We should be able to expect more from our political leaders than a nod to what is trendy in defiance of the facts.

NHS miscarriage statistics illustrates the absurdity of pandering to the few. In this example 'Women' was changed to 'people' because "the word woman in the eyes of the NHS is a word which dare not speak its name all because they are afraid of upsetting a tiny minority in the intolerant trans activist cult."

We should expect more not only from our political leaders but our religious leaders, trendy bishops who preach inclusivity and diversity contrary to biblical teaching. 

As one commentator put it, bishops these days are more likely to be informed by the Guardian than by the Bible.

Postscript [18.06.2022]

From The Telegraph (£): "We are sacrificing our children on the altar of a brutal, far-Left ideology. The medical profession is crumbling in response to radical transgender activists" - JORDAN PETERSON

Video reading here:

Attitude! - The decline of the Church in Wales

Transgender award recipient, Rev Sarah Jones    Source:Twitter

Tweets from the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales have become notorious, causing the Archbishop of Canterbury to be ‘deeply embarrassed’.

The first transgender priest in the Church in Wales has also been tweeting, puffed up with pride after receiving an award from Attitude magazine.

The Rev Sarah Jones was 'ecstatic'. She said, "I'm honoured to be in such company. The LGBTQIA+ community are wonderful and glorious. You add immeasurably to the beauty of this world."

Sarah Jones speaks about the award here, proclaiming the message "God loves me".

And me. And me. And me.... The assertion is constant in endless self promoting tweets. 

Do as you please because God loves you for being who you are. 

No more struggles with temptation as Christ was tempted in the wilderness. How wonderful!

Christ came into the world to save sinners but He is not needed in the Church in Wales because sin has been banished. There are no sinners, just loved ones.

 

There is a certain irony in this. There has been much criticism of the bishop of Monmouth for living in a lesbian relationship but spiritually, for me, she is head and shoulders above most of her fellow bench sitters, not that it justifies her ordination! 

Then there is the bishop of Bangor who, again, for me, has an evangelical zeal superior to others on the bench but is the husband of a second wife following divorce.

Church in Wales bishops have become adept at interpreting the Bible to suit their cause.

The consequence is that the Church in Wales is regarded as a joke in the Anglican world, providing sinecures for 'bishops' who spend disproportionate amounts of time promoting political and LGBTQA+ causes rather than the need for repentance.

Decline is inevitable.

Postscript

June Osborne @BishopJuno has tweeted:

"Such a well deserved award. So proud to have Sarah as a colleague and grateful for the inspiration she brings to Llandaff."

Another Church in Wales 'bishop' shows where her priorities lie.

Call me madam!

Dr Mackereth says he lost his job doing assessments for the DWP because he believed using
transgendered pronouns were against his conscience (Picture: Christian Concern/BPM Media)

It has been widely reported that a Christian doctor was ‘sacked’ for refusing ‘to call any 6ft bearded man madam’:

"Dr David Mackereth, 56, claims the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) discriminated against his religious beliefs because he would not use pronouns relating to people’s ‘chosen’ sex. 

"The disability claim assessor has taken his case to an employment tribunal after allegedly being suspended from his post following a conversation with a manager at Birmingham’s Fiveways assessment centre in June 2018. 

"‘In truth, the argument between us arose not because of any realistic concerns over the rights and sensitivities of transgender individuals, but because of my refusal to make an abstract ideological pledge to call any six-feet tall bearded man “madam” on his whim,’ Dr Mackereth said in a statement."

The 'gender identity' crisis continues. 

An explanatory note appears below examples of gender pronouns on the "Transforming Education" site Trans Students Educational Resources:

There are no “male/female” or “man/woman” pronouns. All pronouns can be used for any gender and are gender neutral.

We also do not use “preferred pronouns” due to people generally not having a pronoun “preference” but simply having “pronouns.” Using “preferred” can accidentally insinuate that using the correct pronouns for someone is optional.

[image description: a chart of some gender pronouns by Trans Student Educational Resources. The columns are the “subjective, objective, possessive, and reflexive” part of each pronoun set and an example.

The first pronoun set is she, her, hers, and herself. The examples are “she is speaking. I listened to her. The backpack is hers.”

The second set is he, him, his, himself. The examples are “he is speaking. I listening to him. The backpack is his.”

The third set is (singular) they, them, theirs, themself. The examples are “they are speaking. I listened to them. The backpack is theirs.”

The fourth set is ze, hir or zir, hirs or zirs, hirself or zirself. If used it would be ze/hir/hirs/hirself or ze/zir/zirs/zirself. The graphic happened to combine them into one row. The examples included “ze is speaking. I listened to hir. The backpack is zirs.”

A note at the top reads “Please note these are not the only pronouns. There are an infinite number of pronouns as new ones emerge in our language. Always ask someone for their pronouns.

Got that? 

If not you are likely to be labelled phobic for not lapping up the latest trend even if the evidence before your eyes contradicts what you are instructed to believe.

 The situation has become so confusing that school pupils in Brighton were given pronoun stickers to "help" transgender children.

Concern is now being expressed over the "rocketing number" of children seeking to change sex. It has become a national scandal according to a powerful coalition of whistleblowers, academics and medical experts'.

Source: Daily Mail

The experts' concerns are laid bare in a forthcoming book of essays entitled Inventing Transgender Children And Young People. It challenges what it calls the 'dangerous' transgender ideology promoted in schools, universities, the NHS and other public institutions.

"Heather Brunskell-Evans, a former research fellow at King's College London, who co-edited the book, said that 30 years ago the thought of a child being born in the wrong body would have made no sense to the public.

"She added: 'Now the idea, which was invented by specialists in gender medicine and transgender activists, has become universally accepted.

"'But we are collectively arguing that this unquestioning acceptance poses a serious threat to children's well-being and safety. We hope through this book to bring the world's attention to the public scandal of transgendering children.'"

Next up, 'normalising paedophilia right in front of our eyes': 

"Follow the trajectory and it is not hard to see where we go next. Ten years ago, there was no such thing as "drag kids" or drag queen story hours. Leftists would have called you a paranoid lunatic had you predicted that such things would come to pass. Now both are utterly commonplace, yet leftists will insist that even though grown men in dresses like to hang out with little children at libraries, and adults like to go to gay bars to watch boys dance around in skirts and high heels, there is nothing sexual about any of it. Ten years from now, or maybe sooner, they will admit that it is sexual but insist that there is nothing wrong with a young boy and a grown man getting together, so long as it is consensual. You do not need to be Nostradamus to see this next step. It is right in front of us, clear as day." [H/T Anglican Mainstream]

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” 

— Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa

Postscript [17.07.2019]

Mail Online: Branded a 'bigot' for standing up for his Christian beliefs, Dr Mackereth who refused to call a 6ft bearded man 'madam' take it as a 'badge of honour'.


Postscript [21.07.2019]

Bishop Gavin Ashenden: "Have a look at what is actually taught in LGBT lessons in UK primary schools. Take the time to watch this so that you know what is really happening. It’s not what they said. It’s not what you thought."

Llandaff lie exposed

Rev Sarah Jones spreading the word on  gender and sexuality                                                                                                                                   Source: Twitter 

First transgender priest Sarah Jones must be gutted after securing only a brief appearance in the local news slot on BBC TV Breakfast time this morning.

I have been unable to find a recording of her interview but if I understood her correctly she was once again attempting to spread the message she has been hawking around the world, that all religions needed to be more inclusive. "Christian churches are not known for being wildly inclusive of this kind of diversity", she said, even taking her transgender message to school.

Coming after she told the reporter how wonderfully accepting and understanding her new congregation was, the alleged non-acceptance of LGBT people appeared to be exposed as a lie designed to further the cause of a minority group whose influence is out of all proportion to their numbers and something the bishop of Llandaff and her sister bishop of St Davids have been busy promoting.

The consequences of this madness is becoming increasingly apparent as published in the Washington Times: Transgender wrestler wins second straight Texas girls' high school title

Source: Twitter

No male and female but yes to transgender!

Galatians 3:28 has for years been used and abused by progressives in the Church to justify their gender agenda. 

There may be no male and female in their book but officially there are trans-gendered.

Transgender people who were baptized into Christ and clothed themselves with Christ can now be re-clothed according to guidance issued by the Church of England.

New pastoral guidance encourages clergy to be “creative and sensitive” in using liturgy to enable people to mark a major transition in their lives. It formally commends the incorporation of the existing rite for the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith into services which mark gender transition. It advises that the occasion should have a distinct “celebratory character”.

The guidance emphasises that "the Church of England welcomes and encourages the unconditional affirmation of trans people, equally with all people within the body of Christ, and rejoices in the diversity of that body into which all Christians have been baptized by one Spirit."

"All people" should be interpreted as some people. Those who the progressives favour, not orthodox Anglicans.

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.

Errors

Revd Sarah Jones                                                                                          Source: Church in Wales

From a Llandaff Diocesan press release "Cardiff’s new city centre vicar the Revd Sarah Jones is to be licensed tomorrow (October 18) in a special service at St John’s Church".

She takes over at St John’s from Canon Dr Sarah Rowland Jones who left the diocese in the Spring after four years in the post to become "Dean of St David’s [sic] Cathedral". That is after extensive, expensive refurbishment of the deanery which had satisfied the requirements of numerous male Deans before her.

St David's should be St Davids (Communications Officer please note) but that is not the only error.

According to the press release: "Hailing originally from London, where she lived until her mid-twenties, the keen musician worked in sales and management and training roles before returning to education as a mature student to study Experimental Psychology. After university she ran a consultancy in addition to playing on the acoustic music scene before finally putting herself forward as a candidate for ordination".

Actually he lived in London. By her mid twenties she was "a married man, working in industry". The Rev Sarah Jones spent more than half her life as a man before becoming the Church of England’s first gender-change priest, something of which she claims to be proud.

Wanting to raise awareness her blog is headlined "Transgender Priest; Singer-Songwriter".

Odd, then, that the Church in Wales should be so coy about an aspect of the Revd Sarah Jones' life of which she claims to be particularly proud.

Could it be that she has come 'Out4Marriage' which is not the policy of the Church in Wales despite the efforts of the bench of bishops to make it so?

Ignoring the facts the bishop of Llandaff is in error as she thumbs her nose at the wishes of the dwindling number of Anglicans in Wales, pursuing her feminist agenda instead of spreading the Gospel of Christ.

Jolly June's folly?

Source: Twitter

Last year the Pride Cymru Eucharist Service was celebrated by Joanna Penberthy, the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales. In another first, the Rev Sarah Jones, the first transgender priest in the Church of England, was chosen to celebrate Holy Eucharist in a move that could be regarded as a calculated snub to supporters of traditional marriage.

It is a mystery why someone who has complained about being "OUTed" (see the 3.45pm event, above) would want to attract so much publicity but the Rev'd Sarah Jones is not shy when it comes to preaching about same sex marriage:

From her own website: "Before ordination Sarah played on the UK acoustic music scene...Sarah also speaks to conferences and groups on a range of topics including sex and gender, social influence, leadership and diversity."

Currently Rector of St Mary’s Ross-on-Wye, St Michael’s Walford and St Michael’s Brampton Abbotts, Sara Jones has been appointed to the post of Priest in Charge of The City Parish of St John The Baptist, Cardiff, described as being at the heart of Cardiff City Centre and a significant post in the Diocese of Llandaff.

From St John's website:
"The City Parish of St John the Baptist is among the oldest in Cardiff. The church is next to city centre's covered market, and is the oldest remaining mediaeval building in the city after Cardiff Castle, dating from the 12th century.

"Cardiff University Chaplaincy and its main campus are within the City Parish."

I have found no obvious explanation for this import from the Church of England to be vicar of the capital's civic church so unless she was the only applicant it appears to be yet another case of Church in Wales politics which saw the first woman bishop appointed.

The bishop of Llandaff was appointed by the bench of bishops after the rejection of Dean Jeffrey John's candidature. Undoubtedly better qualified than the current bench, Jeffrey John's promotion of the LGBT agenda was too much for many. He also came Out4Marriage.

Barry Morgan and his bench sitters failed in their bid to get the Church in Wales to accept same sex marriage but the bishop of Llandaff has appointed an advocate of that policy to one of the most significant posts in the Diocese of Llandaff in a move that appears to be a calculated thumbing of the nose to those who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others and for life, the official position of the Church in Wales.

Same-sex marriages and transgender madness

From: Coalition for Marriage (C4M)

European Court orders all EU countries to recognise same-sex marriages

Dear marriage supporter,

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ordered all EU countries to recognise same-sex marriages, even if they are illegal under national law.

In a ruling last week the Court ordered Romania to grant residency to an American man who married a Romanian man in Belgium. This is despite Romania’s laws only recognising marriage between a man and a woman.

Eight EU member states support real marriage through their laws, including Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia. They now face being forced to recognise extra-territorial same-sex marriages in their immigration and welfare systems despite there being no democratic mandate to do so.

Across the world, same-sex marriage has been brought in through the back door without a popular mandate.

In the United Kingdom (aside from Northern Ireland) it was introduced by David Cameron’s government despite not being in his party’s election manifesto.

In America it was forced on all states by the judiciary of the Supreme Court.

And now across the European Union member states will be forced by this court judgment to recognise marriages in other states which would be illegal under their own national law.

There is cause to take heart in all of this: despite what we are often told, same-sex marriage is not universally accepted or approved. If it were, there would be no need for such underhand tactics the world over in making it legal.

Doctor dropped by DWP for asserting biological reality

A senior doctor who was set for a role as a disability assessor at the Department for Work and Pensions has been dropped due to his belief in the biological basis of gender.

Dr David Mackereth has worked as an NHS doctor for 26 years. He told his instructor that as a Christian his faith would not allow him to use a person’s preferred gender when writing reports if that gender was not their biological one. His contract was subsequently terminated.

It says something for the bullying and bigotry of the transgender zealots in government that a man with a quarter of a century of public service behind him can be treated in such a disgraceful way.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) Thomas Pascoe

Campaign Director
Coalition for Marriage (C4M)

Donate

Zebras?

Hi there! Great to meet another zebra.

Has the Church of England gone completely mad? 

Transgender people are to be encouraged to become priests in a new diversity drive launched by bishops.

In a move likely to drive more Anglicans from the Church, the notion of a biological man who self-identifies as a woman standing at the altar is topped only by a biological woman standing there self identifying as a man in the person of Christ.

It cannot get any worse when bishops turn tragedy into mockery. No wonder Anglicanism is in crisis. 

Mirror, mirror, on the wall....

The Church of England's House of Bishops voted Tuesday to block the creation of a new liturgy
to celebrate  gender transition but urged bishops to use the existing baptism rite as a way
 to mark the passage. (Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images)/theblaze

...who’s the fairest of them all? - Neither Church nor State that's for sure. Both are engaging in absurd distortions of reality.

General Synod paper GS Misc 1178 provides an "update" on ‘Welcoming Transgender People’, as if they are not welcome already, using the now familiar propaganda techniques of exploiting the 'victim' status - see earlier entry - just as the LGBT lobby has done to secure a dedicated chaplaincy and "a safe, sacred space for our LGBTI+ friends to share their stories, explore their faith and enjoy time together with no fear of judgement" -  [click here and scroll down to "Open Table come as you are"].

In July 2017 the General Synod carried, "with strong support in all three Houses, a motion brought forward by the Blackburn Diocesan Synod, that this Synod, recognising the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person’s gender transition."

'Theblaze' summerises how the Church of England’s House of Bishops voted on Tuesday to block the creation of a new liturgy to celebrate gender transition. Bishops were urged instead to use the existing baptism rite as a way to mark the passage. Dodging the concept of second baptisms the Church of England has instead given the green light to using existing liturgies similar to the way gay unions are being blessed with all the outward appearances of church marriages.

The State, as in NHS England, is also pandering to fashion as if money were no object in offering biological males a smear test for cervical cancer if they identify as females, even though they do not have female organs, while women who could be at risk but identify as men are not being routinely offered potentially life saving NHS screening for breast and cervical cancer amid fears it might offend them.

If people want to ignore their biological sex they are free to do so but they should not expect others to engage in their fantasies. Cervical Cancer Prevention Week from 22-28 January.

A cabbage by any other name...

A rose?                                                                                  Source: Wikipedia

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" wrote William Shakespeare but 'love' as used by progressives in the Church is stinking to high heaven.

No matter how crazy the idea, stamp 'love' on it and anyone disapproving is labeled a bigot.

"Love"                                                             Source: Reuters/Christian Today

The people of Australia are the latest to be persuaded that marriage can be redefined to mean other than joining one man and one women by using 'love' as an umbrella. As their  Prime Minister said "they voted yes for love". Who wouldn't? But that is not the question.

The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, said he was 'deeply disappointed that the likely result will be legislation to further deconstruct marriage and family in Australia'.

Not so with most of our Anglican bishops in Great Britain who take a more secular view.

Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?"

That will be all Greek to the bishops so they should know that Éros was not what Christ had in mind when he pressed Peter to understand what tending His flock would entail.

In their latest jaunt into secularism the bishops of the Church of England have issued transphobic bullying guidance. In their logic, bullying must be tackled head on, gender difference can give rise to bullying, therefore "Primary schoolchildren should be free to dress up in a tiara or superhero cloak without comment from teachers or pupils". 

No wonder Stonewall, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights group, said the guidance gave "clear advice" to teachers on recognising and combating bullying in Church schools.

 The number of children who underwent transgender treatment in the UK's National Health Service jumped by 1,000 percent in the five years to 2016. One would have thought that would cause the bishops some concern. Instead they use this tragic upsurge to bolster their secular agenda.

A question I often hear asked is What has happened to the church? I suspect many readers will know clergy who changed their minds over the ordination of women when they saw which way the wind was blowing. A convenient career choice which put them in the ascendancy to the detriment of those who fought to keep the faith. The Anglican church has gone downhill ever since. Faith and logic no longer apply.

Women's and gender studies and more serious matters

Camille Paglia explains why women's and gender studies departments should be defunded pic.twitter.com/LZyb3aJC1q

— Yeyo (@YeyoZa) October 16, 2017

"If civilization had been left in female hands, we would still be living in grass huts." - Professor Camille Paglia

I spotted this video of Professor Camille Paglia on Twitter @YeyoZa explaining why women's and gender studies departments should be defunded. I found it rather amusing after all the feminist claptrap which has infected the Anglican Church over recent years.

The so-called glass ceiling in the secular world was broken years ago. There is no shortage of women presenters, commentators, interviewers, interviewees, etc, etc, etc but still Women And The Church (WATCH) and their allies whinged on, insisting that the church followed to set an example! So the stained glass ceiling has been shattered, as has the Anglican Church in Great Britain with further decline shown in the latest report.

For people who follow the downward spiral of the Church in Wales, the name of the Archdeacon of Llandaff will spring to mind. She torpedoed any meaningful alternative provision with her phony Code of Practice and is now a leading light in MAE Cymru, the WATCH sister organisation in Wales.  MAE Cymru stands for ‘Merched a’r Eglwys’ (‘women and the church’). Their priority is parity dressed up as equality to ensure that merit plays no further part in the selection process.

The  bishop of St Davids and the bishop of Llandaff are happily obliging with their first appointments, the first female Dean of St Davids and the bishop of Llandaff's new female chaplain. Both bishops are keen on advancing LGBTQI+ issues leading to more confusion especially among the young and vulnerable as the traditional male role model ceases to exist.

Reported in the Guardian, More than 60 children a day calling Childline with suicidal thoughts. Figures from Childline represent a 15% increase on the previous year. They list four main HELP categories: Sexuality,  Peer pressure, Faith and religious bullying, and Sexual abuse.

Social networking provides opportunities for contact undreamed of by a generation which recalls the age of the Telegram as the deliverer of urgent, often unwelcome, news. Today children can be in contact with anyone anywhere in the world and there are plenty of predators eager to exploit any opportunity leading children, literally, to expose themselves creating a vulnerability to be exploited.

Quite often children are much smarter than their parents when it comes to IT. They have tablets to aid their school work and smartphones to keep in touch, but with whom? The Xbox and similar consoles provide further opportunities for exploitation by the unscrupulous with parents often unable to keep tabs on all the electronic opportunities which many parents do not understand or ignore so long as their children are occupied.
 
Added to this, image, particularly among girls has reached crisis proportions. I often find it incongruous listening to an overpaid, excessively made-up presenter reporting on women struggling to feed their children. No heavy make-up with plucked and painted eyebrows for them. They are the grim reality, the victims in a society obsessed with image. So much so that if a boy prefers to be seen as a girl or vice versa he/she is actively encouraged while ignoring the well documented dangers suggesting a re-run of the problems complained of by Professor Paglia.

I see from the Telegraph in that the latest twist in the transgender debate is about to engulf the Monks of Mt Athos who fear that a new law will allow people to change their gender letting women into their all-male sanctuary.

Amidst all this so-called equality, inequality has become more marked. Just try joining a women's group as a man if you doubt it. Where will it end?

Postscript [19.10.2017]

'Heartbreaking' rise in self-harm among young teenage girls
Self-harm among young teenage girls rose nearly 70 per cent after 2011, due partly to “extreme” obsession with social media compared to boys, a new study has found. Full report here.

Keeping up

Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities

It has been reported in the Mirror and elsewhere that the Equalities Minister Justine Greening has urged faith leaders to "keep up" with 21st Century attitudes as she "piled pressure" to let gay couples marry in church. With that attitude she could be a bishop in the Church of England. They need no encouragement from Cabinet Ministers to follow a secular agenda.

As the first openly gay woman in the Conservative cabinet perhaps the Minister of Equalities feels it incumbent upon her to promote the LGBT lifestyle of 1.7% of the population over the interests of the majority 98% . This trend has been evident in the church when gay conference delegates and Synod members have taken a decision to vote 'as a gay person' instead of representing the views of their congregations when they have voted.

In April this year the BBC announced a major new season, Gay Britannia, marking the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act and heralded as "Bold and provocative stories celebrate the LGBTQ community". A change from the usual TV diet of murder and mayhem but many of these programmes have become more promotional than informative, encouraging people to celebrate diversity rather than simply accept difference or, as Ms Greening would have it,  'keep up with 21st Century attitudes'.

'Keeping up' has, step by step, led to an eight-month-old Canadian baby being issued with a health card that does not specify the child's sex at the request of parent Kori Doty, a non-binary transgender parent who identifies as neither male nor female.

The Equalities Minister has also announced that she wants to reform the 2004 Gender Recognition Act to make the transgender process less intrusive. Currently people must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition where a person's biological sex and identity does not match, so the UK government is considering plans to make the process of changing legal gender easier.

No longer capable of coping with the obvious, at a High School in Connecticut, a 15-year-old boy with a moustache recently crushed female competitors in track and field, "to the great dismay of the girls who had spent many intense days training so hard".

The boy identifies a girl in his self-proclaimed “gender identity” which is regarded as fair in the bizarre universe of modern-day LGBTQ liberalism. The equality movement has inspired transgender athletes to join teams of their preferred gender which often means biological males are competing against biological females on women’s teams.

When the BBC announced that Dr Who is to be transgendered in the name of 'equality', former Doctor Who, Peter Davison, said that casting a woman means another loss of a 'role model' for boys, part of a wider problem for boys in their formative years now that school teachers are predominantly women.

In an article for the BBC, Katie Price poses the question, "Jobs for the boys? - The top roles women have never had", complaining that there has not yet been a woman archbishop. She may be unaware that there has been one in the United States in the person of former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, who continues to be held as a role model despite her disastrous tenure in office suggesting that the church is being used as a means of advancing secular causes.

But to what end? According to a recent report in "significant parts of the United States, TEC has ceased or will soon cease to have a meaningful presence" and "there is much for wider Anglicanism to learn from the U.S. experience". It has been estimated the the Church in Wales will become extinct in a generation.

Nevertheless, in her enthronement sermon the new bishop of Llandaff claimed her dear friend the former Presiding Bishop as an 'episcopal mentor' when she said:

 "Well, I have under God just been anointed for the work of Bishop of Llandaff and it’s very special that it was Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori who commissioned me for that task.  I am proud to call her a dear friend and now an episcopal mentor. Her time as Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church took her around the Anglican family worldwide and so to be anointed by her is a very great privilege. She brings with her that experience of the universal church, socially and culturally diverse, and our call to share God’s desire for a reconciled creation and transformed world."

Step by step the church has "kept up" resulting disunity and a possible split between liberal progressives and orthodox traditionalists.

Ms Greening would do well to look to the difficulties of running the country and keep her secular nose out of matters of faith which clearly she does not understand.

Dumbed-down, dressed down, let down

The Church of England at Synod

Who needs scripture, tradition or reason when a few dozen like-minded people can gather together in His name to make up the rules as they go along?

The headline in Plant Transgender after the transgender blessing debate was 'Church of England votes to bless transgender lives'. This is the attitude the Church has validated and sums up the current trajectory of the Church of England as progressives pander to lobbyists who seek to make the church more relevant to society regardless of the evidence and views of the wider Christian Church:

  "Imagine awakening one Sunday morning joining with your family at church for a special service to celebrate your authentic gender?  A coming out like never before is taking place at the Church of England, the third largest Christian communion in the world. Blessed by your church you would find yourself confident, spiritually empowered and ready to face life as never before. A motion to make this a reality has been agreed on during the Church’s four-day general synod meeting in York which started on Friday. but may take three years to finalize."

As the Rev Peter Ould put it, 'T is for Tearing up the Rules of Anglicanism'. Listen to his excellent podcast on Radio Free Canterbury here.

On their web site the Church of England proclaims 'a Christian presence in every community'. That is a presence for all on equal terms but now there is a special welcome for LGB+T people who claim they want to be treated the same as everyone else while demanding special treatment.

Also, clergy are to be allowed to ditch their robes in a 'further sign of dress-down Britain'. This is likely to result in some bizarre sights removing any semblance of the 'otherness' as mystery is replaced by the commonplace.

Again and again the bishops of an Anglican Church have let down those they are meant to guide.

Is the Anglican Church Going Completely Mad?

Susan Musgrove, centre, with, left, Rev Cecilia Eggleston, Paster of the Metropolitan Community
 Church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Rev David Hewlett, Vicar of Corbridge, before the start of the
Affirmation service for Susan at St Andrew’s Church, Corbridge, Northumberland. Source: Guardian

"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28

For years Galatians has been (ab)used by liberals in the Anglican church to justify just about every departure from Scripture starting with the ordination of women. Now that sameness has been exhausted, difference is back on the agenda.

After he was approached by a young transgender person seeking to be “re-baptised” in his new identity, the vicar of Lancaster Priory has proposed a motion to the General Synod to debate plans to introduce a ceremony "akin to a baptism" to mark the new identities of Christians who undergo gender transition.

These are the preparatory words used in the Church of England's Baptism service: 

 
  Our Lord Jesus Christ has told us
  that to enter the kingdom of heaven
  we must be born again of water and the Spirit,
  and has given us baptism as the sign and seal of this new birth.
  Here we are washed by the Holy Spirit and made clean.
  Here we are clothed with Christ,
  dying to sin that we may live his risen life.
  As children of God, we have a new dignity
  and God calls us to fullness of life.

The vicar could have replied that the Sacrament of Holy Baptism cannot be repeated. What does he hope to achieve by embroiling Synod in yet more turmoil?