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| Former Dean of Llandaff, Rev Gerwyn Capon Source: CinW |
The Bishop of St Asaph has announced the appointment of a new Archdeacon of Montgomery.
The Revd Gerwyn Capon will take up the post following the retirement of the current Archdeacon, the Venerable Dr Barry Wilson, in August.
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| Bishop Dyer has a month to enter her plea ahead of the hearing in Edinburgh in September. Source: Mail Online |
In a previous entry (2018) I commented on a statement by the new Episcopalian Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in which she made it clear she was not interested in restricting herself to "prayers, pews and parochial parish life". She would be focused on "fighting for social justice, sexual equality".
Clearly she would have been better employed as a social worker than pretending to be a man of God.
Postscript (14.06.2024)
From BBC News: "Members of the Scottish Episcopal Church who raised concerns about the behaviour of Scotland's first female bishop are urging its senior leader to address what they have described are "baseless accusations" of homophobia and misogyny." Details here.
From Wikipedia: "In February 2021, Dyer was accused of bullying by a number of clergy, laypeople and church employees in The Times.[15] In March 2021, the College of Bishops commissioned Iain Torrance to lead an Independent Review into "difficulties" in the Diocese following a series of allegations regarding the Bishop.[16] In August 2021 the College of Bishops announced their intention to defer publication of the report and move to a second stage of reviewing." Details here.
Standing in the rain outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced that there would be a General Election on 4 July, 2024.
Inclement weather was not the only thing Rishi Sunak was forced to deal with. He had to battle against a loud speaker which almost drowned him out as protesters played 'Things Can Only Get Better'!
Protesters now do as they please, disrupting the free movement of traffic, defacing works of art and public monuments, all under the guise of free speech.
Those of us who are sick and tired of protesters who abuse our freedoms to beat us over the head with will have ample opportunity to demand to know from candidates what they and their Parties propose to do to defend true British values against such abuse.
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| Llandaff Cathedral Source: Church in Wales |
"The Church in Wales is taking a further step towards changing its rules so same-sex weddings can take place in its churches. Since 2021 it’s been possible for gay couples who have exchanged wedding vows in a civil ceremony to have their new status blessed in a church service. But so far the necessary constitutional move has not been made to permit weddings themselves.
"According to the Church in Wales’ own rules, all three of its sections – clergy, bishops and lay members – must approve such a change, each by a two-thirds majority. But while senior figures are confident that the clergy and bishops would approve the change, they have not been sure of the lay section, a significant number of whom maintain the conservative view that marriage can only be between a man and a woman."
As previously reported, Llandaff Cathedral is to hold a national memorial service for "people who have suffered exclusion from Christian communities because of their sexuality or gender". It is organised by OneBodyOneFaith, the UK’s oldest Christian LGBT+ members’ network, in partnership with The Gathering, an LGBT+ church in Cardiff, and supported by Church in Wales bishops.
The advancement of LGBTQ+ issues now appears to be the main focus of the Church in Wales as they continue to exclude those who keep the faith.
Current Church in Wales rules provide for same-sex blessings following a Civil Ceremony of Marriage or Partnership in a five year experimental rite which expires on 30 September 2026.
The Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, has expressed his hope that same-sex weddings will then be held in churches in Wales.
To that end the consecration of 'the youngest person ever to become a bishop in the Church in Wales' may have more to do with the fact that the new assistant bishop of Bangor is engaged to a man in a same-sex partnership.
Postscripts
17.05.2024
Church Times (£): Bishop of Lancaster: I cannot judge Welsh bishop
"Provincial autonomy trumps personal convictions about sexuality for Dr Duff at the consecration of the new Assistant Bishop of Bangor."
18.05.2024
Anglican Ink: The start of an episcopal free for all?
The above video highlights the persecution of Christians in India.
The Church Times reports how Peers were told of attacks and discrimination suffered by Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan.
The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, said that fewer than 2% of the population of Pakistan were Christian but Christians accounted for more than 80 % of the sewerage and street-cleaning workforce, "where hazardous conditions and a lack of workplace health and safety regulations and protective equipment cause untold preventable accidents, illnesses, and deaths. The accounts of their working conditions are truly repugnant, made even more shocking by the fact that the government agencies advertise cleaning positions for Christians and other religious minorities only."
Lord Alton who introduced the topic said that 3.72 % of the 230 million people in Pakistan were from religious-minority backgrounds. He referred to evidence, found by the APPG for Pakistani Minorities, of "discrimination and persecution against minorities, entrenched in school textbooks; stigmatisation in schools and colleges; and primitive and dismal conditions in the so-called colonies where Christians live, which are often devoid of running water, sanitation and electricity."
According to the Christian Non Government Organisation Open Doors "one in seven Christians worldwide face persecution and discrimination for their faith."
Meanwhile, Letters to the Editor in the Church Times contain a response to the continuing persecution of fellow Anglicans in their own Church by Women And The Church (WATCH) who, devoid of any integrity, think it their Church alone.
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| Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John addressing Governing Body Source: CinW |
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| The Rt Revd Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn Source: Geoff Crawford/Church Times |
A Review of the appointment of the Rt Revd Philip North as Bishop of Blackburn has concluded that his nomination followed the proper processes, but makes several recommendations how these processes could be improved.
The Church Times reports that
"Campaigners had raised concerns about Bishop North’s views on the ordination of women, which he has said is an area on which the Church of England should not be at variance with the wider Church (News, 15 September 2017).
"A submission by the campaign group Women and the Church (WATCH) centred on concerns about how having a bishop who does not ordain women could undermine clergy in the diocese and the diocesan bishop’s function as a figure of unity..."
Forward in Faith commented:
"The Independent Reviewer has rightly restated that, following a submission to her from Women and the Church (WATCH) regarding the appointment of diocesan bishops in the Church of England and in line with the Church’s Five Guiding Principles, being a traditionalist is not a bar to becoming a diocesan bishop.
"However, Forward in Faith also notes with concern that the Independent Reviewer has recommended in her report that consideration be given to re-examining the scope of her role. It is not clear to Forward in Faith from the contents of the report exactly what deficiency in the current arrangements would be met by such a change.
"As WATCH has demonstrated in its referral on the appointment of diocesan bishops, any individual or interested party can make a referral to the Independent Reviewer. The Independent Reviewer can then assess the points made in those referrals.
"The critical question must always be how those referrals relate to the 2014 House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests. If there has been any breach of that Declaration, from whatever part of the Church it might have come, then it needs to be addressed directly and transparently. However, simply not agreeing with, or feeling uncomfortable with, the contents of the Declaration can never be, and should never be, grounds for a referral to the Independent Reviewer.
"The direction of travel being opened up by the Independent Reviewer runs the risk of undermining the Declaration, which quite rightly seeks to promote the flourishing of all parts of the Church and to uphold and protect the minority position in the Church of England, which in part occurs through the work of the Independent Reviewer.
"Forward in Faith remains strongly of the view that the Church of England benefits from the breadth of its witness, including the catholic teaching and practice which it holds in common with the universal Church."
Once again WATCH show themselves in their true colours as a group of feminists using the Church to further their feminist cause regardless of the effect on others.
