Remembrance Sunday

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

St David must be turning in his grave

Abp Barry Morgan's legacy: Desolation. Note the dual translations. Point made!

This video must rank as one of the most contemptuous of an organisation's membership ever made. The Archbishop of Wales speaks in Welsh with English subtitles in supposed deference to Welsh speakers while the 'Welsh speaking' bishop-elect speaks in English with Welsh subtitles for the benefit of those who do not understand what she is talking about. 

Forget the Landsker line and 'little England beyond Wales', this is about women in the church. The ability to communicate in Welsh has been marginalised to accommodate a woman of Barry Morgan's choice. He protests that his nominee has nothing to do with the fact that she is a woman but that she is the best person to be a bishop. If you swallow that you will swallow anything. 

Postscript [15.11.2016]

‘Sacred Synod’ to confirm Bishop of St Davids’ election - Provincial News Press release:

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, said, "The Constitution of the Church in Wales requires all episcopal elections to be confirmed by the other bishops meeting in Sacred Synod. This will be a public meeting and, should any member of the Church in Wales wish to draw any matter to the bishops’ attention in relation to this episcopal election, they are invited to attend the meeting in person."

An opportunity for Dr Barry Morgan to wear a laurel leaf crown as the Church in Wales enters her death throes?

Two Anglican Archbishops obsessed with women and the queer agenda

Revd Isabelle Hamley (CofE)                    Revd Canon Joanna Penberthy (CinW)

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Wales have shown by their recent appointments that they have much in common, putting women's issues and the Queer Bible at the heart of their ministries.

Before anyone complains that the bishop elect of St Davids was not appointed by Dr Morgan but by an electoral college, there is no difference other than going through the motions. The name of Canon Penberthy as the next bishop of St Davids was circulating months ago despite her having to endure "sexism on her way to the top". That is, the absence of female toilets in a male college which moved her to micturate in England. Had her trail-blazing taken place today she could have armed herself with a transgender sign and urinated in St Michael's College, Llandaff rather than having to micturate elsewhere.

In the 1980s St Mike's as it was affectionately known trained half the bishops now sitting on the bench, Swansea & Brecon, St Asaph and Monmouth. It is no more. Down the pan and soon to be followed by the 'washed up' Church in Wales herself. St Michael's Theological College now houses the St Padarn's Institute which we are told "comes on the back of dwindling attendances in the Church in Wales and the church's subsequent decision to reorganise traditional parishes into larger Ministry Areas". As Dr Morgan draws his pension early in the new year he will have much on which to reflect. Perhaps he will contemplate writing a book on how he excluded faithful Anglicans from Christian worship in Wales.

Canon Penberthy regards the first women Deacons as 'trailblazers' in the feminist cause. A supporter of blessing gay unions and same sex marriage in church she is also studying for a PhD in Quantum Physics which may not be regarded by the faithless as the most useful asset in the Great Commission if they are to be brought to Christ.

Another PhD student is the Rev'd Isabelle Hamley who is to take up the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Chaplain in January 2017, replacing Archbishop Welby's previous choice, another female Chaplain who has been appointed bishop of Dorking.

In modern parlance, 'the Revd Hamley' is recorded as being in the final stages of a PhD in Biblical studies, (Relational identity, Otherness and Victimisation: An Irigarayan Reading of Judges 19-21).

Not acquainted with the subject I Googled to find out what on earth she was talking about, only to discover that it boiled down to more from the Queer Bible and gender politics.

Is it any wonder that church attendance is declining at an alarming rate? Why not be honest and proclaim Western Anglicanism as the Church of Queer Theology?

The Welsh language, same-sex and the Church in Wales

Outside St Davids Cathedral "Another First for Canon Joanna, Bishop-elect."  Source: Church in Wales

"From the beginning, the Welsh language was given equality with English in the constitution and liturgy of the Church in Wales, and throughout the twentieth century some of its priests were prominent in Welsh literature." - The Church in Wales, Facing Difficulties

One hundred years after disestablishment, the Church in Wales' 2020 Vision is to "re-imagine itself in order to serve its communities more effectively... We need a cultural change in the kind of church we are". That is what the Archbishop of Wales told the The Time Is Now conference in 2014.

For the bishop elect of St Davids the kind of church she wants is based on what has been rejected by the Church in Wales, most strongly by the good people of St Davids. Her stated priority is "To encourage us that we are not simply trying to keep the show on the road but we are trying to live out our gospel of the risen Christ and the reality of God’s Holy Spirit and to live that out in our real communities, encouraging people to live out their faith in surprising and different ways, not feeling guilty that the future may look different from the past but feeling encouraged that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever and is as relevant to Wales in the 21st century as he has been through the centuries until now. But how that plays out may look very different".

Listening to Canon Penberthy on Radio 4 [@12.30] "our gospel" is the gospel according to Dr Barry Morgan. Women clergy, gay blessings and working towards same sex marriage in church. When interviewed Ed Stourton asked what sort of discrimination she had suffered. She replied it was "blank incomprehension" that she would want to exercise her own ministry rather than help her husband. Not the sort of aggravation implied by her earlier "prejudice and discrimination" claim. The implication is that lay ministry was not good enough which hardly fits with the ideas of '2020 Vision'.

So the bishop elect of St Davids, the most conservative diocese in the Province, is a liberal minded woman who on her own admission is not a fluent Welsh speaker either:

"Improving my Welsh is a priority for me now. I was in Welsh-speaking parishes in north Carmarthenshire before and people were very generous and I did learn to take services in Welsh which were received well. But I was always a bit cowardly about the conversations and I think I’ll be looking for money to go on a Welsh immersion course where I will have to take the bull by the horns and have the courage to speak the language. I really want to do it  – we are a bilingual nation and the Welsh language is one of our jewels, if not our life blood."

To quote further from 'Facing Difficulties': "The Church, as ever, wishes to see the Welsh language survive and flourish, but it can do nothing without the support of its members. The Welsh language is a gift from God to all who live in Wales. It is our privilege and responsibility to use and promote it in our future mission and ministry". Surely that should have been uppermost in the mind of the facilitator for the diocese of St Davids.

'Facing difficulties' ends with the question: "How can you promote the use of the Welsh language in the Church in your area?" For a start the facilitator should have ensured that the bishop elect was a fluent Welsh speaker familiar with the diocese which is the spiritual home of the Church in Wales and a place of pilgrimage drawing people from around the world.

Disestablishment was born out of dissatisfaction with English-speaking landowners and "anti-Welsh" attitudes within the Church. Based on the appointment of the bishop elect of St Davids, heritage clearly counts for nothing. Moving forward, or "re-imagine itself", is based not on scripture and tradition but on sexual licence and equality of opportunity in the workplace where secular attitudes to 'equality' count more than theology.

The Electoral College meets behind closed doors so that everything can be done in secret leaving regular churchgoers unaware of how the President stage manages the proceedings in a situation where many members hold their positions under his patronage especially the bishops.

If this candidate matched the diocesan profile either profile was way off the mark or it was prepared to fulfil the requirements of the President who is on record as claiming that "she was deemed to be the best person to be a bishop". If the sacred synod had any spunk they would not confirm this election.

Postscript [08.11.2016]

From Western Mail letters: Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Not quite the successors of St David

When the new woman bishop-designate of St David’s was on Radio Four on Sunday morning being interviewed she had at least the decency to admit that the Church in Wales blesses gay marriages.

When the male bishops deviously introduced such prayers, they claimed they were not blessings!

She also unequivocally stated that she is in favour of full same-sex marriage. Well, she is entitled to her beliefs, but if she seriously thinks she (and her male colleagues) are the legitimate actual successors of St David, they deceive themselves.

They may have the medieval cathedrals, the episcopal props and the endowments but they are self-evidently not bishops in the Church of God, pledged under sacred vow to banish away strange doctrines.

Robert Ian Williams

Something fishy?

The assembled throng outside the West Door of St Davids Cathedral, Pembrokeshire                                  Source: Twitter @DavidGrundy

As far West from the great West Door as they could manage without joining the rest of the tiddlers in River Alun, the Canon Residentiary at St Davids Cathedral appears to have been delegated to lead the applause in appreciation of Archbishop Barry Morgan's 'historic' announcement that the bishop elect of St Davids is the first woman to be made bishop in Wales, Canon Joanna Penberthy.

A video of this damp squib of an occasion can be seen on Twitter and on the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) website.  While small in size the number of people gathered is the same size as many dwindling congregations in the Church in Wales but clearly a great embarrassment to the Archbishop as the video link in the Press Release has been edited so that only the applause is heard after the Dr Morgan gives the nod.  

Most of the news coverage followed the same theme: First woman bishop Joanna Penberthy 'faced prejudice', a strategy used to stain orthodox views as being negative. This theme is often used to condemn anyone who disagrees with the latest liberal fashion and was much used by the Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) which has been superseded by Women and the Church  (WATCH), a feminist organisation currently insisting that God should to be referred to as female. In a similar vein, opponents of gay marriage are condemned as homophobic while anyone searching for the truth about Islam's attitude to non-Muslims is regarded as Islamophobic.

After the announcement of her election Canon 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." That is a welcome change from the view of the bench of bishops as currently constituted and a welcome change of heart from her Newnham days when as a young evangelical student she was more inclined to the view that Anglo Catholics should leave the Church of England because they were not real Anglicans.

When interviewed a BBC Reporter put the question to Canon Penberthy, Ordaining women is still controversial to some people. How do you reach out to those who are not happy with the idea? Her reply was far more encouraging than the Archbishop's 'over my dead body' policy. She said:

"I was very encouraged to be on a conference recently organised by Credo Cymru, which is an organisation for people who don’t wish to receive the sacramental ministry of women. It was a very positive gathering of how we can learn to live together in a world where women are priests and at that point where women might take episcopal ministry. It was about how do we live together in honesty, kindness and out of the values of that one shared gospel."

Following the Living with Diversity conference it was refreshing to hear from the bishop elect that everyone should "feel free to be honest". Since Bishop David Thomas retired there has been no place in the Church in Wales for people who remain unable to recognise the sacramental ministry of women as bishops and priests on grounds of theological conviction and conscience although officially remaining "within the spectrum of teaching and tradition within the Anglican Communion". Credo Cymru's statement can be read here.

With such lavish praise heaped upon her by the Archbishop and the bishop of Swansea and Brecon one wonders why Canon Penberthy had not previously joined the ranks of senior clergy as Dean or Archdeacon. Is it merely a coincidence that the bishop elect happens to be the right age as specified by the former bishop, Wyn Evans, to complete the work he started as Dean? Some fishy business on the Alun!

Fishy or not, this episode has all the appearance of a jigsaw puzzle coming into place except for one piece which just does not fit but he will be retiring soon when all should be much clearer, hopefully putting an end to prejudice and discrimination in the Church in Wales.

Numbed

St Davids Cathedral Pembrokeshire                                                                                                                        Source: BBC

If bishops are still supposed to be the focus of unity, disunity in the Church in Wales (CinW) is complete following the appointment of Canon Joanna Penberthy as the new bishop of St Davids, the first of the six diocese in the Province of Wales to have a woman 'bishop'.

St Davids is the site of the Holy shrine of St David who built his monastery on the Cathedral site c.589/601. Some 1400 years later faith counts for little in church politics which have more in common with congregationalism than the Holy Catholic Church when members believe that they know better than the Church fathers and Jesus Christ who set the Apostolic example for His church 2,000 years ago.

This politically motivated appointment completes Archbishop Barry Morgan's mission to turn the Anglican Church in Wales into another arm of nonconformity with shared 'bishops' and inter-communion. He can retire happy in the knowledge that he has dismantled the parish system in favour of ministry areas, seen the closure of of St Michael's Theological College in Llandaff and watched the relentless decline in Sunday attendance as he has pushed forward his liberal experiments based not on theology but on political correctness.

Those who have persevered with a Church that has done nothing for them other than take their money will be considering their position as no doubt will some Friends of St Davids but it would be a tragedy for St Davids if the Cathedral were to suffer as a consequence of this appointment.

The feelings of numbness and despair experienced when the CinW Governing Body decided to ordain women will have returned for many especially after watching Dr Morgan tell a BBC reporter that in a threefold ministry it would be wrong not to allow women to become bishops. That after assuring doubters that allowing women deacons did not mean that they would become priests and allowing women priests did not mean they would become bishops. The deceit of it all.

Postscript

Along with similar announcements the Church in Wales website announced, "History was made today as the Church in Wales elected its first woman bishop". Despite Archbishop Morgan's claim that Joanna Penberthy "wasn’t elected because she was a woman but because she was deemed to be the best person to be a bishop", few will believe him. As fellow Welsh person Mandy Rice Davies famously said when Lord Astor denied an affair or having even met her, "Well he would [say that], wouldn't he?"

Abp Morgan said that she [Joanna Penberthy] "has considerable gifts – she is an excellent preacher and communicator, can relate to all sections of the community, is a warm, charismatic, caring priest and someone who is full of joy". So she should as a bishop of the church but does "all sections of the community" include 'traditionalists' or exclude them as the Bench has done? Also, as one commentator has put it, what about 1 Timothy 3? Not that the Archbishop bothers with the Bible unless he wishes to misquote it.

Which ever way one looks at it, this is another smack in the face for faithful male clergy to be told that "she is the best person to be a bishop". As suggested when he brought in his Ass Bishop ["the ordination of women will rid the world of homophobia, misogyny, brutalisation of women in all situations including those in war zones"] and the Archdeacon of Llandaff, none of the male clergy in Wales can match Abp Morgan's expectations. No wonder so many can't wait to see the back of him.

Deception

Archbishop Barry Morgan

"They also apologised to gay and lesbian people

for the persecution and mistreatment they have

endured at the hands of the Church and they

committed themselves to providing a safe place

within the Church for all gay and lesbian people." 

So said the bench of bishops at the Governing Body of the Church in Wales in April 2016 when they introduced their 'Pastoral Letter to all the faithful concerning gay and lesbian Christians'. It was the precursor to the dangerously absurd conclusions Dr Morgan advanced in his final Presidential address in September when he claimed that ‘Biblical stories can reveal a new understanding of same-sex relationships’.

In February 2015 Christian Today reported that Jayne Ozanne, a founder member of the Archbishops' Council in the Church of England (CofE) and one of the CofE's most influential evangelicals had come out as gay. Formerly from the orthodox wing of the Church she held strictly conservative views on sexuality but Ms Ozanne came out after 'falling madly in love' and starting a relationship with a another woman. (Video interview here).

A 'LGBT activist', Ms Ozanne commissioned a YouGov poll which purported to show that 45 per cent of Anglicans (of over 1500 surveyed) believe that same-sex marriage is right, while 37 per cent believe it is wrong. Ms Ozanne and others "hailed this result as indicative of a shift in public opinion, as compared to a YouGov survey three years ago. At that time, 38 per cent of Anglicans said they supported same-sex 'marriage', while 47 per cent said they believed it was wrong".

A priest in the Church of England and consultant statistician, the Rev Peter Ould, questioned the way that the results of the poll were represented and has given a detailed account of how the findings are the opposite of those claimed by Ms Ozanne and her supporters.

His analysis of the figures indicate that Church of England is regarded as welcoming by a margin of 7:1. A majority of C of E members also said that the church was welcoming to the LGBT community by a margin of two and a half to one. For unclassified Christians the majority was 2:1. Only those of 'no religion' took a negative view. Read what Peter Ould had to say about the poll on Facebook (here) and listen to his explanation on Periscope TV (here). You can also find him on Twitter.

Rather than apologising to gay and lesbian people for the alleged "persecution and mistreatment they have endured at the hands of the Church", on this evidence the bishops should have congratulated members of the Church for providing a safe place for all gay and lesbian people. The new analysis helps to explain the number of gay and lesbian people among the clergy and the laity.

In another recent article for Christian Today the question is asked, Why Do People Stop Going To Church? Ms Ozanne said: "The Church of England needs to have the courage to look decline directly in the face and have the humility to ask 'Why?'. She repeated her assertion, "As my recent YouGov poll clearly shows many - even within the Church - do not believe it is there for everyone, as the Secretary General so confidently asserts. Indeed the young and those of 'no religion" - who we need to reach most - have the most negative perception of the Church. Growth will only come through a honest assessment of the mistakes we have made and a humble admission of the pain we have caused to so many."

We have been deceived. For too long we have been cowed by false assertions for fear of being thought uncharitable while pressure groups use every tactic to get their own way. Deceit has been used to damn the faithful and change the Anglican Church into a pale shadow of her former glory, often by trendy bishops who have taken the lead in this shameful process. One has to wonder what is in it for them. Cheap popularity or the hope of 'respectability' for those in the closet?

At last in the Church in Wales there are signs that people have had enough. The bench have not had their way on same sex marriage and at their last meeting the Governing Body refused simply to 'take note' of the relentless decline resulting in less than 1% of the population regularly attending church each Sunday. They passed this revised motion:

That the Governing Body
(i) Do take note of this Report with a heavy heart; and
(ii) Request that the Standing Committee, as a matter of urgency, identify the minority of parishes which are growing, investigate the factors behind this, and suggest what we might learn and implement from this good practice.

As an example of the blind attempting to lead the formerly blind, the Ass Bishop of Llandaff claimed that "much more was happening than could be recorded by statistics. We are beating ourselves up and I am sorry about that. There’s a lot going on – God does not depend on our contribution to thrive. We need to joyfully let down the nets and go fishing at His command." He and the Archdeacon of Llandaff were appointed by Dr Morgan from outside the Province to advance Dr Morgan's political objectives at the expense of the church and many faithful worshippers. He should go fishing and take the like minded with him.

Ordinary members must stand their ground and return the church to the Apostolic faith into which we were baptized, not a variant of nonconformity. 

In a final flourish before he retires Barry and his bench sitters have decided that anyone who has been baptised will be able to receive Holy Communion in church regardless of whether they have also been confirmed, thus opening the door to the Uniting Church in Wales. In pursuit of their ambition the bench calls us to look to the tradition of the Church. So we should, not to become nonconformists but to return to the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The liberal experiment has been an absolute disaster for the Church of England and the Church in Wales using deceit and deception to mask the truth. We must return to orthodoxy. Pray that the appointment of the new Bishop of St Davids will aid the church in that mission.