The Feminist Church of England

Members of the National Liturgical Dance Network getting ready for the Installation of The Right Reverend Libby Lane               Source: Twitter @PeterOuld

A few days ago the Rev Peter Ould tweeted: "Good God, there's a National Liturgical Dance Network."

The next picture helps to explain why. The installation of the Rt Rev Libby Lane as the eighth Bishop of Derby in fancy hat and what appears to be a Hindu garland. Without these details one might be forgiven for thinking the occasion some sort of religious parody.

The Right Reverend Libby Lane replaces the Right Reverend Dr Alastair Redfern, who retired in August                                                                Source: BBC

The Church of England has been celebrating 25 yrs of women priests or their Silver Jubilee as Women and the Church [Affirming * Challenging * Transforming] like to put it:

"Starting on March 12th  this year, and lasting over three months, more than a thousand women will be celebrating a Silver Jubilee: the 25th anniversary of their ordination to the priesthood in the Church of England. Bristol Cathedral led the way, with 32 deacons ordained priest, and the following week three ordinations took place in Sheffield diocese on the 15th, 16th and 17th March, when twenty-five women were ordained as priests, and ordinations continued in other dioceses through April, May and June."

The Archbishop of Canterbury has been on the receiving end for his contribution in this "Welby’s woes with women" clip from The Times (£):

"The Archbishop of Canterbury is in a spot of bother with women clergy. Justin Welby, is throwing a garden party on July 1 to celebrate 25 years of female ordination but the invitation has not gone down well. Guests are asked to be at Lambeth Palace at 11am on a Monday — a stretch for northern vicars.

“Perhaps Welby thinks the clergy have no Sunday commitments so they can spend the day travelling,” says the Rev Janet Fife, from Whitby. Also, the dress code is unusual for female priests: it calls for lounge suits."

Lambeth Palace held a service celebrating 25 years of female priests in the Church of England back in March. Also, there is a Photo exhibition celebrates 25 years of female priests covered by the Guardian. What is not mentioned is the underhand work to sideline the agreement that enabled feminism to flourish in the Church.

Much of the women's movement success has been playing with words such as equality and love often appealing to the wider public for support of their secular views.

"'Christianity as default is gone': the rise of a non-Christian Europe" was the headline in a Guardian article last year:
"In the UK, only 7% of young adults identify as Anglican, fewer than the 10% who categorise themselves as Catholic. Young Muslims, at 6%, are on the brink of overtaking those who consider themselves part of the country’s established church."

In 2017 the BBC reported on a survey that suggested "more than half in UK are non-religious." In a Synod debate Justin Welby called for "radical new inclusion", part of the journey from women's ordination to LGBT inclusion and same sex marriage to transgender services.

 One would have thought that the Anglican Church could take the hint about the direction in which it is going. That it does not illustrates the extent to which blind revisionists lead the blind.

A public consultation to be held in York on next Archbishop:

"The public can play a part in the selection of the next Archbishop of York when a public consultation meeting takes place in York next month.
"The current Archbishop, Dr John Sentamu, is to retire in June next year and a successor needs to be appointed.
"A meeting to discuss the requirements for the role will take place at The Belfrey Hall off Stonegate from 7.30pm to 9.00pm on Monday June 17, with everyone welcome.
"People will be able to meet the Prime Minister’s appointments secretary, Edward Chaplin, and the Archbishops’ secretary for appointments, Caroline Boddington, and comment on the needs of the post and the qualities required.
"Organisers say views expressed at the meeting form part of a wider consultation which will feed into the Crown Nominations Commission.
"This will in turn recommend a name to the Prime Minister to submit to The Queen."

More than half the people in the UK are non-religious. In fact, even within the Church feminism has taken over from religion. Given people's ignorance of the religious faith it would not be surprising if someone were to suggest that a Muslim should be the next Archbishop of York in the spirit of interfaith friendship.

I wonder if anyone thought of looking to 1 Timothy 3:

"The saying is sure:[a] whoever aspires to the office of bishop[b] desires a noble task. 2 Now a bishop[c] must be above reproach, married only once,[d] temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way— 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil."

The post-Christian US Episcopal Church celebrated 40 years of women in the priesthood in 2014. It adopted the same 'inclusive' agenda advocated by Justin Welby.

After 45 years of women in the priesthood the Episcopal Church is near collapse!

Election of a new Bishop of Monmouth announced

It has been reported in the South Wales Argus that the process to elect a new Bishop of Monmouth will commence in September, 2019.

Members of the Electoral College will meet from Tuesday, September 17 to elect a new bishop.

In an email sent out by the Diocese of Monmouth, the Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, said: "The Electoral College for electing a successor to Bishop Richard will begin to meet in the cathedral from Tuesday, September 17.

The Argus reporter adds: "In January parishioners spoke to us about what they said were their serious concerns about what was going on within the Diocese of Monmouth after Bishop Pain had been absent from work since July 2018.

"In March some parishioners warned that they were planning to withhold parish shares until their concerns were answered and added their belief that those who raised the grievances had 'refused' meditation."

Other sources suggested that such stories were part of a campaign by the bishop's supporters against those who had raised legitimate grievances under normal Church in Wales procedures.

The length of the bishop's absence resulted in factions developing to the detriment of the diocese.

The Archbishop of Wales was aware of the issues and was actively engaged in a formal process of mediation to resolve them. He said, “For reasons of confidentiality, and out of respect for those concerned in the ongoing mediation process, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."

This served only to add to speculation and encourage the spread of rumours and innuendo implied in press coverage.

The diocese needs to move on from this unhappy event without recriminations.

God forbid that another decision passes to the bench of bishops.

Preparing for government!

The Lib Dems are cock a hoop after the European election results. Their leader Vince Cable is convinced that "there was now a UK 'majority to stay' in the EU." 

But hang on a minute. The pro-European party Change UK called for a second referendum in which it would campaign to remain in the EU. They won no seats with 3.4% of the vote while the Lib Dems won 16 with 20.3% of the vote. The Brexit party won 29 with 31.6% of the vote.

Although the Brexit party is the clear winner, other parties have been adding their votes together to suggest the remainers were the winners despite the Lib Dem, Change UK disparity.

TV interviews tend to confirm what I have heard in conversation. The Tory party needed a kicking. Corbyn was seen as a complete disaster so it was take your pick. Most opted for the Brexit party. For others it was a lucky dip, or anyone but ...

In 1981 David Steel, leader of the Liberal party, told party members to go back to their constituencies and prepare for government after a temporary success. In the following general election they won just 23 seats.

In one sense the EU vote was a second referendum. The majority voted OUT however the minor parties like to turn the results to their advantage. 

'We are being told what to think'

From Christian Concern:

"A Church of England primary school has taken the unprecedented step of allowing a child to transition from a boy to a girl in the school without informing parents until the day of the transition or putting policies and procedures in place. A rare audio recording has also revealed how the school brought in controversial trans lobby group Mermaids to train staff and governors. The content of the training is deeply disturbing and we will share more soon.

The Christian Legal Centre is supporting the courageous Rev. John Parker who resigned as a governor after his concerns were ignored and silenced.

Andrea Williams, CEO of the Christian Legal Centre, said: 'This is not an isolated case and we are going to see more like it if nothing is done.

'Parents have a right to know if and when this ideological movement is in their schools and being taught as fact.

'I believe a real threat is posed to schools from organisations such as Mermaids. They implement a new ideological tyranny – and any disagreement is at best silenced, and at worst, punished.

‘The number of children confused about their sex and gender and seeking treatment is escalating and it is our children who are suffering. In imposing this ideology, we are not being kind but cruel. It is time for this to stop.

'The Church of England has one million children in its care. This is a serious God-given duty which the Church is failing at.

'It has invited the new state ideology into the classroom and it has lost confidence in its own message of what it means to be human. The Church needs to act before it is too late.' "

See also, 'Vicar resigns after being 'silenced' over a Church of England school's plan to keep an eight-year-old pupil's sex change a secret from parents' and 'Trans charity 'twisted truth' when training teachers' here.

Postscripts [28.05.2019]

1. Petition from change.org to stop Mermaids delivering training sessions to the police, schools and all public services.

"Mermaids is a Transgender Lobby group that specialises in giving information about Transgender children. They have been noted to spread regressive gender stereotypes and misinformation about the 2010 Equality Act; and they reinforce debunked statistics about suicide rates.

"They are a lobbying group not an impartial advisory body and are not being held accountable for the misinformation they spread. They have no place training  employees of the state such as teachers and police officers. Mermaids should no longer be allowed to run training for public servants."

You can sign here.

2. An Analysis of the Mermaids Press Statement
by Transgender Trend. Parents questioning the Trans narrative.

Caption corner 25 May 2019

Back to basics. Mass at S. de Compostela   Source #LlandaffInSantiago

As usual captions will appear under Comments.

Church in Wales takes a back seat

Three faiths and more                                                                     Source: BBC

A tweet from the Church in Wales contributor to the BBC documentary series Young, Welsh, & Pretty Religious, no doubt forgetting that pride is one of the seven deadly sins: "I'm proud to have had the opportunity to share a platform with @SaharAlFaifi in the making of #YoungWelshAndPrettyReligious. #MoreInCommon"

Sahar Al-Faifi responded with: "I am honoured to share it with you too father Ross ... God bless you :)". That would be her god not his. Job done.

Not to be outdone @LeanneWood for Plaid Cymru "congratulated the young Welsh people featured in the @BBCOne  programme #YoungWelshAndPrettyReligious - in particular work of anti-Islamophobia activist @SaharAlFaifi."

‏

Perhaps with an eye on voting intentions Plaid Cymru "adopted @RunnymedeTrust definition of Islamophobia and want to see people of colour and religion that face 'daily abuse' protected. As if to prove the point, in the first episode of the documentary the victim card is played but only at face value. There is more to follow in episode 2, hopefully with hard facts rather than opinion.

The UK government rejects racial definition of 'Islamophobia' , a catch all invention designed to ensure that Islam has protection not enjoyed by other beliefs but the protection campaign continues.

Unfortunately for him his pride earned the Church in Wales curate only a bit part in the first episode but he was up against Krishnas, pagans, Jews and Muslims, an anti anti-Islamophobia campaigner and a fashion designer for Muslim women's clothing. Evangelical Christians had a better showing due to their increasing numbers. 

The series introduction explains that three quarters of the 1,000,000 under 30's in Wales are not religious. Since the year 2000 religious belief has halved but as some beliefs are plummeting others are rising, doubling, trebling their following. 

"Since the millennium the number of Muslims has doubled to over 50,000 and is the fastest growing religion in Wales. [The average adult Sunday attendance in 2017 was 27,359.] In this century Muslim and Hindu numbers have risen in Wales but Christian numbers have plummeted. Out of a population of 3,000,000 people less than 1% regularly attend Church and if the current decline continues Christians will be a minority in Wales by 2050." 

In the next episode a Hare Krishna monk pays a visit to his parents, we meet bisexual Christian Will and Sahar "faces religious intolerance head on".  I can hardly wait.

Ashamed of the Gospel

 'Dhimmi Bishop' Source: 24/6 Mag                       St Paul’s Cathedral hosts iftar celebration in London     Source: Twitter @anglicanink

Former midwife, now Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, DBE, defers to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn, in St Paul's Cathedral where "different faiths and none" gathered to celebrate an interfaith iftar.

The bishop also covered her head with a hijab-like garment at a secular meeting at Regent’s Park Mosque in London. Perhaps surprisingly she did not tuck her pectoral cross into her cassock for fear of causing further offence to Muslims who find the symbol of salvation offensive.

It could be worse. In fact it was at a Durham Church which offered to cover crosses while hosting Muslim prayers.

The Vicar, Lissa Scott, has been described as a “liberal” who uses “gimmicks like Café Church to offer a gospel-less diet of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.”

Whilst it is understable that simple good manners might indicate a particular course of action out of courtesy and respect for the faith of others it has become a one-way traffic.

Rebel Priest Jules Gomes, wrote: "A parish church in the Diocese of Durham has been criticised for 'being ashamed of the gospel' after saying it would cover crosses and other sacred images in order to host Islamic prayers and an Iftar meal for the local Muslim community. The Church of St Matthew and St Luke, Darlington, also agreed to provide separate worship space so men and women could offer segregated worship."

As another blogger commented, "Is this repugnant surrender of female church leaders to a misogynist creed really what 'interfaith' understanding has come to?"

Postscript [26.05.2019]

The bishop of Bangor has tweeted:
"Last night Dean Kathy Jones led a group of us to the shared meal in Bangor's mosque in this season of Ramadan. We were welcomed and the hospitality was so generous. We can listen and learn when we make time for each other."

Monmouth and St Albans joined in. What would they have learnt from their hosts? It is unlikely that they would have referred to the impassioned address in London by the Rt Rev Bashar Warda who said that Iraq's Christians now faced extinction after 1,400 years of persecution. They certainly would not have referred to the "approximately 270 million non-believers who died over the last 1,400 years for the glory of political Islam."

How is it that Church in Wales bishops can readily engage with a supremacist political ideology that contradicts Christian beliefs and regards women as inferior to men but are unwilling to engage with orthodox Anglicans?