Brass Neck Barry

Archbishop Barry Morgan at the 900th anniversary celebration of the Papal decree that two trips to St Davids were the equivalent of one to Rome.  Source: Twitter

On Saturday, 22nd July 2023, St Davids diocese held an Extraordinary Diocesan Conference (EDC) to "canvass LMAs' opinions on the qualities they would like to see in the person elected as the new Bishop of St Davids".

Those qualities would been regarded as obvious based on faith and tradition before politics divided the Church in Wales.

The man regarded by many as responsible for the mess the Church in Wales finds itself in is archbishop Barry Morgan who is suspected of trying to influence opinion long after his retirement.

With the election of a new bishop approaching and a reputation for creating division Morgan made an ill-judged appearance at the special service to mark the 900th anniversary of the Papal decree that two trips to St Davids were the equivalent of one to Rome, something I would have thought would have meant little to him as a protestant.

Following his manoeuvring, St Davids was the first diocese in the Church in Wales to elect a woman bishop which would have been anathema to any pope. 

Joanna Penberthy's episcopacy has been a disaster from her mean minded attempt to get rid of elderly male clergy to her political posturing which culminated in her “Never, never, never trust a Tory” comment which attracted widespread derision. 

Described by Barry Morgan as the best person to be a bishop, she is another divisive figure who has advanced feminism over faith. She is reported by the archbishop to be "in good heart" as she prepares to retire to Cornwall following extensive periods of sick leave. 

The retirement of Provincial Assistant Bishop David Thomas, author of  'A Noble Task', gave archbishop Morgan the opportunity to decree that there would be further provision over his dead body for faithful Anglicans who, on grounds of conscience, were unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women, thus reversing assurances which led to the ordination of women and their elevation to the episcopacy in the Church in Wales.

I am not clear what message the archbishop was trying to convey in his presidential address to the EDC other than a facilitator would be listening to the views of people in St Davids diocese. 

Hopefully the errors of the past will be heeded by putting faith before politics. To that end, all Anglican views must be heard, including those excluded Anglicans who, in the words of St David, Keep the Faith.

Holiday hunger

 

Donate: FareShare Cost of Living Crisis Appeal

"Up to 3 million children are at risk of going hungry over the school holidays. We urgently need your food." - FareShare

Atheist First Minister Encourages Spread of Islam with £300K of Tax Payers Money

New mosque and community centre opened by First Minister, Mark Drakeford        Source: Wales Online (Image: John Myers)

From Wales Online: 

 "A new mosque and community centre has opened in Swansea. On Friday, Sketty Mosque and Community Centre held its official inauguration ceremony. First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford presided over the event with guests such as the Lord Lieutenant, the Lord Mayor and other civil and uniformed dignitaries.

"The historic Bethel United Reformed Church has been transformed into the Sketty Mosque and Community Centre. The revitalisation project was funded by £400k raised with the Swansea Muslim community in just three weeks and supplemented by a £300k Community Cohesion matching fund from the Welsh Government."

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford, an atheist, opened the Centre with representatives of Church and State present. 

The Lord Lieutenant and other civil and uniformed dignitaries.                           Source: Wales Online (Image: John Myers)

A far cry from Islamic countries which forbid the building of Christian churches and those countries Where Christianity Is Illegal 2023.

It does not appear to occur to some people that their presence is sharing in a political ideology that is responsible for the persecution of Christians and many atrocities around the world in the name of Islam.

In April 2023 Release International reported on Nigeria's Growing Christian Genocide:

"Since 2009, 52,250 Christians have been killed by jihadists, including Boko Haram and Fulani militants. According to Intersociety, militants have attacked:

18,000 churches

2,200 Christian schools

800 Christian communities

[The report] claims: ‘The number of Christians killed in the country… between July 2009 and April 2023 has risen to 52,250 [and] 14m Christians have been uprooted and forced to flee their homes.

[It] adds, ‘No fewer than 800 Christian communities have been seized or taken over; with many of them renamed and Islamised by the Jihadists since 2009’."

For a first hand account of the misery people face in Nigeria simply for being a Christian read how Mary Finds Peace After Escaping Kidnappers. 

In Pakistan blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. "Critics say they have been used to persecute minority faiths and unfairly target minorities." 

Read Christian nurse Tabitha Nazir Gill's account after escaping 'perilous danger' in Pakistan over blasphemy charges. "She was accused of insulting the prophet of Islam, breaking 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carries the death sentence."

Much more is reported almost daily. See here and here.

While Christianity wanes in Great Britain cultural jihad is allowed to spread Islamic culture, often with the aid of the Anglican Church whose bishops are preoccupied in feminist diversity.

Satisfied clerics?                          Source: Wales Online (Image: John Myers)

This alien political ideology has just cost hard pressed British tax payers £300K!

Postscripts

[20.07.2023]

Western Telegraph: "No more Welsh Government holiday meal money for struggling families."

Wales Online: "Second Welsh council agrees to fund free school meals during the summer holidays

Powys Council has agreed to spend £280,000 to help prevent "holiday hunger" among children during the six week break."

[21.07.2023]

The 'Religion of Peace' - At least 51 Christian converts arrested in Iran in state security clampdown

[25.07.2023]

Being a Christian in a Muslim majority country: 

"Thousands of Christians in the Sargodha district of Punjab in Pakistan have fled their homes after mosque calls for Muslims to protest over an alleged blasphemy." - Release International

Caption corner 16 July 2023

Trans priest's "Beautiful celebration of the holy Eucharist" at Pride Cymru                                                     Source: Twitter

As usual publishable captions will appear as comments.

Our (oik's) Father, or mother

Stephen Cottrell in 2014                    Source: Wikipedia

According to the Guardian, the 'Oik 'from Essex. Stephen Cottrell, archbishop of York has suggested that the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer,  may be “problematic” because of their "patriarchal association" despite being recited by Christians worldwide for 2,000 years.

The archbishop's views will come at little surprise to those Anglicans who strive to keep the faith rather than adapt it to their own desires

Cottrell is a member of the Society of Catholic Priests (SCP), a religious society of Anglican clergy who consider themselves a part of the liberal Anglo-Catholic tradition, a liberal substitute for the Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) so that they can enjoy the best of both worlds.

The make believe society believes that the churches of the Anglican Communion are part of the one holy and catholic and apostolic church despite distancing themselves from it by their unilateral actions.

Cottrell is also a member of Affirming Catholicism (AffCath), a liberal movement formed to suggest that the ordination of women is compatible with Anglo-Catholicism and supports ordination into the threefold ministry (bishops, priests, deacons) regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The archbishop  has been president since January 2015. 

The ordination of women to the priesthood has brought with it a host of ridiculous disputes over gender and sexual orientation where facts are replaced by assertions. These are likely to grow with the increasing numbers of female clergy. 

In the Church in Wales where half the bishops are female, thirty-one of the forty-seven recent Petertide ordinands were women, seventeen deacons and fourteen priests.  

The Church Times article, Petertide ordinations 2023, shows how numerous are Anglican women deacons, priests and bishops.

 This is where it can lead. The sparkle 'creed':

Very well said

Source: Twitter Screen shot

From Piers Morgan Uncensored:

"Some of us are simply a bit bored of hearing people ripping at closed wounds and then crying about their presumed hurt.

"Douglas Murray says it's time to move on from what happened hundreds of years ago instead of demanding reparations."

Very well said indeed.

From Divinity to Deviancy

Mary Stallard the new bishop of Llandaff follows Delyth Liddell, Methodist University Chaplain

and LGBTQI+ Gathering church leader at the Pride Cymru parade.    Source: Twitter

Celebrating diversity at Pride Cymru, the new bishop of Llandaff lost no time in identifying with her LGBTQ+ promoting sister bishops, the former bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, the retiring bishop of St Davids, Joanna Penberthy, and the bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, patron of Open Table. 

Diversity has become a euphemism for deviancy.

As the time approaches for appointing the next bishop of St Davids the Church in Wales needs to rethink its priorities.

From St Davids Diocese: 

"An Extraordinary Diocesan Conference is to be held on Saturday July 22nd., following the announcement that Bishop Joanna Penberthy is to retire on health grounds. The half-day conference will be chaired by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, and will take place at Newcastle Emlyn Rugby Club when conference representatives will have the opportunity to discuss the future of the diocese and what they would like from their new bishop when he/she is elected in October."

Much has changed in the sixty + years since Church in Wales bishops held Oxford Firsts in Theology.

A return from deviancy to divinity is essential to restore any credibility to the Church in Wales if it wants to avoid being characterised as the queer church. 

Announcing the retirement of the bishop of St Davids, the Archbishop of Wales said "I want to thank Bishop Joanna for her ministry in the diocese and province. She has contributed significantly to areas of church life in particular on environmental matters and with our Social Responsibility network." Quite! 

Environmental matters and social responsibility are important but faith and worship still matter.

The Church needs bishops who win souls in a spirit of true equality and diversity.

BBC Sounds recently broadcast on the All Things Considered series  a programme titled 'Gender and Identity'. University chaplain Delyth Liddell was joined by bishop Mary Stallard and Sarah Jones, a transgender Anglican priest and vicar of St. John's in central Cardiff.

From the programme notes:
"... Pride is not just a celebration, it's also about protest, designed to get people thinking about acceptance, equality and deeper matters about identity. Today, we turn our attention to that very matter, considering gender. What does it mean on its most fundamental level? What did God intend? How does it make us who we are to ourselves and each other? And what of the interplay between biology, psychology and faith? Big topics and ones which can stir confusion, concern, and generate challenging questions."

Personally I have never encountered non-acceptance or unequal treatment in race, colour or sexuality in decades of church life. Quite the reverse, yet comments are often received from protestors. But that is all they do, protest and abuse others. There is no supporting evidence. No engagement or acknowledgement of other commentators' desire to protect the sacrament of holy matrimony. Difference of opinion is simply dismissed as phobia to silence any opposition.  

After 2,000 years of scholarship and witness Anglicans are expected to believe that interpreting scripture to please oneself is the way to salvation. I think not.

This is the result: "I believe in a non-binary God whose pronouns are plural."

Next stop polyamory!

Postscripts 

[29.06.2023]

From the US:

The Queering of the Episcopal Church by David W. Virtue DD

Why is America tolerating indecent exposure at Pride events? by Family Policy Institute of Washington

[30.06.2023]

From C4M: PRIDE: THE ANTI-MARRIAGE PLATFORM

[11.07.2023]

Lesbian Methodist Minister and chaplain at Cardiff University, Delyth Liddell, says that "visible gay role models are key to changing attitudes about the LGBT+ community in churches".
On 'All Things Considered' the bishop of St Asaph, Gregory Cameron, is to share his thoughts with the chaplain on his vision for an "inclusive Church".

That is selective inclusion of course because the bishops have decided that there is no place in the Church in Wales for Anglicans who keep the faith.