Thinking Anglicans

Opinion – 6 June 2020

James Gilder All Things Lawful And Honest A Church for All
“Want a Church for all? Be prepared to engage with the nitty-gritty.”

Peter Leonard ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Pretending!

Danny Pegg Anglicanism.org A New Beginning or a Curate’s Egg?
“A local and national reflection on the Church of England during the time of Coronavirus”

Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The Clergy Discipline Measure. Time for Replacement?

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Safeguarding data 2018

Press release from the Church of England

Safeguarding data 2018
02/06/2020

Safeguarding data has been published today taken from annual safeguarding returns, collected by dioceses in 2018 and sent to the National Safeguarding Team. It also contains comparison on data collected over the three previous years 2015-17.

The majority of safeguarding-related concerns or allegations relate to children or vulnerable adults who attend or who have contact with the Church and their lives within the community.

Overall the number of concerns or allegations reported to dioceses in 2018 relating to children, young people and vulnerable adults in the Church was 2,504. This compares to 3287 in 2017, and is slightly higher than 2015 and slightly lower than 2016.

A quarter of concerns or allegations in 2018 required reporting to statutory authorities similar to 2017.

In 2018, 16% of all concerns (400 cases) relate to clergy, including retired and deceased clergy, a slight increase on the average for 2015-17 which was around 12%. There are currently around 20,000 active clergy in the Church.

Safeguarding-related disciplinary measures against clergy decreased in 2018 and combined with the increase in reports against clergy this suggests that more concerns are being raised earlier because there are greater overall numbers of reports but lower numbers of disciplinary cases.

The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, a member of the National Safeguarding Steering Group, said:
“In any report about data of this nature, it is important to recognise that behind each statistic are real human lives and that this is a snapshot of the vital safeguarding work going on in all our 16,000 churches across the country. As the report states it is most likely that where there is an increase compared to previous years this reflects the impact of safeguarding training across the whole Church, and the increased likelihood that people will report concerns to their diocesan safeguarding adviser, where there may have been greater reticence in the past. The NST will continue to study trends over a longer period to inform its ongoing safeguarding work and has committed to publishing data on an annual basis.”

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Dean of Bristol

Press release from Number 10

Reverend Canon Doctor Amanda Ford appointed Dean of Bristol: 3 June 2020

The Queen has approved that the Reverend Canon Doctor Amanda (Mandy) Ford be appointed Dean of Bristol.

Published 3 June 2020
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street

The Queen has approved that the Reverend Canon Doctor Amanda (Mandy) Ford, Canon Chancellor and Director of Discipleship and Ministry in the Diocese of Southwark, be appointed Dean of Bristol following the appointment of the Very Reverend Doctor David Hoyle MBE as Dean of Westminster.

There are more details on the Bristol diocesan website.

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Opinion – 3 June 2020

Alison Webster ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to not Caring about Care

Russell Dewhurst All Things Lawful And Honest Table for One
“The lawfulness of Holy Communion celebrated without a congregation”

Together for the Common Good The Plague and the Parish: An Invitation to the Churches

Church Times Lockdown could change the Church permanently
Richard Giles, John Sadler, and Robert Warren “call for a radical rethink of the work of a parish priest”

Janet Fife Surviving Church The Church of England Gentlemen’s Club

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Dean of the Arches and Auditor of the Chancery Court of York

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have both published the following announcement.

New Dean of the Arches and Auditor of the Chancery Court of York appointed
02/06/2020

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are delighted to announce that Morag Ellis QC has been appointed as Dean of the Arches and Auditor on the retirement of Charles George QC. Morag will take up her duties on the 8th June 2020.

Morag was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1984 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2006. She began her career at 8, New Square (now Cornerstone Barristers) before moving to Francis Taylor Building in 2014. Morag was appointed Commissary General of the Diocese of Canterbury in 2011, and Deputy Chancellor of the Diocese of Southwark in 2013. In 2015 Morag was appointed as a Panel Chair to Clergy Discipline Tribunals and became a member of the Legal Advisory Commission of the General Synod in 2016. She was appointed as QC Church Commissioner in 2019. She is also a Reader licensed in the Diocese of Chelmsford.

The Archbishops would like to express their enormous thanks to Charles for his remarkable service over the last 11 years and wish him well as he steps down from the role.

The Dean of the Arches (Province of Canterbury) and Auditor (Province of York) is the most senior ecclesiastical judge in England and as Master of the Faculties is responsible for the regulation of the notarial profession in England and Wales and some overseas jurisdictions. The appointment is made jointly by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York with the approval of Her Majesty the Queen.

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