Thinking Anglicans

Opinion – 3 September 2016

Andrew Lightbown Aidan: the patron saint of R&R?

Simon Butler ViaMedia.News “See How These Christians Love One Another…”

Angus Ritchie Church Times Church growth is mainly about attitude: Many different approaches are winning new disciples: you don’t have to be Evangelical.

To mark the end of the silly season I offer you these two blogs from Ian Gomersall of St Chrysostom’s Church, Manchester.
On the names of Bishops
Unusual names of the Anglo Catholic clergy

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Susannah Clark
7 years ago

Simon Butler’s article should be mandatory reading for anyone posting here at Thinking Anglicans. Some of the people I relate to most on this site have different doctrinal views to my own. In a way a site like this is a microcosm of the wider Church of England (and probably other Anglican Churches too). We need to get past the dogma and seek the person: because God is gracious and God is fundamentally relational. I deeply believe that we are stronger because we are different. Unique in fact. We are not clones. But even in our differences, if we open… Read more »

Father David
7 years ago

On the names of bishops – surely these revered prelates of old had better nomenclature than their over-familiarly named successors – Tom, Mike and Nick? Mercifully, as “Bob” Runcie once pointed out Archbishop Randall Davidson was never knowingly addressed by a shortened form of his Christian name. Perhaps more worryingly still is the Top Ten list of today’s most popular names given to boys and girls, as reported in today’s edition of The Guardian. Among the girls names not a single Biblical name is recorded. The boys fare rather better in that there are three Biblical names listed – Jacob,… Read more »

Pam
Pam
7 years ago

Definitely Father Kitkat for unusual clergy names (or should that be clergy unusual names). I do rather like Father Christmas too.

Father David
7 years ago

I recall that Chalfont St. Peter once had a curate called “Father Crucifix”. I remember seeing a photograph of him hanging in the vestry of the parish church. He wore a biretta and was obviously of High Church persuasion. My devout and saintly Grandmother – Adelaide (now there’s a lovely name which I wish would make a come back) used to tell me of another curate from Seaham Harbour who had “Churchyard” as a surname. Whether it was apocryphal or not, I don’t know, but she also told me that he had a pet duck that he used to take… Read more »

Kate
Kate
7 years ago

For me, Simon Butler is promoting apathy, not love. If a Christian is following the wrong path then we should seek to put them on the right path, but without judging them. That is love. That is mission.

Mark Bennet
Mark Bennet
7 years ago

This last week, with the story of Solomon and his request for “wisdom” or discernment in ruling and judging, I somehow recalled that there were two trees is the garden as told in Genesis. The “original sin” was to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in preference to the tree of life. That knowledge is now bound up with our temporal life. But in the city of Revelation there is one tree picked out – the tree of life, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. I guess knowledge of good… Read more »

David Emmott
David Emmott
7 years ago

I was ordained by +Clement George St Michael Parker, Bishop of Bradford. Though he did sign himself simply +Michael Bradford. (A fellow priest who was ordained with me fantasised that the Holy Spirit had signed the presentation bible, ‘ordained by me + Michael Bradford.’)

Richard
Richard
7 years ago

Before the modern era, bishops (and other dignitaries) signed with the sign of the cross, “Ego”, followed by their name.

David Runcorn
David Runcorn
7 years ago

Hard to imagine anyone being bothered enough to promote apathy.

Fr William
7 years ago

Wasn’t it Wille Whitelaw who accused Harold Wilson of going round and round the country stirring up apathy?

Cynthia
Cynthia
7 years ago

Simon Butler’s article is nice, of course. Hopefully, we all have friends on all sides of a variety of issues. When it comes to relationships, yes fine, relationships amongst relative equals, that is. On LGBT issues though, he completely misses the point. This is about power, it is about one side oppressing the other side. This is not about relative equals having “good disagreement.” It is one side demanding that their version of Scripture be rigorously enforced on this one issue, and blinding themselves to the very real possibility of alternate readings (and the hypocrisy of not being so strict… Read more »

Kate
Kate
7 years ago

“There’s so much gospel work to do in this world, make peace, offer hospitality to resident aliens (Leviticus – very clear, let’s see folks advocate for open borders), feed the hungry, heal the sick, etc. Keeping gays out of the club seems to be a distraction from the real work we are called to do.”

I sometimes wonder if CofE bishops secretly welcome the distraction because pushing for open borders etc – and you are absolutely right on that – would put the church on a collision course with politicians and public opinion.

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