David Wheeler-Reed The Conversation What the early church thought about God’s gender
Richard Peers Quodcumque – Serious Christianity New Wine United 2018 (1): The Lord is with you
Martin Sewell Archbishop Cranmer John Smyth dies – just as the CPS gives police go-ahead for his extradition and prosecution
Carlo Uchello The Episcopal Café The Most Important (and Ignored) Day of the Year
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church John Smyth’s death -the aftermath
14 CommentsThe statement below has been issued by four victims of the late John Smyth and the Titus Trust, and refers to a statement on the website of the Titus Trust, which is copied below the fold.
We are amongst the scores of victims viciously beaten by the late John Smyth QC whilst he was Chair of The Iwerne Trust.
We are appalled by the statement issued on Monday 13th August by the Titus Trust, which now runs the Iwerne network.
The statement says that the Titus Trust has “done all that [it] can to ensure the matter is properly investigated by the relevant authorities.” This is untrue.
The statement further says that the board of the Titus Trust was only informed of the allegations against John Smyth in 2014. This is also untrue.
The Revd The Hon David Fletcher was employed as the senior officer of the Iwerne Trust from 1967 until 1986, when he became a trustee. He served in that capacity continuously until August 2016, only resigning his post when the Iwerne Trust was closed in a bid to distance it from its successor. Revd Fletcher was also a trustee of the Titus Trust from its foundation in 1997 until the same date.
It is a matter of record that Revd Fletcher and numerous leaders of his movement have been fully aware of Smyth’s abuse for 36 years. Revd Fletcher commissioned a comprehensive report of Smyth’s abuses in the UK in March 1982. From 1993 he was in possession of a further report of Smyth’s abuse in Zimbabwe. These reports, which were stored in the loft of the Chair of the Titus Trust Giles Rawlinson, were not made available to any secular authorities until 2017, when they were requisitioned by Hampshire Police under warrant.
An earlier statement from the Titus Trust website says that Smyth’s abuse took place between 1978 and 1981. They know this to be untrue. Smyth’s abuse in the UK started in 1975 and continued until 1982 and probably until 1984. Rev Fletcher and other Iwerne Trustees then facilitated Smyth’s move to Africa, where he abused at least 60 children between 1985 and 2017.
The Titus Trust, under the leadership of Fletcher and Rawlinson, took over the Iwerne network in its entirety in 1997. Titus has continued to run holidays under the Iwerne brand until as recently as last week. To suggest that the two are completely separate is simply deceitful.
Since Smyth’s horrific abuses were publicly exposed in February 2017, the Titus Trust has flatly refused to engage with his victims, or even to enquire after our well-being, let alone to offer any form of support or redress. Their protestation of sympathy is cynical and disingenuous.
Had the Titus Trust acted on the information that was available to it since its foundation, Smyth’s abuse could have been stopped long ago. Our hearts go out to the 60 or more children of Zimbabwe and South Africa who suffered at the hands of John Smyth as we did, but needlessly.
We have no interest in the “thoughts and prayers” of the Titus Trust. We do not believe they are fit to work with children.
/ENDS
50 CommentsStephen Parsons Surviving Church Sexual Abusers and the Abused – the cost of forgiveness
Mark Vernon Church Times Century of the selfie
Sara Gillingham The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale Being Intersex in the House of God
10 CommentsRichard Peers Quodcumque – Serious Christianity A Parable of Radical Inclusion: the Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage
Martin Sewell Archbishop Cranmer John Smyth tortured Christian boys at Iwerne – where’s the CofE inquiry?
Jonathan Clatworthy Château Clâteau New Directions for the Church 10: offer hope
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Peter Ball, Vicky Beeching, and Lizzy Lowe: lessons about abusive Christianity
32 Comments
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The post IICSA Church of England – in Praise of Integrity
Paul Vallely Church Times Action matters more than words
30 CommentsKelvin Holdsworth What’s in Kelvin’s Head Praying for Dr Pritchard
Richard Peers Quodcumque – Serious Christianity How should we respond in prayer to IICSA? – Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Evidence of shockingly prejudiced attitudes to LGBTI+ people in the Church of England
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of bishops, accountability, and governance
Jenn Strawbridge Young Clergy Women International Tainted Love
Michelle Montrose Liverpool Parish Church Sermon preached on 29 July
[This is the sermon I heard at church on Sunday morning.]
Jonathan Clatworthy Château Clâteau New directions for the Church 9: break down the barriers
Michael Sadgrove Woolgathering in North East England Vicky’s Book
catholicity and covenant Time to reclaim the tippet from the neo-Puritans
Richard Nicholl Church Times More marketing is not the answer for the Church
“Social media has some surprising lessons for the C of E”
Mark Ashcroft St Chrysostom’s Church News and Views The agents of genuine renewal
1 CommentAs we reported here, it emerged earlier this month that the Bishop of Oxford had given Lord Carey permission to officiate (PTO) back in February. The Bishop of Oxford issued the following statement today.
Lord Carey PTO : statement from the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford
“Along with many others, I am sorry and ashamed to hear again this week of the abuse perpetrated by Peter Ball, and the way in which the Church of England failed to respond to the survivors over such a long period of time and at the most senior level. The whole Church needs to respond to what has been revealed with repentance, improved practice and a continued change of culture.
“We recognise that there will be renewed questions concerning Lord Carey’s Permission to Officiate following the IICSA hearings this week and I am sorry that my response to Lord Carey’s request for PTO in February this year caused additional distress to some survivors of abuse.
“When Lord Carey stepped down from his role as an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Oxford following the publication of the Gibb report in 2017 it also meant that he was no longer able to preside over services at his local church. There were no legal grounds for me to deny Lord Carey’s request for PTO in February this year as he was not subject to a disciplinary process, and there has never been any suggestion that he is himself a risk to children, young people or vulnerable adults.
“Lord Carey’s PTO remains in place at this time, providing him with a safe space to exercise his ministry. However, as part of the Church of England’s ongoing response to IICSA, there will now be a process of review and support offered to Lord Carey by the Diocese of Oxford together with the National Safeguarding Team.”
140 CommentsMiranda Threlfall-Holmes St Margaret of Antioch
Simon Butler ViaMedia.News History & Doctrine – Written by Winners?
2 CommentsQueen appoints new Suffragan Bishop of Warrington
The Queen has appointed the Venerable Beverley Anne Mason as Suffragan Bishop of Warrington.Published 24 July 2018
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing StreetThe Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Beverley Anne Mason, MA, Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven, to the Suffragan See of Warrington, in the Diocese of Liverpool, in succession to the Right Reverend Richard Finn Blackburn, MA, who resigned on the 31st May 2018.
There are more details on the Liverpool diocesan website. The new bishop will be consecrated on 18 October 2018.
7 CommentsThe Diocese of London has announced that the Rt Revd Adrian Newman will be resigning on health grounds as Bishop of Stepney and will withdraw from public duties at the end of October.
Bishop of Stepney to step down
Ad Clerum from the Bishop of Stepney
A message to the Diocese from Bishop Sarah
Daniel Hill Law & Religion UK The State and Marriage III: Objections to the Cutting of the Connection
Archdruid Eileen The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley The Immigration Policy of Heaven
Andy Griffiths Church Times Clergy must refuse to be indispensable
“Building teams to carry out ministry is better for the health of the incumbent and the parish”
Jayne Ozanne ViaMedia.News Incarnational Truth – The Power of Testimony
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Peter Ball and the Dynamics of Church Power
1 CommentA Place to Belong: Disability and the Church
“Watch stories of people with disabilities in the Church of England – and their perspectives on how churches can make sure everyone can participate in church life.”
Three short films were commissioned for a disability conference at Lambeth Palace hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Tim Wyatt Church Times ‘Dance as if no one’s watching. Tweet as if it will be brought up in court’
“Fraught with danger, or an opportunity to thrash out the truth? Tim Wyatt asks some of the C of E’s most prolific users of Twitter and Facebook what they think about social media”
Richard Beck Experimental Theology Respecting the Infant of Prague
Rosie Harper ViaMedia.News Conventional Thinking At Its Best…
Jonathan Clatworthy Château Clâteau New directions for the Church 8: admit the contradictions
Paul Bayes ViaMedia.News Tapping Into Love – Democratising Evangelism
Martin Sewell Archbishop Cranmer Synod – Reasons to be Cheerful (Pt 1): the secret to a contented flock
Synod – Reasons to be Cheerful (Pt 2): inclusion is the fruit of evangelism
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Christian LGBTI+ Equality – a strategy for change
2 Comments
The third phase of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) published its first agreed statement, Walking Together on the Way: Learning to be the Church – Local, Regional, Universal, earlier this month. The statement is online: Walking Together on the Way. Also available are two commentaries: one Anglican and one Roman Catholic.
News and comment on the statement include the following.
Anglican Communion News Office Groundbreaking document released on how Anglicans and Roman Catholics can learn from each other
Simon Caldwell and a staff reporter Church Times ARCIC III: Anglicans and Roman Catholics can learn much from each other, says new agreed statement
Church Times editorial Bold undertaking
Paul Lakeland The Tablet Give and take: what the Catholic and Anglican Churches can learn from each other
Durham University Centre for Catholic Studies First Agreed Statement from ARCIC III (The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, Phase 3)
Christopher Lamb The Tablet New Arcic text charts a way forward
Simon Caldwell The Boston Pilot ARCIC document hailed as ‘groundbreaking’ by Catholics and Anglicans
Nicholas Jesson International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission Agreed statement on ecclesiology: Walking Together on the Way
Joshua J. McElwee National Catholic Reporter Catholic-Anglican dialogue document suggests both churches can learn from other
9 CommentsRachael Phillips Diocese of Durham Rachael Investigates: Anglo-Catholic Evangelism Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love The Bishops and LGBTI Anglicans – GS 2055 and GS Misc 1158 – time for action
Meg Warner ViaMedia.News Episcopally Led and Synodically Managed
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of stewardship (and investment)
Rachel Mann In Praise of Synod…
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Anglican Bishops and the Post-Singleton Church
Linda Ryan The Episcopal Café Spem in Alium
Anne Stevens Women and the Church Pushing and pulling at the sticky door
[This refers to this Royal Society video: Understanding Unconscious Bias]
Christina Rees The Guardian Back to the future: that’s where the Church of England must dare to go
5 CommentsThe detailed Church Times reports on the recent Church of England General Synod are now online here. Unless you subscribe there is a limit on how many of these reports you will be able to read.
0 CommentsQueen approves nomination to Suffragan See of Crediton
The Queen has approved the nomination of Venerable Jacqueline Ann Searle, BEd, MA, Archdeacon of Gloucester, to the Suffragan See of Crediton.
Published 11 July 2018
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing StreetThe Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Jacqueline Ann Searle, BEd, MA, Archdeacon of Gloucester, to the Suffragan See of Crediton, in the Diocese of Exeter. This is in succession to the Right Reverend Sarah Elisabeth Mullally, DBE, MSc, DSc, RGN, who was translated to the See of London on the 8 March 2018.
From the Exeter diocesan website: Next Bishop of Crediton announced today
The new bishop will be consecrated on 27 September at Southwark Cathedral.
5 Comments
Updated Thursday
Scroll down for press reports
Press release from the Church of England
Church of England funds ambitious growth programme
More than a hundred new churches are to be created in a £27 million drive by the Church of England to revive the Christian faith in coastal areas, market towns and outer urban housing estates, it was announced today.
New Christian communities in areas including the Kent coast, housing estates in Plymouth and market towns in Cambridgeshire are to be set up by the Church of England as part of its Renewal and Reform programme.
The plans have been backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as a ‘wonderful example’ of how churches are seeking to be faithful to God and to serve their communities.
He said: “The Church of England exists to share the good news of Jesus through our words and our actions. Across the country, churches are bursting with life – which in part is shown through how they love and serve their communities. I’m especially pleased about these grants because they demonstrate our commitment to following Jesus to the places of greatest need in our society.
“These projects are wonderful examples of how churches are seeking to be faithful to God – and faithful to their communities in love and mission. Through their innovation, they signal a growing determination in the Church to share the good news of Jesus Christ in ways that make sense for those in our most deprived communities.”
John Spence, chair of the Church of England’s Strategic Investment Board, which approved funding for the work by the dioceses, said: “These grants are funding bold ambitious initiatives. Their scale and breadth show that the Church is feeling confident about its future.”
In Canterbury Diocese, a pioneering café-style church called ‘Ignite’ in Margate, Kent, is to be used as a blueprint for nine new worshipping communities in the coastal towns of Herne Bay, Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey and St Peter Port in Guernsey as well as Sittingbourne, Maidstone and Ashford.
The Ignite project was founded at St Paul’s Church in Margate 10 years ago, aiming to reach marginalised and deprived communities in the town.
The scheme has been announced alongside a £1.69 million grant to create three new churches for people living in outer urban estates in Plymouth. It is hoped that the new churches will provide support and inspiration for up to nine new churches in and around the city.
In Ely Diocese, the Church of England is to fund a project promoting church growth, focussing on the market towns of Wisbech, March, Chatteris, Littleport, Ramsey, Huntingdon and Downham Market.
In Swindon, a former railway works building is to be transformed into a church, aimed primarily at people aged under 40 years old who have no current connection with a church. Bristol Diocese anticipates the new church will act as a catalyst for training clergy and supporting mission in both new and established churches across the area.
A grant has also been made to Worcester Diocese to fund staff and a refit of St Thomas and St Luke’s Church in Dudley, and to boost work already under way at All Saints Church in Worcester. In Southwell and Nottingham Diocese, existing churches will be given further support in Nottingham, Retford and Mansfield in Nottinghamshire which in turn will help to support 75 new worshipping communities.
In Leicester Diocese a £5.3 million grant has been awarded to support six existing larger churches or teams, in developing up to 50 new churches, or worshipping communities, in the area. In Newcastle, a new church will be created in the city centre that will provide support to churches throughout the area.
A grant of £2.14 million has been awarded to Manchester Diocese to create 16 new small churches over six years, and to work with children in Bolton, especially at the points of transition from pre-school to primary school and from primary to secondary school. In Peterborough Diocese a £1.1 million grant will be used to invest in ministry with children and young people.
The grants from the Church of England’s Strategic Development Fund have been awarded to the dioceses as part of the Renewal and Reform programme aimed at creating a growing church in all places for all people.
Press reports
Olivia Rudgard The Telegraph Churches meet in coffee shops to reinvigorate congregations
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian C of E to create 100 new churches as number of Anglicans hits new low
Christian Today Church of England goes for growth with more than 100 new churches planned
Madeleine Davies and James MacIntyre Church Times Communities on the edges gain funding
A list of the 10 dioceses to receive funding is below the fold. (more…)
23 CommentsThe main business of the morning was the Report of the Cathedrals Working Group (GS2101A and GS2101B). Synod passed this motion:
That this Synod:
(a) welcome the recommendations in the Report of the Cathedrals Working Group (GS 2101A);
(b) request the Archbishops’ Council to bring forward a draft Measure for First Consideration at the July 2019 group of sessions to give effect to the recommendations that involve legislative change; and
(c) call on all concerned, including bishops, cathedrals and the National Church Institutions, to give effect to the recommendations that do not involve legislative change as soon as practically possible.
The date in paragraph (b) had been amended by Synod from February 2019 to allow more time to decide what should be in the draft measure. There was criticism particularly of the proposal in the report for there to be a vice-chair of the chapter to be appointed by the bishop.
Official press release: Church of England approves ideas to support and streamline England’s cathedrals
Stephen Lynas reports on the final day’s business: The Can(n)on’s thunder can’t prevail.
Press report
Church Times General Synod welcomes cathedrals reform but plays for time
2 Comments
Updated Tuesday morning
Order paper for the morning session
Order paper for the afternoon session
Stephen Lynas writes on Monday’s events: I fought the law…
In the morning Synod agreed the expenditure of the Archbishops’ Council for 2019.
It then spent the rest of the morning, and much of the afternoon, considering the legislation listed in the morning order paper. For the record the items for final approval were given this. Of the amendments to Draft Church Representation and Ministers Measure and the associated Amending Canon, only 518, 524 and 525 were passed. Finally the second miscellaneous provisions measure was sent to a revision committee.
This only left time for the debate on the National Health Service. This was on a Diocesan Synod Motion from Carlisle.
After amendment (to add paragraphs (b), (d) and (e)) the motion read:
That this Synod:
(a) welcome and commend the report The Long-term Sustainability of the NHS and Adult Social Care published in April 2017 by the House of Lords Select Committee on the Long-term Sustainability of the NHS;
(b) express its heartfelt gratitude for the dedication of NHS and social care staff, and call on local churches to support those working in the NHS and social care, and to pray for them regularly publicly and privately;
(c) call upon Her Majesty’s Government to implement the recommendations made by the Select Committee, giving particular consideration to:
(i) the problems arising from the use of urban models of strategic care in the rural context;
(ii) whether social care is being adequately funded in the context of an ageing population; and
(iii) whether sufficient resources are being given to the recruitment, outside larger urban centres, of experienced and highly qualified health professionals;
(d) call upon Her Majesty’s Government to establish a Royal Commission to consider how the United Kingdom’s health 2and social care needs might best be delivered and financed in the period to 2040, taking into account expected changes in life expectancy, demography and medical technology; and
(e) call upon local churches to lead by example in showing Christian compassion and care to the elderly and vulnerable in our local communities, as we have done historically and is now especially needed, given the shortfall in the funding of social care.
The motion was carried by 267 votes to none, with no recorded abstentions.
Official press release: Synod backs Royal Commission on future of health and social care
Press report
Olivia Rudgard The Telegraph Church of England sees fall in planned donations for first time in 50 years as millennials fail to engage
2 Comments