News from the Diocese of Southwark
The Bishop of Kingston, The Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham, announced today that he will be concluding his term of office on 17 October 2022, the 20th anniversary of his consecration. He is one of the longest-serving stipendiary bishops in the Church of England…
38 CommentsAssistant Bishop of Bangor announced
One of the first women to become a priest in the Church in Wales will be consecrated as a bishop next month.
Mary Stallard, who has served as Archdeacon of Bangor for the past four years, has been nominated as Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Bangor. She will share the leadership of the diocese while the Bishop of Bangor, Andrew John, serves as Archbishop of Wales.
Mary will be consecrated as a bishop at Bangor Cathedral on February 26. The new Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, John Lomas, will also be consecrated at that service…
15 CommentsThe Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Reverend Nicholas McKinnel, is to retire in August 2022. Plymouth is a suffragan see in the Diocese of Exeter.
13 CommentsThe Bishop of Maidstone, the Rt Revd Rod Thomas, has announced his intention to retire on 2 October 2022 – see here (scroll down).
75 CommentsPress release from the Prime Minister’s Office – there is more on the Diocese of Salisbury’s website.
Appointment of Bishop of Salisbury: 13 January 2022
The Queen has approved the nomination of The Very Reverend Stephen Lake, Dean of Gloucester, for election as Bishop of Salisbury.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 13 January 2022
The Queen has approved the nomination of The Very Reverend Stephen Lake, Dean of Gloucester, for election as Bishop of Salisbury, in succession to The Right Reverend Nicholas Holtam following his retirement.
Background
Stephen trained for ministry at Chichester Theological College. He served his title at Sherborne Abbey with Castleton and Lillington in the Diocese of Salisbury and was ordained Priest in 1989.
He became Vicar of Branksome St Aldhelm from 1992 and was additionally appointed Rural Dean of Poole in 2000. In 2001, Stephen was appointed Sub Dean of St Albans, and took up his current role as Dean of Gloucester in 2011.
Stephen is a Church Commissioner and Lead Dean for Safeguarding. He is married to Carol and they have three adult children.
48 CommentsNews from the Church of England
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has announced the appointment of the Rev’d Canon Dr Flora Winfield as Third Church Estates Commissioner
11/01/2022
Canon Winfield was ordained deacon in 1989 and priest in 1994. She has worked in parish and cathedral ministry, university and military chaplaincy, ecumenical and Anglican Communion relations, and humanitarian diplomacy, representing the Anglican Communion at the United Nations. Canon Winfield is currently the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Advisor on Reconciliation.
As Third Church Estates Commissioner, Canon Winfield will join the Church Commissioners for England’s Board of Governors and will chair the Mission, Pastoral and Church Property Committee and the Bishoprics and Cathedrals Committee.
Welcoming the appointment, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “Flora has an exceptional record of service to the Church and will be a valuable addition to the Church Commissioners’ leadership.
“I am very pleased that Flora is joining the Church Commissioners, bringing to this role her breadth of ministerial experience, her extensive leadership and theological expertise and her service as a senior member of staff at Lambeth Palace.”
Commenting on her appointment, Canon Winfield said:” I welcome the opportunity to make this contribution to the life and work of the Church of England in a time of change, development and possibility, as we respond to Christ’s call to grow as disciples, building on our historic inheritance and looking forward together with confidence and hope.”
The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, deputy chair of the Church Commissioners, said: “Flora’s deep faith, experience with the Church at a local and international level and passion for furthering the Kingdom of God makes her an ideal Third Church Estates Commissioner. I am very much looking forward to working with her in this role.”
Canon Winfield has taught ecclesiology and church history and has published books and articles in the field of ecumenical theology. In 2010, she was awarded a DD by Virginia Theological Seminary for her 20 years of service to the Communion as a theologian.
Canon Winfield has been a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London since 2010, is a Director of the Anglican Alliance, is a member of Chapter at Bradford Cathedral, and a Trustee of the Community of St Andrew. She assumes the role of Third Estates Commissioner on 1 February.
Further information:
Particular priorities for the new Third Commissioner will be:
It has been announced from Lambeth Palace that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have appointed Stephen Knott as the new Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments, who plays a key role in the nomination of bishops and cathedral deans. He will take up the role at the end of January 2022.
The Lambeth Palace press release is copied below, and there is further information at the Church Times.
47 CommentsThe next Dean of Bradford in the diocese of Leeds will be the Revd Andy Bowerman. Here is the diocesan announcement.
22 CommentsThe name of the next Area Bishop of Barking has been announced from 10 Downing Street. There is more information at the Diocese of Chelmsford website.
Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Barking: 30 November 2021
The Queen has approved the nomination of The Reverend Lynne Cullens to the Suffragan See of Barking.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 30 November 2021
The Queen has approved the nomination of The Reverend Lynne Cullens, Rector of Stockport and Brinnington, in the Diocese of Chester, to the Suffragan See of Barking, in the Diocese of Chelmsford, in succession to The Right Reverend Peter Hill, following his retirement on 4th August 2021.
Background
Lynne was educated at Manchester University and trained for ministry at the Southern North West Training Partnership. She served her title at St Peter’s, St Stephen’s, St John the Evangelist and Holy Trinity, Congleton, in the Diocese of Chester and was ordained Priest in 2013.
In 2015, Lynne became a non-stipendiary minister at St John the Evangelist, Sandbach Heath, and was appointed Priest in Charge at St Andrew with St John the Baptist Church, Crewe in 2016.
In 2019, Lynne took up her current role as Rector of Stockport and Brinnington, also in the Diocese of Chester.
61 CommentsThe name of the next Area Bishop of Willesden has been announced from 10 Downing Street. There is more information at the Diocese of London website.
The Queen has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Mission and Ministry Enabler, in the Diocese of Leicester, to the Suffragan See of Willesden, in the Diocese of London, in succession to The Right Reverend Peter Broadbent who resigned on 30th September 2021.
Lusa was educated in Theology at the Faculté Universitaire de Théologie Protestante, Brussels and trained for ministry at Cranmer Hall, Durham. He served his title at All Saints, Staplehurst, in the Diocese of Canterbury and was ordained Priest in 2009.
In 2012, Lusa was appointed Vicar at St Aidan, Gravesend, in the Diocese of Rochester and in 2017, he took up his current role as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Mission and Ministry Enabler in the Diocese of Leicester.
He is married to Mirjam who works as Discipleship Officer at Leicester Cathedral. They have three young children.
13 CommentsThe BBC reports that following recent approval by the Governing Body of the Church in Wales, the civil partnership of a priest in Llangollen and his partner was today blessed in a service led by the Bishop of St Asaph. It is believed to be the first such service in the Church in Wales. The Scottish Episcopal Church became the first Anglican church in the UK to allow same-sex marriages in 2017.
43 CommentsNews
Church Times Welsh agree to same-sex blessings in church
BBC Church in Wales to give blessings for same-sex marriages
The Telegraph The Church in Wales to bless gay marriages
The Guardian Church in Wales votes to bless same-sex marriages
Comment
Equal The Church in Wales will bless same-sex marriages and civil partnerships
Charlie Bell Equal A fly on the wall
15 CommentsHere is the official Methodist press release: Conference confirms resolutions on marriage and relationships
Following prayerful consideration by the whole Church, the Methodist Conference has voted to confirm provisional resolutions on the principles or qualities of good relating, understanding of cohabitation and same sex marriages conducted on Methodist premises or by Methodist office-holders.
A report on marriage and relationships, ‘God in Love Unites Us’, was received by the Conference in 2019 and the local District Synods were asked to consider the provisional resolutions and report back to this year’s Conference which is being held this week in Birmingham. The Conference received a report on the results of the local conferring which showed that 29 out of the 30 Synods confirmed support for the provisional resolutions.
The Revd Sonia Hicks, President of the Conference, prayed ahead of the main debate on Wednesday morning in Birmingham, asking that the Conference’s “words may be imbibed with your grace, with tenderness from on high.”
A range of views were expressed on the resolutions, in particular on cohabitation and same sex marriages. The Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler, spoke to the Conference acknowledging the “depth of feeling, pain and anxiety that there is” with a commitment to work across the Connexion with District Chairs to heal divisions.
Speakers called for unity going ahead irrespective of the decision. Other speakers spoke of the acceptance of diversity that younger Church members have for each other with younger speakers relating their own lived experience as Christians from the LGBTQI+ community. Another representative asked that the Church does not ostracise those who oppose the introduction of same-sex marriages in the Church, saying the great majority of these people are trying to be faithful to Scripture as they see it.
The Methodist Church included other denominations and Methodist Churches across the world in the process of listening and consultation, with written submissions from ecumenical partners to the ‘God In Love Unites Us‘ report and workshops with global Methodist partners.
Following the vote on the provisional resolutions the Revd Sonia Hicks said: “The debate today and our wider conversation has been conducted with grace and mutual respect. As we move forward together after this historic day for our Church, we must remember to continue to hold each other in prayer, and to support each other respecting our differences.”
Church Times news report: Methodists agree to same-sex weddings in church
…The Conference, meeting both online and in-person at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham this week, voted 254 to 46 in favour of a resolution by which “the Conference consents in principle to the marriage of same-sex couples on Methodist premises throughout the Connexion and by Methodist ministers, probationers or members in so far as the law of the relevant jurisdiction permits or requires and subject to compliance with such further requirements, if any, as that law imposes.”
This involved redrafting the Methodist marriage canon to replace the premise that marriage is between one man and one woman. The relevant standing order now states: “The Methodist Church believes that marriage is given by God to be a particular channel of God’s grace, and that it is in accord with God’s purposes when a marriage is a life-long union in body, mind and spirit of two people who freely enter it.
“Within the Methodist Church this is understood in two ways: that marriage can only be between a man and a woman; that marriage can be between any two people. The Methodist Church affirms both understandings and makes provision in its Standing Orders for them.”
BBC Methodist Church allows same-sex marriage in ‘momentous’ vote
Guardian Methodist church to allow same-sex marriage after ‘historic’ vote
Daily Mail Methodist Church becomes biggest religious group in Britain to say yes to same-sex marriages
The Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England has issued this Statement on the Methodist Conference Vote on Marriage Equality 30 June 2021
The Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England rejoices in and welcomes the news that the Methodist Conference has consented in principle to the marriage of same-sex couples on Methodist premises and by Methodist ministers. The resolution was passed by a very large majority (254 to 46) after a long and impressive debate marked by a generous and kind spirit from both those in favour and those opposing the motion.
This means that the Methodist Church of Great Britain, which covers all of Scotland, Wales and England, will become the largest UK denomination that fully accepts marriage equality and will welcome LGBTQIA+ couples to marry in their churches.
The decision was taken, after many years of discussion and debate, on the basis of the Report of the Marriage and Relationships Task Group 2019, God in Love Unites Us, which was discussed extensively at the 2019 Methodist Conference and commended for study and prayerful discussion throughout the Church through 2020.
The Campaign congratulates Dignity and Worth – our sister organisation in the Methodist Church – for their tireless work for this outcome.
We call upon the bishops of the Next Steps Group to ensure that proposals for marriage equality in the Church of England form part of their report in due course.
We reported in October on the coverage in the press asking why the recently retired Archbishop of York had not been given a peerage. The Prime Minister’s office has today released a list of Political Peerages 2020, and Dr Sentamu is included in the Crossbench section of the list. Despite the title of the press release, the crossbench nominations are for public service.
26 CommentsUpdated Tuesday
There has been a lot of coverage in the press over the weekend and this morning about why the recently retired Archbishop of York has not (yet?) been given a peerage. His three predecessors (Hope, Hapgood, Blanch) were. The three before that (Coggan, Ramsey, Lang) were all translated to Canterbury and in due course received the customary peerage for retiring Archbishops of Canterbury.
The Times Peerage snub for top black bishop John Sentamu
The Guardian John Sentamu peerage snub criticised as ‘institutional prejudice’
Telegraph Downing Street insists life peerage for John Sentamu ‘imminent’ amid backlash over delay
Yorkshire Post Accusations mount over peerage snub for former Archbishop of York John Sentamu
York Press Peerage snub for former Archbishop of York
John Sentamu peerage expected ‘imminently’ after criticism of Government
ITV Former Archbishop of York John Sentamu peerage expected ‘imminently’ after criticism of government
Update
Church Times Sentamu will get his peerage, government sources say
Yorkshire Post John Sentamu will have place in House of Lords after backlash over apparent snub
30 CommentsThe death has been announced of John Habgood, who served as Archbishop of York between 1983 and 1995, and before that as Bishop of Durham for 10 years. He was 91, and died on Wednesday, 6 March.
There is a statement from Archbishop John Sentamu here:
The sad news of the death yesterday of former Archbishop of York, John Stapylton Habgood, comes as northern bishops gather for a Diocesan mission in Liverpool. As a hugely distinguished scientist, theologian and philosopher, Archbishop Habgood’s faith in Christ gave him a particular perspective and a persuasive witness both to church and nation for his time. His many books simplified big and complex questions, revealing an incredibly perceptive intellect. I’m very glad to have confirmed his grandchildren and dedicated a room in his honour at Bishopthorpe Palace.
His towering presence, physical, intellectual, and spiritual, was a gift to all who knew him. My prayers are with his family at this time. May he Rest in Peace, and rise in glory.
Further coverage at the Church Times and the BBC.
40 CommentsThe Ozanne Foundation has published the results of the 2018 National Faith & Sexuality Survey. There is this Press Release which summarises the results:
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS REPORTS OF SIGNIFICANT HARM EXPERIENCED BY LGBQ+ CHILDREN OF FAITH WHO ARE SUBJECT TO “CONVERSION THERAPY”
The 2018 National Faith & Sexuality Survey has revealed the high level of mental health issues reported amongst people who have attempted changing their sexual orientation, with many sharing they have attempted suicide or had suicidal thoughts. Over half said they first attempted to change whilst they were 18 or under with many stating they were influenced by their religious leader. 22 people said they had been forced to undergo sexual activity with someone of the opposite gender. These attempts were reported as being overwhelmingly unsuccessful, with the primary motivations given for attempting to change relating to either religious beliefs or internationalised homophobia.
The survey, the first of its kind in the UK, was designed to understand the impact of religious belief on people’s understanding and acceptance of their sexual orientation. It ran during December 2018 and attracted over 4600 responses, of which a tenth (458) stated they had personal experience of attempting to change their sexual orientation. Over half of these said they had experienced mental health issues, of whom nearly a third (91 people) said they had attempted suicide while over two-thirds (193 people) said they had had suicidal thoughts. Two in five of those who reported mental health issues indicated they had self- harmed and a quarter said they had suffered from eating disorders. Few said they had sought advice from the medical profession but instead nearly half said they had sought advice from their religious leader, who was identified as being significantly more likely than parents to be the person to advise or force attempts at sexual orientation change…
…The report is being presented at a lunchtime fringe meeting at the General Synod on February 21st 2019 ahead of the Church of England’s own presentation of its proposed “Pastoral Principles” for pastoral ministry among LGBTI+ people in the Church.
The full set of results can be downloaded here.
The survey questionnaire can be downloaded here.
The full Executive Report can be downloaded here.
Media coverage is being collated over here.
12 CommentsThe Church Times reports on a project to help faith schools with educating pupils on LGBT issues:
LGBT plan for faith schools released
A TEN-POINT plan to help children deal with LGBT issues at faith schools has been released as part of a report into the LGBT charity Educate and Celebrate.
The study, written by Dr Anna Carlile, a researcher in the Department of Education at Goldsmiths, University of London, collected interview and focus-group data from five representative schools where Educate and Celebrate had worked.
Educate and Celebrate works with faith schools and schools that serve faith communities to help them understand the LGBT community. Their ten-step process is: first, to “begin with a one-off anti-bullying assembly, which builds staff confidence”; and, second, to “embed the Educate and Celebrate materials across the curriculum and within the school environment, with full usualising achieved by the end of the school year”.
The full text of the report is available here.
Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that many faith leaders are signatories to an open letter to the Department for Education, urging them not to weaken the draft guidance for independent schools:
Don’t back down on LGBT guidance, faith leaders urge DfE
More than 50 faith leaders, education experts and rights advocates have said young LGBT people would be at increased risk of bullying in schools if the government waters down draft guidance in response to pressure.
The Department for Education has issued draft advice to independent schools, saying secondary school children should know about “protected characteristics” under the 2010 Equality Act, which include gender reassignment and sexual orientation. Primary school children should be “aware of the ways in which people can be different and be respectful of those differences”.
The full list of signatories is below the text of the letter: All schools should encourage respect and LGBT acceptance.
0 Comments0 CommentsOneBodyOneFaith is an ecumenical organisation with over forty years of history campaigning for full LGBTI+ inclusion and affirmation within the life of the church. Over the last three years our Chief Executive Officer supported by the Board of Trustees has focused on a new name and branding, sustainability and identifying a clear strategy reflecting our unique place in this area of work.
We are very excited for a new phase of growth, development and challenge and are seeking a leader who can work in partnership with the Trustees to enable this to happen. As part of our desire to ensure the sustainability of our work we have redefined the Chief Executive Officer role and are looking for a hands-on Executive Director.
Full details can be found in the job description below together with an application form and equal opportunities monitoring form.
For an informal conversation about the role please contact the Chair of Trustees, The Reverend Canon Peter Leonard at chair@onebodyonefaith.org.uk
Completed application forms to be emailed to hello@onebodyonefaith.org.uk
Closing date for applications: midday on Wednesday 23rd January 2019.
Interviews will be held at the OneBodyOneFaith offices in Newark on Thursday 7th February 2019.
Executive Director Job Description
The Ozanne Foundation has today announced this:
The 2018 Faith & Sexuality Survey is designed to explore the impact of religious belief on people’s understanding and development of their sexual orientation and identity. It is as such not designed to understand in any depth people’s gender identity.
It is open to all individuals living in the UK who are over 16 and should take about 10 – 15 minutes to complete. Please be assured that your responses will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
To take the survey go here.
The research project is being managed by the Ozanne Foundation and is being overseen by an Advisory Board that consists of:
Dr Jamie Harrison, Chair of the House of Laity, Church of England
Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism
Martin Pollecoff, Chair of UK Council of Pyschotherapists
Teddy Prout, Director of Community Services Humanists UK
Khakan Qureshi, Founder of Birmingham South Asian LGBT+ – Finding a Voice
Professor Sir Bernard Silverman, Former President of the Royal Statistical Society
Rt Revd Dr David Walker, Bishop of Manchester
The survey will run until December 31st 2018 and the results will be presented at a fringe meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England in February 2019.
The December 9th 2018 Press Release is available here.
For more information please contact survey@ozanne.foundation.
23 Comments