From the Exeter diocesan website:
Bishop of Exeter Announces Retirement
Posted: 10th May, 2023
The Bishop of Exeter has announced he is to retire on 30 September 2023 after more than nine years in the role.
The Rt. Rev’d Robert Atwell was installed as bishop at Exeter Cathedral in July 2014.
He is currently convenor of the Bishops in the South-West region, chair of the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission and the lead bishop for Rural Affairs.
He has been a member of the House of Lords since November 2021…
17 CommentsThe LLF documents that I linked to last week, and which were subsequently taken down from the Church of England website, have reappeared (in each case as version 2). I cannot see any differences in the contents of the old and new versions.
Members of the LLF Implementation Working Groups
LLF Implementation Working Groups Terms of Reference
There is an accompanying press release which is copied below.
Update from the Living in Love and Faith implementation working groups
02/05/2023
A series of working groups taking forward proposals for the Church of England on identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage are up and running.
At its February meeting in London, the Church of England’s General Synod, considered proposals from the bishops which would enable same-sex couples who have marked a significant stage of their relationship such as a civil marriage or civil partnership to come to church to give thanks, offer prayers of dedication to God and to receive God’s blessing.
As well as a landmark debate on a motion (below), Synod members also met in smaller groups to consider and comment on a set of draft texts known as Prayers of Love and Faith, and to offer their views on proposed pastoral guidance.
At its meeting in March, the College of Bishops agreed to set up three working groups to implement Synod’s decision, tasked with:
The full membership of the groups, drawn from across the Church of England, is below and the draft terms of reference for the groups can be found on the Living in Love and Faith section of the Church of England website.
Their work will be co-ordinated by a steering group co-chaired by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and the Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen.
The groups met together in London recently and have been meeting individually regularly.
(more…)
We reported here in November 2021 that the Bishop of Ely, Stephen Conway, was to be Acting Bishop in the Diocese of Lincoln, following the retirement of Bishop Christopher Lowson in December 2021. That arrangement will now come to an end with the announcement today that the Bishop of Grimsby will be the acting bishop from 1 May 2023 until the the new Bishop of Lincoln takes up the role.
The Crown Nominations Commission has held its two meetings to consider Lincoln (the second on 28/29 March 2023), so an announcement of who is to be the new bishop may not be too far away. But as usual it will probbaly be some months after that before he or she takes up the role.
5 CommentsPress release from the Prime Minister’s Office. There are more details on the websites of the dioceses of Leeds and Southwark.
Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Ripon: 27 April 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Anna Eltringham to the Suffragan See of Ripon in the Diocese of Leeds.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 27 April 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Anna Eltringham, KHC, Team Rector of Oxted Team Ministry, in the Diocese of Southwark, to the Suffragan See of Ripon, in the Diocese of Leeds, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley following her appointment as Bishop of Newcastle.
Anna was educated at St John’s College, Durham and trained for ministry at the South East Institute of Theological Education. She served her title at Holy Innocents, South Norwood, in the Diocese of Southwark, and was ordained priest in 2009.
Anna was appointed Team Vicar, Oxted Team Ministry, also in the Diocese of Southwark, in 2014 and was appointed to her current role as Team Rector in 2019.
Additionally, Anna has served as Dean of Women’s Ministry since 2017 and has been an Honorary Chaplain to the Monarch and Honorary Canon at Southwark Cathedral since 2020.
18 CommentsUpdated again Saturday (scroll down)
Statement from Archbishops’ Council
30/03/2023
Professor Maggie Atkinson has resigned as chair of the Church of England’s Independent Safeguarding Board, ISB; in a statement she said she wished all concerned the greatest success in their crucial work on safeguarding.
The Archbishops’ Council has agreed the appointment of Meg Munn as the acting chair until the end of 2023. She will work closely with the two other Board members, survivor advocate Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves who have started developing plans for what independent scrutiny of the Church’s national safeguarding work will look like in the long term.
The ISB work will continue to sit alongside the Church’s National Safeguarding Panel of which Meg is also the independent chair and there will be updates on this in due course.
Speaking this week, Dr Atkinson said: “Changing family circumstances and ISB matters have meant that my presence even from a distance has become a distraction and therefore I decided to tender my immediate resignation to the Archbishops’ Council.
I wish all concerned the greatest success in their crucial work on safeguarding across the Church and will keep their endeavour in my prayers.”
Dr Jonathan Gibbs, the Church of England’s lead safeguarding bishop, and member of Archbishops’ Council said: “I would like to personally thank all three board members for their work so far, particularly their important focus on responding well to survivors. I wish Maggie well as she leaves the Board and welcome Meg as she works with Jasvinder and Steve and builds on the existing work of the ISB. The Archbishops’ Council remains committed to this important principle of independent oversight as the ISB moves to its next phase.”
Meg Munn is a former MP and Government minister and a qualified social worker with extensive experience in senior safeguarding roles in local authorities. She has been the Independent Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel since 2018.
Meg said: “I am pleased to be asked to take up the role of Chair of the Independent Safeguarding Board. As I know from my work leading the National Safeguarding Panel, independent scrutiny and oversight is a vital part of the Church’s national safeguarding work. I look forward to building on that and the work of the Board to date.
I want to thank Maggie Atkinson for her work as Chair. She demonstrated a strong commitment to engaging widely to develop phase 2 of the Board’s work, an approach that I will follow.”
Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves said: ” We would like to thank Maggie Atkinson for her work and acknowledge this has not been an easy decision for her. While working with limited resources, we have met the various challenges of the past seven months. The work of the Board in raising the voices of victims and survivors has continued. We welcome Meg Munn to the role of acting Chair and look forward to our collectively work towards implementing the vision of the ISB.”
Notes
Independent Safeguarding Board Independent Safeguarding Board https://independent-safeguarding.org
National Safeguarding Panel https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding/safeguarding-governance/national-safeguarding-panel
Church of England safeguarding governance https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding/safeguarding-governance
(press release ends here)
Updates
Church Times Chair of Independent Safeguarding Board resigns with immediate effect
This contains a lot of information that is omitted from the press release.
Surviving Church Martin Sewell Independent Safeguarding Board: Even more Confusion?
This is a detailed review of the many missteps in the short life of the ISB, which needs to be read in full. Here’s two extracts:
7 Comments…This latest act in the tragi-comedy which is the ISB, came at the end of a lengthy period of the Chair being “stood back” – in truth suspended by the Church – but even from that time, the Archbishops’ Council was still maintaining the fiction that it was not controlling the very body whose role was in part to hold its parent body to account. The announcement of both the “standing back”, and the resignation were published on the CofE website; this is not insignificant; a truly independent body would have been reporting its own comings and goings.
If you read the terms of the announcement – and we must now be clear that the news management is largely in the hands of the CofE Communications Department – it was all very respectful and amicable; evidently the Chair was leaving partly to spend more time with her family. If you believe this is the top and tail of the story, I have a lovely bridge in New York to sell you – ‘real cheap.”
————-
…The appointment of Ms Atkinson’s temporary replacement brings additional important issues to light .The former MP Meg Munn who is taking over, currently numbers amongst her career portfolio of offices, that of member of the National Safeguarding Steering Group and Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel. Whether she and /or either of those bodies played any part in the original conceptualisation of the ISB or the current shenanigans is unclear. So much is and will remain unclear; General Synod has not been allowed to debate these problems and may not be in July.
One might have assumed that the interim role would have fallen to the Survivor Advocate who has been the de facto voice of the body, since Ms Atkinson has been “stepped back”. However, Jasvinder Sanghera appears to have been nudged aside, with Ms Munn imposed upon her and her colleague Steve Reeves without any notice, still less consultation, neither were survivors consulted.
One might be critical of the slow pace of change, and even perhaps of the naivety of the ISB members; sometimes they appeared to be talking a better game than they delivered within the complex and tangled institution that is the CofE.
What cannot be denied however is that Ms Sanghera and Mr Reeves have brought bona fides to their task and devoted a lot of time to talking to Survivors, gaining their confidence. The effects of the imposition of the Archbishops’ Council ‘s choice of Chair into this difficult situation without any consultation with the very group that has been abused and ignored by the Church for far too long, is yet another example of the arrogance of power that taints so much that the Church does in this area…
Press release from the Church of England
Meeting of College of Bishops March 23, 2023
24/03/2023
The College of Bishops met on Thursday to continue considering next steps for the Church of England following the recent debate at General Synod on identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.
Last month’s Synod considered proposals from the bishops which would enable same-sex couples who have marked a significant stage of their relationship such as a civil marriage or civil partnership to come to church to give thanks, offer prayers of dedication to God and to receive God’s blessing. Synod members also met in small groups to consider and comment on a set of draft texts for these prayers known as Prayers of Love and Faith, and to offer their views on proposed pastoral guidance.
At Thursday’s meeting, in London, bishops began reviewing those comments and considered how to approach the task of refining the Prayers of Love and Faith and preparing the new pastoral guidance.
They agreed to setting up three working groups and a steering group to oversee and coordinate their work, each to be made up of bishops assisted by a group of advisers drawn from across the Church, both lay and ordained.
The working groups will focus on:
It is anticipated that the steering group will be chaired by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and will include the chairs of the three working groups.
The final membership of the working groups will be confirmed and published in due course.
25 CommentsBen Bradshaw’s bill to “enable clergy of the Church of England to conduct same sex marriages on Church of England premises in certain circumstances; and for connected purposes” was given a first reading in the House of Commons yesterday under the Ten Minute Rule. The bill was opposed by the Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous), although he did not force a division of the House. As with most ten minute rule bills this one has no chance of becoming law.
The Hansard verbatim record of the debate is here, and there is this report in the Church Times.
36 CommentsUpdate
Press release from Christ Church Appointment of first female Dean of Christ Church the Rev Canon Professor Sarah Foot
Press release from the Diocese of Oxford Appointment of first female Dean of Christ Church
Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office
Appointment of the Dean of Christ Church: 16 March 2023
The King has approved that The Reverend Canon Sarah Foot be appointed Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, from 1st July 2023.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 16 March 2023
The King has approved that The Reverend Canon Sarah Foot, Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History, University of Oxford, be appointed Dean of Christ Church, Oxford from 1st July 2023 in succession to the Very Reverend Martyn Percy.
Background
Canon Professor Foot has been the Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Oxford since 2007. She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge (BA; MA; PhD), served as a Lay Canon at Christ Church from 2007-2017, and as a Residentiary Canon since her ordination in 2017.
Previously, Professor Foot was a Research Fellow then Fellow and Tutor at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge 1989-93, then successively Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Sheffield 1993-2007, where she was Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts 2005-7.
She served as Chair of the Board of Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University 2011-14. She writes on women in religion, medieval monasticism, and the early history of the Church in England, and is currently working on a study of the life and work of the Venerable Bede.
45 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
LLF Next Steps Group meeting on 3 March 2023
14/03/2023
The meeting appraised and reviewed the outcomes of the Living in Love and Faith debate and motion passed at General Synod in February and considered the scope of work required between now and the next General Synod in July 2023.
The Next Steps Group then considered and refined the agenda of the forthcoming College of Bishops meeting at the end of March. They noted that it will be important for the bishops to listen to the feedback from General Synod, the response of the wider church to the decisions made, as well as to each other’s reflections before moving on to the consider how the work of drafting the Pastoral Guidance, providing pastoral reassurance, refining the Prayers of Love and Faith and establishing the Pastoral Consultative Group will be taken forward.
With the remit of the Next Steps group now having reached its conclusion, the bishops went on to discuss the necessary phases of work after the March College of Bishops and the composition of the working groups that will take forward the work that will need to be done for the July Synod.
The meeting ended in prayer.
1 CommentThe King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Dr Matthew Porter to the Suffragan See of Bolton, in the Diocese of Manchester.
Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office. There is more detail on the diocesan website.
Suffragan Bishop of Bolton: 15 March 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Dr. Matthew Porter to the Suffragan See of Bolton, in the Diocese of Manchester.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 15 March 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Dr. Matthew Porter, Vicar of St Michael le Belfrey, in the Diocese of York to the Suffragan See of Bolton, in the Diocese of Manchester, in succession to The Right Reverend Mark Ashcroft following his retirement.
Background
Matthew holds degrees from the universities of Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield and Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky, USA and trained for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He served his title at Christ Church, Dore, in the Diocese of Sheffield, and was ordained priest in 1997. Matthew was appointed Vicar at St Chad’s, Woodseats in 2000 and additionally served as Director of Curate Training for the Diocese of Sheffield from 2005.
In 2009 Matthew was appointed Associate Minister at St Michael le Belfrey, in the Diocese of York, and has served as Vicar there since 2010. Additionally, Matthew has served on the boards of Cranmer Hall, Durham and St Hild College, Leeds, is an author, and was appointed as Honorary Chaplain to the Queen and then King in 2022.
10 CommentsThe Right Reverend Peter Eagles, the Bishop of Sodor and Man, has announced that he is to retire from the role on 28 October 2023.
45 CommentsThe King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Madhu Smitha Prasadam, Chaplain of St Alban’s, Copenhagen, in the Diocese of Europe to the Suffragan See of Huddersfield, in the Diocese of Leeds.
Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office. There is more on the diocesan website.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 8 March 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Madhu Smitha Prasadam, Chaplain of St Alban’s, Copenhagen, in the Diocese of Europe to the Suffragan See of Huddersfield, in the Diocese of Leeds, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Jonathan Gibbs following his appointment as Bishop of Rochester.
Smitha was educated at Leeds University (College of Ripon and York St John) and trained for ministry at Queen’s College Birmingham. She served her title at St Paul, Blackheath in the Diocese of Birmingham, and was ordained Priest in 2004. She was the Vicar of St Paul, Hamstead in the Diocese of Birmingham from 2007 to 2018.
Smitha was appointed to her current role as Chaplain of St Alban’s, Copenhagen in the Diocese of Europe in 2018. She has additionally served as Canon on the Cathedral Chapter since 2021.
7 CommentsA former presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold, has died.
The Episcopal Church:
Diocese of Chicago:
The Living Church Frank T. Griswold, 25th Presiding Bishop, 1937-2023
Church Times Frank Griswold, a former US Presiding Bishop, dies aged 85
4 Commentspress release 23/02/2023:
Archbishops’ Commission on Racial Justice releases Second Biannual Report
The Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice has released the second of its biannual Racial Justice reports.
Mandated to drive ‘significant cultural and structural change on issues of racial justice within the Church of England’, the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice (“ACRJ”), headed by The Rt Hon Lord Paul Boateng, is charged with monitoring, holding to account and supporting the implementation of the forty-seven recommendations of the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce which were laid out in the Taskforce’s comprehensive 2021 report From Lament to Action….
The remainder of the press release is copied below the fold. From another page:
In this, the second of the six reports the ACRJ will produce, we have reported on the work of the seven workstreams since the publication of the Spring 2022 report and on the progress of work on the five priority areas and the forty-seven recommendations identified in From Lament to Action.
The full text of the report is available here.
A report in the Church Times is available here: Lord Boateng: Church’s racial-justice progress is slow, despite accusations of haste
8 CommentsThe Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev James Newcome, has announced that he will retire at the end of August 2023.
56 CommentsThe Rt Revd Dr Lee Rayfield, the Bishop of Swindon, has announced that he will retire on Sunday 30 April 2023.
8 CommentsThe Church of England Evangelical Council has published some new documents which give further detail on what it thinks should now happen in the Church of England.
John Dunnett, CEEC Director of Strategy and Operations sets out CEEC’s position in A Brief Overview of CEEC’s Position Post Living in Love and Faith.
Keeping Faith: Every Voice Matters is a 6 page PDF document in which:
CEEC calls on EVERY evangelical church, member and leader to:
share with your bishop(s) your dismay at the decision of the General Synod to ‘green light’ the bishops’ proposed Prayers of Love and Faith to affirm and celebrate relationships outside marriage between one man and one woman, which will often be sexually active
take appropriate actions in your context in response to this development
make sure that any action you take is known about within your local church and by CEEC (see next page for CEEC contact details)…
A slightly older document about “Writing to your bishop” has this:
Download our simple tips and ideas for your letter.
You can find the names and email addresses of all the bishops here.
The Rt Revd Rob Wickham, the Bishop of Edmonton, has today been appointed the new Group Chief Executive of Church Urban Fund (CUF). He will take up the role of CEO on 10 July 2023.
There are announcements on the London diocesan website and the CUF website.
4 CommentsThis statement was issued today by the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches:
Statement of GSFA Primates on the CofE’s Decision regarding Blessing of Same Sex Unions.
That link above is to a .docx format file. Readers may find this PDF version more accessible.
The Anglican Communion Office has issued this response: Statement by the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued this response: Lambeth Palace responds to GFSA statement. [text copied below the fold]
47 Comments