THE Medical Adviser to the Church of England emphasised on Wednesday that the suspension of public worship must be implemented “without exception”, after advice from individual bishops appeared to contradict it, prompting confusion among the clergy…
…Within hours, different interpretations of the advice were circulating online. A central question was whether clergy would be joined by worshippers at the daily Offices or say them alone, and whether the laity could still receive communion. Clergy also questioned how public worship could be avoided if churches were to be kept open throughout the day. Some expressed frustration at the variation in episcopal advice and concern that people were seeking out loopholes in the Archbishops’ guidance…
On Thursday, the Archbishops issued a clarifying Ad Clerum, which acknowledged that “not receiving holy communion is a serious loss for the people we serve”.
The Ad Clerum mentioned immediately above can be found in the next article. At the time of publication here (11.30 pm Thursday), it had apparently not yet appeared on other websites, but had evidently been issued by email on Thursday afternoon. It isn’t mentioned in the official CofE Daily Media Digest for Friday, either.
Some other ad clerums and similar notices are linked below. Please would readers add comments below to provide links to other dioceses. London College of BishopsArchdeacon of London
(interesting to note that “The Diocese of Oxford’s Emergency Planning Team wrote to incumbents and wardens on 9 March requesting that each parish and/or benefice puts in place a continuity plan in preparedness for the developing Coronavirus situation.”)
on Wednesday, 18 March 2020 at 5.44 pm by Simon Sarmiento
categorised as Church of England
I have copied this into plain text from the official page (which may change, so check it directly; this version was datestamped 16.50 Wed 18 March)
PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR FUNERALS
In this exceptional time, the Government’s guidance on social distancing and self-isolation will have a major impact on all aspects of everyday life, including the way funerals will be conducted for the immediate future. Christian funerals will continue in the Church of England but inevitably there will be some adaptations to protect everyone.
This means funerals can go ahead, but they may be different from what might normally be expected.
BEFORE THE FUNERAL
It is advised that meetings between the bereaved and the person taking the funeral (officiant) are held by telephone, skype etc rather than face-to-face. If meetings can only be held in person, social distancing guidance will be followed.
PLANNING THE FUNERAL
Although this will be very difficult for everyone, numbers of those attending the funeral will have to be kept to a minimum – we advise immediate family only. This should also be communicated to anyone in the wider circle of friends, family or colleagues in advance. Sadly, those over the age of 70 and those with an underlying health condition are strongly discouraged from attending in the present circumstances.
Any changes to the normal service will be explained by the officiant to the family.
Where family relatives or friends are unable to attend a funeral service, clergy can still take a funeral at the graveside or crematorium, even if those present are limited to clergy and funeral directors.
Consider whether a memorial service could be held at some point in the future, which is an opportunity for more people to come together once Government guidance permits.
Those who are self-isolating may be offered the opportunity to join the service via a system such as Skype or another audio link. Failing this, a recording could be made which can be sent to anyone unable to attend after the service.
Where no audio link can be achieved, officiants may be able to provide an order of service, either by email or post.
No additional people should be expected to attend the service, such as an organist, verger, sound system operator etc.
DURING THE FUNERAL
Everyone attending the service must adhere to Government guidance on social distancing. Please follow the directions of the officiant and funeral director if you are attending a service.
While naturally those present may wish to shake hands or hug, all present should refrain from doing so in light of guidance on physical distancing.
AFTER THE FUNERAL
In keeping with the recommendations to limit social gatherings, there should not be a wake or other gathering after the funeral, although it may possible to hold a gathering at a later date
If you are organising the funeral of a loved one, we are acutely aware of what a difficult time this will be. We will do our best to explain any changes or delays which may be an inevitable consequence of the current restrictions – for example, to the burial of ashes – but we are here to support you and to ensure a Christian funeral and burial can still be provided.
1. Until further notice, all parish organisations and activities should cease.
2. Until further notice, all Sunday and midweek services (gatherings for worship) should be suspended.
3. Until further notice, steps should be taken to ensure that numbers attending funeral services and weddings are kept as low as possible.
on Tuesday, 17 March 2020 at 2.55 pm by Simon Sarmiento
categorised as Church of England
Updated 4.50 pm Tuesday
Revised FAQs have been published, but there are major gaps in the information available on subjects such as baptisms, confirmations, wedding banns, and funerals, all of which are urgently required by parish clergy across the land.
at 1.30 pm Tuesday, the Church of England published the following notice:
Last updated Tuesday 17 March 2020 at 13:30
In light of the Government guidance around non-essential contact, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued advice that public worship is suspended until further notice.
Churches should be open where possible but with no public worship services taking place. Prayers can be said by clergy and ministers on behalf of everyone and churches should consider ways of sharing this with the wider community. See more below on digital resources that are under development and currently available.
A complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure against the Dean of Lincoln, Christine Wilson, made by the national director of safeguarding has now been determined by the Bishop of Sheffield. The complaint related to the way in which the Dean dealt with a safeguarding disclosure made to her.
The Bishop took into account that the Dean had admitted misconduct and had expressed genuine regret in not immediately following the correct process when handling and reporting the disclosure that was made to her. He also took into account that she had agreed to undergo further safeguarding training.
On that basis, and with the Dean’s consent, the Bishop directed that the matter was to be recorded conditionally and remain on the record for four years (“conditional deferment”). The result is that if another complaint is made against the Dean, the conditionally deferred complaint may also be proceeded with together with the new complaint.
During consideration of the complaint, the Dean had voluntarily stepped back from exercising ministry.
Melissa Caslake, national director of safeguarding, said: “The Church takes all safeguarding issues very seriously and it is vital lessons are learnt, and in this case further training undertaken, when our policies and procedures are not followed, to ensure the Church is a safer place for all.”
The following is a joint statement from the Acting Bishop of Lincoln and the Dean of Lincoln
A complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure against the Dean of Lincoln, the Very Revd Christine Wilson, made by the national director of safeguarding, regarding how a safeguarding allegation was reported, has been determined by the Bishop of Sheffield.
The majority of the complaint has been upheld and it was determined to be out of character and unlikely to be repeated. The dean has completed further safeguarding training and is now returning to ministry in the Cathedral and the Diocese.
Dean Christine Wilson says she has learnt important lessons in responding well to survivors and understands the importance of making apologies when the church gets things wrong. She is looking forward to resuming ministry in the Cathedral, serving the city and the county.
________________________
Visitation
In addition:
The Acting Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Reverend Dr David Court is aware of a range of issues that have been raised with him that are connected to the life of the Cathedral. Therefore, he is planning to initiate a Bishop’s Visitation and will issue a fuller statement on this within the next week.
SENIOR members of Christ Church, Oxford, have been accused of “weaponising” the suffering of abuse victims in a further attempt to oust the Dean, the Very Revd Dr Martyn Percy.
On Wednesday of last week, a message accusing the Dean of safeguarding lapses was posted on the college website (News, 6 March). Dr Percy issued an instant rebuttal. (Elements of his rebuttal were then challenged by lawyers working for the college.)
The Diocesan Canon Precentor, the Revd Dr Grant Bayliss, has written to all members of the Governing Body to object to the message, which was circulated to the press by the PR firm Luther Pendragon. Canon Bayliss, who is not a member of the Governing Body, has filed a complaint against the small “press group” at the college responsible for the rushed and “staggeringly inadequate” consultation process on Wednesday of last week, when the safeguarding statement was posted on the college website.
He goes on: “I find the fact that no comment or mitigating defence from the Dean was included in the House statement bewildering. . . Moreover, how is it that our website has still not been updated with the Dean’s response, and that its existence is only evident in the Guardian and Church Times?”
He concludes by considering the view that the safeguarding statement was an “intentional attack” on the Dean. “Like some colleagues, I have spent many hours supporting and counselling victims of abuse and violent crime, and to ‘weaponize’ such suffering in any way is beneath contempt…”
Queen approves nomination to the Suffragan See of Sherwood.
Published 11 March 2020
Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Doctor Andrew Neil Emerton BSc, BTh, DPhil, Dean of St Mellitus College, in the Diocese of London to the Suffragan See of Sherwood, in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, in succession to the Right Reverend Anthony Porter BA MA who is due to retire on 22nd March 2020.
Andy was educated at York University, and Queens College, Oxford and trained for ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He served his title at Holy Trinity Brompton in the Diocese of London and was ordained Priest in 2006.
In 2008, Andy was appointed as Assistant Dean, St Mellitus College and in 2015 Andy took up his current roles as Dean, St Mellitus College and Principal, St Paul’s Theological Centre
Update
There is more detail on the diocesan website, including the consecration date which is Ascension Day 21 May 2020.
The bishops heard from the Reverend Professor Gina Radford and the Reverend Dr Brendan McCarthy on the developing situation with regard to the spread of the Coronavirus. They also heard about the Archbishops’ decision to update the latest guidance.
The bishops also discussed the Living in Love and Faith project in advance of this summer’s publication of the teaching and learning resources.
…It is our view, in light of the continued increase of Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom, that it is now necessary to suspend the administration of the chalice as well as physical contact during the sharing of the peace, blessing or “laying on of hands”.
We therefore advise that all priests should:-
Offer Communion in one kind only to all communicants i.e. the consecrated bread/wafer/host, with the priest alone taking the wine;
suspend handshaking or other direct physical contact during the sharing of the peace;
suspend direct physical contact as part of a blessing or ‘laying on of hands’…
The full Church of England advice can be found over here.
…In response [to the latest Christ Church statement], Dr Percy issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon denying the accusation and citing a police statement. He writes: “For the avoidance of doubt, the Dean dealt correctly with three historic cases of reported sexual assault in the academic year 2016-17, and the information on these were shared with the appropriate college officers at the time. One of these individuals had already made a report to the police, which was already known to the college officers concerned.
“A fourth historic disclosure was made by an individual who had never reported the matter to the police, and only agreed to talk about the alleged assault on the condition that there was no further disclosure. Their position of this individual has not changed.
“No person making a disclosure was still a minor — all were over 21. Three of the cases took place before 2014, prior to the Dean taking up office. None of alleged perpetrators posed a safeguarding risk.”
The Dean goes on to state that, in 2017, he raised concerns that college officers were ignorant of their safeguarding duties, and were untrained, something borne out by an email from Professor Johnson at the time, quoted in The Times.
LGBT+ campaigners will hold a church service led by two high-profile married lesbian priests on the eve of the Lambeth conference, a once-a-decade assembly of Anglican bishops from around the world that is expected to be dominated by conflicts over sexuality and marriage.
The move is likely to rile conservative bishops who maintain that homosexuality is a sin.
An “inclusive” eucharist at a church in Canterbury will be presided over by the Rt Rev Mary Glasspool, an assistant bishop in New York. The preacher will be the Rev Canon Mpho Tutu van Furth, a daughter of Desmond Tutu, the veteran South African anti-apartheid campaigner.
The service is intended to send a strong message to up to 1,000 bishops from 165 countries who are due to gather at the University of Kent at the end of July for almost two weeks of prayer and discussion about issues facing the worldwide Anglican church…
Updated Monday; updated again Tuesday, and again Wednesday (scroll down)
We last reported on this long-running saga on 16 February. Today The Times carries a lengthy article by Andrew Billen which contains a great deal more detail, and names of individuals involved, than any previous report. You will need to register with the website to read this. It’s well worth the trouble.
…It is the story of how a professor at Christ Church blew the whistle on an archaic and inadequate safeguarding regime that had failed her, and claims of how a cabal of academics conspired first to thwart and then delay his proposed reforms before working to remove him from office. The whistleblower was not a junior employee, a naive young don, but the head of the college, the dean of Christ Church himself, the Very Rev Professor Martyn Percy…
There has been a clear attempt, through the media, to disrupt the ongoing mediation process that the Governing Body is funding to resolve the current dispute with the Dean. Confidential legal information has been leaked and presented in a deliberately-misleading fashion, aimed at damaging the reputation of Christ Church and a number of its former and current trustees. This account of the dispute is simply not true. Even in the light of such pressure, we remain committed to the mediation.
There is categorically no link between safeguarding and the complaint over pay initiated by the Dean. Christ Church is focused on providing a safe environment for all, and to giving safeguarding the highest importance. Christ Church has been reviewing its safeguarding processes over the last three years and we are confident that all relevant policies met statutory requirements throughout the period in question.
Legal advice has been provided to trustees and officers, acting on behalf of Christ Church, throughout the dispute with the Dean. Those trustees and officers are, and always have been, committed to working for the good of Christ Church. In December 2019, a vote of no confidence was put to the Governing Body. 38 voted that they had no confidence in the Dean, with only 2 against the motion. Frustrations conveyed about the Dean, exacerbated by the dispute over his pay, have also in the past been expressed in some private emails – however, again, none of these related to safeguarding matters.
Mediation with the Dean, funded by Christ Church, is due to continue next week. We very much hope that we can find a way forward through this process.
The headline in the paper edition reads: Don’t read it! Oxford college tries to silence defence of dean.
…On Sunday evening all 60 members of the governing body of Christ Church were emailed an unredacted copy of the judgment delivered in secret last summer by Sir Andrew Smith, a retired High Court judge.
The emailed copy was sent by the Rev Jonathan Aitken, the former cabinet minister who was once an undergraduate at the college…
…Within half an hour of Mr Aitken sending his email, Geraldine Johnson, the senior Governing Body member …wrote: Please immediately delete the email from Mr Aitken… It is extremely important that we retain our united front on this matter…
Do read the full article if you can. There is also a letter to the editor from Jonathan Aitken.
Update 3: (Wednesday 4 March) There is a new statement from Christ Church: Update on Safeguarding
On 7 February 2020, we received a media enquiry regarding the two Employment Tribunal claims, which the Dean has lodged against Christ Church. This included an allegation that a former student had been sexually assaulted during their time at Christ Church, whilst still a minor. Upon further investigation, it is apparent that this allegation was disclosed to the Dean, but never reported by him to the police, the local authority designated officer, Christ Church’s safeguarding officers, or the Church of England’s safeguarding officer.
This allegation has now been reported to the police. Internal investigations have subsequently raised serious concerns about the Dean’s handling of four separate matters reported to him. All relate to allegations of sexual abuse or assault, two involving a minor. On legal advice, we have also made a report to the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Office, and they have opened an investigation.
There is no implication whatsoever that the Dean himself has been involved in any form of sexual misconduct.
Protecting our students, pupils, staff, and all those who live, work, or study at Christ Church is our highest priority. We are assisting the Church of England and the police in their enquiries, and we are putting in place measures to ensure that our safeguarding obligations continue to be met.
Christ Church’s Governing Body is fully committed to safeguarding and has robust policies and processes in place. Our thoughts are with any survivors of abuse affected by this news. If anyone requires immediate support, they should contact Christ Church or the police.