Archdruid Eileen The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley The Beaker Folk Issue a Pamphlet About Civil Partnerships
Andrew Wilson NewsThump Church of England challenges Roman Catholicism in bid to be Christianity’s moral mafia
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of ministerial training; what did full time training do for anyone?
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Reflections on the life of Bishop Peter Ball
This refers to a Church Times letter by Colin Buchanan; it is the second one here.
Peter Leonard ViaMedia.News Restoring Trust….In Church and State
Paper and String Church The Cliff Face
34 CommentsIn response to the recent House of Bishops statement on Civil Partnerships, an Open Letter has been published. If you are based in England or are part of the Diocese in Europe you are invited to sign.
Signatures can be added by going to this page.
The list of those who have already signed is over here.
The full text of the letter is
45 CommentsYour Graces
We write to express our anger and disappointment regarding the recent House of Bishops ‘Pastoral Statement’ concerning Same Sex and Opposite Sex Civil Partnerships.
Since the public defeat of your ‘Marriage and Same Sex Relationships’ report to General Synod in 2017, we have waited for you to deliver on your promise of ‘a radical new Christian inclusion’. We have been patient believing that nothing further would be said regarding sexuality and relationships until after the publication of the Living in Love and Faith report. It seems our trust has been misplaced and we feel badly let down.
The pastoral statement makes clear there has been no desire to listen or learn from those of us who spoke to explain how offensive we found the tone of the House of Bishops’ previous document. Indeed, the statement is anything but “pastoral”- it is cold, defensive, and uncaring of its impact on the millions of people it affects.
The Church of England has this week become a laughingstock to a nation that believes it is obsessed with sex. More importantly this statement has significantly damaged the mission of the Church and it has broken the trust of those it seeks to serve.
We ask you to consider how we can, together, build a truly radically inclusive Christian Church.
Yours sincerely
The Church of England has issued its usual press release (copied below) in advance of next month’s meeting of its General Synod. Also released today is the second batch of papers for the Synod meeting; links to them have been added to my earlier post.
Church of England launches energy rating tool as Synod considers new ‘net zero’ carbon target
24/01/2020
The Church of England is launching an energy rating system similar to those used for household appliances to help monitor the carbon footprint of its almost 40,000 buildings, as General Synod considers a major new proposal to reach ‘net zero’ CO2 emissions.
Members of Synod, which meets in London next month, will debate a motion calling on all parts of the Church of England – from parishes to national bodies – to aim for ambitious year-on-year reductions in emissions to reach “net zero” by 2045 at the latest.
0 CommentsUpdated again Sunday evening
Andrew Foreshew-Cain has written a detailed response to the document published on Wednesday. You can read it here.
Jeremy Pemberton has written this: Making a Case for Pastoral Guidance.
Trevor Thurston-Smith has written this: The Bible, Bishops and Bedrooms.
LGBTQ UK Faith Blog published The Bishops’ unpastoral statement.
Helen King How not to be pastoral: the bishops’ new statement on civil partnerships.
Simon Butler As a vicar I know it’s time the Church stopped telling people to be abstinent.
From Bishops:
Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester A message from Bishop Rachel to the Diocese of Gloucester regarding the release of the House of Bishops statement re civil partnerships.
Olivia Graham, Bishop of Reading, has tweeted this
As @cofe ‘s newest bishop (though not in HoB) I was deeply saddened by the unpastoral tone of the HoB statement on civil partnerships. Cold. Legalistic. Loveless. Astonishing timing – mid LLF discussions. Please know that Bishops are not of a mind on this #sorry ☹️
Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich has tweeted this:
1/2 With @BishGloucester I’m frustrated by the process which led to the publication of a House of Bishops statement on civil partnerships, not least because it was deemed business and not discussed and debated by the House. But more, I’m deeply saddened by the hurt is has caused.
2/2 I pledge to do all I can to ensure that the Living in Love and Faith project has a tone and warmth and care that seeks a way forward that, whilst acknowledging different opinions, puts precious life and love at the heart of the conversation and our welcome.
There are also tweets in support from the bishops of Newcastle, Bristol, Sheffield, Worcester, Repton, Crediton.
18 CommentsUpdated on Thursday and Friday to add press reports
The Church of England has issued this press release today.
Following the recent change in the law to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples, the House of Bishops has agreed a pastoral statement.
I have copied the text of the statement below the fold.
Update
Church Times No blessing for straight civil partnerships, say Bishops
The Guardian Sex is for married heterosexual couples only, says Church of England
The Telegraph Civil partnerships should be no more than ‘sexually abstinent friendships’, Church of England Bishops rule
Pink News Church of England emphatically declares that sex is only for married, heterosexual couples
Independent Only heterosexual married people should have sex, Church of England says
Huffington Post Church Of England Ridiculed For ‘Sex Is Only For Married Heterosexual Couples’ Guidance
Christian Today Sex is for male-female marriage only, Church of England confirms
Press Association (via MailOnline) Civil partnerships no more than `sexually abstinent friendships´, says CofE
Sky News Civil partnerships should be ‘sexually abstinent friendships’, says Church of England
i News Only people in heterosexual marriages can have sex, Church of England says in new advice
Evening Standard Church of England declares sex is only for married heterosexual couples
Metro Sex should be only for husbands and wives, rules Church of England
The Living Church Church of England Bishops Say No to Blessing Civil Partnerships
89 CommentsDaniel Inman Church Times Don’t allow residential training to collapse
“The market is now saturated: action must be taken to ensure that institutions are not forced to close”
Mark Bennet Surviving Church Have attitudes to sex changed in the Church over the past 30 years?
Surviving Church BBC Interview of Julie Macfarlane. Seeking Justice after Abuse
David Ison ViaMedia.News Abusers of Faith
Meg Munn Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel BBC Documentary
6 CommentsThis article dates from 1996 but may be of interest
Andrew Brown Prospect The unholy mess
Savi Hensman ViaMedia.News Secularism – A Force for Good?
Angharad Woolcott Church Times ‘As a survivor, I believe that by talking out, I may be able to help others’
“A survivor of clergy abuse reflects on the BBC2 documentary Exposed: The Church’s darkest secret, on the serial sex-offender and former bishop Peter Ball”
Richard Harries Church Times What it feels like to believe
“Richard Harries argues in the last in his series that, in a sceptical age, an appeal to personal experience remains paramount”
Suffragan Bishop of St Germans: 17 January 2020
The Queen appoints Reverend Hugh Edmund Nelson, BA, MTh, to the Suffragan See of St Germans.Published 17 January 2020
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing StreetThe Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Hugh Edmund Nelson, BA, MTh, Vicar of Goudhurst with Kilndown, in the diocese of Canterbury to the Suffragan See of St Germans, in the diocese of Truro, in succession to the Right Reverend Christopher David Goldsmith, BA, DPhil, who resigned on 29th September 2019.
Hugh was educated at Worcester College, Oxford and spent 13 years living and working in L’Arche London, one of the Christian communities for people with and without learning disabilities founded by Jean Vanier. He trained for ministry at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, served his title at The Benefice of The Six in the Diocese of Canterbury and was ordained Priest in 2010.
In 2012, Hugh was appointed to his current role as Vicar of Goudhurst and Kilndown. He also served as Chaplain to Blantyre House Prison from 2012-2016.
There are more details on the Truro diocesan website.
12 CommentsUpdated 24 January to include second batch of papers
The first batch of papers for next month’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod are now available online. The remaining papers will be issued on 24 January and I will add links when these become available.
Papers with a note of the day scheduled for their consideration are listed below the fold. Synod meets from Monday 10 to Thursday 13 February in London.
The Agenda is here and the Report by the Business Committee (Guide to the February 2020 group of sessions) is here.
Synod members reading this might like to note that the deadline for the submission of questions is 12 noon on Wednesday 29 January 2020.
9 CommentsThe Fence Diary of an Urban Parson
The Reverend J J Cowan goes on a ‘modulated exploratory learning course’.
Mtr Kate St Chrysostom’s Church News and Views Compassion easier than Justice …
Simon Butler ViaMedia.News Living in Love & Faith – The Importance of Speaking the Truth
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The Church’s Dark Secret – Reflections
36 CommentsThe BBC has transmitted a two-part television documentary programme:
Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret.
The Church of England has issued two press releases. The first one was issued last week, the second one yesterday after both episodes had been shown:
BBC2 documentary on Peter Ball
Response to BBC 2 documentary on Peter Ball from the Bishop of Bath & Wells, Peter Hancock
The Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, has also issued a response (includes video).
Media coverage includes:
Guardian Friendship with Prince Charles made paedophile bishop Peter Ball ‘impregnable’
Church Times Bishops shamed by BBC documentary
33 CommentsAdrian Chiles The Guardian My atheist family was appalled when I converted to Catholicism – but it’s given me great peace
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Taking stock in 2020. Where is the Church going with Safeguarding?
Private Eye Silence of the Lambeth
Richard Harries Church Times Coming in from the outside
“In the second of a series of articles exploring apologetics in a secular age, Richard Harries considers what it might mean to know God”
David Walker ViaMedia.News All Things Considered….Including ‘Living in Love & Faith’
10 CommentsUpdated Monday
Second Church Estates Commissioner: Andrew Selous MP
The appointment of Andrew Selous MP as Second Church Estates Commissioner.
Published 10 January 2020
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and Andrew Selous MPThe Queen has approved the appointment of Mr Andrew Selous MP as Second Church Estates Commissioner.
Notes to Editors
Andrew Selous has been a Member for South West Bedfordshire since 2001. He is a confirmed member of the Church of England.
There is information on the role of the Second Church Estates Commissioner here. The Commissioner’s primary parliamentary role is to answer oral and written questions from MPs about Church of England matters.
Update
Church Times has more information: Andrew Selous is new Second Church Estates Commissioner.
6 CommentsUpdated
Three articles from the Anglican Communion Office:
Changing the way the Anglican Communion communicates
A look ahead at 2020 for the Anglican Communion Office
Anglican Primates gather in Jordan for “very strategic meeting” ahead of Lambeth Conference
Anglican Primates meet with King Abdullah II and Heads of Churches in Jordan
The Church Times has this report:
‘Grown-up’ Primates’ Meeting affirms Anglican links with Canterbury
10 Comments
David Taylor A Blaze of Light Mixed-Mode or Residential? I’ve Done Both
Richard Harries Church Times Belief in a sceptical society
“In the first of three articles exploring apologetics in a secular age, Richard Harries surveys how life has changed since the 1960s”
Peter Anthony Saint Benet’s Kentish Town Christmas Attendance Statistics
The same title but two very different views of the year ahead
David Baker Christian Today What will happen to the Church of England and Anglicans in 2020?
Jayne Ozanne ViaMedia.News What Will Happen to the Church of England and Anglicans in 2020?
The Bishop of Ludlow, the Rt Revd Alistair Magowan, has announced he will retire at the end of April.
1 CommentRose Hudson-Wilkin The Voice Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin gives New Year message to Voice readers
“The Bishop of Dover says we can live out the meaning of togetherness as we begin 2020”
Rose Hudson-Wilkin Vogue On Becoming Britain’s First Black Female Bishop
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Thinking about conservative Christianity and divisions
Giles Fraser UnHerd What’s the point of civil partnerships?
“Let’s not pretend that cancelling marriage will eradicate the power imbalances of sexual politics”
In the days immediately following Christmas Day, the Daily Telegraph published several articles by Gabriella Swerling and others about Jonathan Fletcher. They are all behind a paywall, but the Telegraph does allow you to read one a week if you register. Otherwise you are restricted to reading the first couple of paragraphs, but this will give a slight flavour of what they are all about.
Some other papers have reported on the Telegraph’s articles.
Mail Online Church of England vicar, 77, could face criminal probe after alleged abuse victims claim they endured naked ice baths, beatings and massages
Christian Today Criminal inquiry a possibility for vicar accused of spiritual abuse
Church Times Press: Jonathan Fletcher’s victims speak out
Church Times Lessons-learnt review is launched into Jonathan Fletcher
Patheos Victims of sadistic evangelical priest want police to investigate
Premier London vicar Rev Jonathan Fletcher could face criminal inquiry
And there has been comment.
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Peter Ball and Jonathan Fletcher. A toxic legacy?
Reacting to the Jonathan Fletcher story – the Great Silence
Martin Sewell Archbishop Cranmer Jonathan Fletcher presents the Church of England with a crisis of integrity
Kate Bowler Washington Post We are not divine. But we are loved. That is enough.
Paul Bayes ViaMedia.News A ‘Low & Dishonest’ Decade?
The Guardian reports on this and other New Year messages.
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Who wants to be an English Bishop?
Simon Jenkins The Guardian To survive, Britain’s churches need to learn from our cathedrals
Diarmaid MacCulloch The Guardian Why Christianity has been struggling with sex ever since the Nativity
91 Comments