The Chelmsford Diocesan Synod recently considered plans put forward to “achieve financial resilience”. The papers are published on the diocesan website, and may well be of wider interest as other dioceses consider the same issues.
The overall plan is contained in this document: Towards Financial Resilience.
One aspect of that plan is to accelerate the reduction of stipendiary incumbent posts, so as to achieve in 2021 what was previously the target for 2025, i.e. from 275 (as at 31 March 2020) to 215 in the next 18 months. Surprisingly, 48.5 of these posts are already vacant. The detailed plan is described here: An approach to reducing stipendiary numbers.
To understand the background the Summarised Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 and the Parish Share and Budget 2021 Proposal may be helpful.
49 CommentsUpdated to add links to risk assessment template, and to add more media reports
The UK Government made an announcement, which was reported in the media (see below) late on Saturday evening, 6 June.
The full text of this, dated Sunday 7 June, can be found here: Places of worship to re-open for individual prayer.
The Church of England issued this on Saturday evening: Statement on individual prayer in churches.
On Friday morning, 5 June, the Church of England had issued updated guidance on a number of aspects of worship in church buildings, all of which can be found here. That included COVID-19 Advice on Individual Prayer by Members of the public in Church Buildings (dated 3 June) and also this parish risk assessment template (Version 1.6 dated 22 May, Word file, four pages, here is a PDF version of the template). NB this is now superseded, see 9 June article.
Initial media reports:
BBC Coronavirus: Places of worship to reopen for private prayer and later Coronavirus: Calls for places of worship to reopen in Wales
Guardian Limited re-opening of places of worship in England planned for 15 June (original headline’s erroneous reference to UK now corrected)
and later Religious leaders split over reopening places of worship in England
Church Times Churches may open for private individual prayer from 15 June
36 CommentsJames Gilder All Things Lawful And Honest A Church for All
“Want a Church for all? Be prepared to engage with the nitty-gritty.”
Peter Leonard ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Pretending!
Danny Pegg Anglicanism.org A New Beginning or a Curate’s Egg?
“A local and national reflection on the Church of England during the time of Coronavirus”
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The Clergy Discipline Measure. Time for Replacement?
31 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
Safeguarding data 2018
02/06/2020
Safeguarding data has been published today taken from annual safeguarding returns, collected by dioceses in 2018 and sent to the National Safeguarding Team. It also contains comparison on data collected over the three previous years 2015-17.
The majority of safeguarding-related concerns or allegations relate to children or vulnerable adults who attend or who have contact with the Church and their lives within the community.
Overall the number of concerns or allegations reported to dioceses in 2018 relating to children, young people and vulnerable adults in the Church was 2,504. This compares to 3287 in 2017, and is slightly higher than 2015 and slightly lower than 2016.
A quarter of concerns or allegations in 2018 required reporting to statutory authorities similar to 2017.
In 2018, 16% of all concerns (400 cases) relate to clergy, including retired and deceased clergy, a slight increase on the average for 2015-17 which was around 12%. There are currently around 20,000 active clergy in the Church.
Safeguarding-related disciplinary measures against clergy decreased in 2018 and combined with the increase in reports against clergy this suggests that more concerns are being raised earlier because there are greater overall numbers of reports but lower numbers of disciplinary cases.
The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, a member of the National Safeguarding Steering Group, said:
“In any report about data of this nature, it is important to recognise that behind each statistic are real human lives and that this is a snapshot of the vital safeguarding work going on in all our 16,000 churches across the country. As the report states it is most likely that where there is an increase compared to previous years this reflects the impact of safeguarding training across the whole Church, and the increased likelihood that people will report concerns to their diocesan safeguarding adviser, where there may have been greater reticence in the past. The NST will continue to study trends over a longer period to inform its ongoing safeguarding work and has committed to publishing data on an annual basis.”
Press release from Number 10
Reverend Canon Doctor Amanda Ford appointed Dean of Bristol: 3 June 2020
The Queen has approved that the Reverend Canon Doctor Amanda (Mandy) Ford be appointed Dean of Bristol.
Published 3 June 2020
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
The Queen has approved that the Reverend Canon Doctor Amanda (Mandy) Ford, Canon Chancellor and Director of Discipleship and Ministry in the Diocese of Southwark, be appointed Dean of Bristol following the appointment of the Very Reverend Doctor David Hoyle MBE as Dean of Westminster.
There are more details on the Bristol diocesan website.
1 CommentAlison Webster ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to not Caring about Care
Russell Dewhurst All Things Lawful And Honest Table for One
“The lawfulness of Holy Communion celebrated without a congregation”
Together for the Common Good The Plague and the Parish: An Invitation to the Churches
Church Times Lockdown could change the Church permanently
Richard Giles, John Sadler, and Robert Warren “call for a radical rethink of the work of a parish priest”
Janet Fife Surviving Church The Church of England Gentlemen’s Club
34 CommentsThe Archbishops of Canterbury and York have both published the following announcement.
New Dean of the Arches and Auditor of the Chancery Court of York appointed
02/06/2020
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are delighted to announce that Morag Ellis QC has been appointed as Dean of the Arches and Auditor on the retirement of Charles George QC. Morag will take up her duties on the 8th June 2020.
Morag was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1984 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2006. She began her career at 8, New Square (now Cornerstone Barristers) before moving to Francis Taylor Building in 2014. Morag was appointed Commissary General of the Diocese of Canterbury in 2011, and Deputy Chancellor of the Diocese of Southwark in 2013. In 2015 Morag was appointed as a Panel Chair to Clergy Discipline Tribunals and became a member of the Legal Advisory Commission of the General Synod in 2016. She was appointed as QC Church Commissioner in 2019. She is also a Reader licensed in the Diocese of Chelmsford.
The Archbishops would like to express their enormous thanks to Charles for his remarkable service over the last 11 years and wish him well as he steps down from the role.
The Dean of the Arches (Province of Canterbury) and Auditor (Province of York) is the most senior ecclesiastical judge in England and as Master of the Faculties is responsible for the regulation of the notarial profession in England and Wales and some overseas jurisdictions. The appointment is made jointly by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York with the approval of Her Majesty the Queen.
2 CommentsSam McNally-Cross All Things Lawful And Honest For the love of God, don’t sacrifice the poor.
Philip Murray All Things Lawful And Honest Thoughts and questions about ‘online Church’
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Talking of bishops, truth, & the flimsy altar of political expediency
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church A letter from the future. Safeguarding in 2025
Peter Crumpler Christian Today Longing for a return to church
Rachel Treweek ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Social Distancing
Richard Bastable All Things Lawful And Honest Archiepiscopal Contradictions
44 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
Church Commissioners for England publish their 2019 Annual Report
28/05/2020
The Church Commissioners for England, the endowment fund of the Church of England, published today its Annual Report for 2019.
Key results include:
To download a copy of the full report, please click here.
2 CommentsUpdated again Friday
Update: the Church Times has a news article today, Dean Percy faces further challenges at Christ Church, Oxford. This omits reference to the letter to the Charity Commission copied below. Concerning the National Safeguarding Team aspect of this story, it says this:
…In 2018, the Dean cited past safeguarding concerns reported to him as evidence that the college’s procedures were inadequate. Earlier this year, the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team set up a core group to examine the Dean’s handling of those concerns.
The latest issue of Private Eye reports that two members of that core group are complainants from the college, including the Senior Censor, Professor Geraldine Johnson. A C of E spokesperson said on Wednesday: “As at any core group, safeguarding leads from relevant bodies or institutions were invited to share information to work out a way forward; in this case from the Cathedral, the College, the Cathedral school, and the diocese.”
The Dean is not formally represented on the core group, though he has been sent its terms of reference.
The spokesperson emphasised: “The core group has never asked the Dean to stand down — he was asked to abide by certain conditions.”
Archbishop Cranmer has a comprehensive report on the latest horrific developments at Christ Church, Oxford here:
The harrowing of Martyn Percy (part ii): Church of England colludes in bullying
The article above links to many of the sources quoted, particularly those likely to be behind a paywall of some kind. Nevertheless here for completeness are some more:
Private Eye Christ Church at war
Telegraph Oxford Dean row reignites as trustees calling for his removal say he has ‘lack of moral compass’
Two letters in the Telegraph (scroll down to “Row over Oxford dean”) from Brian Martin and Jimmy James
Another letter in The Times which you can read here.
Update
A letter to Baroness Stowell, Chair of the Charity Commission, signed by 60 persons, has been released. See the PDF copy for the list of signatories (full disclosure: I am one). The text of the letter is copied below.
42 CommentsDear Lady Stowell
You recently received a letter from some individual trustees of Christ Church Oxford making a series of allegations against their Dean, the Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy.
We wish to express our confidence in Martyn Percy. We know him in our various capacities, as a man of consistently good character, an exceptional scholar, a respected public servant, and an outstanding Christian leader.
We do not speculate on the reasons why some members of the Governing Body of Christ Church wish to go to such extreme lengths to destroy the reputation of their Dean and to break his spirit. But we do know that :
- The recent letter is the latest episode in a sustained campaign against the Dean led by senior members of the college Governing Body since his appointment.
- The specific allegations against Martyn Percy have changed over time, but each allegation has been disproved. In August of last year Dean Percy was wholly exonerated after an extensive investigation by Sir Andrew Smith, a retired High Court judge.
- The signatories of the letter are far from objective. Several of them were revealed by Sir Andrew to have employed devious methods and offensive language in their efforts to break his resolve, and some will be parties to an Employment Tribunal tobe heard next year.
- The grievances in the letter are a set of untested and gratuitous assertions for which no evidence is provided.
- The insinuation that Dean Percy personally represents a safeguarding risk is abhorrent and wholly unjustified.
- The suggestion that he “lacks a moral compass” is so far from the truth as to be laughable, were it not so insulting.
We believe that Martyn Percy is a victim of gross injustice and malice. We wish to see this damaging business resolved justly, and with the minimum delay, so that he can continue to exercise his gifts in leading Christ Church.
Respectfully yours,
Elizabeth Anderson Earth and Altar “Wash Your Own Feet”: on singleness and the domestic church
Trevor Thurston-Smith The Pensive Pilgrim Speeding up the Tortoise
Jamie Harrison ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Pre-Judging Our “Good Samaritans”
Christopher Craig Brittain Anglican Journal
The Eucharist and coming out of lockdown: A tract for these COVID-19 times
On virtual communion: A tract for these COVID-19 Times (Part II)
Updated again Thursday afternoon
There has been widespread media coverage of the interventions made by numerous Church of England bishops in the story about Dominic Cummings. Here is a sample:
And there have been several blog articles discussing them:
Mark Strange, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church has published the letter he sent to the Prime Minister. You can read that here.
31 CommentsRosie Harper ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back….to Power Games & Inequality
The Guardian reports on this as Synod member attacks Church of England’s ‘self-obsession’ in pandemic
Zoë Ettinger Insider Inside 19 of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world
The photographs are also available here.
Tom Wright Church Times Don’t let the weak go to the wall again
“Society needs wise, statesmanlike leadership — not a mad rush back to profiteering”
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Talking of ‘new vision,’ status, money and prayer.
Jonathan Clatworthy Château Clâteau When lockdown ends, what will ‘normal’ be like?
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Iwerne Camps. All Change?
Meg Munn Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel Zooming Along
67 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
House of Bishops
21/05/2020
A meeting of the House of Bishops took place today on Thursday, the 21st of May 2020 (by Zoom).
The meeting was a resumption of the previous meeting of the House of 19 May which was adjourned by the Chair due to technical issues.
Amongst the issues discussed by the House:
The Archbishop of Canterbury led a Vote of Thanks on behalf of the House, to the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu for his dedicated ministry and service.
The next meeting will be held on 9 June 2020.
4 CommentsAs I reported earlier this month the July meeting of General Synod has been cancelled. In addition the Archbishops said they would ask the Privy Council to postpose the election of a new Synod, due this summer, by twelve months. The Council met yesterday, and accepted the Archbishops’ request. The current Synod will now be dissolved on 31 July 2021.
The details are in Statutory Instrument 2020 No 526: The General Synod of the Church of England (Postponement of Elections) Order 2020.
4 CommentsThe Church of England has announced that Stephen Cottrell will be confirmed as the next Archbishop of York on 9 July 2020. The proceedings will be via video conference. Details are in today’s press release which is copied below.
Confirmation of Election of Bishop Stephen Cottrell as the 98th Archbishop of York, Thursday 9 July 2020
20/05/2020
Bishop Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell will be confirmed as the 98th Archbishop of York at 11am on Thursday 9 July 2020, in a service broadcast entirely via video conference due to the Coronavirus restrictions. As Presiding Judge, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, has granted permission for the virtual service to take place.
The service, which had been due to take place in York Minster, will be in two parts: a legal ceremony with readings, prayers and music; and a film marking the start of Bishop Stephen’s ministry as Archbishop of York.
The service will include music from York Minster Choir and Manor Church of England Academy School (York). Young people from across the North of England, will read a letter written by the medieval religious scholar Alcuin of York. Bishop Stephen will offer his first address as Archbishop of York. Prayers will be offered for the Archbishop, the Diocese of York and the Northern Province of the Church of England as well as for the wider world in these difficult times. (more…)
34 CommentsMichael Sadgrove Woolgathering in North East England God, the Virus and Tragic Optimism
Peter Leonard OneBodyOneFaith Be Hot With Anger, But Do Not Boil Away…
Tim Goode ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Our Old Familiar Cages!
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The Jonathan Fletcher Inquiry. Progress?
Thomas Plant Greater Silence Your parish church is not an idol: it’s an icon
5 CommentsNicholas Henshall ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Being Focused on Our Own Significance
Savitri Hensman Church of England Newspaper Sharing burdens and showing kindness
Gilo Surviving Church Elites, the Church and the Dynamics of Social Power
Christina Beardsley DLT Books Blog Feeling Unsafe
Steve Morris Church Times Many are on the brink of financial disaster
“Credit unions are needed more than ever to help those who face money troubles”
K Augustine Tanner-Ihm Church Times Social distancing is a race issue
“It is a permanent reality for people of colour”
Trevor Thurston-Smith The Pensive Pilgrim A Post-Covid CofE : Better than ‘Songs of Praise’ Repeats?
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Talking of being invigorated & tired by church
Tina Beardsley ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…But We Can Say Sorry
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The Toxic Power of Secrets in the Church
Rachel Mann Where do we go from here? Towards An Unknown Church … Part Two – REST
1 CommentUpdated yet again Thursday evening
The Church of England has issued this:
Statement on latest Government guidance on coronavirus
The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, said: “We note from the Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Strategy that churches could be open from July as part of the conditional and phased plan to begin lifting the lockdown. We look forward to the time when we are able to gather again in our church buildings.
“We are examining what steps we will need to take to do so safely and are actively planning ahead in preparation. We strongly support the Government’s approach of continuing to suppress the transmission of the virus and accordingly, we recognise that at this time public worship cannot return in the interests of public health and safety.”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales issued this:
Statement
The timing and the manner of the opening of churches touches profound sensitivities and spiritual needs. The Government’s document and statements fail to recognise this.
The Government’s position, established today, includes these steps aimed at opening churches as soon as possible: the establishment of a task force for places of worship, to work closely with ‘stakeholders’ in ensuring that premises are COVID-19 secure; and heeding the experience of other countries in which churches are already open for worship.
In dialogue with the Government, the Catholic Church will continue its engagement in this process and has already submitted a detailed plan, in full accordance with public health guidelines, for churches to be opened for private prayer.
The Church is ready to play its full part in the task force, understanding that this includes the possible earlier use of churches for private prayer, as a first safe step towards their use for public worship.
Will these two organisations now consult each other? The Catholic bishops took full advantage from the outset of the government regulations, to maintain livestreamed worship from inside their church buildings.
Update 1 Wednesday evening
The Government has announced that Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, will chair a taskforce to develop plans for the re-opening of “places of worship, including faith, community and public buildings”. For more detail see Reopening of places of worship in England: breaking news and the government announcement is here.
Update 2 Thursday morning
The Church of England had issued this press release:
Notice from House of Bishops meeting
The House of Bishop met by Zoom today. The bishops prayed together and continued to discuss all matters relating to the COVID 19 pandemic and how they affect the church.
Several hours later, this was replaced by a revised version:
Notice from House of Bishops meeting
The House of Bishops met today (on Zoom) where the various impacts of Covid-19 on a wide range of church matters and national issues were discussed. The Bishops continued in prayer for the victims and families of those most affected.
Update 3 Thursday afternoon
The Church Times has published this report: Churches wary, as task force meets to plan reopening. This includes a full report on the views of Cardinal Nichols.
16 Comments