Telegraph Bishops raiding funds to spend on homes
and
Church could relax rules on wedding venues
The Times Bishops raid funds to pay for palaces
Guardian Church plans cuts to pay for bishops’ homes
ekklesia Mission budgets may be cut to fund C of E bishop’s palaces
The Church of England sought to rebut the above reports with this press release:
Statement on the Church Commissioners’ expenditure on mission
Associated Press Anglicans to vote on issues regarding gays and lesbians
Bishops raid misssion funds for palaces
****************************************
Now, why does not this surprise me ?
Wh, having a form of godliness deny the power thereof.
The C of E shows no interest in the message of JESUS or radical discipleship— and this is what you get.
Bishops seem to me to be an expensive and unnecessary ‘luxury’ for God’s people.
SO glad to read, in the american link here, that Paul Perkin has nothing at all against gay relationships themselves— but simply wishes to up-hold the distinctiveness of marriage, and to avoid confusion.
What Paul Perkin of Reform demands of the Church of England is no different from what his allies demanded of the Episcopal Church at Tanzania.
At this point, I don’t think we are going to comply.
If you don’t want to see your church subjected to this sort of thing, you can join us.
The Episcopal Church welcomes you. Even you, Ruth Gledhill.
As my last remark might have been a bit opaque, see Kendall Harmon’s article on “closing the loophole” which, previous to Tanzania, had allowed unauthorized blessings of same-sex unions to take place in the Episcopal Church: http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/?p=17915#comments
and Ruth Gledhill’s “the C of E is definitely in trouble” comment is at http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2007/02/venables_predic.html#more
“A Church House spokesman said upgrading bishops’ houses was part of the Church’s overall mission effort.” What can one say? The sort of statement that helps bring many things into focus.
The UK government have also recently let it be known that they want to retain seats for CofE Bishops in the revised House of Lords (=US Senate)… another comfortable reason to not rock the establishment boat.
Oh for some uncomfortable Bishops!
Now if the upgrading to episcopalaces were to ensure carbon-neutrality or better I would applaud it. And then they might think of getting out of the dark ages with other church plant.
(keeping posts rare as a Lenten discipline)
“Now if the upgrading to episcopalaces were to ensure carbon-neutrality or better I would applaud it.”
I say! Are they still burning coal in Barsetshire? Try Puritans and Primitive Methodists instead – much more clean-burning!
“And then they might think of getting out of the dark ages with other church plant.”
And again I say ‘I say!’ Do you really heat churches in England?