Updated Wednesday morning
Dave Walker Rough notebook scribbles from the opening of General Synod at Westminster Abbey
Three articles in The Guardian:
Riazat Butt Religious do not have monopoly on virtue, Queen tells synod
Stephen Bates Reassuring presence at General Synod of the Church of England
Stephen Bates and Riazat Butt Anglican church faces ‘piece by piece dissolution’, warns archbishop
Press Association Queen warns of ‘painful’ times ahead for Church
Matthew Davies at Episcopal Life Online: The Queen inaugurates new General Synod, underscores need to communicate the gospel
It’s really quite simple: If your Sovereign and Head of the Church of England can be a woman, then your bishop can be a woman.
“The Queen referred to this tension in her address, saying synod had “many issues to resolve” in order to remain “equipped for the effective pursuit of its mission and ministry”, but that this difficulty might in fact revitalise the church. – Riazat Butt, Guardian article – Riazat always manages to give a well-rounded account in her observation of religious goings-on in the Church. No doubt Her Majesty, the Queen, has been made well aware of the issues that will be coming to the fore in Synod debates this week. Her understanding, for instance, of female head-ship, is probably more acute… Read more »
“Anglican provinces would only belong to the communion if they signed up to the covenant, he (the ABC) said. They would agree not to proceed with any development that fellow members anywhere in the world objected to.” – Stephen Bates & Riazat Butt, Guardian – In this ‘Guardian’ report on his address to the General Synod, the Archbishop of Canterbury seems to be saying that, unless individual Provinces sign up to the Covenant document they would no longer be part of the Anglican Communion! This seems to indicate a desperate attempt to ‘Rally the Troops’ in support of The Covenant.… Read more »
So true, Pete! I am hoping one of the first women bishops in The Church of England may advance rapidly to become one of the first Church of England’s Archbishops. I also thought Queen Elizabeth’s comments were genuine and hopefully someday she will stand up in a more vocal manner, by fully endorsing women and glbt people in all ordained ministries in the CofE. I thought her comments today were quite pastoral.
“A senior church official told the Guardian: ‘There is no Plan B. If this (the Covenant) falls, the communion is in ruins.'” I would expect the communion to be more or less in ruins whether the Covenant passes in the CofE and the majority of Anglican Churches, or not. A communion ruled by fundamentalist and homophobic prelates sounds like “in ruins” to me. +RW, “It” (I gather the “battle” previously referred to, or the issue of inclusion of LGBT persons in the Churches of the Communion) “is unthinkingly regarded by others as one of those matters on which the church… Read more »
Jolly good comment, karen macqueen+.
I believe the reason “Liberation Theology” threatens the imperial model of hierarchy is because it threatens the status quo. It shakes up the mix and brings more power and voice to the People of God in the pews. Archbishop Rowan Williams is sounding more and more like a Roman Catholic prelate with his “piece by piece dissolution” speech. I detect fear as his motivating factor and it saddens me that such a great mind as his has become so hard wired in favor of a central authority and magesterium. The big question I have is why does Archbishop Williams stay… Read more »