Thinking Anglicans

Dean of Worcester to retire

I did not notice any earlier announcement, but Worcester Cathedral has the news today that their Dean, the Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, will officially retire on Friday 25 August.

18 Comments

Appointment of Dean of Truro

Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office. There is more on the Truro Cathedral website.

Appointment of Dean of Truro: 17 August 2023

The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Simon Robinson, Residentiary Canon and Interim Dean at Truro Cathedral, for appointment as Dean of Truro.

From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 17 August 2023

The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Simon Robinson, Residentiary Canon and Interim Dean at Truro Cathedral, for appointment as Dean of Truro, in succession to The Very Reverend Roger Bush, following his retirement.

Simon was educated at Warwick University and trained for ministry on the Southern Theological Education Training Scheme. He served his title in the Parish of Freshford, Limpley Stoke and Hinton Charterhouse in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and was ordained priest in 2013. Simon was appointed Vicar of the Parish of Minehead in 2015. In October 2022, Simon took up his current role as Interim Dean and Canon Missioner at Truro Cathedral.

44 Comments

Opinion – 9 August 2023

Anon ViaMedia.News WWBD? What Would Barbie Do?

Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Debate and Non-Communication within the Church of England

Jason Loch A Venerable Puzzle When Is Advice Not Advice?

1 Comment

Opinion – 5 August 2023

Helen King ViaMedia.News Missing, Between Synods

Theo Hobson ViaMedia.News Holy Discomfort: Time to Restore the Unity of the Church?

99 Comments

Opinion – 29 July 2023

Martine Oborne ViaMedia.News Equality, ‘headship’ and authority: drawing the line in schools and churches

Stephen Parsons Surviviing Church An Open Letter to Professor Alexis Jay as she begins work to produce a Future Safeguarding Programme for the Church of England

114 Comments

Opinion – 26 July 2023

Will Timmins Bible By Day Abuse NDAs and the Church: Making a Covenant with Death

Religion Media Centre Briefing: Is the Church of England ungovernable?

Kirk Smith The Living Church A Bishop Goes to Seminary
“How Working in Four Episcopal Seminaries Changed My Understanding of Theological Education”

David Runcorn Inclusive Evangelicals General Synod, LLF and the mind of the church

28 Comments

July General Synod – electronic voting results

Updated 31 July to add the originally missing results.

The electronic voting results from this month’s General Synod are now available online and are linked below. The texts of the motion can be found in the official record of Business Done for each session of Synod. For convenience I have made a note of what each item was about and given a link to the relevant item of Business Done.

The texts of the motion can be found in the official record of Business Done for each session of Synod. For convenience I have made a note of what each item was about and given a link to the relevant item of Business Done.

In addition to the votes above there were two other counted votes

  • That Standing Order 8(1) be suspended for the duration of Item 63 (Monday am)
  • That Item 511 be adjourned until the next group of sessions’ (Tuesday am)

the lists for which have not been made available.

Update The lists for the two votes above are now available.

8 Comments

Opinion – 22 July 2023

Jonathan Clatworthy The point of it all Early Christian marriage

Caroline Newman Surviving Church Is anyone safe in the Church of England?

Mark Bennet ViaMedia.News Learning Lessons? Leading a Church Where Abuse Has Happened

Lorraine Cavanagh Christian Faith in the here and now

42 Comments

Opinion – 19 July 2023

Theo Hobson The Spectator The Church of England is on the brink of a crisis

Morwenna Ludlow ViaMedia.News Giving Up Sex? What Macrina Tells Us About Choosing Celibacy

20 Comments

Opinion – 15 July 2023

Helen Hall and Javier Garcia Oliva ViaMedia.News Marriage Law in England and Wales – Some Reflections

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Jayne Ozanne and Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin speak passion and truth

Rosie Dawson The Living Church A ‘Culture of Mistrust’ at General Synod

68 Comments

Dean of Newcastle

Press release from the Church of England

New Dean of Newcastle announced

14/07/2023

The Reverend Canon Lee Batson has been announced as the next Dean of Newcastle.

He succeeds The Very Reverend Dr Jane Hedges, who has been Interim Dean since January, following the retirement of The Very Reverend Geoff Miller last year.

Lee is currently Team Rector of the Epping Team Ministry, as well as Area Dean and World Church Partnership Officer in Chelmsford Diocese, where he developed a strong connection with the Anglican Church in Kenya. He also serves on the Diocesan Board of Education, and is Chair of a large Multi-Academy Trust.

Read the full story on the Diocese of Newcastle website. An installation service for Lee to formally become Dean will take place at Newcastle Cathedral on 14 October.

7 Comments

Bishop of Durham

The Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, has announced that he plans to retire from the role at the end of February next year. He will have served as Bishop of Durham for 10 years.

86 Comments

Opinion – 8 July 2023

HH Peter Collier KC Law & Religion UK Marriage and/or Holy Matrimony

Judith Maltby ViaMedia.News Equality, Parliament, and the Established Church: Some Recent Close Encounters

Iain McLean ViaMedia.News Can Parliament Permit Church of England Clergy to Marry Same-Sex Couples? Should it?

40 Comments

General Synod – 7 to 11 July 2023

See also our ISB controversy posts.

This post will be updated as the meeting proceeds.

The Church of England’s General Synod is meeting this weekend. The timetable is here, the agenda is here and the papers are here.

Live Video etc

All sessions are streamed live on YouTube and remain available to view afterwards. Links have been provided in advance.

There is an official Twitter account.

Order Papers

Business Done

Official press releases

Press reports and comment

Church Times

The Guardian

20 Comments

General Synod Questions

Updated Friday

The Questions (and answers) for this weekend’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod were sent to Synod members today. They can be found online here: Questions NP1.

The Business Committee has scheduled two hours for Questions at the July 2023 Group of Sessions of the General Synod. This is divided between 75 minutes on Friday 7 July and 60 minutes on Saturday 8 July.

Update

The answers to several questions referred to supplementary information on the noticeboard. This is now available online: Questions NP1 (Annex).

21 Comments

Appointment of Bishop of Winchester

Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office
There is more on the Winchester and Truro diocesan websites.

Appointment of Bishop of Winchester: 6 July 2023

The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, for election as Bishop of Winchester.

From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 6 July 2023

The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, for election as Bishop of Winchester, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Timothy Dakin, following his retirement.

Philip was educated at Southampton University and Magdalen College, Oxford, before training for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He served his title at St James’, Gerrards Cross and St James’, Fulmer, in the Diocese of Oxford, and was ordained priest in 1989.

In 1992, Philip was appointed Vicar of St James’, West Streatham, in the Diocese of Southwark. Between 1998 and 2006, Philip worked for the Church Pastoral Aid Society during which time he held several roles. From 2007, he served as Chaplain of St Michael’s, Paris, in the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe and, in 2012, he was appointed Chief Executive of the Church Mission Society.

In 2019, Philip took up his current role as Bishop of Truro. He is married to Ruth, a former strategic planner, and they have one adult daughter.

29 Comments

Opinion – 5 July 2023

David Bagnall ViaMedia.News Let’s Disagree to Agree: Rwanda and Homosexuality

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love How to be a Christian re-imaginer in an era of crisis

11 Comments

Opinion – 1 July 2023

Tim Chesterton Inclusive Evangelicals From Rejection to Affirmation: My Personal Journey

Archdruid Eileen The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley “A Recipe for Red Tape” – the New Church of England Dioceses

39 Comments

General Synod – previews of business

Updated Saturday, Monday and Wednesday

Both the Church Times and Law & Religion UK have been looking at items on the agenda for the forthcoming meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod.

Church Times

Law & Religion UK

Updates

Colin Coward

Law & Religion UK

The Telegraph

Church Times

15 Comments

Opinion – 28 June 2023

Martine Oborne ViaMedia.News Thirty Years of Women Priests in the Church of England and Still Two Thirds of Paid Posts Are Held by Men

Mike Higton kai euthus Disagreement, Conscience, and Harm

Charlie Bell ViaMedia.News Trust and Transparency – it’s Time for Change

64 Comments