Updated Saturday night
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has “begun a campaign to persuade General Synod members to back the new women bishops legislation when it returns to debate it next month” with this article in today’s Church Times
that is also available on his website: Women Bishops: Enough Waiting. He concludes:
My hope for next month’s debate is that it will tackle what is really before us, not what it is assumed or even suspected to mean; that it will give us grounds for trusting one another more rather than less; that it will be rooted in a serious theological engagement with what makes for the good of the Church and its mission, a serious attempt to be obedient to God’s leading – and, perhaps most soberingly, that it will not ignore the sense of urgency about resolving this that is felt inside and outside the Church, often with real pain and bewilderment. As a Synod, we are asked to act not only as a legislature but as a body that serves the Kingdom of God and takes a spiritual and pastoral responsibility for its actions. And I know that Synod members, myself among them, will be praying hard about what this entails.
The Church Times also reports on the contents of the article: Williams urges waverers to back women-bishops Measure.
Update
Lizzy Davies in The Guardian Rowan Williams issues warning over women bishops vote
Jerome Taylor in The Independent Vote for women bishops or face further turmoil within the Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams warns
8 CommentsThe Diocese of Chichester has announced today that Wallace Benn, the Bishop of Lewes, will retire on 31 October 2012. The announcement takes the form of this exchange of letters between the Bishops of Chichester and Lewes.
In response to the announcement the Archbishop of Canterbury has issued this Archbishop’s Chichester Visitation – update.
11 CommentsBritish Religion in Numbers (BRIN) has a round up of some recent news stories about British religious statistics with summaries and links to the full data: Respect for Clergy and Other News. Stories included are:
Evangelicals and Money
“Evangelical Christians are not immune from the economic downturn…”Respect for Clergy
“Ministers and priests enjoy a lower standing in Britain than in Canada or the United States…”Current Issues in the Church of England
“…Anglican churchgoers rate the performance of Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury more highly than practising Christians as a whole…”Pastoral Research Centre
“…an independent trust for applied socio-religious research, and focused primarily on the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales…”Joking Apart
“…significant numbers [of UK Christians] apparently hold ambivalent or contradictory positions…”Heritage at Risk
“A higher proportion of England’s religious heritage assets appear to be at risk than is the case with any other type…”
These round-ups are a regular feature of BRIN.
13 CommentsAndrew Brown writes for The Guardian about Christianity considered as true.
Amy-Jill Levine writes for the Religion and Ethics column on ABC: Not good to be alone: Rethinking the Bible and homosexuality.
Savi Hensman writes for Ekklesia about Anglicans, archbishops and presidential confusions.
Bishop Pierre Whalon writes for Anglicans Online about Polity Politics.
David Ison, the Dean of St Paul’s, reflects on Occupy – one year on. And on the same subject, Ed Thornton writes in the Church Times: Still preoccupied by Occupy.
3 Commentsupdated Thursday
The Business Committee of the General Synod is required to report on the reference of the Anglican Communion Covenant to the dioceses. Their report GS 1878 is now available for download and will be debated at Synod on 19 November 2012.
The report includes the detailed voting figures from each diocese, and some analysis of these figures such as the following two paragraphs.
9. It will be seen … that the majorities within individual dioceses varied greatly. In some, the draft Act of Synod adopting the Covenant was either approved or rejected by substantial majorities. In others the voting in the House of Laity or House of Clergy or both of the houses was very close. Thus, in eleven dioceses which did not approve the Act of Synod, it would have been approved if between two and eight individuals had voted in favour rather than against. Conversely, in fifteen dioceses which did approve the Act of Synod, it would not have been approved if between one and eight individuals had voted against rather than in favour.
10. The point can be illustrated in another way by noting that, if a total of just seventeen individuals spread across five particular dioceses had voted to support the Covenant rather than oppose it, a bare majority of dioceses would have approved the Covenant, whereas, if a total of just ten across five other dioceses had voted against instead of in favour, the diocesan voting against the Covenant would have been much greater at 31-13.
The report also includes the recorded opinions of the Archbishop of York and the Bishops of Chester and Sodor & Man, and a list of the following motions that were debated in several dioceses.
Update This report was originally published in June along with the papers for the July meeting of Synod. It received little attention at the time as the focus for July was wholly on the topic of women bishops. At the time we made reference to it here, here and here. The current link to the report is on this page, which will eventually list all the papers for the November Synod.
17 CommentsSean Doherty writes for Fulcrum about Gay Partnerships and Christian Discipleship.
Andrew Brown writes in The Guardian that The church’s wars over sexuality are coming to an end.
Mark Meynell writes in The Guardian that I’m a Christian who won’t label sexuality.
Giles Fraser writes in The Guardian that Before we decide to write off the Occupy movement, let’s consider the legacy of the Chartists.
Stephen Bates writes for the Financial Times about An archbishop to calm a warring flock.
Marilyn McCord Adams writes for the Episcopal Café about Strange exorcists.
14 CommentsA new Church of England Church Growth Research Programme website has been launched with this press release.
Church Growth Research website launched to help explore the drivers of church growth within the Church of England
02 October 2012All are invited to visit and interact with a new website www.churchgrowthresearch.org.uk built to support the work of the Church Growth Research Programme – the national 18-month academic research project exploring the factors related to spiritual and in particular numerical church growth of the Church of England. The research is being funded through funding set aside by the Church Commissioners and Archbishops’ Council for research and development. This project is being undertaken in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex; Cranmer Hall, St John’s College, Durham and the Oxford Centre for Ecclesiology and Practical Theology, Ripon College, Cuddesdon.
… continued below the fold.
The website includes a number of discussion forums that visitors can join and contribute to.
The research teams for this project were announced in June.
2 CommentsUpdated Friday
The Archbishop of Canterbury delivered the fifth annual Theos Lecture with the title ‘The person and the individual: human dignity, human relationships and human limits’ last night. Afterwards he answered questions, many about his time as archbishop.
His website has links to audio of the speech and the question and answer session that followed. A transcript of the speech is promised now (Friday) available.
There is also this summary.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, delivered the fifth annual lecture hosted by think tank Theos with the title ‘The person and the individual: human dignity, human relationships and human limits’.
The lecture explored ways of understanding the human person as shaped and conditioned by relations with God and others – and the risks of reducing personal dignity to individual well-being alone.
In a question and answer session following the lecture, he said: “I just don’t think that it will do to be too cautious in a job like this, you are here, as is true for any archbishop, you are here to try and say what you believe you have been given to say – by which I don’t mean by divine inspiration.
“To try and share a particular picture of what the world is like, what God is like, which of course leads you into sometimes risky and anything but infallible judgments about particular issues of the day.”
Dr Williams added that he did not believe that there had been a “golden age” in the history of the Church when it had been free of difficulties.
“There is no golden age in the Church’s history, we may think ‘oh, it was relatively problem-free then’ – one of the advantages in this job of being a Church historian is that you know that is not true,” he said. “When I think I have got problems, I think well at least it is not the fourth century, at least it is not the 17th century.” …
The lecture has attracted much press attention.
Lizzy Davies in The Guardian Rowan Williams defends outspoken approach as archbishop
Madeleine Davies in the Church Times Williams the anti-individual speaks his individual mind
John Bingham in The Telegraph Archbishop of Canterbury defends record in office
BBC Archbishop defends ‘anything but infallible’ judgements
The Huffington Post Archbishop Of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams Defends ‘Outspoken’ Stance On Sharia Law, Iraq War
London Evening Standard Outspoken Archbishop of Canterbury defends his ‘risky’ views on Iraq war and sharia law
1 CommentWe reported yesterday that the Dioceses Commission is to proceed with its plans to amalgamate the dioceses of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds and Wakefield.
All three diocesan bishops have now commented on this announcement.
The Diocese of Ripon and Leeds has reproduced the CofE press release, and added this note at the end:
Bishop John Packer says he welcomes the announcement: “I am pleased that the Dioceses Commission have decided to proceed with their proposals for a new diocese based on the three dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield after taking into account the large number of submissions they have received. I look forward to the publication of the revised scheme at the end of October, and to exploring the mission opportunities it offers for the Synods to consider in March.”
Nick Baines, the Bishop of Bradford has written on his blog, West Yorkshire diocese proposals, and says:
I welcome the decision by the Dioceses Commission to go ahead with their proposals for a new diocese for West Yorkshire and the Dales. The publication of the revised scheme next month will provide greater detail which all three dioceses will consider before they vote on the scheme next March. I look forward to this further opportunity to explore how a new, bigger diocese could enhance the work of the church in this part of the country. As we explore the potential, and the pros and cons, it will test our creative vision, prophetic courage and commitment, and will ensure that our eventual decisions are fully informed and made for the right reasons.
The Diocese of Wakefield has published Dioceses Commission: Latest with this comment:
The Bishop of Wakefield is looking forward to an open and honest debate in the parishes after the news that the Dioceses Commission has decided to proceed with its proposal to merge the three dioceses of Wakefield, Bradford and Ripon and Leeds into one super diocese.
Bishop Platten said: Now that the Dioceses’ Commission has decided to proceed with its proposal we look forward to an open and honest debate within the Diocese of Wakefield. It will be important that people holding a range of views on the proposal have an opportunity to contribute to a wide-ranging and fruitful discussion before the Diocesan Synod votes next March.’
Earlier Stephen Platten wrote Bigger is not Beautiful and Jonathan Greener, Dean of Wakefield wrote We must not sacrifice the vital heritage of our great cathedrals
0 CommentsDavid Lose writes for The Huffington Post about What the Bible Says – And Doesn’t Say – About Women.
ABC Religion and Ethics has these two articles.
John Milbank After Rowan: Priorities for the Anglican Communion
Stanley Hauerwas The place of the church and the agony of Anglicanism
Today’s Guardian has this editorial: Unthinkable? elect the archbishop of Canterbury.
Matthew Grayshon writes for Fulcrum about Gay Partnership: Marriage or Union.
Ian Stubbs writes for The Independent about Homophobia in the Church: Why I would break the law in support of LGBT people.
Alan Weston interviews the new Dean of Liverpool for the Liverpool Daily Post: Big Interview: Dr Pete Wilcox, the Dean of Liverpool.
2 CommentsUpdated yet again Saturday morning
The CofE Communications Office issued this Update on CNC this evening.
Update on CNC
28 September 2012This week’s meeting of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) has been accompanied by much speculation about possible candidates and the likely timing of an announcement of the name of who will succeed Dr Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury when he steps down to become Master of Magdalene College.
The CNC is an elected, prayerful body. Its meetings are necessarily confidential to enable members to fulfil their important responsibilities for discerning who should undertake this major national and international role. Previous official briefings have indicated that an announcement is expected during the autumn and that remains the case; the work of the Commission continues. There will be no comment on any speculation about candidates or about the CNC’s deliberations. Dr Williams remains in office until the end of December.
ENDS
Notes
CNC background Q&As can be found here: http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2012/03/outline-of-procedures-for-appointment-of-an-archbishop-of-canterbury.aspx
Membership of the CNC can be found here: http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2012/05/results-of-house-of-bishops’-election-for-cnc.aspx
Tomorrow’s edition of The Times carries a story by Ruth Gledhill headlined Church of England fails to agree successor for Archbishop of Canterbury and which begins:
The body responsible for choosing the next Archbishop of Canterbury has failed to agree who should be the successor to Dr Rowan Williams.
Despite a three day session, aided by prayers invoked on Twitter with the hashtage #prayforthecnc, the 16-member committee has been unable to decide on who should take on the job that the present incumbent today implied was “impossible”.
A source told The Times that a decision on who should succeed Dr Rowan Williams was not expected soon. “A decision is not imminent,” he said…
John Bingham at the Telegraph has Secretive committee still ‘discerning’ next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Lizzy Davies at the Guardian has Church of England end three days of talks with no new archbishop.
Andrew Goddard has written at Fulcrum a very clear account of the procedures which apply. See On (not) choosing a new Archbishop.
13 Comments…The vote takes place by successive secret ballots with the bottom candidate being eliminated. Crucially, however, a candidate needs to get 2/3 of the vote to be able to be nominated. As a result, it is quite possible to reduce the list to two candidates and face an impasse. A simple majority (9-7 in this case) is not sufficient. A candidate to be agreed and forwarded to the Prime Minister requires 2/3 of the members to vote for them. Normally that means they need 10 votes but with 16 voting members it means they need the support of 11 candidates. In other words, if 6 members are unwilling to vote for a candidate, members will keep voting until a candidate has 11 votes. If that does not happen then deadlock has been reached and the CNC composition means there are fewer experienced mediators who have worked through such difficult situations in the past and may recognise the need to shift their vote to assist the process.
This 2/3 requirement means that candidates with strong support but also determined opposition may be unable to reach the requisite number of votes. That scenario is quite possible in relation to some of the names likely being considered given the composition of the CNC. With six candidates from the diocese of Canterbury, if they are united or almost united in their opposition to a particular candidate then they may be able to block him.
The further complication is that if this hurdle is overcome then there is another one still to be faced because the CNC is required to submit two names to the Prime Minister (even though he now will simply forward the first name). This means that voting starts again with the original shortlist (minus the elected candidate) in order to get a second name. This nomination also needs the support of 2/3 of voting members.
In summary, to reach a decision there must be two candidates able to secure the support of 11 or more members. Six members determined to block a particular candidate favoured by the other 10 can therefore bring the whole process to a halt…
The Dioceses Commission has announced this morning that it is to proceed with its plans to amalgamate the dioceses of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds and Wakefield.
Dioceses Commission announces draft scheme
28 September 2012At its meeting on 26 September the Commission was able to complete its consideration of all the submissions made to it on the draft Reorganisation Scheme for the dioceses of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds and Wakefield. It carefully considered the representations made to it, both at this stage and earlier, and has unanimously decided to proceed with a draft scheme bringing all three dioceses together.
The Commission firmly believes that the scheme represents a once-in-a generation opportunity for reinvigorating mission which should be grasped. It intends to issue a revised scheme embracing all three dioceses by the end of October, together with a fresh report which will both address concerns that have been put to the Commission, and set out the benefits to mission that it believes will come from a new single diocese.
The current diocesan map in the region owes more to history than the way these communities are now shaped. The Commission received overwhelming evidence that the Church’s structures no longer reflect current social, economic and demographic realities on the ground, and that the Church needs a single diocese to engage effectively in mission with the people and communities of West Yorkshire and the Dales.
The Commission believes that the benefits to the Church’s mission and ministry in West Yorkshire and the Dales will only be fully realised by a scheme embracing all three dioceses. They each have their own distinctive contribution to make, and have a part to play in creating something new, rather than recreating an older model.
Chair of the Commission, Professor Michael Clarke, said: “On behalf of the Commission I would like personally to thank everyone who has made representations to us. A revised scheme will be published next month, and all three dioceses will then have a chance to decide whether they share our vision, which has been drawn from our discussions in Yorkshire over the past two years, that the proposals will better enable them to advance their mission to the communities which they serve. The Commission is clear that this represents a remarkable and unique opportunity for the Church of England.”
There are notes to the press release below the fold.
0 CommentsThe Church of England has issued the outline timetable for the November meeting of General Synod. This is copied below.
GENERAL SYNOD: NOVEMBER 2012
Timetable
Monday 19 November
2.15pm – 7 pm
Worship and formal business
Report by the Business Committee
Anglican Consultative Council meeting: presentation and questions
Anglican Communion Covenant: Report on the Reference to Dioceses
Questions
[brief evening worship]
Tuesday 20 November
9.15 am – 1 pm
9.15 am Holy Communion
10.30 am Legislative Business:
Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure and Draft Amending Canon No.30
2.30 pm – 7 pm
Legislative Business:
Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of women) Measure and Draft Amending Canon No.30 – continued
[brief evening worship]
Wednesday 21 November
9.30 am – 1 pm
Worship
Diocesan Synod Motion: Southwell and Nottingham: Amendment to Canon B 12 and Regulations
Private Member’s Motion: John Freeman: Living Wage
Dates of groups of sessions in 2013
2.30 – 5.30pm
Farewells
Youth unemployment
Farewell to the Archbishop of Canterbury
Contingency business:
Report of the Standing Orders Committee
The Crown Nominations Commission started its final meeting to choose the next Archbishop of Canterbury earlier today.
The Church of England has published a Prayer for the Crown Nominations Commission.
There is much in the press today about the meeting, not all of it serious.
Church of England Newspaper The candidates for Canterbury
Lizzy Davies in The Guardian Group choosing new archbishop of Canterbury meets at secret location
The Guardian’s interactive guide: pick your own Archbishop
Ben Quinn in the Christian Science Monitor As Anglican Church picks new leader, gay marriage weighs heavily
Adrian Hilton in the Mail Online The 105th Archbishop of Canterbury is about to be revealed
Channel 4 News Who will be the new archbishop of Canterbury?
The BBC has several stories.
New Archbishop of Canterbury to be chosen
Mick Robson and Megan Lane Archbishop of Canterbury: Runners and riders
Alex Strangwayes-Booth Dr Rowan Williams: Poll finds 53% consider him ‘good leader’
Bishop ‘prays not to be Archbishop of Canterbury’
Reuters Anglican church chooses new leader to weather storms
Nelson Jones in the New Statesman The secret search for the next Archbishop of Canterbury
The Daily Mash Bishops fighting to the death
Finally the Plumstead Letters blog has Elect to Leave [very rude but very funny].
It’s not clear from the reports whether the meeting will finish on Thursday or Friday, but in any case do not expect an immediate announcement. After the meeting the chair (Lord Luce) has to write to the Prime Minister with two nominations for archbishop (the first choice and a reserve). The Prime Minister will send the first name to the Queen. This person also has to be asked if he will accept nomination and given time to reply. Before any public announcement the person chosen has to have a criminal record check and a medical. Finally a convenient day for the announcement had to be found. Typically for diocesan bishops this takes two months, although in one case last year it was only a month.
21 CommentsIn a major article in the New Statesman, George Pitcher, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury’s secretary for public affairs from 2010-2011, ponders the challenges confronting the Archbishop’s successor: Between church and state.
Politicians are accustomed to the media distorting whatever they have to say for dramatic effect – every discussion is a row, every initiative a push for power. So it is with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Anglican apparatchiks have been busy playing down the suggestion that their Church is planning to appoint a “global president” to relieve the next archbishop of some of the workload. The line is that Dr Rowan Williams, in a valedictory interview in the Daily Telegraph, merely said that the job was too big for one person. The Telegraph thought otherwise.
But the story stirred some emotions, not least relief that Tony Blair had converted to Roman Catholicism and so would not be available for the job. And it drew attention to just how political is the role of archbishop of Canterbury. Not only is Williams presented as a more virulent opposition to the present government than the Labour Party, but what he has to say is presented in the media about as sympathetically as Boris Johnson’s denials that he wants to be prime minister…
John Martin writes for The Living Church about the Horse Race for Lambeth Palace and concludes with
27 CommentsOdds are strong that the commission will name Richard Chartres as a short-term “caretaker” to give Justin Welby time to gain more experience as a bishop before taking the reins at Lambeth Palace.
Updated Sunday author of third item corrected
Excuses for Not Going to Church are examined on The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley blog.
Derek Flood asks in The Huffington Post Did Jesus Die to Save Us From God?
Theo Hobson Mark Vernon writes for The Guardian that Christianity must admit to the bad news before it can spread the good.
Stephen Kuhrt writes for Fulcrum that Cricket reaches the parts that Theology never can.
Giles Fraser writes in The Guardian that Charlie Richardson’s priest was flawed, but embodied Jesus’s love of the fallen.
1 CommentEric Pickles writes in The Telegraph that A Christian ethos strengthens our nation.
Mark Vernon writes in The Guardian that Rowan Williams, we’ll miss you.
2 CommentsBritish Religion in Numbers has published statistics about Anglicans and Attitudes towards Gay Marriage.
5 CommentsUpdated Thursday morning
The final text of the controversial clause 5(1)(c) to be presented to General Synod in November has been agreed by the House of Bishops; it is given towards the end of the press release reproduced below.
NEWS from the Church of England
12/9/12 – For immediate release
Women Bishops: Draft Legislation
The House of Bishops has today by an overwhelming majority settled the text of the legislation to enable women to become bishops in the Church of England.
The House of Bishops made clear its desire for the draft legislation to be passed into law when it goes forward for final approval to the Church of England’s General Synod in November.
Speaking on behalf of the House at the conclusion of their meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams said:
“Before turning to the matters we have been discussing, I want to say, on behalf of the Bishops, that our thoughts and prayers are very much with the people of Liverpool and all affected by the Hillsborough tragedy on this day when the report is released. The Bishop of Liverpool has done a great service in steering this work to a conclusion and helping us as a nation to confront this deeply traumatic memory.”
Dr. Williams continued:
“Since women were first made priests in the Church of England in 1994, their ministry has hugely enriched both church and society. It has become increasingly clear to most of us that barring women from becoming bishops is an anomaly that should be removed, for the good of the Church’s mission and service.
“In July this year, the General Synod asked the House of Bishops to reconsider an alteration it had made to the proposed legislation on this subject. The Bishops have taken very seriously the anxieties expressed about the possible implications of their amendment and there has been widespread consultation since then. We are very grateful for all the points and suggestions offered by synod members and others.
“In light of this consultation, the Bishops have discussed the measure again and are now bringing forward a new text that expresses both our conviction of the need to see this legislation passed and our desire to honour the conscience and contribution of those in the Church of England whose reservations remain.
“It is particularly significant and welcome that the new text emerged not from the House of Bishops itself but rather from a serving woman priest.
“I hope all members of Synod will now reflect carefully on what the Bishops have decided and will continue to give thought and prayer to how they will vote in November.”
“I am convinced that the time has come for the Church of England to be blessed by the ministry of women as bishops and it is my deep hope that the legislation will pass in November.”
At its meeting in July the General Synod asked the House of Bishops to reconsider a provision in the legislation – Clause 5(1)(c) of the draft measure.
The new amendment submitted by the Rev. Janet Appleby during the consultation process received overwhelming support from the House of Bishops in both their discussions and in the final vote.
In discussion the Bishops welcomed the simplicity of the new text, its emphasis on respect and the process of dialogue with parishes that it will promote.
The final text proposed by the House of Bishops is:
Substitute for the words in clause 5(1)(c): “the selection of male bishops and male priests in a manner which respects the grounds on which parochial church councils issue Letters of Request under section 3”
The House also agreed to establish a group to develop the illustrative draft Code of Practice published in January to give effect to the new provision.
Update
The Archbishop of Canterbury has recorded a podcast about the new text proposed by the House of Bishops. It can be downloaded from the beginning of Archbishop speaks about women bishops draft legislation. A transcript is also available.
Andrew Brown argues in The Guardian that You can’t dance to atheism.
He has also written Don’t just blame ‘religion’ when parents refuse to let desperately ill children die.
Rod Thomas asks in The Church of England Newspaper Where are the Reform Bishops?
David Lose asks in The Huffington Post Was Jesus a Jerk?
In a reminder of how things used to be, The Guardian has this From the archive, 8 September 1979: Robert Runcie is to be the 102nd Archbishop of Canterbury.
3 Comments