WATCH: Women and the Church has launched an online petition urging the House of Bishops to withdraw its amendment to clause 5 of the Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure.
The petition can be seen, and signed, here: The House of Bishops [of the Church of England]: Withdraw Clause 5(1)c.
4 CommentsThe Church Times has today published this longer than usual leading article: Women bishops: what should happen next.
THE General Synod is in trouble. In ten days’ time, it is to consider giving final approval to the consecration of women bishops. In the normal run of things, this would be the stage for a general debate in which the participants return to first principles, examine whether the legislation does or does not fulfil their wishes, and vote accordingly. This debate looks increasingly unlikely to happen…
The effect of the amendments has been the opposite of what was intended, however. The failure of opponents to endorse them, understandable though this may be, and the fierce rejection of them by many of the proponents, to the extent that some have been calling for the Measure to be voted down, mean that the Measure might fall in both the Houses of Laity and Clergy. This would be a farcical end to the long, tortuous synodical process, and hard to square with the overwhelming vote in the diocesan synods…
The Synod is in danger of attracting widespread puzzlement if it fails to agree women bishops after such a long process. Put simply, it must not fail. Anxiety has been expressed about the precedent set by allowing parishes to choose their own type of priest (as if this did not happen at present). A far more worrying precedent will be set if Synod members cannot find a way to live in the same Church as those with whom they disagree.
There is also this news item: Women bishops: ‘little silver balls won’t stay in their holes’.
29 CommentsAnother letter to General Synod members about the bishops’ amendments to the women bishops legislation is circulating. This time it is from the Chairman of the Catholic Group in General Synod.
21 CommentsSubject: Women Bishop Legislation
Dear fellow member of General Synod,
Some supporters of women bishops are now urging us to send the draft Women Bishops legislation back to the House of Bishops for them to reconsider their amendments; the same people are advising us to vote against the Measure if the House of Bishops do not withdraw their amendments. We need to reflect very carefully what referring the matter back to the Bishops would do to the Church of England.
What the Bishops have done is entirely reasonable in terms of the synodical process. It is consistent with how the majority of the Synod voted in February: the Southwark motion calling for no amendments at all to be made by the House of Bishop was itself amended by Pete Spiers so as to request that no substantial amendments be made.
The Bishops’ amendments are consistent with the original substance of the Measure; that is the clear advice of the Legal Office (reproduced in the annex to GS 1708-1709ZZ); it is also the decision of the majority of the Group of Six (Archbishops, Prolocutors, Chair and Vice-Chair of the House of Laity). Members of Synod would do well to read the Legal Office’s advice very carefully before forming a view on the amendments.
The House of Bishops’ amendments are consistent with their responsibility to try to hold the Church of England together; their amendments are also consistent with their responsibility to find a way forward that stands a reasonable chance of success at Final Approval. Synod’s voting in May showed that unamended, this Measure was doomed to fail at Final Approval.
The present agitation also provides a warning as to what would lie ahead of us were this Measure to be passed, with or without amendment. The formation of the Code of Practice would become a new battleground. Were the House of Bishops to be forced to retreat over their amendments to the Measure, they would be forced to have the contents of the Code of Practice dictated to them. Even after the Code were initially agreed, it would be open to pressure groups to campaign to whittle away its provisions over time.
A recent survey by Christian Research has found that 69% of CofE members surveyed wanted to see women bishops, and 75% wanted to see proper provision made for opponents so that they are not forced out of the Church of England. We have to ask ourselves: how do we achieve legislation that is faithful to the majority of CofE members? Pressurising the House of Bishops into withdrawing their amendments is most clearly the wrong way. Reliance on a Code of Practice is now looking to be an increasingly shaky and temporary foundation for making provision – which is what the Catholic Group in General Synod and others have consistently said.
The Bishops’ amendments are very modest but welcome steps in the right direction for the Catholic Group, though they do not go far enough. We appreciate the good intentions of the House of Bishops, but we are surprised that even the little they have offered, others are now determined to take away.
With prayers and good wishes,
Simon Killwick.
The Revd. Canon Simon Killwick (Manchester 163)
(Chairman of the Catholic Group in General Synod)
Reform has issued this statement saying that the bishops’ amendments are not sufficient and that they will encourage their members on General Synod to vote against the legislation as it stands.
Media Statement: Reform members on GS encouraged to vote against Women’s Measure: REFORM SAYS ‘FURORE’ OVER WOMEN BISHOPS SHOWS NEED FOR BETTER PROVISION
Posted on 27 June 2012Wednesday 27th June 2012
Reform Chairman Rev’d Rod Thomas said today that “Reform deeply regrets that we have reached such an impasse on women bishops” with the current House of Bishops’ amendments not satisfying the conservative evangelical network’s concerns over their future in the Church of England.
Speaking in advance of a prayer meeting for over 200 Reform members in central London, Mr Thomas said: “We thank the House of Bishops for their work. They have tried to find a way through. But their amendments have not succeeded in persuading our members that there is a secure future for those who cannot in conscience accept the oversight of women as bishops. In light of that we will be encouraging our members on General Synod to vote against the legislation as it stands.”
Mr Thomas added: “The furore created by some in response to these small amendments reveals most clearly the reason why those who hold to our Biblical position need legislative clarity, not just a code of practice if we are to continue to encourage young people to come forward for ordination.
“There is clearly a desire on the part of some to see any provision for us as strictly temporary, despite the fact that we’re simply seeking to follow the Bible’s teaching about how God wants his Church to be organised. They hope we’ll just leave. However, we believe the majority of Anglicans want to honour the promises made to us over the last two decades to preserve a place for us in the Church of England. As it stands, the draft Measure doesn’t do this – and we’ll be asking General Synod to withhold approval of the draft Measure so that some proper compromises can be agreed.
“We face a very difficult situation, so we are urging our members to pray today for the House of Bishops, the General Synod and for the church’s witness in this country to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.”
The full statement also includes some background notes.
13 CommentsUpdated 2 July
Another diocesan synod has passed an emergency motion supporting the adjournment of the final vote on women bishops and a referral back to the House of Bishops. This was Gloucester which met on Tuesday evening this week (26 June) and passed the motion “overwhelmingly”.
Before the debate on the motion Michael Perham, the Bishop of Gloucester, gave his presidential address in which he said “If we are not to avoid a debacle that I believe would be a catastrophe for the Church of England, the House of which I am a member must think again.”
Update
There is now a report of the debate on the Gloucester diocesan website.
GRAS (Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod) have sent the letter below to the members of General Synod to express their opposition to the bishops’ amendment to Clause 5 of the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure, and urging Synod members to adjourn their debate to allow the bishops to think again.
27 CommentsGRAS
Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod27th June 2012
Dear Member of General Synod,
The Act of Synod all over again It’s the Act of Synod all over again – but worse this time: more divisive, and proposed to be written into law.
Amendment 5(1)(c) in the latest draft of the women bishops legislation (the Draft Bishops and Priests [Consecration and Ordination of Women] Measure) goes beyond the previously agreed form of the Measure in that it invites congregations to judge the theological convictions of the bishops they consider acceptable. This is unprecedented in privileging in law undefined theological positions, and in allowing congregations to sit in judgment over the characteristics of their bishop.
We have worked and prayed for many years for Women Bishops and would find it deeply painful to say No to this Measure. However, many people, who long for the Church of England to have women bishops, cannot support it in its present form.
We urge you to support an adjournment to allow time for the Bishops to reconsider Amendment 5(1)(c). If this does not happen, we ask you to prayerfully consider voting the amended measure down.
With our concern and prayers,
Yours sincerely,
Ruth McCurry
GRAS Chair
A group of senior women clergy have sent the letter below to the members of General Synod to express their opposition to the bishops’ amendment to Clause 5 of the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure, and urging Synod members to adjourn their debate to allow the bishops to think again.
To all members of General Synod:
Following the House of Bishops’ amendments many people have asked for the perspective of senior women clergy regarding the Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure as it now stands.
We the undersigned wish to express our deep dismay at the introduction of Clause 5(1)(c), which has serious implications for the way the Church understands itself and undermines women so profoundly that we are now unable to support the Measure.
We recognise that bishops voted in favour of this amendment in good faith, believing that further assurances for those unable to accept the ministry of ordained women would help secure the Measure’s passing.
However, with the introduction of this clause the Measure is likely to be defeated. It is therefore our hope that the General Synod will adjourn the debate in July and return the legislation to the House of Bishops for further reflection. This will give the opportunity for the Measure (as passed by 42 of the 44 dioceses) to be returned to General Synod for approval later in the year.
The Venerable Christine Allsopp (Archdeacon of Northampton)
The Revd Canon Sarah Bullock (Bishop’s Advisor for Women’s Ministry Diocese of Manchester)
The Venerable Annette Cooper (Archdeacon of Colchester)
The Venerable Penny Driver (Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness)
The Very Revd Vivienne Faull (Dean of Leicester)
The Venerable Karen Gorham (Archdeacon of Buckingham)
The Revd Canon Jane Hedges (Canon Steward & Archdeacon of Westminster)
The Venerable Canon Janet Henderson (Archdeacon of Richmond)
The Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin (Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons)
The Revd Rosemary Lain-Priestley (Chair of the National Association of Diocesan Advisers in Women’s Ministry)
The Very Revd Catherine Ogle (Dean of Birmingham)
The Very Revd June Osborne (Dean of Salisbury)
The Venerable Jane Sinclair (Archdeacon of Stow and Lindsey)
The Revd Canon Celia Thomson (Canon Pastor, Gloucester Cathedral)
The Venerable Rachel Treweek (Archdeacon of Hackney)
The Very Revd Dr Frances Ward (Dean of St Edmundsbury)
The Venerable Christine Wilson (Archdeacon of Chesterfield)
The Revd Lucy Winkett (Rector, St James’s Piccadilly)
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21 CommentsThe Church of England has today published (5.6 MB pdf file) its latest information both about parish income and expenditure and about trends in ministry numbers in Church Statistics 2010/11.
The press release states that:
The attendance statistics included were published in January 2012. This year’s financial statistics show that parish giving remained resilient in 2010 despite the general economic situation. With investment income still at the reduced level experienced in recent years overall parish income was marginally ahead of the previous year.
The rest of the press release is copied below the fold.
Earlier statistics are available here.
1 CommentRichard Godwin of the London Evening Standard interviews the Archbishop of Canterbury in Goodbye to all that…
Mark Vernon asks in The Guardian ‘Silence is a lovely idea’ – so why have churches become so noisy?
Giles Fraser writes in The Guardian that Dying can be a terribly lonely business. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
6 CommentsWorcester Diocesan Synod met last night and passed this emergency motion by 38 votes to 5.
2 CommentsThis Synod calls upon the members of General Synod to support an adjournment of the debate on final approval of the Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure, so that the House of Bishops can reconsider its recent amendment to clause 5.
Affirming Catholicism issued a statement today on the House of Bishops Amendment to the Women Bishops Measure. They say that
the idea that parishes should have statutory authority to demand specific provision of oversight according to particular theological views is a dangerous precedent to be setting, both for the Church of England and for the Anglican Communion as a whole.
The clause 5 amendment raises significant questions about the credibility of the Church of England’s insistence on the historic episcopate as one of the bases for our ecumenical relationships
and conclude that the amendment to Clause 5 proposed by the Bishops “calls into question the catholic nature of the ecclesiology of the C of E”.
On procedure they strongly support the motions in the Convocations and the House of Laity to refer the amended measure to General Synod, but strongly urge Synod to refer it back to the House of Bishops.
The full statement is here.
18 CommentsUpdated 5pm Wednesday
Thursday morning update The bishop’s presidential address is now available here.
We have been informed us that Salisbury Diocesan Synod last night overwhelmingly passed an emergency motion that “This Synod calls upon the House of Bishops to withdraw its amendment to Clause 5 of the Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure”.
Nicholas Holtam, the Bishop of Salisbury, said in his Presidential Address, “the Bishops have destabilised the compromise agreed by 42 of the 44 Dioceses”. Both he and Graham Kings, the suffragan Bishop of Sherborne, voted for and welcomed the motion.
WATCH has issued a press release stating that “This emergency motion is the latest indication that the House of Bishops needs to rethink its approach to this important legislation.”
Wednesday Update
The Diocese of Salisbury has this evening issued a press release summarising the bishop’s presidential address, from which the following is extracted.
53 CommentsRevolutionary Talk
The Bishop of Salisbury, Nicholas Holtam, … called for an end to changes to legislation for women bishops…
Bishop Holtam said: “This is not a matter of pragmatics but of principle and what the House of Bishops has done is to destabilise a very carefully crafted proposal, which already had significant compromise within it to recognise the legitimate place of difference within the Church of England, but which had substantial agreement from the dioceses.”
Referring to a vote on whether to accept the amendments to the legislation, he added: “The motion that has been tabled tonight is in keeping with the strong support this diocese has previously given to the ordination of women bishops and I welcome it as a contribution to what is indeed a very urgent debate.” …
Updated Tuesday
Two press reports look at what might happen to the women bishops legislation at next month’s General Synod.
Gavin Drake has written in Church Times that Women-bishops supporters might send Measure back.
John Bingham has written in the Telegraph that Church of England: new row could set women bishops plan back five years.
Opinions on the bishops’ amendments include these three.
Modern Church has published this paper by Jonathan Clatworthy: When is a bishop not a bishop (also available as a pdf).
Jeremy Fletcher has blogged Women Bishops – What I think I think.
Michael Sadgrove (the Dean of Durham) has blogged Where are we now on Women as Bishops?
And looking further ahead, last Friday’s edition of Today in Parliament on BBC Radio 4 included an interview with Ben Bradshaw MP about what might happen if the women bishops legislation as amended by the bishops reaches the Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament. The programme can be downloaded as a 12 MB mp3 podcast, or listened to on the BBC iPlayer. The interview starts with an introduction at 6 min 41 sec.
Update WATCH has provided a transcript of this interview.
Joe Lycett writes for The Huffington Post that The Church of England is a Drunk Bloke in a Wetherspoon.
Nelson Jones writes for New Statesman about God’s Peculiar People.
In The Guardian Sarah Ditum asks What do you do when you find cash in the street?
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about The bodily God of Thomas Hobbes.
0 CommentsThe usual pre-synod press release has been issued by the Church of England today, and is copied below. It provides a summary of the business to be transacted, and one item not on the agenda.
I have listed in a separate article the available online papers.
For those interested in the legislation to allow women to be bishops, I draw particular attention to the paper background Q & As which inter alia lists the possible outcomes at the July Synod.
Agenda for July 2012 General Synod
15 June 2012
General Synod meets in July for final stages of women bishops legislation, with an agenda that also includes world mission, church growth, the August 2011 riots, manifesting faith in public life, church schools, Palestine and Israel.
The General Synod will meet at York University from 5.15 p.m. on Friday 6 July until lunchtime on Tuesday 10 July. The meeting will be preceded by meetings of the House of Laity and the Convocations (provincial synods) of Canterbury and York at 2 p.m. on Friday 6 July.
The Agenda provides for the Synod to deal with the final stages of the major legislative process designed to make it possible for women to be bishops in the Church of England while also making some provision for those who, for theological reasons, will not be able to receive their ministry. If the legislation is approved, by simple majorities, by the House of Laity and the Convocations, the way will be clear for it to be presented for final approval on Monday 9 July. As with the women priests legislation in 1992, the whole of the morning and afternoon sittings has been allocated to the Final Approval debates. (See background Q & As).
As in July 2011, part of the Saturday morning has been structured in such a way as to foster a culture of listening and reflection in the Synod. The groups that met last year, each comprising twelve members and led by a bishop, will reflect, in the context of worship, on a Bible passage and on the Church’s contemporary mission.
This will be followed by a debate on the role of mission agencies and on partnership between the Church of England and other churches of the Anglican Communion.
The mission theme will continue on the Saturday evening with a debate on the ‘fresh expressions’ movement, which encourages new ways of being the Church within the contemporary context, in the light of a joint Anglican-Methodist report which considers how these initiatives relate to the doctrinal understanding of what it is to be a church.
Further aspects of the Church of England’s engagement with society – corporately and individually – will be considered on the Sunday and on the Monday. The Synod will debate a report on the Church’s role in local communities in the context of the August 2011 riots and a Private Member’s Motion expressing the conviction that it is the calling of Christians to manifest their faith in public life as well as in private. It will also receive a presentation on the report ‘The Church School of the Future’, which looks at ways in which the Church of England could extend its role in the education system, in the context of the current changes to that system.
On the Sunday afternoon the Synod will be invited to authorize new Eucharistic Prayers for use from 1 September at services at which there are significant numbers of children present – at a Communion service in a church school, for example.
The Synod will also debate a Private Member’s Motion affirming support for the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, for agencies working for justice and peace in the region, and for Palestinian Christians and organizations that work to ensure their continuing presence in the Holy Land.
Other items of legislative business will be taken on the Saturday afternoon. These include the final approval of a draft Measure amending aspects of the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 and of a draft Measure giving the Church Commissioners power to make financial provision for the mission of the growing Diocese in Europe.
The Synod will also receive presentations on the annual reports of the Archbishops’ Council and the Church Commissioners, and will be invited to approve the Council’s budget for 2013. It will debate a Diocesan Synod Motion relating to the size of the committees that elect diocesan representatives to participate in the choosing of diocesan bishops.
If the Synod completes its consideration of the women bishops legislation in July, there will be no need for a third group of sessions in November, and this will therefore be final occasion at which the Archbishop of Canterbury will preside, with the Archbishop of York, at a meeting of the General Synod. Dr Williams will preach at the Eucharist in York Minster on the Sunday morning. The final business for the group of sessions will be a motion, to be moved by the Archbishop of York, expressing the Synod’s gratitude to Dr Williams and offering him and Mrs Williams its best wishes for the future.
One item not on the Agenda for July is the Anglican Communion Covenant. The Business Committee publishes today its report on the voting in the diocesan synods on the draft Act of Synod adopting the Covenant. 18 diocesan synods voted in favour and 26 against, so this draft Act of Synod cannot be presented to the General Synod for final approval. As the report shows, the voting was quite close. The majority of Houses of Clergy (26) voted against, but the majority of Houses of Laity (23) voted in favour. Overall, of the 1516 members of houses of clergy who voted, 732 (48%) voted in favour and 784 (52%) voted against, whereas, of the 1813 members of houses of laity who voted, 960 (53%) voted in favour and 853 (47%) voted against. The Business Committee believes that it would be helpful for members of the Synod to have time to reflect on the position before the Synod debates the report and the Diocesan Synod Motions about the Covenant that have been passed by nine diocesan synods. These will therefore be debated not in July but at the next group of sessions after July.
Communicating Synod
Parishioners can keep in touch with the General Synod while it meets. Background papers and other information will be posted on the Church of England website (www.churchofengland.org) ahead of the General Synod sessions.
A live feed will be available courtesy of Premier Radio (accessible from front page www.churchofengland.org), and audio files of debates, along with updates on each day’s proceedings, will be posted during the sessions.
16 CommentsOnline copies of the papers for the July 2012 meeting of General Synod are starting to appear online; they are listed below, with links and a note of the day they are scheduled for debate. I will update the list as more papers become available.
Updated Tuesday 19 June to add link to GS 1878 (Business Committee report on diocesan synod voting on the Anglican Communion Covenant)
Updated Friday 22 June to add more papers
Update Wednesday 27 June A zip file of all papers is available. As well as papers listed below it includes the first five notice papers and a list of recent appointments.
The Report of the Business Committee (GS 1864) includes a forecast of future business, and I have copied this below the fold.
The Church of England’s own list of papers is presented in agenda order.
GS 1863 Full Agenda
GS 1864 Report by the Business Committee [Friday]
Women Bishops legislation
GS 1708C Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure [Monday]
GS 1709C Draft Amending Canon No.30 [Monday]
GS 1709D Draft Petition for Her Majesty’s Royal Assent and Licence for Adoption [Monday]
GS 1708-1709ZZ Report from the House of Bishops on Article 7 reference
Other papers for debate
GS 1814B Draft Clergy Discipline (Amendment) Measure [Saturday]
GS 1814Z Report by the Steering Committee
GS 1822A Additional Eucharistic Prayers [Sunday]
GS 1822B Report by the House of Bishops
GS 1853A Draft Diocese in Europe Measure [Saturday]
GS 1859A and GA 1859B Private Member’s Motion: Manifestation of Faith in Public Life [Sunday]
GS 1862 Annual Report of the Archbishops’ Council [Sunday]
GS 1865 World Shaped Mission [Saturday]
GS 1866 Draft Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure [Saturday]
GS 1877 Draft Amending Canon No. 31 [Saturday]
GS 1866X/1877X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1867 The Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme (Amendment) Rules 2012 [Saturday]
GS 1867X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1868 The Legal Officers (Annual Fees) Order 2012
GS 1869 The Ecclesiastical Judges, Legal Officers and Others (Fees) Order 2012
GS 1868X/1869X Explanatory Memorandum
[items only to be debated if a synod member requests this]
GS 1870 Fresh Expressions and Church Growth: Report from the Mission and Public Affairs Council [Saturday]
GS 1871 Fresh Expressions in the Mission of the Church
GS 1872 The Archbishops’ Council’s Draft Budget and Proposals for Apportionment for 2013 [Sunday]
GS 1873 Testing the Bridges: Understanding the Role of the Church amidst Riots, Disturbances and Disorder [Sunday]
GS 1874A and GS 1874B Private Member’s Motion: Palestine and Israel [Tuesday]
GS 1875A and GS 1875B Diocesan Synod Motion: Vacancy in See Committees [Tuesday]
GS 1876A and GS 1876B Private Member’s Motion: Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956 [Contingency Business]
GS 1878 Anglican Communion Covenant: Draft Act of Synod – Report by the Business Committee on the reference to the dioceses.
Church Commissioners’ annual report 2011 [Saturday]
The Church School of the Future Review [Monday]
Other Papers
GS Misc 1020 Membership of Boards, Councils and Committees
GS Misc 1023 Dioceses Commission Annual Report
GS Misc 1024 Activities of the Archbishops’ Council
GS Misc 1025 Pursuing the three Quinquennium Goals
GS Misc 1026 The Report of the Meissen Commission 2007-2011
GS Misc 1027 A response from the Church of England on the Government Consultation on Same-Sex Marriage
GS Misc 1028 Background Press Questions and Answers re: Women in the Episcopate
GS Misc 1029 Clergy Discipline Annual Report
GS Misc 1030 Analysis of Mission Funds and Appendix A and Appendix B
GS Misc 1031 Higher Education Validation Partnership
HB (12) M1 House of Bishops: Summary of Decisions
6 CommentsThe National WATCH Committee has released a paper setting out its position on the House of Bishops’ amendments to the draft legislation on female bishops: A Statement of our Concerns.
The paper is quite long, but here are the conclusions (from page 7).
WATCH’s conclusions
The bishops have argued that they have not changed the substance or intention of the Measure, and hope that when looked at dispassionately and carefully everyone will agree with them.
Our conclusions, after consultation and careful and dispassionate consideration, are these:
29 Comments1. The House of Bishops has made changes that are significant in how the draft legislation might work in practice. In so doing, it has de-stabilised the legislative process: there is no clear way forward towards July’s General Synod.
2. The amended draft legislation comes to General Synod for approval this July. It is not possible for Synod to amend the legislation further at this stage – though it could be referred back to the House of Bishops for reconsideration.
3. WATCH consistently supported the unamended Measure that was supported by 42/44 dioceses, as an act of generosity to those opposed and a compromise from our preferred route of the simplest possible legislation.
4. The bishops were repeatedly informed by those supporting the Measure that any amendment along these lines would put the Measure at greatly increased risk of defeat in July. They are now expressing surprise at our reaction. We wonder what it is that stops the House of Bishops hearing and taking seriously the voices of ordained women and all who support their ministry.
5. Our principal concerns about Clause 5(1)c are:
i) It legitimates negative theologies about women and expects women to live with permanent institutional uncertainty about their orders. This is bad for women and bad for the Church.
ii) It opens the way for parishes to require a bishop and priest in accordance with their theological convictions. This is a new and unwelcome departure for our Church that will lead to conflict and increasing fragmentation.6. The amendment to clause 5 means that the legislation no longer meets the objective of the Manchester Report (2008) that legislation should ‘avoid any flavour of discrimination or half-heartedness by the Church towards women priests and bishops.’
7. WATCH has grave concerns about the amendment to Clause 5 and the WATCH committee cannot support the Measure as it now stands. However, it will fall to General Synod members, to make up their own minds and decide whether, in good conscience, they can support the legislation as amended.
8. Our consultation suggests that the amended Measure is at grave risk of being voted down by the very Synod members who most strongly support women becoming bishops. It is a tragedy that after so much work and so much compromise, this should be the situation a month before the final vote.
9. Despite our disappointment, WATCH remains committed to working constructively with others to find a way forward that does not further institutionalise discrimination and create a Church divided in law.
National WATCH Committee
11 June 2012
Simon Barrow writes for The Guardian Let’s reclaim the jubilee.
Kristin M Swenson writes for The Huffington Post about The Inspiration of Chagall’s Mystical Stained Glass.
Savi Hensman writes for Ekklesia about Ordaining women bishops: safeguards and tangles.
Mark Goodacre asks How would Jesus have proved his own existence?
5 CommentsSavitri Hensman writes in The Guardian that Inter-church alliances are not always blessed.
Dave Bookless writes on the A Rocha blog about Mission: Saving souls or saving seals?
Esther J Hamori writes in The Huffington Post about Biblical Standards for Marriage.
Bishop Peter Selby writes in the New Statesman that Money has changed – that’s the issue.
Andy Robertson writes for the Church Times about computer games in worship in Not to be consoled as to console.
16 CommentsThe Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ meeting met for three days this week. The Anglican Communion News Service has issued these bulletins summarising the committee’s proceedings.
2012 Standing Committee Bulletin – Day 1
2012 Standing Committee Bulletin – Day 2
2012 Standing Committee Bulletin – Day 3
The Anglican Communion Covenant was discussed on Wednesday (day 1):
The Standing Committee received an update on the progress of the Anglican Communion Covenant. It was noted that eight Provinces had endorsed the Covenant to date, in some cases with a degree of qualification. They were the only responses received so far by the Secretary General…
There was general agreement that no timeframe should yet be introduced for the process of adoption of the Covenant by Provinces. The Standing Committee will return to this question following ACC-15.
An implication of the first paragraph is that the Church of England has not yet notified the Secretary General that the covenant was defeated in the dioceses.
Note: ACC-15 is the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council to be held in New Zealand from 27 October to 7 November 2012.
6 Comments