To complete a trilogy of pastoral letters, here is one from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet.
The Bishop of Ebbsfleet’s Pastoral Letter – November 2010
Bishop Andrew’s Final Pastoral Letter
FIRST, I must apologise for this letter appearing late: I have delayed writing it until 9th November, the day after I announced my resignation from the See of Ebbsfleet, and the first anniversary of Anglicanorum cœtibus. Today is also the anniversary of Bishop John Richards’ death. When he became Bishop in 1994 many thought that he would be the one and only Bishop of Ebbsfleet. Who would have thought that he would have several successors – two so far? Bishop John was a fine man and I pray that he will rest in peace and share in the glory of the Resurrection.
My resignation takes effect on 31st December but, for bishops who become a Roman Catholic, custom requires that we cease public ministry forthwith. I foresaw how difficult this would be and it was for that reason that I arranged Study Leave, which began a month ago and lasts until the end of the year. I am extremely grateful for the countless messages of goodwill I have received. My farewell service is at 12 noon on 27th November at St John’s, New Hinksey, Oxford. I hope that some of you can be there.
Until the resignation was announced, I was careful not to recommend to anyone, or to any parish, how they should react to Anglicanorum cœtibus, the Holy See’s response to our appeal to Rome for help. Writing recently to laity in Oxford Forward in Faith who had expressed an interest in remaining in the Church of England whatever happens, my office duly sent them details of the Society of St Wilfred and St Hilda. Writing to those interested in the Ordinariate of England and Wales, I promised to hand on their details, with their permission, to the lay organisers. I hope something similarly even-handed happens in every diocese of the Church of England. As I have explained in the last three Pastoral Letters, this is a time for prayerful discernment. The Holy Spirit is at work in the Church, not at our beck and call, but changing and transforming us and our communities. The pioneering Ordinariate groups, when they come into being, will be ‘fresh expressions of church’, mostly new, missionary congregations, seeking to bring people to the fullness of the Catholic Faith and to advance the work of the Kingdom.
It has been hard – and it will continue to be hard – to leave many of you behind. The relationship of a bishop with his people is that of a father and, of all the titles, ‘father’ is the one to cherish. To no longer be the father of the clergy, the people, and the parishes is a real bereavement. I love you and I miss you. Had the Ebbsfleet project succeeded, we would all have become a local church, not unlike an Ordinariate, but within the Church of England, and seeking unity corporately with the Holy See, a fulfilment of the ARCIC discussions these last forty years. That was our vision, and it was not to be. Those who see a future for Ebbsfleet need another bishop with a different vision.
Yet amidst the bereavement is also intense joy. The Ordinariate is not something that can be joined corporately. Like the Walsingham coach, we have to climb on board one by one. In the queue for the coach, and on the coach, the pilgrimage group are all together, with their pastor. A couple of dozen of these coaches will be on the road very soon in Southern England, and I shall be on one of them. Other coaches will join the pilgrimage later: some people are already making bookings. Those joining the pilgrimage – a ramshackle caravan of pilgrims stretching across the wastelands into the distance – are full of joy and hope. Their enthusiasm and faith are contagious. Though I have had chance to visit only four of the groups, lay leaders of other groups have been in touch. So too have the clergy who have been acting as chaplains of the groups, amidst their other responsibilities.
Never far from the back of my mind are the Farewell Discourses of Jesus in St John’s Gospel. After all, to follow Christ, even at our lowly level, means being prepared to walk on ahead, face the dangers and difficulties, and trust that those left behind will be cared for. There is no vainglory here. I am quite sure, faced with the Passion, I would have run away, like the other disciples. I too would have denied even knowing Jesus, and left it to the holy women to be constant and strong. But, looking through the Farewell Discourses, there is not only Jesus going ahead to prepare a place but also the promise of a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit (John 14). Jesus is the True Vine and, cut off from him, we can do nothing but wither and be thrown into the fire and burned (John 15). His new commandment is to love one another. There are two musical settings of these words by sixteenth century composers, Sheppard and Tallis, working in the heat of the reformation battle. They were Catholics but bravely setting texts for the new Reformation Church. ‘By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another’. The work of the Spirit is to guide us into all the truth (John 16:13) and to glorify the Father and the Son. Thus our sorrow will be turned into joy. We learn of the gift of Peace, which, amidst the tribulation of the world is found only in Christ. Finally Jesus prays for the gift of Unity (John 17). It is that gift of Unity, I believe, which is offered to us, and through us eventually to all separated Christians, in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus. It is because it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, abiding in his Church, that I believe I must accept it and invite others to come with me on the journey. The Church gathers round, and maintains its unity in communion with, the successor of Peter.
I disown and renounce nothing that I have done in Jesus’ name: God is faithful. But I am now laying aside my bishopric. Self-emptying (kenosis) is hard – harder than any of us can manage in our own strength – but it is basic to being a disciple, as the gospels constantly remind us. Everyone on the journey has to do some laying aside. But we pray, in Cowper’s words, echoing St John of the Cross: ‘The dearest idol I have known, Whate’er that idol be, Help me to tear it from Thy throne, And worship only Thee’.
It is a Parting of Friends. I was mindful of that on the feast of Blessed John Henry Newman, 9th October, when I went off to Littlemore to join in the Newman Mass there. This time we must do everything – better than we managed 150 years ago and 15 years ago – to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Let us leave aside our squabbles and let God work in our midst.
May God bless and keep you as you faithfully seek to serve him.
+ Andrew
12 CommentsThe Bishop of Richborough has published this pastoral letter on his website, following the announcement of his resignation.
Pastoral Letter – 9th November 2010
To priests and people in the Richborough Area
PASTORAL LETTER NOVEMBER 2010
RESIGNATION
I imagine most of you will already know that I have resigned as Bishop of Richborough as from 31st December and will not be conducting any public episcopal services between now and then. I will, in due course, be received into full communion with the Catholic Church and join the Ordinariate when one is erected in England, which I hope will happen early next year. This has been a very difficult decision and has not been taken without much thought and prayer over the last year. For more than 8 years I have enjoyed being Bishop of Richborough; I have particularly valued the many visits to parishes for confirmations and other occasions. I am more grateful than I can say for the warmth, friendship and support I have experienced from so many priests and faithful lay people. I did not deserve it but I thank God for all I have received from you.
I am sure it will be said that I am leaving because of the issue of the ordination of women to the episcopate. While it is true that this has been an important factor in my thinking it is not the most significant factor. The publication of the Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus, just one year ago, came as a surprise and has completely changed the landscape for Anglo Catholics. Since the inception of the ARCIC process, set up by Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in the 1960s, most of us have longed and prayed for corporate union with the Catholic Church; union which in our own time has seemed less likely because of the new difficulties concerning the ordination of women and other doctrinal and moral issues affecting the Anglican Communion.
Although we must still pray for sacramental and ecclesial unity between our Churches that now seems a much more distant hope. The creation of Personal Ordinariates within the Catholic Church provides an opportunity for visible unity between Anglicans and the Catholic Church now, while still being able to retain what is best in our own tradition which will enrich the Universal Church. This is a hope which has been expressed many times by Forward in Faith and many others within the catholic tradition of the Church of England So I hope you will understand that I am not taking this step in faith for negative reasons about problems in the Church of England but for positive reasons in response to our Lord’s prayer the night before he died the ‘they may all be one.’
Some of you, of course, will be thinking that I am leaving just at the time when episcopal leadership for our parishes is vital. I have great sympathy with this view but there are a number of ways of understanding leadership. Some may think the leader should stay to the bitter end like the captain of a sinking ship, but the example in scripture is that of the shepherd and every instructed Christian knows the eastern shepherd leads from the front rather than following the flock from behind. This is what I hope I am doing. I am leading the way and I hope and pray that many of you will follow me in the months and the years ahead.
However, I know many of you will wish to remain in the Church of England if that is at all possible and for some they will do so whatever provision General Synod eventually adopts. For those I could not continue to be your bishop with any integrity. My pilgrimage is now leading me in a different direction and I can no longer provide the episcopal leadership you need and deserve. You need a new Bishop of Richborough who has the same vision as you have and one for whom a solution in the Church of England is a priority. My priority is union with the Universal Church.
For those whom I have let down and disappointed, I ask your forgiveness. I am only to well ware of my own failings and inadequacies but I have tried, though often failed, to be a loving and faithful bishop for you. I hope you will continue to pray for Gill and me as we take this significant step in our own Christian pilgrimage, as we will continue to pray for all of you.
May God bless you now and always,
Yours in our Blessed Lord,
+ Keith
Bishop of Richborough
Stephen Bates in The Guardian writes about An uneasy welcome for the flying bishops. “Arrivals from the Anglican church may import their factionalism into a Catholic culture they don’t entirely understand.”
The Catholic Group in General Synod has issued this statement today.
17 CommentsStatement from Catholic Group in General Synod
Nov 9, 2010The Catholic Group in General Synod is sorry to hear of the five bishops’ intention to join the Anglican Ordinariate; we would like to thank them all for their ministry in the Church of England, and to assure them of our prayers and good wishes for their future. Bishops John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and David Silk have all been prominent members of the Catholic Group, and we thank them for their leadership of the Group in the past.
The Catholic Group remains determined to do all it can to ensure that the promises made by the Church of England to traditionalists at the time of the passing of legislation to permit the ordination of women to the priesthood are honoured by the General Synod as it now considers draft legislation to permit the consecration of women as bishops; significant amendment of the current draft will be required to enable this to happen.
We are heartened by the news that new appointments will be made for the Bishops of Ebbsfleet, Fulham and Richborough, and assure the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London of our prayers and good wishes at this time.
GRAS (Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod) has issued this press release.
PRESS RELEASE
Press briefing for immediate release 9 November 2010
Departure of “flying bishops”
The announcement that the PEVs (Provincial Episcopal Visitors – known as flying bishops, since they have no dioceses and minister only to parishes which oppose ordination of women) are leaving to join the Ordinariate has not been a surprise.
Only 2.8% of parishes in the Church of England have opposed the ordination of women and requested the ministry of a flying bishop. These bishops are considered acceptable because they will not ordain women. This has been described as a “theology of Taint” which undermines the dignity of every woman and should hold no place within the Church.
The question arises as to whether there is any need to replace these bishops by new appointments. The General Synod of the Church of England, after lengthy consideration and debate has prepared legislation for the admission of women to the episcopate. The legislation does not envisage the use of PEVs. As their future is uncertain GRAS questions the wisdom of replacing these bishops for what could be a short duration.
Provision has been made within the legislation that will enable those opposed to have the ministry of a male priest or bishop. It is those in favour who have made concessions out of a spirit of generosity. As an interim measure the small number of parishes opposed to women’s ordination and episcopacy could be covered by existing bishops.
It is hoped, therefore that any future Episcopal appointment will be in keeping with the spirit of the legislation.
The Church Mouse writes Bishop of London to set up Society for those who oppose women bishops.
The Parish of St John the Baptist in Sevenoaks has this impressive list of relevant links on its website: From today’s news…
The Guardian has Steve Bell on the Anglican bishops who are converting to Roman Catholicism. [The banner reads “Ban the babes”.]
Channel 4 News has this video report, with both Bishop John Broadhurst and Canon Giles Fraser interviewed. See Anglican bishops defect to Roman Catholic Church.
27 CommentsThe Bishop of Fulham has published this pastoral letter on his website, following the announcement of his resignation.
Pastoral Letter from the Bishop of Fulham
My resignation has been formally announced. I know that for many of you this will be not unexpected but for others it will be a shock. I have thoroughly enjoyed being your Bishop and have thought it a great privilege. I remain utterly committed to our Catholic and Anglican heritage.
The Bishop of London intends to replace me and I hope that you will get a Bishop who is able to minister to you faithfully in the deteriorating situation in the Church of England.
It has been my great joy to work in three different Dioceses and in each of them I have felt welcomed and affirmed. I will miss many colleagues and the priests and parishioners of the parishes it has been my privilege to serve for more than 14 years.
My personal future is that I intend to enter the new Catholic Ordinariate being set up by the Pope. For 40 years I have been committed to the ARCIC process in which the Church of England seeks to unite with Rome. Recent decisions in our own church have made a positive outcome to these talks less and less likely. The Holy Father has made what seems to me a positive and generous offer to Orthodox Anglicans and I do not feel any choice but to accept. The consequence of this will be that our Catholic and Anglican heritage exists in two different places. It is important that we all remain friends and do not do anything to undermine or criticise each other. I am very grateful for the affection and love which Judi and I have both found in all the parishes. Many thanks for everything that you have done over the years and for all that we have achieved.
My final act as a Bishop will be to celebrate the Mass at Gordon Square on the eve of Christ the King, Saturday 20th November at 12 noon. I hope to see many of you there.
Every Blessing,
Yours as ever,
+John
In the Telegraph
Damian Thompson:
Five Anglican bishops resign to convert to Rome: statement
and A one-way pilgrimage to Rome
Tim Ross: Five Anglican bishops quit Church of England for Rome
Church of England in crisis as five bishops defect to Rome
and Church of England is ‘like a coffee chain going out of business’, defecting bishops warn
In The Guardian
Riazat Butt: Archbishop of Canterbury accepts resignation of Anglican bishops
Alan Wilson comments: The flying bishops crash to earth.
In the Catholic Herald : Anna Arco: Five Anglo-Catholic bishops resign
At the BBC: Five Anglican bishops join Catholic Church
At the Press Association: Anglican bishops join Catholics
WATCH (Women and the Church) has issued a press briefing.
Women and the Church (WATCH)
Press Briefing for immediate release 8th November 2010
Two Flying Bishops depart
The decision of the flying Bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton to join the Ordinariate has been widely anticipated. WATCH welcomes the clarification that this announcement brings.
Since the days of Cardinal Newman there have been members of the Church of England who have discovered that they would be more at home within the Roman Catholic Church. It is right that those who hear God calling them to a different church should follow that call.
… continued below the fold
13 CommentsUpdated Saturday afternoon
Richard E Helmer writes at the Episcopal Café about The vow of poverty: Reflecting on the witness of Francis.
Benjamin Guyer writes at The Living Church about Law, Liturgy, Wisdom.
Margaret Hebblethwaite writes in The Guardian about Christianity for a television age. “Can you have a christianity that has no symbols of sanctity, and no knowledge of history? That is how evangelical churches seem.”
Pierre Whalon writes about All Souls … especially your own …
Theo Hobson writes in The Guardian about Britain’s illiberal attitude to the church has driven me away. “The Anglican church’s version of Christianity is full of charming but deadly imperial ghosts. It needs an almighty exorcism.”
Bishop Alan Wilson writes about Change, Decay and Renewal and says he is “rather glad the Church isn’t the same as the one into which I was ordained 31 years ago”.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about Fresh Expressions: Mugged by Expressions of choice.
Update: Jeremy Fletcher responds to Giles Fraser: Fresh Expression, Stale Journalism.
And finally here is a report on the 2010 International Anglican Bloggers Summit Meeting.
3 CommentsHere are some press reports following today’s release of papers for this month’s General Synod and a press briefing this morning.
Riazat Butt in The Guardian: Church of England eyes £5m of state funds to combat extremism
Tim Ross in the Telegraph: Anglicans who defect to Rome ‘could share CofE churches’
and Religiously ‘illiterate’ politicians treat all faiths with suspicion, says CofE
The General Synod of the Church of England will meet in London on 23 and 24 November 2010. The following press release was issued a short time ago.
See our item below for links to online Synod papers.
Synod to debate the Big Society and the Anglican Communion Covenant
1 November 2010
Her Majesty The Queen will inaugurate the Ninth General Synod of the Church of England in Church House, Westminster on Tuesday 23 November. The Inauguration ceremony will follow the Eucharist in Westminster Abbey, at which the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will preside and Dame Mary Tanner (a President of the World Council of Churches) will preach.
This Synod will reflect some significant changes amongst its membership: 35% of the elected members of the General Synod are starting their first ever five-year term; the proportion of elected clergy who are female has increased from 21% to 28%; and women now make up 46% of the elected laity membership (up from 40%).
The November group of sessions will continue with regular business for the afternoon of Tuesday, 22 November, until late afternoon on Wednesday, 23 November. There will be a Presidential Address from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Other key features are indicated below.
Newly elected and continuing Synod members will also be attending an induction seminar in Church House on the Monday.
The Big Society
The Big Society is a major theme of the new Government and is of considerable relevance to the role of religious bodies, including the Church of England. In June, the Bishop of Leicester sponsored a debate in the House of Lords on the concept of the Big Society. The Mission and Public Affairs Division has been in discussion with Government ministers to consider ways the Church might work in partnership with the Government to promote greater social cohesion.
The debate in Synod should enable the Church to understand the issues concerned more deeply and prepare dioceses and parishes to feel better equipped to respond at local level.
Anglican Communion Covenant
The idea of an Anglican Communion Covenant was first proposed in the Windsor report of 2004, following developments in relation to same-sex partnerships in North America. It was envisaged that the Anglican Covenant would “make explicit and forceful the loyalty and bonds of affection” which govern the relationships between the Churches of the Anglican Communion. A text of the Covenant was sent last December to all the Churches of the Anglican Communion for their approval.
The House of Bishops agreed in May to commend the Covenant to the Synod for adoption; and the Synod is now being asked to approve the draft Act of Synod which will be required to express the Church of England’s agreement. At the November group of sessions, Synod will be asked to formally consider the Covenant, before it is referred to dioceses, and (if any of them so request) to the Convocations of Canterbury and York and the House of Laity. Subject to these procedures, the draft Act of Synod would return to the Synod in due course for Final Approval, possibly in 2012.
Other Legislative Business
The Church of England Marriage (Amendment) Measure will be introduced at the November Synod to give effect to the resolution passed by the Synod in July, calling for the introduction of legislation to enable a diocesan bishop to give directions allowing those who have a ‘qualifying connection’ with a particular parish to marry in any church within the benefice of which that parish forms a part.
Two other pieces of legislation come to the Synod for approval as the remaining steps in the process of preparing for the introduction of ‘Common Tenure’ early in 2011. These comprise some amending Regulations and an amending Order.
The Clergy Discipline Commission will be bringing to the Synod an amending Code of Practice under the Clergy Discipline Measure of 2003, including amendments on which the Commission conducted a consultation in 2008.
Communicating Synod
Anyone 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 ahead of the General Synod sessions. Audio files of debates along with updates on the day’s proceedings will be posted during the sessions, which will also be live streamed by Premier Radio.
9 CommentsUpdated Monday evening
Most papers for this month’s meeting of General Synod are now online. The list below will be updated as the remainder become available. Papers are also listed when they are known to exist but are not yet online.
GS 1802 Agenda
GS 1803 Business Committee Report
GS 1804 Big Society (Full Report)
GS 1804A Big Society (Short Report)
GS 1805 Draft Church of England Marriage (Amendment) Measure
GS 1806 Draft Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2010
GS 1806X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1807 Draft Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Order 2010
GS 1807X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1808 Amending Code of Practice (Clergy Discipline Measure)
GS 1808X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1809 Draft Act of Synod – Anglican Communion
GS 1810 Draft Scheme Amending the Diocese in Europe Constitution 1995
GS 1810X Explanatory Memorandum
GS Misc 965 Constitutions of Bodies answerable to Synod through the Archbishops’ Council
GS Misc 966 The Anglican Covenant: a briefing paper
2 CommentsSummer Time (daylight saving time) ends in the UK tomorrow.
Jeremy Fletcher is Giving up Football.
Huw Thomas writes in the Church Times Suffer little children — don’t fob them off. “Something is wrong when children are given distractions to occupy them in church rather than being involved.” [now available to non-subscribers]
Riazat Butt writes in The Guardian that Team Rowan goes off-message. “George Pitcher isn’t like previous members of the archbishop of Canterbury’s staff. Is Lambeth fully prepared?”
Toby Cohen writes at the Church of England Newspaper that In the beginning were the blogs.
Suem asks on her Significant Truths blog How Anglican is the Anglican Covenant?
Savi Hensman writes this essay for Ekklesia: Thinking theologically: Bible, tradition, reason and experience.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times that Humanism fails to face the horror.
And finally Meanwhile back on planet earth…
4 CommentsUpdated Sunday
We noted yesterday’s publication of the latest Church of England statistics. These included statistics on ordination of women resolutions and petitions at 1 January 2010, which for the convenience of readers I have extracted and published here.
Two papers have picked up these particular figures.
Tim Ross in the Telegraph: More parishes reject Church of England bishops who ordain women priests.
Ed Beavan in the Church Times: Statistics show parishes opposed to women priests.
Despite what is stated in these articles, these statistics have occasionally been published before, but not as part of the annual statistical round-up. For example, the February 2006 General Synod paper GS 1605 (House Of Bishops’ Women Bishops Group: Report To The General Synod From A Working Group Chaired By The Bishop Of Guildford) contained the figures for 31 March 2004 in an appendix.
Update
The Church Mouse has a rather more considered look at these statistics: Latest Church statistics – good news!
8 CommentsThe Church of England has announced the publication of Bishops’ office and working costs for 2009.
Bishops’ office and working costs published
28 October 2010The 2009 office and working costs of bishops in the Church of England are published today. Figures for individual bishops were first published, for the year 2000, in December 2001. Bishops’ office and working costs were previously published as a total figure.
Bishops’ office and working costs for the year ended 31 December 2009 are published on the Church of England website.
Note
The report includes a full description of the important role played by bishops locally, regionally and nationally.
The 113 diocesan and suffragan bishops of the Church of England institute and support the ministry of all clergy and lay ministers in their dioceses, as well as providing pastoral support to them. Each diocesan bishop has ultimate oversight of several hundred clergy, Readers and lay workers and of a diocesan budget and portfolio of assets. In addition to diocesan responsibilities, such as ordinations and diocesan festivals, and engaging with the communities which they serve, bishops often chair or serve on national and international Church boards and councils, as well as large charities, special commissions or public inquiries. They are involved in the growing work towards visible unity with other denominations both nationally and internationally and in work with other faiths.
Twenty-six diocesan bishops sit in the House of Lords: at least one is present every day and others will attend according to the subjects under debate that day. The Bishop of Sodor & Man sits in the Tynwald.
The webpage also includes links to costs for previous years back to 2000.
4 CommentsThe Church of England has announced the publication of its latest finance and ministry statistics with the following press release.
Church of England publishes latest statistics on web
28 October 2010The Church of England has today published its latest information about parish income and expenditure and trends in ministry numbers in Church Statistics 2008/9. The attendance statistics included were published in February 2010.
This year’s statistics include additional information on current areas of interest reflecting the contemporary life of the Church. Information on children and young people’s involvement with the church outside worship has been collected for the second time, so that trends can be identified in future years as more data is collected. Data on numbers of parishes theologically opposed to the ordination of women provide factual information for future debates.
Parish income
Despite the difficult economic times, parishioners’ tax-efficient planned giving continued to increase in 2008, reaching an average of £9.77 a week, while the total income of parishes exceeded £900 million for the first time at £925 million. Total voluntary income rose to £505 million or £8.31 per electoral roll member per week. At the same time, total parish expenditure rose to £874 million, with nearly £52 million of this being donations made by parishes to external charities.
Dr John Preston, the Church’s National Stewardship and Resources Officer, said:
“Whilst recent figures for giving to the wider charity sector have shown a dip, giving to parishes in 2008 saw a further increase to record levels, a sign of the high level of commitment that so many have to supporting the mission and ministry of their local parish church. Legacy giving has also bucked the national trend – reaching the highest ever level of £48.1 million.”
Ordination candidates
Another 491 candidates were accepted to train as future clergy in 2009, making a total of 1338 in training. In total, 564 new clergy were ordained in 2009, 10 less than in 2008 and 77 more than in 2006 (the lowest in recent years). Of those, 309 were entering full-time paid ministry, compared with 321 in 2008 and 226 in 2006.
While the numbers of people being training for ordination remained buoyant across 2009, number of retirements also remained high. Revd Preb Lynda Barley, Head of Research & Statistics for the Archbishops’ Council, comments: “It is encouraging that the Church is responding confidently to the challenge that the changing age profile of our nation brings, with one in six of those in training being under 30 years of age.” Taking retirements and other losses into account, there was a net loss of 128 full-time paid clergy, compared with 182 in 2006.
At the end of 2009, there were some 28,000 licensed and authorised ministers, ordained and lay, active in the Church of England.
The three new tables in this year’s Church of England statistics are: Ordination of Women Resolutions and Petitions; Children at Church-Related Activities 2008; and Young People at Church-Related Activities 2007.
The latest statistics have been added to the Church of England website, alongside attendance statistics published in February.
There are links to statistics for earlier years here.
0 CommentsThe Second Church Estates Commissioner (Tony Baldry, MP for Banbury) answered questions on behalf of the Church Commissioners in the House of Commons yesterday.
first batch
second batch
written answer
Here are two of the questions and answers.
Appointment of Bishops
1. Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab): What recent representations the Church Commissioners have received on the criteria for the appointment of bishops in the Church of England; and if he will make a statement.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Tony Baldry): The canons require that anyone to be considered and consecrated as a bishop at present has to be male and over 30.
Natascha Engel: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that answer. The Archbishop of Canterbury has recently written a newspaper article saying that it is okay to be a gay bishop as long as one is celibate. Where does the Church of England stand on people in civil partnerships? If they are celibate, are they okay to be bishops too?
Tony Baldry: There is no Church of England rule that prevents a celibate person in a civil partnership from being considered for appointment as a bishop. The issue is whether someone in that position could act as a focus for unity in a diocese. That would have to be considered by those responsible for making any episcopal appointment.
Partners of Vicars
8. Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD): What training and support the Church of England provides to those who become partners of Church of England vicars after their ordination.
Tony Baldry: When undertaking parish ministry, a curate and their family are able to access support from a number of people, including their bishop and their director of curate training.
Dr Huppert: Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a massive asymmetry between the treatment of those who become partners pre-ordination and post-ordination? If the Church expects such partners to play an active role, it should try to ensure that those who join their partner post-ordination get at least equivalent training.
Tony Baldry: I think everyone recognises that being a vicar is not an easy job. Betjeman succinctly observed:
“When things go wrong it’s rather tame
To find we are ourselves to blame.
It gets the trouble over quicker
To go and blame things on the Vicar.”
Every clergyman deserves our full support for what they do in the community, and their spouses – whether pre-ordination or post-ordination – deserve our support, because they are often on the front line of helping parishioners in the community. I very much hope that if any clergy spouse does not feel that she is getting full support, she will get in touch with me and I will make jolly sure that her diocesan bishops and others ensure that she gets the support that she deserves.
Other questions were about gift aid, ethical criteria for investments, VAT on church repairs, and heritage grants for churches
18 CommentsSusan Elkin writes in The Independent Restoring holy order: Is the King James Bible the only version we should celebrate? “It is a cornerstone of Western literature and culture. But as the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible approaches, the authors of two new studies argue that its significance may have been overstated.”
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about the Charterhouse in central London: Sacred mysteries: London’s hidden medieval priory.
Andrew Brown asks in The Guardian Do human rights exist?
Alan Wilson writes in his blog about Why new media matter in Church.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about The three options for diversity.
Nicholas Reade (the Bishop of Blackburn) writes in The Guardian that Our most vulnerable have been ‘handicapped’ by this spending review. “If the level of civilisation of our society is judged by its treatment of disabled people, we don’t seem to have got very far.”
Alex Wright writes in The Guardian about Holy faces from the past. “Early frescoes in a Norfolk village remind us of our medieval churches’ more lively past.”
Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about What the Pope’s visit changed a month on from Pope Benedict’s welcome to Britain.
15 CommentsThe outline agenda for the November 2010 Inaugural Group of Sessions of the General Synod of the Church of England is now available and is copied below.
GENERAL SYNOD NOVEMBER 2010
TIMETABLE
Monday, 22 November 10.30 am to 4 pm
Induction of new and returning members
Tuesday, 23 November
am Inauguration of the Synod
2.45 pm Prayers, welcomes, progress of legislation
Presidential Address: Archbishop of Canterbury
Business Committee Report
The Big Society: report by the Mission and Public Affairs Council
Questions
7 pm Close of business
Wednesday, 24 November
9.30 am Prayers
Draft Act of Synod Adopting the Anglican Communion Covenant
Ecclesiastical Offices (Clergy Terms of Service) (Amendment) (No 2)
Regulations and Consequential Transitional Provisions Order
Code of Practice under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003
1 pm Lunch
2.30 pm Draft Church of England Marriage (Amendment) Measure
Scheme Amending the Diocese in Europe Constitution 1995 (deemed approval)
Farewells – Bishop of Lincoln (10 minutes)
Prorogation
4 pm Meetings of the Convocations and the House of Laity
0 CommentsAlan Wilson continues his BCP series in The Guardian with The Book of Common Prayer, part 8: Liturgy and society. “The BCP is defined far more by liturgical statements than dogmatic formularies, offering a distinctive concept of uniformity.”
Christopher Howse asks in the Telegraph Who’d be seen dead in an ill-dressed grave? and “rues the coming of new funerary rites that find a place for teddy bears”.
Stephen Tomkins and Nicholas Taylor write in The Guardian about Halloween: saints vs devils. “Catholic bishops think dressing up as saints, rather than devils, is a holier way to mark Halloween. What are the pros and cons?”
Sue Blackmore has been to a baptism and writes about it in The Guardian: Fighting talk in church. “At a family baptism I was appalled when the congregation was called to combat aggressive atheists – I don’t want to fight.”
Bernard Leikind writes in The Guardian that Job suffered alone – and so must we. “Many believe a caring, personal God has their welfare in mind, but the Book of Job provides little to support this view.”
Rowan Williams preached this sermon The purpose of fasting at a service of thanksgiving to mark the Global Day of Prayer for the millennium development goals at St Paul’s Cathedral in Kolkata. “Fasting is about more than going without food – it is connecting with reality and noticing the suffering of your neighbour.”
This is also available on the Archbishop’s website: Archbishop’s MDG sermon at Kolkota Cathedral.
Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times that Christianity is like being rescued.
John P Richardson (The Ugley Vicar) asks Why has Reform failed?
6 CommentsThe LGBT Anglican Coalition has issued an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Their press release is below, and the full text of the letter is below the fold.
LGBT Anglican Coalition Press Release 11 October 2010
Time to accept gay bishops, says Anglican Coalition
In a recent interview with The Times the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was unclear whether celibate but partnered gay clergy are acceptable as bishops in the Church of England. The archbishop stated his unwillingness to consider partnered gay men and lesbians as bishops because of their ‘particular choice of life, a partnership, and what the Church has to say about that.’
The LGBT Anglican Coalition believes that acceptance should be extended beyond those who are celibate, but says:
‘Your statement has also left ambiguity regarding those in loving life-long but celibate relationships. Such people would appear to be complying fully with the requirements of “Issues in Human Sexuality” and yet still seem to be excluded simply on the grounds of some other people’s disapproval. If this is not your intention, we ask you to clarify what you meant. Given that you said that you “have no problem” with gay bishops who are celibate, we would ask you to make clear your position on the acceptability for higher office of celibate gay clergy who are in civil partnerships.’
In a letter sent to the Archbishop, the Coalition criticizes the Archbishop’s remarks as ‘hurtful and undermining to the many lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people who have been called to ordained ministry but not to celibacy’. The Coalition calls the Church of England to a renewed study of sexuality in the light of modern scientific and theological understanding.
The letter is also highly critical of the culture of secrecy, fear and dishonesty around human sexuality which is blighting the Church of England, and damaging our witness to society, and which urgently needs to be dispelled. It says that, ‘in numerous Church of England parishes, worshippers fully accept LGBT people, whether single or partnered, and believe that all forms of ministry should be open to God’s children regardless of sexual orientation.’
ENDS
Notes for Editors
1. The Anglican Coalition is here to provide UK-based Christian LGBT organisations with opportunities to create resources for the Anglican community and to develop a shared voice for the full acceptance of LGBT people in the Anglican Communion.
2. The Coalition members are:
Accepting Evangelicals www.acceptingevangelicals.org
Changing Attitude www.changingattitude.org.uk
The Clergy Consultation www.clergyconsultation.org
Courage www.courage.org.uk
The Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians www.eflgc.org.uk
Inclusive Church www.inclusivechurch2.net
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement www.lgcm.org.uk
The Sibyls www.sibyls.co.uk
The votes in the elections to the Church of England General Synod will be counted this week. I will publish the names of the successful candidates here: General Synod List of members.
Please help me do this by sending election results to gs2010@peterowen.org.uk. I will only publish the names of successful candidates, so I do not need the details of the count (although you are welcome to send these to me as well).
24 Comments