The Anglican Communion News Service reports today as follows.
House of Bishops Meeting in New Orleans
The Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates of the Anglican Communion have now submitted their Report on The Episcopal Church House of Bishops of Meeting in New Orleans. The Archbishop of Canterbury has sent the Report to all the Primates and to all members of the Anglican Consultative Council and asked them to consult in their Provinces on the Report, and respond to him by the end of October.
A PDF of the Report can be found here. It’s quite long (19 pages).
122 CommentsThe BBC Radio Ulster programme Sunday Sequence carried an interview with Dr Eeva John this last weekend. The programme ended with a statement from the principal of Wycliffe Hall (Dr Richard Turnbull) and the chair of the hall council (the Bishop of Liverpool).
Listen (11m 39s)
We linked to an earlier interview with Dr John on BBC Radio 4 here.
Update
Clare MacInnes, a member of the hall council, has resigned “because of her concerns over failures by the body to ‘respond to allegations of bullying, intimidation of Council members and a lack of transparency in its decision making’.”
Details here.
[hat-tip to badman]
The Most Revd Dr Idris Jones, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway spoke at an Inclusive Church seminar in Manchester Cathedral on 29 September. His subject was Communion and Canterbury. Here is a brief extract.
Actually I can suggest the wording of a Covenant like this – “As sisters and brothers in Christ we pledge ourselves to remain together in spite of any differences that arise.” We really do not need anything more structured in order to facilitate what began and remains in essence a relational experience.
The Most Revd Alan Harper, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland has issued a statement in response to the 25 September 2007 Statement of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church. He concludes:
79 CommentsI hope that member churches of the Anglican Communion will now calmly and fairly reflect upon the New Orleans Statement and conclude that TEC Bishops have gone a considerable way to meeting the reasonable demands of their critics.
Updated Friday
William Atwood and William Murdoch were today ordained bishops by Kenya’s Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi (and, one assumes, at least two other bishops).
Ruth Gledhill in The Times US priests become Kenyan bishops in gay protest
BBC US Anglicans join Kenyan Church
Reuters Kenya consecrates conservative U.S. clerics as bishops
The New York Times reprints the Reuters article but with different pictures.
USA Today also reprints the Reuters article with another selction of pcitures.
Update
Global South Anglican has this picture of the consecration with many of the participating archbishops and bishops identified.
The Living Church Foundation in Bishops Atwood, Murdoch Consecrated in Kenya names several of those present.
The following has appeared on the Church of England website.
The Church of England is currently offering a trial General Synod podcast.
This provides MP3 files available to download to your MP3 player or listen to on your computer in addition to the General Synod July 2007 sound files currently available here.
The feed address for the General Synod podcast is:
http://cofe.anglican.org/synod-podcast.xmlFiles currently available as podcasts include the Debate of the Anglican Covenant Proposal, 7 July, and the Archbishop of York’s Presidential Address, 9 July.
How do I subscribe to a podcast?
You will need an internet connection, and a piece of podcast software or an RSS feed reader. This software can check for new episodes and automatically deliver them to your computer.
How you subscribe will vary depending on the software you use. To subscribe the first thing you need to do is add the ‘feed’ of the podcast to your software (or online reader). The feed is where the software will go to each time it wants to check for new content.
podcastingcastingnews.com provides a list of podcast software.
Further information about receiving RSS feeds is available at www.cofe.anglican.org/rssdetails.html.
As well as the two files mentioned above, the address by Archbishop Drexel Gomez is also available. The files are large (27 MB in one case) but they have the advantage that you can download them to your computer for later listening, unlike the streaming audio files that are also available.
0 CommentsThe Global South Steering Committee has issued a statement – This is a critical time – following a meeting held in London 16-18 July 2007. The membership of the steering committee is here.
Episcopal Life Online has responded with Global South Primates vow to continue violating Episcopal Church boundaries.
The Living Church Foundation has Global South Leaders Urge Emergency Primates’ Meeting.
The full judgment of the employment tribunal in the case of John Reaney v the Hereford Diocesan Board of Finance has been placed online by the Diocese of Hereford. It’s a 1.2 MB pdf file made up from scans of a fax so it’s not of the highest quality, but it is legible.
Update an html copy of this can at present be found here. (This URL will likely be replaced in the next day or so.)
An amended html copy is now available here. (Many thanks to pluralist for scanning the original PDF.)
25 CommentsThe questions asked at Synod this month are now online. Also available are the answers to the questions that were not reached during the synod session. The answers that were given orally will be put on line later as part of the transcript of the synod debates.
One question was about the theological colleges and courses attended by senior clergy. The details are here as a rtf file, but readers may find this html version more convenient.
8 CommentsThe Archbishop of York said farewell to the bishops of Worcester and Coventry, who are retiring, the bishop of Sodor and Man, who is to become the Dean of St Paul’s, and Michael Chamberlain, who is retiring as chair of the Finance Committee of the Archbishops’ Council.
The morning’s main business was the Archbishops’ Council’s draft budget for 2008 (GS 1665). Synod agreed the gross expenditure figures in the table below. There are some small sources of income, but the net expenditure, shown in the last column, is provided by the dioceses. The apportionments on individual dioceses are shown in GS 1665.
| Vote | Gross Expenditure (£) |
Net Expenditure (£) |
| 1 Training for Ministry | 10,947,200 | 10,647,200 |
| 2 National Church Responsibilities | 10,060,328 | 10,060,328 |
| 3 Grants and Provisions | 1,596,200 | 1,596,200 |
| 4 Inter-diocesan Support/ Mission Agencies Clergy Pension Contributions |
800,000 | 791,000 |
| 5 Church’s Housing Assistance for the Retired Ministry |
2,960,000 | 2,813,000 |
| TOTALS | 26,363,728 | 25,907,728 |
Finally Synod gave final approval to the Church of England Marriage Measure. The voting figures were:
| Ayes | Noes | |
| Bishops | 26 | 0 |
| Clergy | 106 | 3 |
| Laity | 123 | 3 |
The measure requires parliamentary approval before it can come into effect.
Official report of Tuesday here.
0 CommentsThe afternoon session started with a presentation by Sir Joseph Pilling (chair of the Senior Church Appointments Review Group) about the group’s report Talent and Calling (GS 1650).
As we have already reported the proposed consideration of the report was overtaken by the Government’s green paper The Governance of Britain (online here and here) proposing that the Prime Minister should no longer play an active role in the selection of diocesan bishops. As a result the debate and motion were extended to include this.
The Bishop of Leicester moved
That this Synod, noting that proposals in the Government’s Green Paper of 3 July (attached to GS 1650A) will necessitate further discussion with the Church:
(a) welcome the prospect of the Church achieving the ‘decisive voice in the appointment of bishops’ for which Synod voted in 1974;
(b) affirm its willingness for the Church to have the decisive voice in the selection of cathedral deans and canons appointed by the Crown, given the Prime Minister’s wish no longer to play an active role in the selection of individual candidates;
(c) invite the Archbishops, in consultation with the Archbishops’ Council and the House of Bishops, to oversee the necessary consequential discussions with the Government and to report to the February group of sessions, including on the implications for those matters covered by chapter 8 of GS 1650; and
(d) endorse the recommendations in chapter 10 of GS 1650, with the exception of recommendations 20-30, invite those responsible to give effect to them and invite the Archbishops’ Council to report to Synod during 2008 on progress with implementation.
Several amendments to the motion were proposed, two of which were carried, so that the final wording of the motion became
That this Synod, noting that proposals in the Government’s Green Paper of 3 July (attached to GS 1650A) will necessitate further discussion with the Church:
(a) welcome the prospect of the Church achieving the ‘decisive voice in the appointment of bishops’ for which Synod voted in 1974;
(b) affirm its willingness for the Church to have the decisive voice in the selection of cathedral deans and canons appointed by the Crown, given the Prime Minister’s “commitment to a process of constructive engagement between the Government and the Church” (The Governance of Britain Green Paper, CM7170);
(c) invite the Archbishops, in consultation with the Archbishops’ Council and the House of Bishops, to oversee the necessary consequential discussions with the Government and to report to the February group of sessions, including on the implications for those matters covered by chapter 8 of GS 1650; and
(d) subject to the above, endorse the recommendations in chapter 10 of GS 1650, invite those responsible to give effect to them and invite the Archbishops’ Council to report to Synod during 2008 on progress with implementation.
At the end of the debate the amended motion was carried by 297 votes to one.
8 CommentsMonday morning started with the Archbishop of York’s presidential address on the theme “Do Not be Afraid” – online here and here.
The First and Third Church Estates Commissioners (Andreas Whittam Smith and Timothy Walker) made a presentation on the commissioners’ report for 2006.
Diocesan Synod motion on the Church Commissioners
Mr Adrian Greenwood moved on behalf of the Southwark Diocesan Synod.
That this Synod request an urgent review by the Archbishops’ Council of the status and accountability of the Church Commissioners.
Mrs April Alexander (Southwark) moved as an amendment.
Delete all words after “That this Synod” and insert
“request:
(a) the Archbishops’ Council to prepare an independent report to the Synod on the Church Commissioners’ own proposal that there should be a General Synod Select Committee on the Parliamentary model to facilitate their further accountability to the Synod, having due regard to:
i. representation of the House of Laity on the Select Committee; and
ii. the interest of the Synod in the major investment and disinvestment decisions of the Assets Committee;(b) the Ethical Investment Advisory Group to prepare a report to the Synod on the feasibility of advising the Church Commissioners on the ethical implications of their major decisions in the purchase, sale and management of land and real estate and on the EIAG’s recommendations for making this advice effective, acceptable and within the spirit of the Commissioners’ own policy statements; and
(c) both to report back by July 2008”.
Even though Mr Greenwood supported this amendment it was defeated by 110 votes to 93. The unamended motion was then put to the vote and clearly defeated on a show of hands.
Background papers from the diocese of Southwark and the Church Commissioners.
Disability issues for ministry in the Church of England
The Revd John Naudé made a presentation on disability issues for ministry in the Church of England.
Background paper GS 1663.
The Bishop of Sheffield moved:
That this Synod affirm the value of the contribution made by disabled clergy in the life and witness of the Church of England and its commitment to and support for their ministry by asking dioceses to:
(a) take note of the report Disabled clergy in the Church of England and the outcome of this debate;
(b) ensure that a “lead” person on disability issues is appointed in each diocese and that appropriate training is made available; and
(c) ensure that disability issues are made an integral part of the functioning of diocesan structures.
The Revd Stephen Lynas (Bath & Wells) moved two amendments:
Leave out the words “disabled clergy” and insert “clergy with disabilities”.
At the end of paragraph (c) insert “, particularly Diocesan Advisory Committees and Parsonage Boards”.
Both amendments were carried so that the substantive motion became:
That this Synod affirm the value of the contribution made by clergy with disabilities in the life and witness of the Church of England and its commitment to and support for their ministry by asking dioceses to:
(a) take note of the report Disabled clergy in the Church of England and the outcome of this debate;
(b) ensure that a “lead” person on disability issues is appointed in each diocese and that appropriate training is made available; and
(c) ensure that disability issues are made an integral part of the functioning of diocesan structures, particularly Diocesan Advisory Committees and Parsonage Boards.
The amended motion was overwhelmingly carried.
1 CommentThe Sunday afternoon session of General Synod opened with an address by the Most Revd Drexel Gomez (Archbishop of the West Indies and chair of the Anglican Covenant Design Group). Synod then went onto a full-scale debate on the proposed Anglican Covenant. The debate was on the following motion moved by the Bishop of Chichester.
‘That this Synod:
(a) affirm its willingness to engage positively with the unanimous recommendation of the Primates in February 2007 for a process designed to produce a covenant for the Anglican Communion;
(b) note that such a process will only be concluded when any definitive text has been duly considered through the synodical processes of the provinces of the Communion; and
(c) invite the Presidents, having consulted the House of Bishops and the Archbishops’ Council, to agree the terms of a considered response to the draft from the Covenant Design Group for submission to the Anglican Communion Office by the end of the year.’
Three amendments were moved. Mr Tim Cox (a council member of Church Society) moved:
Leave out everything after “That this Synod” and insert:
(a) note the unanimous recommendation of the Primates in February 2007;
(b) believe that the Covenant process will prove inadequate to address the problems presently dividing the Communion; and
(c) urge all the Provinces of the Anglican Communion to declare themselves in communion only with those Provinces, dioceses and congregations that:
(i) assert whole-heartedly that the Scriptures are the Word of God;
(ii) uphold the historic Anglican formularies (the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, 1662 Book of Common Prayer and Ordinal); and
(iii) on the current presenting cause of division, uphold the Biblical teaching that sexual intercourse belongs solely within the lifelong commitment of a man and woman in marriage.
Mr Justin Brett (Oxford) moved:
In paragraph (a) leave out the words “affirm its willingness to engage positively with” and insert “note”.
The Revd Jonathan Clark (London) moved:
In paragraph (c) leave out all the words after “the Archbishops’ Council” and insert “to bring back to the next group of sessions of Synod for approval a considered response to the draft from the Covenant Design Group for submission to the Anglican Communion Office”.
Each of the three amendments was defeated on a show of hands. Finally the Bishop of Chichester’s unamended motion was put to the vote and carried on a show of hands.
The background paper to the debate is here with Annex 4 and Annex 5.
30 CommentsThe official report of this afternoon’s session can be found here.
The afternoon started with some appointments which Synod was asked to approve. Allan Bridgewater’s appointment as Chair of the Church of England Pensions Board was extended until 31 December 2008. Andrew Britton was appointed to the Archbishops’ Council for a five-year term from 1 October 2007, where he will replace Michael Chamberlain, and Katherine McPherson and Anne Sloman’s membership of the Council was extended to 31 December 2009.
Synod then moved onto the clergy pension scheme and gave final agreement to the modifications to the scheme provisionally agreed in February. These will reduce the benefits for future service a little but will keep costs within manageable limits.
The debate on the Private Member’s Motion about Possible Military Action Against Iran that should have been debated during the afternoon was terminated early.
The original motion was:
That this Synod, in the light of growing international concern about possible US military action against Iran, believe that in present circumstances unilateral pre-emptive military action by the US or any other government against Iran cannot be justified.
There was also a long amendment proposed by Dr Philip Giddings which replaced the above with a series of more detailed recommendations, including one urging the government of Iran to comply with UN Security Council resolutions and Treaty obligations.
Immediately after the proposer, The Revd Canon Simon Bessant, had made his opening speech, Dr Chris Sugden put a procedural motion to move to next business. His stated reason for this was to avoid prejudicing the position of the new and soon-to-be-installed Anglican bishop in Iran.
This motion was eventually passed, but only after a formal division of the synod. The voting was 113 to 96. The motion therefore lapsed and the topic cannot be taken up again in the lifetime of this synod, without express approval of the business committee.
This opened up a half-hour space in the agenda so Synod started to consider amendments to its standing orders.
Finally, there was a short presentation on plans to provide hospitality to visiting bishops in the days leading up to next year’s Lambeth conference.
Church Times Report of Saturday
11 CommentsFollowing Monday’s press briefing for next month’s Church of England General Synod the Church Times has these articles:
Big debates on pensions, top jobs, and Communion
Marriage rules, simplified, to be debated again
The official Church of England press release is Key debates on Senior Church Appointments, Anglican Communion Covenant, Marriage Law and Iran at the York Synod
Christine Seib writes in The Times on pensions, one of the items on the agenda: God’s work is an expensive enterprise
Our list of links to synod papers is here.
0 CommentsThe Church of England has released today a report Talent and Calling about how senior appointments (other than diocesan bishops) should be made. The first part of the official press release is below the fold; the full text, including the list of recommendations, is here. The report is scheduled to be debated at General Synod on the afternoon of Monday 9 July 2007.
One recommendation is that “that the right both to appoint to the 28 Crown deaneries and also to choose the person to be appointed should continue to rest with the Crown”, although with changes to the procedures. But Jonathan Petre in the Telegraph reports that there will be calls at Synod to remove the Crown from the process of appointing deans: Church ‘poised to cut ties to state’.
1 CommentPapers for next month’s sessions of the General Synod of the Church of England are starting to appear online and are listed below. The list will be updated as more papers become available.
Latest update: Wednesday 27 morning
Agenda
Friday 6 July 2007
Saturday 7 July 2007
Sunday 8 July 2007
Monday 9 July 2007
Tuesday 10 July 2007
Agenda for Legislative Business
First Notice Paper
Papers
(with the days on which they are scheduled to be debated or otherwise considered. Business may be rescheduled, particularly legislation, marked #. Items marked § will only be debated if a member asks for this.)
GS 1616B Draft Church of England Marriage Measure (Saturday#)
GS 1616YY Report of the Revision Committee (Saturday#)
GS 1616Z Draft Church of England Marriage Measure: draft measure for final drafting and final approval: report by the Steering Committee (Tuesday#)
GS 1650 Talent and Calling: Report of the Senior Church Appointments Review Group (Monday)
GS 1651 Transforming Worship: Report of the Liturgical Commission (Saturday)
GS 1653 Legal Officers (Annual Fees) Order 2007 (Saturday#§)
GS 1654 Ecclesiastical Judges, Legal Officers and others (Fees) Orders 2007 (Saturday#§)
GS 1653 and 4X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1655 Present and Participating: A place at the table (Sunday)
GS 1657 Report by the Business Committee (Friday)
GS 1658 Appointments to the Archbishops’ Council and the Church of England Pensions Board (Saturday)
GS 1659 Parochial Fees Order 2007 (Saturday#§)
GS 1659X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1660 Clergy Pensions (Saturday)
GS 1661 The Anglican Covenant Proposal Annex 4 Annex 5 (Sunday)
GS 1663 Disability Issues for Ministry in the Church of England (Monday)
GS 1664 Forty-First Report of the Standing Orders Committee (Saturday)
GS 1665 The Archbishops’ Council’s Draft Budget for 2008 (Tuesday)
GS 1666 Sunderland Minster Representation Scheme (Saturday#§)
GS 1667 Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme (General) (Amendment) Rules 2007 (Saturday#)
GS 1667, 1670 & 1671 X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1668 Archbishops’ Council Report (Monday§)
GS 1669 Annual Report of the Archbishops’ Council’s Audit Committee (Monday§)
GS 1670 Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme (Accrual Rates) (Amendment) Rules 2007 (Saturday#)
GS 1671 Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme (Guaranteed Increases) (Amendment) Rules 2007 (Saturday#)
GS 1667, 1670 & 1671 X Explanatory Memorandum
GS Misc 855A and 855B Private Member’s Motion: Possible Military Action against Iran (Saturday)
GS Misc 856A and 856B Diocesan Synod Motion: The Church Commissioners(Monday)
GS Misc 857A and 857B Private Member’s Motion: Ethical Investment Advisory Group: Restricted Investments (Monday)
The Anglican/Methodist Covenant: Living God’s Covenant: Second Interim Report of the Joint Implementation Commission (Sunday)
Annual Report of the Church Commissioners (Monday)
5 Commentspress release from the Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod:
GRAS Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod
Press Release – For Immediate Release
Senior Women Clergy Numbers Rise
Numbers of women clergy deployed in the dioceses in the Church of England have risen to an average of 25.8 of all clergy in the dioceses. Women now account for 17% of full time stipendiary clergy in the dioceses and for 8% of senior posts, including deans, archdeacons, other cathedral clergy and area deans.
These statistics have been gathered for the second time in five years in the Furlong Table, named in honour of the late Monica Furlong. Furlong, a witty and incisive writer and observer of the Church of England, and also a fearless and tireless campaigner for the ordination of women, suggested to a group of young female ordinands that statistics be gathered to monitor the deployment and promotion of women clergy in the Church of England.
The first Furlong Table was produced in 2000 for GRAS, the Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod, by Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, Catherine Butt and Leah Vasey-Saunders, all then students at Cranmer Hall theological college in Durham. The updated figures for 2005 have been produced by the Reverend Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, now Chaplain and Solway Fellow of University College, Durham.
GRAS believes that
Contacts:
Revd Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes
University College, Durham, DH1 3RW
Tel: 0191-334-4116
Email: Miranda.Threlfall-holmes@durham.ac.uk
Revd Canon Peggy Jackson
The Rectory, 170 Sheen Lane, SW14 8LZ
Tel: 020-8876-4816
Email: pjackson@fish.co.uk
| Position | Diocese | Score | Change in Position |
Change in Score |
Score in 2000 |
| 1 | Oxford | 39.9 | +15 | 19.2 | 20.7 |
| 2 | St.Albans | 39.3 | +8 | 15.0 | 24.3 |
| 3 | Ely | 38.9 | +12 | 17.6 | 21.3 |
| 4 | Worcester | 36.9 | -1 | 5.0 | 31.9 |
| 5 | Leicester | 36.7 | -3 | 3.8 | 32.9 |
| 6 | Southwark | 34.3 | -5 | -0.5 | 34.8 |
| 7 | Ripon | 34.2 | -3 | 2.6 | 31.6 |
| 8 | Durham | 33.6 | +26 | 20.3 | 13.3 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 32.9 | +10 | 13.2 | 19.7 |
| 10 | Hereford | 32.7 | +2 | 10.5 | 22.2 |
| 11 | Peterborough | 31.9 | +15 | 14.4 | 17.5 |
| 12 | Salisbury | 30.8 | -3 | 5.7 | 25.1 |
| 13 | Wakefield | 30.6 | +4 | 10.0 | 20.6 |
| 14 | Truro | 29.7 | +26 | 23.2 | 6.5 |
| 15 | Sheffield | 29.0 | -9 | 0.3 | 28.7 |
| 16 | Southwell | 28.7 | -11 | -0.7 | 29.4 |
| 17 | Norwich | 28.0 | +6 | 9.5 | 18.5 |
| 18 | Derby | 27.9 | +17 | 14.9 | 13.0 |
| 19 | St.Edms & Ipswich | 27.5 | -6 | 5.5 | 22.0 |
| 20 | Chelmsford | 27.4 | 0 | 7.7 | 19.7 |
| Average | 25.8 | 7.2 | 18.6 | ||
| 21 | Lincoln | 25.7 | -13 | 0.0 | 25.7 |
| 22 | Manchester | 25.7 | +3 | 8.0 | 17.7 |
| 23 | Gloucester | 25.1 | -9 | 3.7 | 21.4 |
| 24 | Bath & Wells | 25.0 | +9 | 11.6 | 13.4 |
| 25 | Canterbury | 24.7 | +7 | 11.2 | 13.5 |
| 26 | York | 24.7 | +4 | 9.2 | 15.5 |
| 27 | London | 23.7 | +2 | 8.2 | 15.5 |
| 28 | Newcastle | 23.1 | -4 | 5.3 | 17.8 |
| 29 | Coventry | 23.0 | -2 | 7.1 | 15.9 |
| 30 | Guildford | 22.9 | -23 | -5.5 | 28.4 |
| 31 | Bradford | 22.6 | +6 | 11.8 | 10.8 |
| 32 | Lichfield | 21.9 | -11 | 2.9 | 19.0 |
| 33 | Chester | 21.7 | -5 | 5.9 | 15.8 |
| 34 | Birmingham | 20.3 | -12 | 1.7 | 18.6 |
| 35 | Rochester | 19.9 | -17 | -0.7 | 20.6 |
| 36 | Carlisle | 19.0 | +2 | 9.1 | 9.9 |
| 37 | Exeter | 17.8 | -1 | 5.5 | 12.3 |
| 38 | Bristol | 17.1 | -27 | -6.0 | 23.1 |
| 39 | Portsmouth | 14.4 | -8 | -0.2 | 14.6 |
| 40 | Winchester | 13.5 | -1 | 5.2 | 8.3 |
| 41 | Sodor and Man | 11.8 | +2 | 11.8 | 0.0 |
| 42 | Blackburn | 10.4 | -1 | 4.4 | 6.0 |
| 43 | Chichester | 5.5 | -1 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
Notes for Editors
The Furlong Table measures the numbers of women clergy deployed in each of the dioceses in the Church of England. The average points score has risen by over a third from 2000 to 2005, from 18.6 to 25.8. This is made up of an on average doubling of the points received from women in senior posts, together with a 50% increase in the number of other ordained women in full time stipendiary posts in the dioceses.
A perfect score in this table would be 100, representing 50% of all other full time stipendiary clergy in a diocese being female. The top score of 39.9 is still disappointingly low, but it is moving in the right direction. This means that in Oxford, which rose 15 points to become the best diocese in the Church of England for women’s deployment in 2005, women had been appointed to 17% of senior clergy posts, and 23% of other clergy were female.
Overall, in 2005, women represented 5% of cathedral deans, 6% of archdeacons, 14% of other cathedral clergy and 8% of area/rural deans.
The greatest percentage change was for Truro Diocese, which saw its score increase by 354%! Truro was joint with Durham Diocese for the biggest rise up the table, both gaining a massive 26 places. Truro rose from 40th place (out of 43) to 14th, whilst Durham rose from 34th to 8th place.
Other diocese which saw big gains were Derby, up 17 places from 35th to 18th, and Peterborough, up 15 places from 26th to 11th place. Three diocese have fallen badly in the table: Bristol fell 27 places, from 11th to 38th, Guildford fell 23 places from 7th to 30th, and Rochester fell 17 places from 18th to 35th place.
/ends
24 CommentsWe list below reports on who has not been invited. From these it appears that they include Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and the bishops from CANA (Martyn Minns) and AMiA. Bishop Robinson may be invited as a guest.
Robert Barr (Associated Press) in The Washington Post 2 Bishops Not Invited to Anglican Parley [This article has been published on many other sites but this appears to be the earliest.]
Update that Washington Post page now contains a later AP story by Rachel Zoll Gay Bishop Kept Out of Anglican Meeting. The earlier Robert Barr story can be found here.
Reuters Luke Baker Gay bishop snubbed by Anglican conference
Ruth Gledhill in The Times Gay bishop not invited to Lambeth conference
Natalie Paris and agencies in The Telegraph Gay bishop’s church conference snub
BBC Gay row US Anglicans miss summit
Bishop Robinson has responded to his non-invitation here.
The Living Church has more detail on other exclusions at No Lambeth Invitation for Bishop Robinson by George Conger.
8 CommentsThere’s a story by Stephen Bates in today’s Guardian about trouble at Wycliffe Hall, a Church of England theological college in Oxford: Unholy row at Oxford’s college for clergy amid staff exodus and claims of bullying.
It starts:
One of England’s most respected theological colleges is facing claims that staff feel bullied and intimidated as the institution becomes increasingly conservative.
68 CommentsThe discontent at Wycliffe Hall, an evangelical Anglican college which is part of Oxford University, has seen several resignations among its small academic staff and claims that one of its most prominent members, the regular Thought for the Day contributor Elaine Storkey, was threatened with disciplinary action.
As part of his current brief trip to Canada the Archbishop of Canterbury has given a lecture The Bible: Reading and Hearing to students at Wycliffe and Trinity theological colleges in Toronto. The full press release from Lambeth Palace is below the fold but here is the first paragraph.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan WIlliams, has told an audience of theological students that both intensely liberal and ultra conservative readings of the Bible are ‘rootless’ and are limited in what they can contribute to the life of the church. In the Larkin Stuart lecture, delivered today at an event hosted jointly by Wycliffe and Trinity theological colleges in Toronto, Dr Williams said that Christians need to reconnect with scripture as something to be listened to and heard in the context of Jesus’s invitation to the Eucharist and to work for the Kingdom.
The full text of the lecture is online here and here.
107 Comments