Thinking Anglicans

Bishop of Crediton announces her retirement

The Bishop of Crediton, the Rt Revd Jackie Searle, has announced that she plans to retire at the end of January 2025.

4 Comments

Opinion – 7 September 2024

Pippa Bailey The New Statesman The race for Lambeth Palace
“Can the next archbishop of Canterbury unite a divided Church?”

The Church Mouse Why do priests in the Church of England wear robes?

Chantal Noppen ViaMedia.News Rounding up Sheep or Assembling Cats? Governance in the United Reformed Church and the Church of England

Martyn Percy Surviving Church Joining the Dots Christianity – Assessing Alpha

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love The past, the present and the future Church of England

86 Comments

Cathedral Statistics 2023

The Church of England has released its Cathedral Statistics 2023, along with a press release, which is copied below.

Cathedral statistics show continued recovery in 2023
05/09/2024

Coronation Celebrations, cultural initiatives, and sustainability efforts highlight year of positive change.

The Church of England’s latest cathedral attendance statistics reveal continued recovery in 2023, with a five per cent increase in weekly service attendance. Attendance at Christmas services was up 20% year on year and the rise was also reflected in easter services, where attendance was up by 10%.

Cathedrals also experienced a resurgence in visitor numbers, with 9.35 million people visiting in 2023, a 17 per cent increase from 2022. This marks a significant recovery, although overall numbers remain slightly below pre-pandemic levels.

The year was marked by celebrations of King Charles III’s coronation, with cathedrals hosting special services and community events. In addition to worship and national events, cathedrals made notable strides in cultural and sustainability efforts, with exhibitions, civic events and significant energy-saving initiatives and biodiversity projects across the country.

The report, released today, shows a weekly total of 30,300 individuals attended cathedral services each week, reflecting a continued return to in-person worship. (more…)

20 Comments

Opinion – 31 August 2024

Helen King sharedconversations Farewell August: time for the Church of England to wake up?

Martyn Percy Surviving Church Alpha-Mater

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Doing some theology – a sermon about the boy Jesus in the temple

Sam Rylands The Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication Is church tradition an obstacle to growing young disciples?

47 Comments

Opinion – 24 August 2024

Madeleine Davies The New Statesman The rise of cultural Christianity

George Pitcher A Word to the Wise Justin Welby: A case for his defence

‘Graham’ ViaMedia.News Safeguarding: Who is in Charge?

Lucy Winkett Church Times Inclusive Christians must not be silent
[This is a long extract from the sermon that I linked to two weeks ago.]

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Turning conservative evangelical dogma and doctrine in today’s C of E upside down

Gerry Lynch Church Times Star-gazing brings a new perspective

56 Comments

Opinion – 21 August 2024

Helen King Independent Is the Church of England safe for children and young people?

The Church Mouse What is the Church’s of England’s doctrine?

Susan Hunt Surviving Church Blackburn and Kenneth -Safeguarding Failures in the Church

Steve Reeves ISB 11 I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.

108 Comments

Opinion – 17 August 2024

Madeleine Davies Church Times

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Mapping the primary activities of today’s Church of England

Giles Fraser UnHerd Why can’t the Church say ‘church’?

135 Comments

Opinion – 14 August 2024

Anon ViaMedia.News Clergy Summer Quiz: the Answers!

The Church Mouse How should we pick our bishops

Theo Hobson The Spectator What the Church of England should say to its conservative rebels

77 Comments

Opinion – 10 August 2024

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Being a “Nice” Priest or a “Nice” Church

Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Thinking about those Involved in the Commissioning Event at Bishopsgate July 2024

Philip Jones Ecclesiastical law The Church Commissioners: England’s Ministry of Religion

David Goodhew The Living Church The Collapse of the Anglican Church of Canada

Lucy Winkett Faith in her future: Empowering women and girls to lead

121 Comments

Opinion – 3 August 2024

Daniel Sandham Church Times Why churches should keep their doors open
“It is less risky than many people assume — and the benefits for mission are significant”

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love

Vivienne Tuffnell Surviving Church On the devastating life-long effects of Spiritual Abuse

Anon ViaMedia.News Clergy Summer Quiz

203 Comments

Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill starts parliamentary journey

I reported that this bill was included in the recent King’s Speech. It was introduced in the House of Lords today and received its first reading. The second reading is scheduled for 10 September 2024.

The text of the bill and a set of explanatory notes are available, together with a government press release.

The bill will extend the application of the 2015 act for a further five years, specifically to vacancies arising among the Lords Spiritual before 18 May 2030.

4 Comments

Opinion – 27 July 2024

Helen King ViaMedia.News The Luxury of Marriage

House of Survivors Church of England Redress Scheme

Gavin Drake Church Abuse Archbishops’ Council lies about GMC in battle for secret clergy discipline tribunals

13 Comments

July General Synod – electronic voting results

The electronic voting results from this month’s General Synod are now available online and are linked below, with links to the order papers containing the relevant texts.

Electronic voting results

Inquiry into Allegations of Abuse within the Soul Survivor Network (Order Paper IV)

Living in Loving and Faith (Order Paper VII)

20 Comments

Opinion – 20 July 2024

Morwenna Ludlow ViaMedia.News Celibacy and Conscience

Stephen Andrews The Living Church Wycliffe College and the Character of Anglicanism

Gavin Drake Church Abuse A look at Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell’s public “correction of the record”

187 Comments

Dean of Southwell to retire

The Very Reverend Nicola Sullivan, Dean of Southwell, has announced her plans to retire later this year. Her last day at the Cathedral will be Sunday 29 September. Full details are on the Southwell Minster website.

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Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill

Following today’s King’s Speech the Government released King’s Speech 2024: background briefing notes. Included in this is the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill. I have copied the relevant section of the briefing notes below the fold. The text of the 2015 Act is here.

(more…)

26 Comments

Opinion – 17 July 2024

Peter Carrell Anglican Down Under On Bible translations

Augustine Tanner-Ihm ViaMedia.News Where is the Colour? The CEEC Commissioning of Overseers: A Theological and Ecclesiological Critique

Joanne Woolway Grenfell Civil Society Safeguarding: How the Church of England is learning from past events
[This article is behind a paywall, but has been reproduced in full in a Church of England press release.]

Colin Coward Unadulterated Love The desolation of the Church of England

30 Comments

Meeting of the House of Bishops – July 2024

Press release from the Church of England

Meeting of the House of Bishops – July 2024
16/07/2024

The House of Bishops convened online on 15 July.

The House discussed the next steps for the LLF process following the motion passed by the General Synod earlier in the month, including plans for bishops to join the existing LLF Working Groups, form a new group to work on a bishops’ statement, and to explore the possibility of a residential meeting later in 2024.

They also considered how the Church can support and engage with the new Government, discussing the current strategic political challenges both in the UK and globally, and reviewing the #PrayYourPart election campaign.

The bishops passed votes to progress the implementation of a regional model for safeguarding and to review the Bishops’ regulations for Reader ministry, last updated 24 years ago. They also noted the annual report of the Standing Commission on the Five Guiding Principles.

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Ely CNC fails to nominate

Updated to add two links below the Archbishop’s statement

The Ely CNC failed to nominate a bishop at its meeting last week. Details are in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s statement copied below. Readers may recall that the Carlisle CNC similarly failed to nominate a new bishop when it met last December.

Statement on Crown Nominations Commission process for next Bishop of Ely

15/07/2024

Very sadly, at the conclusion of a lengthy process of discernment, culminating in two days of interviews on 11 and 12 July, the Crown Nominations Commission considering the nomination of the next Bishop of Ely has not been able reach the level of consensus required to nominate a new Diocesan Bishop.

Over the course of the next months, the Crown Nominations Commission will need to reflect, and make a decision about which stage it wishes to re-commence the discernment process. This is not likely to be before the Spring of 2025. Together with the Archbishop of York and others, there will also need to be a period of reflection on the implications of this decision on the Church of England more generally.

I will be speaking with Bishop Dagmar Winter, the Bishop of Huntingdon, in order to understand from her the best way of supporting the Diocese of Ely and her episcopal ministry in the coming months.

Please continue to hold the Diocese of Ely and the discernment of the Crown Nominations Commission in your prayers.

Background information

A Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) considers vacancies in Diocesan Bishoprics in the Provinces of Canterbury and York, and candidates for appointments to them.

Under the Standing Orders of the General Synod, a nomination cannot be made to the Crown to fill a vacant see unless it has received the support of at least two-thirds of the total number of the voting members of the Commission (10 out of 14) in a secret ballot.

The voting members of the Crown Nominations Commission for a vacant see are the two Archbishops (or a Diocesan Bishop acting on their behalf), 6 members elected from the Vacancy in See Committee of the Diocese and 6 ‘Central Members’ elected from the General Synod. The Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments and the Prime Minister’s Appointments Secretary are non-voting members of the Commission.


Church Times Questions asked after Crown Nominations Commission fails to agree next Bishop of Ely

Diocese of Ely An update on the next Bishop of Ely

127 Comments

Opinion – 13 July 2024

Theo Hobson The Spectator The C of E needs to talk about sex

Helen King sharedconversations Milestone Day or Groundhog Day?

Nic Tall ViaMedia.News Cooking with Love and Faith

Hatty Calbus Surviving Church The Revitalise Trust and Safeguarding

Anon ViaMedia.News Persona non grata: an Unwelcoming Encounter at All Souls, Langham Place

114 Comments