Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Living in Love and Faith in crisis: the latest manifestation of abuse in the Church
and The abusive toxic culture produced by the evangelical doctrine of penal substitution
Trevor Wyatt ViaMedia.News On Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali’s Move to Rome…
Rob Dyer Ministry Architects They’re Not Coming Back
77 CommentsFormer Navy aircraft engineer appointed Bishop
An aircraft engineer, who served in the Royal Navy during the Falklands War, will be the next Bishop of Swansea and Brecon.
The Archdeacon of Wrexham, John Lomas, has been chosen as the 10th Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, a diocese which stretches south to the coast of the Gower and north into much of mid-Wales…
9 CommentsNews from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York
Archbishops pay tribute to Caroline Boddington for 17 years of service to Church of England
03/11/2021
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have paid tribute to the service of Caroline Boddington, who has announced today she will be leaving the National Church Institutions (NCIs) at the end of 2021 after 17 years as the Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments and Development.
Caroline has been a senior adviser to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York since she joined the NCIs in 2004. During this time she has transformed the process by which senior appointments are made in the Church of England – with a particular focus on ensuring greater diversity among candidates for senior roles.
As well as supporting those exploring senior leadership roles and those involved in discerning candidates for the better part of twenty years, Caroline has led the transformation of the leadership and ministerial development for bishops and deans, and for those who are thinking about wider leadership roles in the future through the Strategic Leadership Development Programme.
Caroline has led the modernisation of the processes that ensure the recruitment for appointments to senior ecclesiastical office is fair and transparent – as well as grounded in prayer and guided by the Holy Spirit. She has also overseen the induction of bishops and deans into their new roles.
As part of changes being made to simplify the structures of the NCIs and bring functions together to support the Church’s Vision and strategic priorities for the 2020s, a new expanded remit for the Ministry team will include clergy HR and aspects of senior leadership development, bringing the entire clergy and lay ministry life cycle into one team. Caroline’s decision comes in the light of those changes. The Archbishops’ Appointments Secretary role will continue to lead on senior clergy appointments.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Most Revd Justin Welby and the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, said: “It’s hard to overstate the impact that Caroline has had on the Church of England over the past 17 years – or our gratitude for her service. Inspired by her deep faith and devoted discipleship, Caroline’s leadership has been marked by a tireless willingness to ask the difficult questions and challenge our thinking and processes. As a result, senior appointments increasingly reflect the diversity of the people of God and the Church of Jesus Christ.
“Meanwhile Caroline has been committed to providing bishops and deans with continual support and development, while nurturing the next generation of leaders. These have been gifts to the Church that will bear fruit for many years to come. Caroline leaves the NCIs with our prayers, gratitude and very best wishes for the future.”
Caroline Boddington said: “It has truly been a privilege to serve the Church of England over the last seventeen years. To have been alongside individuals, dioceses and cathedrals as they have sought to discern their vocation has been a precious gift. I am very grateful for the opportunities I have had and for the creative and stimulating colleagues with whom I have worked in all sorts of teams and project groups. I will miss them greatly as I now step into my own journey of exploration as to what might be next.”
Links:
Helen King sharedconversations Handing on the baton? Part 2
Simon Butler ViaMedia.News General Synod: Once More Unto the Breach?
Pete Hobson Psephizo Who needs a Trade Union for Faith?
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Living in Love and Faith: A Guide for Members of General Synod
[This refers to GS Misc 1306 which can be downloaded here.]
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Should the Church be spending money on reputational management?
2 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
LLF Next Steps Group Meeting on 12th October 2021
03/11/2021
The Next Steps Group agreed that the next interim findings from the LLF Questionnaire should be circulated for the December House of Bishops meeting, particularly with a view to assessing the extent and diversity of participation.
Members heard about and agreed to the production of a short film that will encourage churches to engage with LLF. A small group of people who have taken part in the LLF Course will be filmed in conversation about their experience.
The Group noted the importance of offering new members of General Synod an induction to LLF and took action to ensure this would happen at the November 2021 group of sessions.
In early 2022 Diocesan Synods will be invited to participate in the LLF journey of learning, listening and discerning together. The group agreed to produce materials to enable Synods to do this as appropriate for their context. A key question would be: what kind of church do we want to be and what is the role of Diocesan Synods within that?
The Next Steps bishops concluded by reflecting together what it would look like for the group to have carried out their responsibilities as effectively and successfully as possible.
5 CommentsThe Guardian editorial The Guardian view on the Church of England: the numbers are not adding up
The paper has published several letters in response to its editorial: Parish churches have been living on a prayer.
Theo Hobson The Spectator Why I’m paying my daughter to go to church
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Phil Groves ViaMedia.News ‘The Bible is Clear’, Consent & ‘Conversion Therapy’
83 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
Church launches consultation on plans to get to net zero carbon in just nine years as new Synod prepares to meet
28/10/2021
The Church of England is to consult dioceses, cathedrals, national institutions, parishes, schools, and other interested parties on a proposed routemap to achieve net zero carbon by 2030, as papers are published for November’s inaugural meeting of a new General Synod.
The draft routemap, published among today’s General Synod papers, suggests how all parts of the Church of England can make changes together to achieve the ambitious target set by General Synod in 2020 to be net zero carbon 20 years ahead of the Government’s targets.
It includes recommendations for building maintenance, heating and the availability of specialist advice for each setting alongside how the central Church and dioceses can offer support.
The newly elected Synod will be formally inaugurated on Tuesday November 16 at the start of a two-day meeting.
Items on the agenda include a debate on the wealth gap in the UK and discussions about Church matters including the recent review of governance and the development of a new vision and strategy for the Church of England in the 2020s and beyond.
That includes an ambitious goal to double the number of children and young people in churches.
The recent elections attracted a record number of candidates (with 956 standing for the Houses of Clergy and Laity combined) and returned a majority of new members – 60 per cent of those elected.
The meeting at Church House Westminster will be the first full group pf sessions held in person since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Making possible Synod’s ‘ambitious target’ of net-zero by 2030
The draft net zero carbon routemap has been written by a sub-committee of the Church of England’s Environmental Working Group, chaired by the Bishop of Selby, Dr John Thomson, with advice from across the Church and charities.
He said: “God’s creation is in crisis, and there is an urgent call to address this at every level of our global community, to protect creation, including the world’s poorest communities who are being affected the most and soonest by climate change.
“Synod has set an ambitious target, and this represents the next step in building consensus around a workable plan for the whole Church to meet that aim and to make the target possible.
“We recognise this will be challenging and there will be a financial cost, however many adaptations can also be made simply and quickly, such as switching to a green energy provider, filling gaps in windows, and changing lightbulbs, all of which can help to reduce energy costs.
“I encourage individuals and communities to engage with these consultation proposals and to think at every level what can be done to be part of the change we need to live out in response to our Christian calling to safeguard and care for all of God’s creation.”
Global leaders will be meeting in Glasgow to discuss how the world can tackle the climate emergency following increasingly frequent extreme weather events, the IPCC’s “code red for humanity” report, and depleting biodiversity.
The Government has committed to a target of net zero carbon by 2050, with an interim target of a 78 per cent reduction, set in April 2021.
Becky Clark, Director of Churches and Cathedrals for the Archbishops’ Council, said: “This consultation seeks to gather a wide range of views to build consensus on how the Church of England can both reduce its carbon footprint and also model care for creation.
“Buildings are at the heart of this and all involved are aware of the significant challenges, not least to parishes and cathedrals struggling to recover from the pandemic.
“However there are already amazing examples of churches that are at the vanguard of low carbon adaptations, demonstrating that even the highest listed buildings can make vital changes and be part of tackling the climate emergency.”
Anyone can respond to the consultation online before the closing date of 28 February 2022, with responses particularly requested from Dioceses and Cathedrals.
There will be a series of information sessions, open to all, in the autumn of 2021 to discuss the suggestions, and answer questions arising during the consultation period.
More information:
Papers for next month’s meeting of the Church of England General Synod are now available online. There is a list (with links and a note of the day sheduled for their debate) in numerical order below the fold.
Timetable
GS 2232 Agenda November 2021
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Are Clergy Teams the future? Some reflections
Miranda Threfall-Holmes Women and the Church How feminists can be nourished by the Bible
[53 minute video]
Madeleine Davies and Pat Ashworth Church Times High turnover in General Synod elections
Theos Room for the Soul
Pete Whitehead examines the importance of last rites and access to clergy for those close to death.
James Mustard ViaMedia.News Fr Alan Griffin – Unconscious Homophobia?
81 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
Meeting of the House of Bishops, 19 & 20 October 2021
20/10/2021
The first in-person meeting of the House of Bishops since March 2020 was held over a two-day period (October 19 & 20) in York.
The Bishop of Manchester opened the meeting following opening prayers.
Two safeguarding items were presented for consideration and discussion.
The first item updated the House regarding changes in safeguarding governance, with the creation of the Independent Safeguarding Board and the recent appointment of the Board’s Chair and a Survivor Advocate. The House noted the progress made to date.
The second item concerned House of Bishops Safeguarding Guidance on Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults that has been revised and presented to the House for approval.
The House heard introductory remarks by the Church’s lead safeguarding bishop, and a presentation on Spiritual Abuse from Dr Lisa Oakley who previously led the Spiritual Abuse Task and Finish Group. This was followed by discussion.
The House noted its thanks to the National Safeguarding Steering Group and the National Safeguarding Team for their work and affirmed the need for clear guidance on spiritual abuse. It was agreed that the paper should come back to the House in December with the NSSG further addressing points raised and bringing a full implementation plan.
The Bishop of Birmingham then took the Chair for the remainder of the first day.
The Bishop of Lichfield gave an update on behalf of the working group concerning Holy Communion and the Reception of the Elements. The House agreed that there should be further discussion of this issue, while confirming that it did not wish to propose a change to canon law in this area.
The following morning (Wednesday 20 October) the Bishop of Blackburn was in the Chair as the meeting began with a discussion on governance matters.
The Bishop to the Archbishops gave an update on the consultation process arising from the document ‘Bishops and their Ministry: fit for a new context” which sets out plans for consultations on culture and structures for bishops and their ministries. The House noted the progress in plans for further consultation.
The Bishop of Leeds then spoke to the Governance Review Group Report which was published last month and generally well received. The House agreed to strongly support the report and its introduction to the General Synod.
The House then turned its attention to the Mission and Pastoral Measure Review Consultation Exercise and was addressed by the Head of Pastoral and Closed Churches. The Mission and Pastoral measure seeks to simplify some of the current complex legislation on pastoral reorganisation. The House endorsed the proposals for the review of the Measure and encouraged the Church Commissioners to sponsor legislation through the Synod.
The Bishop of London, accompanied by the Chief Enabling Officer of Living in Love and Faith (LLF), then introduced group conversations in relation to the work of LLF. The aim was to strengthen relationships and provide a strong foundation in the House when bishops are later called upon to discern together a way forward for the Church in relation to questions of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.
The House then considered a paper from the Episcopal Refence Group of the Faith and Order Commission on the implications for Local Ecumenical Partnerships of decisions on marriage by other denominations. The House agreed to further work to be done on this.
The Bishop of Guildford then took the Chair and invited the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich to speak to the paper on Resourcing Ministerial Formation in his capacity as Chair of the Ministry Council. The House agreed to endorse the approach as set out in the paper.
The meeting closed in prayer.
(The meeting was held at a hotel in York given that social distancing and health and safety requirements meant that it was not feasible for the meeting to take place at Bishopthorpe)
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Victor Lee Austin The Living Church The Parish as a School of Friendship
66 CommentsThe first group of sessions of the 2021-2026 General Synod of the Church of England will be held in London on 16-17 November 2021. There will also be an induction day on 15 November. The outline timetable is available here and is copied below. Papers for the inaugural group of sessions will be published on Thursday 28 October.
GENERAL SYNOD: NOVEMBER 2021 TIMETABLE
Tuesday 16 November
10.00 am – 1.00 pm
Inauguration, including Abbey Service
2.45 pm – 7.00 pm
Welcomes and introductions
Welcome to First Church Estates Commissioner
Presidential Address
Report by the Business Committee
Generosity and Diocesan Finances
Question Time *5.30 pm – 7.00 pm
Wednesday 17 November
09.00 am – 12.30 pm
Opening worship
Loyal Address
Special Agenda IV: Leeds DSM: Wealth Gap
2022 Budget and Apportionment
Special Agenda I: Act of Synod for Vacancy in See Amendment Regulations 2021 – For approval
Appointment of AC Member
2.00 pm – 4.30 pm
Vision and Strategy
Report by the Governance Review Group
Farewells
Prorogation
Meetings of the House of Laity 4.45pm – 6pm
* not later than
Please note that all timings are indicative unless marked with an asterisk Deadline for receipt of questions: 1200 hrs Thursday 4th November
The Dean of Norwich, the Very Revd Jane Hedges, has announced that she will retire in May 2022.
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“Young people don’t want Jesus to be their best mate”
Church Times Compulsory worship in schools should end
“It is time to change a law that threatens to bring the C of E into serious disrepute, argues Richard Harries”
Helen King ViaMedia.News The Changing Face of General Synod
100 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
LLF Next Steps Group Meeting on 29th September 2021
14/10/2021
The Next Steps Group began the meeting by considering how to ensure widest possible engagement with the LLF resources across the range of demographics, especially including young people.
The group reviewed a set of resources for leading groups with young people which have now been published on the LLF Learning Hub.
The importance of encouraging all participants to share their experience and learning through the LLF online questionnaire and by means of creative responses was stressed. LLF Advocates were encouraged to continue to share good practice across dioceses.
The group noted the need to get three key messages across:
the LLF resources are for and about everyone; it is a genuinely open-ended opportunity for the whole church to contribute to the Church’s discernment about questions relating to identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage; the resources are flexible and should be adapted to different contexts at a time and in a way that is appropriate for them. The gathering of feedback will close on 30th April 2022.
It was agreed to reschedule publication of the resource, ‘The Gift of the Church’ to September 2022, when it will sit alongside the findings of the listening process as the process of discernment begins. The Next Steps Group will work together with the Faith and Order Commission on this task, and involve others as discussed at previous meetings.
The Group agreed that it would be important to introduce new members of General Synod to the LLF journey as part of their induction in November 2021.
The meeting ended in prayer.
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Church Times Campaign for equality in C of E is not yet over
“Being ordained deacon prompts Christina Rees to reflect on how women clergy are still perceived differently from men”
Martyn Percy Modern Church Churches and Cultural Climate-Change Denial (Part Three): Forecasting and Futurescape
Charlie Bell ViaMedia.News General Synod: The Importance of Compromise & Conscience
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Helen King sharedconversations Counter-cultural Cranmer?
Martyn Percy Modern Church Churches and Cultural Climate-Change Denial (Part One): Learning from Canute
Churches and Cultural Climate-Change Denial (Part Two): Money, Sex and Power
Anne Foreman ViaMedia.News General Synod: Why I Can’t Support “Save the Parish” Campaign
Edmund Weiner Surviving Church Iwerne Camps and Conservative Evangelicalism. Memories and Reassessment
Angela Tilby Church Times Ministry that is lay-led is not Anglican
69 CommentsPress release from Number 10. There is more on the Portsmouth diocesan wesbite.
Appointment of Bishop of Portsmouth: 8 October 2021
The Queen has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr Jonathan Frost for election as Bishop of Portsmouth.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 8 October 2021
The Queen has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr Jonathan Frost, Dean of York, for election as Bishop of Portsmouth, in succession to The Right Reverend Christopher Foster, following his retirement on 31st May 2021.
He will lead the Church of England’s Diocese of Portsmouth, which covers 133 parishes across south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Background
Jonathan was educated at the universities of Aberdeen and Nottingham; he prepared for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge and served his curacy at St Giles’ West Bridgford, Nottingham. Jonathan was ordained priest in 1994 and, alongside parish duties, served as a Police Chaplain.
From 1997 to 2002, Jonathan was Rector of Ash in the Diocese of Guildford. In 2002 he took up a new joint post as Anglican Chaplain to the University of Surrey and Residentiary Canon at Guildford Cathedral. For 11 years, Jonathan taught Christian Doctrine on the Local Diocesan Ministry Course. He served as Bishop’s Advisor for Inter-Faith Relations and on General Synod. He was awarded a doctorate honoris causa by the University of Surrey in 2012.
Jonathan served as Suffragan Bishop of Southampton from November 2010 to January 2019. In these years Jonathan chaired the Portsmouth and Winchester Joint Diocesan Board of Education and became Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Portsmouth.
He was installed as Dean of York at the Feast of the Presentation in February 2019. Among his priorities are prayer and Benedictine spirituality, evangelism, discipleship and working with others to tackle what he describes as ‘the scandal of poverty’.
He said: “I am learning to walk more gently on the earth and to partner with others in seeking climate justice. Inspiration to work for the integrity of creation, in my experience at least, has most often come through encounter with visionary young people.” He is a trustee of USPG, an Anglican mission agency.
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11 Comments