It was announced last week that the next Dean of Sheffield will be the Revd Canon Abigail Thompson.
2 CommentsIt has today been announced that the new Dean of Sheffield in the Anglican Diocese of Sheffield will be the Revd Canon Abigail Thompson.
The Dean is the chief resident cleric of Sheffield Cathedral, also undertaking diocesan and civic duties in the city and across the wider area.
Abigail, or Abi as she is known, has been in the Diocese of St Albans since February 2018 where she is currently the Acting Dean and Sub-Dean of St Albans Cathedral…
Updated Friday
The Questions and Answers for this coming weekend’s meeting of General Synod are now available. Question Time is on Friday evening. As usual the questions and answers will be taken as read and the allocated time in the agenda devoted to supplementaries.
Questions Notice Paper
Q3 additional information
Q54 additional information
Update
There is a list of members who have indicated that they wish to ask supplementary questions here.
21 CommentsUpdated to add second Martyn Percy article
Jonathan Draper Modern Church Limiting Factors: the ‘Myriad’ initiative and the future of the Church
Martyn Percy Modern Church The Great Leap Forward (Part One) The New Politics of Ecclesionomics for the Church of England
The Great Leap Forward (Part Two) – The Church of England’s Growth Fetish
Ian Paul Psephizo Should everyone be church-planting missionary disciples?
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Talking of vision; talking of strategy
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Ten thousand new congregations. Will they save the Church of England?
Barnaby Perkins All Things Lawful And Honest It’s the limit.
Anne Dannerolle ViaMedia.News LGBT Stories – Can Conservative Evangelical Churches Ever Change?
47 CommentsDean of Hereford: 7 July 2021
The Queen has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Sarah Brown for election as Dean of Hereford.From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 7 July 2021The Queen has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Sarah Brown, Canon Missioner at Peterborough Cathedral and Bishop’s Advisor for Women’s Ministry, for election as Dean of Hereford, in succession to The Very Reverend Michael Tavinor following his retirement on 28th February 2021.
Background
Sarah was educated at the University of Nottingham and trained for ministry on the Eastern Region Ministry Course. She served her title in the Benefice of Welford, Sibbertoft and Marston Trussell in the diocese of Peterborough and was ordained Priest in 2009.
In 2011, Sarah was appointed Team Vicar with Daventry Team Ministry in the diocese of Peterborough and in 2013 became Rural Dean of Daventry. Sarah was made an Honorary Canon of Peterborough Cathedral in 2015.
In 2018, Sarah took up her current roles as Canon Missioner at Peterborough Cathedral and Bishop’s Advisor for Women’s Ministry.
There is more on the Hereford Cathedral website.
5 CommentsTimothy Goode ViaMedia.News LGBT+ Stories – The Trauma of Abusive “Healing” Ministries
Peter Collier Church Times The Lambeth Working Group has lost its way on CDM reform
“The proposals before the Synod appear to have missed what our independent group was saying”
Silvia Falcetta Openly English marriage law locks out same-sex couples from religious weddings
Archbishop Cranmer ‘Key limiting factors’: the end of stipendiary parish ministry
The Church Times has two news articles on this topic:
Synod to discuss target of 10,000 new lay-led churches in the next ten years
Archbishop of Canterbury endorses urgent plan for church-planting
And Archdruid Eileen has this: “Free From Limiting Factors” – 10,000 new Laboratories
Jayne Ozanne ViaMedia.News Church Leader – Are You Helping or Harming?
Philip North Church Times The General Synod’s Business Committee has its priorities wrong
“It should be debating how richer dioceses can help poorer ones, not reopening old wounds over the Sheffield débâcle”
Leander Harding The Living Church “Always Dress Like a Priest”
Jonathon Van Maren Mercatornet The turning tide of intellectual atheism
“A growing number of leading serious intellectuals are recognising the need for Christianity’s resurrection but can’t quite bring the faith to life in themselves.”
Updated 8 July 2021
The Observer reports this evening that the Bishop of Liverpool has said that the Church of England should recognise same-sex weddings.
Church of England should recognise same-sex weddings, says bishop
Paul Bayes, bishop of Liverpool, pushes for ‘gender-neutral marriage canon’ and church ceremonies
A senior bishop has said the Church of England should recognise marriage between people of the same sex and allow such ceremonies in church, a move that would break with centuries of Christian teaching.
Paul Bayes, the bishop of Liverpool, called for a “gender-neutral marriage canon” in a controversial and hard-hitting speech on Saturday, making him the most senior figure in the C of E to explicitly back a change in church law and teaching…
The bishop was speaking to the MOSAIC (“Movement of Supporting Anglicans for an Inclusive Church”) National Conference this morning. The text of his address is here and this is an extract.
What do I want to see? I want to see a Church that is no longer institutionally racist. I want to see a Church where people with physical or mental or emotional disability are honoured and accommodated and learned from and loved, and whose love is received as a gift.
In the area of sexuality and relationships I want to see the road which runs through Living in Love and Faith come to a good destination. The LLF process has clarified my own thinking.
I want to see a gender-neutral marriage canon, such as they have in the Episcopal Church or in the Scottish Episcopal Church. And as a necessary but not sufficient first step I want to see conscientious freedom for the Church’s ministers and local leaders to honour, recognise and, yes indeed, to bless same-sex unions whether civil partnerships or civil marriages.
I want to see an abolition of the foolishness that sees the call to ordained ministry as a call to a state morally higher than that of the baptised, as though baptism called us to a lesser holiness. I want to see an end to LGBTQ+ people hiding who they are for fear of being exposed to conversion therapy or to being forbidden to minister in churches. I want to see an end to the inquisition of ordinands about their private lives.
Update
On 6 July Bishop Bayes published the following on Twitter.
Some days ago I gave a speech to the MoSAIC Conference. I stand by the substantive points in that speech, but I also made some passing remarks which I greatly regret. I’ve asked for the published text to be amended to remove them. Here’s a statement of apology. Many thanks!
Follow the Twitter link to read the statement.
26 CommentsJonathan Clatworthy The point of it all Would you trust a Tory?
Open Table It’s out – and we’re proud! Independent research shows Open Table truly supports well-being
Simon Butler ViaMedia.News LGBT Stories: It’s Time for Action!
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The John Smyth Case Review commissioned by the Scripture Union
Madeleine Davies Church Times Is the C of E still a class-riddled act?
Kelvin Holdsworth Sev’n Whole Days
Michael King Religion Media Centre Factsheet: Conversion Therapy
10 CommentsThe Church of England House of Bishops met yesterday; here is the press release.
House of Bishops Meeting – 24th June 2021
24/06/2021
The House of Bishops met on the afternoon of Thursday 24th June remotely via Zoom.
The meeting began with the House wishing goodbye to the Bishop of Rochester, giving thanks for his ministry while welcoming Bishop Emma Ineson as the new Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. The House also noted this was the last House of Bishops meeting for Jonathan Neil Smith, who has worked for the NCIS for 40 years including many years serving the House of Bishops.
The Secretary General of the Church of England addressed the House in relation to proposals for the election of UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) observers to the House and its subcommittee. The House agreed the proposals and it is anticipated that the House will be asked to approve changes to its Standing Orders at its next meeting in July.
The House was then addressed by the Director of Libraries and Archives regarding the handling of Clergy Personal Files and approved an updated version of the House of Bishops 2018 policy. The updated June 2021 edition supports the earlier recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) recommendations on data sharing between the Church of England and the Church in Wales and clarifies the lawful basis on which clergy personal data is processed.
A short update was then given by the Social and Public Affairs Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding the Anti- Racism Task Force Report.
The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich then introduced a series of proposals for delivering new ways of working and cost savings for the National Church institutions (NCIs). The House broke into regional groups and provided comment on the proposals.
The House was then addressed by the Deputy Director of Finance for the NCIs who gave an analysis of dioceses’ financial situation in the wake of the pandemic. The House was asked to take note of the analysis provided, with the Bishops considering what action individual dioceses could take to help improve the financial situation of parishes and further action to be taken to improve diocesan financial strength and sustainability.
The Bishop of Hereford then gave a short briefing on the Review of Clergy Remuneration which has been circulated with Synod papers and which will be discussed at a separate meting by the House of Clergy in July.
The meeting closed with a blessing given by the Archbishop of York.
9 CommentsPapers 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.
All GS Papers .zip folder
All GS Misc Papers .zip folder
Kelvin Holdsworth The Bishop of St Davids and the Archbishop of Canterbury
Zachary Guiliano The Living Church Why I Wear Black
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Campaigning for radical LGBTIQ+ inclusion
In 2017 fourteen retired bishops voiced concern over the same sex relationships report
Sarah Mullally ViaMedia.News LGBT Stories: “Texts of Terror” – Are We Helping or Harming?
Mark Clavier The Living Church Restoring the Ecology of Faith
Kevin Scully What price reform?
74 CommentsStephen Parsons Surviving Church Shunning and Cruelty in the Justice System of the Church
David Runcorn ViaMedia.News LLF: Building the Bridge as We Cross It …
81 CommentsNext month’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod will now be held remotely via Zoom. This has necessitated some changes to the timetable; the amended version is online and is copied below the fold.
The following press release explains the change.
July Synod to take place online
17/06/2021
The annual July meeting of the Church of England General Synod, due to take place in London, will now be held online following the Government decision to delay the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions for a month.
Synod’s Business Committee examined alternatives including a hybrid meeting or reduced attendance to comply with restrictions but has reluctantly concluded that the only viable option is to hold the group of sessions from July 9 to 12 remotely.
As a result, the timetable for the event has been slimmed down slightly, with some items better suited to a face-to-face meeting postponed and some extra screen breaks introduced.
In a letter to Synod members, the Clerk to the Synod Dr Jacqui Philips, said: “The Committee gave careful consideration to all options, including an in-person meeting, a hybrid meeting and a remote meeting.
“The Committee took legal advice regarding the ongoing restrictions and considered the health and safety options for a physical, socially-distanced meeting in Church House Westminster.
“Having done so, the Committee very reluctantly concluded that the only safe and deliverable option for next month is for Synod to meet on a remote basis.”
Helen King sharedconversations Rewriting your history: thinking about the Winchester case
Nicholas Henshall ViaMedia.News Making Ourselves ‘Other’
David Goodhew The Living Church Beijing’s Man in the Anglican Communion
Christina Beardsley Unadulterated Love Trans leaders and CA England advise Bishop of London a working group to consider gender identity and transition is unadvisable
Archbishop Cranmer Who wrote the ‘Dirty Dossier’ on the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford?
89 CommentsThe Church Commissioners have released their annual report for 2020 today. The report (an 83-page pdf) can be downloaded here. There is an accompanying press release, which is copied below.
Church Commissioners report strong long-term investment performance
15/06/2021
Continued strong long-term investment performance enabled the Church Commissioners to extend financial support to the Church of England during the pandemic
Church Commissioners also give confidence about maintaining distributions through this triennium and the next
Determined action on climate change continues whilst the Church Commissioners deepen its focus as Responsible Investors on twin pillars: Respect for People, Respect for the Planet
(more…)
Rob Price The Living Church The Distance of the Performer
David Walker ViaMedia.News Banning Conversion Therapy Must “Focus on the Victim Not the Perpetrator”
There are related news items in The Guardian and Church Times.
Archbishop Cranmer Christ Church Cathedral Oxford blocks its own Canon on Twitter
Archdruid Eileen The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley Ritual for Blocking a Cathedral Canon on Twitter
Kate Gibson Rylands Blog Finding faith in the urban archive
Pip Martin Church Times This traumatised nation needs open churches
“Keeping the doors unlocked shows pandemic-scarred parishioners that they are not alone”
Rosie Harper ViaMedia.News Apology without Change is Manipulation
13 CommentsMeg Munn Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel Safeguarding and the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM)
Peter Leonard ViaMedia.News Trigger Warning!
3 CommentsPhilip Jones Ecclesiastical Law Celebrating the Lord’s Day: The Ecclesiastical Regulation of Sunday
Laudable Practice Credo in unum Deum: how contemporary Trinity Sunday Proper Prefaces obscure monotheism
Nick Bundock ViaMedia.News “Another Way is Possible….”
43 CommentsUpdated 10 July 2021
The Church of England has published a series of documents about the conduct of the elections to General Synod that will take place this summer, starting very shortly after the close of the July group of sessions. Although much of this is aimed at those conducting the elections, the documents will be of wider interest.
Not included in these documents are the numbers of proctors (clergy) and laity to be elected by dioceses, but they can be found in GS 2203.
There is also some information aimed at those considering standing for election.
Update
An error was discovered in the calculations of the numbers of proctors and laity included in GS 2203. These numbers were updated and approved by General Synod on 10 July and can be found in GS 2214.
6 CommentsViaMedia.News Justin’s Story – “I was taught to hate the very ones who loved me”
by Justin, a survivor of conversion therapy who was nearly crushed under the shame but is now a minister in training
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Changing Attitude England ask Archbishops what new radical Christian inclusion means for LGTBIQ+ people
Church Times It’s time to make ‘good’ disagreement ‘loving’
“Christopher Landau proposes a more distinctively Christian way to handle conflicts in the Church”
Kehinde Andrews The Guardian Eve Pitts: the Church of England’s first Black female vicar – and one of its fiercest critics
“Despite attempts to drive her out of the church, she has spent decades fighting racism wherever she has encountered it. Now she is pushing the C of E to honour the enslaved people it exploited”
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Does the C of E have Leaders with Authority, Wisdom and Insight to cope with Crises?
Archbishop Cranmer CDM PTSD: the trauma, stress and disorder of the Clergy Discipline Measure
11 Comments