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 CommentsMadeleine 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 CommentsHelen 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 CommentsMadeleine 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 CommentsAnon 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 CommentsColin 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 CommentsDaniel 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 CommentsI 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 CommentsHelen 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 CommentsThe 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 CommentsMorwenna 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 CommentsThe 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.
3 CommentsFollowing 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.
26 CommentsPeter 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 CommentsPress 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.
2 CommentsUpdated 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 CommentsTheo 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 CommentsSean Doherty ViaMedia.News Trust and Training
Phil Groves ViaMedia.News The Alliance and the Bishop of Oxford
Lorraine Cavanagh On Forgiving The Church
10 CommentsThis post will be updated as the meeting proceeds.
The Church of England’s General Synod is meeting this weekend. The timetable is here, the agenda is here and the papers are here.
Live video etc
All sessions are streamed live on YouTube and remain available to view afterwards. Links have been provided in advance.
There is an official X/Twitter account.
Official July 2024 list of members
Order papers
Business done
Official press releases
Press reports and comment
Church Times
Independent
The Guardian
89 CommentsThe Questions (and answers) for this weekend’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod were issued today. They can be found online here:
Questions will be taken on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. There are 221 questions, four fewer than at the last group of sessions.
2 Comments