Caroline Starkey & Grace Davie LSE Religion and Global Society Silence and Words: Unexpected Responses to a Gay Bishop
The Fence Diary of an Urban Parson
“True and affecting vignettes from the life and times of the Reverend J J Cowan, from which the reader may discern much of the happy state of the Church of England in our nation’s fair capital”
[first of a series]
Lucy Winkett New Statesman It’s always a risk walking around this time of year with a dog collar on. People might ask you things
Simon Butler ViaMedia.News Wellbeing, Leadership and ‘The Other’
36 CommentsThe Business Committee of General Synod has today published the outline agenda for the February Group of Sessions in London.
The published information can be read here and is copied (with slight editing) below the fold.
0 CommentsThe Church of England’s House of Bishops met this week and issued the following brief press release.
Meeting of the House of Bishops
11/12/2019
The House of Bishops met from Monday 9th December to Wednesday 11th December at Lambeth Palace.
The House considered progress to date in the Living in Love and Faith project through discussion, prayer and reflection. The House discussed safeguarding with a presentation from the National Director of Safeguarding.
On the eve of the general election, the House reviewed the national situation politically and prayed for the good of the country.
Other items on the agenda included Renewal and Reform and the Implementation and Dialogue Group Report.
14 CommentsStephen Parsons Surviving Church Elite Schools and leadership in Church and State
Peterson Feital ViaMedia.News Does the Church have a Problem with Institutional Racism?
Jeremy Morris Church Times The cry for self-government: 100 years of the Enabling Act
“Jeremy Morris marks the centenary of the Enabling Act, which created the General Synod’s precursor, in response to a campaign for the C of E’s “‘liberty'”
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of Renewal and Reform; money, numbers, and growth
Laudable Practice The Advent of High Church populism
Kate Surviving Church Conservative Evangelical Bullying: A case study.
David Walker Via.Media.News Pondering “the Bump” of Posada
Peter Sherlock theproseclerk The New Anglican Century: One Hundred Female Bishops
43 CommentsThe Church of England has published the latest report from its Living Ministry project: Ministerial Effectiveness and Wellbeing: Exploring the flourishing of clergy and ordinands.
There is an accompanying press release, copied below.
New research findings published on clergy flourishing
05/12/2019
A new set of findings from a 10-year study into the well-being and flourishing of ordained ministers in the Church of England has been published today.
The Living Ministry programme tracks the progress of groups of clergy ordained in 2006, 2011 and 2015 and women and men who entered training for ordination in 2016, seeking to understand what helps clergy to flourish in ministry.
The latest research from the project includes responses from 579 ordained clergy and 113 people training for ordained ministry in the Church of England.
The quantitative study includes research into physical and mental, relational, financial and material and spiritual and vocational well-being as well as responses to questions about ministerial effectiveness.
The Rt Revd Dr Chris Goldsmith, Director of the Ministry Division of the Church of England said: “This 10-year programme is providing valuable long-term insights into the experiences of our ordained clergy from initial training and curacy and throughout ministry.
“The findings will help inform the dioceses and theological education colleges and courses in their vital work in the selection, formation and long-term support of ordained clergy.”
Dr Liz Graveling, who is overseeing the research programme for the Ministry Division, said: “I’m pleased to release this next stage of the Living Ministry research, which has allowed us to look in more depth at specific areas of clergy flourishing and start to build up a picture over time. As we follow our participants into the next chapter of their ministry, we are continuing to explore some of these themes in the ongoing qualitative work, which is due to report next year.”
Further information:
Living Ministry was set up in 2016 by the Church of England with the aim of helping support the dioceses, theological education institutions and national church in the selection, training and long-term support of clergy.
Living Ministry is a mixed-methods, longitudinal study. This report presents the findings of Wave 2 of the panel survey, which took place in early 2019. The survey built on the exploration of clergy wellbeing in Wave 1 (2017) by both monitoring this and including questions on ministerial effectiveness.
10 CommentsStephen Parsons Surviving Church Foster’s Iwerne analysis. Some reflections on the place of women in the Church.
Helen King ViaMedia.News Who Tells Our Story – and How?
The Scotsman Richard Holloway writes a letter to the author of the book of Genesis
[free registration required]
Archdruid Eileen The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley Advent Candles Explained
34 CommentsSuffragan Bishop of Doncaster: 2 December 2019
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Canon Sophie Rebecca Jelley, Mphil, BA to the Suffragan See of Doncaster, in the Diocese of Sheffield.
Published 2 December 2019
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Canon Sophie Rebecca Jelley, Mphil, BA, Residentiary Canon at Durham Cathedral, in the Diocese of Durham, to the Suffragan See of Doncaster, in the Diocese of Sheffield, in succession to the Right Reverend Peter Burrows following his resignation on 30th September 2019.
Sophie was educated at the University of Leeds and trained for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. She served her title at St Peter’s Shipley in the Diocese of Bradford and was ordained priest in 1998. Sophie took up the role of Mission Partner with the Church Mission Society in Uganda in 2000 and returned to the UK in 2003 to take up the role of Resident Minister of St John the Evangelist, Church in the Diocese of Guildford. In 2010 Sophie was appointed Vicar, St Andrew’s Burgess Hill in the Diocese of Chichester and in 2013 she took up the additional role of Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands.
In 2015, Sophie was appointed to her current role as Canon Missioner and Diocesan Director of Mission, Discipleship and Ministry in the Diocese of Durham.
Sophie is married to Chris, a technology consultant, and they have three teenage children. Sophie is a keen runner and musician.
There are more details on the Sheffield diocesan website.
Emma Ineson Church Times Good leaders know the art of successful failure
“Christians can find freedom from performance anxiety by embracing vulnerability and weakness”
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of faith in troubling times
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church What is a Safeguarding Review?
LGBTQ Faith UK Faithfully wrong – The problem of evil in the church.
David Ison ViaMedia.News Nationalism, Patriotism and Glory…
Sara Gillingham Modern Church ‘On the margins, still looking in’
“It is now over six months since I made the decision to leave the Church of England, and I feel far better for doing so.”
Charles Foster Surviving Church Smyth, Fletcher, Iwerne, and the theology of the divided self
Paul Bayes ViaMedia.News A Call to “Take Sides”!
26 CommentsThe Church of England has published its Cathedral Statistics 2018 today along with the following press release.
Record numbers of visitors and worshippers flock to England’s cathedrals
26/11/2019
England’s cathedrals have witnessed their highest Easter congregation numbers in recent years, while visitor numbers increased by a million on the previous year, statistics published today show.
In the report, published today, Cathedrals reported nearly ten million visitors in 2018, an increase of over 10 per cent on the previous year. There were additionally over a million visitors to Westminster Abbey.
The major Christian festivals remain at the heart of congregational growth, with 58,000 people attending a cathedral at Easter and 95,000 during Holy Week – the highest numbers recorded for a decade, with Easter attendance up nearly 10,000 since 2008.
17 CommentsCompletely revised Church Representation Rules will come into effect on 1 January 2020. Hard copies are available from Church House Publishing and elsewhere.
The new rules form schedule 1 of the Church Representation and Ministers Measure 2019. They are not as yet available on the Church of England website, which at the time of writing only has the current 2017 rules.
13 CommentsLast month General Synod members were invited to submit questions for written answer. The 56 questions and their answers are now available for download.
15 CommentsRosie Harper ViaMedia.News The Challenge of Faith in the Quantum Era
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Using our imagination – What could the Church become?
A Prince and an Abuser
Bosco Peters Liturgy Laying on Hands
Women and the Church The Open Wound of Mutual Flourishing
Two Church Times articles by Madeleine Davies about the Church of England’s Strategic Development Fund
The ‘magic money tree’: SDF, a progress report
“As £136 million is allocated to dioceses for projects designed to turn around numerical decline, Madeleine Davies explores what evaluation is under way”
Revitalising mission — but at what cost?
“In the second part of a series on SDF funding, Madeleine Davies looks at the impact of resource churches”
Update The Guardian has the background to this story: Church of England reviews its handling of sexual abuse case.
“Matthew Ineson said his claims that a vicar had raped him when he was 16 were ignored”
Update 2 Matthew Ineson has written about the review in a comment below.
Update 3 (Monday) Church Times has now covered this story Devamanikkam review challenged by survivor.
Press release from the Church of England
Review of Trevor Devamanikkam case
22/11/2019
Safeguarding consultant Jane Humphreys has been appointed as the independent reviewer into the Church of England’s handling of the allegations relating to the late Revd Trevor Devamanikkam.
Jane brings more than 30 years of experience from the statutory sector having previously been a director of children’s and adult services (see biography below).
The aim of the review is to identify both good practice and failings in the handling of these allegations, in order that the Church of England can take steps to enhance and improve its response to allegations of abuse and thereby ensure a safer environment for all.
The reviewer will look at written and verbal evidence from the survivor who brought the original allegation of abuse.
The reviewer will also make contact with the relevant archbishop and bishops as well as those safeguarding professionals in the Church who dealt with the allegations and external agencies.
The review will be published in full except for jigsaw identification details.
Melissa Caslake, the Church of England’s national director of safeguarding, said: “We are very pleased that Jane has agreed to take on this vital piece of work to enable the Church to learn lessons. We have listened to concerns about the importance of independence in this work and we believe Jane’s wealth of professional experience fits this criterion. We hope the review will be completed and published during 2020.”
Jane Humphreys said: “As an independent reviewer I am committed to working in a transparent way and will ensure that anyone who wishes to provide evidence to the Review will be heard. I will also ensure that all relevant documents relating to the Church’s handling of this case are looked at so lessons can be learnt to enable the Church to be a safer place for all.
Jane is a highly experienced Senior Social Care Consultant, and previous Director of Children’s and Adult’s Services with a career spanning more than 30 years. Having trained as a social worker she worked in a number of local authorities becoming a director of children’s and adult services in 2008. She currently specialises in change management and has a proven track record of directing service reviews and ensuring preparation for Ofsted and CQC inspections. Jane is also undertaking some work for the Local Government Association as a children’s improvement adviser. She is committed to supporting families and service users, and driving improvements in service delivery in a range of organisations. She also has broad based expertise in chairing Adult and Children Safeguarding Boards.
7 CommentsGiles Fraser UnHerd The battle to believe in God
“Don’t kid yourself that atheism is a modern invention — it’s as old as religion”
Meg Munn Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel Complaints
Giles Goddard ViaMedia.News Inside, Outside – XR, Church & Change
The following two articles follow on from the Church Times article by Philip North that I linked to last week.
Ian Paul Psephizo Do we need to take Jesus to our urban areas?
Philip North Psephizo On taking Jesus to our urban areas: a response
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Church as a Refuge. Reflections on a proposed Conference
Savi Hensman Equal Relationships, 40 years on
Ian Blair ViaMedia.News Remembrance, Inclusion & Identity
Laudable Practice Praying for the parish is more important that praying for the diocese
41 CommentsStephen Parsons Surviving Church Establishment dynamics. How secrecy and defensiveness harm the Church.
Peter Leonard ViaMedia.News Remembering – An Active Choice?
Jayne Ozanne ViaMedia.News The All-Seeing Eye
Kate Wharton Single Minded The Billy Graham Rule
Philip North Church Times We don’t need to bring Jesus to urban estates
“The Church’s task is to demonstrate that he is already present, not to provide all the answers”
Sara Batts-Neale Church Times The tyranny of the perfect wedding
“Sara Batts-Neale’s ministry to her wedding couples extends to their bank balance”
The area bishop of Dorchester in the diocese of Oxford, the Rt Revd Colin Fletcher, has announced he will retire on 4 October 2020. Details are on the diocesan website.
4 CommentsSuffragen [sic] Bishop of Dudley: 4 November 2019
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Martin Charles William Gorick, MA, to the Suffragan See of Dudley, in the Diocese of Worcester,
Published 4 November 2019
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Martin Charles William Gorick, MA, Archdeacon of Oxford, in the Diocese of Oxford, to the Suffragan See of Dudley, in the Diocese of Worcester, in succession to the Right Reverend Graham Barham Usher BSc, MA, following his translation to the See of Norwich.
Martin was educated at Selwyn College, Cambridge and trained for ministry at Ripon College Cuddesdon. He served his title at St John the Evangelist, Birtley in the Diocese of Durham and was ordained Priest in 1988. In 1991, Martin was appointed as Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford. He became Vicar of Smethwick Old Church in the Diocese of Birmingham in 1994 and was additionally appointed Area Dean of Warley in 1997. Martin was appointed as Vicar of Stratford-upon-Avon in the Diocese of Coventry in 2001 where he was also Hon. Chaplain for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He took up his current role as Archdeacon of Oxford and Residentiary Canon of Christ Church in 2013 and also serves as Diocesan Inter-faith Advisor. He is married to Katharine who is County Lead for Visual Impairment in Oxfordshire and they have three adult children.
More details on the Worcester diocesan website
41 Comments