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Janet Fife Surviving Church The Gospel, Victims and Common Worship
Sarah Mullaly, the Bishop of London, preached this sermon at the annual Judges Service in Westminster Abbey yesterday.
“Justice in the Bible has less to do with the conviction of the guilty and more to do with the care of the innocent.”
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Andrew Lightbown Theore0 That under her we may be godly and quietly governed.
Church Times Leader Under judgment
1 CommentUpdated to add press reports and comment
Press release from the Church of England
Bishops call for respect on all sides amid Brexit debate
27/09/2019
The bishops of the Church of England have issued a call for respect on all sides amid growing acrimony over the debate on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.
A joint statement issued on behalf of the Church of England’s College of Bishops calls for a new tone of listening and respect in debates and describes the use of language in some cases as “unacceptable”.
It calls for the 2016 referendum to be honoured and for the rule of law and impartiality of the courts to be upheld.
It adds: “We should speak to others with respect. And we should also listen. We should do this especially with the poor, with the marginalised, and with those whose voices are often not heard in our national conversation.
“We should not denigrate, patronise or ignore the honest views of fellow citizens, but seek to respect their opinions, their participation in society, and their votes.”
The full statement reads as follows:
As Bishops of the Church of England, we make this statement conscious of the great challenges to our nations and to their leaders. In writing, we affirm our respect for the June 2016 Referendum, and our belief that the result should be honoured.
In the last few days, the use of language, both in debates and outside Parliament, has been unacceptable.
We should speak to others with respect. And we should also listen. We should do this especially with the poor, with the marginalised, and with those whose voices are often not heard in our national conversation. We should not denigrate, patronise or ignore the honest views of fellow citizens, but seek to respect their opinions, their participation in society, and their votes.
The teachings of Jesus Christ call for us to be generous and humble servants; virtues which are for all leaders, whatever their faith.
We call on politicians to adhere rigorously to the rule of law and on all to respect and uphold the impartiality of the courts and our judiciary.
Our concern is also for the structure and the constitution of the United Kingdom. To use the words of Jesus, we must renew the structures that enable us to “love one another”. Changes to our principles and values of government, if necessary, should be through careful planning and consultation.
It is easy to descend into division and abuse – climbing out and finding unity again takes far longer. Further entrenching our divisions, whether from uncertainty or from partisanship, is not worthy of our country nor the leadership we now need. We are a body that understands from our own experience the dangers of division. It is our view and most solemn warning that we must find better ways of acting.
Further information:
Press reports
Church Times Love one another, Bishops urge politicians
The Guardian Language in Brexit debate unacceptable, say C of E bishops
Christian Today Language in Brexit debate has become ‘unacceptable’, say bishops
Premier Anglican bishops: Hostility in Brexit debate ‘not worthy of our country’
Comment
David Walker ViaMedia.News Rhetoric of a Playground Bully or Political Discourse?
Barbara Glasson President of the Methodist Conference Statement on political situation
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5 CommentsThe Church of England’s College of Bishops met earlier this week. The college comprises all diocesan and suffragan bishops and meets twice a year. A very brief press release has been issued and is copied below.
College of Bishops
18/09/2019
The College of Bishops met in Oxford from 16th to 18th September 2019.
Time was spent in prayerful reflection. The bishops reviewed the work of the Pastoral Advisory Group and considered progress to date of Living in Love and Faith, the Church of England’s teaching and learning resources on relationships, marriage, identity and sexuality, which are currently under development.
The College also reflected on the national situation, discussing the outlook for Brexit.
They also considered the vision for theological education and explored ministry plans in dioceses.
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21 CommentsBishop of Hereford: 3 September 2019
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend Richard Charles Jackson MA MSc for election as Bishop of Hereford.
Published 3 September 2019
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend Richard Charles Jackson MA MSc, Bishop of Lewes, for election as Bishop of Hereford in succession to the Right Reverend Richard Michael Cokayne Frith BA MA, who is due to retire on 30th November 2019.
Richard was educated at Christ Church, Oxford and Cranfield University and trained for ministry at Trinity College, Bristol. He served his title at All Saints, Lindfield in the Diocese of Chichester and was ordained Priest in 1995.
In 1998, Richard was appointed Vicar of Holy Trinity, Rudgwick and in 2005 took up the additional role of Rural Dean of Horsham. Richard became Diocesan Adviser for Mission and Renewal in 2009 and took up his role as Bishop of Lewes in 2014.
The Hereford Diocesan website has more details here, and the Chichester website has this.
23 CommentsUpdated on Tuesday to add press reports
The Church of England has published its Ministry Statistics for 2018 today. Available are the Ministry Statistics 2018 themselves and a commentary provided by the Revd Dr Mandy Ford, interim Director of Ministry. In addition detailed diocesan tables can be found in a separate excel file. There is also the following press release.
Ministry Statistics published
The number of female clergy in the Church of England continues to rise with more women than men entering training for ordained ministry for the second year running, according to statistics published today.
More women, 54%, than men began training for ordained ministry in 2018, for the second year running. Just under a third, or 30%, of the estimated 20,000 active clergy in the Church of England were female compared to 27% in 2014, according to Ministry Statistics for 2018.
The report also shows the proportion of senior posts such as dean or bishop occupied by women rose from 23 per cent to 25 per cent over the last year. The figures do not take into account six new appointments of female bishops this year, bringing the total so far to 24.
The proportion of people identifying as from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds starting training for ordained ministry in the Church of England rose to 8% in 2018, compared to 4% in 2016.
Around a third, or 33%, of people beginning their training last year were under 35 years old and more than half, or 53%, were under 45.
Meanwhile the number of men and women being ordained as deacon rose from 485 in 2016 to 535 in 2019.
The figures have been released as the Church of England seeks to fulfil a key target of a 50% increase in the number of candidates for ordination as part of its programme of Renewal and Reform.
Mandy Ford, Interim Director of the Ministry Division of the Church of England, said: “I am thankful for the hard work and prayers of the parishes and dioceses in helping us to increase the numbers of people coming forward for ordained ministry, a key aim of the Renewal and Reform programme.”
Ministry Statistics 2018 and commentary can be found here.
Further information:
Renewal and Reform is part of a programme to ensure that the Church of England once more becomes a growing church for all people in all places.
Update
Press reports
The Guardian Proportion of trainee C of E priests from BME background doubles
“Church of England data shows 8% of ordinands were BME last year, up from 4% in 2016”
Church Times Growth in clergy vocations slows
Daily Mail Good heavens! Average age of a new vicar is now 40 as congregation numbers continue to shrink
Christian Today More women training for the priesthood in the Church of England
Premier Ethnic minorities training for ministry in C of E doubles
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29 CommentsThe Church of England has updated its census and deprivation data. The Research and Statistics unit has mapped government statistics onto parish boundaries to produce parish-level census and deprivation information. The data can be downloaded from here and the summary parish census and deprivation statistics can also be explored on the interactive Church of England parish maps.
The Unit publishes other statistical data which we normally note here as they are published. But we missed the Parish Finance Statistics 2017 [and the 2017 diocesan tables (excel)] which were published in June 2019.
2 Comments