Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Entitlement. Power and its shadow in the Church
Mark Vernon Christian Today The idea of a male God is deep-rooted – but wrong
Jeremy Morris ViaMedia.News Spinning the Stats – Are We Too Defensive to Really Listen?
Richard Peers Quodcumque – Serious Christianity Listening with love: sex, gender and mutual flourishing with Evangelicals
36 CommentsQueen appoints Dean of York
The Queen has appointed Right Reverend Jonathan Hugh Frost as the Dean of York.Published 26 November 2018
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing StreetThe Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend Jonathan Hugh Frost, BD, MTh, DUniv, FRSA, Suffragan Bishop of Southampton, in Winchester Diocese, to be appointed to the Deanery of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, York, on the elevation of the Very Reverend Vivienne Frances Faull, MA, as Bishop of Bristol, on 25 June 2018.
There are more details on the York diocesan website.
18 CommentsPeter Ormerod The Guardian God isn’t gender-fluid exactly, but Justin Welby does have a point
Natalie Collins Church Times A haven for the victims — not the perpetrators
“Churches must do more to understand and respond to acts of violence against women”
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Equal Marriage – present reality in the Church of England
Sam Gibson St Mary Magdalen School of Theology Should clergy learn New Testament Greek?
37 CommentsAndrew Forshew-Cain ViaMedia.News There Can Be No Half-Way House on Marriage Equality
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Talking of mission, poverty, isolation and mental health
Laudable Practice Why we need Choral Mattins
James Alexander Cameron Stained Glass Attitudes A practical guide to the Cathedrals of England
28 CommentsThe Church of England yesterday published its 2018 gender pay data for the National Church Institutions (NCIs). The accompanying press release (copied below) does not include links to the report (or to the restated 2017 report) but I have found them here:
NCIs 2017 Gender Pay Report
NCIs 2018 Gender Pay Report
The entry on the government gender pay portal is here.
Press release
Church of England National Church Institutions (NCIs) publish gender pay data for 2018
20/11/2018
The National Church Institutions (NCIs) of the Church of England published today its gender pay gap report for 2018. Based on a snapshot date of 5 April 2018, today’s report covers one common pay policy for 491 staff across the seven legal entities, and a separate performance-related policy for 31 staff in the Investments department of the Church Commissioners. The data released today does not include clergy or employees within individual dioceses.
The NCIs also restated and published today the Gender Pay data from the previous year (2017).
In 2017 original published figures had calculated the gender pay gap as the percentage of a female’s average salary whereas regulations define the measurement against male’s average salary.
This had previously resulted in the 2017 gender pay difference being overstated. The reported mean gap in 2017 was 21% (previously stated it was 27%) and the median gap was 28% (previously stated it was 41%). The restated figures are published today.
The restated figures are now available on our website and will be shortly available on the government gender pay portal.
The 2018 data shows progress is being made by the NCIs in addressing the gender pay gap and have seen signs of improvement:
Gender Pay Gap
Quartile Representation
Commenting on the findings, Carole Harden, Interim Director of People and Change for the National Church Institutions said:
“This year’s results are encouraging as we continue to review pay structures, addressing any imbalances and barriers to females and opportunities for advancement within the NCIs. We are committed to improving this further as we focus on reducing the difference in pay between men and women in more highly paid roles, and improving the ratio of men to women in the most senior and most junior roles.”
Notes to Editors
The NCIs are separate legal entities, but they are a common employer under a statutory partnership. The present arrangements were established under the National Institutions Measure 1998.
The seven NCIs are:
The majority of NCI staff are based at Church House in Westminster, Lambeth Palace, the Church of England Record Centre in Bermondsey, and Bishopthorpe Palace near York.
* This covers support functions including HR, Finance & Resources, IT, Legal, Communications, and the Record Centre.
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Keith Giles Patheos Why John 3:16 Isn’t About The Crucifixion
Cristian Ispir British Library Medieval manuscripts blog Medieval hipsters
Robin Ward Church Times How should priests be taught to approach the rite of confession and absolution?
Philip North Church Times Confession: An opportunity, not a risk
Paul Bayes ViaMedia.News Is Agreement Over-Rated?
25 CommentsBill Carroll The Episcopal Café Our piece of the puzzle
Trevor Thurston-Smith The Pensive Pilgrim Rediscovering the Sacrament of Reconciliation
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Andrew Brown Helmintholog The trouble with religion
22 CommentsUpdated Thursday to add press reports
The Church of England has published its Statistics for Mission 2017 today. The report can be downloaded here.
Also published today is a report on the Church of England’s digital reach: A year in numbers: 2018 digital report.
In addition there is a press release which is copied below.
Press reports
Madeleine Davies Church Times Could the Christmas effect boost attendance through the year, Bishop asks
Christian Today Mixed picture for CofE in latest attendance figures
Mike Wright The Telegraph Church of England sees regular attendance rise but churchgoers struggle to make traditional Sunday services
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Attendance at Church of England’s Sunday services falls again
Church of England press release
Christmas attendance at highest level for more than a decade
14/11/2018
Attendance at Christmas services in the Church of England is at its highest level for more than a decade, according to new figures published today.
The latest annual Statistics for Mission report shows that while traditional Sunday attendance edged lower in 2017, in line with long-term trends, the numbers attending Christmas services increased by 3.4 per cent to 2.68 million.
It was the fourth successive rise in Christmas congregations since 2013 and the highest figure since 2006. Combined with figures for special services in churches during Advent, including carol services, there were nearly eight million attendances over the festive season.
The Statistics for Mission 2017 were published as #FollowTheStar, the Church of England’s campaign to encourage people to attend Advent and Christmas services this year, was launched by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Meanwhile separate figures also published today show that the Church of England more than doubled its monthly reach on social media – from 1.2 million in 2017 to 2.44 million this year.
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Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Talking of sex, sin and church unity
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2 CommentsJeremy Pemberton From the Choir Stalls Fake Participation: what is wrong with Living in Love and Faith?
Martin Sewell Archbishop Cranmer Iwerne: what did David Conner (now Dean of Windsor) and others know about John Smyth’s regime of abuse?
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Safeguarding and the Church’s future
David Mitchell The Guardian Trust the Church of England to miss the point of Halloween
Ben Ryan LSE Religion and Global Society blog Christianism: A crude political ideology and the triumph of empty symbolism
Michael Sadgrove Woolgathering in North East England The Centenary of the Great War: Thoughts on Good Remembrance
Jeremy Morris ViaMedia.News We Will Remember Them…..All!
30 CommentsThe Church of England collected figures on the extent of social action by its churches were collected as part of the annual Statistics for Mission 2017 survey, and these have been published today.
The findings can be downloaded here, and there’s a press release which starts:
Full extent of Church of England work to support local communities revealed
More than 33,000 social action projects – from food banks to debt counselling – are run or supported by churches, according to figures setting out for the first time the full scale of the Church of England’s service to communities.
The findings – which amount to the largest survey to date of the extent of the Church of England’s work with some of the most vulnerable in society – show that 80 per cent of congregations are involved in one or more forms of social action…
The full Statistics for Mission 2017 report will be available soon.
Press report
Christian Today Survey shows massive engagement in social outreach by CofE churches
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Giles Goddard ViaMedia.News C of E Risks Failure on Human Sexuality Because of Privileged Power
Church Times No action songs, please: there are adults present
“Services that infantilise are counter-productive, says Ines Hands”
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Challenges for Lambeth 2020. The end of the Anglican Communion?
Erika Baker ViaMedia.News Gender Recognition Act – Whose Lives Are Actually At Risk?
David Ison ViaMedia.News Brexit, Sex & Science: How Do We Tackle “Fake News”?
Winnie Varghese Patheos Oh, preacher, give us a good word
Andrew Brown The Guardian The Church of England should learn from Harry Potter this Halloween
40 CommentsAndrew Lightbown Theore0 Reflecting on ecumenism, liturgy and mental health.
Harriet Sherwood has interviewed Michael Curry for The Guardian: Bishop Michael Curry: ‘moderate religious voices’ are not being heard.
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Reflections on human power. The Christian stand against bullying
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of cathedrals, mission and evangelism.
Archbishop Cranmer Why, when church attendance is falling, is cathedral attendance soaring?
Fergus Butler-Gallie Church Times ‘Stay weird, Church of England’
“Fergus Butler-Gallie celebrates the evangelistic potential of the weird, and mourns their demise”
Madeleine Davies Financial Times Why I’m still an evangelical in the age of Trump [£]
“Madeleine Davies explains why she isn’t giving up on the movement despite its support for the president”
Jonathan Merritt The New York Times It’s Getting Harder to Talk About God
“The decline in our spiritual vocabulary has many real-world consequences.”
Steve Morris Christian Today Why do I have such a problem with Christian books?
David Goodhew The Living Church Mission in Europe and the Future of Anglicanism
Simon Jenkins Ship of Fools Why Halloween ought to be part of the church year
Jayne Ozanne ViaMedia.News Bishops’ Letters and the Case for the Defence – “Lunatic, Liar, or Lord”
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love The Church of England is open and welcoming to LGBTI+ people – discuss
27 CommentsUpdated Thursday to add some press reports
The Church of England has released its Cathedral Statistics for 2017 today, along with a lengthy press release, copied below. The full report can be downloaded here.
Press reports
Adam Becket Church Times Cathedral attendance rose by three per cent last Christmas
Mike Wright The Telegraph Christmas Cathedral congregation numbers swell thanks to spiritually inquisitive, festival-going millennials
Christian Today England’s cathedrals continue to enjoy a strong turnout for Christmas services
Press release
Record numbers attend cathedrals at Christmas
Attendance at Christmas services in England’s cathedrals has broken records for the second year running, statistics published today show.
A total of 135,000 people came to Church of England cathedrals to worship on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2017 – an increase of three per cent on the previous year, and the highest total since records began.
Attendances at Sunday worship in cathedrals throughout the year also continued to hold steady over a five-year period, while average weekday attendances continued their pattern of increase, with just over 18,000 attending in 2017, compared with 7,000 in 2000 when this data was first recorded. Over 10 years, the total number attending all regular services in cathedrals has increased by 10 per cent.
20 CommentsPress release from Number 10
Queen appoints Suffragan Bishop of Ramsbury
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Andrew Paul Rumsey to the Suffragan See of Ramsbury.
Published 22 October 2018
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing StreetThe Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Andrew Paul Rumsey, MA, DThMin, Team Rector of Oxted in the Diocese of Southwark, to the Suffragan See of Ramsbury, in the Diocese of Salisbury, in succession to the Right Reverend Edward Francis Condry, MA, BLitt, DPhil, MBA, who resigned on the 12 May 2018.
There’s more on the diocesan website: New Bishop of Ramsbury Announced. Dr Rumsey will be consecrated on 25 January 2019.
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4 CommentsThe second set of findings from a 10-year research programme into how clergy can flourish in ministry has been published today by the Church of England. Research from the Living Ministry project into the wellbeing of 85 ordinands and clergy is featured in the study Negotiating Wellbeing: Experiences of Ordinands and Clergy in the Church of England. This qualitative study builds on quantitative findings based on responses from 761 clergy and ordinands published by the Living Ministry programme last year.
The accompanying press release is copied below the fold, and the report is available for download here.
Adam Becket has written about the report for Church Times: Change is worse than a rest, say stressed clergy.
10 CommentsClergy struggle to cope with change, a new report on their well-being has said.
Published today, the report, Negotiating Wellbeing: Experiences of ordinands and clergy in the Church of England, says that periods of transition, for example coming to the end of a curacy, can cause physical and mental stress, and prompt clergy to question their vocation…
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23 Comments