- 10/06/2015 CofE Announces new Secretary General
Updated 4 pm Thursday
Living in Love and Faith: A Statement from Bishop Helen-Ann
First published on: 1st February 2024
My first commitment, and priority, is to continue to respond to God’s calling to be Bishop of Newcastle, and I rejoice in this calling. It has become clear to me in the last 48 hours that there are serious concerns relating to the recent process of appointing an Interim Theological Advisor to the House of Bishops. This was, and is not, an LLF appointment, and neither Bishop Martyn nor myself were involved in it. Whilst the remit of the theological advisor is broader than any matters relating to LLF, there is no doubt that LLF remains front and centre in the life of our Church at this time. What has transpired in the last 48 hours has had a critically negative impact on the work Bishop Martyn and I were seeking, in good faith, to do. My role as co-lead bishop for the LLF process is now undermining my capacity to fulfil my primary calling, to lead and care for the people and places of the Diocese of Newcastle.
I am fully committed to the vocation and life of the Church of England, its place in our diverse communities across this land, and in the wider Anglican Communion. Mindful of different views within my own diocese, I am also fully committed to the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people. I do not believe these are mutually exclusive, and I am not naïve in saying this. As I approach the 10th anniversary of my consecration as a bishop, my decision to step down from my LLF role is not one I have taken lightly, but is one built on all I have learnt about being a bishop, both here and in Aotearoa New Zealand. I will continue to be involved in the LLF process as a diocesan bishop, and will endeavour to prayerfully and actively work towards fulfilling the commitments expressed above, and those already agreed to in General Synod.
+Helen-Ann Newcastle,
February 1st 2024.
Update
The Church Times has this: Bishop of Newcastle stands down from LLF over ‘serious concerns’ about interim adviser
This report is comprehensive, and I urge you to read it in full. But here are two excerpts:
…Earlier in the week, the Vicar of All Saints’, New Longton, the Revd Dr Thomas Woolford, a tutor at Emmanuel Theological College, was announced as the interim secretary to the Faith and Order Commission (FAOC) and adviser to the House of Bishops, before a permanent post-holder takes up the position in September.
After his appointment, an article by Dr Woolford, published in 2019 on the website of Church Society, a conservative Evangelical organisation in the C of E, began to be circulated on social media.
In the article, Mr Woolford wrote: “I think it would be disastrous and desperately wicked if the Church were to prepare blessings for things we must not bless, alter the canons to accommodate worldly thinking, give up the standard of chastity for ordained office-holders, or sanction false teaching.”
Speaking shortly after Dr Hartley’s announcement, Dr Woolford distanced himself from the tone of the article. “I’m still a conservative on blessings and on sexuality; so that part hasn’t changed,” he said. “But I’d put a lot of things differently in light of the journey that we’ve been on in Synod and in the wider Church.”
And the report later continues:
…On Thursday afternoon, the Bishop in Europe, Dr Robert Innes, who chairs the FAOC, said that Dr Woolford’s was an “advisory role, not an executive role”.
“He is an adviser among other advisers, and advisers come from an appropriately diverse array of positions,” he told the Church Times, and emphasised that it was a six-month interim appointment.
“It’s testament to the very febrile nature of the Church at the moment that the appointment of a temporary adviser attracts so much interest and controversy, and I do regret that.”
He described Dr Woolford as a “a very able theologian indeed”, who understood that he had to “behave in a neutral way”.
The article by Dr Woolford can be found here.
121 CommentsThe outline of business for next month’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod that we linked to last month has been amended. The order of business on Saturday morning has been changed, some “not later than” times have been added, an item of contingency business (DSM Southwell & Notts – Church Buildings) has been dropped, and the deadline for submission of questions has been extended to Tuesday 13 February 2024.
The revised version is here and is copied below.
GENERAL SYNOD: FEBRUARY 2024 OUTLINE OF BUSINESS
This is the current outline of business and subject to change.
The final details of the items will be available on the Agenda which will be circulated in February.
Friday 23 February
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Opening worship
Introductions
Presidential Address
Business Committee Report
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Vacancy in See Regulations Consolidation
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Vacancy in See Regulations Act of Synod
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Amending Canon No 43 – for enactment
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Parochial Fees: London
*Not later than 5.30 pm
Questions
Saturday 24 February
9.00 am – 12.45 pm
Opening worship
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Code of Conduct for PCCs: Chelmsford
Questions
*Not later than 11.15am
Safeguarding
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Safeguarding
Land and Nature
Synod Code of Conduct
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Future of work: Oxford
Sunday 25 February
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Racial Justice
Special Agenda III – Private Members’ Motions Bullying by Lay Officers
Standing Orders Committee Report
Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households
Monday 26 February
9.00 am – 12.30 pm
Opening Worship
Church Commissioners’ Response to Links to Transatlantic Chattel Slavery
* Not later than 10.15 am
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Parochial Fees Order 2024 – for approval
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Chancel Repair (Church Commissioners’ Liability) Measure – first consideration Reappointment of two members of the Archbishops’ Council
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Living in Love and Faith
Estates Evangelism
Special Agenda III – Private Members’ Motions Clergy Pensions
Tuesday 27 February
9.00am – 12.30 pm
Opening Worship
Living in Love and Faith
* Not later than 11.30 am
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Church Funds Measure
2.00pm – 4.30 pm
War in Ukraine and the Challenge to International Order
Special Agenda III – Private Members’ Motions Ordination after divorce
*Not later than 4.15pm
Farewells
*Not later than 4.30pm
Prorogation
Deemed business
Clergy Discipline Rules
Contingency Business
DSM Sheffield – Foodbanks and Inadequacies in Social Security
PMM Sam Wilson – LGBTQIA+ and Relationship Education
Deadline for receipt of questions: 1200 hrs Tuesday 13 February 2024
34 CommentsUpdated
The bishops of Newcastle and Leicester have written an article published today in the Church Times, in which they state that they intend to bring to General Synod in February some new proposals.
The full text of what they have written is here: Living in love, faith — and reconciliation.
The Church Times has a news report: LLF bishops respond to fears of schism over same-sex relationships.
Update
Unadulterated Love has this report: LLF “engagement opportunity” reveals Archbishops abandon radical new Christian inclusion
24 CommentsThe Church Times carries a report: Psychologist reports ‘significant harm’ after closure of Independent Safeguarding Board which deals with the Glasgow report, as covered on TA previously here.
In addition it reports
…On Wednesday, a letter was sent to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, signed by 20 members of the General Synod. The letter called for “the immediate suspension and subsequent investigation” of the secretary-general of the Archbishops’ Council, William Nye.
The letter, written by Synod member and safeguarding lawyer, Martin Sewell, accuses Mr Nye of failing to heed a request from Steve Reeves, one of the sacked members of the ISB, to delay the announcement of its termination so that survivors could be informed privately rather than learning via the media.
Ms Wilkinson’s report quotes an email from Mr Reeves to Mr Nye, in which Mr Reeves writes: “I am urging caution as powerfully as I can. The harm could be significant and the announcement is not urgent.”
The letter alleges that Mr Nye “rejected that advice and chose to take the risk; it had foreseeable and foreseen consequences . . . avoidable significant harm towards the vulnerable people to whom he owed a duty of care.”
The full text of this letter can be found here.
14 CommentsThe Church of England’s House of Bishops has started to publish a Summary of Actions and Decisions for each of its meetings. These are much fuller that the usual bland press releases. Two such summaries, for November and December 2023, are available. They are in docx format; for convenience I have converted them to the pdf files below.
2 CommentsThere has been recent discussion about the respective responsibilities of General Synod on the one hand, and Archbishops’ Council on the other. The Secretary General, General Synod and Archbishops’ Council clearly plays a key role in this. A document from 2015, when the most recent appointment to this post was made, has recently surfaced. This was used in the recruitment process that year and does not reflect any changes in the role since that time.
Secretary General job description
To give a little context, here are two press releases from around the same time:
Updated 25 January. The outline of business has been amended, see here.
Synod members have been sent an outline of business for the February 2024 meeting of the Church of England’s Generaal Synod. It is copied below.
Update (5 January 2024) This is now available online.
GENERAL SYNOD: FEBRUARY 2024 OUTLINE OF BUSINESS
This is the current outline of business and subject to change.
The final details of the items will be available on the Agenda which will be circulated in February.
Friday 23 February
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Opening worship
Introductions
Presidential Address
Business Committee Report
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Vacancy in See Regulations Consolidation
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Vacancy in See Regulations Act of Synod
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Amending Canon No 43 – for enactment
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Parochial Fees: London
*Not later than 5.30 pm Questions
Saturday 24 February
9.00 am – 12.45 pm
Opening worship
Safeguarding
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Code of Conduct for PCCs: Chelmsford
*Not later than 11.45am Questions
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Safeguarding
Land and Nature
Synod Code of Conduct
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Future of work: Oxford
Sunday 25 February
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Racial Justice
Special Agenda III – Private Members’ Motions Bullying by Lay Officers
Standing Orders Committee Report
Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households
Monday 26 February
9.00 am – 12.30 pm
Opening Worship
Church Commissioners’ Response to Links to Transatlantic Chattel Slavery
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Parochial Fees Order 2024 – for approval
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Chancel Repair (Church Commissioners’ Liability) Measure – first consideration Reappointment of two members of the Archbishops’ Council
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Living in Love and Faith
Estates Evangelism
Special Agenda III – Private Members’ Motions Clergy Pensions
Tuesday 27 February
9.00am – 12.30 pm
Opening Worship
Living in Love and Faith
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Church Funds Measure
2.00pm – 4.30 pm
War in Ukraine and the Challenge to International Order
Special Agenda III – Private Members’ Motions Ordination after divorce
*Not later than 4.15pm Farewells
*Not later than 4.30pm Prorogation
Deemed business
Clergy Discipline Rules
Contingency Business
DSM Southwell & Notts – Church Buildings
DSM Sheffield – Foodbanks and Inadequacies in Social Security PMM Sam Wilson – LGBTQIA+ and Relationship Education
Deadline for receipt of questions: 1200 hrs Thursday 8 February 2024
8 CommentsPress release from the Church of Englaand
Prayers of Love and Faith to be made available for use from Sunday
12/12/2023
Selection of readings and prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and asking for God’s blessing for same-sex couples commended.
A selection of readings and prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and asking for God’s blessing for same-sex couples can be used in Church of England services for the first time from Sunday, December 17, following approval by the House of Bishops.
The final texts of Prayers of Love and Faith, commended for use in regular public worship or private prayer, are published today, together with pastoral guidance which sets out how they could be used.
At a meeting held online this morning, the House of Bishops confirmed its earlier decision to commend the Prayers of Love and Faith resources for use in regular public worship and agreed that this should take effect from Sunday December 17.
The Prayers can be used in regular scheduled services, such as a Sunday Eucharist or Evensong.
The House also continued to discuss separate proposals for special standalone services for same-sex couples to be formally authorised under canon law.
This follows a motion agreed by General Synod in November calling on the bishops to consider whether standalone services for same-sex couples could be made available for use, possibly on a trial basis.
The Prayers of Love and Faith were developed as part of the outcome of a seven-year period of listening, learning and discernment known as Living in Love and Faith.
The House of Bishops has said it will consider pastoral provision to protect the conscience of those who wish to use the Prayers and of those who do not.
It is intended that there will be wide process of consultation regarding the provision to ensure that whatever is agreed serves to promote unity and has broad support across the Church.
The Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, and the Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, are chairing the group overseeing the introduction of Prayers of Love and Faith.
Bishop Helen-Ann said: “The Prayers of Love and Faith are resources to pray with and for a same-sex couple who are committed to one another in faithfulness and love. They are intended to enable those who wish to give thanks for and joyfully mark that commitment before God and their community of faith.”
Bishop Martyn added: “We know not everyone in the Church of England agrees on these important questions which go the heart of who we are – about people’s lives, their love and our shared faith. This is reflected in the House of Bishops, where there remain different views on the best ways to proceed.
“These Prayers are offered as pastoral provision. It is our prayer that they can be used with grace and understanding. Sharing them will be a blessing to the whole Church.”
The House agreed by 24 votes to 11, with three abstentions, in favour of a motion (see full text below) to make the Prayers of Love and Faith resources available with effect from December 17. Bishops also approved a motion to commend the Prayers for a Covenanted Friendship from the same date by 30 votes to six, with two abstentions. They are published together with the Prayers of Love and Faith resources.
More information
The motions approved were:
Further notes:
This review was announced on 11 September: Independent Barrister to conduct a Review of ISB phase 1
Today the report is published:
Press release:
Publication of independent review into Church’s Independent Safeguarding Board
The actual report is here (PDF)
28 CommentsWe reported previously on the November General Synod – electronic voting results
Andrew Goddard has published an analysis of these voting results here: Prayers of Love and Faith: a divided vote–a divided Church?
32 CommentsUpdated 30 November New versions of all these files have been uploaded to the CofE website. All those there now are internally dated 29 November. I have updated the links below to point to these new files.
The electronic voting results from this month’s General Synod are now available online and are linked below. The texts of items 7 and 500 can be found in the official record of Business Done.
Living in Love and Faith motion (as amended – text here)
Amendments to Living in Love and Faith motion (see Order Paper IV for the texts of the proposed amendments)
Motion to consider Abuse (Redress) Measure for revision in committee
Motion to amend standing orders (see Order Paper IV)
102 CommentsChurch Times
Press Release from the General Synod Gender & Sexuality Group and from Inclusive Groups
The Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England
Church of England Evangelical Council
Charlie Bell ViaMedia.News The Dam Has Broken: Synod and Beyond
Update
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Where have we arrived after General Synod?
54 CommentsDavid Lamming has written the following article about the synod discussion that occurred on 9 July concerning the Independent Safeguarding Board.
Question 204 from the November General Synod sessions refers (text included below).
RE-WRITING HISTORY: OMITTING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF FORMER ISB MEMBERS STEVE REEVES AND JASVINDER SANGHERA FROM THE FORMAL RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS AT THE YORK SYNOD IN JULY 2023
General Synod members, and those watching the proceedings on the livestream, will recall the débâcle at York on the Sunday afternoon, 9 July, when, after several attempts to use the standing orders to enable Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves to respond to the ‘Presentation on developments relating to the Independent Safeguarding Board’ were thwarted, the formal sitting was adjourned so that they could address Synod members, with Robert Hammond (chair of the Business Committee) taking over as chair of the informal session.
One of the thwarted attempts to use Standing Orders to allow Steve and Jasvinder to address Synod concerned SO 120(1), which provides: “The Presidents may invite such persons as they think fit to address the Synod.” The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said that he was “happy to do that”, though he thought that Meg Munn, who was also present, “ought to be invited to say something as well.” That said, he added: “I think if people [i.e. Jasvinder and Steve] were able to make a short statement and then perhaps a final response from the panel, I will leave that in your hands, Chair. I think then we should include this item.” (emphasis added). He was thwarted, though, as the legal advice given to the Chair (who reported it to Synod with ‘a regret‘) was that it was “unlawful for one of the Presidents and not both to suspend the Standing Orders.” Leaving aside that Debbie Buggs’s request was to “ask the Archbishop of York in his capacity as President to ask Steve and Jasvinder to address Synod, please,” not to suspend the SOs, it is to be noted that the reason the Archbishop of Canterbury was not present was that he had left Synod to be with his dying mother.
11 CommentsSurviving Church has published this report on the current status of numerous safeguarding matters, few of which are on the agenda for the November synod. The editor of SC writes:
This is a copy of a newsletter written by Martin Sewell which helps a reader to understand at depth the issues on safeguarding that are coming before General Synod this week. Previous newsletters have been shared with synod members. (Ed.)
General Synod Safeguarding Newsletter
I recommend this report for the careful attention of all TA readers.
21 CommentsThis post will be updated as the meeting proceeds.
The Church of England’s General Synod is meeting this week. 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 Twitter account.
Order papers
Business done
Official press releases
Press reports and comment
Church Times
The Guardian
BBC News
The Washington Times
The Independent
The Living Church
Members’ blogs
Helen King
Miranda Threlfall-Holmes
72 CommentsPaul Roberts Inclusive Evangelicals On the use and abuse of the term ‘orthodox’
Mandy Ford ViaMedia.News Polluted Ground or Holy Ground? Going Forward to the November Synod
Church Times General Synod same-sex debate on knife edge
25 CommentsThe Questions (and answers) for next week’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod were issued today. They can be found online here: QUESTIONS Notice Paper November 2023 FINAL.
Questions will be taken in two groups; on Monday from 2.50pm to 4.30pm, any questions relating to Living in Love and Faith matters will be taken first, followed by other questions rotating through the boards and councils as is customary. Questions will resume at 11.45am on Tuesday 14 November until 12.45pm.
Update
Q56 and Q64 have been provided with the wrong answers in the Questions Notice Paper. The correct answers are in Notice Paper 8.
12 CommentsUpdated
Colin Coward has published this report of a meeting on Friday 3 November at Lambeth Palace Library: The Archbishop of Canterbury meets thirty four representatives of progressive organisations
On Friday afternoon, forty one people gathered forming a huge rectangle in the room on the top floor of the Lambeth Palace library. Thirty four were representatives of progressive organisations and networks seeking the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the Church of England.
I think the meeting represents a turning point in the decades-long movement in the Church of England towards achieving the full and equal inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in our church – but although progress may now be made, the future is still very uncertain….
Helen King has published another report of the same meeting: Going to the top: meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury
144 Comments…When Friday’s meeting was announced, at short notice, I heard from several stakeholders that they weren’t inclined to drag themselves into London yet again for what could well be a pointless meeting. We have bitter experience of being asked at these meetings to react to various scenarios, only for an entirely different scenario to be the one that is decided upon. Eventually they concluded that they may as well go; we’re nothing if not resilient. So, there we were. Again. Only, this time, all in the same room, rather than meeting the LLF team in sub-groups (Evangelical inclusives, Catholic inclusives, etc)…
A letter signed by over 600 evangelicals* in the Church of England has been published today. In advance of the forthcoming meeting of the General Synod (which meets later this month) the letter — published by the recently formed Inclusive Evangelicals — backs the course of action which was approved by the Synod in February 2023. It throws its support behind the full authorisation of Prayers of Love and Faith (including the standalone services) ‘for immediate use’. It also urges the House of Bishops to issue the Pastoral Guidance (which will replace the outdated Issues in Human Sexuality) ‘as a matter of urgency’ in order to enable Church of England ordained ministers to marry, irrespective of the sex of their intended spouse. It rejects calls for structural differentiation to accommodate those who are unwilling to accept the changes proposed in GS2289, including alternative episcopal structures. However, it does affirm and support the need for legal protection for the consciences of individual ministers, whether they choose to use Prayers of Love and Faith, or whether, on grounds of conscience, they choose not to.
Today’s letter marks a significant change in the political landscape for the debate over Living in Love and Faith. The evangelical voice on LLF has been divided since the conservative evangelical Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) amended its basis of faith to stipulate a traditional understanding of marriage and sexuality. This in turn led to a split in the evangelical constituency on General Synod as the Evangelical Group on General Synod (EGGS) made a similar change to its basis of faith, leading to the formation of the Evangelical Forum on General Synod as a place where affirming and non-affirming evangelicals could continue to meet together.
Inclusive Evangelicals was formed in the summer to provide a unifying point for evangelicals who wished to welcome the place of LGBTQIA+ Christians within the full life of the Church. Since that time, the membership of its Facebook Group has grown to almost 1300 members. Its website (https://inclusiveevangelicals.com) provides resources, stories and a blog to help evangelicals who wish to explore the issue of LGBTQIA+ inclusion in a positive way, from a biblical standpoint.
* If you have difficulty opening the letter PDF, try this link to a local copy: Inclusive Evangelicals LLF Open Letter
60 CommentsThe Church Times reports: Don’t delay guidance allowing priests to be in same-sex marriages, say 44 bishops
A GROUP of 44 bishops made a public statement on Wednesday afternoon expressing their hope that pastoral guidance allowing priests to be in same-sex marriages would be issued “without delay”.
The statement in favour of reform follows three weeks after 12 bishops publicly dissented from a majority decision by the House of Bishops to commend prayers for same-sex couples (News, 20 October).
The new group, 14 diocesan bishops and 30 suffragans, write that they “recognise the complexities of the Pastoral Guidance in relation to ministry, and also the need for a swift end to the current uncertainty for LGBTQIA+ clergy and ordinands…
Do read the whole article. The full text of the statement is copied here below the fold.
50 Comments