The Dean of Chichester, the Very Reverend Stephen Waine, has announced that he is to become the vicar of the benefice of Piddle Valley, Hilton and Ansty, Cheselbourne and Melcombe Horsey, in the Diocese of Salisbury.
28 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
New Independent Reviewer announced for House of Bishops Declaration
20/12/2022
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York with the agreement of the Chairs of the Houses of Clergy and Laity have announced that Maggie Swinson has been appointed as the next Independent Reviewer.
The long-serving former General Synod member, who is now Vice Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council, takes up the post left vacant following the death earlier this year of Sir William Fittall. She will work with a Deputy Independent Reviewer to be appointed early next year.
The ombudsman-style role rules on concerns and disputes over the operation of the House of Bishops declaration on the ministry of bishops and priests.
The declaration, drawn up in 2014 ahead of legislation paving the way for the consecration of women as bishops, sets out the arrangements for parishes that seek the priestly or episcopal ministry of men on grounds of theological conviction.
Mrs Swinson brings more than 30 years of experience as a General Synod member to the post of Independent Reviewer. She was closely involved in the arrangements and drafting of legislation for the ordination of women as priests and bishops in the Church of England.
Most recently she was part of the group led by Sir William that worked following 2012 on the facilitated conversations, declaration and legislation that was approved in 2014 for the ordination of women as bishops.
Mrs Swinson said: “I would like to pay tribute to the painstaking and brilliant work of Sir William in drawing up the legislation and arrangements for the ordination of women as bishops and his role after retirement as Secretary General as Independent Reviewer.
“The House of Bishops declaration commits the Church of England fully to all orders of ministry being open equally to all, without reference to gender. It also makes it clear that the Church of England remains committed to the flourishing of those who, on grounds of theological conviction, are unable to receive the ministry of women as bishops or priests.
“I am passionate about the principle of ensuring that there is respect for all and that the Church of England upholds the principles of the declaration.”
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York said: “We are delighted that Maggie has agreed to take up this role. She is a faithful servant of the Church of England with a heartfelt commitment to the mutual flourishing of all in the Church. Her in-depth knowledge and experience as a General Synod member on this issue is unsurpassed.”
More information
Back in October, Martin Sargeant pleaded guilty to fraud. The Cburch Times reported this: Sargeant pleads guilty in £5-million fraud case. Today, he was sentenced by the court.
Reports:
Press releases:
The Evening Standard includes this information:
…Sargeant, who grew up in Bournemouth, was handed a community order in 1992 for theft by employee and was jailed for 21 months on 1995 for offences including 19 counts of theft.
The court heard the convictions related to his previous employers, including a shoe shop and a bar, which he claimed to have disclosed to the CoE before he was employed – an assertion the church has neither confirmed nor denied…
Further references to these earlier events are included in this article: Life and Learning – Addiction and Recovery.
83 CommentsPress release from the Prime Minister’s Office. There is more information on the diocesan websites of Southwark and Bristol.
Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Kingston: 16 December 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Dr Jonathan Martin Gainsborough, to the Suffragan See of Kingston, in the Diocese of Southwark.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 16 December 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Canon Dr Jonathan Martin Gainsborough, Chaplain to the Bishop of Bristol, in the Diocese of Bristol, to the Suffragan See of Kingston, in the Diocese of Southwark, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Richard Cheetham following his retirement.
Martin was educated at the University of Bristol and The School of Oriental and African Studies and trained for ministry on the Southern Theological Education and Training Scheme. He served his title at St Luke’s, Barton Hill, in the Diocese of Bristol and was ordained Priest in 2011.
In 2013, Martin was appointed Priest-in-Charge at St Luke’s and in 2016 he became Canon Theologian at Bristol Cathedral. During this time, Martin was also Professor of Development Politics at the University of Bristol.
Martin took up his current role as Chaplain to the Bishop of Bristol in 2019.
31 CommentsThe Church Times reports (under the news story about further delay in the review of the John Smyth case):
Charity Commission appeal. A letter has been sent to the Charity Commission asking it to investigate the Church of England’s safeguarding practices. The 51 signatories include lay and ordained church members, survivors, and some elected members of General Synod.
The signatories express concern about safeguarding policies and practice in the Church of England, referring to “a highly dysfunctional church culture” that is “uniformly poor in responses to allegations of abuse”.
The Church lacks any “functional leadership” in safeguarding, the letter says; “current safeguarding processes, bodies, panels, and their personnel are incompetent, ineffective and unfit for purpose.”
A Church of England spokesperson said: “The Church is committed to the highest standards of safeguarding and this is carried out by professionals both nationally and in its 42 dioceses who support parish safeguarding officers who work in every church across the country. The Church is always open to scrutiny of its processes and will listen and respond to concerns when raised.”
See here for the full text of the Open Letter to the Charity Commission.
41 CommentsPress release from the Prime Minister’s Office. The London diocesan website has more information here.
Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Kensington: 15 December 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr Emma Gwynneth Ineson to the Suffragan See of Kensington.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 15 December 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr Emma Gwynneth Ineson, BA MPhil, Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, to the Suffragan See of Kensington, in the Diocese of London, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Graham Tomlin following his resignation.
Emma was educated at the University of Birmingham and trained for ministry at Trinity College, Bristol. She served her title at Christ Church, Dore in the Diocese of Sheffield and was ordained priest in 2001. Emma took up the role as Chaplain at Lee Abbey, Devon in 2003 before being appointed as Tutor of Practical and Pastoral Theology at Trinity College, Bristol in 2006, and Director of Pastoral Studies in 2010. She was appointed Principal in 2014. During this time she also served as Associate Minister of St Matthew’s, Kingsdown, and of St Mary Magdalene, Stoke Bishop, in the Diocese of Bristol.
In 2019, Emma was appointed Bishop of Penrith in the Diocese of Carlisle, and in 2021 she took up her current role as Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.
Emma was a member of the 2022 Lambeth Conference Design Group, chairs the Church of England Minority Ethnic Vocations Advisory Group, is a member of the Commission for Theological Education in the Anglican Communion, is a member of Tearfund Theology Committee, and is Central Chaplain to the Worldwide Mother’s Union.
51 Commentspress release 14 December: Living in Love and Faith (LLF) at the College of Bishops- December 2022
The full text of this is copied below the fold.
Church Times news report: Bishops tight-lipped on Church’s next steps for same-sex relationships
THE College and House of Bishops met for three days this week to draft the outcomes of the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) discernment process, which are to be presented to the General Synod in 2023.
These outcomes, or recommendations, regarding same-sex relationships have not yet been made public, however. Once they are formally agreed in a final LLF meeting of the bishops in January, they will be put to the vote when the Synod next meets in London in February.
A press release issued at the conclusion of the meeting on Wednesday said: “Bishops spent time praying, reflecting, and discussing a spectrum of possible ways forward for the Church regarding same-sex relationship and marriage, and the theological basis for each. They will continue those discussions at a third meeting in mid-January at which it is anticipated that they will agree an ‘offering’ to the Church, giving a clear sense of direction.”
The Synod would then be invited to “indicate its views” on these. This might include a vote on whether the Church should change canon law to permit same-sex blessings or marriages…
Updated again Wednesday
See report of previous meeting here.
There is a further meeting this week, from Monday to Wednesday, of the Church of England College of Bishops, to discuss what actions to take in relation to Living in Love and Faith. See here for the programme of meetings, leading up to the General Synod meeting in February.
“Bishops will gather for two days to draft the outcomes of the discernment process.”
Several articles have appeared in the past few days. (The first two items are behind a paywall.)
Steven Croft was interviewed in the Telegraph on Saturday: The Bishop of Oxford: ‘The Church is seen as unjust because of its treatment of LGBTQ+ people’
Justin Welby was interviewed in The Times on Monday: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby chooses silence on gay marriage
Marcus Green wrote this on his blog: Patiently
Jayne Ozanne wrote this on Via Media.News: An Open Letter to Bishops – Your Pastoral Charge
Equal has published Vigils for Equal Marriage while the bishops meet
Christian Today Welby staying quiet on LGBT views
Religion News Service Catherine Pepinster Church of England bishops head for showdown on marriage for same-sex couples
ViaMedia.News Charlie Bell Unity and the Myth of Neutrality
Premier Christianity Christopher Landau Welby won’t give his opinion on gay marriage. Perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer can help
I will update this article if other items appear.
41 CommentsUpdated 14 December
Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office. The Bishop of Ebbsfleet replaces the former Bishop of Maidstone and will minister to complementarian evangelical parishes throughout the Church of England. There is more detail in this Church of England press release.
Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Ebbsfleet: 9 December 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Dr Robert Munro to the Suffragan See of Ebbsfleet, in the Diocese of Canterbury.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP
Published 9 December 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Dr Robert Munro, Rector of the Benefice of St Mary’s Cheadle with St Cuthbert’s, in the Diocese of Chester, and Rural Dean of Cheadle, to the Suffragan See of Ebbsfleet, in the Diocese of Canterbury. This is in succession to The Right Reverend Rod Thomas following his retirement in a national role previously conducted by the Suffragan See of Maidstone.
Rob was educated at Bristol University and trained for ordained ministry at Oakhill Theological College. He was ordained Priest in 1994, served his title at St John the Baptist, Hartford, in the Diocese of Chester, and in 1997, was appointed Rector of St Wilfrid, Davenham.
In 2003, Rob was appointed to his current post as Rector of St Mary’s Cheadle with St Cuthbert’s, and completed his D.Min from Reformed Theological Seminary, USA. He has served three terms as Chair of the House of Clergy, and on the General Synod and the Dioceses’ Commission.
Update
The Chester diocesan website has this article which includes a link to a video of the Bishop of Chester interviewing the new bishop.
20 CommentsA local newspaper has reported that the Dean of Lichfield, the Very Revd Adrian Dorber, is retiring in the Spring. As yet this has not been announced on either the diocesan or cathedral websites.
3 CommentsPress release below from the Prime Minister’s Office
The Bishop of Oswestry replaces the former Bishop of Ebbsfleet as one of the Provincial Episcopal Visitors in the southern province of the Church of England. Fr Thomas will be consecrated on 2 February 2023. There is more detail in this Church of England press release.
Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Oswestry: 2 December 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Paul Thomas to the Suffragan See of Oswestry, in the Diocese of Lichfield.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 2 December 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Paul Thomas, Vicar of the Benefice of St James Paddington, in the Diocese of London, to the Suffragan See of Oswestry, in the Diocese of Lichfield.
Background
Paul was born and raised in West Wales and received a BA in Medieval English from Cardiff University in 1996 and an MA in 1998. He trained for ordained ministry at Ripon College Cuddesdon, and was ordained Deacon in 2002 and Priest in 2003.
Paul served his title at St Mary with Christ Church Wanstead, in the Diocese of Chelmsford, and in 2006 he was appointed Assistant Priest, and later Associate Rector, of St Marylebone in the Diocese of London. In 2008, he was additionally appointed Chaplain at St Marylebone Secondary School and Chaplain to the Royal Academy of Music.
Paul was appointed to his current role as Vicar of St James Paddington in 2011 and additionally served as Area Dean of Paddington from 2016 to 2021. Between 2017 and 2019 Paul also served as Acting Archdeacon of Charing Cross in the Two Cities Area of the Diocese of London.
23 CommentsPress release from the Prime Minister’s Office. There is more on the St Albans diocesan website.
Appointment of Suffragan Bishop of Hertford: 24 November 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Dr Jane Mainwaring, Archdeacon of St Albans, in the Diocese of St Albans, to the Suffragan See of Hertford, in the Diocese of St Albans.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 24 November 2022
The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Dr Jane Mainwaring, Archdeacon of St Albans, in the Diocese of St Albans, to the Suffragan See of Hertford, in the Diocese of St Albans, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Michael Beasley following his appointment as Bishop of Bath and Wells.
Background
Jane was educated at Leeds University and Trinity College, University of Wales, and trained for ministry on the East Anglian Ministerial Training Course. She served her title at St Gregory’s Sudbury, in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and in 2001 she was ordained Priest
In 2003, Jane was appointed Team Vicar of St Mark’s Hitchin, in the Diocese of St Albans, and from 2015 she also served as Rural Dean.
Jane took up her current role as Archdeacon of St Albans in 2020.
26 CommentsThe Very Reverend Christine Wilson, the Dean of Lincoln, recently anounced that she will retire on 31 March 2023. Her leaving service will be on 2 February. The announcement is in a chapter letter; you will have to scroll down to find it.
0 CommentsThe Rt Revd Dr Alan Winton, the suffragan Bishop of Thetford in the diocese of Norwich, has announced that he will retire in April 2023.
1 CommentThe Dean of Chelmsford, the Very Revd Nicholas Henshall, has announced that he is moving to be Parish Priest of St Thomas the Apostle, New Groombridge in the Diocese of Chichester. The Dean has written this letter about his move.
I failed to notice it at the time, but the Dean of Newcastle, the Very Revd Geoff Miller, announced his retirement some time ago, and his farewell service was last Sunday.
12 CommentsLast Saturday the Diocese of Oxford diocesan synod discussed (in a Zoom meeting) its response to the Christ Church Independent Governance Review.
Updated Monday 21 November
We reported on the terms of reference for this review last April and on Dominic Grieve’s appointment last June.
There are two papers:
These papers had been prepared well before last week’s announcement from the Charity Commission.
At the time of writing, there has still been no mention of the Charity Commission’s Official Warning on the Christ Church website.
Surviving Church has published this critique of the college by Martin Sewell: The Christ Church Malcontents gambled “The House”, they should bear the loss.
Update
And now also this critique, by the same author, of the Church of England: The Church of England has a case to answer for its role in the institutional bullying at Christ Church
Updated again 15 November
Press release from Charity Commission:
Charity regulator issues Official Warning to Christ Church, Oxford
The Charity Commission has issued an Official Warning to Christ Church, Oxford, after finding that the trustees failed to manage the charity’s resources responsibly
Christ Church has been involved in long and costly disputes involving its former Dean, who left his role earlier this year following a mediation process. In 2020 the Commission had told the parties to the dispute to enter into formal mediation.
The Commission has found that trustees failed to act on its previous advice, given between 2019-2020, to continue to have “close oversight of costs” in the dispute. In December 2021, the Commission asked the trustees to provide information about the costs of the actions connected to the former Dean and how these costs were being managed. The trustees were unable to provide the information in a timely manner. The Commission was later informed that the trustees had not set a fixed budget for the costs associated with the dispute, and instead that the full trustee body agreed expenditure retrospectively. Between August 2018 and late January 2022 the college had spent over £6.6m on legal and public relations fees in various actions related to the former Dean, of which over £5.3m appears to have been approved retrospectively.
The regulator is also critical of the trustees’ failure to ensure the college was accountable for its expenditure on legal and public relations fees during the dispute. The Commission has found that the charity’s published accounts (for years ending 2018-21) categorised costs associated with the charity’s actions involving the former Dean as “other direct costs – teaching, research and residential”. The Commission says that this has the potential to mislead the readers of the accounts. The trustees had been advised by the charity’s auditors to consider reporting on actions related to the dispute specifically, and to seek advice on its reporting.
The regulator has determined that these failures and omissions amount to misconduct and/or mismanagement in the charity’s administration.
The Official Warning sets out the actions that the Commission considers should be taken by the charity to rectify the misconduct and/or mismanagement and to address its concerns, including:
Failure to take steps to remedy the misconduct and/or mismanagement may lead to further regulatory action being taken against the charity’s trustees.
Helen Earner, Director of Regulatory Services at the Charity Commission, said:
These long and protracted disputes risked undermining the reputation of Christ Church and harming wider trust in charities.
It is not for us as regulator to take sides in disputes. Our role is to ensure that charities are governed effectively and that charitable funds are properly accounted for. All trustees must demonstrate sound financial stewardship, regardless of the level of resources available to them.
We consider that the actions of the trustees at Christ Church amount to mismanagement and/or misconduct, after they failed to manage the charity’s resources responsibly or ensure that the charity is accountable in the context of a costly dispute.
The Commission welcomes the fact that an independent governance review is now underway at the charity, led by the Rt Hon Dominic Grieve KC, and we expect the trustees to keep us updated on its progress.
94 CommentsGood governance should be a priority for all trustees, especially those involved in important national institutions such as Christ Church, Oxford”
The Church Times reports: New Dean of Canterbury comes under fire from GAFCON Primates
PRIMATES allied to the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) have condemned the Archbishop of Canterbury for “refusing to prevent” the appointment of the Very Revd David Monteith as Dean of Canterbury Cathedral (News, 14 October). They have urged Archbishop Welby to repent. Lambeth Palace has responded by saying that the statement is inaccurate.
The subject of Dean Monteith’s appointment takes up a large section of the communiqué issued by the Primates of North America (ACNA), Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, All Nigeria, and the Indian Ocean after a meeting of the GAFCON Primates Council meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, which ended on Wednesday…
And it concludes:
…A spokesperson from Lambeth Palace on Friday described the statement as “inaccurate in a number of ways including the nature of the Anglican Communion, the appointment of the Dean of Canterbury, and the understanding of civil partnerships in England”.
Lambeth also confirmed, in answer to a question from the Church Times, that the Archbishop was engaged in ongoing WhatsApp conversations with Primates. These are described as “closed and private groups and as a matter of policy, all conversations remain private and confidential”.
Editor’s note: The college at Oxford is, of course, Christ Church and not Christchurch. I have not corrected this error in the ISB’s statement.
The website of the Church of England’s Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) was finally launched yesterday.
Today the ISB has published a statement saying that it was pausing its review into the quality of earlier safeguarding investigations at Christ Church. This is copied below.
Christchurch review
A statement from the ISB
The ISB has upon invitation from the Diocese of Oxford and the Archbishops Council agreed to undertake a review into the quality of earlier safeguarding investigations at Christchurch. A copy of the published TOR is available here. A call for evidence has gone out and a timetable published. To date ISB has not started a qualitative review of the submitted evidence. The current constitution of the ISB, with the Chair currently stood down, places considerable additional capacity restraints on the limited resources of the ISB. The wider ISB work undertaken to date is in part set out in the newly launched website.
The question of independence is quite rightly a regular challenge to the ISB. The ISB does not currently operate as a stand-alone separate legal entity and this is something actively under consideration ahead of embarking upon the second phase of the ISB’s work in developing a pathway to embedding long lasting independent scrutiny and oversight of safeguarding within the COE.
The ISB is aware that other independent Reviews into Christ Church have been concluded and as such the ISB wishes to analyse those reviews to determine whether the ISB can usefully add to the body of independent work completed to date when weighed against the ISB’s finite resources and its current workload particularly directed towards the survivor community.
For these reasons the ISB has decided to pause the work on the Review pending consideration of other ISB priorities and the extent to which the ISB can usefully add to the work carried out by others and recommendations made.
One of the very clear functions of the ISB is to hold the COE to account for implementation of safeguarding best practice. To the extent the ISB endorses the recommendations made independently by other responsible bodies relating to Christ Church, they will seek assurance that those recommendations are implemented.
Survivor Advocate
Independent Safeguarding Board
[The review’s terms of reference are attached to the statement.]
10 CommentsThe Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has published its final report. There are three documents:
And a very short press release which links to a media pack which in turn links to a one page summary.
I will add links to media reports, and responses from other organisations as they become available.
The UK Government has responded:
The Church of England has responded: