The LLF documents that I linked to last week, and which were subsequently taken down from the Church of England website, have reappeared (in each case as version 2). I cannot see any differences in the contents of the old and new versions.
Members of the LLF Implementation Working Groups
LLF Implementation Working Groups Terms of Reference
There is an accompanying press release which is copied below.
Update from the Living in Love and Faith implementation working groups
02/05/2023
A series of working groups taking forward proposals for the Church of England on identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage are up and running.
At its February meeting in London, the Church of England’s General Synod, considered proposals from the bishops which would enable same-sex couples who have marked a significant stage of their relationship such as a civil marriage or civil partnership to come to church to give thanks, offer prayers of dedication to God and to receive God’s blessing.
As well as a landmark debate on a motion (below), Synod members also met in smaller groups to consider and comment on a set of draft texts known as Prayers of Love and Faith, and to offer their views on proposed pastoral guidance.
At its meeting in March, the College of Bishops agreed to set up three working groups to implement Synod’s decision, tasked with:
The full membership of the groups, drawn from across the Church of England, is below and the draft terms of reference for the groups can be found on the Living in Love and Faith section of the Church of England website.
Their work will be co-ordinated by a steering group co-chaired by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and the Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen.
The groups met together in London recently and have been meeting individually regularly.
Steering Group
Bishop Sarah Mullally (Co-Chair)
Bishop Philip Mounstephen (Co-Chair)
and the Co-Chairs of the Working Groups
Pastoral Guidance
Bishop Debbie Sellin (Co-Chair)
Bishop Sam Corley (Co-Chair)
Bishop Nick Chamberlain
Bishop Stephen Conway
Bishop Jonathan Frost
Bishop Viv Faull
Bishop Dagmar Winter
Bishop Pete Wilcox
Bishop Jill Duff
Bishop Paul Thomas
Jo Winn-Smith
Neil Patterson
Charlie Bell
Sarah Jackson
Andrew Goddard
David Bennett
and Supporting staff
Prayers of Love and Faith
Bishop Robert Atwell (Co-Chair)
Bishop Rosemarie Mallet (Co-Chair)
Bishop Michael Ipgrave
Bishop Libby Lane
Bishop Christopher Cocksworth
Bishop Jonathan Baker
Bishop Ruth Bushyager
David Runcorn
Rachel Mann
Leah Vasey-Saunders
Fiona Gibson
and Supporting staff
Pastoral Reassurance
Bishop Andrew Watson (Co-Chair)
Bishop Jackie Searle (Co-Chair)
Bishop Eleanor Sanderson
Bishop Sophie Jelley
Bishop John Holbrook
Bishop Martin Seeley
Bishop Gavin Collins
Bishop Rob Saner-Haigh
Bishop Roger Morris
Joe Hawes
Izzy McDonald-Booth
Christopher Landau
Charlie Skrine
Barney de Berry
Esther Prior
Ed Shaw
Kate Wharton
Tim Goode
Giles Goddard
and Supporting staff
The full motion, as amended, approved by Synod was as follows:
‘That this Synod, recognising the commitment to learning and deep listening to God and to each other of the Living in Love and Faith process, and desiring with God’s help to journey together while acknowledging the different deeply held convictions within the Church:
Still not giving anyone except bishops their titles, I see.
From which one might infer that the College of Bishops sees everything in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’.
“I have my twelve disciples up and running”.
Can you imagine it ? I can’t.
Is the Church of England a church or a corporate structure ? This isn’t merely a flippant remark it is fundamental. A church that consists of committees and management speak doesn’t have much of a long term future.
.
During my civil service career I worked for two government organisations, one a service agency and the other a council, both of which lost sight of reality and the reason for their existence. Their hierarchies came to believe they were indispensable to government and society; neither of them exist any more, having fallen prey to governments which thought otherwise. The more I read of the bishops and their institutions on this site, the more the CofE reminds me of them.
We must wait and see – and we might not have to wait very much longer.
What is the problem with “committees”? Surely a committee is simply a process of a group of people coming together to optimise decision making through combining a range of different skills and experiences Even St Benedict advised the Prior to consult widely with his community before making a decision, and my local cathedral has a chapter house where a committee/chapter met to facilitate such consultation. Rather than structure it is process that matters. Ensuring that the chapter or committee or council (or whatever it is called) has a sufficiently wide breadth of experience within it, and that everybody has a… Read more »
There’s at least one LGBTQ member of the Prayers of Love and Faith committee
Thank you for clarifying. Is it possible to have the name of the relevant person?
They already HAVE indicated clear departure from the doctrine of the Church of England. No doubt about it. You cannot successfully or rightly bless that of which God vehemently disapproves.
‘vehemently’? Interesting.
That’s your opinion, many Christians believe differently
By what total arrogance do you dare to decide what God “vehemently disapproves of” ? Christians believe in a loving God What you propose is “a loving God” who creates a human being with a need to love someone of their own gender and then “vehemently disapproves of” the sexual expression of that love. Does that make any kind of sense ?
Do you seriously imagine that God “vehemently disapproves” of the profound, moving and Godly Christian witness of someone like Bishop Cherry Vann ?
How dare you use God to justify your human prejudice !
I recall a very anti-christian (committed communist) manager who had never heard the word ‘anathama’ until she talked to another colleague, a born-again Christian about homosexuality. He quoted Romans to her – in his translation it used the word to describe same sex relationships. David’s comment rings a bell in my own mind. How far do you go in believing that God is directly involved in the conception of any baby? (I believe the Jewish community think the Holy Spirit is actually involved in the initial act) If you do believe that the Almighty is directly involved, then is the… Read more »
Obedience, not arrogance.
God vehemently wants us to love one another and Jesus told us not to judge. You can’t be a successful church if you don’t make every effort to love all of God’s children. I know that you have a right to your bias, creating God in your image rather than seeing the image of God in all people, but your very strange bias is no basis to run a church.