From the Diocese of London website:
The ‘London Plan’ is a declaration made by the Bishop of London, all the Area Bishops and the Bishop of Fulham. It relates to the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993, the Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod 1993 and the Code of Practice 1994.
The London Plan sets out how certain parts of the Bishop of London’s authority – such as to ordain and license clergy – may be delegated to the other bishops of the Diocese of London.
Crucially it allows parochial church councils to petition the Bishop of London to allow pastoral care for that parish to be exercised by a bishop other than the Area Bishop, usually the Bishop of Fulham.
The plan is available for download: The London Plan.
This is a revised version of the Plan and is dated 1 July 2013.
56 CommentsSarah Greeks writes for Humane Pursuits: Half-time Huddle: Why I Lack Enthusiasm for the Church. She has 22 reasons.
Frank Brennan (an Australian Jesuit) writes for Eureka Street that It’s time to recognise secular same sex marriage.
Jonathan Clatworthy of Modern Church asks What is Christianity for anyway?
Nelson Jones asks in the New Statesman Does it matter that young people in Britain aren’t religious?
Michael Jensen presents an insider’s view for ABC Religion and Ethics: The church and the world: The politics of Sydney Anglicanism.
8 CommentsYES 2 Women Bishops has published this useful Infographic: women bishops in the Anglican Communion showing the status of women in the episcopate around the Anglican Communion.
They have also published a summary of what General Synod did last week, Synod’s resolve, and these thoughts on where we are now.
16 CommentsSo where does this all leave us? A few thoughts:
1. It seems premature for anyone to try to decide whether this form of legislation is acceptable or not. Whilst on the face of it, the proposal seems to be closer to what supporters of women bishops wanted and further from what opponents wanted, the reality of how this works will be in the Act of Synod or House of Bishops declaration which will set out the provisions for those opposed. There is a bit of a phoney war already underway with opponents of women bishops claiming that only provisions set out in the face of the legislation are adequate. In truth they already operate very happily under an Act of Synod which is detested by women clergy. This would imply that this form of provision is perfectly acceptable in other areas for those who cannot accept women bishops. It is perfectly possible, therefore, that any new Act of Synod provides precisely the provisions that opponents are looking for and is problematic for supporters of women bishops, so we really don’t yet know what the final package will look like. There is still a lot of work to do.
2. The synodical arithmetic has clearly not changed in any significant way – opponents remain opposed and supporters remain supportive. If it were put to another final vote today, requiring a two thirds majority in each house, it looks like it would still fail. For this reason, the legislative timetable is intriguing. In theory the final vote could come in the last sitting of the current synod, before elections are held and a new synod is formed. It seems implausible that a final vote will be held in the current synod session if it looks like the blocking minority remains opposed to the legislation in the run up to the final vote. Instead, the final vote will be shunted into the next Synod session when a new group have been elected, in the hope that the blocking minority is removed. Such a tactic is high risk, as there is no guarantee that this would be the outcome of synod elections. This means that unless some hearts and minds are won over in the next 12-18 months, synod elections will be dominated by this issue as each “side” seeks to get more of their number into general synod.
3. We’re back on our way. We must remain hopeful that Synod will succeed this time. The resolution passed last week is strong and positive, and so must we be. We must give thanks to those who have worked to make this happen, and resolve to pray and support them in the months and years ahead until we finally see the day when Christian women are able to fulfill their divine calling and serve as bishops.
Updated
As noted in the Comments below, the text of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 is now available online here.
The Roman Catholic Bishops of England & Wales issued this statement: Statement on on the passing of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act
…The new Act breaks the existing legal links between the institution of marriage and sexual complementarity. With this new legislation, marriage has now become an institution in which openness to children, and with it the responsibility on fathers and mothers to remain together to care for children born into their family unit, are no longer central. That is why we were opposed to this legislation on principle.
Along with others, we have expressed real concern about the deficiencies in the process by which this legislation came to Parliament, and the speed with which it has been rushed through. We are grateful particularly therefore to those Parliamentarians in both Houses who have sought to improve the Bill during its passage, so that it enshrines more effective protection for religious freedom.
A particular concern for us has also been the lack of effective protection for Churches which decide not to opt-in to conducting same sex marriages. Amendments made in the House of Lords though have significantly strengthened the legal protections in the Act for the Churches. We also welcome the Government’s amendment to the Public Order Act which makes it clear beyond doubt that “discussion or criticism of marriage which concerns the sex of the parties to the marriage shall not be taken of itself to be threatening or intended to stir up hatred”. Individuals are therefore protected from criminal sanction under the Public Order Act when discussing or expressing disagreement with same sex marriage.
In other respects, however, the amendments we suggested have not been accepted. We were concerned to provide legislative clarity for schools with a religious character. This was in order to ensure that these schools will be able to continue to teach in accordance with their religious tenets. Given the potential risk that future guidance given by a Secretary of State for education regarding sex and relationships education could now conflict with Church teaching on marriage, we were disappointed that an amendment to provide this clarity was not accepted. The Minister made clear in the House of Lords, however, that in “having regard” to such guidance now or in the future schools with a religious character can “take into account other matters, including in particular relevant religious tenets”, and that “having regard to a provision does not mean that it must be followed assiduously should there be good reason for not doing so”. These assurances go some way to meeting the concerns we and others expressed…
Christian Concern has issued this: Challenge issued to Archbishop over Lords vote on same sex marriage
…Mrs Minichiello Williams said in her letter: “I am surprised that the Church of England appears to be vacating the public square when it comes to the issue of marriage. Given the rich teaching of Scripture and strong tradition of marriage, this is something that the CofE should be able to comment on clearly, intelligently and winsomely.
“Marriage is something to be celebrated, promoted and, at this time, preserved. At a time when the nation needs to hear a prophetic voice on marriage, the CofE’s message is sadly mixed and, as a result, unclear.”Second Reading vote
A Church of England official replied on behalf of the Archbishop, in which he argued that the vote on the Bill at Second Reading had a detrimental effect on the chances of securing subsequent amendments to the Bill.
Lord Dear introduced a ‘wrecking amendment’ at Second Reading which, had it been successful, would have derailed the Bill.
The Church official said in his letter that this move went against House of Lords tradition and protocol and therefore was a serious misjudgement.
Precedent
But in her reply, Mrs Minichiello Williams referred to the clear precedent for voting at Second Reading as a means of voting on the principle of a Bill. She said: “It was very disappointing that the Archbishop himself said in the Second Reading debate that he was against the vote on Second Reading. In the event, of course, the Archbishop himself voted against the Bill, but his statement could well have dissuaded peers from voting with Lord Dear…
Media reports:
Sir Tony Baldry, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, recently gave this written answer in the House of Commons to a question on the cost to visitors of accessing religious buildings.
Religious Buildings: Fees and Charges
Dr Offord: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent assessment the Church Commissioners have made of the cost to visitors of accessing religious buildings. [163105]
Sir Tony Baldry: Of the 42 Dioceses in England (excluding Sodor and Man and Europe) only nine cathedrals charge an entry fee. Chester Cathedral has just abolished all entry charges. Unlike the national museums none of the Church of England’s cathedral or church buildings receive grant in aid from the Government.
All cathedrals which charge for entry give free access to those attending services (of which there are a number every day of the week), to those who arrive on pilgrimage or wish to pray, some give free entry on Sundays and at other times, generally early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and others give free entry to local residents or church attenders in their Dioceses.
Only two of the great parish churches charge entry fees or a modest charge to enter part of the church. They are St Bartholomew’s the Great in London Diocese and Holy Trinity Church, Stratford upon Avon in Coventry diocese the resting place of William Shakespeare.
Both the churches and cathedrals resort to charging primarily to recover the cost of repairing the fabric of the building due to the large volume of tourist visitors they receive.
The English Cathedrals and Royal Peculiars that currently charge for entry as of June 2013:
Canterbury
Coventry
Ely
Exeter
Lincoln
Christ Church, Oxford (to enter college)
St George’s Chapel, Windsor (to enter castle)(1)
St Paul’s
Westminster Abbey(1)
Winchester
York Minster
(1) Royal Peculiar
60 CommentsThe Catholic Group in General Synod issued a statement last week after the General Synod debate on Women in the Episcopate. It is not yet available on the Group’s website, but we have been given this copy.
1 CommentStatement from the Catholic Group in General Synod
We welcome the clear commitment of General Synod to make provision for all in the Church of England.
We are fully supportive of a new kind of legislative process involving facilitated conversations as outlined by the Bishop of Willesden and endorsed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and most members of Synod.
It is clear, from the voting on a number of the amendments, that the amended Option 1 will need a considerable amount of further work in order to build a sufficient consensus for when it comes to the Synod for Final Approval in 2015.
Martin Dales on behalf of the Group
The Quakers have issued this press release: Quakers greet Lords’ support for equal marriage.
The Unitarians issued Unitarians welcome further step forward for Same Sex Marriage.
The Evangelical Alliance published Christians must model real marriage to society
The Christian Institute sent this email to its mailing list: Deeply disappointed, but utterly resolved to keep proclaiming the truth. And later it published Wrecking marriage will ‘come back to bite’ PM.
The Campaign For Marriage issued this: Party machines push Bill through.
Christian Concern has issued this: Peers approve same sex marriage bill.
20 CommentsThe House of Commons will shortly consider the amendments made to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill by the House of Lords.
Several documents have been published:
A list of all the amendments made by the Lords.
David Burrowes MP has proposed an amendment to one of those made in the Lords.
The House of Commons Library has published an analysis of the Lords amendments which can be found linked from this page.
The amendments have been marshalled for the Commons debate in this manner.
Two hours have been allowed for the debate which will start around 7.45 pm or so.
Update
The House of Commons voted to accept all the amendments, by voice vote.
The Hansard record starts here.
4 CommentsAs background to the following news reports, here is an Opinion article from the Nigerian website Leadership entitled Much Ado About The Return Of Death Penalty.
The return of death penalty in the country after a seven-year moratorium has been on the front burner of public discussion, while the trend has been heavily criticised by organisations in defence of human rights, many people believe it is a step in the right direction. Uche Uduma samples the opinions of Nigerians on the issue.
In a bid to tackle the problem of prison congestion in the country, President Goodluck Jonathan recently called on the 36 state governors to sign death warrants to facilitate the immediate execution of the over 900 death row inmates in prisons spread across the country.
Following the directive by the President, the Edo state Governor Adams Oshomole, signed the death warrants of four convicted prisoners in the state prison. The recent execution of four convicts in Benin put an end to a seven-year moratorium on death penalty in the country. The execution of a fifth condemned inmate, who was to be executed by firing squad was not carried out because the prison where the convict was incarcerated does not have facilities to carry out such execution.
Since 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted four resolutions calling on States to establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to abolishing it. In line with this, about 150 of the UN’s 193 Member States have either abolished the death penalty or no longer practice it. The return of death penalty in Nigeria has obviously put a strain on the campaign by United Nations to eliminate death penalty as a form of punishment. However, other states in Nigeria are making steps to hand down more death penalties.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, at the official opening of the 5th World Conference against the death penalty last week implored political leaders in countries that still have such laws in their justice systems across the world to abolish it. He pointed that the campaign to eliminate the death penalty as a form of punishment has mainly faced resistance from political leaders…
Now here are several reports about the Anglican Primate’s contribution to this debate.
34 CommentsCharles Moore writes in The Telegraph Archbishop Justin Welby: ‘I was embarrassed. It was like getting measles’. “Forty years ago, Justin Welby was an unhappy pupil at Eton. Now, a relaxed Archbishop of Canterbury, he relives his unsettling moment of conversion and his wounded past.”
Ben Summerskill is interviewed by the Catholic Herald ‘We don’t think religion is evil or wicked’.
In the Church Times Church interns: a new injustice. “Young volunteers are being exploited by congregations, writes an intern.”
Garry Wills in The New York Review of Books Popes Making Popes Saints
Isabel Harman in The Telegraph The Archbishop of Canterbury must wean the Church off its benefit addiction. “Justin Welby understands that welfare benefits do not fix everything. Now he needs to educate the Church of England.”
Giles Fraser writes for The Guardian that The real power of the church lies not in its prince bishops but its congregations. “Faith groups are ideally placed to drive community organising, but they must be prepared to make trouble.”
John Milbank wrties in The Guardian that The church offers a holistic solution to child poverty. “This dire situation has to be addressed through the social dimension, not through top-down, impersonal tinkering.”
24 CommentsUpdated yet again Tuesday afternoon
The Third Reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in the House of Lords is scheduled for Monday 15 July.
The five new amendments marshalled for consideration are related to the issue of pension equalisation, and all have government approval.
The bill as amended so far is now reprinted and available as a PDF File here.
David Pocklington has provided an analysis of the numerous amendments that have been approved.
Updates
The bill has now passed at Third Reading in the House of Lords. Because of some amendments made during its passage in that house, it now returns to the House of Commons. Further action there is likely tomorrow or Wednesday.
The Hansard record of this debate starts here. PDF for the day here.
Intervention by the Bishop of Norwich here. Full text below the fold.
Media reports:
David Pocklington has again provided a detailed analysis of Monday’s proceedings.
43 CommentsUpdated again 28 July
Another Bed and Breakfast owner, Susanne Wilkinson, has lost her case at the Court of Appeal, but has been given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, where her case will be joined with that of Peter and Hazelmary Bull, and heard on 9 October.
Media reports:
Telegraph Christian B&B owner ordered to compensate gay couple takes fight to Supreme Court
Guardian B&B owner who turned away gay couple loses appeal
BBC B&B owner who turned away gay couple loses appeal
The full text of the judgment can be found here, or as a PDF file over here.
The earlier court hearing was discussed last October on the UK Human Rights Blog by Alasdair Henderson in The thorny issue of religious belief and discrimination law (again).
Updates
Frank Cranmer at Law & Religion UK has a detailed discussion of the new judgment, in Gay couples, B&B and human rights again: Black & Anor v Wilkinson.
Alasdair Henderson at the UK Human Rights Blog has Second Christian B&B case headed for the Supreme Court
6 CommentsIt has been announced that the Bishop of Huntingdon (a suffragan see in the diocese of Ely), the Rt Revd David Thomson, is to be the ‘interim bishop’ for the diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The See will be vacant as a result of Bishop Nigel Stock’s appointment to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s staff as bishop at Lambeth. Bishop David’s appointment will take effect in October 2013 and will continue until a new diocesan bishop is selected.
An announcement from the diocese of Ely quotes Bishop David as saying, ‘It’s a great privilege to be asked to work as a shepherd for Christ’s people in the diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich as they wait for a new diocesan bishop. I pray that I will be able to help them to continue to grow in faith, deepen in discipleship, and share richly the good things God has given us with the communities we serve.’
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, said, ‘I am delighted to have commissioned Dr David Thomson, Bishop of Huntingdon, to care for the Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich during the period until a new diocesan bishop is chosen and arrives. Bishop David combines the gifts of a bishop with long experience as a parish priest and archdeacon.’
The announcement from the diocese of Ely appears below the fold.
20 CommentsThe CofE has published two summaries of the recent Synod.
First is a two-sided A3 illustrated version: In Review.
Second is an A5 insert for parish magazines, without illustrations but with a slightly fuller text: In Focus.
Both of the above are pdf files ready for printing, but the text of the magazine insert is also available as an rtf file.
0 CommentsHere are some reflections and comments on what happened at General Synod.
Nick Baines (Bishop of Bradford) Mixed feelings
Andrew Carey The ghastly Indabas return
Colin Coward A health report on the C of E following the York Synod
Steven Croft (Bishop of Sheffield) Three processes in one: today’s Synod debate on Bishops
Jeremy Fletcher General Synod July 2013 – Jeremy’s Report
Giles Fraser General Synod brings out the worst in the Church of England – and in me
Jody Stowell Women bishops: Building bridges to avoid repeating history
Chris Sugden Update to AAC from Canon Chris Sugden
Miranda Threlfall-Holmes Starting again on women bishops
Lichfield Diocese’s reps reflect on General Synod
Church Times leader Has the Synod shifted at all?
There are also a few more press reports.
6 CommentsToday’s Church Times has revised versions of two reports published immediately after the Synod debates:
Ed Thornton, Madeleine Davies, Gavin Drake and Glyn Paflin Synod makes a new start on women bishops in York
Madeleine Davies and Gavin Drake Synod approves new West Yorkshire dioceseThe Living Church Synod Slogs through in York
Amaris Cole in The Church of England Newspaper Women bishops back on track
Updated Friday lunchtime
The following exchange occurred on 4 July in the House of Commons, when the Second Church Estates Commissioner was answering Questions:
Ben Bradshaw (Exeter, Labour)
What guidance the Church of England plans to issue to parishes and Church schools on pastoral care for same sex couples and their children.Tony Baldry (Second Church Estates Commissioner; Banbury, Conservative)
The House of Bishops issued a pastoral statement before the Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force in 2005. I expect that the House of Bishops will want to issue a further statement before the legislation on same-sex marriage comes into force. The House of Bishops is due to consider this December a report on sexuality, chaired by former permanent secretary Sir Joseph Pilling. The work of that group will assist the House of Bishops in its deliberations.Ben Bradshaw (Exeter, Labour)
I am grateful for that reply, because I recently came across a case of a Christian couple in a same-sex relationship and with children in the local Church primary school to whom it was made clear by the local conservative evangelical church that they would not be welcome to worship in it. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that such intolerance and bigotry have no place whatever in the Church of England? When the Church issues guidance, it is very important that that is made quite clear to both parishes and Church schools.Tony Baldry (Second Church Estates Commissioner; Banbury, Conservative)
Of course I agree with the right hon. Gentleman about that. If he would like to give me the details of that case, I will most certainly take it up with the diocesan education officer. Children in Church schools come from a wide variety of family backgrounds, and teachers offer the same compassion and care for all. Each child is valued as a child of God and deserving of the very best that schools can offer. I would not expect any Church school to discriminate against any child, whatever their personal or family circumstances. If any right hon. or hon. Member comes across any instance where he feels that a Church school is in any way falling short of the standards that this House would expect, I hope they will get in touch with me.
This led to a number of reports in the media of the underlying incident in Devon:
Church of England Newspaper Dean’s surprise as gay couple are banned from worship
BBC Exeter church in ‘gay couple worship ban’
Western Morning News Gay Christians ‘not welcome in West church’
Update
The Diocese of Exeter issued the following statement earlier this week:
46 CommentsPhilip Mantell, director of education for the Diocese of Exeter: “All our church schools work to serve the needs of all children and families in their communities and we recognize that families are very varied and we want all children to feel comfortable and flourish.
We fully support and uphold the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent statement on church schools addressing homophobia.
We have contacted Ben Bradshaw’s office to ask for details of the case to which he referred but have yet to hear back.”
The think tank, ResPublica, has published a report, authored by Philip Blond and James Noyes, entitled Holistic Mission: Social action and the Church of England.
The report itself can be downloaded as a PDF file.
The survey data it uses can also be downloaded from the Research by Design website.
The press release from ResPublica is here. The report makes the following recommendations:
The House of Lords completed Report stage on the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill on Wednesday.
For a report on the Monday session, go here.
The Hansard record of yesterday’s debate begins here, and continues here.
The name index is here. The PDF file for the day is here.
The Bishop of Leicester introduced Amendment 95, designed to amend the Education Act 1996, and the debate on this starts here. In the end, he withdrew the amendment.
Updates
David Pocklington’s analysis of the day can be found here.
12 CommentsQuestion 65 Rachel Jepson to the Chair of the Board of Education
What progress has been made by the Board on developing recommended policies and staff-training materials relating to the bullying of LGBT people, and have any recommendations of the Board in those respects been implemented in any Church of England schools?
Answer from the Bishop of Oxford
The Board of Education/National Society, and indeed all Diocesan Boards of Education, are clear that any form of bullying is unacceptable in Church of England schools. If the Board became aware that existing tried and tested materials for both staff training and pupil activities were proving inadequate in developing relationships of respect and acceptance for all, the Board would take advice from the schools to determine appropriate action.
Question 66 Robin Hall
How many incidents of homophobic bullying were recorded in Church of England schools in the last school year (or the most recent school year for which statistics are available)?
Answer
No national or even diocesan figures are collected.
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Earlier in the day, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his Presidential Address had said this:
11 Comments…The majority of the population rightly detests homophobic behaviour or anything that looks like it. And sometimes they look at us and see what they don’t like. I don’t like saying that. I’ve resisted that thought. But in that debate I heard it, and I could not walk away from it. We all know that it is utterly horrifying. to hear, as we did this week, of gay people executed in Iran for being gay, or equivalents elsewhere. With nearly a million children educated in our schools we not only must demonstrate a profound commitment to stamp out such stereotyping and bullying; but we must also take action. We are therefore developing a programme for use in our schools, taking the best advice we can find anywhere, that specifically targets such bullying. More than that, we need also to ensure that what we do and say in this Synod, as we debate these issues, demonstrates above all the lavish love of God to all of us, who are all without exception sinners. Again this requires radical and prophetic words which lavish gracious truth…
Last month I outlined the proposals from the Elections Review Group on the composition and electorate of the General Synod: part 1 and part 2. The Business Committee brought these to Synod for debate as the last items of business (apart from farewells) at Synod yesterday morning.
The proposals in part 1 were largely uncontroversial, and Synod agreed to send the draft legislation to a revision committee. But there was a lot of opposition to the proposal to abolish the university constituencies rather than reform them (and the way in which the review group had made its decision), and Synod passed this following motion, proposed by Professor Richard Burridge:
That this Synod request that the Steering Committee appointed under SO 49 to be in charge of the draft legislation arising from GS 1901 undertake full consultation with the University proctors regarding the proposals relating to the University constituencies in GS 1901, GS 1902 and GS 1904 and bring forward further proposals for consideration by the Revision Committee for the reform of those constituencies, based on accurate information.
Synod then moved onto part 2, of which the main part is the possibility of a change in the electorate for the House of Laity. Although the Business Committee supported replacing the lay members of deanery synods by an electoral college, they wanted to test the mind of Synod before producing any draft legislation. There is also a proposal to conduct elections online. But there was not time to complete the debate, and it was adjourned to a future group of sessions. Which group will be decided by the Business Committee.
The official summary of all Tuesday’s business is online, but strangely there is no mention of Professor Burridge’s motion.
4 Comments