Updated Monday morning
The Independent has three items:
News article: Condemnation for bishop who called for gay people to ‘repent’ by Lewis Smith
Opinion column: Forget about a ‘cure’ for homosexuality by Philip Hensher
Leading article: The bishop is embracing a lost cause
George Pitcher at the Telegraph has There’s no pride in bashing gays, Bishop:
3 Comments…But his comments in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph, which he is expected to repeat today, that homosexuals should “repent and be changed” cannot pass unchallenged. Or rather, they should not go challenged only by homosexual rights campaigners, such as Peter Tatchell, who you would expect to be somewhat antipathetic to the expressed view.
Because Dr Nazir-Ali is wrong in the eyes of a broad swath of kind and tolerant people of differing sexualities, social mores and of the Christian faith, other faiths and no faith at all. Badly, badly wrong…
The Times Ruth Gledhill Bishop of Sherborne Graham Kings says new group could split Church
…Dr Graham Kings, consecrated last month as Bishop of Sherborne and founder of the moderate evangelical grouping Fulcrum, said the new fellowship represented a structure that would allow its founders to “split” from the Church of England.
Dr Kings said: “I do not see a problem with a voluntary agency.”
But he said there was evidence that the fellowship would have no more than formal links with the Church of England, and he feared that these could easily be broken.
“I think there should be deep, invigorating moral links between the new fellowship and the Church of England,” Dr Kings said.
“There should not be a split, but one of their frontline clergymen has already split from the Church of England. Another one is seeking alternative episcopal oversight, which is not encouraging. It would be disastrous if the new fellowship moves from being a voluntary agency to becoming a Church within a Church, which is what happened in America.”
…The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans is opposed to the ordination of gay clergy, blessings for gay marriage or civil partnership, and the consecration of women bishops.
The new fellowship will today publish letters from the Queen, supreme governor of the Church of England, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, acknowledging its launch.
Buckingham Palace said that it did not comment on private correspondence. However, sources told The Times that the letters from the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury were standard acknowledgements and should not be interpreted as endorsements of the fellowship…
Guardian Riazat Butt Dissident Anglicans launch protest movement against CofE liberalism
…One of the English churchmen supporting the FCA is Michael Nazir-Ali, bishop of Rochester, who continues to draw criticism for his views on homosexuality.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, and then today from the pulpit of the Church of St Peter in Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire, he said homosexuality was a threat to the Christian way of life and that it had divided the Anglican communion.
In his sermon he said: “When we ignore what the Bible tells us we do so at our peril, as we continually discover.
“If we continue in God’s way then we will flourish as persons. Marriage will be strong, family will be strong and society will be strong. It’s not rocket science.”
The other danger to Christians and the Church of England was “syncretism” ‑ the attempted reconciliation of opposing principles or beliefs, he said. “It happens daily when we capitulate to the forces around us,” he warned. “The values of culture are not necessarily values of the Christian faith…”
Telegraph Martin Beckford and Jonathan Wynne-Jones Queen sends ‘supportive’ letters to leaders of church movement that has angered gay campaigners
4 Comments…Leading figures in the FCA wrote to the Queen to assure her of their loyalty to the Church of England following last year’s upheavals, and a reply sent on her behalf said she understood their concerns about the future of the Communion.
The clerics wrote again recently, telling the monarch about their plans for tomorrow’s gathering, which will be attended by the bishops of Exeter and Chichester and Rochester as well as conservative archbishops from around the world.
Courtiers wrote back saying that the Queen hoped the event would be successful and memorable.
Buckingham Palace said it would not comment on private correspondence. Royal sources said the Queen was not endorsing the FCA and pointed out that she corresponds with a great number of organisations.
Updated Sunday morning
Jonathan Wynne-Jones reports that:
…In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Dr Nazir-Ali said: “We want to uphold the traditional teaching of the Bible. We believe that God has revealed his purpose about how we are made.
“People who depart from this don’t share the same faith. They are acting in a way that is not normative according to what God has revealed in the Bible.
“The Bible’s teaching shows that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is the way to express our sexual nature.
“We welcome homosexuals, we don’t want to exclude people, but we want them to repent and be changed.”
Read the whole report at Change and repent, bishop tells gays.
…Derek Munn, the director of public affairs for Stonewall, the homosexual campaign group, criticised Dr Nazir-Ali’s comments.
“It is unfortunate that in 2009, a church leader should continue to promote inequality and intolerance,” he said.
“Stonewall knows that most people of faith are accepting of lesbian and gay people. We also know that many lesbian and gay people who are themselves religious believers are not well served by some of those who claim to speak on their behalf.”
The Rev Dr Giles Fraser, the president of the Inclusive Church, a liberal grouping in the Church of England, said: “Homosexuality is not a sin. It is the way many people love each other and is a gift from God. Ordinary people in the pews know this. And they are a lot more theologically aware than the handful of narrow- minded bishops who want to play politics with the Anglican Communion.”
This story has been commented on by Damian Thompson of the Telegraph with the headline ‘Repent!’ Rochester tells gays as Synod starts. ‘No, you repent’, snap other bishops. ‘You’re spoiling everything!’ .
The BBC has Gay row ‘may cause Church split’.
And from the USA, where there is another Bishop of Rochester, comes TWO BISHOPS OF ROCHESTER OFFER DIFFERENT MESSAGES TO THE CHURCH.
Religious Intelligence has Bishop warns of liberal threat to faith.
16 CommentsJane Shaw writes in the Guardian about feeding in church.
Roderick Strange writes in The Times about the virgin birth.
Giles Fraser asks in the Church Times Is secular France so fragile?
Over at Cif belief, Giles answers the question Is religion the opium of the people? in a column titled Radical faith.
Civitas published a report on sharia law. You can find the report itself as a PDF file, here. By far the most interesting column published in consequence of this report is Sharia law and me at Cif belief.
Madeleine Bunting reported on a seminar at Lambeth Palace, see Science, religion and our shared future.
17 CommentsUpdated Tuesday
This week’s edition of The Tablet has a news report, unfortunately subscriber-only until next Friday, that the Attorney-General, Baroness Scotland “has pledged to help the Church gain amendments to parts of the proposed Equality Bill.”
The essence of this report is however contained in the article published by the National Secular Society and titled Catholic Attorney General seeks to water down protections under Equality Bill.
There is some confused reporting here. It’s not clear whether the confusion is due to the reporter, or to what Mr Kornicki said.
The clause that deals with exemptions on the basis of Religion as the “protected characteristic” is Schedule 9, Clause 3.
This is entirely separate from Clause 2, which deals with exemptions on various other bases not including Religion, and which incorporates the new explicit definition of “the purposes of an organised religion”. The government contends that this definition is not a narrowing of the existing law, but the churches appear not to accept that view.
But in any case, that definition has no bearing on Clause 3, which reads as follows:
Other requirements relating to religion or belief
3 A person (A) with an ethos based on religion or belief does not contravene a provision mentioned in paragraph 1(2) by applying in relation to work a requirement to be of a particular religion or belief if A shows that, having regard to that ethos and to the nature or context of the work—
(a) it is an occupational requirement,
(b) the application of the requirement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, and
(c) the person to whom A applies the requirement does not meet it (or A has reasonable grounds for not being satisfied that the person meets it).
Note that this exemption is available to any organisation “with an ethos based on religion or belief” and is not limited to “organised religion” at all.
So it is unlikely, I think, that what Baroness Scotland, Richard Kornicki, and Stephen Pound are concerned about is in fact to do with discrimination “against those who don’t share their faith”. It’s much more likely that they are concerned with discrimination on one or more of the grounds listed in Clause 2.
Tuesday update
I have now heard back from the offices of both the Attorney-General and the Catholic Bishops Conference, and can confirm that:
– it is only Clause 2 which is the subject of concern
– Baroness Scotland does not intend to submit any amendment to the bill.
Updated Saturday evening
According to Anglican Mainstream:
15 CommentsWe are encouraged by the number of Church of England Bishops who have indicated their attendance.
These include:
Bishop Michael Langrish, Exeter
Bishop David Urquhart, Birmingham
Bishop Michael Nazir Ali, Rochester
Bishop John Hind, Chichester
Bishop Wallace Benn, Lewes
Bishop Colin Fletcher, Dorchester
Bishop Keith Sinclair, Birkenhead
Bishop John Broadhurst, Fulham
Bishop Andrew Burnham, Ebbsfleet
Bishop Keith Newton, Richborough
Bishop John Ball (Retd – Assistant in Chelmsford)
Bishop Colin Bazley (Retd – Assistant in Chester)
Bishop John Ellison (Retd – Assistant in Winchester)
Bishop Maurice Sinclair (Retd – Assistant in Birmingham)Bishop Peter Forster of Chester, the Bishop-elect [sic] of Southwell and Nottingham, Paul Butler, and Bishop Michael Scott-Joynt of Winchester have sent public messages of support.
Updated Friday evening
Pat Ashworth in the Church Times has a comprehensive report of events leading up to Monday’s UK launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA), including new shenanigans in the Diocese of Southwark.
Read Fellowship leaders take flak in run-up to London launch.
Some related items:
Friday evening update
The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Bishop David Chillingworth has been interviewed by Mad Priest, who describes him as “quite intelligent for a bishop”.
Judge for yourself by reading the interview in full here.
Bishop David’s own blog is here.
4 CommentsDave Walker has collected some weird items in a posting at the Church Times blog titled The Church Society on ‘strange vestments and ceremonies’.
And something even weirder crops up in an article for the Washington Times by Julia Duin titled New Anglicans split on women.
22 CommentsI queried retired Eau Claire, Wis., Bishop William Wantland, an old friend and an ardent opponent of ordaining women. He reminded me that 22 of the ACNA’s 28 dioceses do not allow female priests. It’s a system known as “dual integrity,” dioceses that differ on a question where Scripture can be read both ways agree to respect and live with each other’s views.
I asked him if he wanted the ACNA to eventually outlaw ordaining women entirely.
“Of course. That’s our mission,” he said. “Christ is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. The priest at the altar is an icon of Christ. What image is that if the person at the altar is a woman? It’s a lesbian relationship.”
ENS has this report:
Private meeting with Williams at convention will address sexuality, ministry
10 CommentsEight members of the Episcopal Church’s House of Deputies are scheduled meet privately with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at General Convention in a session that is intended in part to address lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in the church.
General Convention meets July 8-17 in Anaheim, California, and Williams will be present July 7-9.
The session is not an official convention meeting and thus there has been no announcement of the plans. However, when contacted by Episcopal News Service, the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe of the Diocese of California confirmed the details.
Barlowe said that he and the other deputies understood the meeting was to be brief and private, but that it was not a secret…
Lisa Fox has published all but two of the names of the group studying same-sex relationships. For background here is the early June report.
See The Formerly Secret Panel (go to original source for live links)
So here are eight of the ten theologians serving on the panel to study same-sex relationships.
Co-facilitators:
* The Rt. Rev. Joe G. Burnett, Bishop of Nebraska (webpage here)
* Ellen Charry, Princeton Theological Seminary (webpage here)Members:
* Deirdre J. Good, General Theological Seminary (webpage here)
* Willis Jenkins, Yale Divinity School (webpage here)
* The Rev. Grant LeMarquand, Trinity School for Ministry (webpage here)
* Eugene Rogers, University of North Carolina, Greensboro (webpage here)
* The Rev. George Sumner, Wycliffe College, Toronto (webpage here)
* The Rev. Daniel A. Westberg of Nashotah House (webpage here; see page 3 of the newsletter)
The Chicago Consultation has issued this press release:
6 CommentsCHICAGO, July 1, 2009—Ruth Meyers, Hodges Haynes Professor of Liturgics at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, General Convention deputy from the Diocese of Chicago, and co-convener of the Chicago Consultation, responded to the news that the names of most members of the House of Bishops Theology Committee panel on same-sex blessings have been made public:
“Continued scholarly work, done with particular attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in committed, life-long, monogamous unions of faithful gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Episcopalians, can liberate the church to discern more fully the work of the Spirit in all life-long unions of fidelity and mutual love. We wish this panel well, and we call upon General Convention to enrich its theological work by establishing a common rite for the blessing of unions across the Episcopal Church.”
“We commit to praying for each of these theologians and their co-chairs by name, and we hope that the remaining two members of the panel will choose to come forward publicly so that we may begin General Convention next week with the spirit of openness and transparency that characterizes our polity and our common life…”
The Church of England has published a press release Update published on Clergy Pensions Scheme.
The Church of England has today published a second and more detailed report on the impact of the credit crunch and recession on the financial position of the Funded Clergy Pension Scheme. The report puts forward various options relating to the future of the scheme.
The last actuarial valuation of the scheme, carried out as at 31 December 2006, revealed a deficit of £141m. This is currently being eliminated by way of extra contributions paid by the ‘employers’ participating in the scheme, in addition to the contributions required to pay for future benefits. Some modifications were also made to the scheme in 2007 to help contain costs…
…The conclusion reached is that further changes to the scheme will be necessary to return it to affordability, and the report sets out a number of proposals for achieving this which include limiting the annual increase in the pensionable stipend, moving for future service the accrual period for a full pension from 40 to 43 years, changing the pension age from 65 to 68 and contracting back into the Second State Pension. The report also sets out options for the future structure of the scheme including retaining the existing defined benefit arrangement, moving onto a defined contribution basis and introducing a hybrid arrangement…
The 23-page detailed report is published as a .doc file.
There will be a presentation about this report at the July General Synod, but not a formal debate. The press release explains:
The report has been issued to all the organisations participating in the scheme, including the 44 diocesan boards of finance, and responses are due by the end of October. The Task Group will then make its final recommendations to the Archbishops’ Council which will decide what proposals should be put to the General Synod which must ultimately approve any changes to the scheme rules.
The 2 page Summary section of the report is reproduced below the fold.
7 CommentsBishop Jack Iker has today issued a Memo to All Diocesan Clergy.
In recent days I understand that all of you have received two threatening letters from representatives of the rump diocese. The first is a letter from The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick, Jr., the Bishop of Kentucky, in a capacity he claims as the “Provisional Bishop” of the rump diocese, threatening to inhibit and then depose you if you do not recognize his authority over you as your bishop. The second is a letter from Jonathan Nelson, legal counsel for the Gulick-led group, addressed to our vestries, treasurers, and finance committee members, as well as to all our vicars and rectors. It too is meant to intimidate and control us. It is the preliminary notification that will lead to additional lawsuits to be brought against us by The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA). Both of these letters are now in the hands of our attorneys, and they will be responding on our behalf. There is nothing you need to do at this point in time. We are no longer members of PECUSA and are not subject to their discipline. It is indeed regrettable that they find it necessary to engage in such harsh, uncharitable tactics, rather than enter into negotiation…
The documents to which this responds are appended as PDF files:
Letter to clergy
Letter to churches
They were reported on by the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in this news release, dated 29 May.
And there are two further documents published today by Bishop Iker:
Litigation Perspective
Archbishop Venables writes to the diocesan clergy
Earlier in the month, the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth had issued this formal response to a document filed in court on 8 May by the lawyers for Bishop Iker.
Read about it at The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth files response to motion to dismiss suit to recover property and assets of the Episcopal Church.
14 CommentsEpiscopal Café has published two important articles relating to The Episcopal Church. Only the first one is, at present, scheduled for discussion at the triennal General Convention which starts on 8 July.
GC and B033: a preview and an analysis by Jim Naughton explains what may happen in relation to the moratorium in TEC on consecrating bishops who are in same-sex relationships.
Nick Knisely in Report on communing the unbaptized released introduces the text of a report from the House of Bishops Theology Committee entitled REFLECTIONS ON HOLY BAPTISM AND THE HOLY EUCHARIST.
13 CommentsHere is what Bishop Paul Richardson, Assistant Bishop of Newcastle, wrote in the Sunday Telegraph:
Britain is no longer a Christian nation
…The church is being hit by a double whammy: on the one hand it confronts the challenge of institutional decline but on the other hand it has to face the rise of cultural and religious pluralism in Britain.
How it responds to the second challenge will be crucial in determining whether it will be able to survive as a viable organisation and make a contribution to national life.
At present church leaders show little signs of understanding the situation. They don’t understand the culture we now live in.
Many bishops prefer to turn their heads, to carry on as if nothing has changed, rather than face the reality that Britain is no longer a Christian nation.
Many of them think that we are still living in the 1950s – a period described by historians as representing a hey day for the established church…
On the other hand Bishop Jonathan Gledhill, diocesan Bishop of Lichfield, just said this:
“Occasional church attendees are not hypocrites” – bishop
7 Comments…the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, accused ‘the metropolitan pundits in the broad sheets who constantly sneer at organized religion’ as being ‘out of touch with the deep spiritual desires of most people in our nation.’ And he said the demise of services such as Matins in favour of services of Holy Communion risked turning some churches into an ‘exclusive sect’…
In a press release headed CANA Celebrates Launch of New Anglican Province, Bishop Martyn Minns is quoted as follows:
“…Since day one, CANA has been and will continue to be a full participant in the life of the new province, and will continue to maintain our own identity. We will encourage groups of congregations, when they are ready, to establish themselves as free-standing dioceses. Our goal is to support the work, mission, and ministry of the Gospel on this continent and bring our own particular distinctive to that task.
“CANA congregations now have a ‘dual citizenship.’ They are members of the Church in Nigeria and as a result of that relationship, full members of the global Anglican Communion. CANA congregations are also members of the Anglican Church in North America and will participate fully in the life of the new province.
“CANA is unique in its connection to the largest province in the Anglican Communion, the Church of Nigeria, which represents about 25 percent of the entire population of the Communion. CANA also has a distinct connection with the GAFCON and Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans movement, and with the Global South. We have a radical commitment to ministry of the poor which crosses all ethnic lines, to planting new churches, equipping the next generation for leadership in the church, and educating the church about how to engage with a resurgent Islam in North America….”
And there is also a Q&A with Bishop Minns on the Inauguration of the Anglican Church in North America which goes into greater detail about how this will work.
This seems rather different to what the Church of Uganda recently said:
6 CommentsLikewise, the Bishops resolved to release, effective immediately, the Bishops, clergy and churches in America under its ecclesiastical oversight and to transfer them to the Anglican Church in North America. The House of Bishops further resolved to continue its partnership and friendship with them in mission and ministry, extends its hand of fellowship, and wishes them well.
Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi said, “This really is the moment we have been waiting for. We have been longing to be able to repatriate our clergy and congregations to a Biblical and viable ecclesiastical structure in North America, and that day has now come. To God be the glory.”
Updated Tuesday morning
The following letter has been published in the Telegraph newspaper:
Sir
Three years ago a move to legalise physician assisted suicide, by way of a Private Members Bill, was defeated in the House of Lords. The debate on the Bill was heated and impassioned. It was also, by and large, respectful and serious.
Shortly before the Bill was debated in Parliament, the Royal College of Physicians asked its member doctors if they thought the law needed changing – and over 70% of those responding said the law against assisted suicide should stay the same. The Royal College of General Practitioners also urged that the law should stay the same.
Now, by way of an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill, the legality of assisting people to end their own lives is once again to be debated. The proposed amendment seeks to protect from prosecution those who help friends or relatives to go abroad to commit suicide in one of the few countries where the practice is legal.
It would surely put vulnerable people at serious risk, especially sick people who are anxious about the burden their illness may be placing on others. Moreover, our hospice movement, an almost unique gift of this country to wider humankind, is the profound and tangible sign of another and better way to cope with the challenges faced by those who are terminally ill, by their loved ones and by those who care for them.
This amendment would mark a shift in British law towards legalising euthanasia. We do not believe that such a fundamental change in the law should be sought by way of an amendment to an already complex Bill. It should be rejected.
The Most Reverend and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster
Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
And that’s not all, Martin Beckford of the Telegraph reports: Senior legal figures join in opposition to ‘euthanasia law’ proposals.
Tuesday update
The Church of England has published Protecting Life – opposing Assisted Suicide.
47 CommentsThe Church of England is opposed to any change in the law, or medical practice, to make assisted suicide permissible or acceptable.
Suffering, the Church maintains, must be met with compassion, commitment to high-quality services and effective medication; meeting it by assisted suicide is merely removing it in the crudest way possible.
In its March 2009 paper Assisted Dying/Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia, the Church acknowledges the complexity of the issues: the compassion that motivates those who seek change equally motivates the Church’s opposition to change…
Reports on St Michael’s College, Llandaff, and on St Mellitus College, London, and Chelmsford & London Reader training, can be found via this link.
The Church in Wales had a press release.
3 CommentsThe Times reports today on a new survey of public attitudes in Britain to homosexuality.
See Church ‘out of touch’ as public supports equal rights for homosexuals.
And also Sizeable minority remains hostile to same-sex relationships.
A PDF file containing some of the survey statistics is here.
Update
Ruth Gledhill comments on this in Church ‘out of touch’ on gays, says Times poll.
Jonathan Sacks writes in The Times that Without a shared moral code there can be no freedom in our society.
Robin Gill wrote in last week’s Church Times about Synthetics — the new moral playing-field.
This week, Giles Fraser writes about a white-water ride of old atheism.
Over at the Guardian Christine Allen writes about the Catholic Church and social justice.
At Cif belief Afua Hirsch wrote about The boundaries between race and faith. For the background, see this news report.
And Antony Lerman asks What can religion offer politics?
8 Comments