The Church of England Pensions Board is today announcing its intention to disinvest from Shell plc and other oil and gas companies which are failing to show sufficient ambition to decarbonise in line with the aims of the Paris Agreement.

The new investment restriction announced today will apply to all oil and gas companies that do not have short, medium and long term emissions reduction targets aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as assessed by the independent Transition Pathway Initiative. The exclusion will apply to equity and also debt investments.

“Today we announce our intention to disinvest from all remaining oil and gas holdings across our equity and debt portfolio,” said John Ball, Chief Executive Officer of the Church of England Pensions Board. “There is a significant misalignment between the long term interests of our pension fund and continued investment in companies seeking short term profit maximisation at the expense of the ambition needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Recent reversals of previous commitments, most notably by BP and Shell, has undermined confidence in the sector’s ability to transition”.

Read it all.

Church Commissioners for England to exclude oil & gas companies from investments portfolio over failure to align with climate goals. Pensions Board also to disinvest from oil & gas companies failing to show ambition to decarbonisehttps://t.co/nSHPLTZOEYhttps://t.co/BbntlGm7G6

— Church of England in Parliament (@churchstate) June 22, 2023

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Good morning Cape Cod! pic.twitter.com/h3qWctCrcA

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) June 18, 2023

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that he regards the numerical decline in the Church of England as a personal failure.

During a Q&A at the Religion Media Festival on Monday, he also spoke of his personal preference for a “fully independent safeguarding system” and his belief that the Church needed to be more “unapologetic” about its teaching on sexual morality. Asked about moves in Parliament to enable same-sex marriages to take place in church, and the possibility of disestablishment, he suggested that discerning the will of God might involve “refusing to do what the law says”.

A recurrent theme in his answers to questions, put by the broadcast journalist Julie Etchingham and the audience, was a long view of history, and the sovereignty of God. “One of the great things we do is we get into terrible angst and fear and think it’s all down to us,” he observed. “It’s not. It’s all down to God, and to him we must be obedient.”

Read it all (subscription or registration).

The Archbishop of Canterbury @JustinWelby has said that he regards the numerical decline in the Church of England as a personal failure https://t.co/YiOhdHQqD1

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 13, 2023

Two church pastors have been suspended as part of a Church of England probe into “safeguarding concerns”.

The Reverend Canon Mike Pilavachi, who led Soul Survivor Church in Watford, as well as a national Christian youth festival, stepped down earlier this year after the investigation began.

Senior Pastor Andy Croft and Assistant Pastor Ali Martin of Soul Survivor have been suspended as part of the probe.

The church said it related to concerns about the handling of allegations.

Read it all.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York today are meeting with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people advocating for a new initiative aimed at reaching out to people within these communities. The Gypsy, Roma Traveller (GRT) Friendly Churches will encourage and signpost churches to do more to welcome people into worshipping communities.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will spend time with GRT communities in Poole today as part of his mission visit to the Diocese of Salisbury. The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, walked with the Bishop of Carlisle James Newcome to the Appleby Horse Fair, the biggest annual gathering of Travellers in the country.

Archbishop Justin said: “I’m deeply grateful to be spending time with the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community in Poole later today, and acknowledge the pain and rejection felt by the GRT communities both now and in the past. We can and must do so much more to welcome, support, include and advocate for them. The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the mission of the church is about reconciliation, and it is my hope that the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Friendly Churches initiative will enable a bridge between settled people and Travellers and be part of this reconciliation process. I am fully supportive of this initiative. Every country has distinct cultures amongst Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. The common feature that I have seen across Europe and most recently in Romania is the suffering and marginalisation they have had to endure.”

Read it all.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the mission of the church is about reconciliation. I fully support the relaunch of @SanctuaryPlaces, and I hope it will enable a bridge between settled people and Travellers as part of the reconciliation process.https://t.co/hCGSr2OtCi

— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) June 9, 2023

He said: “I am looking forward to becoming Director for Ministry and working in partnership with colleagues across the country, so that together we can share our faith in Jesus Christ with renewed simplicity, humility and boldness.

“I am passionate about developing the support we offer to people from all backgrounds and traditions to explore God’s call on their lives, together with how we form, deploy and resource them for life-long mission and ministry.”

The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Rev Mark Tanner, Chair of Ministry Council, said: “I am delighted that Nick is willing to serve this role.

“He has a great breadth of experience spanning the full remit of the Ministry Development Team. He is a servant hearted, deeply practical man of infectious energy and profound Christ-like faith.”

Read it all.

https://t.co/WJFtYIm4I8 via @churchofengland Warm congratulations to @RidleyHall alumnus, Nicholas McKee, announced today as new Director for Ministry. Excellent news!

— Michael Volland (@michael_volland) June 6, 2023

Aa the NHS faces mounting problems, from thousands of appointments lost through strikes to record-length waits for treatment, a church in Hampshire is attempting to boost the welfare of its community.

St Mary’s, Andover, is taking referrals from five GP surgeries in the town for places on social-improvement courses, which it organises. The Lighthouse project offers support, which includes: a well-being course at the town’s further education college; debt-management advice in a partnership with the charity Christians Against Poverty; and the Good Grub Club, a community cooking and food programme that seeks to prevent food waste.

The church also operates the Life Bus: a double-decker that visits housing estates for “Make and Munch” lunch and crafts sessions. The project has supported at least 800 people since it began, and has engaged more than 170 volunteers.

The Vicar of St Mary’s, the Revd Chris Bradish, said: “There are many people who visit their GP with non-clinical needs — some may need help with debt, loneliness, or they may be struggling with other issues in their lives, such as food poverty. The partnership has meant that their needs can be assessed, and they can be offered help and time through social prescribing.”

Read it all (registration or subscription).

GPs refer ‘non-clincial needs’ to parish church https://t.co/litoa60sJX

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 3, 2023

Loving God, may thy Name be blest for the witness of Ini Kopuria, police officer and founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, whose members saved many American pilots in a time of war, and who continue to minister courageously to the islanders of Melanesia. Open our eyes that we, with these Anglican brothers, may establish peace and hope in service to others, for the sake of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A “PERFECT STORM” of declining church attendance, reduced giving, and stretched church leaders means that “we cannot, in good conscience, put our heads in the sand and hope that more of the same is the answer,” the director of parish transition and ministry development in the diocese of Leicester, said this week.

Canon Stuart Burns was speaking in response to questions about the formation of Minster Communities in the diocese, the first of which was launched at the end of last month….

The Launde Minster Community (MC), the first of three areas in a pilot of the scheme, was officially launched on 30 April at a service at St Peter’s, Tilton on the Hill, at which the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, commissioned the Community’s Oversight Minister, Canon Jonathan Dowman. The Community brings together eight benefices comprising 24 parishes (35 churches) that have committed to collaborate in mission and to offer their resources.

Feedback from PCCs in the area has highlighted a tension between parishes’ desire for the answers to practical questions around provision of the eucharist and the allocation of stipendiary posts and the diocese’s position that MCs “aren’t chiefly about deployment” but “an issue of local discipleship, faith and vision”. In Launde, many decisions remain to be taken, including the deployment of ordained ministry, the identification of appointed ministers for each church, and how governance will work (the original diocesan framework envisaged a move to Joint Church Councils). PCCs have raised concerns about whether a proposed doubling of giving, necessary to fund four stipendiary posts, can be achieved, given small congregations.

Read it all.”>Read it all.

Questions remain as Launde Minster Community is launched in Leicester https://t.co/2ws4C9QgYf

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) May 26, 2023

Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Early Morning Shadows. 7°C. Red Kite up high pic.twitter.com/8MBSCKUa2o

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) April 26, 2023

God of hosts,
who so kindled the flame of love
in the heart of your servant George
that he bore witness to the risen Lord
by his life and by his death:
give us the same faith and power of love
that we who rejoice in his triumphs
may come to share with him the fullness of the resurrection;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Saint George Slaying the Dragon, 1470. #CarloCrivelli pic.twitter.com/Q2qKuLV5z4

— San Miguel Arcángel (@OFSMedinaceli) April 24, 2023

The resurrection of Jesus is claimed by Christians to be the turning point for the whole world, for each of us individually, and all of us together and for the whole of creation, always and everywhere. And that claim was made within 20 – 25 years of his death. So from the finality of death what this means is that the certainty of final endings is over. A new beginning is made.

Without the bodily resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, there are simply endings. Look at it through the eyes of the witnesses:

For Peter, it would be the end of any chance of forgiveness for his cowardice and betrayal.

For Mary Magdalene, it would be the end of a relationship, of a friendship, where she was valued, having importance and dignity.

For us gathering here in this extraordinary building, we would not be here because the building would never have been built were it not for the resurrection of Jesus.

It’s not just an event in history; it is the most powerful event in history: past, present and the history that we are yet to know.

And we see the reality of the resurrection around us in all corners of the world.

Read it all.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is among the most certain facts in history. It means eternal life, eternal hope, eternal joy because Christ is risen.

My sermon at Holy Communion at @Cburycathedral this morning:https://t.co/f9XAgC3ULU

— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) April 9, 2023

Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be praise and honour, glory and might,
now and in all eternity.
Amen.

Our beautiful magnolia 🌸

📷 shannybasar pic.twitter.com/aKwIKPrS6G

— Rochester Cathedral (@RochesterCathed) April 10, 2023

Almighty Father,
look with mercy on this your family
for which our Lord Jesus Christ was content to be betrayed
and given up into the hands of sinners
and to suffer death upon the cross;
who is alive and glorified with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Good Friday: "he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him…" (Phil 2:8-9, KJV). The #Crucifixion, miniature c1250, bound into the 9thC MacDurnan Gospels [MS 1370] #GoodFriday #EasterWeekend #HolyWeek pic.twitter.com/E3tEwJktx8

— LambethPalaceLibrary (@lampallib) April 19, 2019

As a former group treasurer for an oil company, Justin is aware of numbers – and those in the Church of England pews had been declining for decades before he became Archbishop. Now the finances of many dioceses are visibly failing, hastened by the pandemic. A national Vision and Strategy has now been brought in, with Strategic Development Funding specifically to redirect resources to fresh ideas. Some have seen this as a threat to the parish system, and the priest and polemicist, Giles Fraser recently reflected he was ‘sick of ten years of managerialism’ describing how he felt morale had plummeted.

Some bishops may feel similarly demoralised – the leaked ‘Bishops and their ministries’ paper last year noted the importance of creating a culture where ‘all bishops feel free to express their views in meetings… rather than deferring to those perceived as more senior in the ‘hierarchy’’. If the bishops feel voiceless, or perhaps powerless, it is difficult to see where the next Archbishop might come from. In Justin’s book on reconciliation he says ‘the use of power almost always leads to the abuse of power’, and he think he has ‘influence, but not power’. Who has the power at present in our Church, and who will have it next? That leaked bishops paper commented that the selection and formation process for bishops was ‘not robust or transparent and is therefore open to ‘political’ manoeuvring’ adding that it ‘may not produce the candidates best equipped for visionary national leadership if such candidates are chosen based on local needs’. Our bench of bishops has changed dramatically over the last decade, as they tend to; what will the next generation of bishops to lead us be like?

With plans to create a centralised body that will concentrate power further, will the bishops have the power to lead like they have in the past? A Church of England National Services (CENS) is planned to support the strategic vision of the national church, support national policy development and engagement, via a single governance board structure. When you centralise governance, you centralise power. In a Church of England that has a devolved and non-centralised ecclesiology, this will be interesting. How will checks and balances be built in, where will thorough scrutiny be seen? Few would doubt that a nettle of needed grasping, to bring efficiency and greater transparency, but will these internal reforms get it right?

As we count down the weeks until the coronation, the Makin review into allegations of abuse carried out by the late John Smyth is now 147 weeks overdue….

Read it all.

What has changed in @churchofengland over the last decade? And what next?

A whistlestop reflection (if that's not an oxymoron!) for @churchnewspaper https://t.co/Kwcn320XBR

— Rebecca (Bex) Chapman (@bexchapman3boys) April 4, 2023

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Good Morning pic.twitter.com/Kz62cxrbSB

— philip jackson (@pajacksonartist) April 1, 2023

A group of ten clerics in the the City deanery of the diocese of London have announced their decision to establish an alternative “deanery chapter”, in protest at the decision to allow church blessings for same-sex couples.

In a video released on YouTube on Thursday, the Senior Minister of St Nicholas’s Cole Abbey, the Revd Chris Fishlock, and the Guild Vicar of St Botolph’s without Aldersgate, the Revd Phil Martin, outline plans for a new “City Deanery Chapter”.

“We hope that what we’re doing is, among other things, a helpful demonstration of the kind of structural differentiation which will be needed for many of us within the Church of England,” Mr Martin says on the video.

A statement from the diocese on Thursday afternoon described the initiative as a “unilateral move” with “no legal substance”.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

(Church Times) Ten London clergy launch differentiated deanery chapter over the recent controversial+schismatic decision to bless same-sex unions https://t.co/FIKm6TlKFP #anglican #parishministry #marriage #religion #ethics #scripture #uk

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 31, 2023

These poems speak, as [Philip] Yancey says, to “the guilt and fear and helpless faith that marked [Donne’s] darkest days.” They also answer one of the toughest questions we can face, “In the midst of plague times, how can we give thanks?”

Here are the three poems excerpted by Yancey, with his clarifying revisions of Donne’s eighteenth-century language…

Read it all.

31 Mar 1631: d. John Donne, #poet & cleric in the deanery of St Paul’s London #otd having earlier posed in his own shroud (BM/NPG)

A striking man in his day. Among other things. pic.twitter.com/v1mX30Fy6N

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) March 31, 2023

Almighty God, the root and fountain of all being: Open our eyes to see, with thy servant John Donne, that whatsoever hath any being is a mirror in which we may behold thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), a group comprising 14 organisations, has released a “declaration” outlining why they feel “compelled to resist” moves to bless same-sex couples.

A statement published on a new website, declaration.ceec.info, includes an apology for “the times we have failed and continue to fail to love [LGBTQ+ people] as God loves them”.

The statement continues: “Sadly, however, we cannot accept central features of the bishops’ proposed way forward.” The move to bless same-sex couples, and to allow priests to be in same-sex marriages, “represents a departure from the faith which is revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds and to which the historic formularies of the Church of England bear witness”.

The CEEC is inviting those who agree with the declaration to register their support on the website, which also includes a range of “supporting resources” about the CEEC’s position.

Read it all.

Evangelical group calls for declarations of resistance to same-sex blessings https://t.co/jsDBNWW21z

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 29, 2023

New every morning is the love
our wakening and uprising prove;
through sleep and darkness safely brought,
restored to life and power and thought.

New mercies, each returning day,
hover around us while we pray;
new perils past, new sins forgiven,
new thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.

If on our daily course our mind
be set to hallow all we find,
new treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.

Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be,
as more of heaven in each we see;
some softening gleam of love and prayer
shall dawn on every cross and care.

The trivial round, the common task,
will furnish all we ought to ask:
room to deny ourselves; a road
to bring us daily nearer God.

Only, O Lord, in thy dear love,
fit us for perfect rest above;
and help us, this and every day,
to live more nearly as we pray

Grant, O God, that in all time of our testing we may know thy presence and obey thy will; that, following the example of thy servant John Keble, we may accomplish with integrity and courage that which thou givest us to do, and endure that which thou givest us to bear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Episcopal Church celebrates John Keble, Priest and Poet, 1866 https://t.co/BmTmViXUHn

Image: Photo by Robert Hawker Peniel Preston, mid 1860s, in the National Portrait Gallery, CC BY-NC-ND, via https://t.co/s2j8rIY9UC pic.twitter.com/I8lSBbbf4o

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 29, 2023

The head of the Evangelical Alliance, Gavin Calver, believes the organisation may see a growth in membership as the Church of England moves ahead with divisive plans to bless same-sex couples.

In an interview for the Religion and Media Centre’s Big Interview podcast, Calver said it was “too early” for the EA to tell Anglican evangelical congregations what to do because the Church of England is still in the process of formulating new pastoral guidance on the blessings.

However, he said that the EA was ready to be a place of support and a “port in a storm” for evangelical congregations dismayed over the Church of England’s direction of travel.

“We’ll probably find that a number of Anglican churches join the Evangelical Alliance, because it’s actually a time where they want to be in unity with wider evangelicals, as well as continuing in their space, which is challenging,” he said

Read it all.

Increased in-person attendance, which had been severely impacted in 2020, reflected the vaccine rollout, and the easing of Covid-19 restrictions throughout the year, though it also showed that many people chose to stay away from public indoor spaces especially during those periods when restrictions remained in place, and during the late autumn that saw the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the data showed a weekly total of 15,800 people were reported at cathedral services in 2021. This is a 22 per cent more than the equivalent figure from 2020, although still 58 per cent below the 2019 figure.

Meanwhile, the number of cathedrals offering online worship in addition to, or augmenting in-person services remained high, with 94 per cent of cathedrals continuing to offer this.

Weddings showed the closest return to pre-pandemic numbers with 230 marriages conducted in cathedrals during 2021, 93 per cent of the figure from 2019, and an increase of 250 per cent from the 2020 total.

During 2021, there were a total of 320 baptisms conducted in all Church of England cathedrals. This was 43 per cent of the equivalent figure in 2019, but a 242 per cent increase on the total number of baptisms that took place in cathedrals in 2020.

Read it all.

"The data from 2021 demonstrates the resilience of the cathedrals and their importance to local communities in the face of adversity."

– Dean of Canterbury, @davidrmmonteith reflects on the latest data from Church of England cathedrals.

Read more at https://t.co/UOHpwt09sM.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) March 24, 2023

A vicar undergoing treatment for stage four skin cancer has made a song from the sounds of an MRI scanning machine.

The Reverend Matthew Simpkins, of Lexden in Colchester, was first diagnosed with the disease in 2019.

In 2021, the cancer returned and the 44-year-old, who is the priest-in-charge of Lexden, has had months of treatment and various scans.

“I thought the way I am going to get through this is by writing a song during this scan,” he said.

Read it all.

An Essex vicar found the best way to cope with MRI scans – was to turn the noises into a pop song 🎸
Matt has stage 4 cancer & says making music is therapy to him
This weird and wonderful story is on Look East at 6:30pm! 🎥 #essex #colchetser #suffolk https://t.co/JgMdMh85v6

— Zoie O'Brien (@ZoieOBrien_) March 22, 2023

Viewing figures for the Church of England’s national online services show that the services continue to receive about 150,000 views per week. They accrued more than eight million views in 2022.

The Church of England is marking the three-year anniversary of its online services this week, introduced in March 2020, when gathering for public worship was restricted as part of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. One year later, it was able to report that clips and content from the services had been seen 40 million times on social-media channels.

The current figures are acknowledged to be a conservative estimate. “Our analysis in May 2022 showed that 20 per cent of viewers watch with at least one other person; so this would add at least another 30,000 views to the above,” a Church House spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

“This is without including listeners to the Daily Hope phone line, and also instances where the service is put out on hospital radio or in prisons or old people’s homes, which we don’t currently track but which we hear anecdotally is happening. Our New Year’s Day 2023 service gained 800,000 views.”

Read it all.

Viewing figures for the Church of England’s national online services show that the services continue to receive about 150,000 views per week. They accrued more than eight million views in 2022 https://t.co/SH3v3crH07

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 22, 2023

“Music has the great capacity to draw in people who are not necessarily committed Christians at this moment, but who are talented musicians, and who may find, if they are allowed to put their gifts into church music, that faith emerges.”

Church and cathedral choirs were masterful at enabling personal and spiritual growth, Dr Hance said, referring to a transformation at St Leonard’s, Streatham, “in an unglamorous bit of South London . . . a thoroughly ordinary inner urban church, a little bit catholic but not really, a little bit evangelical but not that much, a building with beautiful bits” and a diverse congregation.

“This church has doubled in attendance over the five years the present Rector has been in post, and not from doing anything very left-field or wacky, but by investing in doing what we do as well as we can do it, and most especially the music and the liturgy. The present music director has built a wonderful choir through hard work and skilful networking and the music on a Sunday morning is always excellent, sometimes glorious. We now have a children’s choir who are taking their first steps and they will become excellent over time too.

“It’s all about the right level of investment in the people, helping them to discover and develop their skills and talents, to become more than they thought they could be. . . We call it discipleship.”

Read it all.

Music shapes the mission of the Church: who it attracts and who it repels, the Revd Dr Stephen Hance, who is the Church of England’s national lead for evangelism, told the annual Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) online conference on Saturday https://t.co/j3PZT4dNW3

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 21, 2023

A spokesman for the diocese of York said this week: “The sender has taken some trouble both with identifying their chosen pseudo-sender and the intended victim. In many cases the sender has used an untraceable Gmail address, or texted from an equally untraceable pay-as-you-go or ‘burner’ mobile phone.”

At least one person is believed to have lost £1000 in the con and another only narrowly avoided losing a similar sum when they became suspicious after being asked to supply the voucher codes.

The diocesan spokesman continued: “It seems this is a national trend with similar reports from other Church of England dioceses. We have reported one specimen case to North Yorkshire police who have passed it over to Action Fraud, a national police scheme. Incumbents may like to consider advising their church officers and PCC members that: ‘I will never ask you by email to spend your own money for the church’.”

A joint unit of Northumbria, Cleveland, and Durham police has issued an alert over similar issues in the northeast, saying: “Clergy will never ask you to give them money, vouchers, or personal banking details directly, even to help someone in need . . . Even if they’re saying you’ll be refunded, it is a scam.”

Read it all.

Scammers have for a second time impersonated the Archbishop of York and other clergy to ask priests and church staff to buy them Amazon vouchers and online gift cards https://t.co/uHDbKQn5Ez

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 21, 2023

And here is my real beef with Welby’s Church: managerialism. The backdrop to Welby’s appointment was the banking crisis and the subsequent Occupy camp at St Paul’s Cathedral. The Church needed to get a bit more this worldly, many thought. It needed to understand finance and business. When it came to capitalism, Welby was a grown-up, having worked for Elf Aquitaine in a previous life. And 11 years in the oil industry clearly shaped his thinking about organisational structures. The old, slightly bumbling high-table, soft-power understanding of Lambeth Palace was not for him. Welby wanted to change things and have access to levers of real executive power.

But the Church of England is not set up like this. It never has been. The parish system is the very model of subsidiarity. If anything, the Church is a bottom-up institution rather than top-down. You bow to your bishop, but you don’t necessarily do everything he asks. Under Welby, however, the centre has grown ever stronger, the parishes increasingly weaker. Max Weber famously divided power into the charismatic, the traditional and the legal/rational. Welby is the first archbishop who has tried to govern through the latter.

The “Save the Parish” movement was established as a fightback. Too many bishops became middle managers, hidden behind their laptops. Directives and new initiatives came down from head office, which many of the clergy, myself included, received with an inner groan. In the face of declining attendance, we all had to learn that evangelical up-speak, and get on with the paperwork. Morale has plummeted.

The Church’s reaction to Covid was the depressing conclusion of Welby’s legal/rational approach to power.

Read it all.

This is first rate: serious but not unsympathetic. It aligns with my thoughts: there is much to like about JW. He has been unfailingly kind towards me despite my implicit criticisms on Safeguarding. All the more reason to be “Father in God” rather than CEO https://t.co/qeiCvC9rIm

— MartinSewell (@SewellMartin) March 21, 2023