More Church of England leaders were aware of the John Smyth scandal and should follow the Archbishop of Canterbury’s decision to resign, according to the head of the official inquiry into child abuse.
Professor Alexis Jay said that abuse continued in the church and the cover-up of Smyth’s decades of wrongdoing could not be “down to one person”.
The Most Rev Justin Welby, 68, will stand down in January and pass his duties to the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, who will act in a “caretaker” role.
Alexis Jay, who conducted the inquiry into child sex abuse, says more people must have known about John Smyth and that abuse is continuing in Church of Englandhttps://t.co/fgX70ALtCG
Personal ambition may have motivated some bishops to keep quiet before the Archbishop of Canterbury announced his resignation last week, the Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, has suggested.
Dr Hartley was the only bishop in the Church of England to call publicly on Archbishop Welby to resign before it was announced (News, 15 November).
On Sunday, she told Sky News that she was disappointed that other colleagues had not joined her call, and that she knew of some who “privately were discerning that it was probably the right thing for the Archbishop to resign”.
She suggested that there was “a culture of silence and fear among the Bishops”, and that some might have chosen not to speak out because of a fear of being “reprimanded or rebuked”.
“We’re now in a period of transition and reflection. One of those reflections will be what sort of person we’re looking for to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury, and what our expectations are of that person.” https://t.co/2Gsu6rCeez
Although the procedure for formally choosing and appointing a new Archbishop of Canterbury is thus clear, what is much less clear is how it will prove possible for the CNC to choose a candidate who is acceptable across the breadth of both the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
The deep divisions within the Church of England and the Anglican Communion over the issue of human sexuality which have opened up since 2003 and which have become even more pronounced during the tenure of Archbishop Welby, mean that it will become very difficult, if not impossible, to find someone who the Church of England as a whole and the Anglican Communion as a whole will be able to agree upon. If a candidate takes a conservative view on human sexuality this will make them unacceptable to the liberals in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion and vice versa.
The question that therefore arises is whether it might not be sensible to hold off from appointing a new archbishop until there is the sort of reconfiguration of the Anglican Communion suggested by the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches and the sort of reconfiguration of the Church of England suggested by the Church of England Evangelical Council and the Alliance.
This would solve the problem because a liberal Archbishop of Canterbury could be appointed who would be acceptable to liberals in the Church of England and across the Communion, but conservatives in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion would no longer come under his archepiscopal authority.
Archbishop Welby has “decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury”; but he remains in office, for now, and it is not yet clear when exactly he will leave.
He said in his resignation statement: “It is my duty to honour my Constitutional and church responsibilities, so exact timings will be decided once a review of necessary obligations has been completed, including those in England and in the Anglican Communion.”
When contacted for more details, Lambeth Palace referred back to the Archbishop’s statement, and reiterated that the precise timings of his departure would be made in due course.
The selection of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury is by the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). There will be 17 voting members: three representatives from the Canterbury diocese; six members of the General Synod; the Archbishop of York; another bishop elected by the House of Bishops; and, in a change since 2012, five representatives of the global Anglican Communion. The final voting member is the CNC chair, often a public figure, who must be a communicant C of E member, and is appointed by the Prime Minister.
She will be the Church of England’s tenth woman diocesan bishop. Her diocesan, the Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, commented: “It was only ever a matter of time until such an appointment was made.”
Bishop Jelley grew up in Brighton, and studied theology and religious studies at the University of Leeds. After training at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, she was ordained deacon in 1997, and priest in 1998, to a title at St Peter’s, Shipley, in the diocese of Bradford, before becoming a mission partner with the Church Mission Society in Uganda for three years.
On her return to England in 2003, she became Resident Minister of Churt and Hindhead, in the diocese of Guildford. In 2010, she moved to be Vicar of St Andrew’s, Burgess Hill. In 2015, she moved to Durham diocese, to be Canon Missioner and Diocesan Director of Mission, Discipleship, and Ministry.
“The story of @CovCathedral, offering a message of forgiveness rather than revenge, has so much to offer our fractured world at this time. This gives me great hope for the future.”@revsophiejelley is set to be the new Bishop of Coventry.
Bishops have said that they would welcome consultation on a “left-field” attempt by a Conservative MP, in an amendment to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, to abolish the parliamentary seats for the Lords Spiritual.
The Bill, introduced by the Labour MP Pat McFadden in September, seeks to remove the automatic membership of hereditaries in the House of Lords. The move to abolish the remaining 92 hereditary peers was promised in Labour’s election manifesto. The Bill had its Second Reading in the Commons last month. The subject was also debated by the Lords in July, shortly after the election (News, 26 July).
Last month, the Conservative MP Sir Gavin Williamson tabled an amendment to the Bill to include a clause that “No-one shall be a member of the House of Lords by virtue of being a bishop or Archbishop of the Church of England.”
Bishops have said that they would welcome consultation on a “left-field” attempt by a Conservative MP, in an amendment to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, to abolish the parliamentary seats for the Lords Spiritual https://t.co/8r0VXCxTHC
In a significant interview on the Rest is Politics Podcast England’s Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has denied the teaching of the Bible, and the teaching of his church.
It is Archbishop Welby’s most public betrayal of his ordination and consecration vow to ‘banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.’
“…the conservatives, the Bible people and the traditional Catholics won’t come under the jurisdiction, or if you like the false teaching bishops, but will come under a separate Province, separate episcopacy…” and that “…first order difference requires first order differentiation…”
As well as
“… there’s still ongoing discussion- like the House of Bishops have always said we’ll need to give some kind of provision for those who in conscience can’t go along with this, but that process has really not got anywhere so even though we’re still charging down the direction of blessing for same sex unions a clear trajectory towards same sex marriage for clergy and standalone services, kind of pseudo-marriage services for same sex couples we’ve not had any real details about settlement and some kind of offer.”
“And anything that’s been on the table that the Bishops have discussed has been very much of a second order, so basically they’ve dismissed it. Many have said ‘look you don’t really represent very many, it’s just a few leaders and most people don’t really like this. You’re going to get much, much less, if anything it will be second order differentiation, so I don’t think they’ve really heard how many of us are out there and how seriously we hold this. We can’t accept less than we’re asking for.”
And, finally, this in reference to the completely avoidable and disastrous TEC situation:
“Some of us have been saying ‘look across the Atlantic – we’ve got to avoid an Episcopal style train crash which has led to a complete split with… a very large grouping of Orthodox Anglicans who are no completely separate from the Episcopal church and the cost has been massive emotionally, spiritually, missionally and there’s been to many who said that would never happen here but actually there’s a stronger Orthodox grouping here in the Church of England..” [hat tip: Anglican Futures]
The funding of hospices shows that “voluntary sector beginnings” are “still very much in evidence”, Lord Farmer said on Thursday as he introduced his debate on how the state funds palliative care.
“A review of funding would find a highly variable model for hospices: some are run by the NHS, with large annual charitable grants, and others are run by a charity that gets some funding from the NHS. A common hallmark is a holistic, bespoke, and patient-centred approach that values their relationships,” he said.
“We should not forget that all receiving hospice care are on the edge of eternity, and dying peacefully also requires spiritual palliative care.”
The funding of hospices shows that “voluntary sector beginnings” are “still very much in evidence”, Lord Farmer said on Thursday as he introduced his debate on how the state funds palliative care https://t.co/82wnOqIy6K
Since February last year, his position has implicitly shifted. For he has remained in post, as Synod has introduced a new policy, that the Church may bless same-sex couples. The evangelicals see this as undermining the traditional teaching. No, Welby and most of the other bishops have said, there is no planned change to the doctrine of marriage. But the evangelicals are obviously right that the innovation implies the acceptability of gay relationships. The archbishop of York has said that sex is permissible in stable relationships, straight or gay. This is the reformist position, seemingly held by most of the senior bishops.
Lambeth Palace said the Archbishop’s views are his own, and are not the official stance of the Church of England. A statement said: “He (Archbishop Justin) has been honest that his thinking has evolved over the years through much prayer and theological reflection – particularly through the Living in Love and Faith process – and he now holds this view sincerely.
The Church of England Evangelical Council said Welby’s statement indicated his view that: “Sexual intimacy is no longer limited to marriage”, “sexual intimacy in gay relationships is ok”, and that “the church should bless sexual relations outside of marriage”.
It called the statement “devastating”, saying it marked “a clear departure from the doctrine of the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, and every other major Christian denomination across the world believe”.
(The) Revd Dr Andrew Goddard, a member of the Council, said that “such significantly erroneous statements as these from no less than the Archbishop of Canterbury, unless swiftly followed by an apology and correction, can only add further to the widespread erosion of trust and growing sense of disbelief, betrayal, deception, anger and despair now felt across much of the Church of England”.
And (the) Revd Matthew Roberts, former Moderator of Synod of the International Presbyterian Church and co-author of the Greater Love declaration, commented: “The Archbishop of Canterbury, having stated that he denies the doctrine of the Church of England, has a duty to resign.”
The Church of England Evangelical Council said it marked “a clear departure from the doctrine of the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, and every other major Christian denomination across the world believe”. https://t.co/u5HqzdbwzY
Don’t turn our doctors into killers, says the Star. Like several of the opposing factions to the bill, it cites Canada as exemplifying the slippery slope, with one in twenty deaths there being by assisted dying.
This argument that the bill will open up unforeseen consequences for the disabled, and indeed for the unfortunate residents of bad care homes, is common, Archbishop Welby, facing down former Archbishop Carey, said that assisted dying was in effect a sword of Damocles over the disabled and aged. We should add that many Canadians choosing state sponsored suicide cite feeling a burden on family and caregivers as their motive. Canada surely vindicates Welby.
This argument really is cogent and necessary, but is it sufficient for a Christian view which sees humanity made in the image and likeness of God, leading to the doctrine of the sanctity of life? As Frost says this a doctrine that has permeated and grounded western civilization. Is it not simply wrong to kill people even those begging to die? Hospices and care giving was the Christian answer, but Christianity is fading fast with its practical altruistic legacy of looking after the sick and dying.
Lord Frost has pointed to our society’s reliance on Judaeo Christian ethics for all its institutions and to the perilous situation of breaking with this tradition of the sanctity of life for a callous utilitarianism. So far his is the deepest theological apologia for the classical Christian ethic of life on offer, we trust Christian leaders will step up to the challenge soon.
Two Church of England pressure groups wrote to the House of Bishops before its meeting this week to express hopes and expectations about the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process.
The groups—Together for the Church of England, which campaigns for wider provision for LGBTQ people in the Church, and the Alliance, which represents opponents of the proposed blessings of same-sex couples—wrote the letters at the invitation of the House of Bishops, before there meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
The letter from Together’s chairs, Canon Neil Patterson and Professor Helen King, highlights that the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) for same-sex couples are being used. It describes this as a “small step towards redeeming the decades of exclusion and hurt felt by LGBTQ+ people from the Church of England”, and welcomes a decision the General Synod’s decision in July to proceed with stand-alone services of blessing (News, 12 July).
Two Church of England pressure groups wrote to the House of Bishops before its meeting this week to express hopes and expectations about the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) processhttps://t.co/FqMp48irSn
The Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, wrote on X/Twitter: “By all means let’s have the debate. Consideration should also be given to proper investment in palliative and social care. And let’s call it what it is: assisted suicide. It’s a slippery slope and an absolute degradation of the value of human life.”
The Bill was also condemned by leaders of the Church in Wales, who said in a statement on Tuesday that the Christian faith had always been rooted “in the reality of pain and mortality”, as well as “the incalculable value of each human person, irrespective of social standing, access to resources, or physical or mental ability. . . In that spirit, shown to us in the person of Jesus, we give our heartfelt support to the extension of the best possible palliative care to all who require it, so that no limits are put on the compassion which we show as individuals and as a society.”
“This is an extremely difficult issue over which different people, including Christians, will have arrived at differing views with the best of intentions,” said the statement from the Archbishop of Wales, the Rt Revd Andrew John, with the Bishops of Bardsey, Llandaff, Monmouth, St Davids, St Asaph, and Swansea & Brecon.
The new bishop of Sodor and Man has been ordained and consecrated at a ceremony in York Minster.
The Venerable Patricia Hillas has taken over from the Right Reverend Peter Eagles, who was in post from 2017 until his retirement in October last year.
Ven Hillas was born in Malaysia and grew up in Lincolnshire, and has served as chaplain to the speaker of the House of Commons as well as being the Archdeacon and Canon of Westminster Abbey.
The ceremony, which saw three new bishops ordained and consecrated by Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, took place earlier.
On Wednesday, Dr Harrison attended a ceremony at Lambeth Palace.
He said the “service marks a significant moment in that transition, and I am looking forward greatly to joining with sisters and brothers in the Diocese of Exeter…”
Proposals to reform the CNC should have included its current members, and imputations about the unfairness of the process were off the mark, some observers of Wednesday’s House of Bishops meeting said (News, 18 September).
On Thursday, the longest-serving central member of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), Christina Baron, criticised the bishops for not consulting CNC members before drawing up proposals.
“The way in which these proposals came forward without any consultation, without even any notice, has made all the elected members of the CNC very angry,” Ms Baron said.
The message to CNC members seemed to be, she said, that their work “is not respected, is not valued, that we are not taken seriously”.
Proposals to reform the CNC should have included its current members, and imputations about the unfairness of the process were off the mark, some observers of Wednesday’s House of Bishops meeting saidhttps://t.co/iUbX4Efinp
The economic, social, and public benefits provided by universities are “threatened by the financial crisis” in higher education, the Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, has warned.
Contributing to a two-hour debate on the subject in the House of Lords last week, Dr Wilcox said that, in his diocese, the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University “support more than 19,500 jobs and generate more than £1 billion annually for the local economy. What is true in Sheffield is true across the country: universities are generally hugely beneficial to the communities within which they are situated.”
The Church of England believed that higher education should serve the common good, he said. The universities mentioned did this in a variety of ways, including private investment, and volunteer and work placements across health, social care, the law, and other areas.
The economic, social, and public benefits provided by universities are “threatened by the financial crisis” in higher education, the Bishop of Sheffield @PeteWilcox1564 has warned https://t.co/Jx29BNFPf0
Rhiannon’s ordained ministry to date has spanned the dioceses of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Birmingham and Ely. She was ordained deacon in 2000 and worked first in a team ministry in the market town of Huntingdon, followed by being the Rector of a multi-parish benefice just outside Cambridge. She then became Director of Mission for the Diocese of Birmingham which involved leading their Growing Younger project and helping to implement their ‘Transforming Church’ and church-planting vision.
She currently serves as the Archdeacon of Ipswich and Director of the ‘Inspiring Ipswich’ project. Rhiannon is also a trustee of ‘Leading your Church into Growth’.
She is married to Philip, a physicist and photographer based in Oxford, and together they love to travel in the UK and further afield whenever possible.
We request all the faithful in the GSFA to uphold our faithful brothers and sisters in the Church of England, bishops, clergy and laity, who have come together as ‘The Alliance’. We stand with them in the struggle that lies ahead as they seek to establish a new Province of the Church of England that will enable them to continue their witness to Jesus with integrity and freedom.
Despite the continued opposition of almost 50% of the Synod, the bishops of the Church of England have now succeeded in gaining support for services of blessing for same sex couples and the endorsement of a timetable to enable clergy to enter into same sex marriages.
With heavy hearts we see with increasing clarity that they will not be deterred from taking a path which is entirely contrary to the teaching of our Lord as held universally by the Christian Churches for two millennia and that they will continue regardless of the hurt and dismay suffered by faithful Churches of the Global South.
This latest development serves to illustrate the new reality that we felt compelled to articulate in the GSFA Ash Wednesday Statement of Feb 20th last year. The Church of England, has set itself to cement its departure from the historic faith by liturgical change. There can therefore now be no doubt that the Mother Church of the Communion has forfeited her leadership role in the global Communion and that the legacy ‘instruments of unity’, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other instruments over which he presides, (the Primates Meeting, the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Consultative Council) are all compromised.
Congratulations to Archbishop Justin Badi Arama who was enthroned as Archbishop of South Sudan this weekend!
We pray that God will use him to uphold the authority of scripture and the true gospel of Jesus Christ in South Sudan and beyond. pic.twitter.com/hxEWNPx93O
Together for the Church of England, an organisation that speaks for a number of groups promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion, welcomed the vote, and pledged to continue engaging in the process of refining the detail of the proposals.
The statement expressed hope that those who opposed the changes would likewise continue to engage “with honesty and kindness, as they have so far, in order that we may seek together for the welfare of the whole Church of England”.
By contrast, the national director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), Canon John Dunnett, said on Tuesday that it was “deeply disappointing” that the motion had been passed, “despite hearing repeatedly in speeches of the need to build trust by avoiding bad process, and CEEC’s continued advocacy of the insufficiency of delegated arrangements”.
Two prominent umbrella groups have given their response to the General Synod’s decision to endorse plans for stand-alone services of blessing for same-sex couples and delegate episcopal ministry for opponents to the changes https://t.co/VMuOfV8Yvz
And here is my speech, given after two amendments were discussed and voted on (and so limited to three minutes):
This is not a debate between love and legalities. Those who oppose this motion do so because we want to be true to the love of Christ for all—‘if you love me, keep my commandments. Remain in my love’. Love rejoices with the truth, and the truth is that, if this motion is passed, three things will certainly happen.
First, trust—already at a low—will be finally broken. There has been no adequate theology, no adequate process, no transparency, no coherence. LLF has failed all four tests of trust.
Secondly, the Church will split. Not in formal structures—I cannot see how that could work. But it will in practice. Nowhere in scripture, nowhere in the history of the church catholic, nowhere in the Church’s own doctrine—nowhere in past statements by the bishops until very recently, has this been a ‘thing indifferent’ on which we can agree to disagree. And we do not.
Thirdly, the Church will continue in serious decline. In fourteen years, we have halved in size. In one diocese, the number of children has dropped by 50% in four years. There are no real signs that this is slowing, yet alone reversing. After the Scottish Episcopal Church changed its doctrine it declined by 40% in six years. The Church of Scotland will be extinct by around 2038—just fourteen years from now. No Western denomination has changed its doctrine of marriage without then accelerating in decline. We will be no different. This is not ‘catastrophising’; this is not a power play. This is honesty; this is reality.
So if you do vote for this proposal, please do it with your eyes wide open—knowing it will destroy trust, knowing it will divide the Church, and knowing it will lead to greater decline. I don’t feel any of that is a demonstration of the love of God. Vote for this—only if you think that distrust, disunity, and decline is a price worth paying. If not, vote against and let us think again together.
What happened at General Synod last weekend? What became clear in the debate about sexuality and marriage? Why is there so much lack of honesty and transparency? And where do we go from here? @talkChristianlyhttps://t.co/e1lpLJ3JVl
Proposals to remove impediments on the use of new blessings for same-sex couples in stand-alone services, along with the provision of delegated episcopal ministry for those who oppose the changes, were shown a pale green light from the General Synod on Monday afternoon….
A notable opponent of the motion was the Bishop of Bath & Wells, Dr Michael Beasley, who has previously voted for LLF motions and supported an amendment in November last year calling for stand-alone services to be trialled (News, 17 November 2023).
He was voting against the motion this time, he said, because he felt that it was necessary to do more work on questions about whether doctrine was being changed by the introduction of services that some feared would resemble weddings.
A warning of a “de facto ‘parallel Province’” in the Church of England has been given in a letter to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York from the Alliance, an umbrella group that emerged last year. It comprises the leaders of groups, Catholic and Evangelical, that are concerned about the effect of the Living in Love and Faith outcome on C of E teaching on marriage.
The letter, signed by current and former Vicars of Holy Trinity, Brompton, and the National Leader of New Wine, among others, warns that, if proposals to enable stand-alone services of blessing for same-sex couples go ahead, “we will have no choice but rapidly to establish what would in effect be a new de facto ‘parallel Province’ within the Church of England and to seek pastoral oversight from bishops who remain faithful to orthodox teaching on marriage and sexuality.”
Next month, the General Synod will be asked to vote on a draft motion approving such services, alongside an offer for “delegated episcopal ministry” for opponents (Online News, 21 June). The proposal is “clearly contrary to the canons and doctrine of the Church of England”, the Alliance letter says, citing Canon B30 on marriage.
A warning of a “de facto ‘parallel Province’” in the Church of England has been given in a letter to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York from the Alliance, an umbrella group that emerged last year. https://t.co/jeVv0VGh7e
Over the past two years, Professor Hope Hailey conducted interviews with 20 laity and clergy, who were nominated by “a handful of diocesan bishops”. The focus was on those who “work with varied complexities and challenges in the Church but need to establish high-trust working environments”.
The 49-page review concludes that “pervasive yet patchy distrust is manifest in different ways across the Church”, but that distrust is “most profoundly evident” in “the major and traumatising breaches of trust that have been of deep concern to the General Synod and many inside and outside the Church”.
“Racism, sexual abuse and issues relating to Living in Love and Faith all deeply affect the life and witness of the Church,” it says. “The serious breaches of trust and some of the profoundly inadequate ways they have been responded to, in terms of processes, procedures and decision making, are themselves acute manifestations of a wider culture of distrust.”
Responding to the paper on Thursday afternoon, the national director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), Canon John Dunnett, suggested that the proposals would not receive support from those who have consistently voted against LLF motions in Synod.
“The longing of CEEC Evangelicals is to remain in the C of E, but this is being undermined by the ongoing commitment of many in the House of Bishops to walk away from our biblical and inherited doctrine of marriage and sexual ethics,” he said.
Referring to provisions which, since late last year (News, 18 November 2023). CEEC has made available to churches which oppose the Prayers of Love and Faith, Canon Dunnett said:
“If General Synod approves the motion as it stands, I anticipate a significant increase in the take up of the Ephesian Fund and alternative spiritual oversight by clergy and churches in the CEEC and Alliance constituency. This is because many feel that this is the only way they can find a voice for their concern and a spiritual oversight that has integrity.”
Proposals for stand-alone services of blessing for same-sex couples are to be brought to the General Synod in July, alongside an offer for “delegated episcopal ministry” for those who oppose any changes https://t.co/8reQ8xiytv
Minutes taken at meetings of the House of Bishops will now be published routinely, but the public or press will still not be admitted, the House has announced.
A committee led by the Archbishop of York had been examining how the working of the House could be made more transparent, following sustained criticism from members of the other two Houses of the General Synod during last year’s Living in Love and Faith debates.
Multiple members of the Houses of Clergy and Laity accused the bishops of hiding legal advice regarding the Prayers of Love and Faith, and of obscuring disagreements and debates in the House over the gay-blessings policy.
The report produced by the bishops’ transparency group concedes that there was “substantial and reasonable criticism of the way in which the House of Bishops operates”.
Minutes taken at meetings of the House of Bishops will now be published routinely, but the public or press will still not be admitted, the House has announced https://t.co/l5sZNheYgr
Step forward, Revd Sam Ferguson, the Rector of The Falls Church Anglican in Virginia, USA, who also addressed the GSFA gathering.
Revd Ferguson does not see the current controversies as a threat, or something to be managed, or put to one side – instead he explained that the controversy was a gift and an opportunity. “If you look at the history of the Church”, he said, “Christian doctrine is typically produced in the pressure of heresy and controversy, not in a vacuum.”
He described the LGBTQ movement as, “a flower on a tree, that is a completely a new way of understanding what it means to be human – so underlying the whole LGBTQ movement are a whole different set of assumptions about being human.”
His thesis was that to address these assumptions, which affect us all, the Church needs to discover an ever more compelling vision of biblical anthropology, which will then shape our response with compassion and clarity. Compassion for individuals who experience pain. Clarity because the truth is not subjective.
Living up to the challenge, in less than an hour, he set out three of the unarticulated assumptions which shape the world in which we live and are seen in the LGBT movement. He then offered a glorious, biblical alternative to each one.
I am a self-made individual, answerable to no-one
My sense of self is located in my feelings rather than any objective reality
I find my hope in happiness (and sex) and my healing in transition
As he travelled from creation to the new creation, Ferguson showed compassion for the fallen world and pointed to the resurrection hope for hurting people. He challenged those present that the church needed to offer “a thick enough ecclesia, Christian community, to come around people who are hurting – but it is a Spirit-shaped community and a Spirit-shaped transformation.”
The presentation was steeped in his own American culture, yet his biblical exegesis landed with those from all nations. The Q&A just kept going and when time was eventually called, he was surrounded by delegates from all over the world. There was no ‘deep listening’ – but those listening wanted more.
The CofE bishops are stuck because they cannot agree on the answer to a simple question – “Is same-sex sex sinful?” Can the GSFA Assembly help? https://t.co/JKE1AgzVya
What is to be welcomed in this latest article is that it seems to acknowledge our problems are ultimately doctrinal and that our understanding of unity has to face that reality. This is because unity and doctrine belong together: different doctrines will, it acknowledges, require different spaces within one church. This represents a significant development that opens up conversations with ecumenical theology and practice but it is also one whose logic needs to be carried through carefully and consistently. There is the danger of rushing forward and falling into an unprincipled and incoherent pluralism which seeks to give equal standing to contradictory doctrines and practices. There is also the danger of failing to give the proper degree of space necessary to secure the highest degree of communion possible.
If we are to proceed properly with this “reset” we need the bishops, members of General Synod, and the Church of England as whole (including various “stakeholders” already creating their own “space” in the new networks of the Alliance and Together) to:
find a way forward which will allow both “freedom for each group” and “genuine expression of our unity in the Body of Christ, and in our shared Anglican heritage”;
recognise that consensus “usually emerges, even though it may take time”;
take seriously the “call to be careful and to respect and value the processes of the Church for collective discernment”;
show that we believe both that “unity matters – it really matters” and that it is “important…to contend for right doctrine” and unity and doctrine cannot be separated.
There are still real risks. These include an over-emphasis on a supposed “new spirit of generosity and pragmatism”, the continuing influence among bishops of a flawed understanding of what it means for them to be “a focus of unity” detached from them upholding doctrine, and the desire on the part of many simply to “get PLF/LLF done” (in the way they want).
If unity matters, can that be based on anything other than agreed doctrine? Do Martyn Snow's proposals for a reset address the challenges facing the LLF process? Can we avoid another car crash at Synod? @goddardaj@simonsarmientohttps://t.co/A5Y5RaezVR
Currently the Archdeacon of Lewisham and Greenwich, Archdeacon Cutting was announced as the new Bishop at the Garry Weston Library, in Southwark Cathedral. He began by paying tribute to the “dynamism, presence, and charisma” of his predecessor, Dr Karowei Dorgu, who died in office last year (News, 11 September 2023; Obituary, 22 September 2023).
Archdeacon Cutting was described by the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, as having a “missionary heart”. His experience in the area meant that he would be able to “hit the ground running”, Bishop Chessun said, but it was “more important that he hits the ground praying”.
Archdeacon Cutting grew up in south India, and trained for ministry at St John’s College, Nottingham. He served his title in Sheffield diocese before moving to London in the early 1990s, to serve as assistant curate at St Andrew’s, Uxbridge.
We are delighted to announce The Venerable@AlCutting Archdeacon of Lewisham & Greenwich, as the fourteenth Bishop of Woolwich in the Diocese of SouthwarkMore infohttps://t.co/BrvRMXbP0P
The bishop is married to Rachel, an Occupational Therapist, and they have four adult children. He was born in Bolton and is a passionate supporter of Bolton Wanderers football team, as well as being a beekeeper, keen cake baker and fan of live comedy.
He said: “I have long-standing connections with Devon – we used to holiday in North Devon every year as a child, I courted my future wife in Exeter when she was a student at St Loyes College, and I discerned a vocation to the ordained ministry while worshipping at Exeter Cathedral and a local church.”
“As Bishop for the whole of Devon, I am looking forward to providing oversight, pastoral care, prayer, fellowship, and partnership in the gospel across the whole breadth of the diocese. We are a broad church with a diversity of traditions and views, and I am committed to working together and being united in our shared mission to grow in prayer, make new disciples and serve the people of Devon with joy.”
We are delighted to announce The Venerable
More info