In 1911, he came to the village to be a lay assistant to the vicar and a year later he assisted at the funerals of a mother and child who were killed in a horse-and-cart accident.

The tragedy inspired Owen to write Deep Under Turfy Grass which has inspired the stained glass window, which was installed on Thursday.

Oxford Diocese granted All Saints Church the faculty to install the art piece, following a successful fundraising campaign by local people.

Church vicar Robert Thewsey, with the active support of the congregation, has supported the Dunsden Owen Association with the crowdfunding.

Read it all.

War poet Wilfred Owen honoured with Oxfordshire glass window https://t.co/YwDprXhas7

— BBC Radio Berkshire (@BBCBerkshire) October 13, 2023

The social psychologist Christina Maslach has described burnout as “an erosion of the soul caused by a deterioration of one’s values, dignity, spirit, and will”.

The chief executive of the Guild of Health and St Raphael, the Revd Dr Gillian Straine, lists its symptoms: “Emotional exhaustion, loss of empathy. You want to be alone. You fantasise that you’re somewhere else. You feel unwell, pessimistic, irritable, overwhelmed. You don’t care any more.”

Burnout is common in the caring professions. But, she says, “there are certain things in the Church that make clergy more susceptible — and increase their suffering.”

She recalls a day on healing ministry organised by a diocese when five clergymen approached her to talk about depression. Two had imagined taking their own life, she says, and a third had made plans to do so.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

Clergy well-being: the smoke before the burnout

Huw Spanner looks at the danger signs for clergy who are running on emptyhttps://t.co/i7xDfV0MRH

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 9, 2023

A Covid-19 recovery grant from Historic England kickstarted a major new lease of life and a successful fundraising drive for further renewal at a village church.

St John’s Ryhall, a Grade 1 listed building in the Diocese of Peterborough, had 28 roof leaks, blocked drains and was damp and cold.

An earlier fundraising drive was cancelled due to Covid-19, while bad winter weather had exacerbated existing damage.

The church was awarded £11,000 from the Heritage Stimulus Fund, part of the Government’s Culture Recovery fund, to help sites hit by Covid-19, to repair its drains, pipes and gutters on its roof.

Rainwater was damaging the walls, and repair work was vital before roof renovation could take place.

Read it all.

Here’s a painting of St John’s Church Ryhall that I have just completed. I was asked to paint this medieval building to help raise money for the church restoration fund. It will go to the winner of a lottery to help raise money for this very deserving charity. pic.twitter.com/qDa5xVqIyk

— josette carroll (@josettecarroll1) May 14, 2021

Ten survivors of church-based abuse have written to the Archbishops’ Council criticising their treatment after the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) was disbanded.

On Sunday evening, a letter was sent to the council by ten of the 12 people who had been awaiting a review of their cases by the ISB when it was disbanded without warning (News, 21 June). They write: “In the period since you closed the ISB we have been left in uncertainty and distress.”

The group criticise the announcement on 14 September that Kevin Crompton had been appointed as an “interim commissioner of independent reviews”….They say that the council’s handling of the situation has caused “harm” to members of the group.

“We have no forum through which to raise these concerns. Collectively, we believe that the harm these decisions have caused needs to be independently assessed and we have asked an expert clinical psychologist to complete this work as a matter of urgency.”

Read it all.

Ten survivors of church-based abuse wrote to the Archbishops’ Council on Sunday evening, criticising their treatment since the Council disbanded the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB).https://t.co/Tj6StIHVG3

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 25, 2023

Investors overseeing $23.6 trillion of funds have kick-started a campaign to pressure 100 companies to ramp up the fight against biodiversity loss.

Axa Investment Managers, Robeco, the Church Commissioners for England, Storebrand Asset Management and 186 other participants in the Nature Action 100 initiative have written to companies demanding “urgent and necessary actions” to protect and restore ecosystems, according to a statement released Tuesday.

The targeted companies include BHP Group Plc, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Nestle SA, Bayer AG, Amazon.com Inc. and Unilever Plc. They were selected based on their market values and participation in industries ranging from mining, food and pharmaceuticals to chemicals and forestry that are considered vital to reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.

Read it all.

Investors overseeing $23.6 trillion of funds have kick-started a campaign to pressure 100 companies to ramp up the fight against biodiversity loss https://t.co/YBXl6RtBou

— Bloomberg (@business) September 26, 2023

More than a quarter of churches in Cornwall are failing to offer a Sunday service, analysis by The Telegraph has revealed.

Across 287 churches in the county, 78 had no forms of Sunday worship advertised on the last weekend of September – a total of 27 per cent.

Of those that did, just 114 advertised that Communion was being offered, considered by many Christians to be the most important sacrament.

Responding to the data, the Rev Marcus Walker, chairman of the campaign group, Save The Parish, said: “It can come as no shock to anybody that if you reduce the number of priests, you reduce the number of services; if you reduce the number of services you reduce the number of people going to church.

“The Church of England has hundreds of millions of pounds to throw at pet causes. Now is the time to put that money back where it was supposed to be spent: parish ministry.”

Read it all.

I think the final comment about rotation of services being long-established is a fair onehttps://t.co/SgjM7cKRpJ

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) September 25, 2023

Artist Che Lovelace was on his way to the coast on the Caribbean island of Trinidad to collect mud to use in carnival celebrations when he received a message that a church in the UK wanted him to create an artwork to commemorate the life of an African man he had never heard of.

Quobna Ottobah Cugoano was a respected abolitionist in 18th Century Britain – but, despite his significant role in the abolition of the slave trade and slavery, his story is not that well-known.

Cugoano was born in the Gold Coast, today’s Ghana. He was enslaved when he was 13 – captured with about 20 others as they were playing in a field.

His destination was the sugar plantations of the Caribbean island of Grenada. On board the ship taking him across the Atlantic Ocean, there was, as Cugoano writes, “nothing to be heard but the rattling of chains, smacking of whips, and the groans and cries of our fellow-men.”

Read it all.

Quobna Cugoano: London church honours Ghanaian-born freed slave and abolitionist https://t.co/cxpmv6lMkO

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 20, 2023

As we all know very well, the trend in post war philosophy, especially in Europe and to some extent in the USA, has been towards the individual as the sole actor in their own drama and the final arbiter of their fate. True, they are caught up in forces more powerful than themselves and find themselves vast desires, but they are always somehow alone.

In the way these trends have emerged into culture there is a great danger of the entirely false idea prevailing that for most of us we are essentially autonomous human actors, protected by markets, rational economic actors, who have the right to live without all but the most essential restraints on what we make of ourselves. That understanding of life is not by any means entirely new but has reached a certain level of predominant thinking in everything from culture wars, through economics to the politics of sexuality. We are more and more individualist.

At the same time, as The Times of London has commented so continually this week, Christian and all religious faith has declined dramatically.

I should be clear that this is not all bad, for Churches are ruined when wealth and power lead them to self-reliance. I rejoice in less of a bossy attitude, and of the church stepping back from telling everybody what to do, here and elsewhere. Except in the House of Lords! It is not the biblical pattern of Jesus who made himself a servant, washed His disciples’ feet, lived a holy life and by His death and resurrection lifted the weary, the outcast and the failure into hope.

Read it all.

"Churches are ruined when wealth and power lead them to self-reliance. I rejoice in less of a bossy attitude, and of the Church stepping back from telling everybody what to do, here and elsewhere. Except in the House of Lords!" – Archbishop of Canterbury https://t.co/3IMVMymLIg

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) September 12, 2023

Christianity is a very strange and a very difficult faith. It is difficult to believe, and it is even more difficult to do what we were asked to do last Sunday — take up the cross of Christ and follow. Yet, in spite of the gainsayers, I do rather wonder whether Britain is as secular as the sociologists of religion maintain. In churches that take the trouble to present a well-conducted liturgy, to preach the difficult and challenging faith of Christ, people still respond.

The evangelicals in the Church of England manage to fill churches. The splendid liturgy of the Western Rite attracts thousands every Sunday to the great oratory churches in Knightsbridge and Birmingham. Even the oft-repeated claim that there are no more vocations to religious orders is not completely true — the Blackfriars in Oxford have a flourishing novitiate.

There has never been a time when it was easy to believe that a loving creator allows the innocent to die in earthquakes or children to suffer from cancer. Since the feminist revolution, and the change in societal attitudes to sexuality, the churches undoubtedly face some problems. But I do not believe that either the sheer difficulty in believing at all, or the sexual revolution, is what keeps people away from church.

Christianity is not destroyed by rival ideologies, such as Darwinism. It is just slowly gnawed at by secularism, consumerism, the “strange disease of modern life”. To visit a church where they still offer business as usual is to be stimulated, as no secular equivalent can stimulate: disturbed as no drama or work of art could disturb.

Read it all.

Excellent article by A N Wilson in today's Times. Well deserved praise for #frgraemerowlands, and a mention for the choir (or Latin Chorus!) aswell. pic.twitter.com/yTShNu2jyA

— ssktmusic (@ssktmusic) September 14, 2023

The Church of England has been “dealt a death knell” as parishes close at a record rate, a Telegraph investigation has revealed.

Almost 300 have disappeared in the past five years alone, analysis of church data reveals, the fastest rate since records began in 1960.

The startling figures come as a bombshell dossier accused bishops and senior clergy of “putting a gun to people’s heads” to drive through controversial plans to cut costs, merge parishes and cut vicars.

The claims come against the backdrop of declining congregation numbers, leaving many clergy afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.

Read it all (one of many threads to catch up on).

Church of England parishes close at record rate https://t.co/G9xNCU2O1Q

— john milbank (@johnmilbank3) September 3, 2023

Two years ago, Bishop Richard Frith started visiting the diocese of Winchester, shortly before his appointment as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Episcopal Commissary. The term that he uses to describe the people he met is “shell-shocked”.

In September 2021, the month of the first visits, just two months had passed since the resignation of the Bishop of Winchester, Dr Tim Dakin (News, 23 July 2021). He had “stepped back” in the previous May (News, 20 May 2021), after the threat of a vote of no confidence in the diocesan synod. The motion referred to “allegations of poor behaviour and mistreatment on his part of a number of individuals”, and described the governance and financial management of the diocese as “unfit for purpose”.

“It was pretty unknown for such a thing to have happened,” Bishop Frith recalls. “What on earth was going to happen next? There was a lot of uncertainty.”

These were, indeed, unprecedented events. More than 40 members of the diocesan synod had supported the motion, while one of Dr Dakin’s appointed suffragans, the Bishop of Basingstoke, the Rt Revd David Williams, had presented concerns to Lambeth Palace and the Bishop of London.

Read it all.

Two years on from Bishop Tim Dakin’s resignation & with a new Bishop appointed I’ve got a long read in todays paper about the diocese of Winchester. As one person put it, there are many stories to be told https://t.co/ZSspWN8XGh

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) September 8, 2023

The founder of Soul Survivor, Canon Mike Pilavachi, exhibited “coercive and controlling behaviour” that led to inappropriate relationships, the physical wrestling of youths, and the massaging of young male interns, the Church of England’s safeguarding investigation has concluded.

First announced in April (News, 6 April), the investigation was conducted by the National Safeguarding Team (NST) and the diocese of St Albans. It has concluded that the safeguarding concerns reported to it are “substantiated”. They relate to Canon Pilavachi’s conduct in leadership and ministry, both before and after his ordination in 2012, and span 40 years, from his time as a youth leader at St Andrew’s, Chorleywood, to the current day.

The NST has been granted permission to bring a complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure against Canon Pilavachi, “relating to a safeguarding concern post ordination”.

Read it all.

Our report up now: https://t.co/Akznr00GUB

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) September 7, 2023

Worshippers at one of the churches united with Holy Trinity, Brompton (HTB), have expressed “extreme disquiet” to the Vicar, the Revd Archie Coates, about his stance on blessings for same-sex couples.

At the start of July, Mr Coates was among 27 signatories to a letter, shown to the Church Times, which argued that it was “unlawful, unconstitutional, and illegitimate” for the Bishops to commend the Prayers of Love and Faith. The letter said that they should instead be subject to a process of formal synodical authorisation (News, 7 July).

The signatories included three other prominent figures in the HTB network of churches, including Mr Coates’s predecessor, the Revd Nicky Gumbel. A footnote stated that individuals were “signing in their personal capacities, recognising they cannot claim to speak for everyone that they lead”.

Notwithstanding this caveat, their contribution marked the first public statement on the prayers by members of HTB’s leadership. The Prayers of Love and Faith work was approved in outline by the General Synod in February (Synod, 17 February) and the business is due to return to the Synod in November (News, 22 June).

Read it all.

“As a group of worshippers within the parish we must strongly disassociate ourselves from this letter and we would like you to know that it is causing us extreme disquiet.” https://t.co/eeJK1QqF4J

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 30, 2023

The consultation asked diocesan stakeholders for views and suggestions on how dioceses might cooperate to use resources better and on how The Church can best enable the important ministry of suffragan and area bishops, including whether any structural changes should be considered.

In the letter, Dame Caroline Spelman and Martin Seeley, Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich say that there will not be any centrally-led structural changes to dioceses, or combinations of dioceses as a result of the consultation.

Read it all.

No ‘big bang’ restructuring of Church of England dioceses, says Commission https://t.co/aNgLuS18Bz

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) August 3, 2023

Awards of nearly £13 million have been made for dioceses to help churches reach more children, young people and families, from toddler groups to apprentice youth ministers, in the latest round of grants for mission from the Church of England.

The grants from the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board of the Archbishops’ Council will revitalise parishes and start new congregations. The investments build on already successful projects to create new congregations and reach children and young people in areas including Bolton, Bournemouth, Guildford, Southampton and Wakefield.

In the Diocese of Guildford, £3.27 million has been awarded for the first phase of a nine-year project to reach young people of secondary school age with the good news of Jesus Christ in partnerships with schools.

Read it all.

Our latest grants for dioceses will help churches reach more children, young people and families.

Read more about the projects that will be funded at https://t.co/59728umQib.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) July 28, 2023

Christians may be “missing” teaching children about the resurrection, a researcher into their religious development has suggested.

The Revd Joanna Stephens, a researcher in religious cognition and the development of belief at the University of Nottingham, has interviewed more than 100 children for an international study funded by the Templeton Foundation.

“What struck me more from the perspective of the Church of England . . . is I think we’ve missed teaching children about the resurrection,” she said. “Does Jesus have a shadow?” was one of the questions that she had asked. “A lot of the children have struggled with that, and even the Christian children, because they say ‘Well, Jesus is dead; so he used to have a shadow but he doesn’t now.’ And you ask, ‘Does God need to eat? Does Jesus need to eat?’ ‘Well, Jesus used to eat, but he’s dead now.’”

Read it all.

This was a really interesting interview about an international study exploring the development of children's beliefs. Are they only familiar with half the Easter story? "Jesus is dead; so he used to have a shadow but he doesn’t now." https://t.co/8FvvVIPVhF

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) July 21, 2023

As a lay chaplain to ports, Ruth Campbell’s area of care stretches from Southend to Silvertown in east London. It ranges from small jetties to the giant ports of London Gateway, where the container ships arrive, and London Tilbury.

Around 10,000 ships come up the River Thames every year –with cruise ships alone carrying up to 800 crew. Some stay only for five hours before heading back out – and others up to a week while their ships are unloaded.

Many crew will have had little or no contact with their families over a nine month period with some having missed key family occasions and milestones.

Ruth’s role will very often mean carrying WiFi routers on board to help seafarers make contact with their families and friends.

Read it all.

How chaplains are helping seafarers – a testimony for Sea Sunday. 🌊

Read more about the chaplaincy to the tens of thousands of ships that dock at UK ports with crew on board who have spent months at sea.👇🏽https://t.co/kSzmPZBqsn

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) July 9, 2023

Commenting on his appointment Lee said:

“I am humbled and delighted to have been appointed as the next Dean of Newcastle, and am looking forward to working with Bishop Helen-Ann, Cathedral Chapter, Bishop’s Staff Team and colleagues in Newcastle Cathedral and Diocese as we seek to further God’s mission in our communities – not least by becoming ever more outward facing, younger and more diverse.

“This is an exciting time to be joining the Cathedral and Diocese. The Cathedral has recently completed its own refurbishment, which has already opened up new opportunities for it to engage with the City and beyond.

“Whilst I am new to the North East, I already feel a sense of connection with the core values of the Cathedral as a place of radical welcome which, through offering inspiring worship and other activities, seeks to empower worth. I look forward to playing my part in building on all that has already been done to make these values a reality – particularly through the Lantern Initiative and partnership with the Oswin Project.

“I give thanks to God for all the blessings I have received as a priest in the Diocese of Chelmsford, and am grateful to God for the call to continue my ministry in the Diocese of Newcastle.”

Read it all.

Bishop Helen-Ann @BishopNewcastle is extremely pleased to announce that the Revd Canon Lee Batson, currently Team Rector of the Epping Team Ministry in @chelmsdio , is to become the next Dean of Newcastle. Read more 👉 https://t.co/rqnhgptEQv pic.twitter.com/C9qaBU4v6D

— Newcastle Diocese (CofE) (@NclDiocese) July 14, 2023

The Church of England has taken note. This week, a proposal suggested by members of the Blackburn diocese to trial waiving the statutory fees for couples planning a church wedding (up to £641), was voted through by the General Synod. “While everyone likes the principle of free weddings, there is understandable anxiety about the unknown effect on church finances of doing so: the amendment to authorise a regional trial means we can allay those concerns,” pointed out the Rev Tom Woolford, who originally raised the issue.

The Blackburn diocese cited a 50 per cent fall in Church of England weddings over two decades. Whether saving £641 if you marry in a church away from where you both live, or £539 if you marry in your home parish, on a day that, on average, costs £18,400, will encourage tens of thousands of couples to flock to churches remains to be seen.

“I’m hoping and praying the trial goes really well and we can bring a motion for the full abolition of wedding fees in due course,” the Rev Woolford said. The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, described it as “a chance for us to do something which I believe could be really good for us, good for our soul”.

Read it all.

🔴 The General Synod has waived statutory fees – but will the new tactic work?https://t.co/GoAB1QjEdn

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 13, 2023

The acting chair of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB), Meg Munn, has accused the Archbishops’ Council of being “slow to listen” to experts — and the Archbishop of Canterbury of “undermining” her work — as she resigns all her safeguarding responsibilities within the Church.

Ms Munn, a safeguarding professional and a former MP, is also the independent chair of the Church’s National Safeguarding Panel (NSP).

After weeks of silence as disputes about the functionality and future of the ISB escalated, Ms Munn released an explosive personal statement to the Church Times on Wednesday morning explaining her decision to cease working for the Church, and finally giving her side of the story of the ISB’s demise.

In it, she speaks of being unsupported by the Archbishops’ Council, which appointed her; says that the other two members of the ISB arbitrarily changed their brief; and calls the ISB “a huge waste of money”. But she also says that safeguarding in the Church of England is not in crisis, praising the professionalism of many diocesan and national safeguarding officers.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

BREAKING. The acting chair of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB), Meg Munn, has accused the Archbishops’ Council of being “slow to listen” to experts — and @JustinWelby of “undermining” her work — as she resigns from the Churchhttps://t.co/DPPdqMpqvK

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 12, 2023

Let me begin with some words from Pope Francis –

“In today’s world, the sense of belonging to a single human family is fading, and the dream of working together for justice and peace seems an outdated utopia. What reigns instead is a cool, comfortable and globalised indifference, born of deep disillusionment concealed behind a deceptive illusion: thinking that we are all powerful, while failing to realise that we are all in the same boat… How wonderful would it be, even as we discover faraway planets, to rediscover the needs of the brothers and sisters who orbit around us.”i

With this in mind, I want to turn to the prayer that Jesus taught his friends, the Lord’s Prayer as we call it. Just the opening word is a powerful and challenging declaration of solidarity; a defiant rebuke to all who would reduce us to isolation from each other and from God.

For if this God to whom we pray is ‘Father’ – and, yes, I know the word ‘father’ is problematic for those whose experience of earthly fathers has been destructive and abusive, and for all of us have laboured rather too much from an oppressively, patriarchal grip on life – then those of us who say this prayer together, whether we like it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, even if we determinedly face away from each other, only turning round in order to put a knife in the back of the person standing behind us, are sisters and brothers, family members, the household of God.

That little word ‘our’ is a revolution.

Read it all.

And we're off and running. The Church of England General Synod session for July 2023 begins with prayer, and then a presidential address by the Archbishop of York on the Lord's Prayer. @cofe. @CottrellStephen @synod #GeneralSynod #ChurchofEngland pic.twitter.com/qMpHOxE0wI

— Bruce Bryant-Scott (@bbryantscott) July 7, 2023

The report of the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households, ‘Love Matters’, was launched by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on 26th April at Coram’s conference centre in London. This was a very appropriate venue in which to emphasise the importance of supporting children and families.

Over 120 people came to hear about the Commission’s messages and recommendations. It was a joyous occasion, rendered particularly special by the presence and contributions of pupils from four schools representing different faiths and members of the Family Justice Young People’s Board (FJYPB).  These schools and the FJYPB had previously taken part in the Commission’s evidence-gathering activities. Their personal stories and reflections demonstrated the enormous value of listening to and learning from young people. Their contributions at the launch can be heard on the Commission’s YouTube channel.

Read it all.

In a joint letter in The Times…[Wednesday], the faith leaders write: “The Illegal Migration Bill falls short of our obligation towards the most vulnerable. It fails to meet the basic test of an evidence-based and workable policy. We need an alternative approach that reflects our country’s history, values and responsibility.”

They add: “The UK should take a lead in setting out a just, compassionate approach, ensuring that people seeking sanctuary are protected, claims decided quickly and justly, human traffickers are punished, and the root causes of mass migration are properly addressed.”

The intervention comes on the final day of the Report Stage of the Illegal Migration Bill in the House of Lords. The Archbishop of Canterbury will be speaking in the House of Lords this evening in the final debate, during which Peers will vote on amendments.

The Archbishop will speak in support of his amendment, which has been tabled with the support of Peers from the Government and Opposition benches.

Read it all.

"Illegal Migration Bill falls short of obligation towards most vulnerable. It fails to meet test of evidence-based & workable policy. We need alternative approach that reflects our history, values and responsibility": @JustinWelby and other faith leaders.https://t.co/YodztJAvNj

— Shoaib M Khan (@ShoaibMKhan) July 5, 2023

A complete overhaul of clergy discipline will come under scrutiny at the General Synod next month when the Clergy Conduct Measure (CCM) is given first consideration.

The CCM is intended to replace the discredited Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM), which church authorities accept has contributed to the unjust treatment of both complainants and respondents.

Last summer, members of the Synod voted in principle to bring forward a new measure (News, 13 July 2022); now, they will have the opportunity to vote on the draft legislation for the first time.

The most significant change from the CDM is that complaints will be categorised in three divisions, from the mildest to the most serious, each with its own bespoke pathway for resolution.

Read it all.

Interesting: "there will also be a new power to bring a restraining order against a person deemed to have made vexatious complaints." https://t.co/Ua8WcE47cr

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) June 27, 2023

Jesus’ view of marriage as between a man and a woman was entirely typical of first-century Judaism, and consistent with the rest of Scripture. All ancient cultures (and many modern ones) recognised that a small minority of the population were different, in having a settled attraction to those of the same sex. In the ancient world, marriage and procreation were seen as key to the survival of society, so such people could be perceived as a threat, but there was often some sort of provision made for them. The Old Testament is unique amongst Ancient Near Eastern texts in not doing so—on the basis of God’s creation of male and female as the basis for sexual relationships. That is why all mainstream, critical scholars agree that the biblical texts and the teaching of Jesus is clear and consistent—though many of them think it is wrong.

Where the Bible mentions homosexual behavior at all, it clearly condemns it. I freely grant that. The issue is precisely whether that Biblical judgment is correct (Walter Wink, “Homosexuality and the Bible”).

The task demands intellectual honesty. I have little patience with efforts to make Scripture say something other than what it says, through appeals to linguistic or cultural subtleties. The exegetical situation is straightforward: we know what the text says. But what are we to do with what the text says?  I think it important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good (Luke Timothy Johnson).

It is common to hear people claim ‘Jesus never said anything about homosexuality’. But he did not need to—just as he did not need to say anything about incest, or other specific aspects of sexual immorality, since there was a clear consensus in Judaism on these questions, rooted in the sexual prohibitions in Leviticus. Jesus was concerned about issues of sexual immorality, and his reference to porneia would have been heard by anyone listening to him as including same-sex sex within that category of immorality.

Read it all.

This is a good article from Ian Paul explaining why there's no 'agree to disagree' really possible on this debate. https://t.co/mn7buCOGPf

— Trevin Wax (@TrevinWax) June 26, 2023

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.

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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.”

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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