• The Provincial Council was prepared to consider two Resolutions submitted by the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina and the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic calling for the release of the transcript of the proceedings of the Court for the Trial of a Bishop in the trial of Bp. Stuart Ruch as well as the report commissioned by the Executive Committee into the Province’s handling of the Ruch matter. However, the two dioceses withdrew these resolutions and instead agreed to participate in a dialogue with the Court, mediated by four diocesan chancellors, including the chancellors of the Anglican Dioceses of South Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic, intended to address questions raised by both the two dioceses and the court regarding the appropriateness of the actions of all parties involved. 

Canon Andrew Rowell, Chair of the Governance Task Force, will also participate in this dialogue. The participants agreed that a report on the proceedings will be made available to the Standing Committees of all the dioceses. The Province also acknowledged that the findings and recommendations of the Lathrop Review will be made available to any diocesan Standing Committee upon request. The dioceses and the Province also acknowledged that these resolutions may be reintroduced at a subsequent Provincial Council.  The original resolutions are included below for reference.

• Resolution #1 “calling upon the Court for the Trial of a Bishop to release a full transcript of all of its actions in the Ruch matter” and
• Resolution #2 calling upon the Executive Committee to release the final written report of the investigation of the Ruch matter.”

Read it all.

Monday, 15 June 2026
The Commemoration of Evelyn Underhill

To the Faithful of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina,

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Beth and I are in Tulsa as we begin meetings of the College of Bishops today and tomorrow and then Provincial Council meets Wednesday evening through Friday at noon. We have a strong delegation from the diocese—Canon Bob Lawrence, John Benson, and Justin Johnson—making the trip to Tulsa as well, and I write to ask your prayers for us as we head into these meetings. There is also an upcoming specially called Provincial Assembly which will be held as a Zoom gathering on Thursday, June 25. Again, we have a strong delegation for that meeting, including a strong Youth Delegation. The people representing our diocese at that gathering will be clergy delegates, Canon Laura Bowman, John Burwell, Claudia Carucci, Dean Shay Gaillard, Ryan Landes, Cindy Larsen, Canon Jim Lewis, Zach Miller, and Hamilton Smith; lay delegates, John Benson, Janis Breazeale, Anna Bruner, Katherine Cannon, Dr Ashley Bryant Harbin, Joy Hunter, Cathy Jacobs, Justin Johnson, Jessica Smith; and youth delegates, Elliott Arscott, Gabriel Collier, Edward Hart, Ben Shelton, Amelia Cannon, Cole O’Keefe, and Julia Dubay.

Title IV Revisions

There are three significant issues to be dealt with by the Provincial Council, which, if passed there, would go to the specially called Assembly for ratification in order to take effect. The first is the well-publicized and widely discussed Title IV revision, really a complete overhaul, of our disciplinary canons. The result of this process is a set of disciplinary canons addressing everything from making it easier to bring a charge against a bishop or a priest (the current ACNA canons make it unbearably complicated) all the way to clearly defined and canonically required procedures for how the courts must conduct their business. Such canonical requirements, absent until now, contributed to the level of distrust and frustration marking our Province today. I completely support these revisions, and have been impressed with the rigorous and transparent process undertaken by the Province to get us to this point—a year-long process with several cycles of revision and feedback that was open to the entire Province and resulted in thousands of suggestions that were considered and resulted in significant improvements from revision to revision.

Winston Churchill once said, about architecture: “First we shape our buildings. Afterwards our buildings shape us.” Similarly, I am hopeful to see how these new canons will shape us in the days to come into a stronger and more transparent Province.

Title I Changes

A second change, again necessitated by the weakness of our current canonical structure, concerns the succession of authority when an Archbishop is unable to carry out his duties for any reason, health, or, as we have been enduring, inhibition from ministry due to disciplinary proceedings. This change will clarify not only who is next in line to take on the responsibilities of that office, but who is next after that; this is precisely the situation we have recently had to deal with, and our Canons were not helpful. This change will clarify that process, as well as the scope of authority that accompanies the succession, and, again, I am fully supportive of it.

Ratification of the Provincial Constitution and Canons Committee

It’s the third proposal about which I have some concern, and I ask your prayers for God to be at work, guiding all of us who will be voting. This proposal involves changing—more precisely ratifying a first vote of a change approved by last year’s Provincial Council—to our current Governance Task Force (GTF), making it a Provincial Constitution and Canons Committee, ensconced in the Canons, and not simply a policy of the Province. My concern is that this is being done by this Provincial Council—well and good—to be ratified by the specially called Zoom Assembly (mentioned above).

When the College of Bishops voted to hold this specially called Assembly, the understanding was that the purpose of it was simply to ratify the Title IV revisions (again, see above) so they could take effect immediately and correct the many problematic aspects of the current canons. In the past few weeks, this Assembly has been laden with more than that. I worry that we, as a Province, have not had enough  time to reflect on, and perhaps, offer constructive feedback, to these proposed changes. What was the great strength of the process of Title IV revision, has not been as robust for this revision.

Resolutions Proposed By the ADOSC

In addition to these Canonical changes, our diocese has proposed two resolutions for Provincial Council’s consideration and vote. One is a call to have the transcript of the court proceedings in the recent trial of Bishop Ruch released publicly (with necessary redactions to protect witnesses as needed) and the other is to have the final report of the Lathrop investigation—looking into the whole investigative process leading up to that trial—released publicly as well, when it is complete. Our goal in proposing these resolutions is simple: we hope to see trust that has been deeply eroded over the past few years restored in the Province as it continues to navigate challenging waters. 

As we head into these meetings, I am aware that we, as a diocese, have not been afforded the luxury, as most other dioceses have, of thinking of these things in the abstract. People in our diocese have been directly affected by the insufficiencies in our current canons and have been negatively affected by them. 

So, I’m writing to ask you to pray, to give you some important insight into what you can be praying about, and to let you know how I, as your bishop, am processing all that we are facing in these upcoming two weeks. Pray that God’s will be done, and that, however the matters are resolved, the witness of the Province to the gospel of Jesus will increase and grow, and that the Church would be strengthened.

Blessings,

(The Rt. Rev) Chip Edgar

On May 7, 2026 and June 2, 2026, the Court held hearings to consider a number of pending
motions from both parties. On June 10, 2026, the Court issued the following rulings:
o Respondent’s Motion for In Camera Trial was GRANTED;
o The Province’s Motion for the College of Bishops to Observe the Trial was DENIED;
o Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss was DENIED;
o Respondent’s Supplementary Motion to Dismiss was DENIED; and
o The Province’s Motion for the Court to Re-establish Fairness, etc. was GRANTED IN
PART.

Read it all.

More ACNA news, on the coming trial of Abp Steve Wood: the Court for the Trial of a Bishop has granted Wood's motion for a non-public trial, denied his motion to dismiss, and denied a motion to allow the College of Bishops to observe the trial. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/QkpdxSnqpm

— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) June 15, 2026

Safeguarding in the Church of England could be broadened to include anyone harmed or at risk of harm in a church context, after the C of E’s National Safeguarding Team (NST) launched a consultation.

The fresh approach is a result of recommendations from the Charity Commission, which has pointed out that the “Church does not treat allegations of abuse from an adult not assessed to be ‘vulnerable’ as a safeguarding allegation”. Its own guidance says that trustees “must take reasonable steps to protect from harm all people who come into contact with their charity”.

The consultation, What is Safeguarding?, focuses on the code of practice Safeguarding in the Church, the subject of a consultation in April and May. Until now, it has been referred to as Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults. The change of title follows recommendations from the Commission that the NST review definitions of safeguarding and vulnerable adults.

“It is very important to note that this document is in the very early stages of thinking,” the NST says in a preface.

Read it all.

Church of England’s definition of safeguarding could be broadened https://t.co/rheEMJAw4y

— Simon Sarmiento (@simonsarmiento) June 11, 2026

The Rev. Dr. JT Hewitt Called as Assistant Rector & Scholar in Residence at St. John’s Church in Florence

The Rev. Dr. JT Hewitt has accepted a call to serve as the Assistant Rector & Scholar in Residence at St. John’s Church in Florence. JT is a Florence native and Furman graduate who holds multiple postgraduate degrees, including a PhD in New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Since receiving his doctorate in 2018, he has served in higher education—first at the University of Aberdeen and most recently as Lecturer in New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh. Before moving to Scotland, JT was ordained in the Presbyterian Church and served as Assistant Pastor of Central Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to that, he served at Grace Church Anglican in Seattle, Washington. He is married to Andrea, and together they have four children: Henrik, Avonlea, Madeleine, and Nikolai. Read the announcement.

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The latest edition of the #Anglican diocese of #Southcarolina Enewsletter https://t.co/dKIY12ZmpK #parishministry #media #religion #churchlife [on the bottom right the Rev. Dr. JT Hewitt new Assistant Rector & Scholar in Residence at St. John’s Church in Florence, SC] pic.twitter.com/EMztfKN3e4

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) May 27, 2026

The Anglican Church in North America has chosen to retain Lathrop GPM to conduct a restricted and nontransparent review of the Title IV proceedings surrounding Bishop Stewart Ruch, and in that choice the truth of the matter is already disclosed, not at the end of the process but at its beginning. The terms will not be released. The findings are not promised to the light. The scope has been drawn with a care that ensures the most decisive questions will never quite arrive where they must be answered. One need not wait for conclusions. The arrangement itself speaks with sufficient clarity.

What presents itself as sober inquiry carries the unmistakable grammar of preemption. There will be interviews, reports, careful language, and the appearance of discipline, yet all of it unfolds within limits that have already been secured against the possibility that the truth might actually do what truth does, which is to judge, to expose, and to reorder. The structure is not neutral. It is already an answer. It ensures that whatever is said will be said in a way that does not require the institution to become something other than what it presently is.

The choice of Lathrop GPM makes this plain in a way that no further argument can improve. A firm known for defending institutions against claims of abuse has been entrusted with examining an institution under precisely such a shadow. One might search for a more transparent declaration of intent and fail to find it. This is not a tension to be resolved. It is a coherence to be recognized. The task is not to discover a truth that might unsettle the body under examination but to render events intelligible within a horizon that preserves that body’s continuity. While the conclusion has not been written in detail, its boundaries have been drawn with precision.

Even the most modest traditions of law would find this intolerable. The idea that judgment must be free from the control of those who stand to be implicated is not an advanced refinement. It is the bare minimum required for justice to exist at all. 

Read it all.

Re: Ruch trial aftermath: The Ex. Committee has appointed a subcommittee to "oversee a third-party review of the provincial administration" of the Ruch matter. They have not yet determined the scope of the review but will "retain a qualified firm or individual to complete it." pic.twitter.com/U1CXTUnENM

— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) January 17, 2026

Bishop Chip Edgar stressed the importance of intentional Christian formation in both his sermon and his address during the 2026 Convention of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, which was held March 13-14, in Myrtle Beach. The theme of the gathering was “Becoming Fully Mature in Christ.”  Hosted by Trinity Church and conducted at both the church, and the Marina Inn, the convention brought together more than 350 clergy and delegates from across the coastal and eastern parts of the state to hear from the Bishop, receive updates from various ministries, approve the budget, and elect individuals to serve in various offices….

Read it all and please note that you can view videos, read talks, and access other documents shared at the convention by visiting the convention resources page. 

Anglican Diocese of South Carolina Gathers in Myrtle Beach for 2026 Convention; “Becoming Mature in Christ”–Bishop Chip Edgar stressed the importance of intentional Christian formation in both his sermon and his address during the 2026 Convention of the Anglican Diocese of South… pic.twitter.com/In4eeLdbDy

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 20, 2026

 Financial controls were dismantled, and trustees were “disempowered”, in Bangor diocese, a review of the situation over the five years before the previous Archbishop’s resignation has found.

The independent governance review of Bangor Diocesan Board of Finance (BDBF) and Bangor Diocesan Trust (BDT), published on Friday, was told by trustees that it had became apparent that “they should not challenge what was being done because it was already agreed, and dissent would not be appreciated.”

During the period studied — the five years leading up to the retirement as Bishop of Bangor and Archbishop of Wales of the Most Revd Andy John, in 2025 — several serious-incident reports were sent to the Charity Commission relating to Bangor Cathedral (News, 14 May 2025).

A Visitation and safeguarding audit heard about “weak financial controls” and was told that there was “no protection for those raising concerns” (News, 3 May 2025). Archbishop John announced his retirement in the wake of its publication, apologising for “errors of judgement” (News, 27 June 2025).

Read it all.

Financial controls were dismantled, and trustees were “disempowered”, in #Bangor diocese, a review of the situation over the five years before the previous Archbishop’s resignation has found#churchinwales #churchnews #churchtimes https://t.co/BrgXlgwQC6

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 9, 2026

Updates from the Court for the Trial of a Bishop 

The College received an update on the Court for the Trial of a Bishop, which held an organizational meeting earlier this month to consider all recusals in the disciplinary matters of Archbishop Steve Wood and Bishop Derek Jones. Elizabeth Medley, Esq. of Tallahassee, Florida, has been appointed to serve as the Provincial Prosecutor. Bishop David Bryan, acting Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Carolinas, has recused himself from the Wood matter, and Bishop Ryan Reed has succeeded him as President of the Court.  Ms. Katie Grosskopf, Esq., will serve as its Presiding Officer. The Court has indicated it is considering plans to hold proceedings for both cases concurrently.  It will host an orientation session for all members of the Court later this month to establish its communications protocols and create a plan for moving forward….

Post Ruch Trial Review 

Following the College of Bishops meeting, the Executive Committee met on Friday afternoon and appointed a Subcommittee to oversee a third-party review of the provincial administration of disciplinary matters pertaining to Bishop Stewart Ruch. The committee includes: Bishop Mark Engel, Bishop Ordinary of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes (Chairman), The Rev. Canon Dr. Keith Allen, Rector of Christ Church Vero Beach in the Gulf Atlantic Diocese and member of the Executive Committee, Mrs. Sarah Kwolek, Director of Administration and Diocesan Treasurer for the Diocese of Pittsburgh and member of the Executive Committee, and Mrs. Kellie Moy, lay member at Church of the Good Shepherd in the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic. This subcommittee will meet soon to determine the final scope of the review and retain a qualified firm or individual to complete it.

Read it all.

ACNA NEWS: A press release has been issued in the wake of the College of Bishops' meeting that features lots of news about disciplinary matters in the church. 🧵to walk through them: pic.twitter.com/wBFqnsZP74

— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) January 17, 2026

Meanwhile, just when we needed to consolidate our remaining strengths, to re-energise parish ministry, and to reinvigorate the ordained ministry with funding, affirmation, and a theological rationale, the opposite course of action has been pursued: centralised control of policy and resources, disparagement of the parochial form of Anglican life, and devaluing of the ordained vocation.

Much has already been demolished, especially at the local level; much more has been weakened and made more difficult. It is hard going, these days, in parishes for clergy, together with churchwardens and other hard-working lay people. There are social and cultural reasons for the uphill nature of the task in the present era, but lack of support — in able clergy, in financial resources, in moral affirmation, in practical wisdom — is another. The Church of England on the ground is an ailing and failing Church. How has all this come about?

A minority of activists (lay and ordained General Synod members, some bishops and an Archbishop, and the Archbishops’ Council collectively) have contrived and conspired, over a period of years, to change the nature of the Church, to replace it with a different and alien ecclesial model. That replacement model is essentially managerial rather than relational, bureaucratic instead of organic, centralised in place of localised — all varnished over with the vacuous rhetoric of “leadership” (seldom has such a necessary concept been so misappropriated and abused). And all accompanied by complacent theological illiteracy and ignorance.

Centralisation of resources and of decision-making, whether at the national or diocesan level, subverts the institution as a whole. It sucks the life and energy out of the very places in which life and energy are primarily generated: the parish and (potentially) the diocese.

Read it all.

"We are now living in an upside-down, topsy-turvy, Church. Turning things the right way up again needs us to begin with the ethical imperative. What needs to affirmed, above all, is the priority of the ethical for thinking and acting" #ChurchofEngland https://t.co/oYoYqMdtQC

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) January 6, 2026

“[Jesus of Nazareth] was not a kind of demon pretending to be human; he was in every respect a genuine living man. He was not merely a man so good as to be ‘like God’—he was God.

“Now, this is not just a pious commonplace: it is not a commonplace at all. For what it means is this, among other things: that for whatever reason God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—he [God] had the honesty and courage to take his own medicine. Whatever game he is playing with his creation, he has kept his own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that he has not exacted from himself. He has himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When he was a man, he played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.”

—Creed or Chaos? (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949), page 4 (with special thanks to blog reader and friend WW)

Dorothy L Sayers died on December 17th 1957. In the second of a two part series, we look at her successful career as a detective story author and her turn to theology in the last two decades of her life.https://t.co/BaAlhRdLQ2

— Orwell Society (@Orwell_Society) December 17, 2025

A Powerful Retreat Weekend for St. Alban’s

The St. Alban’s Retreat, which was held earlier this month, ended, as it usually does, with baptisms in cold mountain water and creekside first communions. Fifteen men and women were baptized this year by the Rev. Dr. Rob Sturdy, St. Alban’s Chaplain. “I’m more than thankful to be able to work with these exceptional young people and to share with them the authenticity, integrity, love, and grace of Jesus,” wrote Rob. “Thanks to everyone who helps make it possible!”  Please pray for our new brothers and sisters in Christ as they venture home for Thanksgiving, that their fire for the Lord brings new faithfulness to the people they meet along the way and that their families would notice the changes in their hearts in profound ways.

Read it all.

The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter https://t.co/XimswopSVR (Saint Alban's retreat Photos, Anglican Diocese of SC) #parishministry #lowcountrylife #citadelchaplain #religion #faith pic.twitter.com/qNFyXVgsR9

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) November 25, 2025

O God of searing truth and surpassing beauty, we give thee thanks for Clive Staples Lewis whose sanctified imagination lighteth fires of faith in young and old alike; Surprise us also with thy joy and draw us into that new and abundant life which is ours in Christ Jesus, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

22 November 1963: Author and academic Clive Staples (“CS”) Lewis died. (aged 64). He’s best known for his works of fiction especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy. pic.twitter.com/JhxfklLKSB

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 22, 2025

Though the complainants were numerous enough to meet the canonical threshold for making a formal complaint, their charges are in limbo. One complainant, the Rev. Rob Sturdy, told the Post that after the sworn complaint was submitted, the ACNA’s provincial office returned it, asking all 11 complainants to sign again with an additional statement of attestation to their allegations’ truth “under penalties of perjury.”

Sturdy said the complainant group refuses to comply, calling it a “noncanonical requirement” that “attempt[s] to intimidate our signatories with potential legal action.”

An ACNA spokesperson told TLC that Dr. Tiffany Butler, director of safeguarding and canonical affairs, made the demand, calling it “the typical standard for any ‘sworn statement’ and the standard applied to other presentments received under this administration.”

“However, Chancellor Bill Nelson, in consultation with the College of Bishops, has acknowledged that no rigid formulation of the oath is required and, in particular, that it does not need to include the phrase ‘under penalties of perjury.’ Our hope is to have resolution on this matter as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.

Read it all.

New for @Livng_Church: ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood is accused of making sexual advances toward a staff member at his South Carolina church, as well as financial impropriety, plagiarism, and bullying.https://t.co/TBBMcDfszU

— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) October 24, 2025

The Alliance network has been encouraging incumbents who are unhappy with the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process to make known their church’s willingness to withdraw from Church of England structures.

Behind the scenes, the Alliance — a network of church organisations opposed to the changes brought by the LLF process — has been encouraging incumbents to persuade their PCCs to pass a resolution stating that, if the Church of England moves forward with either stand-alone services or clergy same-sex marriage, the parish will take at least one of a set of actions. Those include: seeking “alternative episcopal oversight”, a decision to “reroute their diocesan financial contributions”, and moves to “encourage ordinands to participate in an orthodox vocations programme”.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Bishops announced that full synodical approval would be required for either standalone services or clergy same-sex marriage, effectively stalling LLF (News, 15 October). The Bishops also announced that, as a result, they did not consider it necessary to develop any model of alternative episcopal oversight.

Read it all.

Exclusive from @PhrancisMartin: the Alliance network has been encouraging incumbents who are unhappy with the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process to make known their church’s willingness to withdraw from Church of England structures. https://t.co/EGumMC3ZNk pic.twitter.com/pHAEN3Ovwn

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) October 16, 2025

These works of local hospitality – flowers, music, refreshments, keeping the church warm – may seem simple, but they are fundamental to the church’s mission: to draw people together in fellowship to hear the word of Christ. And whilst the works are simple, organising them isn’t. A service like our Harvest Festival needs many to help: everyone from clergy to musicians and flower-arrangers. However, ever fewer are willing to volunteer.

In recent decades, the Church of England has undergone a relentless programme of centralisation. Money and powers have been drawn upwards from parishes to dioceses and new bodies like the Archbishops’ Council.

These central bodies are fixated on grand visions and political fashions rather than the practical work of local parishes. They are reluctant to spend money on paying for ordinary clergy and churches. Instead, funds are soaked up by growing bureaucracies.

Read it all.

✍️ 'The next Archbishop must care for the Church, not political fashions' | Writes Bijan Onrami

Read the column ⬇️https://t.co/w0mDBc3HsW pic.twitter.com/p2kGynnk50

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 2, 2025

Study criticism of the direction the Church of England over the past decade, and certain words are certain to appear: “centralised”, “technocratic”, and “bureaucracy” among them. The agreed wisdom in these quarters is that, under the previous Archbishop, power was increasingly assumed by a managerial centre — at national and diocesan level. The Church’s leadership turned to secular, corporate wisdom in a bid to reverse numerical decline, and the parish suffered. Cuts to stipendiary clergy have been the most obvious indicator.

It is a narrative that was debated in the General Synod in July, when the announcement of funding plans for the next three years brought to the surface disagreements about how the Church Commissioners’ funding — £11.1 billion at the last count — should be distributed. Calling for more to be distributed directly to dioceses rather than as grants for which dioceses must bid, the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd Richard Jackson, urged members to “put your faith in the local”.

“Do we still have faith in the parish system — or are we going to let it wither on the vine, to be replaced with regional centres and lots of forlorn empty buildings? That is where the current trajectory will take us,” he warned.

Read it all.

As the annoucement of the next Archbishop of Canterbury approaches, @MadsDavies asks whether it is time to review the drift towards managerialism #primatesportfolio #archbishopofcanterburyhttps://t.co/IBevNbmLUX

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 25, 2025

We may be standing at the edge of a season of renewal in America. But it won’t just happen. Pastors, vestries, members—we all have to pick up the tools God has already given us and use them.

If we do, then this isn’t just a spike in attendance. People will stay. They’ll grow. They’ll become part of the household of God.

One X user said it best: “God always brings good out of evil. The light shines in the darkness.”

That light is shining now. The question is whether we’ll lift it high for all to see.

Read it all.

Young people are going back to church:

"After years of stagnant church attendance, a surprising shift is underway. Millennials and Generation Z are emerging as the new “backbone of church attendance,” driving a resurgence in spiritual engagement, according to recent findings…

— Nancy Pearcey (@NancyRPearcey) September 17, 2025

It was in 1787 that he first decided to put down a motion in the House of Commons about the slave trade. This nefarious traffic had been going on for three centuries, and the West Indian slave-owners were determined to oppose abolition to the end. Besides, Wilberforce was not a very prepossessing man. He was little and somewhat ugly, with poor eyesight and an upturned nose. When Boswell heard him speak, he pronounced him ‘a perfect shrimp’, but then had to concede that ‘presently the shrimp swelled into a whale.’ In 1789 Wilberforce said of the slave trade: “So enormous so dreadful, so irremediable did its wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for the abolition…. let the consequences be what they would, I from this time determined that I would never rest till I had effected its abolition.

So abolition bills (which related to the trade) and Foreign Trade Bills (which would prohibit the involvement of British ships in it) were debated in the commons in 1789, 1791, 1792,194, 1796 (by which time Abolition had become ‘the grand object of my parliamentary existence’), 1798 and 1799. Yet they all failed. The Foreign Slave Bill was not passed until 1806 and the Abolition of the Slave Trade Bill until 1807. This part of the campaign had taken eighteen years.

Next, soon after the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars, Wilberforce began to direct his energies to the abolition of slavery itself and the emancipation of the slaves. In 1823 the Anti-Slavery Society was formed. Twice that year and twice the following year, Wilberforce pleaded the slaves’ cause in the House of Commons. But in 1825 ill-health compelled him to resign as a member of parliament and to continue his campaign from outside. In 1831 he sent a message to the Anti-Slavery Society, in which he said, “Our motto must continue to be PERSEVERANCE. And ultimately I trust the Almighty will crown our efforts with success.” He did. In July 1833 the Abolition of Slavery Bill was passed in both Houses of Parliament, even though it included the undertaking to pay 20 million pounds in compensation to the slave-owners. ‘Thank God,’ wrote Wilberforce, that I have lived to witness a day in which England is willing to give 20 million pounds for the abolition of slavery.’ Three days later he died. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, in national recognition of his FORTY-FIVE YEARS of persevering struggle on behalf of African slaves.

— John R W Stott, Issues facing Christians Today (Basingstoke: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1984), p. 334

29 July 1833, William Wilberforce, died. Born Hull, evangelical Christian, Clapham Sect member, served as MP for 45 years, a founder of @cmsmission & @biblesociety, leading abolitionist (persuading in 1807 House of Commons to abolish slave trade), moral reformer & philanthropist. pic.twitter.com/DzJchsizTX

— Revd Nicholas Pye (@RevdPye) July 29, 2025

Let thy continual mercy, O Lord, enkindle in thy Church the never-failing gift of love, that, following the example of thy servant William Wilberforce, we may have grace to defend the poor, and maintain the cause of those who have no helper; for the sake of him who gave his life for us, thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today in the Anglican tradition we thank God for William Wilberforce, an evangelical Anglican, slave abolitionist, founder of the CMS and RSPCA. Wilberforce understood Christianity as inseparable from justice! In a world of growing hate, let us remember and mirror his good works pic.twitter.com/i5RhLQwRva

— Victor-Joseph ❤️‍🔥🕊️ (@Anglicanvictor) July 30, 2025

Katie Freer to Serve As Director of Women’s Ministries at St. Philip’s Church, Charleston

Katie Freer has accepted a call to serve as the Director of Women’s Ministries, a newly created position, at St. Philip’s Church in Charleston. In a note to the congregation the Rector, the Rev. Jeff Miller, wrote, “It has long been my desire to provide the women of St. Philip’s with the same level of leadership, encouragement, and spiritual guidance that has helped our men’s ministries thrive. To that end, and with the enthusiastic approval of our Vestry, I am thrilled to announce the creation of a new staff position: Director of Women’s Ministries. Beginning this September, Katie Freer will join the staff in this important role. Katie is no stranger to St. Philip’s. Raised in our parish, she is a graduate of Ashley Hall and Davidson College. She brings with her a wealth of experience in Christian education and children’s ministry, and her life is marked by deep faith and a joyful commitment to serving the Lord. She is the wife of Daniel and the mother of four wonderful children, and she embodies the grace, wisdom, and energy we had hoped to find in this role. 

Read it all.

The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter https://t.co/FoBFqwiLhL #parishministry #lowcountrylife #religion #faith [Katie Freer, Saint Philip's new director of women's ministries] pic.twitter.com/DWxiiriQpt

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) June 25, 2025

In a statement to the Church Times on Wednesday, the Dean of Newcastle, the Very Revd Lee Batson, said that he was “deeply proud of the Cathedral’s ongoing ministry to those who have suffered abuse in their lives.

“It was this that informed the unanimous decision made solely by the Dean and Chapter to inform the Archbishop that we will not be hosting him as part of his Lord’s Prayer tour.

“This decision was made independently by the Cathedral’s governing body and applies specifically to this event. The well-being of survivors remains our highest priority, and Newcastle Cathedral will always strive to put them first.”

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Newcastle Cathedral has withdrawn its planned participation in the Archbishop of York’s Lord’s Prayer Tour https://t.co/2jimmZfksw

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) April 2, 2025

In the 17 parishes in the first minster community (MC) in the diocese of Leicester, PCCs are considering proposals to meet the cost of its ministry, as required by the diocesan framework. The number of stipendiary ministers is to be one, a revised form of “oversight minister”, who, it is proposed, will prioritise work with church schools in the four parishes that have them.

The MC framework is just one of the models being rolled out across the Church as dioceses work to reduce structural deficits — forecast to reach £62 million in 2024 — and encourage both an increase in giving and a broader culture change, typically entailing greater collaboration across parishes and increased lay leadership.

Addressing his diocesan synod last year, the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, suggested that MCs supporting the costs of their own ministry was “the only way we can address our financial deficit while also continuing with a bold and audacious plan to work with God in growing the Church”. It was “an important means of incentivising generosity and empowering local people”.

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Had a look at the pilot of the Minster Communities in Leicester, which include the principle that communities cover the cost of their stipendiary ministry. ‘We just want to open up on a Sunday and have a priest who leads us’ must be familiar to others https://t.co/0X4lsGTzxh

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) March 28, 2025

“The Makin Review already made clear that information about Smyth’s abuse was reported to the police (on a number of occasions) and to ACSA. ACSA’s own review confirms today that they did receive this information from the Diocese of Ely in 2013. While they state that they have not found any evidence of abuse by Smyth within their churches, they do admit that the Diocese of Cape Town’s communication of the danger which Smyth posed between when they were informed of that danger (2013) and when he died (2018) fell short of what the circumstances demanded.

“This is sobering to read. I am glad both that ACSA rapidly commissioned their own review in response to the Makin Review, and that they are now transparent about its findings. We join them in penitence for the failings of our Churches and in redoubling our efforts to care for and listen to victims and survivors, and to take all necessary and possible steps to respond well to all allegations of abuse.”

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The Panel of Inquiry into the Anglican Church of Southern Africa's handling of serial abuser John Smyth’s presence in South Africa has noted a disturbing delay in fully implementing measures evolved over decades to grapple with abuse within the church

🔗https://t.co/mHIeJRMche

— Cape Times (@CapeTimesSA) February 4, 2025

Drawing on focus groups and interviews with 55 clerics, it highlights the extent to which the Church’s wider challenges, from financial deficits to division over the Living in Love and Faith process, are impacting on clergy well-being.

The report notes “the extremely difficult financial situation of many parishes” — described by one participant as “hugely, hugely horrible” — and the “high awareness of stipendiary ministers of the relationship between their stipend and parish finances, via the parish share”. This is, it says, “often emphasised to local churches by dioceses to incentivise them to pay their parish share in full, and, amid the current economic challenges, some participants report that their dioceses are reviewing the viability of parishes that do not do so.”

For stipendiary clergy, this could provoke concern for their parish. One participant described thinking: “If we don’t pay our common fund, then when I move, then are they going to say, ‘Well, you can’t have a vicar any more?’ And I feel the responsibility for that.”

For some, the question of parish share could “provoke a sense of shame within the diocese”. One commented that, when the diocese set out the cost of a stipendiary priest in a parish share request, they were “made to feel really expensive”. There was an assumption that the priest was the recipient of the cost (£70,000).

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Always interesting reading latest from the Living Ministry study tracking clergy over 10 years. One finding was the impact of parish share requests on clergy themselves, including feeling "expensive" when the cost of the stipend is set out by the diocese https://t.co/fXiRDNpqJW

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) February 4, 2025

Safeguarding dominates the agenda for the first three days of the upcoming General Synod session, a five-day meeting beginning on Monday 10 February. The business will “help with the journey of improvement that the Church of England is on”, the secretary-general, William Nye, told a press briefing on Thursday.

In response to the Wilkinson (News, 11 December 2023) and Jay (News, 21 February 2024) reports, detailed proposals for a new structural model of organisations to deliver and scrutinise safeguarding on behalf of the Church of England, published on Thursday, set out two possible models, which will be put to the vote.

The first would see safeguarding officers currently working in dioceses, cathedrals and the national Church transfer to work for a new organisation. The second would see diocesan and cathedral officers remain with their current employers but most national staff move to a new body. In both cases, safeguarding work would be scrutinised by a second external body.

A motion responding to the Makin report (News, 7 November 2024) comes as early as Monday afternoon, with a presentation and debate on the proposed new structures beginning mid-morning on Tuesday and continuing into the afternoon if needed. 

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Safeguarding dominates the agenda for the first three days of the upcoming General Synod session. The business will “help with the journey of improvement that the Church of England is on”, the secretary-general, William Nye, told a press briefing today.https://t.co/bhm38pVuF4

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) January 23, 2025

From his immersive studies of the early centuries of the Church, marked by internal theological hatreds and violent disagreements, he [John Henry Newman] had come to disquieting conclusions. When bishops had contradicted one another on fundamental matters of doctrine, and the weakness, prevarications, and misguidance of a divided hierarchy threatened to eclipse the light of Christ, it was the body of the laity that clung to the narrow way. What they firmly believed sustained and illuminated their living, suffering, and dying

The essay was never intended as a rebuke to the church leaders of his day. Newman believed that the truth of Christ was mediated in various ways, including the utterances of the episcopate. But he also placed considerable emphasis on the consensus fidelium: the consent and attested witness of the faithful. Like the first apostles, they, too, had received and were guided by the Holy Spirit.

What the Church was, therefore, in its very essence, its nature, form, and possible futures, was shaped, in part, by the devotion and spiritual integrity that started from below, within the body of believers. The laity were to be listened to and consulted not simply because they, too, had their story, but, rather, because their collective experience reflected their graced instinct of the faith (sensus fidei). Together with priests and bishops, they shared a common mission and a call to holiness.

Newman’s prescience remains timely and even more urgent as the national Church begins the search for a new Archbishop of Canterbury. It should acknowledge, celebrate, and draw on “the spiritual gold reserves” (interestingly, a term first coined by the late Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks) of faithful congregations and prayerful souls, however small.

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"The laity are the Church, its treasures from below, indifferent in the best sense to the warring motions of the General Synod or the larger institutional preoccupation with numerical decline."https://t.co/eRGNzT0ozN

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) January 13, 2025