The Church of England is facing “one of the biggest existential crises . . . since the Reformation”, in the wake of the Makin Review into abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Jonathan Gibbs, said on Tuesday.

Speaking after voting in favour of a diocesan synod motion that expressed no confidence in the Archbishops’ Council’s oversight of safeguarding (News, 10 December), he suggested that the lack of a national, pastoral response to the strength of emotion elicited by the report had been a “significant omission”.

“In many people’s views, and I think I would share it, this is one of the biggest existential crises that the Church of England has faced since the Reformation,” he said. “For that reason, I think there is a real need for what I would call a pastoral response, acknowledging that hurt and pain, particularly of victims and survivors, but that so many people are feeling.”

This was happening at a diocesan and local level, he said, but required a national response, too. “I think we are going through a period of collective trauma over this, above all for victims and survivors but also for the whole Church, and I think it’s a shame that there hasn’t been that broader response from the Archbishops’ Council.”

Read it all.

The Church of England is facing “one of the biggest existential crises . . . since the Reformation”, in the wake of the Makin Review into abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Jonathan Gibbs, said on Tuesday https://t.co/NEXbzaYMoz

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 11, 2024

Ordained in 1989, David began his ministry as a curate in Ecclesall, Sheffield Diocese. He was a priest in Dore before being appointed Rural Dean of Ecclesall in 1997. In 2002 he became the vicar of Christ Church in Winchester and was made an honorary canon of Winchester Cathedral in 2012.

On his appointment, David said: “I can’t tell you how excited I am to be coming to the Diocese of Truro. It’s been an astonishing journey, enriched by so many people I’ve met on the way, people who clearly have been praying; people who’ve been seeking wisdom for the future of the church in Cornwall.

“What a remarkable place this is! I’ve worked in and visited Cornwall many times over the last 30 years and each time have come back feeling refreshed and renewed – both spiritually and physically.

Read it all.

"I am, at heart, a parish priest. I want to continue working for the flourishing of local churches. The local church is vital to a local community."

Rt Rev David Williams has been announced as the 17th Bishop of Truro.

Read more at https://t.co/OInxVZN8xO.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) December 11, 2024

Fr Luke is currently the Archdeacon of Chichester.  He trained for ministry at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield.  He served his title at Abertillery with Cwmtillery and Six Bells, Monmouth and, in 2000, was ordained Priest. In 2001 Luke was appointed Minor Canon at St Woolos Cathedral, Newport. From 2003 he served as Rector of St Dunstan with Holy Angels, Cranford, in the Diocese of London and, in 2008, was appointed Vicar of St Gabriel, Pimlico. From 2013 Luke served as Priest-in-Charge and then Rector of Christ Church, St Mary Magdalen and St Peter & St Paul, St Leonards on Sea in the Diocese of Chichester, serving in addition as Priest-in-Charge of St Clement and All Saints, Hastings. In 2019 he took up his current role as Archdeacon of Chichester.

Read it all.

“I am deeply humbled to have been called to serve as the next Bishop of Richborough."

Chichester Archdeacon Luke Irvine-Capel will be the new Suffragan Bishop of Richborough, succeeding Bishop Norman Banks.

Read more at https://t.co/Xm4nAne2SV.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) December 10, 2024

The “atmosphere of blame and guilt” that has followed publication of the Makin Review is creating a culture of fear that encourages cover-up, the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, warned this week.

He spoke of “real fear in the local church” among clergy and parish safeguarding officers (PSOs), who needed reassurance about their practice, and of the importance of creating a “no-blame atmosphere, where we are asking not who but why, where we are all looking to improve in an atmosphere where we won’t be hung out to dry.

“I regret this atmosphere of blame and guilt that has followed Makin and is being stirred up by all sorts of people including some of my colleagues, because it creates a culture of fear, and and a culture of fear encourages cover-up,” he said on Tuesday. “Whereas, for good safeguarding, you need a no-blame culture.

Read it all.

Clergy are scared of a culture of guilt and blame, says Bishop of Blackburn https://t.co/hKcPNAe9Dg

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 7, 2024

We write after watching Archbishop Justin’s farewell speech in the House of Lords yesterday.  We have heard from several of you about the distress and anger that this has caused you.

Both in content and delivery, the speech was utterly insensitive, lacked any focus on victims and survivors of abuse, especially those affected by John Smyth, and made light of the events surrounding the Archbishop’s resignation. It was mistaken and wrong. We acknowledge and deeply regret that this has caused further harm to you in an already distressing situation.

We know that the Church of England has seriously failed over many years at many levels in relation to safeguarding, and we are so sorry that yesterday’s speech was the antithesis of all that we are now trying to work towards in terms of culture change and redress with all of you.…

Read it all.

Extraordinary that the lead bishops for safeguarding in the @churchofengland should issue this message to abuse survivors following #justinwelby’s speech. But entirely necessary. Relieved they acted so swiftly. pic.twitter.com/ck4TFdy2ha

— Michael Sadgrove 🇪🇺 (@MichaelSadgrove) December 6, 2024

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s former chaplain has become the first serving bishop to step back from her role after a report into the Church’s handling of a child sexual abuse scandal.

The Bishop for Episcopal Ministry in the Anglican Communion, the Right Rev Dr Jo Bailey Wells, was asked to step away from ministry after the publication of a review into the Anglican clergy’s failure to stop the serial child abuser John Smyth.

On Tuesday morning, the Diocese of London confirmed that Bishop Dr Bailey Wells had been asked to temporarily pause her ministry pending a “safeguarding risk assessment”.

Read it all.

This article says it is “pending a safeguarding risk assessment”. But no one suggests JBW is a current risk. Victims call for those who knew in 2013 to be held to account for HISTORIC failings. This is what the NST seems incapable of @JanetEastham https://t.co/dP3tC8rwjb

— Graham (@Graham1munro) December 3, 2024

Bishop Mullally, who is the C of E’s lead bishop for health care and a former Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “The Church of England believes that the compassionate response at the end of life lies in the provision of high quality palliative care services to all who need them.

“Today’s vote still leaves the question of how this could be implemented in an overstretched and under-funded NHS, social care, and legal system. Safeguarding the most vulnerable must be at the heart of the coming parliamentary process; today’s vote is not the end of the debate.”

The Archbishop of York was reported in the Guardian as saying: “I regret this decision. It changes the relationship between the state and its citizens, between doctors and their patients, and within families between children and their terminally ill relatives. Once begun it will be hard to undo and control.”

Read it all.

Church figures have expressed concern after the first steps towards making assisted dying legal in England and Wales were taken on Friday. https://t.co/O4jCF3HaEI

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 2, 2024

Andrew has previously worked and lived in the Diocese in Europe. Prior to ordination he worked in Malta in a banknote-printing factory. His curacy was at St Michael’s Paris. Andrew remembers his time at St Michael’s very fondly and is looking forward to returning to explore more of the Diocese in Europe.  

Andrew was ordained priest in 1996. Following his curacy in Paris he became Associate Vicar at Christ Church, Clifton in the Diocese of Bristol. He worked with Archbishop Rowan Williams as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Secretary for International, Ecumenical and Anglican Communion Affairs. He was then Principal of Ridley Hall theological college from 2008 to 2016 before moving to the newly-formed Diocese of Leeds. He is author of ‘A Church Observed: being Anglican as times change’. Andrew is married to Amanda, who works for the Leprosy Mission and is a Licensed Lay Minister. They have two adult daughters.  

Andrew said: 

‘I’m delighted to be returning to the diocese where I served my curacy. Being Suffragan Bishop in this vast and fascinating diocese is an exciting as well as a daunting prospect. In partnership with other churches in Europe, there’s wonderful potential for nurturing Christian faith and witness. I’m really looking forward to coming alongside our chaplaincies in all their glorious diversity, so we can rise together to the challenges and opportunities ahead, in faith-filled and imaginative ways.’ 

Bishop Robert said:  

“I am very excited about Andrew’s appointment. Andrew has a great variety of experience and gifts in theology, ecumenical work and strategic development that are highly relevant to our diocese. I’m sure he will be a wise senior colleague and an encouraging pastor to our clergy and congregations. I am very much looking forward to working with him. Please do join me in praying for Andrew and Amanda as they face this major time of transition.” 

Read it all.

Former Ridley Principal Canon Andrew Norman to be Europe suffragan https://t.co/LALxvfX2ax

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) November 29, 2024

Some time ago, I found myself sitting at a dinner opposite a Labour peer. We chatted over various things as the evening proceeded. Just before we were getting up to leave a new topic came up. “I am a convinced campaigner for assisted dying,” she said. “As a bishop, I suspect you’re not. Why don’t you think we should do it?” Put on the spot, struggling to know what to say, and knowing I probably had one line to deliver as we stood up to leave, I said something like this: “Life is a gift from God. It’s not up to us to decide when it ends.” She looked across at me with a pitying look and walked away, clearly unconvinced.

I’ve often wondered what I should have said. Lord Falconer suggests that only secular people like him are ‘objective’ and religious people like me or Shabana Mahmood are biased and therefore our views are to be discounted. The idea that his secular perspective is not colouring his views, but that our religious ones are, or that he is not imposing his beliefs on others whereas we are, is of course, as Isabel Hardman has argued, philosophical nonsense.

Our religious beliefs shape our views, as his secular views shape his. The question is which perspective gives us a better, healthier and more coherent way of living together. I spoke recently to a key figure in the Church of England’s response to Assisted Dying who told me in no uncertain terms that religious arguments simply don’t wash in this debate. We have to use pragmatic and political ones that appeal to a wide audience. And so, the main arguments we have heard from church leaders and others against assisted suicide refer to the slippery slope argument: that legislation will inevitably in time become looser to include more candidates; care for the vulnerable, such as the elderly or the disabled who will feel pressurised into taking their own life, or, as the Health Secretary Wes Streeting has argued, the fact that palliative care is not yet robust enough in our health system to enable a proper choice.

Read it all.

My thoughts on why religion matters in the assisted dying debate https://t.co/SJBK4fUI3B

— Graham Tomlin (@gtomlin) November 27, 2024

Two new area bishops in the diocese of Oxford are to be Canons Dave Bull and Mary Gregory, it was announced on Wednesday morning.

Canon Bull, Team Rector in the Marlow Area Team Ministry, and Area Dean of Wycombe, will be the next Area Bishop of Buckingham.

Canon Gregory, who is a residentiary canon of Coventry Cathedral with responsibility for arts and reconciliation, will be the Area Bishop of Reading.

The Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, said that he was delighted with the two appointments. Of Canon Gregory, he said: “She brings great warmth, humanity, and a profound understanding of the healing power of reconciliation in God’s world.

Read it all.

Big great news, Mary Gregory bishop designate Reading and Dave Bull Buckingham @oxforddiocese pic.twitter.com/JNeQJ914JP

— Paul Cowan (@PaulHCowan) November 27, 2024

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

— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) November 25, 2024

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”.

Read it all.

“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

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) November 21, 2024

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.

Read it all.

Why the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury may prove challenging https://t.co/fzDRacSfnt

— Christian Today (@ChristianToday) November 19, 2024

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.

Read it all.

Archbishop of Canterbury resignation: what happens next? https://t.co/PD2G1WTunK

— Av Aleksandr (@abbaleksandr) November 14, 2024

The Suffragan Bishop of Doncaster since 2020, the Rt Revd Sophie Jelley, is to be the next Bishop of Coventry, Downing Street announced on Monday.

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.

Read it all.

“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.

Read more at https://t.co/ELxwTpNHF2.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) November 4, 2024

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.”

Read it all.

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

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 31, 2024

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.’

Archbishop Welby’s comments came on the eve of an important House of Bishops meeting in the UK, which considered a request from a group called The Alliance, consisting of 2360 clergy whose churches represent 42% of the Church of England’s Sunday attendance, and who hold to the Bible’s teaching on sexuality.

Please watch it all:

Note especially these sections–

“…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.”

Read it all.

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

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 29, 2024

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.

Astonishingly, Welby has now said the same thing.

Read it all.

Justin Welby has made a huge shift on homosexuality https://t.co/N3wr9IBaba

— Simon Sarmiento (@simonsarmiento) October 28, 2024

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.”

Read it all.

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

— The Christian Institute (@christianorguk) October 25, 2024

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.

Read it all.

Ask MPs to oppose assisted suicide ✋

Some helpful tips here 👇 https://t.co/wr1LYSQylr

— Better Way (@betterwayUK) October 24, 2024

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).

Read it all.

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

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 23, 2024

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.

Read it all.

Bishops warn of ‘duty’ to die if Leadbeater Bill is carried https://t.co/owjUo4W5Xz

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 16, 2024

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.

Read it all.

The new bishop of Sodor and Man has been ordained and consecrated at a ceremony in York Minster. https://t.co/aYerbxeOCW

— BBC Isle of Man (@BBCIsleofMan) October 10, 2024

The new Bishop of Exeter has been confirmed by the Archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony in London.

Earlier in the year, it was announced the Right Reverend Mike Harrison would take on the role – he was previously the Bishop of Dunwich in Suffolk.

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…”

Read it all.

New Bishop of Exeter confirmed at palace ceremony https://t.co/dHTpYLcduj

— BBC South West (@BBCSpotlight) September 29, 2024

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”.

Read it all.

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

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 20, 2024

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.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

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

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 17, 2024

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.

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The Venerable Rhiannon King is to become the next Bishop of Southampton.

Read more about the appointment at https://t.co/QgBHjygINy. pic.twitter.com/oXpl4aOitj

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) September 13, 2024

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.

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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

— GAFCON (@gafconference) April 25, 2018

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”.

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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

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 10, 2024