The extent of the General Synod’s ability to shape the spending of the Church Commissioners’ funds was explored during this week’s meeting in York.

During a debate on the spending plans for 2026 to 2028, drawn up by the Triennium Funding Working Group (TFWG), members were warned by the bishops that voting in favour of amendments would produce an “unravelling” with “unintended consequences”.

On Saturday, members gave final approval to the National Church Governance Measure, under which the General Synod will no longer have the power to approve the budget of the body set to replace the Archbishops’ Council: Church of England National Services (CENS). The budget was “properly a matter” for the CENS trustees, Synod was told, bringing the Church of England into line with best practice in charity governance.

The two debates, both of which included failed attempts to bring amendments, followed a review of the Church’s governance that warned of a widespread lack of clarity about “the extent to which [Synod] has (or should have) oversight of the NCIs’ work” (News, 7 July 2023).

Read it all.

“Gen Synod will no longer have the power to approve the budget of the C of E National Services (replacing Abp’s Council). The budget was “properly a matter” for CENS trustees…bringing the C of E into line with best practice in charity governance.”https://t.co/dhH1anicpY

— Fr Angela Rayner SMMS (@OSacrumCorIesu) July 14, 2025

Several speeches suggested that parish ministry was becoming, as the Revd Vincent Whitworth (Manchester) put it, “impossible”.

The Archdeacon of West Cumberland, the Ven. Stewart Fyfe (Carlisle) warned that, since 2015, parish ministry had been “underfunded to a dangerous point”. Clergy jobs in rural areas were unmanageable, he said. “What makes us distinctive as the Church of England is [that] we maintain a Christian presence in every community and that is never going to pay for itself, but it is a proper charitable priority for Church Commissioners’ redistribution.”

Canon Kate Massey (Coventry), who, until six weeks ago, was serving alone in a parish of 15,000 in Coventry, found it “bittersweet” to hear about growth in churches in receipt of large grants. She had served a “faithful community of believers who are chasing an ever-receding horizon of cost-of-ministry payments”. Those without resources were “made to feel like they are failing”, she said.

Read it all.

Synod votes against radical measures to redistribute Church Commissioners’ wealth

Cuts, clergy stress, low morale, and collapse in vocations presents ‘existential threat to the Church of England’ members hear#clergystress #churchofengland #generalsynodhttps://t.co/VeLWgAmM9k

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 13, 2025

The theory of clergy work/life balance is on every diocesan website, and many others besides, discussed at length from all viewpoints. The general conclusion today seems to be that a 48-hour week is about right, plus a bit more if you are going to be very conscientious, with one 24-hour period a week not working, and maybe an extra day off a month — all this, wrapped in language that makes it plain that it is up to the individual to take responsibility for their own health and well-being.

So much for the theory; but what about the reality of life in a parish, where the daily torrent of emails, phone calls, diocesan directives, pastoral demands, and personal challenges threatens to overcome the hapless priest, submerging them beneath a tide of operational activities? Only a lone hand is left above the waves, holding aloft a small white piece of plastic, the symbol of their calling, hoping that they can get to the shore of annual leave before they drown.

This is exaggeration, perhaps, but probably a feeling that few have escaped at least some time in their lives — a state of “overwhelm” which I have certainly experienced and prefer to remain clear of, if at all possible. The pastoral calls made upon us, however, the late nights spent crafting sermons or creating props for family-friendly services, the early waking hours reflecting on church finances, or the stomach-sinking safeguarding issues — these are all part of the priest’s daily lot. A strategy that enables us not only to survive, but to thrive, must be worked out if we are to remain as parish clergy for any length of time.

Read it all.

In the parish: the theory and reality of clergy work/life balance https://t.co/A7fcAAiN26

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 11, 2025

The new report examines how the “virtues” of resource churches can “tip over into
excess” and calls for “vigilance and discernment”. It acknowledges, for example, that the “language of generosity can mask dynamics of power . . . Gifts can bless and release but they can also bind and control.” Similar reflections are required for the other virtues, it suggests: “The attendant dangers of courage are unreflective arrogance and an unfair distribution of the costs of change.”

The report acknowledges that questions have been asked about whether the level of investment in resource churches is “justified or fair”. It argues that, “to invest in this way is not so much an ideal configuration of the Church’s resources as a dramatic intervention in response to extended and widespread decline.” But there is also a need to “explore how financially sustainable resource churches are”. A 2021 CARU report on the resource church in Portsmouth concluded that city-centre examples may “continue to be financially dependent on the wider Church”.

The story of resource churches is “not one of unqualified success”, the new report says. “Not all planting strategies have been able to show sufficient contextual sensitivity and the ‘soil’ of some contexts is very difficult to plant into. At times, a ‘low’, informal style among church plants can be a flexible connection point, at others it may be perceived as an imposition or make only a shallow connection with local communities.”

The fact that resource churches are “overwhelmingly” in the Evangelical tradition may have theological causes, it suggests, noting “the revivalist concern for individual salvation and societal change”. Evangelical networks are “highly structured and well-resourced”, it says; and the rise of such networks has coincided with “a time of experimentation with local structures and . . . the pursuit of a more explicitly strategic focus by senior leaders in the Church of England”.

Read it all.

I was impressed by this thoughtful report on resource churches by Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication, Faith in the North, and Cranmer Hall. Looking at both their virtues and how these can ‘tip over into excess’, hence need for vigilance & discernment https://t.co/4WC1rpuKIJ pic.twitter.com/IE2AHl3RQ4

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) July 8, 2025

Safeguarding arrangements at Blackburn Cathedral are “inadequate” and require immediate action, an independent audit has concluded.

The audit was carried out by the INEQE Safeguarding Group as part of a rolling programme across the Church which is due to be completed by 2028.

It began in October 2024, two months after the BBC reported that a member of the cathedral Chapter, Canon Andrew Hindley, had been forced to retire by the then Bishop of Blackburn in 2021, and that a six-figure sum had been paid to him in a legal settlement (News, 16 August 2024). Canon Hindley has insisted that he has never posed a danger to young people or been a safeguarding risk.

The audit report was published last week. It concludes that, while there are some positive aspects to the cathedral’s safeguarding, including good practices in chorister safeguarding, these are “significantly undermined by critical vulnerabilities that demand urgent and comprehensive attention”.

Read it all.

Safeguarding at Blackburn Cathedral ‘inadequate’ INEQE audit reports https://t.co/opNLGbdP3B

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 9, 2025

The Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, spoke in the House of Lords last week in support of a change to the legal definition of a stillbirth: from a death after 24 weeks into pregnancy to a death after 20 weeks.

Currently, the death of a baby before 24 weeks is considered to be a miscarriage, with implications for entitlement to bereavement leave and maternity protection, as the baby is not legally considered a person (Features, 11 October 2019).

Bishop Watson was speaking on the Lords Bill introduced by Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat). It seeks to lower the threshold for a death to be considered a stillbirth.

“Up to 10,000 families in the UK lose their babies between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy,” Baroness Benjamin said in the debate last Friday.

Read it all.

Losing a baby in pregnancy through #miscarriage or #stillbirth is still a taboo subject worldwide, linked to stigma and shame.
Many women still do not receive appropriate and respectful care when their baby dies during pregnancy or childbirth https://t.co/IbTh4YC8oo pic.twitter.com/x7HQ253ygj

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 13, 2019

Motion approved by the Trustees of the Representative Body of the Church in Wales

The Trustees of the Representative Body of the Church in Wales acknowledge with deep concern the serious issues raised in recent reports and correspondence regarding leadership, safeguarding, management, and conduct in the central structures of Bangor Diocese and at Bangor Cathedral. As the charitable trustee body responsible for stewarding assets and distributing funding to both the diocese and the cathedral, we take our duty of care and accountability to the Church and wider community with the utmost seriousness.

Our Concern and Responsibility

The revelations of safeguarding failures, blurred boundaries, inappropriate conduct, weak control environment and lack of transparency in management at Bangor Cathedral are deeply troubling. Trustees are legally bound to ensure that the charities which they oversee uphold the highest standards of governance, safeguarding and record keeping. It is vital that there is public trust in any charity which is part of the Church in Wales family. Stewardship of charitable assets demands that funding is used to further the Church’s mission and benefit the public in a manner consistent with our values and legal obligations. It is incumbent on the RB Trustees to ensure that the financial support they provide is properly and accountably used.

Read it all.

Statement from the Representative Body of the Church in Wales on Bangor Cathedral https://t.co/IIMODnAuMI via @Anglican Ink © 2025

— George Conger (@GeorgeConger8) July 2, 2025

The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Andrew John, has announced his immediate retirement, four days after issuing an unqualified apology for his part in the failings at Bangor Cathedral.

In a statement issued on Friday evening, he said: “Dear friends, I am writing to you to announce my immediate retirement today as Archbishop of Wales. I also intend to retire as Bishop of Bangor on August 31st.

“It has been an enormous joy to serve in the Church in Wales for over 35 years. I cannot thank you enough for the privilege of working at your side for the sake of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

“I would very much like to thank the clergy and congregations of this wonderful diocese before I retire and I will be in touch again about the way in which this might happen.”

Read it all.

The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Andrew John, has announced his immediate retirement, four days after issuing an unqualified apology for his part in the failings at Bangor Cathedral.https://t.co/KCcwPrGBK3

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 30, 2025

Bishop Joanne, who like Bishop Martin will become a member of the House of Lords where she will be able to champion issues close to Suffolk’s heart, said: ‘‘I care deeply about our churches being as healthy and safe as possible, in policies, practice, recruitment, training, and, most importantly in culture.

“We can all contribute to a culture where victims and survivors are seen, heard, cared for, and learned from,’’ she says, adding, ‘‘I am looking forward to working with safeguarding professionals and volunteers across the diocese.”

Prior to her role as Bishop of Stepney she served as Archdeacon in the Diocese of Portsmouth, Residentiary Canon and Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Sheffield, and as an inner-city parish priest in Sheffield and Liverpool. She trained for ordination at Westcott House in Cambridge.

Bishop Joanne, who studied at Oriel College, Oxford and the University of British Columbia, Canada and was a lecturer in English at Oxford  until 1998, is married to the Revd Dr James Grenfell, 55, Chaplain to the University of East London; he will remain in his current role.

It is anticipated that Bishop Joanne will start in her new position during the autumn. 

Read it all.

"I am honoured to be called to this role, this is a beautiful diocese, with truly lovely people, and a grounded Suffolk sense of service and humility."

The Bishop of Stepney, Dr Joanne Grenfell, will be the next Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.

📰 https://t.co/NpN2yzWYBY.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) June 27, 2025

Nineteen Bishops are among more than 250 Church of England clergy who have signed a letter condemning a move to decriminalise women who induce their own abortion as “a dangerous change”.

On Tuesday, MPs voted by 379 to 137 in favour of an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill brought by the Labour MP for Gower, Tonia Antoniazzi. This disapplies the existing criminal law relating to abortion from women “acting in relation to her own pregnancy”. The amendment does not change any law regarding the provision of abortion within a healthcare setting.

The letter, published in The Daily Telegraph on Friday, says: “We are troubled by the amendment voted through by the House of Commons on Tuesday to decriminalise terminations in utero up to full term. As many elected politicians move further away from the Christian moral values that have hitherto shaped much that is good in our national life, our concern is that the vulnerable and voiceless are increasingly overlooked.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

Nineteen bishops sign letter; @bishopoffulham and the Bishop of Oswestry also express ‘profound disquiet’https://t.co/0GtctjduOt

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 24, 2025

Parliament voted for the law to change on assisted dying “in the face of mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe and poses a risk to the most vulnerable people in our society”, the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, said on Friday.

Responding to the decision by the House of Commons on Friday afternoon to progress the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (News, 20 June), Bishop Mullally, who is the lead bishop on health and social care, warned that, “if enacted, this legislation would come into force amid serious shortfalls in adult social care, a postcode lottery in palliative care and well documented pressures on the NHS, multiplying the potential risks to the most vulnerable.

“It does not prevent terminally ill people who perceive themselves to be a burden to their families and friends from choosing ‘assisted dying’. And it would mean that we became a society where the state fully funds a service for terminally ill people to end their own lives but, shockingly, only funds around one third of palliative care.”

Read it all.

“Every person is of immeasurable and irreducible value, and should be able to access the care and support that they need.”

Read the Bishop of London's statement following the third reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

📜 https://t.co/74PloAghZ2.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) June 20, 2025

In the House of Lords recently, there was a question about the rise in the number of old-age pensioners shoplifting. The peer who asked it was clearly trying to draw attention to the extent of poverty among older people. The Minister, Lord Hanson of Flint, in his answer, said that shoplifting by anyone, whether a pensioner or not, was “unacceptable” and should not be “tolerated”.

Why those words? Why not just say that it was wrong? For some time now, we have been frightened of using the word. We even talk about shoplifting rather than stealing. Those who use social media can be very judgemental, but, even there, words such as “right” and “wrong” do not necessarily come naturally.

For centuries, all children were taught the Ten Commandments; in many churches, they were written on either side of the altar. People grew up believing that they lived in a universe in which moral choices had to be made: it was not just a matter of what was legal or expedient, but what was right.

This certainly prevailed until the end of the 1950s….

Read it all.

Why are people reluctant to use the words ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ wonders Richard Harrieshttps://t.co/TR1q7hhsZZ

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 5, 2025

Distributing large sums of the Church Commissioners’ funds to dioceses through the Strategic Investment in Mission and Ministry Board (SMMIB) is a mistake, the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd Richard Jackson, said this week.

Bishops would prefer to have sufficient funds to prevent further cuts to stipendiary clergy posts and pastoral reorganisation.

“When I talk to my colleagues, I think the reality is that a number of them are applying for grants from SMMIB for projects they are not that convinced are going to make a huge difference to the life of their diocese,” he said on Wednesday. “What they would really like is, ‘Just give me some more money so I can keep my stipendiary head-count up.’ There is very clear evidence that maintaining levels of stipendiary clergy leads to church growth.”

Read it all.

‘What will stabilise things is a well-motivated clergy workforce which is well-supported and well-financed’. My interview with Bishop of Hereford who’s calling for less of Commissioners’ money to be allocated through grants & more to prevent clergy cuts https://t.co/bt9dSr4rRH

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) June 12, 2025

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

Today the Church of England commemorates Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945 pic.twitter.com/eZpNoUKVHy

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) June 6, 2015

The Suffragan Bishop of Islington in the diocese of London, Dr Richard (Ric) Thorpe, is to be the next Archbishop of Melbourne in the Anglican Church of Australia.

He succeeds the Rt Revd Philip Freier, who retired in February.

Dr Thorpe was elected by the Melbourne Diocesan Synod on Friday. He and three other candidates were proposed to the Synod by the Board of Nominators, made up of elected clergy and lay representatives (News, 16 May).

The other candidates, all from Melbourne diocese, were eliminated in two rounds of voting. They were: the Executive Director of CMS Victoria, the Revd Dr Wei-Han Kuan; the Vicar of St John’s, Diamond Creek, the Ven. Dr Tim Johnson; and the Vicar of Deep Creek Anglican Church, the Ven. Megan Curlis-Gibson.

Read it all.

The Suffragan Bishop of Islington in the diocese of London, Dr Richard (Ric) Thorpe, is to be the next Archbishop of Melbourne in the Anglican Church of Australia https://t.co/vPxaaWAHkI

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) May 27, 2025

From there:

So, when you take the Bread and the Wine, which the Minister of Christ has consecrated (that is to say, set apart for this sacred purpose), what shall you think? what shall you believe? The Bread is in itself just bread still, the Wine is just wine. But because the Lord has told you to take them ‘in remembrance of Him,’ and because you who take them humbly believe in Him, therefore, that simple Bread, that small drought of Wine, speak straight from Him to you. They are like the very sound of His Voice, saying: ‘All is true, all is yours. It is no dream that I died for you, and that you are saved by Me, any more than your eating and drinking is a dream.’ They are like the very grasp of His Hand taking hold of your hand, and meaning: ‘We are one, poor believing sinner. I have joined you, I have clasped you, to Myself. As surely as you touch and taste that Bread and Wine, so surely you, who believe in Me, are one with Me.”

Join me on #TheLeadersNotebook as I reflect on the Last Supper in Matthew 26. Communion is not just remembrance; it’s renewal. Through the sacred elements, the Holy Spirit ministers grace, healing, and restoration to the soul.
🎧 https://t.co/Cd6ZyUvMJp pic.twitter.com/Lqbu8m6J4p

— Dr. Mark Rutland (@DrMarkRutland) May 27, 2025

In the document, published on the diocese of Guildford’s website last week, Bishop Watson suggests that the decision not to use Canon B2 to introduce services of blessing for same-sex couples, but instead to allow their introduction after simple majority votes in the Houses of the General Synod, has caused several problems.

The most significant, he writes, is that “we have bypassed a serious attempt to discern the mind of the Church . . . so dramatically raising the theological and emotional stakes.”

Bishop Watson refers to a paper published by the Church’s Faith and Order Commission, which says that there is no agreement on the nature of the disagreement between those who support changes and those who oppose them. Many, Bishop Watson writes, believe that the disagreement is about “the role of scripture in shaping our theology, liturgy and daily life”.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

“Integrity” has been “trumped by expediency” in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process, the Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, has saidhttps://t.co/p463Nl4rR2

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) May 7, 2025

Bishop Rob served his curacy in Appleby Deanery before moving to the parishes of Dalston with Cumdivock, Raughtonhead and Wreay. He was Bishop’s Chaplain for three years and Director of Ordinands for two. From 2010 he was the Vicar of Holy Trinity Kendal and assistant Rural Dean for seven years prior to his move to the Diocese of Newcastle in 2020 to take up the position of Residentiary Canon Director of Mission and Ministry. He returned to Cumbria in 2022 following his appointment as Bishop of Penrith.

He was born and raised in Birkenhead on Merseyside and attended Birmingham University to study Ancient History and Archaeology, later completing his MPhil research in Archaeology. After working as an archaeologist, he worked for a church in Birmingham and then as a project manager in an IT firm before training for ordination at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. He is married to Emma. The couple have three children: Ollie (23), Jemima (21) and Hal (19).

Bishop Rob and Emma are touring the county today, starting at Carlisle Cathedral before visiting Ivegill CE Primary School, where their children were once pupils. They will later meet staff and ecumenical leaders at the Diocesan offices, Church House, in Penrith before visiting a social action programme at St Mary’s Westfield. From there they will meet members of the farming community in Rampside in the South Lakes as well as members of the South Lakes Poverty Truth Commission before attending St Lawrence’s Appleby for Evening Prayer.

Read it all.

"It is such an honour to have been nominated as the next Bishop of Carlisle and to be able to continue to serve this county that I love."

The Bishop of Penrith, Rob Saner-Haigh, will be the 68th Bishop of Carlisle.

Read more at https://t.co/b3wCkmy9LI.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) May 9, 2025

O God of truth and justice, we hold before you those men and women who have died in active service, particularly in the second world war, whose sacrifice brought victory in Europe. As we honor their courage and cherish their memory, may we put our faith in your future, for you are the source of life and hope now and forever. Amen.

The finishing touches are being made in the Abbey ahead of today's #VEDay80 service, which will be attended by Their Majesties The King and Queen, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princes of Wales and other Members of the @RoyalFamily.#VEDay #VE80 #Victory80 pic.twitter.com/d65dPfQbds

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) May 8, 2025

Risen Christ,
you filled your disciples with boldness and fresh hope:
by your Spirit strengthen us to proclaim your risen life
and fill us with your peace,
to the glory of God the Father.
Amen (slightly edited; KSH).

Morning everyone I hope you are well. 50 shades of green. Rydal Water reflections and another boathouse! Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/RhTNGh3y7z

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) May 6, 2025

Young traditionalist ordinands with more than 40 years of ministry before them are one sign that their tradition is not ossifying, the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Revd Jonathan Baker, said this week, at the chrism mass for parishes to which he ministers.

While expressing a reluctance to “engage with any controversy”, Bishop Baker addressed towards the end of his sermon remarks made by the Bishop of Croydon, Dr Rosemarie Mallett, during last month’s WATCH conference (News, 4 April). Within the Church there had been, she said, an “ossification, if not growth, of the viewpoints purported by those who feel unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests or those male bishops who have ordained them”.

“I have to say to my sister in Christ and fellow bishop who used that term — not by name, but by association — of me and all of you — very firmly: No!” he told the congregation at St Andrew’s, Holborn, in London, on Tuesday. “Why? Because the life of the Church Catholic — her scriptures, her sacraments, her creeds, her ministry — embodies and expresses the Spirit-filled, Spirit-led living Tradition received and handed on in every generation — living water, ever fresh, ever renewing itself.”

Read it all.

Young traditionalist ordinands with more than 40 years of ministry before them are one sign that their tradition is not ossifying, the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Revd Jonathan Baker, said this week, at the chrism mass for parishes to which he ministers.https://t.co/MW16hPLjWE

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) April 16, 2025

Almighty and everlasting God,
who in your tender love towards the human race
sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ
to take upon him our flesh
and to suffer death upon the cross:
grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility,
and also be made partakers of his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Jesus' entry into Jerusalem #PalmSunday
München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, BSB Clm 4453; 'Evangeliary of Otto III'; c.1000 CE; Reichenau; p.94@bsb_muenchen pic.twitter.com/CSSIZi7DuL

— Ennius (@red_loeb) April 12, 2025

George Augustus Selwyn was a very active man. This table is to enable students to pinpoint where he was at any particular time….

Take a look at it all.

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant George Augustus Selwyn, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to the peoples of New Zealand and Melanesia, and to lay a firm foundation for the growth of thy Church in many nations. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land evangelists and heralds of thy kingdom, that thy Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Died #OTD in 1878: George Augustus Selwyn, 1st Bishop of New Zealand https://t.co/DX3L3ZYTeg

Selwyn was the 1st Bishop of New Zealand (1841-68) before being appointed Bishop of Lichfield on his return to England. Selwyn College Cambridge, est. in his memory, opened in Oct 1882. pic.twitter.com/VkpyA574LM

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) April 11, 2023

The Church of England’s drive to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 is already reducing energy bills and making churches fit for the future, the lead bishop for the environment says.

Speaking to a gathering of diocesan environment officers at the British Antarctic Survey, in Cambridge, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, said that acting to tackle the climate and nature crises was a sign of Christian compassion, and “the right thing to do”.

“There is a link here through compassion with Anglicans — with all people around the world — many of whom are on the front line of climate change and biodiversity loss,” he said. “If we truly believe that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we should have a concern and a compassion for where biodiversity and climate-change loss is impacting people’s lives.”

Read it all.

The Church of England’s drive to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 is already reducing energy bills and making churches fit for the future, the lead bishop for the environment says https://t.co/HqvW3NE7TD pic.twitter.com/2bDaAog0hh

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 27, 2025

Almighty God,you show to those who are in error the light of your truth,that they may return to the way of righteousness:grant to all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion, that they may reject those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;through our Lord Jesus Christ,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Lovely sunny view of #StJohninBedwardineChurch!💙💛💚 @ThePhotoHour @StormHour @StormHourMark @lebalzin @YoushowmeP #WorcestershireHour #Worcester #spring pic.twitter.com/iWz9DHZEZp

— Patricia Cooper (@pac1610) March 22, 2025

“Whoever becomes the next Archbishop of Canterbury will need to know, more than anything, that she or he can only undertake this role with the grace and comfort of Almighty God. I am praying that God calls a humble follower of Jesus who draws others to the abundant joy of Gospel life, a pastor and shepherd, and a gentle prophet for our time.”

The Archbishop of York will also sit on the CNC. Had he chosen not to, another bishop from the Province of York would have been elected to take his place.

The remaining membership of the CNC — including representatives of the diocese of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion — would be announced in early April, a Church House spokesperson said.

It is expected that the CNC will convene for its first meeting in May, and that at least two further meetings will take place in July and September. It is hoped that a new Archbishop of Canterbury will be announced in autumn.

Read it all.

"Despite speculation in recent months, I have felt no sense of inner calling to be Archbishop of Canterbury," the Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher, said today. He'd previously been considered among the front runners to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.https://t.co/C9YvwoR0gU

— Francis Martin (@PhrancisMartin) March 19, 2025

The Church Commissioners’ control over dioceses has been criticised by the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Jonathan Gibbs, who has warned of “significant and unsustainable annual deficits”.

The announcement this weekend that his own diocese had been awarded £11 million from the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment (SMMI) Board did not deter Dr Gibbs from arguing that the increasing emphasis on grants “exacerbates the sense of control by the centre”.

“Everyone accepts that the Commissioners are brilliant at investing money and generating excellent returns,” he told his diocesan synod on Saturday. “But the reality is that the resources they now hold represent a significant net transfer not only of assets but also of financial control from the dioceses to the national Church, something which has become more and more evident over the last ten or so years.”

His comments echo those of other bishops in recent months. In the General Synod last month, the Bishop of Bath & Wells, Dr Michael Beasley, expressed frustration after time ran out for a debate on a motion from Hereford diocese calling on the Commissioners to transfer £2.6 billion of assets to diocesan stipend funds to support parish ministry (News, 31 January). Gloucester, Coventry, Bath & Wells, Blackburn, Chichester, and Lincoln diocesan synods had all passed motions in identical terms to Hereford’s.

Read it all.

Strong words from +Rochester this weekend, who says the renewed emphasis on grants from the central Church "with resources going only to special projects approved by the Board, further exacerbates the sense of control by the centre" https://t.co/6Q9o3320Qn pic.twitter.com/MM1et3BQyM

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) March 17, 2025

When asked to come to Liverpool to serve temporarily as diocesan Bishop, the Rt Revd Ruth Worsley “basically said no”, but promised that she would think about it.

“I wanted to do it on my terms,” she told the Church Times in an interview after her appointment as Interim Bishop of Liverpool had been announced.

After sleeping on the question, she proposed that, instead of “Acting Bishop”, the job should be more clearly defined as “Interim Bishop”, with a stated duration of at least two years.

“I’m not going to be on loan. I’m going to be there as a fully committed, paid-up player, joining in with all that the diocese is seeking to do,” she said.

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New interim Bishop of Liverpool: ‘I like to keep it simple . . . a non-anxious presence’ https://t.co/YulEGBylDX

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 7, 2025

I have read many books by Alister McGrath, renowned scientist and theologian. I have appreciated all of them and, indeed, reviewed one very positively in these columns only a year ago (Books, 23 February 2024). This, though, is the best I have read (Feature, 21 February). It is quite simply brilliant, a must-read for those who want to reflect deeply on the whole question of belief. It will be particularly helpful to those who want to be able to defend their own. I remember Rowan Willams being quoted as saying something along the lines that it could be such a relief not to be made to feel foolish for embracing belief. No one who has read this book need do that.

The intention of the author is consider belief in general, not just religious belief. Demonstrating clearly that it just won’t do to pretend that we live in a “purely factual, belief-free world”, he concludes that “believing is not only intellectually defensible but existentially necessary” (his italics). He offers many fascinating references from a variety of disciplines as, with characteristic clarity and accessibility, he presents a highly sophisticated argument.

In powerful testimony, McGrath explains how, having been raised in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, he gave up on religion. His first love was the natural sciences; he became an atheist with a strong interest in Marxism. It was as an Oxford undergraduate — ironically, through reading the atheist Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy — that he began to realise that it was possible to hold beliefs without being able to prove them and, in fact, that to live life to the full it was imperative to do so. “Only shallow truths can be proven,” he writes, “not the profound existential, moral and spiritual beliefs that bestow dignity and significance upon human life.”

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"It is quite simply brilliant, a must-read for those who want to reflect deeply on the whole question of belief." @BishopJohnInge reviews Why We Believe: Finding meaning in uncertain times by @alisteremcgrath https://t.co/njISQN0hnN

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 7, 2025