Mother god

Speaking at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London on Monday evening Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury said that God is not a father in the same way that a human would be – and that descriptions of God are always “to some degree metaphorical”.

The trap was sprung. The media pounced. Mail Online put it thus:

'God is not male? OR female?: Archbishop of Canterbury says ?The Father? Cannot be defined by human gender.

Newsnight kicked off [@28.20] in the context of gender fluidity with 'When the Archbishop of Canterbury suggests that God is not male, what should we think?'

The Rev Dr Margaret Joachim suggested that we should not pray to Our Father because the simple word father has an appalling connotation for people who have had unfortunate relationships with their fathers!

The reality

Are there no unfortunate relationships with mothers in Dr Joachim's book?

It is an odd notion that it is sexist to pray to the father but not if we pray Our Mother as women bishops are suggesting.

Unlike pagan fertility godesses and Mother Earth Christianity is not about fertility, sex and gender.

The simple truth is that when asked how we should pray Christ said to pray 'Father, hallowed be your name'.

Metaphoricalimages of a female God in the Bible speak of motherhood. A mother's selfless care and nurture of her children, something feminists in the church fail to recognise.

They have marginalised many devout mothers of conscience who for millennia have been happy to pray Our Father as Christ taught us. I know who I would rather listen to.

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A bird in the hand...

The knives were out before the Prime Minister outlined the negotiated Brexit deal to the House of Commons.

Remainers have used every ploy to halt the process and remain in the EU despite a clear majority vote to leave in one of the highest turnouts of the electorate while the purists among leavers want only what they want as if their demands would be accepted if they shouted loud enough,

Mrs May presented a negotiated 'divorce' settlement which satisfies the main objective of many who voted leave which was to put an end to uncontrolled migration from Europe. It also guards against the 'cliff-edge' warnings about jobs, trade and medicine shortages while protecting the N. Ireland border.

Cometh the hour, cometh the woman.

Mrs May's mastery of her brief has impressed friends and foes alike. Many readers will not agree with some of her liberal policies but on this occasion she has delivered what she set out to do and deserves credit for that.

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Caption corner 24 November 2018

Source: Twitter @gavinashenden

As usual publishable captions will appear under Comments.

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All the fun of the fair

The Dean of Norwich, the Very Rev Jane Hedges, slides down the helter skelter. The Rev Andy Bryant insists the funfair ride has a ‘serious intent’. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA/Guardian

Rochester Cathedral's nine-hole, bridge-themed crazy golf course divided opinion. The cathedral said it hoped visitors would learn about faith, building "both emotional and physical bridgesdanquot;. Opponents described the move as sacrilege here and here.

Not to be outdone Norwich Cathedral installed a 55ft-tall helter skelter in their nave "so that visitors can enjoy a better view of its ornate roof". The Rev Canon Andy Bryant told The Guardian that the idea came to him when he was visiting the Sistine Chapel in Rome. That was not something that occurred to me when I was part of a jostling crowd being ushered through the chapel. Nor is the nave roof anything like the roof of the Sistine Chapel.

There will be vastly more room in Norwich Cathedral unless there has been a change in fortune. Responding to the fact that the 2011 census highlighted that the City of Norwich was rated the most godless city in England, the then Communications Director for the Diocese of Norwich, the Venerable Jan McFarlane, said the good people of Norwich are 'doing their church-going differently'!" - ie, staying away.

Such inventiveness earned the archdeacon promotion to Bishop of Repton! Perhaps the Canon seeks to emulate her success but in today's Church of England his sex is against him.

As for providing an opportunity to view the ceiling, the helter skelter more likely provides yet another opportunity for racing to the bottom in the Church of England - no pun intended.

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St Asaph

'Some traditions still continue in the See of St Asaph!'  Source: Submitted Anon

The current Bishop of St Asaph is on a four month sabbatical,possibly in a theological college overseas ending in November.

One can only hope that he is being encouraged to get back to basics when he returns and that he encourages his fellow bishops to do the same before all in the Church in Wales is lost to secularism.

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Marriage

Church wedding                                                                                          Source: Church of England

In 2017 Premier reported that Anglican church weddings had reach a record low: "Figures from the Office for National Statistics show they hosted 49,717 ceremonies in 2014, a reduction compared to 50,226 in 2013."

In April this year the Church Times reported that "for the first time ever, fewer than one quarter of all marriages in England and Wales were religious ceremonies. They accounted for 24 per cent of marriages in 2016, falling by nearly a half (48 per cent) from two decades ago. In the same period of time, the number of all marriages fell by 28 per cent. In 1966, a third of marriages were civil ceremonies. Since 1992, civil marriages have increasingly outnumbered religious marriages every year."

The Government plans to introduce a new system of registration for marriages, including church weddings, in England and Wales.

Premier reports that the new system could lead to criminal offences and £1,000 fines. Under changes which may be law before 2020, couples will no longer be given a marriage certificate at the end of a church wedding. Instead of being asked to sign a register and certificate, they will instead sign a "marriage schedule", the Faculty Office said. The couple then have to take this document to their local register office to record their marriage into a database and only then will they get a certificate, it added.

A London-based Anglican priest commented said it was "an astonishing change to the way marriages are recorded. Now, instead of marriages being registered then and there by the priest, the couple will get a temporary certificate which they then have to present to the register office within a week of the wedding. When they might want to be on honeymoon."

In additionthe Government wants to give every married couple in England and Wales the chance to downgrade their marriage. As the Coalition for Marriage (CM4) points out, by allowing people to downgrade their marriage, the Government is creating new instability, a halfway house to family breakdown. Just because a tiny minority of people want the rights of marriage without the commitment.

The slide continues with another nail in the coffin for Christian marriage!

More marriages in Register Offices followed by Church blessings are likely to lead to more pressure to allow same sex blessings in church.

Civil partnerships were welcomed by many but it did not stop there as illustrated by CM4:

"It?S part of plans to introduce heterosexual civil partnerships, after the Supreme Court ruling last year. C4M predicted this ruling all along. It stems directly from introducing same-sex marriage for homosexual couples in 2014 when they already had access to civil partnerships. The court said this was discriminatory against heterosexuals, who only had access to marriage."

Once people start fiddling with an institution change by stealth takes over as illustrated by the decision to ordain women.

After women were made deacons they complained that they were discriminated against if they were not allowed to be priests. Once they were priests they complained of a stained glass ceiling. Before long virtually anything goes.

The Church of England has lost its way withAll the fun of the fair in Cathedrals which are used to play kecil golf and provide helter skelter rides at ?Dua a slide.

There are secularised archbishops charged with being 'not fit for office' by a vicar who says his disclosures about being sexually abused as a teenager were ignored by senior clerics while Justin Welby keeps digging a pit for himself over gay marriage.

One would have thought that the Church would provide some stability based on scripture but that is no longer what the Anglican Church is about. It is about satisfying personal desires regardless of biblical teaching.

In Wales Archbishop John Davies said after a Governing Body vote in September 2018: "The bishops are united in the belief that it is pastorally unsustainable and unjust for the church to continue to make no formal provision for those in committed same-sex relationships."

The Governing Body had agreed by 76 votes to 21 that the lack of formal provision was "pastorally unsustainabledanquot;. Abdicating all responsibility the archbishop responded: "the vote was an important steer to the bishops in exercising pastoral care." So much for leadership.

Pastoral care used to be in line with scripture and tradition. Under the current regime it has become liberal social work in vestments.

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God of pride

The Golden Calf, with apologies to Poussin

Like it or not the Diocese of Llandaff is gearing up to celebrate Pride with the LGBT+ community this August Bank Holiday. That is according to a Llandaff diocesan press release.

The diocese will once again be partnering with The Gathering, the Cardiff LGBT+ worship group, to host the Faith Tent at Pride Cymru today, Saturday 24 August. They will also be marching in the parade with 'supporters from our many churches'.

In October 2017 I referred to an impending LGBTQI+ takeover. Today politics, the media, commerce and even parts of the Church are obsessed with waving the LGBTQI+ flag. Squalid attempts by political parties to gain votes have become as normal as waving the gay flag. Businesses looking for custom to add to their profits is no surprise but for the Church to become so passionate about distorting the truth is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

According to the diocesan press release, "the Right Revd June Osborne, Bishop of Llandaff, is proud to celebrate Pride. She says, 'It’s a privilege once again to be supporting Pride Cymru. The Faith Tent seeks to celebrate the spirit of acceptance I can think of no better context than Pride Cymru to show our LGBT sisters and brothers that they are truly loved'.”

There is no evidence that LGBTQI+ is putting bums on seats. On the contrary, given the level of support, the campaign appears to have more to do with accepting bums already on seats as if gay people were not previously accepted.

The Church in Wales is becoming a national scandal.

From God of pride in Christian Concern:

"While English cathedrals host helter skelters and bishops fail to defend the unborn, we can rejoice that the Church of England has not yet sunk to the depth of the Church in Wales (which, though disestablished is also a member of the Anglican communion).

"The Diocese of Llandaff is throwing its weight behind this year's Pride Cymru, which takes place in Cardiff this weekend - the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of LGBT+ Pride events around the UK."

Orthodox Anglicans will find the article truly shocking but that will not be a problem for the Church in Wales today since they count for nothing so far as the bench of bishops is concerned.

Llandaff diocese press release readers are invited to follow events on Twitter #WhereLoveMatters. Surely Where sex matters would be more accurate.

Postscript [29.08.2019]

Soapbox trans activist speaks for many of her colleagues about the "democracted values we have cherished for so long". Can't be the Church in Wales then!

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The journey

Yesterday saw the twentieth anniversaryPride Cymru parade through Cardiff streets, supporting the LGBT community on the pretext of raising awareness of equality and diversity,

Away from the hype the reality is different. LGBT fully permeates Church and State.

The last bastion of Christianity in the media, the BBC's Songs of Praise, has been eased out of prime time viewing to a short lunch time slot. It has further alienated viewers after it featured a same-sex wedding.

This is pure propaganda in a process turning this

into this

After 20 years of 'being proud and together', the LGBT community still insists on raising "awareness of equality and diversity" as if they have not noticed the rainbow flags on government buildings and in shop windows.

The rainbow flag is displayed everywhere from the

vote catching First Minister of Wales

university chaplaincy

police

and Church

culminating in a full circle preparing the next generation

aided by the Church, 'where love matters', allegedly.

Equality and diversity? Pull the other one.

Images from Wales on Line, Church in Wales and Twitter

Postscript [29.08.2019]

Question put down for Church in Wales Governing Body meeting 11 - 12 September 2019:

"During August the Diocese of Llandaff and the Church in Wales actively supported and promoted the Faith Tent at Pride Cymru via social media, various press releases and the presence of a number of clerics at the event. As part of the event there were three sessions of "drag queen storytime". The drag queen in question has YouTube videos entitled "Good Christian bitches" and "the most underrated type of gay sexdanquot; as well as a number of other videos containing explicit material contrary to the Christian faith. Despite this speaker being a "third partydanquot; - the Church in Wales support for the entire event was unequivocal. Does the Church in Wales affirm the lifestyle this speaker promotes or is the Church prepared to simply overlook the usual high moral standards expected of speakers at events it promotes?"

Thank God somebody is prepared to stand up for the Church at GB saying what needs to be said to defend the Christian faith instead of simply 'going along to get on'.

Postscript [11.09.2019]

This bland response from the bishop of Llandaff tweeted from Governing Body:

@ChurchinWales @BishopJuno of @LlandaffDio answers a question about @PrideCymru, saying the Church had a duty to minister to the whole community and support such major  events. "We are seeking to engage with a section of society which the Church has not always treated well in the past" #govbody

If that is all she said she evaded the question put.

I have seen no evidence that the Church has treated the gay community badly in the past. Quite the contrary. By contrast traditionalist Anglicans have been treated abysmally with encouragement from the bench.

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Caption corner 27 Aug 2019

Greenbelt Festival                                                                                                                        Source: Twitter @bishopSarahM

Printable captions will appear as comments.

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Church in Wales decline and fall

Membership and Finance 2018 | The Governing Body of the Church in Wales

Figures from the membership and Finance Report 2018 to be presented at the September meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales show continued decline in all measures bar one.

Confirmations were up 30% despite the unilateral decision of the bench of bishops to scrap confirmation as a prerequisite to Holy Communion - see Dodgy legal advice leads to Eucharistic free for all. There was a 36% fall in confirmations2017 - 2016.

The 25% increase in weekdays only attendance between 2017 - 2016 fell back 19% between 2018 - 2017.

Perhaps more surprisingly the reported Sunday attendance increased between 2017 and 2018 in a number of important fields: under 7s; 7 to 10s; 11 to 17s; and families. The average attendance of under 18's was down 1%; down 7% between 2017 and 2016.

The Report also shows a worrying decline in total giving across a range of categories despite an increase in average giving per attender.

Archbishop George Carey's six-year-old prediction that "the Church of England was one generation away from extinctiondanquot; unless more was done to attract young people into the Church was aired again in Norwich Cathedral where a helter skelter was thought to be the answer.

In Llandaff it is gay pride.

The predicted outlook for the Church in Wales is even more gloomy than for the Church of England with 'massive church closures from around 2025 onwards' leading to extinction around 2040.

The ordination of women was supposed to reinvigorate the Church. It has had the opposite effect importing a brand of liberalism summed up by Piers Morgan in an interview ‘Liberals have become utterly, pathetically illiberal’.

One cleric has had the guts to put down a question (Q.2) at GB about the declining moral standards of the Church in Wales. Perhaps he will inspire others to reclaim the Church in Wales from the bishops before they destroy her.

Postscript [05.09.2019]

From Not Another Episcopal Blog:

"The Church in Wales has bought into the LGBTQ formula for denominational decline. The statistics look eerily similar to those we have witnessed in most Episcopalian dioceses."

A point strongly made by George Conger on Monday's Anglican Unscripted (No. 529) when he said all the mistakes made by the Episcopal Church 20 years ago are being repeated by the Church of England. The Church in Wales has gone down the same path but has become so irrelevant that it no longer warrants a mention.

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Dialogue and death

Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, welcoming guests at a dinner hosted by the Muslim Council of Wales in Cardiff.  Source: Church in Wales

On Tuesday 26th March 2019 the Muslim Council of Wales "were delighteddanquot; to hold their Annual Interfaith Dinner. It was held at St Fagans National Museum of History "an illustrious venue that is set in the grounds of St Fagans Castle and chronicles the historic lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people.

"In the usual tradition of the Muslim Council of Wales interfaith dinners, each table in the main hall was named after a virtuous characteristic such as kinship, compassion and hope. The name cards at each seat also had beautiful quotes from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), such as 'None of you believes until you love for your brother what you love for yourself'.

"Sheikh Yaqoub Kutkut opened the evening with his melodic recitation of the Holy Quran. Professor Saleem Kidwai OBE, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Wales welcomed everyone in the opening address and a minute of silence was held for the victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack.

A different culture was in evidence in Sri Lanka a few weeks later.

On Easter Sunday, jihadist suicide bombers linked to the Islamic State (IS) group killed at least 253 people and injured some 500 at churches and top-end hotels across Sri Lanka.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is visiting Sri Lanka taking a message described by the Rev George Conger on Anglican Unscripted as:

"Why can't we all get along? Why can't we just be nice to Muslims who are killing us when what is needed is someone to speak about regeneration, salvation and suffering through persecution. We don't need the pablum of the liberal democratic West.

"While the Christians there are under fear for their lives the response of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and of Pope Francis, is that if we are only nicer to Muslims, if we make friends with them and go to their house for dinner every so often, then all shall be well.

"The response that Anglican Unscripted was hearing from its followers was: 'You don't understand; these people want to kill us. They believe that it is for them, Muslims, a moral duty to kill the infidel and we are the infidel, to kill the idolator'

"There is a mismatch between the pablum of Western liberal Christianity and the on-the-ground Christianity of the suffering persecuted Church."

Bishop Gavin Ashenden added:

"There is an incredible arrogance too in Christian commentators in the West who keep on saying the dilema with these Muslim terrorists is they don't understand Islam like we do. If they only understood Islam properly they would know it was a religion of peace. They would know that they had no proper mandate to do these things. We could indeed explain how they are being bad Muslims and we expect them to stop and in fact we expect them to stop any day soon because they must surely see they are bad Muslims.

"Of course this is completely out of touch with reality on the ground and the dreadful overlaying of an enormously shallow and prejudiced view of a kind of Western liberal relativistic Islam which has nothing to do with the way in which people read the Quran, live in Islamic communities or see their priorities and so it's a way of evading the truth and evading reality and of course above all it is incredibly patronising and detached from reality."

The uniqueness of Christianity appears to be lost on those in authority in the Church of England and the Church in Wales.

Instead of delivering Christ's message that there is only one way to the Father they convey the impression that all religions are basically the same as expressed by the Bishop’s Officer for Interfaith Dialogue in the archiepiscopal diocese of Swansea and Brecon with its coverage of  Witchcraft, Atheism, Peace Mala, Hare Krishna, Sufi, Islam, Yungdrung Bön, Judaism and Druids.

Presumably in recognition of such work, Interfaith specialists from Europe and North America will be finding out how Wales "models strong relationships between people of different religions" at a conference next week according to a Church in Wales provincialpress release:

"Wales?S First Minister and the Archbishop of Wales will be among those describing pioneering partnership work in Wales at the regional meeting of the Anglican Inter Faith Commission.

"The event takes place at Cardiff?S Pierhead building on September 9. It will be chaired by the Archbishop of Dublin and attended by interfaith specialists from Anglican churches in Europe and North American and also representatives from other faiths and church denominations."

The web site of theAnglican Inter Faith Commission includes AIFC News Feeds, one of which is:

15/03/2019 Church leaders offer prayer and solidarity after New Zealand mosque attacks leaves 49 dead.

Like thousands of other persecuted Christians those murdered in Sri Lanka are quietly forgotten.

No response is expected at the Inter Faith Commission to pleas from the persecuted abroad: 'You don't understand; these people want to kill us. They believe that it is for them, Muslims, a moral duty to kill the infidel and we are the infidel'.

Peace Mala. The Archbishop of Wales with supporters @StDavidsNeath.

Source: Twitter@WelshMuslims

Postscripts

06.09,2019

Archbishop Welby pontificates on climate change, but clams up on persecution of Christians in India

08.09.2019

From Christian Concern:

The press regulator guidelines on Islamophobia were leaked this week and reveal a serious threat to press freedom when it comes to Islam related issues.

Extracts fromIslamic thought police sasaran the press

"Newspapers and magazines are regulated by the Independent Press Standard Organisation (Ipso) which was set up in 2014 following the phone-hacking scandal. For months, Ipso has been working on a project to draft guidance for journalists on how to report on issues connected with Islam and Muslims. Drafts of this guidance were leaked to the thinktank Policy Exchange which has issued a report about the revelations."

"Trevor Phillips, former head of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, wrote: 'If we give way to the demands being made, the only people who will find themselves silenced will be those who want to tell the truth'."

"The freedom of the press is under threat from Muslim activists who want to control what is said about Islam. Ipso, the press regulator, is capitulating to their demands. Unless things change, press freedom is set to fall. Truth will be the victim."

09.09.2019

This morning

The Church in Wales Retweeted

"Dr Angus M Slater

@AngusSlater Very proud to be in Cardiff today with Interfaith Professional Doctorate students from @UWTSDLampeter @UWTSD with the Anglican Communion Network for Interfaith Concerns organised by the @ChurchinWales"

in an earlier tweet:

"Real, practical, and impactful interfaith work with students assisting Anglican Bishops from across Europe and North America in the reading of scriptures in an Interfaith light."

[My emphasis - ED.]

They could make a start by reading the scriptures in a traditional Christian light.

16.09.2019

Koran read at Westminster Abbey as Royal Cathedral bows to Islam

?By welcoming an uncritical reading of the Koran, Westminster Abbey asserts the legitimacy of Mohammad and in so doing repudiates Jesus.?

?Reading the Koran in cathedrals is sometimes seen as a sign of civility, hospitality or inclusion. Instead, it validates Islam?S teaching that is predicated on the claim that the resurrection was a fraud and Jesus lied to his followers and the world.?

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Physicians, heal thyselves

Church in Wales diocesan bishops

Church in Wales bishops have called for the Prime Minister to be ‘transparent, truthful and open’.

The Rt Revd Andy John, Bishop of Bangor, has written on behalf of the Church in Wales bishops to Boris Johnson expressing their “grave concerns” over the suspension of Parliament and the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

The mind boggles given the state of the Church in Wales. They can't put their own house in order.

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'Gif of God'

Orthodox worship                                                                                                                          Source: La France Orthodoxe

Latin worship                                                                                                                                          Source: CatholicEnfield

Anglican (CofE) worship                                                                                                                                  Source: Telegraph

These three photographs illustrate what, in part, has gone wrong with Anglicanism. Mystery and awe have given way to liberal secularism aided by technology.

The Church of England is encouraging clergy to embrace social media as it strives to make the church more relevant to society. In doing so it has lost its sense of otherness.

In church the focus of attention should be on the altar. In thisexample, which involves a presentation the Church of England'sLearning Labs Road Show, a screen becomes the focus, not for spreading the gospel but for 'practical advice on using social media'.

Information is spread at the touch of a button but frequently it is not the Christian message.

Justin Welby has beenenthusiastic about his 'pilgrimage' to India but it is all about politics. His performance is serverley put into context in the latest edition of Anglican Unscripted starting @28.50.

Liberal evangelist Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes recently shared the news on her Twitter account that she "Deleted slightly facetious last tweet. Read manifestos. Joined the Greens. Resigned from Labour. Let?S get changing the system not just tinkering with it, it?S the system that?S broken not just the individuals running it - unsurprising that they play the system. People do."

For others it is not so much politics but pride that matters as illustrated by this tweet about a visit to a neighbouring parish and the sharedwelcoming video.

Anglican clergy regularly tell us how 'very excited', 'thrilled' and 'proud' they are to share their daily experiences on Twitter as here:

"Very excited to be doing a placement at @ChesterCath as part of my curacy! So far I've met lovely people, seen parts of the cathedral that I didn't know existed  (and probably won't find again) and had some really interesting chats... And been to two services and held an owl!" - Wow!

Ex-Communard, the Rev Richard Coles, who has a habit of popping up everywhere recently shared this experience on Twitter:

"In a fit of conscience I told my host that I had to pee in his jug because I was trapped in my room this morning (due to his poor maintenance of the door handle). He now wants the jug destroyed rather than just thoroughly washed. I think this is an over reaction." He might have been advised to micturate elsewhere!

This passion for spreading personal experiences is part of the Gif of God initiative reported in the Telegraph in 2016:

"In the age of instant communications, when some people are thought more likely to venture into their parish church in search of Pokémon than pilgrimage, clergy are being advised - gently but firmly - to keep up with the tide.

The Church of England has issued new guidance to clerics and congregations to help them navigate the seemingly bewildering array of new apps and sites to incorporate into church life...

...clerics with time on their hands after visiting the sick, conducting services and writing sermons are encouraged to make their own Gifs – animated images – to spread the Christian message online."

Spreading the Christian message online would be a novelty.

#CofERoadshow                                                                                                            Source: Twitter

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Last Night at the Proms

Remainers at the Proms singing Land of Hope and Glory                                                                                                                                             Source: BBC

I wonder what Sir Malcolm Sargent would have made of it.

A self-proclaimed 'Queer girl with a nose ring' waving the pride flag after singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow to "unify" an audience already unified in music.

The proceedings were brought to a close with the utterly incongruent spectacle of 'Remainers' in EU berets singing Land of Hope and Glory while waving EU flags.

US mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton waving a Pride flag to "unify the audience".               Source: BBC

Political activism gone mad.

Postscript [19.09.2019]

Love is the thing. Presiding bishop Michael Curry drawled it out at the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle.

Liberal infiltrators into Anglicanism continually talk of love, conveniently rolling all forms of love into one.

The BBC is at it too.

US mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been elevated to the status of national treasure having 'unified' the nation under the gay pride flag rather than the traditional Union Flag as she oleh Rule Britannia at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms.

Yesterday I received a promotional email from the BBC celebrating love as portrayed at the Proms.

They are also telling school children ?There are more than 100 gender identities?.

Discover more with the BBC!

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Joanna's US training jolly

Joanne with TEC friends of St Davids                                                            Source: Church in Wales

Another episcopal jolly, again to the United States where Joanna, bishop of St Davids, attended the Living our Vows conference in Richmond, Virginia as part of a three-year programme for newly appointed bishops, run and sponsored by the Episcopal Church of America (TEC). - FromPobl Dewi, September 2019.

Why?

TEC is a failed institution. Dominated by feminized men then by presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Barry Morgan's heretical mentor, under the current presiding bishop, Michael Curry, it is all about love, a euphemism for liberality.

Despite TEC's record of failure, the Church in Wales and the Church of England continue to look to TEC for inspiration as if they have a death wish.

Decline continues apace as the Anglican Church here and in the US insists on making itself relevant to society, abandoning 'otherness' in the process when society couldn't give a fig for the Church.

Joanna and June need no lessons in becomingrelevant to society.

Already leaders in promoting fashionable causes one wonders what TEC could possibly teach them other than fulfilling their archbishop's promise of 'more of the same - but faster'.

Katharine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

(TEC), acting as mentor to @BishopJuno and Bishop Joanna.      Source: Twitter

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More rank hypocrisy from the Bench

"The Archbishop of Wales and the Church in Wales?S four serving diocesan bishops are calling on the UK?S political leaders to commit to the rule of law and work together to secure the prosperity of our country."

- Provincial press release

Full statement HERE.

It is a bit rich when the Bishops of the Church in Wales place on record their "evident concern for the well-being of our democratic processes and constitution in the United Kingdomdanquot; when the Bench of bishops regularly ignores democratic processes.

Consultations in the Church in Wales have been regularly ignored when the results have not accorded with the wishes of the Bench.

Extract from an entry on 9 August 2016:

"Diocesan meetings were organised at considerable expense to discuss a Code of Practice designed to cater for faithful Anglicans who, on theological grounds, were unable to accept the ministry of women bishops. The wishes of the majority were ignored, see True to his word: "Over my dead body!". Then there was the farcical taking of opinions about allowing same sex marriages and/or blessings in church, see Marriage: Dodgy discipleship?. Barry and his bench sitters simply did what they wanted when the result did not fit their secular rencana, see Bishops' rank hypocrisy. So why should anyone expect other than a predetermined outcome this time?"

Physicians, heal thyselves springs to mind again.

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Third woman bishop in a row in Church in Wales

Church in Wales bishop elect Cherry Vann (centre) and her sister bishops with a grim looking Dean Lister Tonge looking on                                Source: Twitter

The Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, has announced that the Ven Cherry Vann has been elected bishop of Monmouth replacing the Rt Rev Richard Pain who retired on health grounds.

Miraculously she was on hand to be photographed with her sister bishops Joanna and June.

Currently Archdeacon of Rochdale, Vann is a musician by background. It is not immediately clear how her name came to the attention of the college but she was one of the signatories to a letter from Church of England Synod members 'piling pressure' on the College of Bishops in appealing for greater inclusion for gay Christians within the Church, thus sharing the same sympathies as her sister bishops.

Is this another stitch up to advance the bishops' drive for same sex marriage in the Church in Wales?

In support of this theory a correspondent who checked the names in the electoral college was disturbed to find that of the 26 Clergy Electors (including Bishops), 17 of them were dignitaries - i.E either a bishop, dean or archdeacon. Leaving only 9 electors from front-line clergy. "Considering any appointment needs a super-majority of two-thirds there is no chance of a popular appointment since the college is loaded with the hierarchy. If the dignitaries voted against a candidate they could block anyone since you need 32 votes to get the requisite majority. They could literally guarantee it goes to the bench and the confidentially rules means we can never know if they are voting as a block - can you believe it? This disenfranchisement of front-line clergy is wholly wrong as is loading the college with deans and archdeacons."

The announcement comes as the three-day meeting of the electoral college was drawing to a close amid suggestions that a number of candidates who had been approached intimated that they wouldn't touch the Church in Wales with a barge pole.

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Holiness lost in the Church in Wales

Ven Cherry Vann, bishop elect of Monmouth                                               Source: Church in Wales

In the run up to the Electoral College charged with electing the 11th Bishop of Monmouth the President of the College, Archbishop John Davies, gave an account of the qualities required of the successful candidate. If I recall correctly it implied an element of holiness based on biblical guidance of the qualities needed to be a bishop.

I can no longer find the link, only "Page or file not founddanquot;. No doubt it has been taken down to avoid embarrassing comparisons based on this reaction in conversation with others from an internationally respected commentator on Church affairs to the election of the "first partnered lesbian bishopdanquot;, that we know of, in the UK:

"Merit and holiness has nothing to do with the election of bishops in the Church in Wales. This is a political process. There are 23 clergy electors in the electoral synod. All but 7 are bishops, archdeacons and deans and you need to have a two-thirds vote so what this means is that the establishment by the way they pack the Electoral College is able to select those people whom they wish to put forward as bishop? Barry Morgan the former archbishop has been pushing for this outcome. Pushing for women clergy, pushing for women bishops, pushing for the normalisation of homosexuality.

"Members of the Archbishop's Council tell me that Archdeacon Vann is a complete nonentity, not as a person but in her role in the substantive debates within the Archbishop's Council. In other words she is not someone who has ideas, is a mover or a shaker, who people when we come to an issue, they look at her and think: What does she have to say? She is just another grey face at a long grey table. She is a committee person, she sits on the dais at General Synod and in 10 years has made no meaningful contribution whatsoever.

?Within the diocese where she is archdeacon she has made life miserable for conservative evangelicals, I'm told, through a passive, aggressive approach to things. In other words she is not a warrior for this cause, she is just an apparatchik. And so now we have another mediocrity who has a good CV of positions but no actual real holiness or merit or intellect or heft?

"The option taken by the Church in Wales is effectively to say the gay issue does not matter to us. We are not going to go through the perambulations that the Church of England has gone through. We are just saying this is who she is, like it or lump it."

All the more surprising therefore to see so much acclamation on Twitter although much of it had more to do with feminism, gender equality and parity than holiness. I also read a congratulatory tweet from the gay activist Sandi Toksvig but as in the case of the Archbishop's letter I can no longer find the tweet as if there were something to hide.

Cherry Vann is a member of the Church of England's Pastoral Advisory Group considering matters such as ‘Next Steps in Human Sexuality’ (GS Misc 1158). She is also a Trustee of the Ozanne Foundation.

The Bishops of the Church in Wales agreed the following statement on marriage between same-sex couples in March 2012.

"We abide by the Christian doctrine of marriage as the union of one man with one woman freely entered into for life. We acknowledge that whilst issues of human sexuality are not resolved, there are couples living in other life-long committed relationships who deserve the welcome, pastoral care and support of the Church. We are committed to further listening, prayerful reflection and discernment regarding same-sex relationships."

The Rev Jenny Wigley who, along with the Ven Peggy Jackson, did everything they could to undermine traditional Anglican orthodoxy, was the Guest Editor for a special edition of Theology Wales In her Introduction she referenced "The statement of the 1998 Lambeth Conference affirmed heterosexual marriage or sexual abstinence as the only choices for Christians; homosexual practice was declared to be incompatible with scripture. But the statement also committed the bishops to listening to the experience of homosexual persons and called on people to “minister  and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation".

Heterosexual marriage was affirmed but has been undermined ever since. The bench of bishops have used every means at their disposal to force through same sex marriage in church, including a one sided presentation by the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church to the Governing Body last September. SeeChurch in Wales bench of bishops in renewed push for same sex marriage.

On the face of it the appointment of Cherry Vann is entirely political. Llandaff boasts the first transgender priest. Now the bench can pride themselves on appointing the first female bishop with a same sex partner. She is also an interfaith enthusiast supporting the removal of church pews to allow Muslim events in church.

No wonder the archbishop expressed his delight in a video announcing the appointment.

It is a sobering thought for any priests stood at the altar in whose name they will be celebrating.

Postscript [23.09.2019]

Bishop-Elect for Monmouth Diocese Cherry Van gives her first interview since being elected to the post

"She said: 'I was quite struck by the process the Church in Wales adopts to find new bishops. It seems to me to be heavily dependent on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and that gives me great encouragement'."

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A dysfunctional family

Rowan Williams preaches at Eucharist during a Sept. 24 clergy day in the Diocese of Los Angeles.                  Source: Diocese of Los Angeles/Janet Kawamoto

Addressing a gathering of clergy and laity in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said the Anglican communion is "fractured but still a family":

“I am saying ‘Anglican family’ rather than ‘Anglican Communion’ because we’re a very fractured communion but we’re still family – like so many families, quarreling till the cows come home. What gives us our family solidarity is, of course, that dependence on God’s call, God’s welcome. We are, at the moment, in the middle of a period of colossal uncertainty in the life of our Anglican family. There is uncertainty, division, a measure of suspicion still and a sense that our conventional and inherited ways of being Anglicans together across the world have come under almost unmanageable strain."

In fewer words, we are no longer a body of Christians with a common faith and discipline. Our Anglican family is dysfunctional. It is dominated by expressions of intolerance and vengefulness. As the Archdeacon of Llandaff bluntly put it, anyone who could not accept the new order would have to make their own arrangements.

Wikipedia describes Anglicanism as "a Western Christian tradition which has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation."

In recent times the Church of England, instead of leading by example, has followed the 'madness' of the Episcopal Church of the United States ((ECUSA) endeavouring to make the Church more relevant to society's perceived needs, liberalism has replaced tradition as described in my previous entry.

Abp Williams acknowledged that as Archbishop of Canterbury he had to make 'uncomfortable adjustments at both ends of the spectrum, liberal and conservative, north and south' to keep everyone at the table but he believes a duduk perkara-solving-by-committee approach no longer effectively addresses current challenges.

Too late anyway. The damage has been done. Self governing Provinces like the Church in Wales have voted for disunity. Family members who, in common with the vast majority of Christians, strive to remain loyal to the faith of the Anglican Church as received have been marginalised or excluded, divorced from the Church they lovingly cared for before it was ripped from them.

The bride of Christ has been torn apart by those who would stand in the person of the Bridegroom. Rowan is right when he compares Western Anglicans to families, quarreling till the cows come home. But the quarreling is now amongst the liberal rump deciding how far the revisionists can go.

There are parallels with society. The nuclear conjugal family traditionally comprised a family class consisting of a (female) mother, a (male) father and their children. As a consequence of formalising same sex relationships and the acceptance of genders differing from the biological sexes of male and femaleprimary school children are to be taught that some children have two mothers or two fathers.

This has gone so far as to compel a transgender man who gave birth with the help of fertility treatment to attempt to register himself as the child's father. Although he lost his court battle the ruling was attacked by campaigners and lawyers including the judge as a blow to the rights of trans parents and their children with calls for legislative reform.

In another case a Christian doctor has been told that his belief in the Biblical view of what it is to be male and female is "incompatible with human dignity" .

An NHS A&E doctor for 26 years, he was forced out of his job working for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after refusing to identify clients by their chosen gender instead of their biological sex as explained in this video:

One might have thought that the Church would stand for truth but Western Anglicanism has confounded the truth by supporting divergence. The family is fractured.

Not content with fracturing our own family, feminists are intent on fracturing the Roman Catholic Church to advance their political agenda.

The Llandaff Diocese of the Church in Wales is embarking on an 'ambitious Year of Pilgrimage' to reinvigorate its work and worship as part of the Church’s 2020 centenary celebrations. Traditionally the Cathedral Church of St David in Pembrokeshire has been a place of pilgrimage but it has been turned into a feminist enclave making it difficult for orthodox pilgrims to participate fully.

ThisWomensOrdinationConf tweet was 'liked' by St Davids Cathedral staff:

"They don't just want a seat at the table. They want to rearrange the seating, in sense, by reducing clerical privilege, by focusing on ordination as more a call to serve than a pathway to power". The Women's Ordination Conference describes itself as "A voice for women's equality in the Catholic Church".

Mutual flourishing in the Church goes out of the window after women take power. The Bridegroom and His bride become tools for revisionists to help overturn convention no matter who is hurt.

When mutual flourishing is allowed the results can be remarkable as illustrated by a tweet following a recent Confirmation service at Llandaff Cathedral presided over by the Bishop of Burnley, Philip North: "Standing room only in the Cathedral for a Diocesan Confirmation @LlandaffDio and the most candidates I think I have ever seen. What utter joy. Thank you @BishopJuno and @BpBurnley. God is good!"

Rowan Williams is reported to have said that as it is the Church in Wales has no future. The Church of England is not far behind.

Postscript [08.10.2019]

'Pick your own sex' plans are shelved: Equalities minister Liz Truss abandons drive to relax laws around changing gender.

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Would I Lie to You?

Church in Wales bishops Joanna, Cherry (elect) and June                     Original source: BBC/Twitter

Readers may be familiar with the popular BBC comedy panel show Would I Lie to You? where contestants have to bluff about their deepest secrets while the opposing team have to find out which ones are true.

A massive bluff has been disclosed as a lie by one of the pioneers of 'gender theory'. He has admitted that he and his colleagues "basically just made it updanquot;.

From the Coalition for Marriage:

"In an article in online magazine Quillette, former gender historian Christopher Dummitt explains how he and his fellow academics simply ignored the innate differences between men and women. In this way they 'proved' that 'sex was wholly a social construct'.

"What's worse, everyone was at it. 'Everyone was (and is) making it up. That's how the gender-studies field works', he confesses. Over the past 30 years, whole university departments have been taken over by subjects like 'gender history' and 'gender studies', which perpetuate the fiction that sex is not a 'biological reality'.

"Disagreeing with this nonsense is increasingly being regarded by our society as 'tantamount to hate speech'. It?S also being used to push all kinds of dangerous ideas to school children.

"The peer review process, far from providing a check on this groupthink, only made it worse. It was no better than a 'form of ideological in-group screening'.

"Dr Dummitt says that 'critics of the social constructionists are right to raise their eyebrows at the so-called proof presented by alleged experts'.

Parts of the Anglican Church were quick to pick up on the opportunity presented by gender theory to promote a non-biblical lifestyle as if somehow endorsed by references in the Bible to love, compressing its many forms into one. Their distortions have been used to accuse people who disagree with them as prejudiced homophobes and bigots simply for holding contrary opinions.

Despite constant claims of LGBT persecution in the Church, Archbishop Barry Morgan said way back in 2008: "There are a huge number of gay clergy and gay partnered clergy. There?S no reason why they shouldn?T be bishops and they will be. We?Re not arguing about if, we?Re just arguing about when." He also said that he would be willing to consecrate Britain?S first openly gay bishop despite fears that such a move would further split the Anglican Communion.

Today there is a plethora of gender study courses even at some of the most prestigious universities. They are predominantly attended by women suggesting perhaps that either some women are more gullible or that they saw an opportunity to beat the Church into submission by making her more relevant to society.

The 'madness' began in the United States.

In his book The Crockford's File William Oddie wrote about the suicide of Dr Garry Bennett in December 1987 after he anonymously wrote the Preface to the 1987 Edition of Crockford's Clerical Directory: "The problems of modern Anglicanism are highlighted by the case of the Episcopal Church in the United States"(ECUSA).

Oddie writes

"Their intention was to make the Church more relevant to society's perceived needs so that more and more Americans would find those needs answered within the Episcopal Church.

"The Episcopal Church had been in decline for over 20 years. In 1968 ECUSA had tiga,588,435 members. By 1989 this had dropped to dua,420,000. This decline had taken place against a steady increase in churchgoing in the American population as a whole, an increase which has been going on steadily since the1950s. During the same period, the classification of ECUSA by the Library of Congress in Washington has changed: it has now been demoted from the status of a 'denomination' to that of a 'sect'."

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan

 with The Right Reverend Gene Robinson

 Photo: John Robertson. Source: Telegraph  Gene Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor in 2003 then diocesan bishop, the first priest in an openly gay relationship to be consecrated a bishop in a major Christian denomination believing in the historic episcopate. This was followed in 2009 by the election of Mary Glasspool as a suffragan bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. She is an openly gay woman living with her partner.

Amazingly the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, adopted the ECUSA experiment as his contoh for advancing a programme of regularising homosexuality in the Church in Wales.

The retirement of Barry Morgan presented the ideal opportunity to right Morgan's wrongs. Instead the bench of bishops under their new archbishop, John Davies, chose "more of the same" - but faster.

The Dean of Salisbury addresses Gay Pride

 marchers. Source: Facebook A seasoned LGBT campaigner the Dean of Salisbury, June Osborne, whose advance in the Church of England had, like other imports from England, come to an abrupt halt, was elevated to bishop of Llandaff . She joined another LGBT campaigner on the bench who had been fanfared as the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales, Joanna Penberthy. She had been appointed under  Barry Morgan's presidency in what many believe was the first of three episcopal stitch ups.

Osborne's influence led to the first transgender priest in Wales, since elevated to Canon of Llandaff Cathedral, presumably for her work in promoting transgenderism, followed recently by the appointment of the first bishop in a same sex relationship as bishop-elect of Monmouth.

Given the decline of ECUSA (now TEC), the slavish adherence of the Church in Wales and, indeed, of the Church of England, to the United States model remains a puzzle to orthodox, mainly cradle, Anglicans who have been abandoned by the liberal-minded new Anglicans.

The most charitable explanation is that gender studies motivated people to press for the Church to make a stand for the equality of women in the workplace. The consequences have been intolerance and exclusion despite promising that there would be no victimisation of those who in conscience could not accept the ordination of women and all the liberal theology that has followed it.

Many bishops would have you believe that gender studies (feminism, gender, politics and queer studies) make the church more relevant to society.

It's a lie!

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Then there were three

The bishops of St Davids, Monmouth (bishop-elect) and Llandaff                              Source: Twitter

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning or in rain?" - At the Sacred Synod regardless.

Following the announcement that the Ven Cherry Vann had been elected bishop of Monmouth she tweeted: "Absolutely thrilled to be joining these wonderful women on the bench of Bishops in the Church in Wales.

Perhaps she was less than thrilled to be joining the three male bishops on the bench!

It had long been rumoured that the bishop of Lancaster, Jill Duff, would be the 11th bishop of Monmouth but not so. Presumably her CV did not match the expectations of the bench.

In her first interview after her election the Ven Cherry Vann told the South Wales Argus: "I found out I had been elected at about dua.30pm on the Thursday afternoon [when] I got a call from Archbishop John".

A little over half-an-hour later at 3.08pm the Archbishop announced that the bishop elect was Cherry Vann, Archdeacon of Rochdale.

Ms Vann is not a member of the Electoral College. The Cathedral would have been locked so she must have been hovering in the vicinity. Cynics may wonder how the archdeacon came to be in Newport for the announcement. Another episcopal stitch up?

What could the Electoral College have found so attractive about the Archdeacon of Rochdale? Few in the Church in Wales would have heard of her apart from the bishops and special interest groups such as Mae Cymru.

Contrary to sentiments expressed by Ms Vann and the Archbishop of Wales in a video message after the announcement, in her first newspaper interview Ms Vann said: "This is a very different province to the Church of England, and it works differently. I am aware that I have a lot to learn both about the church and how it works, but also about the past and what I am inheriting.

?I am also aware that the church is struggling to be relevant in people?S lives. I want to work with people to find ways of communicating, what is essentially, a message of love and hope to people who find the institutional church difficult or inaccessible.

?Institutions do not find it easy to change. I think what we have got, not just in Monmouth but right across the established churches, is an organisation that is struggling to meet the demands of the present age. An age where religion is seen as irrelevant at best and people do not understand what it is about. That is a huge challenge for everyone.?

There must be priests in Wales and beyond, even Welsh speaking, who do not have a lot to learn both about the church and how it works, about the past and what the bishop is inheriting so it appears that more weight was attached to supporting 'an organisation struggling to meet the demands of the present age'.

No doubt being relevant to society is why Ms Vann is absolutely thrilled to be joining the "wonderful women" on the bench of Bishops as they pursue their secular cause.

Now there are three.

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Cathedral spirituality!

What next for a Cathedral near you?

Aftercrazy golf in Rochester Cathedral, thehelter skelter in Norwich Cathedral and a semi-nude fashion show in Southwark Cathedral, Exeter Cathedral is to trialvideo games on Sunday 13th October as an "aid to spirituality".

Hat tip to Llandaff Diocese for this revelation in atweet picked up from their web site:

"Talk about fully embracing digital! Sounds like a great idea ?? - How video games can offer new spiritual experiences to church congregations. The contribution that interactive media offers the faith setting is similar to poetry or beautiful music."

How long before artificial grass is laid in the cathedral nave with chairs around the perimeter to watch indoor games, popping up to the altar at half time for refreshment?

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Do you want local churches to flourish?

Ven Cherry Vann, bishop elect of Monmouth               Source: Church in Wales

From a Diocese of Monmouth jobadvert appearing in the Church Times:

"Do you want local churches to flourish?

"Monmouth Ministry Area is looking for 2 Ministry Area Leaders to share Ministry Area Leadership for the whole area and each to be incumbent of a group of parishes within it. One incumbency has a more urban base.

"The whole area has18 churches (6 looked after by House for Duty priests) A team of 13 active retired priests and a Reader Focal Ministers in most churches."

There are some sad average Sunday attendance figures in the Monmouth Ministry Area Profile which no doubt account for the advert headline. Granted they serve many small rural communities but with ageing congregations it is difficult to see how these churches are to flourish.

The average Sunday attendance figures are:

The Monmouth Town Group: Mitchel Troy 18, Monmouth Priory Church 51,Overmonnow 46, Rockfield 8, Wonastow 6.

The Monmouth Rural Group: Cwmcarvan 3, Dingestow 9, Llanfihangel Ystern-Llewen 12, Llangattock-Vibon-Abel 12, Penyclawdd 10, Tregaer 8.

The Llanishen Group: Llanfihangel Tor-y-mynydd 15, Llanishen 5, Llansoy 7, Trelleck Grange 5.

The Llandogo and Tintern Group: Llandogo with Whitebrook 42, Tintern 7 (Estimated)

The problem extends beyond the Church in  Wales. TheMail Online reports that a typical Anglican congregation in England numbered just 27 worshippers last year. "Over a decade congregations fell by 15 per cent, church marriages by a third, and fewer than one in ten babies were baptised."

Churchgoing is becoming increasingly unpopular. Why?

Responding (@18.27) to a LBC questioner in my previous entry Justin Welby said he was "deeply, deeply sorry" that "the Church has historically been deeply intolerant, with society as a whole, but the Church has no excuse. Jesus said to someone caught, someone dragged up in front of Him, 'those without sin cast the first stone' and we shouldn't be throwing stones" as if to imply that Jesus condoned sin.

The Christian message would have been much clearer if Welby had quoted Jesus when asked by the woman caught in adultery: "Has no one condemned you?? ?No one, Lord,? She answered. ?Then neither do I condemn you,? Jesus declared. ?Now go and sin no more.?

Biblical teaching has become so selective that for many people sin has been abolished so there is no need for redemption.

Welby also said: "People have to realise the reality of people's lives. The reason he is a Christian is because God came into the middle of the complexity, he didn't simplify it, he embraced it. It's what we need to dodanquot;.

Hate the sin but love the sinner has become love the sinner so never mind the sin implying that Christ died on the Cross in vain.

Churches cannot be expected to flourish by surrendering the faith of Christ crucified to a 'do-as-you-please' society.

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Anglicanism on the rocks

How depressing to listen to the leader of the Anglican Communion responding to questions on the LBC radio talk show yesterday morning.

Had the archbishop been a candidate for election to Parliament I doubt that we would have ever heard of him again.

Sitting on the fence for half an hour Welby said next to nothing spiritually worthwhile ('teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you' as in the Great Commission) that would encourage anyone to become a Christian.

No wonder traditional Anglicanism is on the rocks.

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Caption corner 15 October 2019

"State Opening of Parliament. Unusual appearance inside and eerily unusual appearance outside..."

Source: Twitter @BishGloucester

As usual publishable captions will appear under Comments

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"A warning to society"

A 'Watch and Share' video from Christian Concern:

This is not an isolated case according to a formerly Trans woman:

'Hundreds' of young trans people are seeking help to return to original sex.

Readers may have watched anothervideo of a 7 yr old boy describing how his mother dresses him as a girl claiming that he has gender dysphoria. The boy's father disagrees and has turned to a family court to stop his son from transitioning to a girl.

Added to these distressing stories are more bizarre episodes which have the effect of trivialising a seriousmedical condition.

Some recent headlines:

Outraged feminists boycott Always sanitary towels after brand ditched Venus logo from their products in response to Trans-rights campaigners who say men use them too.

Transgender activist Jessica Yaniv loses 'wax her b*lls' complaint against salon workers.

Transgender athletes ? The controversy that could bring down women?S sport.

The age of responsibility in England and Wales is 10. The age of consent is 16 yet primary school children are being exposed toTrans and gay lessons. It is hardly surprising that there has been a 2,500% increase in referrals to gender identity clinics over the past decade.

Children go through many phases in growing up. Exploiting this natural process is to be deplored.

One might have thought that Christian Concern would have the Church in Wales on board. Instead transgenderism is actively promoted. Perhaps that is because the Church in Wales is Christian in name only as their Trans clergyperson eagerly spreads their inclusive message - agree with us or you're out.

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Caption corner 26 October 2019

Source: Twitter

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Double standards

Sydney Anglican Archbishop Glenn Davies has said to supporters of same-sex marriage:

‘Please leave us.’  Source: Guardian. Photograph: David Moir/AAP

The Bishop of Liverpool rebuked the Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies, after he called for gay marriage supporters to leave church saying he ‘seems to want to exclude people rather than to engage with them’.

That's rich.

From the Guardian: "Archbishop Glenn Davies said last week that those who supported same-sex marriage should abandon the church. If people wish to change the doctrine of our church, they should start a new church or join a church more aligned to their views ? But do not ruin the Anglican church by abandoning the plain teaching of scripture,? He said. ?Please leave us.?

The Australian Newcastle Herald reports that "Anglicans have joined two other Australian dioceses to support same-sex marriage church blessings at a Hunter Synod where Bishop Peter Stuart said he had "spoken frankly" to a Sydney archbishop against the move. Newcastle Anglicans strongly supported changes to church rules that could allow clergy to bless same-sex marriages and protect clergy in a same-sex marriage from church discipline."

The Dean of Newcastle, the Very Reverend Katherine Bowyer supports the diocese's move to bless same-sex marriages. She rejected comments by the Archbishop of Sydney that supporters of same-sex marriage should leave the church, saying differing views deserve respect.

Her views and those who side with the Bishop of Liverpool have nothing to do with traditional Church teaching.

The Archbishop of Sydney is correct. If Western Anglican leaders had adopted the same approach many of us would still have a church to attend.

Dean Katherine Bowyer's attitude typifies the double standards of liberal Anglicans amply illustrated by Mae Cymru the Welsh offshoot of the feminist organisation Women and the Church.

Mae Cymru recently tweeted an article from cruxsolablogAn Open Letter to John MacArthur (re: Beth Moore). The author states:

"Recently John MacArthur commented that Beth Moore (Christian leader and teacher) should ?Go home.? As I have pondered this over the last few days, I wondered what Paul would say to John. So, I wrote an open letter.

It is not my intention to comment on the letter's content. Readers of the letter can draw their own conclusions but I was drawn to the double standards of the new breed of Anglican.

The membership secretary of Mae Cymru the Ven Peggy Jackson, Archdeacon of Llandaff and scourge of  orthodox, often cradle Anglicans is a late convert to Anglicanism. Their idea of engagement is exclusion dressed up as inclusion.

Before Barry Morgan imported her from the Church of England as his hatchet woman the then Rev Canon  F A Jackson wrote in a paper for GRAS (Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod):

"New individuals with conscientious difficulties over women?S ministry will simply have to make personal decisions and individual choices, to find accommodation as best they can ? Just as many already have to do over a host of other current issues, some very uncomfortable, where people find themselves representative of a view which is not that sanctioned by the ?Church? As a whole, and upheld through Synod and Parliament."

Ten years later with attendance figures still plummeting, thousands of often cradle Anglican women and men have been abandoned by their Church.

Far from relenting Jackson has attempted to turn the screw ever tighter by seeking to exclude from ordination anyone who does not conform to her wishes, misrepresenting genuine theological doubt about sacramental assurance as misogyny.

The concept of twin integrity has been all but abandoned. As Sir William Fittall said in response to a complaint:

"To expect someone whose theological conviction does not enable him to receive the sacramental ministry of women routinely to turn up to a celebration of Holy Communion when he cannot discover in advance whether he will be able to receive Holy Communion seems to me to be asking too much."

Following the appointment of a third woman bishop in the Church in Wales half the bench will be female.

The diocese of St Davids has been quickly feminized after the appointment of the first woman Bishop. She lost no time in appointing a woman Dean. Two female minor Canons have also been appointed. If the Canon in Residence is a female cleric the sub-Dean is the sole male priest at Wales' premiere place of pilgrimage.

There is no indication for pilgrims who will be celebrating yet the Cathedral onlineWorship Sheet merrily quotes St David's last words to his followers, “...Be Joyful, Keep the faith and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do...”

The Bishop of Liverpool should have looked closer to home before whinging about the Church in Australia.

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Rugby victory

Rugby fans celebrate in Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg, after Springboks win  the Rugby World Cup.                                 Source@BBCSport

There may have been disappointment for many as their teams were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup but few begrudged South Africa's win when their Captain,Siya Kolisi, lifted the Webb Ellis Cup a third time to match New Zealand's record three wins.

Wales lost to South Africa by just three points in the semi-finals after many of Wales' star players were injured. Even so, fewer penalties against Wales could have seen a different result but it was not to be.

The pain felt by the losing sides and their fans quickly evaporated after witnessing the success of the Springboks, seeing what it meant for their fans back home where many suffer great hardship due to poverty and corruption.

The host nation, Japan, was a contoh of hospitality while their rugby team was an inspiration to aspiring players. The players in general too, while playing hard, did so in an admirable spirit of friendship along with the fans. Some others sports would do well to follow their example.

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Remembrance Day 2019

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them."

Lest we forget.

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A Female Diaconate!

Representatives of the Women's Ordination Conference stage a protest in front of St. Peter's Basilica

at the Vatican on Tuesday, June 8, 2010.   Source: Washington post Photo by Pier Paolo Cito

 "Amongst a lot of social change, we too continue to see the loss of Sunday churchgoing. And this can feel as if we?Re in terminal decline. Add to that the loss of connectedness many once had with the church ? Now more than half our neighbours happily describe themselves as having ?No religion?. And then add the lost trust in what the church stands for - ask anyone under 30 what they make of the Church and they?Ll pretty soon mention our unhealthy preoccupations with gender and sexuality. Those multiple losses feel really significant for those who love the Church and all it stands for."

The words of the bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, delivered in herPresidential Address at the Llandaff Diocesan Conference 2019 following her observation that churches in the Gwent Valleys had suffered 'a 37% loss of membership within just the last few years'.

Despite similar evidence from other Anglican Provinces that have ordained women, the Roman Catholic Church appears oblivious to the dangers of creating a female diaconate. It is clear from experience in the Anglican Communion that ordaining women deacons provided them with a stepping-stone in a planned progression from women deacons to women bishops resulting in exclusion for many and indifference to their plight.

Once women deacons established a toehold in the Anglican Church, equality of opportunity, not theology, took hold. The rest is history. People who rarely if ever set foot in a church have become arbiters of what is or is not acceptable in Anglicanism as liberal leaning bishops strain to be evermore relevant to society.

In 2010 the USWashington Times reported the results of a Poll that showed 80% of Catholics were 'comfortable' with the idea of women priests but it is worth remembering that the US Episcopal Church started the Anglican rot which spread to England and Wales resulting in many faithful Anglicans finding themselves effectively unchurched.

Other Catholics claimed that the Catholic Church would never ordain women but within a decade of that poll Pope Francis appears open to reversing claims made by Pope John Paul II that the Church had no authority to ordain women (1994) and those who continued discussing women?S ordination were effectively excommunicating themselves (1998).

One Catholic bishop, Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, has claimed that the Amazon Synod was being used as a ?Tool? To change the Church and create ?A new kind of religiondanquot;, a situation familiar to orthodox Anglicans who find themselves excluded by newcomers.

Speaking after the conclusion of Rome’s Amazon Synod which approved a document calling for  further discussion on allowing women deacons, the former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, described a male-only priesthood as "codology dressed up as theology".

It is difficult to take such women seriously when their interests appear to be more about feminine power than spreading the Gospel. True they use the Gospel but for their own ends. They talk of love and inclusion but are content to see women and men who do not share their views excluded, leaving them with no church to attend and no pastoral care.

Continuing her presidential address at the 2019 Llandaff diocesan conference June Osborne said "So many want to tell me how church life enriches their existence and is precious to them."

Church life did that for many others before they were excluded but the breed of woman that seeks power in the Church couldn't care less who is hurt on their march to the top. Instead they complain of discrimination and misogyny if anyone dares to disagree with them as they look to society for support.

Osborne started her address by referring to the September Electoral College which chose a new Bishop of Monmouth. She described the decision as excellent saying, "I know Archdeacon Cherry Vann will be an outstanding bishop for our friends in Monmouth."

There have been rumours that Cherry Vann was not the choice of Monmouth diocese and that their candidate was rejected which suggests yet another stitch up by the Church in Wales establishment in pursuit of their liberal agenda.

In her first interview following her election the bishop-elect said: ?I am also aware that the church is struggling to be relevant in people?S lives. I want to work with people to find ways of communicating, what is essentially, a message of love and hope to people who find the institutional church difficult or inaccessible."

St Paul spoke of love in action. He also said: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God?S will is?His good, pleasing and perfect will."

The movement for ordaining women to the priesthood peddles a false concept of equality in defiance of the message received through scripture and tradition which have been followed by generations in a broad Church. All has changed.

After women were ordained deacons in the Anglican Church demands for priesting quickly followed employing claims of discrimination and misogyny if they were denied what they claimed was the next logical step. They claimed that it did not mean that women wanted to be bishops, until they were priests.

After women were admitted to the priesthood, it was the 'stained glass' ceiling and promises of mutual flourishing if women were allowed to become bishops. Anotherfalse promise.

Now that there are women bishops parity is demanded using the usual slogans of discrimination and inequality. Parity has already been achieved in the Church in Wales following the 'election' of Cherry Vann.

In her presidential address Osborne referred to the "lost trust in what the church stands for" adding: "ask anyone under 30 what they make of the Church and they?Ll pretty soon mention our unhealthy preoccupations with gender and sexuality".

That preoccupation has been manifested most prominently in female bishops. Presumably they haven't finished yet.

Rome beware.

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Hurt

The obvious hurt expressed inthis interview by a lifetime Labour supporter whose conscience told him that his Party no longer represented the traditional values he stood for reminds me of the breakup of the Anglican Communion.

The response of the extreme Left which now dominates the Labour Party was to claim that Ian Austin was ?Employed by the Tories?.

This is reminiscent of the takeover of the Anglican Church by trendy, Left leaning bishops and their feminist allies. If more people had had the guts to speak out for Anglicanism we may have been saved from the actions of mean spirited bishops who ignore scripture and tradition and have no regard for anyone who gets hurt.

The contagion is spreading to Rome. Fortunately some have the guts to speak out whilePope Francis denounces Amazon Synod critics as racist!

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Caption corner 15 November 2019

#JustLove for @Pontifex                                                                                                                                           Source: Twitter@JayneOzanne

As usual publishable captions will appear under Comments.

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Caption corner 23 November 2019

"Stand up for the truth and ‘challenge falsehoods when we hear them’, say Archbishops Welby and Sentamu"                                                         Source: C of E

"In their 2019 General Election message, Archbishops @JustinWelby and @JohnSentamu urge voters to uphold the Christian values of truth, humility and love." - Twitter.  Hmmm!   Full video here.

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