This photograph is displayed over a caption: "Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, right, demonstrates with others against the decision by Anglican Primates to punish pro-gay equality churches in North America, in front of the Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)".
Things have moved on, or should I say backwards. The photograph appears in an article "Anglican Church of Canada Adopts Gay Marriage, Endangers Future of Faith":
"At the General Synod of The Anglican Church of Canada, held July 7-12, a proposal to allow the Canadian Anglican ministry to solemnize same-sex marriages was voted upon and was reported to have failed by a single vote. The next day, however, it was reported that there had been a counting error and that the measure actually had passed. Thus, by the closes of margins, the Anglican Church of Canada approved same-sex marriage". Full articlehere.
It is not homophobic to support the established definition of marriage which is "the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all othersdanquot;. Nor has it anything to do with equality. These twisted views have wrecked Western Anglicanism to satisfy the desires of the few at the expense of the many.
Abp Morgan hectoring Governing Body Source: Church in Wales Highlights
A Church in Wales Press Release has details of another so-called consultation:
"The Church in Wales is taking a fresh look at the role and responsibilities of its most senior leader [archbishop] and people across Wales are being invited to make a contribution".
Contributions have previously been requested from people across Wales in 'consultations' which have allowed the bench of bishops to cherry pick comments they found favourable before binning others which did not accord with their predetermined agenda.
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?
Looking at some figures puts the latest consultation into perspective. From Wales Online in 2014 - "If church-going is the best measure of the health of a faith community, Wales’ Christian communities should see a warning light flashing":
"Research by Tear Fund in 2007 showed Wales had the lowest level of regular church attendance in the UK at 12%, behind England (14%), Scotland (18%), London (22%) and Northern Ireland (45%). The 2001 census showed 71.9% of the Welsh population were self-described Christians but this fell to just 57.6% by the time of the 2011 berita umum.
Between 2011 and 2012, the number of adults attending Church in Wales Sunday services fell by 5%, from 33,783 to 32,171. Easter attendance dropped by 8% from 60,924 to 56,063."
According to the 2011 census the population of Wales was just over 3 million of which 58% claim to be Christians. Only 1% of the population worship regularly in the Church in Wales. At 1.5% there are more regularly worshipping Muslims in Wales with numbers increasing while the number of worshippers in the Church in Wales continues to decrease.
In this context the Church in Wales Press Notice suggests an unwarranted sense of self importance designed to bolster the influence of the archbishop:
"The Church has commissioned a team to conduct the review but it is hoped that as many people as possible will participate. The team will seek views from across the Church and wider society at various key stages and is beginning by inviting initial views on the Archbishop’s role and how he or she might best be supported in the future. The Archbishop has duties both within the Church and nationally and these roles need to be properly understood so that they can be robustly supported."
It is not the Archbishop who needs support but the worshippers. They have been led astray by bishops who have grasped every secular fad to make the church 'more relevant' to society. The Archbishop should be a shepherd leading his people to God not to a dictatorship of relativism.
The Press Release draws the attention of readers to Dr Morgan's Presidential Address published in Highlights (p.3). The Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) has a more succinct summary.
Jobs for the girls and for the boys, if there are any left:
"Archbishop Barry said it is worth noting that what that report [the 1980 Commission on Boundaries and Structures of the Church in Wales]was recommending was the same kind of things for bishops and dioceses that the later Harries report was recommending for parishes – a collegiate method of working. 'In other words, in every diocese, there should be more than one bishop, each with a distinct area of jurisdiction but forming a single unit for administration – just as in ministry areas each individual cleric would have a specific area for pastoral care but be part with others of a ministry area. This meant moving away from the concept of one bishop one diocese, to two or three bishops in every diocese, working closely together in partnership as far as the administration of the diocese as a whole was concerned, but each having pastoral jurisdiction over a particular area'.Other working groups and reports have suggested Llandaff as the permanent Metropolitical see, with the archbishop as diocesan, and an elected assistant bishop; or an archbishop without any diocesan responsibilities. Neither model has found favour. "
Dr Morgan's preferred option is for the archbishop to be based in Llandaff, an option previously rejected. This may come as a welcome release by the next archbishop given the mess created by Barry and his minions in Llandaff Cathedral.
Had Dr Morgan's mission been spiritual rather than political in making the church 'more relevant to society' the consultation would have had some relevance. Under his leadership the Church in Wales has been turned into a secular institution with prayers, giving wholehearted support to the sexual revolution which has demeaned the sanctity of marriage and twisted the meaning of love leading to sexual licence and promiscuity while masquerading as part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The best way to support the Archbishop is to encourage him to abandon the secular agenda and lead his, or her, people back to God.
?All of you are infidels? We will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell.?
There is no shortage of Muslims who believe that they will have a place in paradise if they die killing infidels even if their stock of virgins isdepleted. It is neither here nor there that the vast majority of Muslims do not kill infidels. The God they worship sanctions death for unwilling converts as well as apostates. Unless Muslims face up to this reality and enter into serious dialogue about their supremacist religious ideology, the killings will go on and on.
After each atrocity the media scurry around to find any excuse they can to point the finger away from Islam. Why? It is the common thread that has linked1400 years of violence. Two questions are usually asked. Was the perpetrator in need of psychiatric help? - as if other perpetrators are normal - and, Has the 'so-called' Islamic State claimed responsibility or is there any evidence of a link? The introductory video, 'Persecuted and Forgotten' clearly illustrates that the persecution of Christians is not peculiar to ISIS.
The quote "All of you are infidels… we will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell" is taken from an article in the Catholic Herald: "A priest is slaughtered at Mass in rural France. This is what life is like for Christians in the Middle East". The article recalls: "One priest, Fr Thaer Abdal, was shot dead at the altar. In total, 58 innocent people were murdered. Their killers were members of an Iraqi faction of Al-Qaeda that had declared war on churches, “dirty dens of idolatry”, and in particular “the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican. The Baghdad massacre was one of countless atrocities that have reduced ancient Christian communities in the Middle East to shrivelled and terrified ghettos or underground churches".
In Egypt: Muslim attacks on Christians are "increasing at alarming ratedanquot;. So widespread has the persoalan become that after the French priest was murdered a 'UK Church leader' who asked to remain anonymous has warned that "it may be sign of things to comedanquot;. He said:
"There needs to be a connection made between what is happening here and what has been happening in places such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iraq. Suddenly we are seeing this in Europe. It could be an alarming sign of things to come. There is a lot of copycat psychology in these kinds of attacks. We are hoping this does not turn into anything more serious and get out of hand, but we are concerned that it might." Full report here.
For Christians there is onlyone way to the Father, through Jesus Christ. There is no compulsion.
For Muslims "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger".
This is the basic statement of the Islamic faith: "anyone who cannot recite this wholeheartedly is not a Muslimdanquot;.
When a Muslim recites this they proclaim:
That Allah is the only God, and that Muhammad is his prophet
That they personally accept this as true
That they will obey all the commitments of Islam in their life
Little surprise, then, that other religions are held in contempt by Islam. 'Blasphemy' is a tool often used in Islamic states. Sadly this process is aided by attitudes in the West which imply that only Islam is sacred. In the wake of latest atrocity in France it has beenreported that a "Fireman Sam" episode has been pulled amid a "Koran row" in marked contrast to the persecution of Christians highlighted in the "Persecuted and Forgotten" video above.
In the following video, former Prime Minister Tony Blair along with former US Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton insist, contrary to all the evidence available, that Islam is a religion of peace, ignoring the opinions of experts. Only a sensible dialogue will expose the truth but while Islam is regarded as above criticism the West will remain compliant without uttering a word of the Shahadah.
Meanwhile the slaughter of the innocents continues.
Postscripts [31.07.2016]
From The Telegraph:Islamism is an attack on our civilisation ? This must be recognised, not evaded.
also [03.08.2016]
From OnePeterfiveISIS Rejects Pope?S Interpretation of Their Own Religion
Not content with changing the rules which protect the sanctity of marriage the gay lobby now expects the State to pay for unprotected sex via the NHS to help prevent them contracting HIV: "Aids campaigners are celebrating a watershed victory after the high court ruled that NHS England can pay for 'game-changer' drugs that prevent people being infected with HIV by their partnersdanquot;.
While it may be cheaper in the long run to prevent rather than treat Aids, there has to be added to the cost of the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug the cost of treating any side effects plus treating the added risk of STDs which is rising among gay and bisexual men. But there is more to this than the money. There is a moral dimension.
With limited resources to provide essential treatment there are, for example, needy children with cystic fibrosis, people with cancer who have to apply for funding to just give them some hope through no fault of their own. Twenty-five vital cancer drugs have been deemed 'too expensive' for the NHS.
With so many pressing health needs the tax payer should not be asked to fund a life-style choice at the expense of the needy.
Postscript [08.08.2016]
Transgender ‘men’ given IVF treatment by the NHS. Women who have undertaken sex reassignment surgery to become 'men' are being given IVF treatment on the NHS.
Conservative MP Peter Bone questioned why the NHS is choosing to fund this, especially considering its limited resources for more necessary medical services:
"The NHS is does not have endless pots of cash and, with accident and emergency departments and hospitals bursting at the seams, we should stop pretending that it does," he said.
"When you go into realms like this, I am not sure why the taxpayer should be funding it. It?S something that people could surely fund privately if they want to. We?Ve had changes in the Cancer Drugs Fund which will stop some cancer drugs being available to people on cost grounds.
"I just sometimes ask if the NHS is getting its priorities right."
"Be joyful and keep the faith!" Source: Credo Cymru
"Credo Cymru [Forward in Faith Wales] is to host a conference in Cardiff on September 21 and 22 entitled 'That Nothing Be Lost - Fel Na Choller Dim'. This title was chosen in order to stress our hope that we may preserve the theological breadth (and depth!) of Anglicanism in Wales.
"Some thirty-five participants will take part; they include clergy and laity from Wales as well as seven members of the Church of England. The conference has been organised as a result of the decision of the Governing Body to authorise the consecration of women as bishops in the Church in Wales. The organising committee, which includes the Director of Forward in Faith, Dr Colin Podmore, has sought to bring together those who rejoice at this decision and those who are perturbed by it. Our aim is to see how much common ground there is between the two groups of Anglican Christians. The participants will consider carefully what is required to ensure a place for people of differing convictions to feel secure and able to flourish within the Church in Wales and to hear how a similar intention is, even now, being worked out in our sister church in England. To this end the bishops of St Asaph and Gloucester, the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron and the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, will make important contributions to the discussions." Full details here.
Keeping the faith in Wales is not without obstacles when it comes to worship. To their credit there are male and female clergy who recognise the theological difficulties of members who are unable to accept the sacramental ministry of women. Arrangements are often made to avoid embarrassment to women clergy and laity by naming the celebrant in weekly notice sheets. That did not find favour with the Archbishop of Wales who stopped the practice at Llandaff Cathedral when he found time to take on the role of Dean. - Dr Morgan has since decided that the role of Archbishop is too onerous for one man (or woman) believing that three bishops are needed to run modern dioceses in Wales even though Wales as a Province has double the bishops per attendees than many English dioceses, see Statistics of Omission.
Contrary to the beliefs held by most Anglicans and members of the Orthodox and Catholic churches, the Church in Wales followed the example of the US Episcopal Church and the Church of England, taking their own counsel to conclude that "the Church in Wales is fully and unequivocally committed to all orders of ministry being open equally to all, without reference to gender", scripture and tradition being trumped by a misguided view of equality.
While the CofE made effective provision for members who "on grounds of theological conviction and conscience are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests [but] continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion", the CinW decided in her wisdom to makeno similar provision following the mean minded Jackson/Wigley amendment, only obstacles.
In these circumstances Credo Cymru and FiF are to be congratulated for their initiative. If the Welsh bishops remain unwilling to change their stance they will confirm their intention to kill off Anglicanism as a broad church in Wales.
The conference prayer:
Almighty God, Father of us all,
send your Holy Spirit to guide and renew all of us in our pilgrimage of faith.
Open our eyes to see your Spirit at work.
Bring healing where there is division,
bring hope where there is despair,
bring joy where there is sadness.
Help us to see how we can work together,
so that others may embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour
within the family of your Church.
To Him be all honour and glory, now and until the end of time. Amen.
Update [13.09.2016]
Provincial press release:Bishops support Credo Cymru conference
"Dr Morgan said, 'When the Church in Wales ordained women priests and made it possible for women to be ordained bishops, it acknowledged that there was still a place in that church for those who, for whatever reason, found that difficult. Credo Cymru members belong to the Church in Wales and since I am the Archbishop of the whole of the Church in Wales, for that reason I accepted its invitation to attend'."
Prayer is requested for the conference – both in advance and while it is meeting. Pray that the needs of the faithful be met by recognising their needs rather than having the wishes of others forced upon them.
The conference is for invited participants only, but all are welcome to the Sung Eucharist which will be celebrated at St Martin?S Church, Roath, Cardiff, on St Matthew?S Day, Wednesday 21 September 2016, at 6.30pm. The preacher will be the Bishop of Burnley, Philip North and the Archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan, will preside.
Update [23.09.2016]
The Credo Cymru web site has a brief report on the Sung Eucharist referred to above with a copy of Bishop Philip North's homily.
Update 2 [23.09.2016]
A follow up Media Release has now appeared on the Credo Cymru web site with some of the papers from the Conference. Others will follow.
As the Chairman of Credo Cymru, Canon Jeffrey Gainer, said: ‘This was an opportunity for heart to speak to heart with integrity and charity. We are grateful to those of different views for their courage and generosity in coming to talk with us. I hope that the conversation will continue, drawing in others, and begin to transform our situation in the Church in Wales.’
The people in this video explain what life would be like without their church to sustain them.
Consider, then, what life is like for former members of the Church in Wales whose consciences have not allowed them to take the easy option by simply accepting that which the Church as a whole rejects.
If Christ had succumbed to the devil on the mountain there would be no church.
?The Hour? Previewed here was broadcast last night on 16 April, not 14 April as stated in the diocesan Press Release.
Joanna Penberthy?S contribution was worse than I feared, aligning the church with a political movement rather than the Kingdom of God. She was unbalanced, dishonest in her claims and blatantly sexist. I doubt that she brought anyone to Christ.
No wonder Barry Morgan thought she was the best person to be a bishop in the Church in Wales.
There was no mention of the genuine theological problems experienced by the majority of Christians, including women, who are unable to accept the validity of the ordination of women. Just a one-sided bleat about perceived injustice.
Not recognising the validity of her orders may be "water off a duck's backdanquot; for the bishop but it is a deluge that has ruined the spiritual lives of the male priests she referred to as unable to accept her sacramental ministry and many more lay people who are unable to accept a minority innovation that benefits the few at the expense of many.
Readers who are able to access the BBC?S iPlayer can watch the programme. It was about women ? ?A hundred years since some of us got the vote, are women still discriminated against in today?S Wales or has Feminism gone too far??
After discussing politics the presenter moved to “an even older institution, the church” (position 25.50). There was a short film designed to illustrate the so-called prejudice experienced by the woman who 'will go down in history as Wales’ first ever women bishop. “It’s not about being a victim”, Penberthy asserted, "if you can be prejudiced in the soft institution of the church, what does that say about your attitude to women?”
That is why, she said, in the first interview after her consecration she was talking about the fact that two women a week are killed by their partners. Until that stops "we have a job on our handsdanquot;. It was not clear if that comes before or after her campaign to welcome LGBT people despite their disproportionate presence in the church.
The former Ass Bishop of Llandaff claimed that ‘the ordination of women would rid the world of homophobia, misogyny, brutalisation of women in all situations including those in war zones’. The Church in Wales now has women priests and bishops but the claims continue with the same false accusations of homophobia and misogyny.
Penberthy emphasised the point that she chose to pursue the brutalisation of women theme in her first interview after her enthronement rather than the core Christian message, the proclamation of the coming of the kingdom of God.
Later in the discussion the presenter returned to the bishop to ask about the future. What could be changed for the better? “Women need to be valued” was the bishop’s response as though women are not valued already. She was also given the last word on 'the most important thing' she had heard in the debate. Once again it was that two women a week are killed by their partners. Until "we get passed that and women are safe in their own homes then we haven’t really made any progress", she said.
The 'soft institution of the church' to use Penberthy's words has been used by feminists to advance their own cause at the expense of the church, trampling on the faithful in the process. An unsigned (therefore unpublished) comment on another thread suggested the we misogynists should "look beyond your own ecclesiastical communities and see how women continue to be exploited and mistreated".
How mistreating and exploiting the church for political ends is supposed to make a difference is not explained. It would help if the infiltrators did something at the sharp end rather than seek a comfortable living while destroying the church which had enriched the lives of many more women then those who claim to be discriminated against.
The hour has come. Bishops have responsibilities as bridge builders but their attitude is take it or leave. Many have left the church enabling Penberthy to claim that only a few do not accept her sacramental role.
Feminism has gone too far. Often the most vehement opposition to the ordination of women comes from women but that is not mentioned. There is discrimination in the church. It is most obvious at the top. It must stop.
"During his time as archbishop, Dr Morgan has championed many changes in the Church in Wales, including a change in its law to enable women to be ordained as bishops.
He also apologised "unreservedly" to gay couples for prejudice in the church." BBC Report
Such comments are the highlights of many fulsome reports of the impending retirement in January 2017 of the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, all written from a secular viewpoint including the announcement on the Church in Wales website:
"Dr Morgan, who is the longest serving archbishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion and also one of the longest serving bishops, will retire on his 70th birthday at the end of January. He will also retire as Bishop of Llandaff after more than 17 years service, having previously been Bishop of Bangor for nearly seven years....During his tenure as Archbishop, Dr Morgan has championed many changes in the Church in Wales, including a change in its law to enable women to be ordained as bishops and the implementation of a radical strategy, 2020 Vision, to help the church grow and prosper in the approach to its centenary year. He has also played a prominent role in public life, campaigning most notably for a fair devolution settlement for the Welsh Government and speaking out on matters of moral concern."
Reading some of the tributes, "the Archbishop of Canterbury described Dr Morgan as an 'extraordinary servant' who would be 'deeply missed' while the First Minister of Wales praised his 'vast contribution' to Welsh life"and "Wales’ senior bishop, the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, praised his 'courageous leadership' of the Church in Wales", the casual observer is left in ignorance of the decline to near extinction of the Church in Wales under Dr Morgan's 'leadership'.
You can read a more balanced view of the Archbishop's secular agenda during his time in office in VirtueOnline Viewpoints from which I quote:
Morgan is among the most revisionist of Western archbishops in the Anglican Communion, whose only legacy was changing a law enabling women to be ordained as bishops and then apologizing "unreservedly" to gay couples for prejudice in the church. Under his tutelage, there was no evangelical revival and churches continue to wilt and die.
In Sept, 2014, I wrote about the The Washed up World of the Anglican Church of Wales and noted that Morgan said that he would resist the founding of another province with every fiber of his body. He was, of course, alluding to the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). He made this statement at the 2009 Virginia Annual Council.
Well, his body might need new fibers because his Church might not be around for very much longer at the present rate of decline.
According to the latest statistics (2013), the Anglican Church in Wales shows Average Sunday Attendance (over 18) of just a little over 31,000 and under 18 of just a few over 6,000. That's a drop of some 1,728 persons (over and under age 18) from 2012. The Church is not attracting Millennials.
The ekspresi dominan for the future will be much the same as the past as there are no green shoots of renewal extant in the province, a source told VOL. Wales is the former ecclesiastical home of the less than notable, Dr. Rowan Williams.
Dr Virtue also writes:
As the Episcopal Church sinks slowly into the sunset, with millions of dollars in Trust Funds, valuable properties worth millions of dollars strategically located in large cities and a healthy Church Pension Fund, the other side of the coin is that its pulpits will lose several thousand priests and close more than 1500 churches over the next six years.
The Episcopal Church will see a drop of more than dua,000 full time parish priests in the next half dozen years, as retirement numbers increase geometrically, with a likely decrease of ordinands going into the ministry, Church statistics reveal.
This translates into the number of full time priests being reduced by 65% - 75% of total congregations in the denomination. These numbers are from 2014, the last year reported in some cases. Indications are that the situation is probably worse now in 2016. The average age of an Episcopal priest is 59 (or the mean - half older, half younger) there is a tsunami of retirements headed their way in the next 5-10 years with no possible way of filling pulpits with new ordinands.
For all its efforts to double the Church by 2020 and TREC, an attempt to reimagine the Church, nothing, it seems, is working. The church continues on its Gadarene slide.
That Dr Morgan should have chosen the oceanographer and Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church (TEC), Katharine Jefferts Schori as his guiding light says it all.
Pope Francis has repeatedly pushed for greater roles for women in the church, but maintains that
priesthood is for men only. (ANDREW MEDICHINI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO)
There have been a number of reports recently about the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church. From The Star, for example: "The Vatican’s commission of Latin American church leaders is demanding greater decision-making opportunities for women in the church and proposing that Pope Francis call a special meeting of the world’s bishops to discuss women."
"The Pontifical Commission for Latin America said after its recent plenary that the church needs a radical ?Change of mentality? In the way it views and treats half of humanity. It was published in Thursday?S Vatican newspaper, L?Osservatore Romano.
"The commission members ? 22 Latin American cardinals and bishops, plus 15 women who joined the panel for the meeting ? Said it was both possible and ?Urgent? To increase opportunities for women at the parish, diocesan and Vatican level.
" 'This opening isn?T a concession to cultural or media pressure, but the result of a realization that the lack of women in decision-making roles is a defect, an ecclesiological gap and the negative effect of a clerical and macho conception,' the communique said.
"They warned that if the church doesn?T fix the problem soon, women will simply leave." Full text here.
Also, from Life Site: "Recent comments from Viennese prelate Christoph Cdl. Sch?Nborn, apparently supportive of ordaining women, are opposed, I suggest, to at least three mendasar ecclesiological values but they have occasioned, as far I have seen, no correction whatsoever from Church leadership, and thus seem to be a chilling illustration of the erosion of order in the Church." Read the response here.
What many Anglicans liked about the Anglican Church was that it was both catholic and reformed, retaining the creeds and threefold ministry of the deacon, priest and bishop. But further reforming has plagued the Anglican Communion. In adapting to local circumstances, provinces in the US and here in the UK have allowed political activism to over-rule scripture and tradition.
In Wales a political fix saw the first woman bishop appointed to the diocese of St Davids followed by a second appointment by the bench of bishops to the diocese of Llandaff. The consequence has been a shift to gender politics. Sexuality has replaced spirituality while gender equality is the new mission.
None of this need have happened. Generally, the sort of women who agitated to become deacons saw the move as a stepping-stone. After their objective was achieved it was claimed to be unfair that women deacons were not allowed to be priests. After they were admitted to the priesthood it was the stained glass ceiling. Allowing them to be elected as bishops was now the "only logical step" said arch-schemer Barry Morgan. The stained glass was shattered along with Anglicanism. The results are clear for all to see.
To claim that 'if the church doesn?T fix the persoalan soon, women will simply leave' is absurd. Many women have left the Anglican Church because of the changes, not because they are sexist but because the church has become secularised.
Bishop of Llandaff is surrounded by senior staff Source: Twitter
A nice little jolly for senior staff in the diocese of Llandaff has been highlighted on Twitter: "The Llandaff Senior Staff are enjoying the hospitality of Mill House Retreat Centre for a couple of days of team building including our new Archdeacon! Down to work!"
No dingy church hall for them. Compare the lifestyle at the top with Ministry Areas struggling to make ends meet and it is clear where priorities lie in the Church in Wales.
Archbishop John Davies was right in his presidentialaddress to members at the recent meeting of the Governing Body when he acknowledged that the church was facing ‘confusing and challenging times’. He urged members to follow the example of people in the Bible by putting their faith in God and acting confidently to make change happen.
There has been a flurry of archdeacon appointments lately. The appointment of the Archdeacon of Margam follows the appointment of an additional Archdeacon in Monmouth to jolly along the switch to Ministry Areas with more advertised in the expectation that they will improve a dire situation.
From 'Ministry Share: A Guide' issued by the diocese of St Davids: "Put simply, it is the financial cost of spreading the Gospel and maintaining ministry in our diocese, shared among all the parishes of St Davids. It is a commitment of our faith, rather than a tax or imposition, which finds its beginnings in the earliest days of the church and a very similar financial pool of funds is described in Acts.
It is more about spreading the load than spreading the Gospel. The widows' mites funding life at the top.
The current position is unsustainable. The guide explains that the funds required for the pool are calculated each year in the diocesan budget. The Bishop and senior staff have to calculate the number of clergy required and this is the biggest single item in the budget.
A commentator pointed out under a previous thread, Taking stock, "Meanwhile....Cwmbran has gone from 5 full time clergy to a ministry area with no paid clergy since August....a roaring success hey? 5 churches and a CiW school.......but the parish share has remained at over £120K per year.......But at least the governing body will be debating politics soon, that will really help this crisis and grow the Church!
Not all change is for the better it seems.
Postscript [24.04.2018]
Emergency food bank supplies increase in Wales
The number of emergency food bank supplies given to families in crisis in Wales increased by 3% in the past year, figures show. The Trussell Trust food bank network said 98,350 three-day food bags were given out from April 2017 to March 2018 - 35,403 of which were to children. BBC News report here.
US Episcopal Diocese of Washington Votes to Avoid Using ‘Gendered Pronouns’ for God in Book of Common Prayer Source: Christian News
From a Sunday Times report (£): "The Church of England has warned its American sister church that it could be kicked out of the global Anglican family if it forces priests to use a gay-friendly marriage ceremony that relegates the importance of bearing children.
"In a strongly worded eight-laman letter, William Nye, the Church of England?S secretary-general, told the Episcopal Church that it could face ?Stringent consequences? If it replaced the marriage rites in its Book of Common Prayer with a gender-neutral ceremony that removed all reference to procreation."
In February this year Christian News reported:"The Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C. Voted on Saturday to stop using 'gendered pronouns' for God in future revisions of its Book of Common Prayer and to ?Remove all obstacles? For ?Transgender? Participation in church life by making all gender-specific facilities and activities accessible to those who identify as the opposite sex.
"It was passed by a show of hands during the 123rd Convention of the Washington Diocese with only a few opposed, according to Strategic Communications Director Richard Wosson Weinberg."
This morning on the BBC's Breakfast TV show the 'Prada priestess', the Rev Sally Hitchiner,founder of Diverse Church, took the opportunity not only to publicise her LGBT credentials but to highlight gender dysphoria, a condition which is thought to affect 0.07% of the population. To put this into perspective pleasewatch this short (6 min) video.
Anglican clergy should be aware that the media feeds on sensationalism. Consequently the church militant is obscured by the church deviant as bishops and priests constantly trot out their propaganda, making the Church appear little more than a refuge for those who are allegedly mistreated.
It is right that the church shows concerned for vulnerable minorities but what of the far greater cloud of witnesses abandoned by their church? Without them them Anglicanism will die.
Faith by balloting like-minded activists is not the historic catholic faith received from the Apostles. The consequences are very much in evidence.
Postscript [24.04.2018]
The LGBT pressure group OneBodyOneFaith has sent a strongly-worded letter to William Nye "after the emergence late last week of a letter he wrote last October to The Episcopal Church, on behalf of the Archbishops' Council". It disassociates the group from the letter which, they claim, "has been met with anger, frustration and disappointment by many across the Church of England, on whose behalf you presume to speak. We wish to add the voices of our members to those calling for a more courageous, just and Christ-like response to what has become – we wish it were not so – the issue on which many will judge our church, and find it sorely wanting."
What the class believes can be read here. One of the groups objects is "to advance the education of the public on the needs and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) Christians, and promote acceptance of diversity, so that they may be able to live without fear of rejection or recrimination and be fully included in the life and ministry of the Church".
It is a mystery how so many LGBT people flourish at senior levels in the church if what the class claims were true.
A more balanced approach is reported in CRUX: The bishops of England and Wales have raised concerns over the rise of gender ideology, saying it is creating confusion among people about the truth of human nature. In a statement issued at the end of their April 16-19 bi-annual plenary meeting in Leeds, the bishops acknowledged some people did not ?Accept their biological sex? But said they, as pastors, were ?Committed to their pastoral care.?
The bishops said the notion that gender was a social construct rather than a biological fact ran counter to the intuition of most people. ?The idea that the individual is free to define himself or herself dominates discourse about gender. Yet our human instinct is otherwise,? They said in the statement. [Full report here]
It is fitting that the Eucharist service advertised on the left is to be held on 1st May given the intention and pagan origins of May Day.
Victimisation is implicit in praying for equality while celebrating diversity. There are others far less equal who are never mentioned apart from being told to find somewhere else to worship.
The bishop of St Davids again identifies her ministry most closely with advancing homosexuality in the church while pursuing her policy of gender parity.
The bishops of Llandaff and St Asaph have similar agendas so at least half the bench is closely allied with the aspirations of Changing Attitudes.
The former Archbishop Barry Morgan liked to remind anyone who had to listen to him that the bench spoke with one voice so the Church in Wales is off course travelling in the wrong direction.
Highlights, the report of this month's meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales is available via a Press Release web link.
The provincial press release provides a fair summary:
From the Church?S role in the public square to a report from our delegate at a UN summit on women ? A full round-up of the news from April?S meeting of the Governing Body can be read in Highlights.
If you don't get enough politics elsewhere and you are obsessed with gender equality regardless of ability you are likely to find Highlights a good read.
If you still regard the Church in Wales as a spiritual organisation don't bother.
One empowered woman's comment received in advance: A complete waste of time, effort and money. Debating non-issues just to look as if they are doing something. I truly believe the church is terminally ill.
The diocese of Swansea and Brecon, the current Archiepiscopal see of the Church in Wales, has a web page devoted toInterfaith. On it can be found information about Witchcraft, Atheism, Peace Mala, Hare Krishna, Sufi, Islam, Yungdrung Bön, Judaism and Druids.
Adherents of those faiths are happy to push their own particular message, unlike the Bishop’s Officer for Interfaith Dialogue who writes, "Interfaith dialogue is not about telling everyone how great our angle on faith is and trying to convert them to it. It is about respect and openness."
Does the Church in Wales believe that there is onlyone way to the Father or not?
Respect and openness includes the usual message of how the 'religion of peace' gets a bad press as if all the Islamic attacks on the innocent over the last 1400 years were fake news.
There is an interview with Brother Titus, a Cistercian Trappist monk living with another nine monks. They have taken themselves out of the world to live a reclusive life on Caldy Island. What of those of us who are in the world and not of other faiths? There is no dialogue with traditional, orthodox Anglicans. Anyone who conscientiously follows scripture and tradition is excluded.
The central message has been lost. Each diocese does its own thing. St Asaph has been busy promoting the gospel according to LGBT while Bangor is mired in tales of impropriety according to commentators.
In the South of the Province the long-running battle continues to rage in Llandaff between those who think everything is hunky-dory in their cathedral while others insist that the cathedral is mired in discontent as illustrated by the manycomments under previous entries about alleged irregularities.
Those who expected the appointment to Llandaff of the second woman bishop in the Church in Wales to cause a whirlwind will be disappointed. The wind has blown one way, in the same direction emitting from the bishop of St Davids.
In St Davids the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales has lost no time in appointing as many women as she can. The first woman Dean arrives in May, months after her appointment. In the meantime the deanery has been gutted and completely refurbished. At what cost whenparishes ministry areas are struggling to make ends meet?
That leaves Monmouth. Many clergy have. The CEO's solution there is to appoint a third archdeacon to prop up a failing re-organisation into ministry areas.
There has been a flurry of senior appointments and bishops' advisers. There is no shortage of money for those at the top while the begging bowl is out lower down the chain.
When the new archbishop took office hepromised there would be 'more of the same - but faster'. It is a pity he didn't see which way the wind was blowing - or perhaps he did!
Postscript [03.05.2018]
As if to emphasis that there is no shortage of money at the top in the Church in Wales, the bishop of St Davids has announced an addition to her senior management team, a new 'Archdeaconry for New Christian Communities'.
There were Christian communities throughout the diocese and throughout the Province before Barry supported by his bench sitters hatched his innovative plan to copy the disastrous policies of the US Episcopal Church (TEC).
They were called Parishes.
More from St Davids [03.05.2018]
One wonders how any 'new Christian communities' will be properly cared for given: "the strain imposed on stipendiary, NSM and NSM(L) clergy and Readers when service rotas within LMAs include services that, even when all the licensed clergy and Readers were working, need retired clergy to take them.
"Retired clergy could of course be asked to take any service within the designated number but not be used to extend the rota to something that the licensed ministry team couldn?T cover healthily alone.
"The willingness of retired clergy to give their time, effort and energy, should not be used to prolong a way of being church that is no longer sustainable."
The Very Rev Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans Source: Premier
It has been announced that the Very Rev Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans and high profile advocate of normalising homosexuality in the church is one of two gay priests to beshortlisted to become bishops in the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Pundits speculated that Llandaff was Jeffrey John's last hope of preferment. He is 65. He lost out to June Osborne who was appointed by the bench of bishops, may God forgive them.
The Church in Wales now has two female bishops committed to so-called gender equality and normalising homosexuality which is designed to make the many homosexual clergy appear acceptable regardless of scripture and tradition.
Jeffrey John is an amiable fellow in a celibate civil partnership but his views on homosexuality and faith have caused much distress, not least with his Out 4 Marriage video. He also came in for some well deserved criticism over his claim that Jesus healed the Centurion's "gay loverdanquot;, refuted here.
The Scottish Episcopal Church has followed the lead of the US Episcopal Church on gay marriage with the appointment of Canon Anne Dyer, the first female bishop in the SEC. Canon Dyer is "strongly in favourdanquot; of gay marriage.
With two gay priests on shortlists to become bishops the slide continues.
Update [04.06.2018]
The Very Rev Andrew Swift has been elected as the new bishop of Brechin.
One of the tweets I received this morning led with the above photograph. The article was headed 'Collared Clergywear Wants to Give Women Ministers Something to Feel Stylish In'. It had a link to Collared Clergywear which was "founded by Reverend Sandra Sykes and her daughter several years ago in an attempt to, in Sykes’s own words, 'free women clergy to feel more like themselves at work'."
They are in vogue with the 'pride top' and the more relaxed 'butterfly top'.
Pride top Source: Collared Clergywear
Butterfly top Source: Collared Clergywear
For the more traditional minded when it comes to dress this creation has collar and cuffs in white lace with sizes from XS to XXL.
Abi Dress, Black/White lace Collared Clergywear
I am sure they would feel more like themselves at work.
First woman bishop welcomes first woman dean Source: Twitter@BishopJuno
The adulation from bishop June:
"Llandaff journeyed to St David?S [sic] for the celebration of the Installation of their new Dean. All blessings on you Sarah as you enjoy the delights and learn the craft of deanship."
Former Abp of Wales Barry Morgan Source CinW
The architect of the demise of the Church in Wales claimed that Canon Penberthy was "the best person to be a bishopdanquot;.
See previous entry Festive Charades: Welsh bishops
Ofsted could fail a school if a teacher says they back the repeal of same-sex marriage.
That?S the effect of new guidance the Government is consulting on right now. Initially it just applies to independent schools, but it?S only a matter of time before it is applied to all schools in England through Ofsted?S common inspection framework.
The proposed guidance says it will be a breach of the school standards if a school curriculum ?Suggests that same-sex marriages or civil partnerships should not be recognised as being lawful unions under civil law? (see the draft guidance, para. 20).
Teachers will be gagged. Children will be indoctrinated. Even teachers who give views for and against could fall foul of this approach. This will dramatically escalate the high-profile clashes between Ofsted and schools with a Christian or Jewish ethos.
This is an outrageous proposal. Politically-correct Whitehall bureaucrats are testing our defences. This is the most audacious attack on supporters of traditional marriage since same-sex marriage was legalised in 2013. If ever there was a case of LGBT overreach this is it.
By standing together we can defeat this proposal. And we will defeat it. Next week we?Ll let you know what you can do. But in the meantime, please consider making a donation to our work.
With your help we can take a stand for marriage and back people like us who believe marriage is between a man and a woman.
You can donate securely by clicking the button below:
Source: Twitter @ChristianToday/Diocese of Bristol
We have to expect women to be appointed to the episcopate after General Synod voted in favour of the innovation but the Church of England has not voted in favour of same sex blessings - yet.
That is no impediment to Vivienne Faull, the current Dean of York, who is to be the new bishop of Bristol.
Christian Today reports Faull had said she would have no problem theologically with blessing a gay relationship and condemned the Church for 'driving people away' with its stance on sexuality. She had 'found ways' of celebrating civil partnerships without flouting the Church of England's legislation.
In the typically duplicitous manner used by feminists she said, "I look forward to leading a church that shows the love of Christ to everyone, whoever they are" as though the church lacks love if same sex marriage is not accepted.
There is little love shown to traditionalists but that doesn't bother them at all. The feminist lobby and their liberal supporterschip away at the agreement which made it possible for women to be appointed bishops. In Wales of course devout Anglican women and men have been left with nothing with no concern whatsoever for the unchurched.
Also reported in Christian Today: "LGBT people should be encouraged into church leadership, clergy told". In a letter praising 'the great contribution that LGBT+ Christians are making', four bishops in Lichfield are urging clergy to take a different approach to welcoming gay people.
There is no shortage of gay people in the church and plenty of gay clergy. There is no problem welcoming gay people. It is all part of the strategy to move towards the acceptance of same sex marriage in church.
As if to make a plug for same sex blessings, a strong supporter of gay marriage, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the US Episcopal Church has been invited to preach at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding on Saturday.
As with the ordination of women, same sex marriage will be pursued at all levels in the Church of England until it is accepted. Supporters will again claim that victory is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Michael Curry presiding bishop of TEC Source: Mike Theiler/Reuters/Christian Today
Blanket coverage of the royal wedding is to be expected. Royal watchers have already secured their positions in Windsor, bedding down in the most advantageous positions well in advance of the big day. TV cameras will beam pictures around the world to millions of people.
The big question is, who will give away the bride now that Ms Markle has announced from Kensington palace that her father will not attend the wedding.
But why bother with tradition? The Anglican Church has been dropping tradition and scripture like hot potatos. The couple have reportedly been living together for some time so why not walk down the aisle together in the spirit of the age?
The Anglican Church has become a rubber-stamp used to endorse the spirit of the age, divorced from the true Spirit which was sent to guide the Church from age to age.
Preaching at the royal wedding will be Michael Curry, the first African-American head of the US Episcopal Church (TEC), despite his 'never having met the couple'.
A spokesman for Kensington Palace said of the Prince and Ms Markle's choice: 'The couple and the archbishop discussed a number of possibilities for a preacher.
'Whilst Bishop Curry is not personally known to the couple, it was felt that given the fact that he is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church as well as a wonderful speaker and preacher, it would be highly appropriate for him to be invited to speak.'
Archbishop Welby reportedly has a close relationship with his American counterpart, "despite backing the decision to impose sanctions on the Episcopal Church for allowing same-sex marriage. The 'consequences' came after the Episcopal Church first consecrated an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, in 2003, and officially authorised gay marriage in 2015."
"Curry, who is descended from slaves and sharecroppers in North Carolina and Alabama, has spoken of how his background influences his own passionate defence of same-sex marriage in church."
Clearly a natural choice for today's Church of England. A secret baptism followed by a swift confirmation culminating in the presence of a 'charismatic preacher' who is a passionate advocate of same sex marriage in church.
As Christian Today put it: "The wedding will be watched by millions around the world and presents the largest audience any preacher has had since Richard Chartres, then bishop of London, preached to around two billion people at the wedding Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.
"It is possible, likely even, that Curry's energetic personality, his charismatic preaching, and his sonorous voice will mean he is the unexpected star to emerge from the wedding."
We must wish the couple every happiness but this is not Anglicanism. It has been allowed to become a right royal soap opera.
Justin Welby appears to be doing his best to divide the church. The blatantly feminist appointments of Sarah Mullally as bishop of London and Vivienne Faull as bishop of Bristol are merely the latest in a string of appointments of bishops openly promoting same sex marriage.
Now presiding bishop Michael Curry has been given a platform to address millions of people at the royal wedding. Welby should be ashamed of himself for placing the Queen, the supreme governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith in this position.
Michael Curry: Brits will fall in love with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal wedding preacher here.
Michael Curry: Who is the Royal wedding preacher who backs gay marriage and opposes Trump? here.
Bishop Andy John, the lead bishop on evangelism Source: Church in Wales
From a Church in Wales Provincial press release: Church launches ?10m fund to inspire new Welsh revival.
Andy has drawn the short straw as the lead bishop on evangelism. Perhaps it is not surprising since his Easter messages have made the rest of the bench look like amateurs but is it good news?
There is more to evangelism than saying the right things, a problem exemplified when bishop Michael Curry preached about love at the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle earlier today.
Many thought he preached a powerful sermon, drawing attention to the need to love God and one's neighbour. But the US Episcopal Church and Anglican bishops in Great Britain have distorted scripture, using 'love' as a password to permit virtually any permutation for sexual freedom.
A passionate supporter of same sex marriage, Curry's beliefs are curiously at odds with the beauty of the marriage service, clearly intended to apply to the union of one man and one woman for the procreation of children.
Easter messages reached rock bottom in 2014 when Archbishop Barry Morgan spoke ofsolidarity and forgiveness. He said: "Solidarity and forgiveness sum up the meaning of Easter and when one sees these values exemplified, one begins to realise the significance of what it means to believe in the God of Jesus."
He expanded his message in a newspaper article at the time. Lecturing politicians on ethics Morgan suggested that "people of all parties could work to bring something of the generous spirit of the governing body to wider politics and work to build a society in which are neighbours are not just tolerated but loved."
That 'generous spirit' led the Governing Body to show a complete absence of love for traditional Anglicans when it voted for a code of practice that abandoned the faithful. Instead it ushered in a feminist cult hell-bent on feminising the church and allowing same sex marriages.
So what of the Evangelism Fund? The chair of the committee overseeing the Fund said, “We are keen to give grants to effective, well-constructed projects and to ensure the Church’s money is well spent. We will be looking for ideas, for example, that create growth among people in age groups under-represented in our churches, create new forms of ‘church’ to appeal to people not currently going, and projects which lead to changes in culture or provide teaching and learning in faith all over Wales.”
Over represented in terms of numbers are elderly women. Traditional Anglicans have been made unwelcome while every effort is being made to accommodate more LGBT people by pretending they have been unwelcome in church despite their disproportionate presence in many congregations and especially among the clergy.
'More of the same - but faster', as the new archbishop put it, can only quicken the eventual demise of the Church in Wales which in 2015 was given a potential extinction date of about 2040.
What most congregations now lack are traditional Christian families with children in the choir, Sunday school, youth club, Scout and Guide organisations, etc, looking forward at Pentecost for their annualWhitsun treat.
That women were more in evidence was not a masalah as there were sufficient men in the choir and serving at the Altar to carry out essential tasks. If not, willing husbands and non-church people would often help-out.
To correct the imbalance today is a near impossible task. The Anglican church is no longer about 'otherness', just more of the same in vestments. A failed strategy that has resulted in empty pews because mystery has been replaced by what is commonplace in society.
As for new forms of ‘church’ to appeal to people not currently attending, there are toddler groups, 'messy' church, cafe style worship, animal blessings, LGBTQI+ eucharists. Everything in fact but repentance.
How much better it would have been at no extra cost to appoint Welsh speaking bishops in the Church of Wales to make Welsh speakers feel welcome as outlined in theWelsh Language Guidelines published by the Church in Wales: "In general, what is expected is a positive and imaginative approach to extend the use of the Welsh language in the life of the Province".
The Welsh bishops like to lecture others but rarely practice what they preach beyond enforcing their secular agenda. They have ignored consultations and used positive discrimination to achieve their objectives, alienating many to gain a few.
As for a Welsh revival, dream on. Thanks to liberal minded bishops Anglicanism hangs by a thread. They are stretching it to breaking point.
From the press release: "The Evangelism Fund is being launched on Pentecost Sunday ? May 20 ? The day traditionally regarded as the Church?S birthday when Christians focus sharing their faith and growth."
Received faith has been abandoned resulting in constant decline. Tradition has been thrown out of the window while appealing to the faithless.
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place" (Acts 2). Those were the days.
Bishop Michael Curry preached at the Royal wedding Source: Reuters/Christian Today
Presiding bishop Michael Curry thought his invitation to preach at the Royal wedding was an April Fool joke according to a report in Christian Today.
That is not surprising. Anglican leaders have barred the US Episcopal Church (TEC) from decision-making for allowing same-sex marriage.
No wonder Curry thought the invitation a joke. He was being offered a platform to preach his confused message of 'luuuuv' to hundreds of millions of people around the world.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, came up with the idea despite TEC having been sanctioned. "It was fantasticdanquot;, he said, "This was raw God". Raw it might have been but it wasn't God. It was Michael Curry, liberal activist.
Welby claimed that people were caught up in it and excited by it. Those senior members of the Royal family he had spoken to were really excited by it and the people spoken to at the reception were gripped by it.
That is hardly surprising given the record of some of the senior members of the Royal family and many of the celebrities present. The Holy sacrament of marriage was combined with a message that legitimises just about anything in the name of love, interpreting selfish eros as selfless agape.
Wrapping all forms of love into one parcel is very convenient but it it is not biblical. So successful was Curry in getting across his liberal message that Labour peer Peter Mandelson said he was considering popping the question to his same-sex partner of 20 years. People across the UK will be 'inspired' by the moving display of love they witnessed between Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, he said.
It wasn't April but there was a fool. Welby hammering yet another nail in the Anglican coffin.
The bishop of Llandaff is right keen on jollies. The latest announced is a diocesan clergy school in 2019. The venue, Santiago de Copostela to help equip clergy for "ministerial priesthood and leadership within the Diocesedanquot;.
From a note accompanying Jolly June's June Ad Clerum: " We are delighted to announce that the first Clergy School will be held in Santiago de Compostela from May 13th – 17th 2019. You will know that Santiago in Northern Spain is the location of the shrine of St James the Apostle and for many centuries has been the destination of pilgrimage routes known as ‘The Camino’. We see this Clergy School as equipping us as a Diocese for a Year of Pilgrimage, an expression of our Centenary celebrations in 2020."
June thought some may find it bizarre to go to Spain when we have so many magnificent pilgrim routes here in Wales. Spot on.
Jetting off toRome, a luxury retreat inDevon. Now she is taking her clergy to Santiago de Compostela.
As clergy become thinner on the ground with lay leaders taking up the reins, how kind of Jolly June to treat those remaining to a jolly in Spain. Paid for by savings on stipends?
Apparently there is smoke without fire. That is the conclusion of the eagerly anticipated Llandaff Cathedral report. It reminds me of the Church in Wales Standing Doctrinal Commission telling the former bishop of Llandaff what he wanted to hear but it is as it is.
The hand-picked review team describe Llandaff Cathedral as "a wonderful place with committed clergy and staff. It has a healthy attendance at services with many young people and a wealth of skills and experience in the congregation. The reviewers recognise that the Cathedral is now in better shape having stabilised its finances and controlled its operating costs, as well as having fully recovered its rich tradition of music. It also has one of the best organs in the country."
Nevertheless, the challenges ahead "require a better business model that is more sustainable to help finance the repairs and the redevelopment of key areas of the building whilst also helping to fund the mission and ministry of the Cathedral. The reviewers recommend major changes to the way the Cathedral is governed for it to shape and deliver a bold and extensive strategy. Key to that restructuring will be the involvement of more lay people with specialist skills."
No doubt many commentators who have used this blog to air their grievances will not be satisfied with the findings but perhaps it is time to draw a line and move on.
If commenting on this blog, may I implore commentators to refrain from using derogatory pseudonyms which serve only to detract from what is intended to be a legitimate commentary on the direction of Anglicanism today.
A word about comments. These are sent from the anonymised address "noreply-comment@blogger.Comdanquot;. There is no information which identifies the sender. Consequently I am unable to reply to commentators directly when asked, neither am I able to amend comments to remove what some readers may find offensive.
Over the last few days I have been experiencing a problem with the receipt of comments. I apologise in advance if you try to comment within the rules (see leading Blog notes) but without success.
According to a Provincial press release the new Education Director will advise the bishops on education policy and support the team of diocesan directors of education in their work with local authorities.
She joins a growing band of additional archdeacons and advisers, freeing the bench to devote even more time to spending other peoples money with the odd jolly thrown in.
Mrs Thomas is currently Head of Bassaleg School, Newport where archbishop John Davies spent his formative years but that can't be held against her. She arrived as Deputy Head in 2004.
Perhaps she could make a start by educating the bench.
Bishops of Llandaff and St Davids with their mentor Katharine Jefferts Schori Source: Twitter
There is news on the grapevine that June's jollies are more extensive than previously recorded, most recently accompanying the bishop of St Davids to the US.
Presumably they met up with their mentor, the former 'heretical mentor' to Barry Morgan, Katharine Jefferts Schori. She preceded Michael Curry as presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church (TEC) which has taken the lead in secularising Anglicanism. That explained her popularity with Barry and his bench sitters in Wales and the deference shown by the current Archbishop of Canterbury to Michael Curry.
Throwing away the best opportunity ever presented for taking forward the Great Commission, Justin Welby proposed presiding bishop Curry to preach at the Royal wedding, offering one of the foremost advocates of same sex marriage a platform to speak to around 2 billion people around the world in the knowledge that he favoured policies contrary to those of the Church of England. *
Readers may wonder why reputedly able women need mentoring after Barry Morgan confidently proclaimed without qualification that Joanna Penberthy was the best person to be a bishop. Presumably June was at least second best.
The purpose of the US visit is not entirely clear but I would be surprised if Joanna and June were not entertained by their episcopal, feminist counterparts. TEC has been in the lead in promoting same sex marriage and penalising anyone who is unable in conscience to accept TEC's liberal policies.
Consider just one example of many. A letter written to a local newspaper by a disillusioned correspondent in 2013. He was "saddened and appalled" by the "vindictive and mean-spirited language" Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori used in her "ugly" sermon:
"Alluding to Bishop Mark Lawrence as a 'tyrant' and comparing him to 'citizens' militias deciding to patrol ... the Mexican border for unwelcome visitors' was unconscionable. And to say, 'It's not terribly far from the state of mind evidenced in school shootings, or in those who want to arm school children, or the terrorism that takes oil workers hostage,' was despicable. That any Christian, much less a presiding bishop, would use such invective and incendiary words says more about the speaker than the person she is attempting to vilify.
"However, she is the same person who has spent over $22 million [currently estimated to be around $50 million - Ed.] to sue churches over their property, who refused to sell a church back to its congregation and instead sold it to a Muslim organization, and who sued beloved, retired bishops because they challenged her authority. It is not surprising that the fruits of Bishop Jefferts Schori's leadership of TEC are a significant decline in members, controversy and confrontation with the majority of the Anglican Communion, and financial problems resulting in the need to sell prized land in Manhattan."
Although the reason for the latest jolly is unclear, the similarities between TEC policies and those favoured by the bench are plain to see raising the suspicion that 'More of the same - but faster' promised by the new archbishop of Wales will see the jolly feminist pair taking the lead on further liberalisation given their secularcredentials.
That will be more women clergy in the drive for parity regardless of suitability and more LGBTQI initiatives leading eventually to same sex marriage given the enthusiasm of the bench for the change.
What a catastrophe for the Church in Wales these politically motivated appointments have been.
Postscript [03.06.2018]
* Reported in the Mirror:
Meghan and Harry's preacher Bishop Michael Curry destined for Britain's Got Talent final after THAT impassioned royal wedding sermon.
The American bishop will deliver a special message for the remaining contestants as they prepare for the performance of their lives.
The "most watched show on TV" provides yet another platform for the presiding bishop of TEC, thanks to Archbishop Justin Welby. Curry sounds good but he has a distorted, permissive view of God's "almighty hands of lovedanquot; that allows people to pick and choose what to believe leading them astray, as did his predecessor.
Do you see the archbishop chatting-up the ex-minister? He hasn't a clue what he has started. Llandaff next! Photo source: Wales Online
Love is the thing. Presiding bishop Michael Curry drawled it out at the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle:
The liberal infiltrators who have targeted Anglicanism continually talk of love, rolling all forms of love into one. It embraces every desire.
The liberal propaganda machine is spread widely, so much so that when discussing gender fluidity with a group of secondary school pupils they confidently predicted that pansexuality would become the norm. [See Postscript: Dangerous People Are Teaching Your Kids]
Schools, television, newspapers, church, in fact everywhere, 'education' has become the means of encouraging almost anything and everything except traditional marriage resulting in a massive increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
'Love' without qualification is all. We should not be surprised, then, when impressionable teenagers interpret the message as 'do as you please'.
The zeitgeist has been promoted shamelessly by people, including clergy, as a means of advancing their own preference. 'Get used to it', is their response. 'People will think nothing of it in time' as if that were justification for not defending traditional marriage, the foundation of family life.
If these people are right, why are church pews emptying?
In a recent twist, the Right Rev Rachel Treweek reportedly argued that only God can provide unconditional love. Previously she has argued that the Church of England should stop using male pronouns when referring to God in order to counter the erroneous belief that the Almighty has a gender.
From The Times (£).You can’t have love without faith, says woman bishop
"The first woman to become a senior Anglican bishop has questioned whether people can really have love or hope if they do not believe in God. The Right Rev Rachel Treweek shattered the so-called ?Stained-glass ceiling? When she was made Bishop of Gloucester in 2015, less than a year after the Church of England had voted to allow women to join its House of Bishops. At the time, she said that she would encourage British Christians to ?Speak out with confidence about their faith? After years of reticence over mounting robust public defences of Anglican belief."
She seemed to be implying that people in extraordinary loving relationships, with whoever/whatever must have a greater belief in God.
Following a tweet from Humanists UK which said how "deeply, profoundly offensive it was to the 53% of people in the UK that have no religion" the bishop has sincedenied that she said anything of the sort.
In an anxiousvideo response the bishop wondered aloud "if without faith we can really know deep hope and love", which appeared to take her back to what she said she did not say.
Unable to stop digging a deeper hole for herself she mentioned love sixteen times referring to her 'own brokenness', the 'bomb attack in Manchester' and 'bishop Michael Curry's Royal wedding sermon'.
Persecution has reared its head in anothercontroversy. Church of England evangelicals are claiming that they being "forced out" for being gay.
"Jayne Ozanne, 'an influential Church of England evangelical who is gay', has promised to raise the issue at the General Synod next month and ask whether churches are breaching the official guidelines of the House of Bishops. Speaking to The Sunday Times, she had "learnt of dozens of cases recently" and said she expected a #MeToodanquot; moment for the Church to be stirred up."
The Bishop of Maidstone, the Rt Revd Rod Thomas, had criticised a letter extending welcome to same-sex couples last month by Lichfield diocese. Bishop Thomas, who chaired the conservative Evangelical pressure class Reform until 2015, was responding to recent guidelines issued by the Bishops in the diocese of Lichfield to all clergy and lay ministers which seek to end ?Intrusive questioning? On sexual practices.
The Dean of St Paul?S, the Very Revd David Ison, expressed concern about the Bishop of Maidstone?S comments on the Lichfield diocesan letter seeking to define ?Radical Christian inclusion?. In a blog contribution, he also criticises the Church of England bishops more generally for ?Institutional dishonesty? About clergy in same-sex relationships, which, he says, is damaging to mental health as well as corrupting of the institution.
With so much talk of love and inclusion you might have thought that a place at the table could be found for traditionalist Anglicans but not a bit of it.
The only chance of a welcome is to become a Muslim or ignore one's conscience and fall in behind those who already have.
Postscript [13.06.2018]
From The Conservative Woman blog (H/T Twitter)
Jordan Peterson: We are funding the destruction of Western civilisation
Transgender people are to be encouraged to become priests in a new diversity drivelaunched by bishops.
In a move likely to drive more Anglicans from the Church, the notion of a biological man who self-identifies as a woman standing at the altar is topped only by a biological woman standing there self identifying as a man in the person of Christ.
It cannot get any worse when bishops turn tragedy into mockery. No wonder Anglicanism is in crisis.
Addressing 'The Challenge of Secularism' at the 2018 meeting of GAFCON in Jerusalem the Rt Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden spoke about The Challenge of Cultural Marxism to the Church.
Explaining how the deception works, Dr Ashenden explains how "a 3rd wave feminism extended parity into the area of social and sexual engineering. It involved the re-imagining of gender. Making gender flexible and fluid according to the preferences of the imagination.
"The strategy was first feminism and the introduction of the virus of equality , then gay marriage , based on the same artificial notion of equality, then the eradication of gender in the mind with transgenderism. And then paedophilia."
Referring to the latest Canadian propaganda videos "which show the increasing sexualisation of children as they are educated to become ?Allies? Of the LGBTQI , the bishop provided a reference to this sample video
"Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man"!
This goes way beyond tolerance and understanding. How did we allow ourselves to get here?
Within the Church in Wales, those who on grounds of theological conviction and conscience are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion. The Church in Wales therefore remains committed to enabling all its members to flourish within its life and structures as accepted and valued. Appropriate provision for them will be made in a way intended to maintain the highest possible degree of communion and contributes to mutual flourishing across the whole Church in Wales. (Principles. Women Bishops Code of Practice)
It appears that the newly appointed women bishops in the Church in Wales are happy to defy their Governing Body in an act which can only be described as a visible sign of disunity, showing no regard for the procedure which enabled them to be appointed bishops.
At ordinations presided over by the first female bishop of Llandaff, as a mere gesture towards the agreedCode of Practice, arrangements have been made for a male bishop to step forward for the laying on of hands if the ordinand, on grounds of conscience, is unable to receive the sacramental ministry of a woman diocesan bishop.
I understand that similar arrangements have been made for ordinations carried out by the bishop of St Davids. The gesture is clear.
The rules were changed unilaterally by the Church in Wales to grant the wish of women who claimed to be 'called to ministry', even though the Church in Wales claimed to share the historic episcopate with other Churches, 'including other Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches, which continue to ordain only men as priests or bishops'.
No provision was made for those, who on grounds of theological conviction and conscience, are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests. Instead the Governing Body voted for a Code of Practice.
Under the Code, "Individual members of the Church in Wales who, on grounds of conscience, are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of a woman diocesan bishop, shall not be required to do so against their conscience, and alternative provision shall be made".
For the Code of Practice to have any meaning it must be seen to satisfy the consciences of those for whom it was intended but I understand that the new female bishops are making their own arrangements, thus placing orthodox ordinands in an impossible position.
The procedure has become so far removed from when the Provincial Assistant Bishop presided at ordinations that it lacks any integrity whatsoever.
The minister in the Sacrament of Ordination is the Bishop. The celebrant presides over the whole service – the interrogation of the candidates, the laying-on-of-hands (assisted by other priests who are symbolically receiving the new priests into the presbyterium) and the celebration of the Eucharist. Importing another bishop (solely because he is male) to step in and lay hands on any candidates who have conscientious objections to the sacramental ministry of women, far from being a gesture of accommodation, turns the whole business into a charade of misogyny.
The curious arrangements proposed in Llandaff and St Davids do nothing to solve the basic problem of conscience either, since it is a requirement in the ordination service that those being ordained receive Holy Communion from the bishop who is the celebrant.
It has been said over and again that we do not have a problem with women; our problem remains the unilateral departure from the practice of the undivided church and by far the greater part of Christendom whose orders we have always claimed to have shared.
Traditionalist Anglicans in Wales are not alone in their struggle to survive. In the Church of England specific provision was made for men and women who in conscience are unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women bishops or priests but there has been a constant chipping away at the agreement. For the latest developments see the Forward in Faith document Nomination to the See of Sheffield: Lessons Learned.
When it comes to women's ordained ministry there seems to be far more of the old Eve than the new.
In his Petertide 2018 message the Archbishop of Wales uses the current obsession with soccer and hysteria surrounding the World Cup tournament to spice up his appeal for people to become involved in lay ministry. He says he is certain that there are "thousands of faithful people in our churches around Wales" who could do a huge amount to strengthen and build-up our ministry. He goes on to plug the 'Theology for life' course.
Ummm, thousands of faithful people? At the last count there were only around 28,000 mainly elderly regular attenders in the Church in Wales representing less than 1% of the population. There were 5,963 regular attenders under the age of 18 which, remarkably, is against the trend of continual decline but probably the result of parents seeking a place for their offspring in a church school before disappearing again.
In a province numerically smaller than many dioceses in the Church of England, Oxford has 65,000 worshippers, Chichester 47,000, most congregations are dominated by the elderly, some exclusively. In London with 89,000 worshippers, Pastoral Assistants are typically in their early to mid-twenties and considering a vocation to ordained ministry in the Church of England.
In Wales, dream on! In my experience and that of others, many volunteers who felt called to a lay ministry would have been the last people I would have wanted calling in times of distress. Some were totally unsuited to the ministry to which they believed they were called but it was difficult to convince them.
Given the Church in Wales' apparent policy of accepting anything that moves if they show the slightest inclination towards ministry, lay ministry could do more harm than good.
As for the 'Theology for life' course, the Church in Wales does not do theology. It does what it refers to as equality. That is not 'equality' in the normal sense. It is a feminist euphemism for parity which applies a quota system instead of offering equality of opportunity based on ability and suitability. It is pure sexism.
What, then, is the Church in Wales teaching having abandoned the faithful, many of whom used to carry out the numerous tasks claimed by the archbishop as being left to the clergy. It teaches that the church must be relevant to society, adopting secular values.
As the number of women clergy increases cultural relativism expands. Our common heritage with the majority of Anglicans fades as spirituality gives way to sexuality. Far from saving the Anglican Church, feminists are destroying it, starting in the US and now rampant throughout theWest.
In an article headed 'Could feminists save the Anglican Church?' the "brilliant theologian of the feminist movement", Rosemary Radford Ruether, is quoted as claiming that "Christianity has always absorbed cultural change to match people’s real lives – thankfully. Yet Christian doctrine seems to be continually out of step with social progress". The article goes on:
"Feminism has produced some startling and radical theologies over the years, making it possible for women to claim their place in the Anglican Church hierarchy as priests and bishops.
"Christian feminists are working to subvert the patriarchal dogma of Christianity from within, dealing with some awkward, misogynist biblical passages and some awkward traditionalists. Read Mary Daly or Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza and it becomes possible to imagine Christian symbols in ways that are not oppressive.
"Feminist theology attempts to re-frame Christianity to allow oppressed groups access to God, who, it turns out, does not privilege the male, white, middle class and heterosexual humans after all. Queer theology, like feminist theology, operates at the boundaries of the Church, though there is much more hope, acceptance and optimism at the grassroots.
"Feminism started a theological ball rolling....feminists worked tirelessly to talk the church out of its most blatant sexist dogma. The same process is happening for the LGBTQ Christian community. Of course, sexual identity is much more than being able to be married in church, but it would be an outward sign of theological transformation."
If anything the archbishop's appeal indicates how desperate the Church in Wales has become in its terminal decline, diluting priestly ministry as it identifies more withnonconformists and a United Church for Wales than the Holy Catholic Church of which it claims membership:
"Since the Church in Wales continues to share the historic episcopate with other Churches, including other Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches, which continue to ordain only men as priests or bishops, the Bench of Bishops acknowledges that this decision on ministry and gender is set within a broader process of discernment and reception within the Anglican Communion and the whole Church of God." (Code of Practice)
Within the Anglican Communion, many provinces have gone their own way in theGlobal Anglican crack up. They have little in common beyond their historical links with the Church of England.
The majority of Anglicans look to GAFCON toCelebrate Gospel of God. Meeting in Jerusalem at the largest international gathering of Anglicans in 50 years, the GAFCON chairman, Nigerian Primate Nicholas Okoh, said that the West is now among the most secular nations on the planet, which sadly includes the Church of England, to which the Anglican Communion owes its origins and for which, he said, we still have a deep affection.
"The essence of the Gospel has virtually been lost in the nations of the West, and if it is to recover its spiritual identity, it must once again embrace that same Gospel or face irrelevancy, decline and finally obliteration.
"The mostly western churches have compromised on sexuality issues and that is viewed here, by these evangelical Anglicans, as a road down which they will not go for fear they jeopardize both the true nature of marriage that is exclusively between a man and a woman, and worse, damaging to their very souls.
"It is not without its significance that of the 11 active Primates here, five are from Africa, two are from the Argentine and Brazil, one is from Australia and Southeast Asia (Myanmar) with just one from the U.S. That the U.S. role which was for years so prominent, and now so reduced, indicates the shift in global Anglicanism from the Global North to the Global South."
From the Letter to the Churches - Gafcon Assembly 2018:
OUR GLOBAL ANGLICAN FUTURE
To proclaim the gospel, we must first defend the gospel against threats from without and within. We testify to the extraordinary blessings on this Conference, which leads us to call upon God even more, that the Anglican Communion may become a mighty instrument in the hand of God for the salvation of the world. We invite all faithful Anglicans to join us in this great enterprise of proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations.
When the Archbishops of Wales and of Canterbury hold minority views which are contrary to the beliefs of the majority of Anglicans and the wider Church, further decline is inevitable.
