Queen's speech 2014

Should we be surprised at the headline,Queen beats Archbishop of Canterbury as ‘most moral leader’ in new poll?

HM The Queen:"For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life.

A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people, of whatever faith or none." You can read the Queen's speech 2014 in full here .

The Bishop of Buckingham (for example):"The Church of England is still guilty of “serious institutional homophobia” and has yet to overcome “inertia and ignorance” towards same-sex couples, an Anglican bishop has claimed. Alan Wilson, the bishop of Buckingham, praised gay members of the clergy for showing “considerable courage and determination” as they fight deeply ingrained prejudices to marry. “In very few years people will wonder what the fuss was all about,” the bishop says in a Christmas sermon for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community recorded for Pink News. He adds: “But for now it’s a path that calls for considerable courage and determination. So please spare a thought this Christmas for them." Full article here.

If the Bishop of Buckingham wants a proper example of“considerable courage and determination” he need only look to the 'Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England'. One can only imagine what the Queen must be thinking with all that is going on in the Church of England and in Government especially when the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 received Royal Assent.

The Bishop of Buckingham is not a lone voice in the Anglican Church. Rather, he reflects the move away from liturgy to a particular view of social justice which relegates worship almost to an optional extra and "Christ’s example" is distorted to justify just about any secular fancy. One has only to look at the fate * of the Episcopal Church (TEC) for an example of how this trend develops into litigation and dilution of the faith resulting in a church in name only:

"Why is the Anglican Church in North America growing (now over 110,000) while TEC is in decline? Why has ACNA overtaken the Anglican Church of Canada in Average Sunday Attendance? It's all about the message - one of the transforming love of Jesus Christ to all sinners. There is almost no difference in the way a TEC parish functions from that of an ACNA parish. A visitor would see no discernible difference in worship forms, liturgy (though there is a greater use of the 1928 Prayer Book in ACNA parishes). The difference is what is proclaimed from the pulpit each Sunday. Preaching endless sermons about inclusion, diversity, the joys of pansexuality, the need for women priests/bishops, the Five Marks of Mission, MDGs and a whole host of so-called hot button issues does not change lives just opinions and not always that. TEC needs to radically rethink who they want as next generation priests. Second career aging lesbians won't cut it."

All is not gloom in the Church of England. Part of the package which saw the appointment of the first woman bishop included 'broad church' provision so that Evangelicals and Anglo Catholics have the opportunity to prosper.

Not so in the Church in Wales. Their bishops proposed legislation that would have made statutory provision for those opposed to the ordination of women on grounds of conscience but this was swiftly dropped after a successful plot by the devious Archdeacon of Llandaff and her sidekick the Area Dean of Llandaff which enabled the bench sitters to do as instructed by their unscrupulous Archbishop.

Looking at the success of ACNA and the failure of TEC it is not difficult to see why Dr Morgan stamps out any opposition to his view of Anglicanism. So much so that one has to wonder what is "an inspiration and an anchor" in his life. Where did Dr Morgan come in the 'most moral leader' poll? So far, I have been unable to find any reference to him!

* Update (30/12/2014)

See alsohere, an interview with Fr. George Rutler, pastor of the Church of St. Michael in New York City .

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Women, sex, death and judgement

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales and the Archbishop of Canterbury

Surprise, surprise! The Church of England cannot carry on as it is unless decline is ‘urgently’ reversed – Welby and Sentamu. The latest sorry saga is reported in a Telegraph article here.

First to hit the rocks was The Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC). The Church in Wales is bobbing along on autopilot hoping to avoid catastrophe by setting the same course as TEC.  Now, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have warned that in the Church of England "there is a compelling need to realign resources and work carefully to ensure that scarce funds are used to best effect":

"The Church of England will no longer be able to carry on its current form unless the downward spiral its membership is reversed ?As a matter of urgency?, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have warned.

It could face a dramatic shortage of priests within a decade as almost half of the current clergy retire, according to the Most Rev Justin Welby and Dr John Sentamu.

Meanwhile dwindling numbers in the pews will inevitably plunge the Church into a financial crisis as it grapples with the “burden” of maintaining thousands of historic buildings, they insisted."

You don't need a doctorate to spot the link. TEC is now described as a post-Christian church :

"This is no longer George Washington?S Episcopal Church ? In 1776 the largest denomination in the rebellious British colonies. Membership has dropped so dramatically that today there are 20 times more Baptists than Episcopalians.

U.S. Catholics out-number the Episcopal Church 33-to-1. There are more Jews than Episcopalians. Twice as many Mormons as Episcopalians. Even the little African Methodist Episcopal denomination -- founded in in 1787 -- has passed the Episcopalians"....

"Liberal Christianity has been hailed by its boosters for 40 years as the future of the Christian church. Instead, as all but a few die-hards now admit, the mainline churches that have blurred doctrine and softened moral precepts are declining and, in the case of the Episcopal Church, disintegrating."

Sad to say, the Church in Wales is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Regular attendance figures are almost at rock bottom claiming just 1% of the population as regular attenders. The historic parish system is shot to pieces. Priests are no longer offered a 'living'. Instead, Priests-in-charge, often of groups of parishes and 'house-for-duty' priests have been used to prop-up the system but even this is no longer a viable option. The Church in Wales is regrouping intoministry areas "served by a team of people both lay and cleric", the hierarchy oblivious to the fact that in many parishes the laity have been shouldering the burden of responsibility for keeping the ship afloat for years, mopping-up tasks not suited to incumbents. But don't expect much change with the new breed of Non-stipendiary ministers who expect only to officiate on a Sunday because they work during the week!

From figures in the Telegraph article, "typical Sunday attendances have halved to just 800,000 in the last 40 years:

"The two archbishops gave their backing to a series of reports calling for administrative changes in the Church to be debated by the Synod next month but added: 'Renewing and reforming aspects of our institutional life is a necessary but far from sufficient response to the challenges facing the Church of England.' They went on: 'The urgency of the challenge facing us is not in doubt'.

'Attendance at Church of England services has declined at an average of one per cent per annum over recent decades and, in addition, the age profile of our membership has become significantly older than that of the population. 'F inances have been relatively stable, thanks to increased individual giving. ' This situation cannot, however, be expected to continue unless the decline in membership is reversed'."

So much for the transforming ordination of women, liberal views on gay and lesbian bishops and the current push for same-sex marriage to be recognised by the Church. Read a previous entry "The Church of England is in crisis" here. It is not as if the writing was not on the wall. In 2010 Archbishop Rowan warned "Conform or face the consequences":

"The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked Provinces who have violated the Communion’s moratoria on gay bishops and blessings, along with those who cross provincial borders in response to these actions, to withdraw their representatives from the Communion’s official ecumenical bodies and from the newly formed Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (UFO).

'Some public marks of distance,' or discipline of those who defy the wider Church, 'are unavoidable if our Communion bodies are not to be stripped of credibility and effectiveness,' Dr Rowan Williams said."

But the liberal agenda continued until we read in 2013: "The Church of England is in crisis" (here).

While newfangled liberal Anglicanism continues to disintegrate, traditional Anglicanism is thriving where the majority have not been seduced into changing the faith to suit temptation. Some may see this as a judgement. Thriving Anglican Churches are not confined to Africa as witnessed in the Anglican Church in North America. In England there are many growing Evangelical and Anglo Catholic churches. In Wales Anglo Catholic parishes continue to shine in the darkness despite the efforts of their bench of bishops to extinguish the flame.

Amidst the gathering gloom there is still hope.

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need".Hebrews 4:16

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