Mirror, mirror, on the wall....

The Church of England's House of Bishops voted Tuesday to block the creation of a new liturgy

to celebrate  gender transition but urged bishops to use the existing baptism rite as a way

 to mark the passage. (Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images)/theblaze

...who’s the fairest of them all? - Neither Church nor State that's for sure. Both are engaging in absurd distortions of reality.

General Synod paper GS Misc 1178 provides an "update" on ‘Welcoming Transgender People’, as if they are not welcome already, using the now familiar propaganda techniques of exploiting the 'victim' status - see earlierentry - just as the LGBT lobby has done to secure a dedicated chaplaincy and "a safe, sacred space for our LGBTI+ friends to share their stories, explore their faith and enjoy time together with no fear of judgement" -  [click here and scroll down to "Open Table come as you are"].

In July 2017 the General Synod carried, "with strong support in all three Houses, a motion brought forward by the Blackburn Diocesan Synod, that this Synod, recognising the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person’s gender transition."

'Theblaze' summerises how the Church of England’s House of Bishops voted on Tuesday to block the creation of a new liturgy to celebrate gender transition. Bishops were urged instead to use the existing baptism rite as a way to mark the passage. Dodging the concept of second baptisms the Church of England has instead given the green light to using existing liturgies similar to the way gay unions are being blessed with all the outward appearances of church marriages.

The State, as in NHS England, is also pandering to fashion as if money were no object in offering biological males a smear test for cervical cancer if they identify as females, even though they do not have female organs, while women who could be at risk but identify as men are not being routinely offered potentially life saving NHS screening for breast and cervical cancer amid fears it might offend them.

If people want to ignore their biological sex they are free to do so but they should not expect others to engage in their fantasies. Cervical Cancer Prevention Week from 22-28 January.

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Self inflicted pain

The UK’s first LGBTQIA+ chaplaincy has been officially launched by the Bishop of St Asaph.                                                      Source: Church in Wales

Almost one third of the Church of England's General Synod members has signed a letter urging the Church to make an "unequivocal declaration" in support of congregation members who identify as LGBT:

"We are keen that the College of Bishops is unequivocal in its acknowledgement that all, including those who identify as LGBTI, are essential to the health and future of our church and mission to the wider world." Synod member and LGBT activist Jayne Ozanne said: "I think our bishops are aware of the strength of feeling on the need to be seen as a church for all. I do believe they know they can't fudge this any longer. It's time for them to give a clear and unequivocal embrace to a community that is hurting[my emphasis - Ed.]." - From Christian Concern. Text of the letter and signatories here.

One of the signatories is the Revd Dr Rowan Williams, not the Rt Rev and Rt Hon the Lord Williams of Oystermouth but one of the Chaplains in the Diocese of York. While the Church in Wales has become accustomed to chaplains waving the rainbow flag, refreshingly there is no reference on the York Chaplaincy page to the LGBT community, presumably taking the line that if we are all the same there is no need for positive discrimination.

The position is reversed in Wales. The Bishop of St Asaph, Gregory Cameron, a former Chaplain to Archbishop Rowan Williams, has officially launched the UK?S first LGBTQIA chaplaincy which is to be led by the Revd Sarah Hildreth-Osborn.

According to the St Asaph web site, the Chaplaincy exists because "the Christian faith has something to offer everyone including LGBTQIA+ people". True but it goes on to allege that because the Church has "caused such hurt" [my emphasis - Ed.] to the LGBTQIA+ Community over many years "we now need to create safe, sacred space, welcome them among us and allow LGBTQIA+people to be who they are, wonderfully created in the image of God and loved just as much as anyone else!"

The promotional material states the objectives of the LGBTQIA chaplaincy which are to:

• Create safe, sacred space where LGBTQIA+ people can worship and share their stories
• Engender a sense of welcome and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people across the Diocese
• Offer support to parishes who want to explore the creation of ministry specifically to the LGBTQIA+ Community
• Provide support to Clergy and a listening ear in matters which involve LGBTQIA+ people
• Initiate retreats and quiet days for members of the LGBTQIA+ Community and allies
• Raise awareness among secular groups and organisations e.g Young Peoples LGBTQIA+ Groups and Social Services of the existence of the Chaplaincy
• Work with existing Chaplaincies e.g. Coleg Cambrian Chaplaincy
• Liaise with Changing Attitude Cymru
• Become a continued presence within the Diocese and to be supportive in all that the Diocese is seeking to do in bringing the Gospel to all of God’s people
• The Chaplain to undertake training and networking with others involved in this ministry

Against such a list one wonders how Ms Hildreth-Osborn landed the job (I use the word advisedly) of Vicar of Llanrwst but the truth is that there is no impediment.

We are led to believe that gays and lesbians in the Church in Wales are an oppressed minority despite their representation in the clergy from bottom to top. The LGBT community are not only very well represented, some would say disproportionately, but they are becoming increasingly vocal in their demands. Any pain they feel is self inflicted. Many of us campaigned for civil partnerships only to see ourselves branded as bigots and homophobes simply because we defend the sanctity of marriage.

Compare the Church in Wales bishops' promotion of the LGBT agenda and their support for 'women in the church' with their oppression of traditional Christians who simply want to worship God according to scripture and tradition following the example of Jesus Christ.

MAECymru – supporting women in the Church in Wales - is also promoted on the St Asaph web site. The application form requires applicants to assert "I support diversity and equality in the Church in Wales". Pray that the bishops of the Church in Wales also support diversity and equality as the Archbishop and Bishop Gregory prepare to attend the Conference to preserve the breadth of Anglicanism in Wales.

Postscript [14.09.2016]

Archbishop of Wales uses final  Governing Body address to focus on same-sex relationships.

Archbishop Barry Morgan has used his final address to the Church in Wales’ governing body to argue that Christians can change their stance on homosexuality without abandoning their commitment to the Bible. See reports here and here, and here  and here for a more critical appraisals. He forcefully denied that the Church’s bishops had "ignored the Bible and were swayed by the liberal culture of our age".

As the Archdeacon of Cardigan William Strange put it, "I am sorry that the Archbishop has chosen as the subject of his final address a topic he has spoken on many times before, and on which his views are already well known. I would have welcomed something new on a less well-worn theme".

Women priests, women bishops, homosexuals and same sex marriage in a collapsing church. And Barry believes we have been waiting dua,000 years to have the Bible clarified by him. A sad end to a sad episcopacy.

Postscript [15.09.2016]

@PeterOuld - Looks like Barry Morgan made an excellent argument yesterday for the @ChurchinWales to bless polygamy and incest.

Https://twitter.Com/PeterOuld

There's more on Twitter:

Christians who have supported slavery did so *against* the clear teaching in the NT against it. Barry Morgan's speech today bad theology.

Postscript [16.09.2016]

A Response to the Archbishop of Wales? Defense of Same-Sex Relationships from 'Bible and Mission' (H/T Anglican Mainstream):

"The Archbishop’s logic might suggest that, because Scripture offers different perspectives on certain other issues, it therefore must have different perspectives on adultery, or bestiality, or incest.  As it happens, Scripture uniformly condemns all these as well as homosexual acts." In full here.

Postscript [17.09.2016]

"We ?Have evolved? From the Bible?S teaching on divorce, why not gay ?Marriage??" - Archbishop of Wales speaking at the Governing Body in April 2014:

"Holy Scripture itself is far more nuanced, subtle and complex than we often realize...We cannot just quote Biblical texts on different subject matters and think that that settles an issue [my emphasis - Ed.]. It is easy to opt for prohibitions in Scripture and regard them as the word of the Lord and forget that the Bible contains stories which also convey God’s word to us. Jesus, he added, 'had nothing to say about gay marriage' as the archbishop counseled homosexuals to be patient with regard to the Anglican Church’s attitude towards homosexuality".

The speech was taken as 'encouragement' by homosexual activists. Average weekly attendance dropped lima% between 2014 and 2015.

Postscript [04.10.2016]

CAIRO: Egyptian Anglican Archbishop Says Anglican Communion must stay Faithful despite False Teachings

Same-Sex Marriage repudiated as mendasar departure from the faith.

We are not homophobic when we reject unbiblical views on human sexuality, says Archbishop

Full texthere (H/T Anglican mainstream)

Postscript [08.10.2016]

THE ARCHBISHOP AND THE BIBLE ? A RESPONSE TO ARCHBISHOP BARRY MORGAN?S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS -REFLECTIONS OF AN ANGLICAN THEOLOGIAN

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A call to repentance

Jacob tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and wails deeply.  He is beside himself in grief

and no-one can comfort him.    Source: Free Bible images

1st March 2017 is Ash Wednesday. Many Christians will receive the sign of the cross made from the ash of palm crosses blessed and distributed on Palm Sunday in 2016. Many will not. Not because they do not believe but because their Church has left them.

Jacob was beside himself in grief at the loss of his son Joseph. No-one could comfort him. There are many former members of the Church in Wales (CinW), and, indeed, of the Church of England (CofE) who feel like that. Their Church has been their life with everything revolving around worship and friendships. Suddenly their lives are changed. Sustained quietly by their faith, they have not had the shrill voice of vocal campaigners. They simply kept their heads down praying that God would understand. Then snap. They feel alone as their Church loses its mystery for secular mores. In desperation they leave, finding themselves, like Joseph, alone in the desert pit.

Some may decide to join other churches but many will not because of their conscientious beliefs. These are the people bishops need to be concerned about as shepherds. They are not expected physically to tear their clothes but they should be wailing deeply for those cast into the pit by their brothers and sisters.

In addition to errant bishops there are many clergy who should be wailing in grief at their actions. Barry Morgan's social experiments have resulted in too many 'do as you please' vicars manipulating their malleable, 'vicar knows best' congregations. Sexual licence has been used to engineer personal preference leading congregations into error, accepting minority standards which are contrary to the teaching and tradition of the Church. In fact there are some clergy in my experience who really do need to tear their clothes and return to Christ.

The current shambles in the diocese of Llandaff inherited from Barry Morgan well illustrates the mess his experimentation has bequeathed the bench. Rumours suggest that the candidate with the most votes for Bishop of Llandaff was the Very Rev Dr Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans but he was short of the two thirds majority needed. We cannot be sure of what took place in secrecy behind locked doors but I understand that his strong showing was a desperate ploy by the gay wing to avoid the election of a woman bishop.

Having their cake        Source; Inclusive Church

It was the withdrawal of Dr John's nomination as Bishop of Reading in 2003 after it became publicly known that he was in a long-term same-sex relationship which inspired the initiation of Inclusive Church. Fourteen years later the headlines continue causing further distractions.

One would have thought that anyone with half a brain would have considered the experience of Anglicans in the US after the appointment of the openly gay bishopGene Robinson to be followed by the appointment of the openly lesbian bishopMary Glasspool before doing the same. They did not so the decline of the CinW and the CofE has matched the fate the US Episcopal Church.

It is no coincidence that LGBT issues go hand in hand with the feminist inspired movement for the ordination of women. Not content with having achieved their original goal Women and the Church (WATCH) are busy trying to feminise the liturgy and undo the agreement reached which resulted in women bishops in England, often aided by clergy spouses.

In Wales, practices more akin to pagan rituals are invogue with the WATCH sister organisation,MAE Cymru boasting the 'history making' bishop of St Davids among their members, unfortunately for the wrong reasons.

The true mission of the Church is obscured when modern-day missionaries such as the founder of Diverse Church and "future bishop", the Rev Sally Hitchiner, is seen as the face of the Anglican Church.  Co-ordinating Anglican Chaplain and Inter Faith Advisor at Brunel University she is not alone in providing a strong LGBTQ influence in many universities.

Non-investigative journalism is driven by perception and press releases so it is not surprising that worship and theology are secondary to secular 'equality' issues of  women's rights, gay rights, transgender rights, etc. Nor is it a surprise that press releases from the CinW appear under 'Politics' in its main mouth piece, Wales Online, because under Barry Morgan, the CinW has been turned into a political machine. Given all that is wrong in the CinW one has to wonder why sycophantic praise tops investigative journalism when it should be clear to all that the Church in Wales is in crisis.

Unity has been the hope for the Church for generations but it was tossed out of the window with the liberal 'enlightenment'. This Lent provides time to follow the rule of St Benedict, "Always we begin againdanquot; in genuine repentance.

The problems facing the Diocese of Llandaff are mirrored throughout the CinW. The absence of unity is obvious,  largely created by factions insisting on candidates for higher office of their own choosing to boost their own cause. The bench of bishops has been corrupted into accepting secular ideas instead of remaining faithful to the Gospel.

Repentance must start as Lent begins. The bench must make amends, rejecting secularism with the appointment to Llandaff of a deeply spiritual man capable of reviving the mysteries of the church. The 'otherness' that society lacks.

Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.

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That it should come to this

The Diocese of Bangor’s new LGBT+ Chaplaincy Team.                                                                                Source: Twitter

Following in the footsteps of the diocese of St Asaph with theirLGBTQIA+ Chaplaincy, the diocese of Bangor has launched its own LBGT+ Chaplaincy for people who consider themselves to be members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex and Asexual community.

Its Chaplain the Rev?D Dominic McClean said, "In an ideal world a Chaplaincy such as this would not be necessary. But the LGBT Christian community is one that needs affirming within our Church. So this Chaplaincy will offer a safe and sacred place where LGBT people can be themselves as they worship and express their love for God and Jesusdanquot;.

What world do these people live in? The joke in Llandaff is that a straight chaplaincy is needed!

The only minority in the Church in Wales who cannot be themselves as they worship and express their love for God and Jesus are those who in conscience follow the traditional teaching of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Still no safe and sacred place for them.

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Feeding Islam and ripping the Church apart

Source: Twitter

A sharp-eyed reader has drawn my attention to the menu offered last Thursday at the Cardiff University Chaplaincy: halal chicken casserole! Next Thursday's lunch will also be halal. In fact halal dishes appear to be their regular offering. I appreciate that the Chaplaincy caters for mixed faiths but why do Islamic meals take precedence in a supposedly Christian country?

There is muchmore to concern the faithful than a meagre halal meal for £1. The Anglican Chaplaincy boasts a seminar at which the Very Rev Jeffery Johnpromoted gay marriage and Canon Jeremy Pemberton talked about life with his 'husband'.

Following his defeat at the Church in Wales Governing Body in September last year Archbishop Barry Morgansaid "It would be 'foolish' to bring forward a bill for same-sex marriages in church at the moment.It would be a very brave or perhaps a very foolish Bench of Bishops who were to bring the bill before the governing body at this stage because that might just rip the church apart and lead to the acrimony that has been absent from this debate."  [My emphasis - Ed.]

The intent is clear.

Notwithstanding the dire effects on church attendance resulting in church closures and the loss of the historic parish system, the same procedure is being adopted as was employed in the campaign for the ordination of women followed by their admission to the Episcopate. If at first you don't succeed keep trying until the church is left only with like minded people led astray by a bench of bishops, bar one, who have abandoned the Apostolic faith of the Holy Catholic Church for a dictatorship of  relativism.

When the bishops report back to the Governing Body in April their conclusion appears obvious.

Christianity is in danger. Mosques are already opening their doors to entice the unwary. Closed churches and chapels are being converted adding to the twenty-one Mosques already in Cardiff. Two of the seven chaplains in Cardiff University are Muslim. They need no help from the Church in Wales.

The rencana may be music to the ears of the Archbishop but it is not the Gospel and it is already ripping the church apart.

Postscript [23.02.2016]

The Cardiff University Chaplaincy 50 years ago with Fr Bruce E Davies, RIP surrounded by communicants for the Ash Wednesday Eucharist.

Postscript [24.02.2016]

In response to worries about traffic problems it has been suggested that this new Cardiff mosque was needed to allow only 30 worshippers to pray. Pull the other one! This was a second application. No doubt there will be another mirroring the Church in Wales', if at first you don't succeed, try again until you get what you want.

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