Pray for the Church in Wales

In his opening address to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales yesterday, their Archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan, warned of difficult times ahead. "Fundamental questions about the role and structure of the Church in Wales as it approaches its centenary will be addressed in a wide-ranging review led by a group of outside experts, the Archbishop of Wales announced today (April 27)."

Dr Morgan says, "the Church needed to be open to the possibility of major change in order to continue serving Wales effectively in the future (my emphasis). In Wales as elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, serving God has been minimised and those attempting to keep the faith have been marginalised. The 'fundamental role' of the Church in Wales has become politicised and business orientated with faith pushed into the background.

The Press Notice stated that "the Archbishop highlighted three challenges facing the church: leadership because of a decline in clergy numbers; resources, because of the impact of the "recession on investments; and structure because of falling congregations. So much for making the church 'relevant to society' and innovations such as the ordination of women which were supposed to reinvigorate the church. Gone is the mystery,  the awe, the wonder and the 'otherness' of the church. Those things that made church-going different from the mundane.

The review panel is to be made up of "three experts in church management". Based on the current state of 'management' of the Church of England and in Wales that should lead to even further decline unless they get back to basics serving God and His Universal church. But it appears that the outcome has already been decided when one reads "We believe [ie ++Barry] as a Bench and Standing Committee, that a combination of our own insights, those of GB Members and those from this Group, will help us become the kind of Church God  [ie ++Barry] wants us to become." - 'Relevant to society', minuscule and ignored?

Read More

Another covenant?

The Anglican Communion is taking desperate measures to stitch together something that might be passed off as a silk purse rather than the sow?S ear it has become. When the General Synod meets later this month to discuss the proposed Anglican Covenant, designed to hold together its disparate members with their ?Constitutional autonomy [in] the Anglican Communion?, they will find that lines have already have been drawn and campaigns organised against it.

As the major churches of East and West strive for unity with signs of [gender neutral] brotherly love, the Anglican Communion persists in pushing itself further and further away pretending that God is for their liberal agenda, necessitating rules for dealing with strife. Gone is the mystery, the tolerance, the ?Love thy neighbour? Of the New Covenant which swept away the hypocrisy of old. In its place we have a secularised, do as you please organisation where faith has given way to political correctness, often self-centred rather than Christ-centred.

An example of how badly things have gone wrong is demonstrated by the Episcopal Church of the United States illustrated in the Anglican Curmudgeon Blog and, closer to the context of the Church of England, by the St Barnabas Blog.

Seeing how Anglicanism is falling apart clearly shows that re-interpreting the Gospel to suit today's lifestyle does not work. This is exemplified by the web site of the CofE's neighbouring Church in Wales, the introductory halaman of which has much more to do with politics than with religion. ?His Darkness? The Archbishop of Wales, a disciple of Mrs Jefferts Schori, frequently claims that he is making the church relevant to society today, blind to the fact that the unchanging mysteries of Orthodoxy and Catholicism have far more relevance outside his little domain. Even unchanging Islam growing in their own backyards fails to convince liberals that they may be mistaken.

Compare these examples of modern day Anglicanism with the timeless teachings of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Compare traditional faith with the modern difficulties caused of choosing another way. I do not ever remember the Archbishop of Canterbury looking so uncomfortable as he does when he seeks to explain the Anglican Covenant. And with good reason as its main purpose is stated to be how to sort out divisions that have arisen [of their own making Ed]. Archbishop Rowan ends by saying that he hopes the covenant will be a “truly effective tool for witness and mission in our world”.

I wish him success in his endeavour but it must be blindingly obvious that if the Anglican Church had continued to follow the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, there should be no need of another.

Read More

Church in Wales fake marriages

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) says it is working with the Church in Wales to train clergy to spot fake marriages.

Meanwhile their Archbishop has been otherwise engaged in business, care of the elderly and tracing ancient footsteps for aTV series although he did have some time for religious duties over the Christmas period when he preached about happiness and serving others . In his sermon at Llandaff Cathedral Archbishop Morgan said, "We would be a happier nation if we stopped thinking of ourselves and learnt to put other people first, treating them with fairness and compassion."

That must be provided they are not traditionalist Anglicans trying to exercise their catholic faith under his authoritarian regime.

Read More

Biblical definition of marriage dropped

The Christian Institute put it bluntly: "The biblical definition of marriage was dropped by the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) at its General Synod meeting in Edinburgh yesterday" in a measure carried by one vote.

From the Church Times: "Tears were shed after the result was announced. Presenting the motion on behalf of the Faith and Order Board, the Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt Revd John Armes, said that the proposal had been received with 'joy and sadness' and had led to ?Much conversation? Within the Church."

 Joy and sadness can be seen etched on some of the faces in the BBC news clip. The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth spoke of "equalitydanquot; for gay couples who want to get married in church and for gay priests like himself. He claimed that "we have been a church that decided to remain together". People who disagreed with him would still have an honoured place in the Church.

If that sounds familiar, we have been here before. The Church in Wales (CinW) rejected the ordination of women in 1994 but after a merciless campaign the measure was brought back and was carried by one vote in the house of clergy in 1996. The measured steps of the feminist campaign continued, pressing their next demand which was for women bishops.

Their pressure succeeded by convincing people that secular values were more important than religious conviction. St Davids was the first diocese in Wales to have a woman bishop while Llandaff diocese has a female bishop-designate who is to be consecrated later this month. Their next demand is for gender parity. Time will tell if there is anyone left to minister to.

The CinW has been allowed to disintegrate as political struggles take priority. Spirituality has been replaced by sexuality and gender issues. Some clergy have escaped to England but others have had to take it or leave it. Many of the laity have decided to leave it, hence the massive decline in attendance figures as illustrated by 'the naked truth'.

Traditionalists in the Church of England (CofE) were assured of an honoured place when Synod voted in favour of women bishops. Since then the feminist lobby, Women and the Church (WATCH) have done all in their power with help from their supporters to ditch the agreement. They are now campaigning for a female deity. Provision for loyal Anglicans in Wales who in conscience could not accept the ordination of women was ditched by Archbishop Barry Morgan when Bishop David Thomas, RIP, retired in 2008.

The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth was honest when he spoke of equality for gay priests like himself. It is all about self at the expense of others. Anyone who does not sign up to the latest fad is regarded as expendable.

By continuing to consider same sex marriage in "shared conversations", the CofE looks likely to follow the lead of the SEC. The bishops of the CinW failed to get the measure through but apologised for past treatment of LGBT people and promised to ensure they are "fully affirmed as equal disciples". LGBTQIA+ nowrules.

Worshippers committed to the traditional catholic faith of the Anglican Church in Britain are being abandoned by career conscious progressives pandering to secular cravings of self indulgence. So what next, in love? Polygamy?

Read More