Mean-minded gender politics v. traditional Anglican faith

Readers may have observed that I find it difficult to be 'slow to anger' where the Anglican church is concerned today. What makes me particularly angry is the complete absence of compassion for men and women in the church who, in common with the majority of Christians, simply want to practice their religion in accordance with tradition, something that should be a human right. I have witnessed and valued women's ministry for its dedication in many areas of church life but much has now changed setting one against another. I didn't see the need for Deaconesses to become Deacons any more than actresses needed to became actors or heroines to became heroes but whereas actors and heroes of either sex were equal in pursuit of their ambitions, so called equality in the church meant something different, a change in our understanding of the priesthood using faith as a vehicle for gender politics.

Women deacons became priests on the dubious pretext that there was no biblical objection and the assertion that there was little difference between deacon and priest other than the utterance of a few words (such regard for the sacred ministry!). Now it is the 'stained glass ceiling' that has to be shattered in the guise of equality. Such is the success of this secular based campaign that even some opponents of the ordination of women express sympathy for their position, one which has been manipulated to appear one of prejudice. If they succeed in their goal the next step will be parity which is the aim of Women and the Church (WATCH). Only when we have a woman Archbishop will cries of injustice be allowed to fade.

The appointment of women bishops shatters the tradition of the Universal Church of which Anglicanism has been part. In England, 2012 sees the culmination of a process ofdeception and lies using false promises to achieve this objective. In Wales their Archbishop is determined to reintroduce the measure in 2012, ignoring the earlier defeat on the basis that the Holy Spirit is only at work when the Archbishop finds the result favourable. Out of spite he went on to deny traditionalists acceptable pastoral and sacramental care by imposing oversight by a bench of bishops none of whom shows any sympathy towards traditionalists. The Church of England has been more tolerant inconsecrating replacement PEVs but what of the future given the intransigence of members of Synod, particularly the hard edged women of WATCH and GRAS?

I have to accept that not everyone shares a traditional understanding of the sacred ministry but I cannot understand why, as Christians, new Anglicans would want to deny traditionalists the opportunity to continue to practise their religion as they have done well before many of the new breed of Anglicans entered the church. While some traditionalists may be able to look to the Ordinariate or possibly to the Western Rite of Orthodoxy many will find themselves in the wilderness as their own church adopts a take it or leave it approach, carefully crafted to offer only something known to be unacceptable on the basis that anything else would imply that women would be seen as second group bishops. I was particularly saddened over Christmas to receive a card from a very devout lady with a message that she had had enough and given up going to church. Like many disenchanted souls before her, she had been receiving the sacrament regularly before many of the new breed of Anglicans were born. Does people's faith count for nothing in the gender politics that now obsess our church?

In my previous entry I again highlighted the plight of traditionalist Anglicans in the Episcopal church of the United States and the road to ruin the liberalised Episcopal church there has embarked upon. There is another report here which well illustrates what happens when liberalism replaces the traditional faith of the church. Our once tolerant, broad church should look again to the faith of the Universal church and end its obsession with gender politics while there is still Anglican church in which to hold the office of bishop.

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We will all be changed

A further drop in Church of England attendance has been reported.Average Sunday attendance fell from 944,400 in 2009 to 923,700 the following year, continuing the long-term downward trend. Hardly the result one might have expected after the church decided to make itself more relevant to society by becoming ever more secular.

In an unhelpful Blog article for the Guardian on the prospect of women bishops in the CofE, Andrew Brown writes: "The Church of England's fudge on female bishops is breathtaking". He concludes with the comment: "It may be possible to fudge questions about the nature of a communion wafer in this way. But I don't think it will do for a matter of employment law." So the Body of Christ can be fudged but Its administration by the sacred ministry is something that should be determined by employment law! No wonder so many churches are for sale with plenty more to come as attendance dwindles.

The theme of this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is 'We will be changed'. From the Churches Together site:

"Change is at the heart of our Christian faith. Saint Paul said that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, and we are called to live as children in the light.

The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2012 comes to us from the churches in Poland, who have reflected upon their own experience as a nation, and in particular how, as a nation, they have been changed and transformed by the many upheavals of their history, and sustained by their faith.

Change is also at the heart of the ecumenical movement. When we pray for the unity of the church we are praying that the churches that we know and which are so familiar to us will change as they conform more closely to Christ. This is an exciting vision, but also a challenging one. Furthermore, when we pray for this transforming unity we are also praying for change in the world."

The upheavals in the Anglican church may have brought joy to some but for the church it has been a disaster with litigation and arguments about the nature of the priesthood, gay and lesbian ordination and same sex marriage which no doubt is now regarded as acceptable on the grounds that there is 'no theological objection', the Anglican justification for female ordination. These changes have had a wholly negative impact on the church when our aim should be unity with the Roman Catholic church from which we have become separated and the Orthodox Church.

If women in England and Wales are to be ordained bishops because of secular employment laws, then 'we will all be changed'. We will be changed but in the wrong direction, choosing Protestantism rather than the ancient churches of Rome and Orthodoxy, the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of our baptism, driving us further than ever from church unity. As Synod members prepare to vote, they should not be influenced by secular employment laws but follow Christ's example and listen to His prayer that we all may be one.

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The joy, the pain and the sorrow

A post-ordination scene outside Llandaff Cathedral.                                                                             Source: Church in Wales

This post-ordination scene outside Llandaff Cathedral is palpable. Blessings and hugs. I well remember such joyous scenes before women were ordained. Everything then was clear cut. Orthodoxy prevailed.

There is nothing biblical about the ordination of women but having been led astray, many women insist that they hear the call as though God has changed His mind after sending His Son to show us the Way. If He had, surely the change would be universal, not confined to local decision makers. But, sadly, it is as it is.

Today the Church in Wales is in disarray. Progressives continue to push for more change as the pews empty. More defections are expected after the second woman bishop is enthroned next month because the promised provision evaporated once the progressives achieved their goal.

So, there will be great joy for many this morning among those for whom conscience is not a persoalan. For others there will be pain because their church has left them. More to the point, there will be great sorrow because nobody in the Church in Wales appears to care.

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Anglicans unchurched

Readers of this blog will notice an additional link in the right-hand column under the heading 'The Movement for a Renewed Orthodox Anglicanism'.

If you stand with the majority of faithful Anglicans across the globe in prioritising Scripture and the unanimous teaching of the universal Church over secular fashion, you have the opportunity to add your signature to theletter published in the Daily Telegraph on 25 July 2017. It is signed, among others, by the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, former Bishop of Rochester, and the Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden, former Chaplain to the Queen.

In the an 'Anglican Unscripted'video discussion (Episode 311), Dr Ashenden urges the unchurched to add their signature to the letter. The reasons why he left the Church of England are explained in the above video. They will be familiar to many who find themselves unchurched with nowhere to go in their locality because most Anglican churches are following the same 'progressive', liberal path.

Gay Anglican clergy have already defied the church's official stance on same-sex marriage. Now the Dean of Southwark Cathedral sends out to those enquiring about the possibility of marking their Civil Partnership in the Cathedral a leaflet which gives the following outline for the marking of a Civil Partnership in the context of a celebration of the Eucharist.

Worrying as this is for orthodox Anglicans in England, the masalah is more acute in Wales where no provision has been made for traditionalists and the bishops have signaled their eagerness to accept same sex marriage.

This is what the the Archdeacon of Llandaff, Peggy Jackson had to say about orthodox Anglicans before Archbishop Barry Morgan elevated her to her current position:

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

That coming from an adult convert who ignores the faith of the vast majority of Anglicans worldwide and regards the tiny Province she inhabits as 'the church'. An institution which she and the like-minded manipulate to satisfy their own desires.

'Personal decisions and individual choices' have invariably led to faithful Anglicans becoming unchurched but that does not bother the progressives even when "the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing" as Pope Benedict XI so aptly put it.

Around 1400 people have added their names to the letter. If you share their concern please add your signature to the letter and encourage others to add theirs.

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Conform not to the world!

Here we go again. From Christian Today 'Bishop and senior clergyman join calls for Church of England to lose equalities exemptions':

"The Church of England should lose its protections under the Equalities Act that allow it to discriminate against people on the basis of their sexuality, a bishop and senior clergyman have said today. Paul Bayes, the bishop of Liverpool, and David Ison, the dean of St Paul's Cathedral, both backed Jeremy Pemberton, a gay priest who was blocked from being a hospital chaplain after marrying his partner. They are supporting the Ozanne Foundation, a charity launched on Monday campaigning against discrimination within religious institutions."

The episcopal rot which is leading to the demise of the US Episcopal Church spread rapidly to our shores as liberal clerics and laypersons saw an opportunity to use the church to legitimise their behaviour.

It has been reported that the 'Episcopal Church Prepares to Tighten Screws on Traditional Marriage Proponents', quoting Fr. Richard John Neuhaus’ law: “Where orthodoxy is optional, orthodoxy will sooner or later be proscribed.”

In supporting the Ozanne Foundation senior clergymen are simply conforming to the world without discernment. The Foundation jargon is 'We Believe in Just Love For All!' as if others do not. Failure to conform results in accusations of homophobia and more.

What people do in private is between them and God. It is not for others to judge but we have a right to stand firm in defence of holy matrimony which is between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others and for life.

Ozanne herself came out as gay to her friends and family. She then entered into a long term relationship with another woman, although they separated after five years together. Fidelity, it appears, is not included in 'Just Love For All'.

Who cares? Business manager bishops and senior clergy don't, leading others astray when they should be transformed.

David Ison, dean of St Paul's Cathedral told Christian Today: 'We've got to come to terms with the reality of the world we're in and we're not doing that. That is why we're becoming disconnected from society. The church is becoming disconnected from society because it has nothing different to offer.

Bishop Bayes told Christian Today, "I hope for a future whereby people like Jeremy [Pemberton] can feel that their ministry can be exercised and that they can love the person they love freely".  Pemberton is a divorced father of five.

The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church has decided to permit same-sex marriage. The Church in Wales bench of bishops can hardly contain their eagerness despite the absence of a mandate.

Gone are the days when Anglican bishops acted like bishops.

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Cop out?

Pope Francis and the devil                                                          Source: Twitter

As the sexual abuse crisis continues to haunt the Catholic Church Pope Francis blames the devil.

He says the devil is alive and well and working overtime to undermine the Roman Catholic Church according to a report in Christian Today.

Too convenient? Morehere.

The Church is in a mess with Western Anglicanism on the brink and disunity in the Orthodox Church.

Does the Pope have a point?

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