Taint as they say!

Ministerial group: the Prime Minister with (left to right) the Ven. Dr Jane Hedges, the Rt Revd

Kay Goldsworthy, and the Ven. Christine Hardman                                   Credit: Church Times

"A confident Church is a 'vital partner' in the care of the nation" the Prime Minister wrote in the Church Times. A report on his politically correct twaddle dressed-up as faith can be readhere. With this new founded but deluded confidence the latest call raised by MPs is: "Give us a female Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Newcastle",  having approved legislation to help fast-track female bishops into the House of Lords over the next decade.

In the debate "Mrs Blackman-Woods told MPs: I should say that we have recently got a new bishop in Durham and I am not trying in any way to push him out of the door, as he is doing an excellent job, but when the time comes for him to retire I hope that a woman bishop will be on our agenda. Backing a change in the law, Mrs Blackman-Woods told the Commons: 'Without the Bill, a woman appointed as a diocesan bishop would effectively join the back of the queue to get into the House of Lords. At anticipated rates of retirement it could take up to seven years for the first female diocesan bishops to get into the Lords, a period that could cover the lifetime of the next Parliament. That would create an anomaly whereby women were actively and visibly involved as bishops in all aspects of the Church’s national ministry except as Members of the Bishops’ Bench in the other place'."

I don't know whether or not Mrs Blackman-Woods is a regular churchgoer, an Anglican or even a believer but in her previous intervention in the 'Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure' we heard the usual political claptrap dressed as faith when she said. "This is a historic moment that we should note, because it gives the Church a real chance to look more like the society that it seeks to serve. A Church with women in office at the highest levels of authority will better reflect British society today" [@5.56]. I note also that she voted in favour of Same sex marriage so if she had been ordained no doubt she could have expected a call from the Archbishop of Wales with an offer of another plumb appointment over the heads of his loyal but long suffering clergy.

Of little surprise to observers, there are now dire warnings that that this 'confident church', this 'vital partner' in the care of the nation is in peril. If it is not to go into 'terrifying' decline the Church of England must 'adopt one of its most radical shake-ups in generations'. Senior Church leaders have warned: "It leaves the Church little time to sit back and enjoy the success of the legislation as the consecration of the first woman bishop at York Minster approaches."

If readers think these reports are exaggerated they should read Virtue Online. Here is a sample:

"Virtually all the 1,900 churches with more than 350 people in their congregation are either Catholic (1,350) or evangelical (460); the remaining seventy are considered broad or liberal. There are also virtually no churches with 350 or more in rural areas; just thirty spread across numerous commuter rural areas (and all between 350 and 400 people). There are one hundred churches of this size in city centers, 310 in inner city areas (many of which are Roman Catholic), 165 on council estates, 920 in suburban areas, and 350 in separate towns".

As a "dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist" I am told that I should avoid waving around statistics shrieking: "See! We told you this would happen if you let women have opinions, and stand at the front of church, and be vicars. We told you the men wouldn't like it. You've feminised the Church! Of course the men are leaving!" The author of this Telegraph article, Helen Coffey, continued: "This sexist hysterical crew seem to think that, in slowly but surely embracing equality, the entire Church is being transformed into one long episode of Loose Women. That by letting women lead, it naturally follows we're creating an environment that is “toxic” to men. What a load of tosh." Obviously hysteria is not confined to the male sex. Helen Coffey is a sub editor and staff writer at Telegraph Ski and Snowboard. Her previous contributions have been "Church yoga row: Am I going to hell for stretching myself?" and "Twenty years of women priests: And the Church has survived just fine".

To these politicians and journalists who feel free to dictate what true Anglicans are supposed to believe, sending the Church of England and the Church in Wales into terminal decline in the process, must be added liberal Anglicans whose sole aim is to change the Church to meet their career prospects and to suit their particular lifestyles. The feminist pressure group Women and the Church (WATCH) has played a key role in thisphenomenon: "We have in modern society a new F-word: Feminism" - Keynote address given to the WATCH AGM, 3 November 2007, by Canon Lucy Winkett, Precentor of St Paul’s Cathedral.

I admit to having expressed regret about the increasing feminisation of the Church although not in the manner suggested by Helen Coffey. However, if women were supposed to halt the decline by spreading 'equality', how is it that the Anglican Church has reached this perilous position? Women clergy have not halted the decline in liberal Provinces by 'looking more like society', they have exacerbated it. Perhaps they are waiting until they have packed the benches of the Lords Spiritual by which time they will be left to talk among themselves on current trends.

Notwithstanding the fact that the innovation of women priests has been a complete and utter disaster bringing the Anglican Church to the point of collapse, there is no indication that lessons have been learnt with calls for yet more women, particularly younger women to be ordained instead of the elderly matrons soon to join the retirement queue. The secular notion of rapid advancement for women in the Church which shattered any claim about introducing 'equality' has not lessened their anger as they invent more claims of foul play so that they can frustrate procedures if no longer backtrack on their promises.

The latest outcry is over the token consecration of one traditionalist, the  Rev Philip North as Bishop of Burnley on 2 February alleging female 'taint' because the Archbishop of York will not participate in the laying on of hands when Fr North is consecrated. This is deliberately emotive point scoring. It has nothing to do with 'taint'. It is a question of true belief in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. A matter of 'authenticity' such as bishops of The Old Catholic Church acting as co-consecrators in the ordination of Anglican bishops.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu,told The Huffington Post that "he was the one who suggested the unusual change, in order to accommodate North's strong theological conviction that women should not be ordained. Giving traditionalists room to flourish was part of the church's plan all along -- a necessary concession that makes it difficult for either side to claim outright victory". Dr Sentamu added: "Any suggestion that the arrangements proposed for the consecration of the Bishop of Burnley are influenced by a theology of ‘taint’ would be mistaken," Sentamu said. "These arrangements are for prayer, not politics."

The consecration of the first woman bishop in the Church of England takes place tomorrow (26 January, 2015). In the Observer it has beenreported that the Rev Libby Lane is aware that "what I say and do will be heard by millions, many of whom have no other contact with the church". So what does she say? - She hopes that as the new bishop of Stockport she will "send a signal to young girls regardless of their faith". Whilst Anglicanism has become all about the advancement of women, the new bishop admits to "feeling the pressure that comes with the historic appointment, expressing concern that her position may distract people from the message of Christ". The message of Christ is what some of us have been concerned about all along, not a distorted version of Christ's ministry designed to satisfy wants, not needs.

There is no letup in the feminist's campaign. The 'theology of taint' is the latest weapon feminists are using to exercise their power. They agreed a compromise to ensure that women were allowed to become bishops in the Church of England but now they are seeking to dictate on matters which should not concern them. They should follow the advice of the Archbishop of York "giving traditionalists room to flourish" rather than creating imaginary divisions. That has caused more than enough damage in the Anglican Communion.

All credit then to His Grace the Archbishop of York for his integrity in maintaining agreements unlike the example set across the border in Wales.

Read More

When the circus came to York Minster

It is interesting that the BBC reports before and after the consecration of the Rev Libby Lane as the new Bishop of Stockport appear under the URL "bbc.uk.co/news/uk-politics" for that is what it is, politics. The pre-service clip in the first link is of a TV interview with 'Mrs Lane's friend and curate', the Reverend Georgina Watmore, on the BBC Breakfast show. It stops short of the point when she was asked how they would be celebrating her vicar becoming the first female bishop in the Church of England.

Here was a heaven sent opportunity to say that they would be celebrating the Holy Eucharist, the essential sacrament of the Church, injecting some Christian teaching at the culmination of their 'equality' campaign - a spurious claim if ever there was one. They were going to celebrate with a knees up - rather than knees down. Previously a commentator who had been speaking live from York Minster referred to the thousand or more 'spectators' including a hundred bishops from around the world who wanted to lay hands on the first female bishop to be consecrated in the Church of England. Surely she meant 'congregation' I thought but on reflection she was correct. 'Spectators' summed up the media event. - After all, it's all about equality, stupid!

When the Archbishop of York asked the spectators during the proceedings, "Is it now your will that she should be ordained?", there was one objection on the not unreasonable grounds that innovation was not in the Bible.  The objector was refused permission to speak. Instead Dr Sentamu read out a prepared statement assuring the spectators that the consecration was lawful under the Canon of the Church of England which is "part of the law of the land". Correct. It was legal, the Church of England having enacted it but it was not legitimate in the eyes of the wider Church, hence the objection.

A spokesman for the Church of England said the objector, the Rev Paul Williamson, a priest in charge of St George's Church, Hanworth, West London, had shown himself to be a "lone voice of protest in a sea of voices of affirmation". So he was but he gave an honest response, one which many others could have made had it not been for the agreement which enabled the consecration to take place. It is regrettable therefore that an objector voicing his response according to conscience was portrayed as a clown in the rite of feminist authentication in the same way that other objectors on grounds of conscience have been portrayed in the media.

Everyone who was anyone, or anyone who thought they were anyone in this charade was there. Around 100 bishops 'from around the world' pressed forward to be in front for the laying on of hands while exercising sufficient restraint to avoid the appearance of a Black Friday stampede. I say charade because in the view of the wider Church, Orthodox, Catholic and for most Anglicans the Church has no authority to ordain women. Hence it was a gross parody to answer "I do" to the questions:

• Do you accept the Holy Scriptures as revealing all things necessary for eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ?

• Will you teach the doctrine of Christ as the Church of England has received it, will you refute error, and will you hand on entire the faith that is entrusted to you?

• Will you be faithful in ordaining and commissioning ministers of the gospel?

• Will you promote peace and reconciliation in the Church and in the world; and will you strive for the visible unity of Christ's Church?

• Will you accept the discipline of this Church, exercising authority with justice, courtesy and love, and always holding before you the example of Christ?

Nobody thought to question how these questions could be answered in the affirmative with complete integrity having changed the rules, thus putting themselves at odds with the the rest of the Church and creating a serious impediment to Christian unity. But what is that to commentators who appear to know less about Christianity than their understanding of Islam.

Commentators were stressing that women in the Church of England had waited twenty years for this moment as if a prejudiced minority had impeded their legitimacy. They were of course applying secular principles of equality of opportunity in the workplace. Claims that the ordination of women are aboutequality are totally spurious but who cares these days let alone understands? Typical Sunday attendances in the Church of England have halved to just 800,000 in the last 40 years. That is around 1.5% of the population of England, just slightly better than attendance in Wales. Most of those remaining will simply have played follow-my-leader without regard for the consequences while others have left, their faith destroyed.

Friends of Libby Lane may celebrate with a knees-up but it is a hollow victory for the Church of England given the damage the liberal invasion has caused. Writing in the Telegraph their Religious Affairs Editor, John Bingham, poses the question "Female bishops are go: What on earth will the Church row about now?" One has to ask if it really matters any more given the damage to the Church the innovation has caused.

Writing about the consecration of Fr Philip North, a 'traditionalist Anglo-Catholic', next week Bingham commented: For reasons which might charitably be described as obscure at best, there is 'acrimony'  because "the plan is - ironically - to depart from tradition for the central part of Fr North's consecration service". A Religious Affairs Editor who can refer to the Apostolic Succession as 'obscure at best' must surely be in the wrong job unless his main purpose is to denigrate the Anglican Church. If the deliberations of the Church are "tortuous and, to many people, simply incomprehensible" Mr Bingham would have been better employed explaining the genuine held beliefs of traditionalists rather than making a cheap buck out the misery inflicted upon them.

Read More

More of the same

"Thank you for your kind applause", as Madame Edith used to say in 'Allo 'Allo! after her star turn                                                          Source: Church in Wales

No altar cross or candles on the nave altar when the appointment of the Bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne, wasconfirmed in Sacred Synod last Friday. Instead the altar was used as a microphone stand. Apt for another political rally!

The first reported utterance of the new bishop on the occasion of her consecration the following day was to urge "sexuality-row" Llandaff diocese to move on, again drawing unwelcome attention to the Electoral College row after the Western Mail re-hashed the Jeffrey John self-promotion story on 11 July, an episode the bench had been trying to bury with their appointment of the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Rev June Osborne as bishop-designate.

More successfully buried had been the Church of England Osborne Report on homosexuality which should have been published in 1989 but surfaced in 2012. Some believe this report damaged Osborne's chances of preferment in the Church of England. Not so in the Church in Wales.

Pursuing another pet theme, bishop June offered her view of the church as a secular institution given over to the advancement of women in a BBC interview which formed part of their coverage of her consecration. She said:

"Isn't it fantastic, Wales becomes the Province of the Anglican Communion that has the highest percentage of women bishops in it and that has to feel right because one woman is great but more than one woman in an organisation, people know this, really begins to make a change for the better because gender parity, gender equality, women feeling that their voice is respected just as the men's voices. It's what the Church in Wales has been working on for some years now and so I just think that bishop Jo in St Davids will be a fantastic colleague but it will also mean the the workings of the bench of bishops and the whole church will just become more normal. It's what people know in the normal life is mixed gender teams."

Yet more of the same in a radio interview here (advance to 51.12).

Rather than the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ has become the stepping-stone for women to pursue their careers in the church, demanding parity rather than spirituality.

Stand by for more of 'what the Church in Wales has been working on for some years', substituting politics for faith when bishop June and her 'fantastic colleague' bishop Jo 'make normal the workings of the bench of bishops and the whole church'.

What bishop June failed to mention when she referred to the 'whole church' was that she had in mind the Church in Wales, one of the smallest provinces in the Anglican Communion, and possibly the Church of England. The vast majority of the world's 80 million Anglicans, along with the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, regard provinces such as the Church in Wales and the Church of England as being in error which puts her views into context.

Read More

Fit for purpose?

Bishops of St Davids, Bangor, Swansea & Brecon (Archbishop), Monmouth, St Asaph and Llandaff.                                                              Source:Twitter

The bishop of Bangor, Andy John, must have thought himself most fortunate when, after 2,000 years of tradition and scholarship, it fell to him to findBiblical support for church gay marriages. A revelation that eluded doctors of the Church and biblical scholars for generations before him.

Of course the bishop could be mistaken but that would not occur to the episcopal pygmies who currently constitute the bench of bishops in the Church in Wales. For them the bishop of Bangor has provided evidence that the Church should conform to the world as they pursue their policy that 'It is pastorally unsustainable for the Church to make no formal provision for those in same-gender relationships'.

Why is there so much emphasis on same sex relationships in the Church in Wales? The bishops believe that the Church is out of step with society so the Church must change to conform with society. The crumbling edifice reveals the lie.

If the bishops taught the faith as they should, the Church would not be seen as irrelevant.

The bishop of Bangor writes:

Those who experience same sex attraction or orientation will describe how, in a committed and loving relationship, they find not only love but grace and peace growing in their shared life with their partner. They experience the very fruit of the Spirit identified by St Paul as a mark of God’s presence and blessing (Gal 5:22-23). Jesus himself provided a kind of litmus test: it is ‘fruitfulness’ which reveals the authenticity (or not) of any claim to communion with God and grace (Matt 5:16-17). If the fruit of a relationship is growth in godly character, in what sense can such a relationship could be considered ‘against the will of God’?

From Gal 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." St Paul continues: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

In the preceding verses Paul writes: "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh....So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

"The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Setting the tone of things to come in the Diocese of Monmouth following the appointment of the third woman bishop in the Church in Wales, the diocese has re-tweeted a Pride Cymru recruitment poster advertising a Volunteer Recruitment Day to be held on Saturday 25th January, the same day as that set apart for the consecration of Cherry Vann as the 11th bishop of Monmouth.

Such advertising goes way beyond sympathy for any perceived errors in the past. It is using the Church to further a Pride Cymru recruitment campaign, demonstrating the growing confidence of LGBT campaigners in the Church in Wales as they look forward to their next celebration in the so-called'Faith' tent.

No doubt the new bishop of Monmouth and her fellow women bishops, LGBT campaigners Joanna Penberthy and June Osborne, see this as the road to salvation. It is not. It is the reverse.

As chief shepherds, bishops should be leading their flocks to Christ not walking away from Him, thus putting the souls of the faithful in peril. By doing so they clearly demonstrate that they are not fit for purpose.

Postscript [21.01.2020]

Following the appointment of Cherry Vann as bishop-elect of Monmouth, the Church in Wales press office and the Diocese of Monmouth declined to comment on whether the cohabiting bishop-elect was in a partnered same-sex relationship.

There has been no such reticence following the meeting of the Sacred Synod. From a Provincial News update on the bishop's forthcoming consecration: "Bishop Vann lives with her civil partner Wendy and their two dogs, Macallan and Sadie", a point casually reported by BBC News as though it were a regular occurrence rather than a departure from established Church policy.

The bishops of the Church in Wales are clearly determined to create a sense of normality around same sex relationships despite the fact that their proposals were rejected in a consultation exercise and at Governing Body.

Read More