Same sex marriage. Cold feet or a return to sanity? Probably neither.

Cake decorations at a gay wedding. Photograph: Hector Mato/AFP/Getty

The above illustration appeared in The Guardian in 2006 under the heading "Gay marriage could improve health". Actually the article was more about civil partnerships which many applauded as a victory for natural justice. But a connection with same sex marriage (SSM) was being made as though there were little difference between them which is reminiscent of the position taken by those who pressed for the ordination of women.

It was argued that the difference between a deacon and a priest was small, merely saying a few words at the Altar with the authority to pronounce absolution as though neither had any great significance. After the ordination of women to the priesthood was accepted it was argued that if a woman could be a priest it was discriminatory to deny a woman priest the right to become a bishop. The fact that the Anglican Church had no such authority within the Apostolic Church was ignored because Provinces could take authority for themselves under their own constitutions while still professing to be part of the Apostolic Church in their Creed.

Following Western Anglicanism's acceptance of women deacons, priests and bishops, LGBT issues have become the dominant issue, something the Archbishop of  the Church in Wales has been keen to take forward, particularly his gay marriage agenda after bouncing through women bishop legislation. But are his revisionist policies coming unstuck?

Publishing the Agenda for this month's meeting of the Church in Wales' Governing Body a Provincial press release includes this surprise statement under "Other items on the agenda include":

'A report on same-sex marriage consultations which took place in each diocese this year, followed by a plenary debate. Please note: no decision on whether the Church in Wales will change its law to allow same-sex marriage (SSM) will be taken at this meeting – it is debate only.' [My emphasis - Ed.]

Cold feet or a return to sanity? Probably neither. Looking at the Report of the Standing Committee (Item 7) a different picture emerges with this statement:

SAME SEX MARRIAGE

[29.] The Committee was informed that, following the group discussions at the April 2014

Governing Body meeting and work carried out by the Standing Doctrinal Commission,

the Bench had consulted dioceses on three possible options for the way in which the

Church should relate to same sex partnerships in future:

1. No change to the Church?S current teaching and practice on marriage and

partnerships;

dua. To allow same sex unions to be blessed in the Church in Wales;

tiga. To allow same sex couples to marry in the Church in Wales.

[30.] The Committee received a report from the Bench summarising the results of the

consultation with dioceses. The Bench proposed that the results be circulated to

Governing Body members for this meeting when the Governing Body would itself be

invited to discuss the three options. There would be no motion for debate but, at the

end of the discussion, members would be invited to indicate in a secret ballot their

preferred option (and, if they so wished, their second preference). The results would be

announced at the meeting, and would then be considered by the Bishops at a subsequent

Bench meeting. The Bench would report back to the Standing Committee on its

proposed way forward in the light of the consultation. The Committee endorsed the

approach proposed by the Bench. [My emphasis - Ed.]

Readers may wonder why the report from the Bench summarising the results of the consultation with dioceses has not been made public. One would think they are of no concern to the Church members whose views are summarised. The implication is that the results were unacceptable to the Archbishop but by proposing that the results be circulated to Governing Body members to discuss the three options the Bench is likely to receive their desired result from like minded supporters despite the wishes of the Church in general.

Designed to show which way the wind is blowing, what is there to prevent one of Barry's acolytes proposing that a vote be taken? This is what happened when the devious Jackson/Wigley amendment scuppered any meaningful provision for Church in Wales Anglicans who have remained loyal to the Apostolic faith of the Holy Catholic Church. The bishops dropped their own proposals when they saw the wind was in their favour. Sadly the rest is history with the faithful struggling on the best they can supporting a Province which does not support them. But as long as the money rolls in who cares? Certainly not the bench of bishops.

So more skulduggery as witnessed in the deceitful Code of Practice manoeuvres to complete +Barry's secular agenda? In thisvideo the Archbishop refers to the Bench's two stage legislation which was supposed to make provision for those who are opposed to women bishops but abandoned after the the first part was accepted. Unscrupulous, devious and cunning it seems that nothing will deter Dr Morgan from achieving his secular objectives even if his policiesdestroy the Church in Wales in the process.

Little surprise, then, that members have become disillusioned giving rise to this comment which appeared in the Conclusion (Section 1) of the note after the Diocese of St Asaph's SSM deliberations:

"Clear support of traditional teaching

There is a clear group of about 19% of the respondents who reject any change in marriage doctrine and not only oppose the blessing of same sex unions, object to the unions themselves. Comments indicate that they do want change – but this is a significant change in the teaching and practice of the church to reinforce the traditional theology of marriage in preaching, teaching and pastoral practice. They state that the Bible is clear and so the church should be clear.

They fear that many will leave the church if any change in doctrine or practice is made.

In this reading Option 1 is a change option. Comments indicate a distrust of the leadership and membership of Church in Wales. They fear that society’s values are already ruling over biblical values. The call in the comments is for commitment to this option from all , at every level of the church, but especially in leadership. Comments speak of the surprise they feel that the Bishops seek to even ask the question when the Bible is so clear. For them there are no Options, only one Option – to be faithful

There are within the comments calls for celibacy of homosexual persons. One comment speaks the most loving response being to be firm and state that homosexuality is wrong. Comments suggest that Option 1 is the pastoral option. Comments said that blessing that which is condemned in the Bible is sinful and misleading."

It is not surprising then that the latest attendancefigures for 2014 show another 2% fall on the previous year along with a 11% Electoral Roll fall, a 15% fall in Confirmations and a 7% fall in Baptisms. Regular income is also down for the sixth successive year. The Report indicates that "regular giving is coming under increasing pressure as general attendance continues to fall and fewer members are required to meet the financial demands of parishes".

The road to ruin continues while +Barry claims "the church of God ... has faced all kinds of difficulties and crises in the past but God has been steadfast in His care for us". The 'church of God', yes, but who cares for the Church in Wales? Not the bishops.

Read More

Church in Wales: The Llandaff dimension

Following the shockresignation in May 2013 of Landaff's first female Dean, the Very Rev Janet Henderson, the Bishop of Llandaff, Archbishop Barry Morgan decided to run Llandaff Cathedral as acting Dean in addition to his other duties before turning to the Archdeacon of Llandaff, Peggy 'the pilot' Jackson for help by keeping an eye on things for him. Llandaff Cathedral has been in sad decline ever since leaving the new Dean with a can of worms. With its splendid new ?1.5 million Nicholson organ to accompany a severely depleted Cathedral choir (when there is one), a shrinking congregation who are constantly pressed to give more for less and a take it or leave it attitude to members with conscientious difficulties over women?S ministry (see below) things just go from bad to worse. Janet must breath a huge sigh of relief if she keeps an eye on things from afar.

Jackson plays a key role in aiding the Archbishop's mission to fragment the Church in Wales and rupture it from its historical roots by making it unrecognisable as part of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church other than reciting her creeds. Singing from the same sheet as Dr Morgan, Peggy Jackson's views on introducing women priests and bishops contrary to the teaching of the Apostolic church were well known to him. In a GRAS Newsletter written while still a member of the Church of England the then Canon Jackson set out her vision for her church:

"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."

Note the distinct lack of Christian charity in that statement. However, the 'church as a whole' Jackson referred to was not the Body of Christ but the tiny minority she represented, not just in the whole of Christendom but in the Anglican Communion itself. No wonder she appealed to Dr Morgan who believes thatChurch doctrine evolves to meet the demands of culture - report here.

Contrast his view with the view of Pope Francis who saidWe cannot use Church doctrine as we please - report here .

AccordingWikipedia, Pope Francis speaks for Catholicism's 1.2 billion members. Theaverage adult attendance in the Church in Wales for whom Dr Morgan claims to speak is just 31,048.

Of Anglicanism's 85 million members the Church of England accounts for just one million regular worshiping members but that did not stop Canon Jackson from ignoring the views of the majority of Anglicans and of the wider Catholic and Orthodox Churches when writing of the views 'sanctioned by the church'. The Church, East and West, has severely criticised errant Anglicans for their unilateral actions but all pleas have been ignored along with Christ's prayer for unity.

The published figures demonstrate that it is utter deception to representindividuals with conscientious difficulties over women’s ministry as the minority. But that deception is a characteristic of the Morgan-Jackson/Wigley partnership as they guide the Church in Wales along their chosen path with no regard for the souls of the faithful. This is what Jackson wrote in 2009 when involved in the ordination of women campaign in the Church of England:

"What, then, should a Code of Practice do, which does follow the mandate of General Synod last July?

It should:-

- honour and reassure loyal Anglicans that they will not be required either to leave, or to act

individually outside the dictates of personal conscience

- offer special and specific care to those people and parishes, around whom the mind of the Church on this issue has changed. The intention of this care is that they would not be lightly brought to a position of feeling that there is no continuing place for them in the Church. It could not, however, be allowed structurally to undermine the very decision itself."

The sting is in the tail.To appear charitable to one's opponentswhile deliberately setting out unacceptable conditions is a clear act of deception in my book. Dr Morgan used the same tactics while suggesting that he had looked at other Provinces for guidance in drawing up a Code of Practice for the Church in Wales. He didn't spend much time looking at the arrangements being made in the Church of England to 'honour and reassure loyal Anglicans'. The Church of England is following an honourable path to reach an acceptable settlement. Not so the Church in Wales where 'winner' takes all in Barry's book.

The other half of the Jackson/Wigley partnership is the Area Dean of Llandaff, Canon Wigley. This introduces the Methodist dimension in Dr Morgan's plan to turn the Church in Wales into a nonconformist organisation while still claiming to belong to the Apostolic Church.

The Archbishop of Wales and Canon Wigley, Peggy Jackson's GB accomplice

Canon Wigley's husband is the Rev Dr Stephen Wigley, Chair of the Wales Synod of the Methodist Church which is involved in theChurch Uniting in Wales (CUW) scheme, a set up which, along with the Church in Wales Review, appears designed to ensure the future of the bishops of the Church in Wales in a new nonconformist  organisation. Dr Wigley is well placed to become the first Methodist 'bishop' of CUW so he could be interchangeable with the CinW diocesan bishops and offered to loyal Anglicanswith conscientious difficulties over women’s ministry! But for now, to the Deanery -

Announcing his former Chaplain's surprise elevation, Dr Morgan said "he has been a great help to me and I know he will bring those gifts of tact, strength and commitment to what will be a demanding new role for him" giving rise to suspicions that the new Dean would not be his own man. Compared with other Deans he was not an obvious candidate but many wished him well for taking on the challenge when others steered well clear of the post after Janet Henderson's resignation two months into the job. Dean Capon has not had an easy time and has come in for some criticism. One commentator on this blog suggested that the Dean reads what is written here and has been upset by some comments. I regret that but people in public life are accountable for their actions because of the effect they have on others. I can assure him that no personal criticism is intended and that only those comments which have a genuine bearing on the topic in hand are published here. I am sorry if some comments appear to be insensitive and would therefore urge commentators to be careful to avoid causing unnecessary offence while making salient points.

That being said, what matters most to the author of this blog is Mother Church and the faith of loyal Anglicans who have been cheated out of their inheritance for a feminist ideology which fought under the banner of equality only to bin it in Wales as soon as Barry and his pitiless bunch achieved their goal. For many Anglicans their faith is all. I have witnessed many sad cases where women have felt ostracized for 'keeping the faith'. To deny them the opportunity to worship as they wish is far crueler than any perceived offence to anyone who would seek to deny them what was promised when the ordination of women became a cause. The source of this distress points to Dr Morgan and his appointees.

Not to be ignored in that regard is Barry's propaganda tool the Ass Bishop of Llandaff who believes that women's ordination is "a much needed countersign to a world where women are brutalised in war zones, where gays fear for their very lives in Uganda. Otherwise a homophobic theology encourages homophobic violence; misogynistic theology encourages misogynistic violence". From what is happening in the world, the reverse could be said to be true.

As Christianity is influenced more and more by secular trends a religious vacuum is being exploited by Islam which according to some estimates will, in a generation, become the dominant religion in what is supposed to be a Christian country. Christian values of fairness, justice and charity are ignored by Church leaders at their peril. The ordination of women has not prevented women from being brutalised in war zones. In fact we now constantly read about women being buried alive or raped and sold into slavery.

Meanwhile the Church in Wales continues on its downward spiral mirroring the fate of the Episcopal Church of the United States which the Archbishop tries to emulate and members of the Llandaff diocesan conference play snakes and ladders. A sad end to true Anglicanism in Wales.

Photo: Church in Wales

Read More

Numbed

St Davids Cathedral Pembrokeshire                                                                                                                        Source: BBC

If bishops are still supposed to be the focus of unity, disunity in the Church in Wales (CinW) is complete following the appointment of Canon Joanna Penberthy as the new bishop of St Davids, the first of the six diocese in the Province of Wales to have a woman 'bishop'.

St Davids is the site of the Holy shrine of St David who built his monastery on the Cathedral site c.589/601. Some 1400 years later faith counts for little in church politics which have more in common with congregationalism than the Holy Catholic Church when members believe that they know better than the Church fathers and Jesus Christ who set the Apostolic example for His church 2,000 years ago.

This politically motivated appointment completes Archbishop Barry Morgan's mission to turn the Anglican Church in Wales into another arm of nonconformity with shared 'bishops' and inter-communion. He can retire happy in the knowledge that he has dismantled the parish system in favour of ministry areas, seen the closure of of St Michael's Theological College in Llandaff and watched the relentless decline in Sunday attendance as he has pushed forward his liberal experiments based not on theology but on political correctness.

Those who have persevered with a Church that has done nothing for them other than take their money will be considering their position as no doubt will some Friends of St Davids but it would be a tragedy for St Davids if the Cathedral were to suffer as a consequence of this appointment.

The feelings of numbness and despair experienced when the CinW Governing Body decided to ordain women will have returned for many especially after watching Dr Morgan tell a BBC reporter that in a threefold ministry it would be wrong not to allow women to become bishops. That after assuring doubters that allowing women deacons did not mean that they would become priests and allowing women priests did not mean they would become bishops. The deceit of it all.

Postscript

Along with similar announcements the Church in Wales websiteannounced, "History was made today as the Church in Wales elected its first woman bishopdanquot;. Despite Archbishop Morgan's claim that Joanna Penberthy "wasn?T elected because she was a woman but because she was deemed to be the best person to be a bishopdanquot;, few will believe him. As fellow Welsh person Mandy Rice Davies famously said when Lord Astor denied an affair or having even met her, "Well he would [say that], wouldn't he?"

Abp Morgan said that she [Joanna Penberthy] "has considerable gifts ? She is an excellent preacher and communicator, can relate to all sections of the community, is a warm, charismatic, caring priest and someone who is full of joy". So she should as a bishop of the church but does "all sections of the communitydanquot; include 'traditionalists' or exclude them as the Bench has done? Also, as one commentator has put it, what about1 Timothy tiga? Not that the Archbishop bothers with the Bible unless he wishes to misquote it.

Which ever way one looks at it, this is another smack in the face for faithful male clergy to be told that "she is the best person to be a bishop". As suggested when he brought in his Ass Bishop ["the ordination of women will rid the world of homophobia, misogyny, brutalisation of women in all situations including those in war zones"] and the Archdeacon of Llandaff, none of the male clergy in Wales can match Abp Morgan's expectations. No wonder so many can't wait to see the back of him.

Read More

Major error: another shade of grey

John Major an Edwina Curry. She felt 'forgotten' when Major was premier.                 Source: BBC

Sir John Major, ex-Premier and holder of England's highest award for chivalry, The Most Noble Order of the Garter, is the latest has-been to be rolled out by the 'Remain' Campaign.

"Deceiving the public and verging on the squaliddanquot; sounds like an act of contrition for his four-year affair with former Conservative minister Edwina Currie when he was a whip in Mrs Thatcher's Government and she a backbencher.

Not a bit of it. He was attacking the Brexit campaign.

Pot calling the kettle black?

Postscript [06.06.2016]

Edwina Currie gives John Major reason to blush

Read More

Brexit: Facts Not Fear

A video by Toby Young Associate Editor of The Spectator.

Fear strengthens the resolve of the British people so listening to endless dire warnings against leaving the EU from the Prime Minister, Uncle Tom Cobley and all, it is not surprising that there is panic in the 'Remain' camp as Brexit voters show increasing determination not to be browbeaten into submission by guesswork.

The threat by George Osborne of a kecil budget as a Brexit punishment has caused even more problems for the Remainers with 57 of his own colleagues threatening to rebel and rising.

The Remain side's concentration on the economy is understandable because the forecasts are based on what has been fed in whereas Brexit voters prefer facts to fear.

Toby Young explains how the British people were deceived in 1975 when we were give a guarantee that no law could be imposed upon us without the consent of our elected representatives. We now slavishly legislate based on laws thought up by unelected European bureaucrats.

Sovereignty and immigration are foremost in the minds of Brexit voters in wanting UK independence restored so that we can vote out our law makers if they make a mess of things.

Toby's video explains how we will be even worse off if we remain after David Cameron's failed negotiations. As for immigration most of us simply have to look around us to see the effects of mass uncontrolled immigration. It can only get worse if we remain.

Read More

Another tent...

An attentive bishop of Bangor modelling interfaith relations           Source: Twitter@ChurchinWales

Another tent, this time at the Welsh National Eisteddfod, where there has been 'great discussion' on how Wales is modelling interfaith relations.

The Church in Wales is obsessed with interfaith relations, almost as much as it is obsessed with same-sex relations. The Archbishop of Wales, John Davies, has been awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of his services to the Church in Wales and of his 'leadership across faith communities' - that is, excluding orthodox Anglicans in their own ranks who continue to be ignored as if they no longer existed.

Islam denies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for the sins of mankind. The sort of faith that the Church in Wales is moving towards, ignoring biblical teaching as it promotes same sex relations giving the impression that such relationships are to  be welcomed as a blessing, a favoured minority to be honoured while orthodox Anglicans are treated with contempt.

Same sex relations should put the Church at odds with their Muslim brothers and sisters, not that the opinions of women count for much in Islam unlike the Church in Wales in which they are becoming dominant. The emphasis is on good relations regardless of theological differences. Getting along.

How jolly to be getting along in Wales while Christians and others abroad are being massacred for their faith. Just last week it was reported that at least 65 people lost their lives after suspected Boko Haram militants opened fire on a funeral in Nigeria's north-eastern state of Borno.

Did anyone in the tent even notice let alone condemn the atrocity.

There is much more.

From a recentBarnabas Fund report:

"An unprecedented humanitarian emergency is looming in the Sahel region of Africa following a surge in armed violence, warned UN aid agencies and NGOs in a report on 27 June. Around one million people fled their homes in the past year, bringing the total number of people displaced across the Sahel to 4.2 million, the report said. Displacement has increased five-fold in Burkina Faso and Niger, which have also recently seen a sharp rise in Islamist attacks against Christians."

Perhaps the scale of such reports is too daunting to comprehend and they happen far away.

They could, instead, have considered a single but not isolated incident. A ten-year-old Christian Pakistani boy who was working at a factory to care for his mother and two brothers. He was raped and tortured by his Muslim employers before he finally died on 10 July, 2019. His sin? He asked to be paid for the work he had done.

Many atrocities go unreported in the media but they can easily be found by Googling. Some links are provided in the right hand column of this blog.

I have not read of any condemnation of the highlighted atrocities from the world leaders who rushed  to support New Zealand’s Prime Minister when she condemned the reported Christchurch mosque shootings.

That is not to endorse the killing of Muslims but to deplore the double standards that allow the murder of Christians to go unreported while getting along with Muslims who, when they are the majority, expect all to conform under Sharia: convert, pay the jizya or die.

Getting along in Wales does nothing for the oppressed abroad while strengthening the hand in this country of a religious ideology that seeks to dominate others using deceit and jihad to advance their supremacist ideology.

Read More