The Governing Body of the Church in Wales

The cat is out of the bag! Today sees the publication of "Highlights of the Church in Wales Governing Body September 2011". Apart from the reference to 'the Church' in its leading article Equal opportunities for all in the Church and an obscure piece on page 4 headed ‘Worship’, the Report could be that of of a minority political party or Trade Union. What sets it apart is its priorities.

Relegating impending disaster to the back page, as predicted,gender balance, provides the lead theme with some interesting figures given that the ordination of women was supposed to reinvigorate the church and make it more relevant to society. Despite the gloomy outlook, the Governing Body heard “that change in the representation of women in the Church has taken place faster than expected and in a positive way”. Ironically Page 8 illustrates how, commensurate with the feminising of the church, it is having the opposite effect with the church heading for oblivion. Church attendance was reported to be falling rapidly with its associated financial difficulties.

Here is an extract:

“Sadly the Church plays scant regard to all the data it has. It does not give it the time or the resources it deserves if we are to properly form, measure and monitor our strategy making and policy forming.”

“So often in the Church we move from one half-baked initiative to another, often at great financial cost with little or no thought at measuring outcomes and the difference we make, and learning lessons for future strategy and work.”

“There is little good news in the Report. We have experienced an alarming rate of decline in average attendance, and that is clearly undermining our ability to perform financially particularly at a parish level. The difficulty in maintaining large buildings and making the

books balance remains. Large numbers of parishes are having to dip into diminishing reserves to make ends meet.”

If the official report is alarming enough, unofficial reports reaching me are worse. In September 2008 the Church in Wales issued a Press Release which began: “The Bishops of the Church in Wales today promised to provide continuing care for those opposed to the ordination of women, following a decision not to appoint a new assistant bishop. They stressed there was still a place in the church for those unable in conscience to accept the ordination of women and emphasised their commitment to sensitive pastoral care for all people and parishes in each diocese.”

The cat jumped out of the bag when a woman vicar suggested that candidates for ordination must be refused if they do not support women's ordination. Such is his 'commitment to sensitive pastoral care’ that His Darkness conveniently forgot it and remained silent other than to announce that discussions would take place in the GB next year, leading to legislation being prepared for a vote to make it possible for women to be bishops. This announcement came as much of a surprise to his fellow Bishops as it did to everyone else, confirming Bazzer's conviction that the assembly exists merely as a rubber stamp. So much for Equal Opportunities for all in the Church. It should have read Equal Opportunities for all in the Church who agree with the Archbishop.

Leaving aside the ‘pastoral care’ aspect, another Press Release issued prior to last week’s meeting (now confirmed in the report) provides some interesting financial figures: “On average, church members last year gave £7.79 each Sunday – an increase of 1.8% on the previous year. This represents 2.5% of the average Welsh gross weekly adult income. However, with fewer people going to church the total increase from direct giving continues to fall.”

So for many traditionalists, what Equality of Opportunity in the church amounts to is a willingness to contribute considerably more than £7.79 each Sunday as an act of faith with no Episcopal support or understanding, thus subsidising not only the people who oppose them but the Theological College that trains women to peddle their feminist agendas. By comparison in the Church of England Archbishop Rowan demonstrates his commitment to continuing care for those opposed to the ordination of women. Now those in Wales adhering to the traditional faith can only pray for a successful outcome when their Ordinariate Exploration Group meets on 5th November. Please pray with them.

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The plain truth

?I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me?Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father?And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." John 10: 14-16

Two thousand years later, 'Anglican women clergy are to rally in Westminster later at a march supporting plans to introduce women bishops' - BBC News - the culmination, they hope, of their campaign of self interest. Never mind the torment, the acrimony, the divisions; even the evidence. Nothing matters more than achieving the feminist goal of women bishops.

Writing for Ekklesia in favour of the move with customary secular feminist fervour, Savi Hensman makes an excellent case for its rejection. It is so far removed from the voice of Jesus that her plea would be laughable were in not so serious, particularly for women and men who see their church being stolen from them for political ends.

I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

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Feminists of faith

 The Ministry of the Sacrament shall be covered with a fair white linen cloth

- subject to LGBT limitations?

In November 2012 the Evening Standard published a piece "God girls: who'll be the first female bishop?" The author wrote: "One of the first problems facing the new Archbishop of Canterbury is how to end the battle in the Church over women bishops. In the ultimate boys’ club, feminists of faith long to see a woman wearing a mitre". She went on to list the four top contenders as the Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Rev Lucy Winkett, Rev Jane Hedges and in fourth place, "Canon Rosie Harper, vicar of Great Missenden and Chaplain to the Bishop of Buckingham, opera-lover". She continued. "Harper is media-savvy, writing for the Guardian and tweeting regularly. On the issue of female bishops, she has said that women are 'spoken about as the problem and not really valued for what they contribute' ".

That is not surprising given the dishonesty with which she and other campaigners, particularly members of Women and the Church (WATCH),  misrepresent their opponents as 'men who are afraid of women' ignoring the fact that significant numbers of women bitterly regret what these campaigners have done to the Church.

Canon Rosie Harper at York General Synod in 2012

Guardian Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA Canon Harper explained her attitude to those who disagree with her in a piece in the Guardian in February 2012: "In Buckinghamshire, where I live, the sort of folk who feel they need protecting from women are only 3% of all churchgoers. ... the synod patched together a dirty little compromise which gave the anti-women brigade a ghetto clause [my emphasis - Ed]. If she were to look at the Anglican Communion worldwide she would find that her views are in the minority but that hinders ambition.

The suggestion that opponents to their scheming are afraid of women continues on Twitter:

This must be great fun for feminists who have no regard for the feelings of ordinary women and men whose faith rises above false claims of inequality. But do people who are taken in by these false claims fully understand the liberal agenda in which they have become pawns? Cranmer has taken Canon Harper to task for her attitude to assisted dying (here), a position which is contrary to the view of the Church. He wrote: "His Grace tweeted about this yesterday, because he found the final paragraph astonishing in its starkness and cruelty. Here is a Canon of the Established Church telling Peers of the Realm that should they oppose Lord Falconer's Bill, they are 'requiring people to suffer extreme agony', and so voting in a manner which is neither moral nor Christian."

With scant regard for synodical governance, the Ten Commandments or anything which stands in their way it was no surprise that Canon Harper was the chosen one to preach at the recentordinations in the Diocese of Llandaff where Barry their bishop is busy ensuring that his Governing Body is eased towards assisted dying and same-sex marriage using the same process which saw the realisation of his ambition to see women consecrated as bishops in the Church in Wales before he returns to his nonconformist roots as senior bishop in the Uniting Church in Wales.

In her Guardian piece Rosie Harper wrote "Out in the normal world, Christians around the country have voted loud and clear for female bishops. Full stop. But in the Hogwarts world of synod it feels more precariousdanquot;. So what is "the normal world" today and what does it hold for the Church? In Great Britain most Anglicans are nominal Christians who have been conned into believing that scripture and tradition must reflect society, misusing 'equality' as their byword.

In the  Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland where nearly half the church's clergy are women, so called "equality" now reigns. The majority of their pastors are more tolerant to same-sex unions than the General Synod. From the Helsinki Times: "A survey conducted by the Academic Church Professionals shows that as many as 60 per cent of pastors believe they should be able to bless the union of same-sex couples living in a registered partnership.The survey also shows that in this respect female pastors are more tolerant than their male colleagues, with nearly three in four prepared to bless the union of same-sex couples."

"Feminists of faith" are changing the Church for their own ends. In doing so they demean true women of faith and wound the Body of Christ. Where is the equality in that?  Next -Judith of Nazareth.

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Easter message

The bishops of the Church in Wales,                                                                                                                                                             Source: Church in Wales

The first of the Church in Wales bench of bishops to issue her Easter message was ?Joanna. Her opening paragraph was straight out of the feminists handbook:

"Women, weeping and numb,  came to the tomb determined to do the last thing they could for the teacher and Rabbi they loved and revered and in whom they had put their hope for renewal and change, justice and hope."

The women did what women did. That was that. A completely different interpretation to Joanna's from a Catholic woman's point of view can be read on the Les Femmes - The Truth blog here.

Jesus did what He did, not what feminists today think He should have done for renewal and change, justice and hope.

The Easter messages from June and Gregory suggest that the other half of the bench will have nothing better to offer the spiritually assassinated. Those poor souls robbed of the very core of their being. Women who have given a lifetime of service to the church only to find that the renewal, change, justice and hope spoken of by Joanna is not for them. It is for those who regard the Resurrection is an opportunity for political advancement.

Update

At last, bishop Andy's Easter message puts Christ firmly at the centre with no frills, no modern comparisons, no do-gooders.  Very well done.

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Faull of Bristol

Source: Twitter @ChristianToday/Diocese of Bristol

We have to expect women to be appointed to the episcopate after General Synod voted in favour of the innovation but the Church of England has not voted in favour of same sex blessings - yet.

That is no impediment to Vivienne Faull, the current Dean of York, who is to be the new bishop of Bristol.

Christian Today reports Faull had said she would have no problem theologically with blessing a gay relationship and condemned the Church for 'driving people away' with its stance on sexuality. She  had 'found ways' of celebrating civil partnerships without flouting the Church of England's legislation.

In the typically duplicitous manner used by feminists she said, "I look forward to leading a church that shows the love of Christ to everyone, whoever they are" as though the church lacks love if same sex marriage is not accepted.

There is little love shown to traditionalists but that doesn't bother them at all. The feminist lobby and their liberal supporterschip away  at the agreement which made it possible for women to be appointed bishops. In Wales of course devout Anglican women and men have been left with nothing with no concern whatsoever for the unchurched.

Also reported in Christian Today: "LGBT people should be encouraged into church leadership, clergy told". In a letter praising 'the great contribution that LGBT+ Christians are making', four bishops in Lichfield are urging clergy to take a different approach to welcoming gay people.

There is no shortage of gay people in the church and plenty of gay clergy. There is no problem welcoming gay people. It is all part of the strategy to move towards the acceptance of same sex marriage in church.

As if to make a plug for same sex blessings, a strong supporter of gay marriage, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the US Episcopal Church has been invited to preach at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding on Saturday.

As with the ordination of women, same sex marriage will be pursued at all levels in the Church of England until it is accepted. Supporters will again claim that victory is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Pull the other one.

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In good faith and bad

A row has broken out in the diocese of Oxford because, horror of horrors, an advert for a new vicar at St Barnabas and St Paul with St Thomas the Martyr Parish specifies that it is seeking a male priest.

This is entirely within the rules adopted when the Church of England agreed to ordain women but of course rules are there to be broken now that feminists in the Church have what they always wanted - control.

According to an Oxford Mail report the advert provoked outrage in the community with one councillor 'slamming the church' for being 'too cowardly' to confront misogyny, presumably unaware that many women are more opposed to the ordination of women than are men and are suffering the consequences of effectively being excommunicated, a matter of complete indifference to the type of women who are calling the shots in the Church.

Showing her apparent ignorance of the workings of the Church, Labour city councillor for West Oxford Susanna Pressel said she was 'shocked and appalled' and asked: "What century are they living in?" She went on: ?They have several excellent women church wardens who do most of the work. It?S profoundly insulting to regard them as not good enough to be paid for what they do. It?S such a pity that the government has exempted churches from the legislation that enforces equal opportunities in every other organisation of any size.

?The Church of England has the power to prescribe equal opportunities within their churches, but they are too cowardly to confront these dinosaurs and to challenge their misogyny."

It is not clear whether Cllr Pressel ever darkens the door step of a church other than perhaps in connection with her civic duties but in any event her understanding of the roles of vicar and churchwardens appear to be strictly limited.

Her support on the other hand for the 20th anniversary of the Oxford International Women’s Festival may explain her outrage. The theme was 'Pioneering and Inspirational' women.

Following on from the outrageous protests at the appointment of the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev Philip North, to become Bishop of Sheffield, this is yet another case of feminists bashing the church regardless of the facts and agreed procedures.

It was no surprise to read, therefore, that Emma Percy, chair of  the feminist pressure group Women and the Church (WATCH) said that she would like the church to be in a place where ‘people don’t worry about or have to specify the gender of their priest’ although she was kind enough to stress that she ‘respected’ the parish’s decision.

In England and in Wales women cried, begged and cajoled, promising to abide by agreements made but the ink was hardly dry before the wrecking began.

It is interesting to read in hindsight a WATCHpaper written by the then canon F A Jackson, now archdeacon of Llandaff having been imported by the former archbishop of Wales to drive forward his secularisation of the Church in Wales.

The intention is clear. Despite claims to the contrary, there is no room for traditional Anglicanism in today's church. This from a woman who was welcomed by the Anglican church at a difficult time in her life only to do her damndest to punish men and women who do not share her self-centred approach to Anglicanism. In doing so the spiritual lives of many who were faithful Anglicans long before Jackson took to religion have been ruined.

One of the brightest stars in the Church in Wales, a traditionalist Anglican who towered above the bench, was told ?There is no place for you in this church?. By contrast one of the many men he inspired to become ordained has risen to the top having bowed to Barry Morgan's secularist agenda.

Traditional Anglicans in the Church of England have, for the time being, access to alternative  episcopal oversight, something denied Anglicans in Wales where a 'brood of vipers' pretended to care but clearly did not.

The Code of Practice claimed "The Church in Wales therefore remains committed to enabling all its members to flourish within its life and structures as accepted and valued".  They reneged on the agreement to provide acceptable pastoral and sacramental oversight for traditionalists by refusing to re-appoint a Provincial Assistant Bishop and have forbidden other bishops to cross the border to support them.

Consequently Anglo Catholicism in Wales has been virtually eliminated. If by some miracle there were a change of heart there is hardly anything left of the Anglican church itself as it crumbles into obscurity leaving the architects of its demise to sit out their retirement on their un-earned pensions.

The media along with ill-informed outsiders continue to use secular values to attack Christianity from a position of ignorance while protecting political ideologies which would bridle free speech. For Christians and Anglicans in particular the outlook is grim.

Many were surprised at the choice of words used by the former Archbishop of Canterbury in reaction to the lost vote in 2012. In a speech to the General Synod he said, "The failure of the vote in the house of laity...Had made the church's governing body appear "wilfully blinddanquot; to the priorities of secular society before adding that "the ultimate credibility of the Church does not depend on the goodwill of the wider public. We would not be Christian believers in divine revelation if we held that."

The Church of England, as represented by those in authority, is no longer blind to the priorities of secular society. Hence the mess we are in which is clear for all to see except the wilfully, spiritually blind.

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Pilgrimage

Source: Fr Michael Fisher, New Directions

In the October issue of Forward in Faith's magazine,New Directions Fr Michael Fisher pays homage at the windswept chapel of St Non in Pembrokeshire - 'In the steps of pilgrims'.

Pilgrimage is a hot topic in the Church in Wales, particularly in Llandaff where Bishop June has decided that the Llandaff Clergy School in 2019 will take the form of a no expenses sparedpilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain.

Perhaps +June was unaware that much closer to homeSt Davids Cathedral has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. In the twelfth century Pope Calixtus II declared that the shrine was so important that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome and three were equivalent to one to Jerusalem.

The extract from Michael Fisher's article illustrates the harsh reality for traditionalist pilgrims in Wales. Given the increasing number of women clergy the chances are that pilgrims who are unable on grounds of conscience to receive the sacramental ministry of women will be denied the opportunity of receiving Holy Communion when visiting St Davids Cathedral.

Elevating secular issues above theology, Joanna Penberthy has said she finds ithard to take that a group of people see women as "that different". Either she has no grasp of the issues involved or she simply lacks any sense of charity by ignoring them.

If, as a bishop, she thinks it is hard for her she  should spare a thought for those in her care who are suffering the results of feminist ambitions in the Church in Wales. Faithful women and men, often cradle Anglicans, have been left with absolutely nothing after years of Anglican devotion.

As bishop-elect of St Davids, Joanna Penberthycommented:

 "As someone who in the early years was at the receiving end of prejudice and discrimination, I have absolutely no intention of dishing that out so I think it's important that everybody feels free to be honest about their opinions and about their misgivings."

When challenged Joanna was forced to admit that the alleged discrimination amounted to nothing more than a difference of opinion. Whether she has a short memory or has had a change of heart, the evident misandry in her attack on faithful, elderly male clergy under her care illustrates the 'couldn't care less unless you are one of us' attitude of the bench of bishops and many of the newly ordained clergy, echoing the infamous claim ?There is no place for you in this church?.

If Joanna Penberthy is, as archbishop Barry Morgan claimed, "the best person to be a bishop" that doesn't say much of the rest of the bench. By their fruits you will know them!

The bench of bishops appear to be completely ignorant of the fact that within a generation there will be no Church in Wales for anyone to find a place in according to expert opinionhere which confirms a conclusion reached back in 2015here.

Doubters among the few remaining Anglicans who still regularly attend diminishing services should look around at the aging faces with no young families to provide future congregations for the new merk of clergy who committed to change, usually for their own benefit.

Whether they see it or not, former bishops have been heard to say that the Church in Wales is finished.

A sad end for faithful pilgrims.

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Hurt

The obvious hurt expressed inthis interview by a lifetime Labour supporter whose conscience told him that his Party no longer represented the traditional values he stood for reminds me of the breakup of the Anglican Communion.

The response of the extreme Left which now dominates the Labour Party was to claim that Ian Austin was ?Employed by the Tories?.

This is reminiscent of the takeover of the Anglican Church by trendy, Left leaning bishops and their feminist allies. If more people had had the guts to speak out for Anglicanism we may have been saved from the actions of mean spirited bishops who ignore scripture and tradition and have no regard for anyone who gets hurt.

The contagion is spreading to Rome. Fortunately some have the guts to speak out whilePope Francis denounces Amazon Synod critics as racist!

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