"Archbishop Barry Morgan throws his mitre into the ring for Canterbury appointment."

The news in the Telegraph that Twitter users are "invited to help choose the new Archbishop of Canterbury" has already produced this interesting response from an alert member of the Church in Wales where their Archbishop has long since been keen to advance his Arch-Liberal credentials:

Timothy William Ivor Thomas reports a conversation recently overheard at Eglwys Dewi Sant, Cardiff. A friend of the assistant bishop has it on very good authority from a personage close to the archbishop?S press office that His Grace intends to make two controversial announcements in his presidential address at next month?S Governing Body meeting. (The same credible source was responsible for the story about His Grace?S desperate but alas, unsuccessful, attempt to persuade the Occupy Cardiff protest to set up camp in his cathedral.)

His Grace intends to put the considerable weight of his Bench of Bishops behind support for gay marriage. All Welsh churches are to be made available for gay marriage ceremonies. So as not to be seen as introducing this measure by the back door, the Bench has already drawn up a gay marriage service for Wales.

David Cameron?S cousin, Bishop Gregory, has hinted that if His Grace is seen by the Prime Minister to be actively promoting in Wales Conservative Big Society policy, his reward may come in a well-placed nomination for a certain job going in Canterbury at the end of the year. That will clear the path for Gregory?S translation to head bishop in Wales. However, not to miss out on a sniff of promotion to the top job in Wales, John Swansea and Brecon

has been doing his bit to champion gay marriage in Wales. ?I can?T see what the all the fuss is about,? Commented Bishop John. He continued, ?A careful reading of scripture clearly shows that Jesus supported gay marriage. In fact his water into wine stunt was actually performed at a gay wedding. If you look at the text in the original Greek, it doesn?T say ?Bride and groom?, but rather ?Bridey and Groom?. Bridey is a clear reference to the far distant relative of Lord Brideshead. Groom was an ancestor of Simon Groom of Blue Peter fame. So Jesus was at the wedding of two chaps Bridey and Groom. What?S the dilema? If Jesus is OK with gay marriage, then so am I.?

Secondly His Grace will introduce the idea of lay presidency in Wales. The recent Harries Commission has noted that across the whole of Wales on average only about 30 people attend each church for about an hour on each Sunday. That means in a given week for six days and twenty-three hours the buildings are empty. Lord Harries noted, "The concept of the priesthood is not founded on Biblical tradition. The New Testament describes the role of the bishop and deacon, but nowhere does it mention priests. So do we really need them now? When the church is strapped for cash we must ask whether we can justify employing someone in the role of priest for one hour per week to behave like a Tesco?S check out girl dispensing the ?Lucky Jesus wafers?? We have to ask ourselves whether all this couldn?T be done by someone from the laity.? The archbishop hopes that by making lay presidency appointments in the parishes it will free up more opportunities for his priests to sit on a number of new diocesan and provincial commissions which will look at why fewer people are attending church these days.

Further support for Archbishop Barry?S campaign to move to Lambeth Palace has come from Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. Continuing the ?Kaleidoscope country? Theme he developed in his loyal address to the Queen as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Speaker Bercow said, ?Barry Morgan is a kaleidoscope archbishop of a kaleidoscope church in a kaleidoscope country. His kaleidoscope credentials are inclusively impeccable, and he would be the ideal candidate to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury. I look forward to welcoming him to the palace of Westminster when he takes his seat in the House of Lords.?

Read More

Another jolly!

Bishops of Llandaff and St Davids with their mentor Katharine Jefferts Schori            Source: Twitter

There is news on the grapevine that June's jollies are more extensive than previously recorded, most recently accompanying the bishop of St Davids to the US.

Presumably they met up with their mentor, the former 'heretical mentor' to Barry Morgan, Katharine Jefferts Schori. She preceded Michael Curry as presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church (TEC) which has taken the lead in secularising Anglicanism. That explained her popularity with Barry and his bench sitters in Wales and the deference shown by the current Archbishop of Canterbury to Michael Curry.

Throwing away the best opportunity ever presented for taking forward the Great Commission, Justin Welby proposed presiding bishop Curry to preach at the Royal wedding, offering one of the foremost advocates of same sex marriage a platform to speak to around 2 billion people around the world in the knowledge that he favoured policies contrary to those of the Church of England. *

Readers may wonder why reputedly able women need mentoring after Barry Morgan confidently proclaimed without qualification that Joanna Penberthy was the best person to be a bishop. Presumably June was at least second best.

The purpose of the US visit is not entirely clear but I would be surprised if Joanna and June were not entertained by their episcopal, feminist counterparts. TEC has been in the lead in promoting same sex marriage and penalising anyone who is unable in conscience to accept TEC's liberal policies.

Consider just one example of many. A letter written to a local newspaper by a disillusioned correspondent in 2013. He was "saddened and appalled" by the "vindictive and mean-spirited language" Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori used in her "ugly" sermon:

"Alluding to Bishop Mark Lawrence as a 'tyrant' and comparing him to 'citizens' militias deciding to patrol ... the Mexican border for unwelcome visitors' was unconscionable. And to say, 'It's not terribly far from the state of mind evidenced in school shootings, or in those who want to arm school children, or the terrorism that takes oil workers hostage,' was despicable. That any Christian, much less a presiding bishop, would use such invective and incendiary words says more about the speaker than the person she is attempting to vilify.

"However, she is the same person who has spent over $22 million [currently estimated to be around $50 million - Ed.] to sue churches over their property, who refused to sell a church back to its congregation and instead sold it to a Muslim organization, and who sued beloved, retired bishops because they challenged her authority. It is not surprising that the fruits of Bishop Jefferts Schori's leadership of TEC are a significant decline in members, controversy and confrontation with the majority of the Anglican Communion, and financial problems resulting in the need to sell prized land in Manhattan."

Although the reason for the latest jolly is unclear, the similarities between TEC policies and those favoured by the bench are plain to see raising the suspicion that 'More of the same - but faster' promised by the new archbishop of Wales will see the jolly feminist pair taking the lead on further liberalisation given their secularcredentials.

That will be more women clergy in the drive for parity regardless of suitability and more LGBTQI initiatives leading eventually to same sex marriage given the enthusiasm of the bench for the change.

What a catastrophe for the Church in Wales these politically motivated appointments have been.

Postscript [03.06.2018]

* Reported in the Mirror:

Meghan and Harry's preacher Bishop Michael Curry destined for Britain's Got Talent final after THAT impassioned royal wedding sermon.

The American bishop will deliver a special message for the remaining contestants as they prepare for the performance of their lives.

The "most watched show on TV" provides yet another platform for the presiding bishop of TEC, thanks to Archbishop Justin Welby. Curry sounds good but he has a distorted, permissive view of God's "almighty hands of lovedanquot; that allows people to pick and choose what to believe leading them astray, as did his predecessor.

Well done Welby!

Read More

Stephen Cottrell: A bit of an oik from Essex?

The Archbishop of Canterbury with Archbishop of York Designate Stephen Cottrell,  Source: CofE

A bit of an 'oik from Essex' has been nominated as the new Archbishop of York in succession to Dr John Sentamu. Not my description but Stephen Cottrell's description of himself in a Sheffield Diocesan Development Day lecture in 2011.

A gifted communicator, his appointment is understandable given the liberal direction of the Church of England. He had been widely tipped to succeed Richard Chartres as Bishop of London but lost out to former head nurse Dame Sarah Mullally.

A critic of the church for its 'shortcomings' in promoting BAME clergy into senior positions and a supporter of the ordination of women who looks forward to seeing a female archbishop of Canterbury, he can count himself lucky that he has not found himself sidelined like other men, a victim of his own political correctness.

Asked by the Guardian about the issue of same-sex relationships which has "divided the church for more than 20 yearsdanquot;, he said there was ?Absolutely no place for homophobia in our church, and absolutely everyone, regardless of their sexuality, is welcome in our church?.

Christian Concern tweeted differently: "@CottrellStephen has previously shown he has no respect for Biblical truth on human sexuality and marriage."

Cottrell's appointment has caused some controversy, so much so that a spokesperson for the Church of England has issued aStatement on the Archbishop of York designate, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell denying accusations made against him by "a pressure group". He was said to have told clergy that 'if they disagree with the approach the Diocese is taking on matters of human sexuality' they should follow their consciences and leave.

The implication in the statement is that 30 clergy are lying or mistaken.

In June 2019 gafcon uk issued a statement by representatives of conservative evangelical clergy from the Diocese of Chelmsford confirming that ?We are used to being told that we don?T belong?.

Christian Today reports the same issues with claims and counter claims in an article "Stephen Cottrell's appointment as Archbishop of York exposes divisions in the Church of England":  One thing is sure Stephen Cottrell's liberal views offend many orthodox Anglicans who have been left out in the cold by a self-styled inclusive church.

Liberal Bishop Becomes Archbishop of York, No. 2 in Church of England was the headline in the New York Times: "Cottrell has been outspoken in his support for women clergy and has said everyone is welcome in the Church regardless of their sexuality."

Commenting on Bishop Stephen Cottrell's Presidential Address to Diocesan Synod on Saturday 11 March 2017,Andrew Symes of Anglican Mainstream wrote that Cotterell has given "one of the clearest indications yet of the next stage of major change in the Church of England’s approach to sexual ethics" after he called for “prayers of thanksgiving” for same sex relationships.

Ironically Stephen Cottrell replaced the openly gay priest Jeffrey John as bishop of Reading in 2004 after John was pressured to step down by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

One can only speculate on the trajectory of Cottrell's career had Jeffrey John not been persuaded to step down as bishop of Reading but Jeffrey John must have been feeling particularly sick on reading of Cottrell's elevation. More able than many Dr John has played by the rules while lesser clergy have flaunted them. Had he defended the Church's traditional teaching on marriage he would have gained wider support.

By teaming a new, liberal Archbishop of York with an ineffectual Archbishop of Canterbury the Church of England looks destined to stray even further from biblical truth with a further exodus of disaffected Anglicans.

In conclusion, a quote from The Spectator in an articleThe slow, strange race to be the next Bishop of London by Ysenda Maxtone Graham, author of The Church Hesitant:

"But my money (and other people?S, too) would be on Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford. He was state-educated in Leigh-on-Sea, so can be ?A bit cor-blimey?, as some have said to me. It?S true that his recent talk in the cathedral to his clergy included the phrases ?Who gives a toss??, ?Flush down the toilet? And ?What the bloody hell?? But he grows on you. He?S a scintillating public communicator, straddles both the Evangelical and the Anglo-Catholic traditions, is self-deprecating, funny, articulate and imaginative. If he?S chosen, we?Ll just have to blot out the Chartres voice from our memory: no point in comparing them."

Also mentioned in Ysenda's article is 'the once-tipped June Osborne' who seemed to have been 'shunted into sidings as cathedral dean and may well go no further'.

She did. Swept up by the Church in Wales, again at Jeffrey John's expense.

At least, in Cottrell terms, Dr John is "welcome in our church" which is more than many Anglicans can say.

Postscript [23.12.2019]

From Church Times:

"Bishop Cottrell had 'spoken out — when many others have been silent — about the need for the Church to respect and honour the LGBT+ community'." - Jayne Ozanne, a member of the General Synod and a prominent LGBT campaigner.

"He’s a great teacher and communicator of the faith, he’s rooted in Catholic spirituality, he speaks his mind, and he’s a voice for LGBT inclusion." - Revd Dr Johanna Kershaw, Associate Priest of Outwood, Stanley, and Wrenthorpe, in Wakefield.

Read More