Silencing the lambs

Source: Infowars

The Facing Islam Blog reports that Google is enforcing Sharia Law by blocking ads containing the keyword 'jihadwatch'.

From Infowars in 2015: After I made a video in which I explained that executing gay people and stoning women to death was a bad thing, and that this may indicate Islam is not a very ?Peaceful? Religion, someone on Facebook reported me to the police for committing a hate crime.

?You do realize that spreading hate is illegal in the UK?.I?Ve reported you stupidity to facebook, the police, and several online hate crime organizations. Best of luck in the future ya tool,? Wrote the individual.

On a more trivial level but equally important in terms of free speech Gavin Ashenden recently reported the latest muzzle being used by modern liberals is Twitter blocking:  "I just love it that you can block people on twitter. What a joy.  'Bigotry'- block. 'Hatred' -block. 'Stupidity-block.  'Ad-hominem'-block!!"

With their feet firmly under the table, conditioning minds with their political correctness and twisted views on equality progressive liberals are having a field day. The devoutly Christian tennis legend Margaret Court, who takes a conservative view on gay marriage, has been denied renewal of her local club membership in Australia.

One would think that same sex relationships are the natural order, that there is something really rather quaint in the belief that marriage is the natural union of men and women for the procreation of children. There is nothing natural about a transgender male giving birth to a child from the womb she was born with even if she does believe she is a man. The liberal buzz word is 'love' which 'normalizes' everything

When it comes to 'equality' there can be little more bizarre than when a "senior Anglican academic" calls on the Church of England not to appoint any 'traditionalists' – those opposed to women priests – until a third of all bishops are women. Warning the Church is damaging 'its public witness and Christian credibility' by promoting those who oppose female ordination, Prof Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, says the CofE 'needs to embrace equality unequivocally'. I wonder how he would feel if his position had been part of a quota system with parity the first consideration.

Percy's church is not the Body of Christ. It is one of many parts, barely a toenail. Even in Anglicanism it is barely a toe yet insidious liberalism has so infected Anglicanism that the progressives would have people believe that they represent Christian thinking. They do not. They are on the margins but they have succeeded in marginalising traditional Christian faith and values while turning the Church of England, and the Church in Wales, into secular institutions to further political causes such feminism and LGBTQ .

To comment contrary to progressive liberal values is portrayed as hate which must be suppressed. The irony is that hating hate has become more hateful than hate itself so the lambs are silenced while the wolves are left to rampage.

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New Bishop of Llandaff to be elected

Mesdames Gould, Wigley, Wolf, Jackson and Ford in Llandaff Cathedral      Photo: Church in Wales

Possibly in the mix, the three clerics without a mitre, Gould, Wigley and Jackson, hoping for another possible 'historic' appointment.

In the photograph the three Llandaff hopefuls were helping to 'make history' in an expensivestunt which saw bishop Geralyn Wolf flown in from the US to be the first woman Anglican bishop to lead a service in Llandaff Cathedral.

Of the three eligible wimmin, the cleric in trousers must have the edge. The Jackson/Wigley duo are well past their sell by date having already caused enough damage to the Church with their scheming to outlaw faithful Anglicans. Added to which, whenever the name of Peggy 'the pilot' has been mentioned as being in line for a mitre there have been gasps of horror at the thought. And rightly so. If disunity were the criterion she should be home and dry.

Tambourine cleric Canon Wigley has done herself no favours either. Celebrating 20yrs of women in the priesthood she danced down the main aisle of Llandaff Cathedral with Peggy the pilot before telling a BBC interviewer that she"looked forward to the day when there were no more minds to be changed about the acceptance of women priests" revealing a complete lack of understanding of the theological position, not only of members in her own Church but in the Anglican Communion and beyond.

All three were part of  Archbishop Barry Morgan's inner circle. The Rev Jan Gould BEM has been in evidence working in the moredeprived areas of the diocese while the Jackson/Wigley duo have been politicking from more affluent areas. Married to the Rev Dr Peter Sedgwick, a former Head of St Michael's Theological College (now defunct) and Chairman of the Church in Wales Doctrinal Commission, Jan Gould appears to be better placed than many.

Apart from this trio, a former diplomat, the Revd Canon Dr Sarah Rowland Jones LVO OBE OStJ, Vicar of St John's in central Cardiff has been hotly tipped. She hosted the recent 'Light for Our Darkness' Sunday Worship service for BBC Radio 4 at which the former Archbishop preached. His address was to beshot down yet again for using his own interpretation of the Bible.

Any male candidate, including those poor souls who eagerly helped their former Archbishop to realise his political ambitions, can dream on. Reports suggest that many in Llandaff Cathedral are dreading the thought of a woman bishop. Others regard it as a well deserved penance. After the travesty of the St Davids stitch-up anything is possible bar rationalising the bloated bureaucracy that the bench has become.

In the press release announcing the election it was stated that "the new bishop will be the 72nd Bishop of Llandaff, a diocese which serves nearly half the population of Wales as it includes most of Cardiff, the South Wales Valleys and the Vale of Glamorgandanquot;.

So, there are five diocesan bishops covering about half the population of Wales while one bishop covered the other half in addition to his duties as Archbishop. He also found time to to act as Dean of Llandaff for a spell when his appointee quit after nine weeks in post. Perhaps realising he had made a serious error of judgement Dr Morgan asked Archdeacon Peggy to pilot things for him. Llandaff Cathedral has gone down hill ever since with financial problems and factional fighting leading to disunity.

The Church in Wales was assessed as 'cumbersome and top-heavy' five years ago in the Church in WalesReview. The parish system has gone, replaced by ministry areas with lay leaders while most of the worshippers have gone. Only the bishops carry on regardless. They and their comfortable livings appear immune.

Recommendation XXV:

The recommendations XXII, XXIII and XXIV should be reviewed

after three years and a judgement made about whether the

Church in Wales is best served by six dioceses with three

administrative centres or whether it would be more effective to

reduce to three dioceses, together with four area bishops.

The Review was presented to the Governing Body in 2012. Five years later, barring a miracle, the non-Welsh speaking, liturgical dancing feminist and supporter of Changing Attitude is to be enthroned as the 129th bishop of St Davids following a line of bishops stretching back to the Patron Saint of Wales, Dewi Sant, the first bishop in the 6th century. The bishop of Llandaff is to be elected this month and next February the bishop of Swansea and Brecon could retire creating a third vacancy.

Given the imbalance between Llandaff and the rest, one has to wonder what the bishops of the Church in Wales do all day. Taking account of the relevant populations, population density and church attendance, the Province of Wales is similar in size to the Diocese of Oxford. But the bishops in the Diocese of Oxford care for almost twice as many regular worshippers than the Welsh diocesans without their assistants.

Of course Llandaff already has an Ass bishop who was appointed to help out because the Archbishop was busy with his political ambitions. My understanding of his possible elevation is once bitten, twice shy. Unless a male candidate who is the next "best person to be a bishop" emerges, a second female bishop is set to be appointed. Swansea and Brecon will provide parity on the bench

MAE Cymru will continue to demand parity at all levels until they achieve dominance. It is no longer be jobs for the boys but jobs for the girls. That is while there are enough worshippers left in the Church in Wales to care for.

MAECymru                                                                         Source: Church in Wales

The 'Result' [23.02.2017]

After three days of deliberations, the Bishop-elect of Llandaff is.................. No result. "Statement to followdanquot;. Https://twitter.Com/ChurchinWales

Church in Wales Statement here

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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!

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Holiness lost in the Church in Wales

Ven Cherry Vann, bishop elect of Monmouth                                               Source: Church in Wales

In the run up to the Electoral College charged with electing the 11th Bishop of Monmouth the President of the College, Archbishop John Davies, gave an account of the qualities required of the successful candidate. If I recall correctly it implied an element of holiness based on biblical guidance of the qualities needed to be a bishop.

I can no longer find the link, only "Page or file not founddanquot;. No doubt it has been taken down to avoid embarrassing comparisons based on this reaction in conversation with others from an internationally respected commentator on Church affairs to the election of the "first partnered lesbian bishopdanquot;, that we know of, in the UK:

"Merit and holiness has nothing to do with the election of bishops in the Church in Wales. This is a political process. There are 23 clergy electors in the electoral synod. All but 7 are bishops, archdeacons and deans and you need to have a two-thirds vote so what this means is that the establishment by the way they pack the Electoral College is able to select those people whom they wish to put forward as bishop? Barry Morgan the former archbishop has been pushing for this outcome. Pushing for women clergy, pushing for women bishops, pushing for the normalisation of homosexuality.

"Members of the Archbishop's Council tell me that Archdeacon Vann is a complete nonentity, not as a person but in her role in the substantive debates within the Archbishop's Council. In other words she is not someone who has ideas, is a mover or a shaker, who people when we come to an issue, they look at her and think: What does she have to say? She is just another grey face at a long grey table. She is a committee person, she sits on the dais at General Synod and in 10 years has made no meaningful contribution whatsoever.

?Within the diocese where she is archdeacon she has made life miserable for conservative evangelicals, I'm told, through a passive, aggressive approach to things. In other words she is not a warrior for this cause, she is just an apparatchik. And so now we have another mediocrity who has a good CV of positions but no actual real holiness or merit or intellect or heft?

"The option taken by the Church in Wales is effectively to say the gay issue does not matter to us. We are not going to go through the perambulations that the Church of England has gone through. We are just saying this is who she is, like it or lump it."

All the more surprising therefore to see so much acclamation on Twitter although much of it had more to do with feminism, gender equality and parity than holiness. I also read a congratulatory tweet from the gay activist Sandi Toksvig but as in the case of the Archbishop's letter I can no longer find the tweet as if there were something to hide.

Cherry Vann is a member of the Church of England's Pastoral Advisory Group considering matters such as ‘Next Steps in Human Sexuality’ (GS Misc 1158). She is also a Trustee of the Ozanne Foundation.

The Bishops of the Church in Wales agreed the following statement on marriage between same-sex couples in March 2012.

"We abide by the Christian doctrine of marriage as the union of one man with one woman freely entered into for life. We acknowledge that whilst issues of human sexuality are not resolved, there are couples living in other life-long committed relationships who deserve the welcome, pastoral care and support of the Church. We are committed to further listening, prayerful reflection and discernment regarding same-sex relationships."

The Rev Jenny Wigley who, along with the Ven Peggy Jackson, did everything they could to undermine traditional Anglican orthodoxy, was the Guest Editor for a special edition of Theology Wales In her Introduction she referenced "The statement of the 1998 Lambeth Conference affirmed heterosexual marriage or sexual abstinence as the only choices for Christians; homosexual practice was declared to be incompatible with scripture. But the statement also committed the bishops to listening to the experience of homosexual persons and called on people to “minister  and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation".

Heterosexual marriage was affirmed but has been undermined ever since. The bench of bishops have used every means at their disposal to force through same sex marriage in church, including a one sided presentation by the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church to the Governing Body last September. SeeChurch in Wales bench of bishops in renewed push for same sex marriage.

On the face of it the appointment of Cherry Vann is entirely political. Llandaff boasts the first transgender priest. Now the bench can pride themselves on appointing the first female bishop with a same sex partner. She is also an interfaith enthusiast supporting the removal of church pews to allow Muslim events in church.

No wonder the archbishop expressed his delight in a video announcing the appointment.

It is a sobering thought for any priests stood at the altar in whose name they will be celebrating.

Postscript [23.09.2019]

Bishop-Elect for Monmouth Diocese Cherry Van gives her first interview since being elected to the post

"She said: 'I was quite struck by the process the Church in Wales adopts to find new bishops. It seems to me to be heavily dependent on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and that gives me great encouragement'."

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