Another screw in the Anglican coffin

The slow death of the Anglican church looks set to continue. While the role of bishops and priests becomes ever further divorced from traditional religious reality congregations continue to haemorrhage.

Despite earlier pleas for restraint from Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, after the Bishop Gene Robinson affair, Canon Mary Glasspool was elected a bishop in Los Angeles while being in an openly long standing lesbian relationship. 'Restraint' is now turning to farce as synodical Christians seek additional ways of bending Christianity to their will rather than the will of the church Universal.

Politically correct these decisions may be, but what is more important, the kingdom of God or personal desire? Christians should not discriminate against lesbian and gay people but that view is becoming one-sided. What consenting adults do in private is their own affair  but those Anglicans who try to remain faithful to the tradition of the Universal church rather than synodical debate are increasingly marginalised.

Christina Rees, introduced by the BBC as "a senior member of the Synod", describes the latest move as "a very controversial issue still in the Church of England". Formerly the leading light in WATCH, Ms Rees was probably the right person to consult about controversy since she and her chums have done their level best to silence those who do not share their parochial view of the Universal church. They have sought to exclude anyone who is not a sympathiser of trendy, worldly desires. It will be interesting to see if they can find it in their hearts to accommodate all in the church, even those who don't share their view of the kingdom of heaven, by voting for appropriate episcopal oversight for traditionalists when/if the opportunity arises.

Read More

'islam' in the church

All for Jesus me dear, all for Jesus me dear,

this our song shall ever be;

for we have no hope, nor Saviour,

if we have not hope in me!

'Islam' in the church? The notion is not as far fetched as one might think. Submission, or the word 'islam', under the feminist god of political correctness is the goal of GRAS. In their arsenal of disapprovals is another word, 'integrity', which they cannot countenance any more than they can accept that true Christian belief may not accord with their injunctions or those of their related sisterhood WATCH.

What has inspired this outburst? The Church Times has published an article by Ed Thornton, "No promises were broken, says GRAS". The author of theReport has combed through all the relevant legislation to 'show' that no promise was made to those who disagree with them. In a piece of exceptional personal interpretation, the Rev'd Rosalind Rutherford convinces herself that, regardless of any intention of Synod to accommodate Christians who look to a higher Authority for guidance than synodical debate, feminist orthodoxy puts the 'sisterhood' under no obligation to look further than their own self interest. In their 'reading' of the Bible, supporters of women's ordination were able to claim justification for their belief because no objection could be found in the Bible - despite being axiomatic throughout the main body of Christendom and the threat to unity it created. Now this feminist lobby has the gall to suggest that by denying traditionalists acceptable sacramental and pastoral oversight they are doing so in the interests of unity.

We have come thus far by giving-in to their every demand out of Christian charity, allowing women to progress from the biblical Deaconess to Deacon and Priest and now to the threshold of the Episcopacy, albeit in what has become a declining church having put themselves outside the main body of the Universal Church. Another report spotted today shows similar stealth by the gay community in advancing their their objective of having civil partnerships accepted as marriage, an issue that raises more obstacles to church unity.

For traditional Christians, the masalah is summed up in a quote in Rutherford's paper:

"People who never went into a church were really glad that the Church of England had been prepared to say that discrimination is not God’s will." Of course people who "never went into a church" will take the same secular view as church feminists but if "discrimination is against God's will", why do they continue to discriminate against traditionalists?  Answer, they are an obstacle to the feminisation of the church.

Read More

Living in the past?

The Telegraph reports that "The BBC's [Muslim] head of religion has accused the Church of England of "living in the past" and said that the corporation should not give Christianity preferential treatment".

Fortunate for him that he enjoys the hospitality of a Christian country and is able to express such views but 'Living in the past' is not something Church of England bishops can be justly accused of, nor for that matter the bishops of the Church in Wales where their Archbishop makes a habit of saying that the church has to be relevant to society today. So relevant in fact that they no longer have room for their so called "traditionalist" minorities.

But now the bishops have been caught with their cassocks up. They have been so busy making their church relevant to society that it is now regarded as even less relevant than it was before. No surprise there then.

Postscript

In his Blog the BBC's Head of Religion posted the following response to the Telegraph article:

"The Sunday Telegraph article quotes me as saying that the BBC should not give Christianity preferential treatment. The question I was actually asked was whether minority faiths should be treated differently from other faiths - to which I replied that all faiths should be treated in the same way and that I don't believe in treating any faith differently."

An interesting observation but does Aaquil Ahmed seriously believe that the faiths of 3% and less of the population should receive the same coverage as that of around 78% of the population?

The 2001 census figures illustrate the point:

Read More

Slap for Rowan

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was slapped in the face yesterday by the very people he has done most to help, today's clergy.

True to form, women from 'Women and the Church' (WATCH) were yelling discrimination because the Archbishop dared to show Christian charity towards their brothers and sisters in Christ who do not share the secular values peddled by their organization. Of all people, Rowan Williams has done more than anyone to further the cause of women in the church. The last thing he would do would be to undermine the authority he has sought for them. Yet when he and the Archbishop of York pleaded for tolerance they slapped him in the face claiming that concern for others would make female bishops second group. The concession was hardly earth-shattering, merely that 'traditionalists' should, as promised, be accorded an honoured place in their church.

I am reminded of the woman who, when the measure to allow the ordination of women to the priesthood went through commented, we are in control now and will make these people suffer as we have suffered. Says much for their idea of Christianity. Synod should know what to do next.

Read More

Space to think...

Christ Abandoned

I have noticed that some Blogs are taking a break during the summer so perhaps I should take the hint and leave some space to ponder for a while, in particular on what has happened to Anglicanism and where we go from here.

When I came across the above image a few years ago it spoke volumes to me. The church was derelict leaving Jesus hanging abandoned on the cross.

("O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me!")

Old Anglicanism hangs by a thread; New Anglicanism wants it cut. Why? The road to the ordination of women was not easy for them. There were failures and disappointments which proponents put down to the work of the devil but after the voting procedures had been suitably engineered, success was proclaimed as the work of the Holy Spirit. That cannot be right. The constant misrepresentation of those with a conscientious objection to the ordination of women, together with the way New Anglicanism is moving, demonstrates that what has been ‘achieved’ cannot be the work of the Holy Spirit, in fact, it is the other way round.

While I have been heartened by the ‘traditionalist’ faithful women and men who have contributed to blogs on this subject, I have despaired of the mean, vindictive ‘Christian’ people, often women, who, now they have what they wanted, enjoy rubbing the noses of the faithful in the dirt as they attempt to cast us adrift. To their credit, there are still faithful Old Anglicans who are determined not be put down by these strident advocates of liberalism whose attitude is “If you don’t like it, leave!” But leave for what? For confirmed Anglicans there is nowhere to go. If, as seems implied, Rome were an option, worshippers would have made that decision on its merits, not on a single issue however fundamental that issue. It does not concern ‘liberal’ Christians that for many there simply isn’t anywhere to go, hence our desire for sacramental and pastoral oversight that accords with our consciences and with what we believe to be Christ’s example. That does not make women bishops second class, it maintains the gospel.

New Anglicans pick and mix to suit their cause while many of them regard Jesus simply as a man of his time from which we have to move on. If that were true, the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church must be nonsense but for those who believe that Peter answered Jesus correctly when he said You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, there can be no leaving. Can New Anglicans seriously suggest that Christ did not know what He was doing, or is it that they simply do not care?

Read More

'Archbishop invalidates Cathedral Insurance by Inviting in Protestors?'

That was the question posed by a worried parishioner in the Diocese of Llandaff who emailed me after reading of the latest stunt of the publicity seeking Archbishop of Wales who said he would allow anti-capitalist protesters to shelter overnight in Llandaff Cathedral if they set up camp there. The reaction of the Dean pictured above with the Archbishop incognito was not recorded but if my memory serves me right, according to the Llandaffchester Chronicles, 'Napoleon' would have some well chosen expletives to make his point.

Tucked away in a hollow miles away from Cardiff Castle where protesters had earlier set up  camp before being moved on, Llandaff Cathedral is a most unlikely setting for a visible protest apart from distracting worshippers and the many weddings held there. Dr Morgan says that the Cathedral stands there as "a place of dialogue". That is not how traditionalists in the Church in Wales see it having been marginalised by their own Archbishop. Charity begins at home Barry.

Postscript

More news from Wales Online about 'Occupy Cardiff'here and here. Disappointment for 'Bazzer' here but fortunate for Mr Dean!

Read More

Words, words, words

The words that resonated with me most in the first ordinations I attended many years ago were from Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ?Whom shall I send? And who will go for us??

And I said, ?Here am I. Send me!?

Profound words but time has moved on. Some of the men I witnessed answering God's call now find themselves in the episcopate in a radically different church. Damien Thompson's recent piece for the Telegraph reminded me that different words resonated in consecrations I have attended. In the Church of England, before the Prayers of Penitence, the Archbishop introduces the service for 'The Ordination and Consecration of a Bishop' with the words:

God calls his people to follow Christ, and forms us into a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to declare the wonderful deeds of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.

The Church is the Body of Christ, the people of God and the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. In baptism the whole Church is summoned to witness to God's love and to work for the coming of his kingdom.

To serve this royal priesthood, God has given particular ministries. Bishops are ordained to be shepherds of Christ's flock and guardians of the faith of the apostles, proclaiming the gospel of God's kingdom and leading his people in mission. Obedient to the call of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, they are to gather God's people and celebrate with them the sacraments of the new covenant. Thus formed into a single communion of faith and love, the Church in each place and time is united with the Church in every place and time.

Much of this sounds rather hollow in a new liberal church which often seems divorced from spirituality, especially the words: "Bishops are ordained to be ..... guardians of the faith of the apostles... . In the Preface to the Declaration of Assent the Archbishop reads:

"The Church of England is part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, worshipping the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith the Church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation. Led by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to Christian truth in its historic formularies, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. In the declaration you are about to make, will you affirm your loyalty to this inheritance of faith as your inspiration and guidance under God in bringing the grace and truth of Christ to this generation and making Him known to those in your care?"

To my mind, after the decision of the Church of England to depart from the orthodoxy of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, the ordinand somewhat hypocritically responds:

"I, AB, do so affirm, and accordingly declare my belief in the faith which is revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds and to which the historic formularies of the Church of England bear witness; and in public prayer and administration of the sacraments, I will use only the forms of service which are authorized or allowed by Canon."

Coming to the Liturgy of Ordination, among the declarations the ordinand is required to make, I find two particularly irksome as a traditionalist:

"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?" I suppose under its own rules the Church of England now receives only what it wants to receive but when it comes to:

"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?", the ordinand Answers "By the help of God, I will" when clearly he should say 'No'!

Read More

Different, but inferior?

Traditionalist Anglicans will be familiar with the sort of tactics used by the inappropriately namedEqual Love campaign. In 2010 The Rev Sharon Ferguson, a lesbian church minister fighting to overturn the ban on same-sex marriages revealed that she had been 'sent abusive messages' since launching her campaign. Familiar tactics in a campaign of of half truth and dissimulation.

Complaints from 'equal rights' campaigners about receiving abusive messages and being spat upon are not uncommon despite hard evidence when to my knowledge filth laden hate mail has been received in the opposite direction. 'Different' these agitators may be in the sense of being a vociferous minority but 'inferior'? Such suggestions are used solely to gain support by implying discrimination from people who fail to see that discrimination is, in reality, against those who do not clamour to change everything only to the advantage of minorities regardless of the cost to the majority. What they seek is not equality but dominance, the very thing they complain about in their power struggle using religion and the church as though it were a secular institution rather than the vehicle of faith that brings people closer to God.

In her campaign for so-called equality the Rev Sharon Ferguson said: “The system we currently have is discriminatory and segregates people. It is not acceptable in this day and age. As a person of faith, I want to get married." To get married implies taking a husband when in fact her desire is to share her life with another woman. That is her privilege. The law has been changed to ensure that she and those like her not disadvantaged. But this is not enough for so-called equal love campaigners. We do not judge how couples live their lives but however they wish to see it, a homosexual partnership is not the same as the union between a man and a woman joined together in holy matrimony for the procreation of children. They can call it whatever else they like but it is not marriage as understood by the majority of people handed down by tradition and custom for thousands of years so why pretend that it is? To suggest that these couples are made to feel inferior if they are not allowed to be 'married' is a problem of their own making.

The trendy list of gay marriage supporters is growing and, perhaps unsurprisingly, is now afflicting the Anglicanchurch following its abandonment ofapostolic tradition. Since the Prime Minister decided to come out in favour of gay marriage,politicians and celebrities have joined the clamour to satisfy people who will never be satisfied until the rest of us are completely subjugated. In a classic piece of dissimulation the Guardian has come out in favour claiming that 'the argument that gay marriage undermines straight marriage is as unconvincing as it is insulting'. The reasons they find so convincing are neatly unpacked line by linehere but it is unlikely that campaigners will be interested in the facts.

Read More

Their Master's Voice

He has spoken. Not the Lord but the one who thinks he knows better than Him as he guides the Church in Wales away from the faith of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church into his idea of equality for all in the priesthood. His positive discrimination  policy  is fast turning his church into a haven for older career women as young people, particularly men, become ever more disillusioned with a church in which faith has given way to politics.

The 'democratic' procedures on the question of 'Women Bishops' are clearly designed to produce the desired result, supposedly in the name of the Holy Spirit, the central issue having been already determined: "While the bishops wish to see some sort of provision for those with conscientious objections, they do not feel able to support any scheme for the re-introduction of alternative episcopal oversight, such as the appointment of a Provincial Assistant Bishop. So 'some sort of provision' is no more than a set of loaded questions designed to give Barry and his bench sitters the options the Archbishop demands. If the Bench were genuinely concerned they would offer the Governing Body the opportunity to vote on the appointment of a bishop to provide acceptable sacramental and pastoral care for those who believe the ordination of women to be in error.

In his Presidential address opening the current meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales at Llandudno Dr Morgan again shows his passion for fair treatment and pastoral care of minorities; this time lesbian and gay people and the fraught question of same sex marriage. He said he was concerned about the welfare of gay people whom he feared could feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in churches over the coming months. So why the hardness of heart towards traditionalists, apparently the only minority group now thought unworthy of acceptable pastoral care. Does it not matter that they feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in a church that says one thing but does another?

Read More

That's rich!

Headline from the Telegraph :

The Church of England faithful left to fend for themselves.

Quite so I thought on reading the headline. Rejected by Synod in the Church of England and Archboyo [see comment 2 from Pageantmaster] in the Church in Wales, traditionalists have a right to feel rejected. But not at all. Those we are to feel sorry for are the worshippers 'left behind' after those striving to keep the Catholic faith have moved on to join the Ordinariate. What rotters! Did they not consider how their vacated pews would be filled, churches heated, buildings cared for, offertories maintained? It's a pity the Anglican Church did not give more thought to such matters before they decided to show the door to the faithful simply for keeping the faith. And who gains from this mess? Those women who decided to use the priesthood as a vehicle for their careers despite the cost to everyone else, especially the faithful. They had better make the best of it before the church disintegrates completely.

Read More

Hope for England!

Splendid news for traditionalists with the announcement from the Diocese of Chichester that the Right Reverend Dr Martin Warner is to be the next Bishop of Chichester.

In the statement Dr Warner is described as "a traditionalist who has worked resolutely in recent years to encourage provision in which people of all integrities can remain together". Surely that is how it should be, echoing the sentiments of the former Archbishop of York Dr David Hope. Archbishop Rowan Williams has shown the same integrity. Only inWales has this been lost.

As the Church of England considers the next stage in the Women Bishops saga let us pray that even at this late hour, a way can be found for people of all integrities to remain together and follow Christ in good conscience.

Postscript

Clearly generosity of the Spirit is too much for Women and the Church (WATCH) to stomach. In response to the appointment of Dr Warner, their Chair the Rev'd Rachel Weir is reported to havesaid: "The decision to appoint another diocesan bishop to Chichester who will not ordain women will cause widespread disappointment throughout the diocese and across the rest of the Church of England". If as Dr Hope remarked, there is "no place for discourtesy, aggression, and even abuse" towards women who have been ordained, should not the same courtesy apply in the opposite direction?

Read More

All change at the Cathedral

#RedWednesday, Epstein's Majestas,  Llandaff Cathedral                                                                                                                    Original Source: Cool Places

It is "all change at the Cathedraldanquot; according to a Diocesan press release in which the bishop of St Davids announced more appointments at St Davids Cathedral in Pembrokeshire.

The first woman bishop in the Church in Wales followed her own appointment by appointing the first woman Dean of St Davids. She continues her feminizing by appointing another woman to be Canon Treasurer.

Thankfully there will still be a male presence at the holy shrine of the Patron Saint of Wales, Dewi Sant because Bishop Joanna has appointed Canon Leigh Richardson to be the next Canon Residentiary.

From their diocesan website: "The history of the present diocese of St Davids is long and varied. Celtic saints and Welsh princes, mediaeval bishops and Victorian legislators, Reformation scholars and Puritan divines, ascetic monks and Georgian parsons ? All have left their mark on an extensive sacred landscape."

But it is all change at the Cathedral. Only now have past 'errors' been realised by the new elite who presumably regard Christ as sexist for not appointing a woman apostle.

Scripture and tradition are being swept away. Just like many faithful Anglicans who have been sacrificed to appease a few vocal feminists and disproportionate numbers of homosexuals who, from the security of the vestry and pews, claim to be excluded from the church. The lights are going out. For many they went out years ago but not in the candle-lit world of their progressive liberal bishops.

Worshippers who attended church twice or three times on a Sunday have shrunk as change has been forced on passive congregations by ambitious clerics led by the likes of Archbishop Barry Morgan and his bench sitters. One wonders what beliefs they hold with no apparent fear of judgement day when they will have to account for their actions which have resulted in losing many as they compromise on sin to satisfy the desires of the few.

Traditionalists are often accused of misogyny but from my own experience more women than men have been driven to the conclusion that their church has left them. Read a Church of England accounthere.

St Davids is not alone in making changes. I have seen no formal announcement but I understand that the second woman bishop to be appointed in Wales, the bishop of Llandaff, has appointed the former bishop of Monmouth Dominic Walker to be her assistant bishop representing her at confirmation services in parishes which request a male bishop.

Clearly they don't get it. A male bishop whose beliefs resulted in the appointment of women priests and bishops, who stands in, or preferably sits, to confirm dwindling numbers in her place reduces a theological objection to one of sexism.

Similarly in St Davids, the new Canon Residentiary will serve as Sub Dean of the Cathedral, the Dean's assistant with only delegated authority from Dean Sarah. Canon Richardson will be licensed at the Cathedral on 2th February 2018 leaving a considerable gap before the new Dean & Precentor, the Rev'd Canon Dr Sarah Rowland Jones is licensed, collated and installed in the Cathedral on 5th May 2018.

Wednesday, 22 November 2017 is Red Wednesday when we are asked to stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians and all who suffer for their peacefully held beliefs:

"Red is the Christian colour of martyrdom. Christians are the most persecuted faith group in today’s world and #RedWednesday will honour all Christians who suffer and die for their faithfulness to Christ’s message of peace and love."

The campaign calls for respect and tolerance for people of faith and between different faith traditions.

Anglicans who have been effectively excluded from their own church cannot compare their suffering with those we seek to honour tomorrow but many in their own church have suffered for their faith, tragically at the hands of those who were supposed to be their shepherds. Is it any wonder that Anglicanism is dying in England and Wales.

Read More

Church in Wales attendance down 5% 2014-2015

Source: The Church in Wales Membership and Finances 2015

The average Sunday attendance of worshippers over 18 in the Church in Wales dropped another 5% between 2014 and 2015 according to the latest figures published in The Church in Wales Membership and Finances 2015. That represents just 0.9% of the population of Wales.

British Religion in Numbers (BRIN) puts the duduk perkara of declining numbers into perspective. In 2004 the Over 18 average attendance on Sundays was 41,771 making the 2015 figure of 29,019 all the more startling, a fall of 12,752 on the 2004 figure (-31%), but the Church in Wales simply carries on regardless continuing its "Gadarene slide" as VirtueOnline puts it in Viewpoints.

Attempts to bolster numbers by adding 'Non-traditional Acts of Worship' such as Animal blessings, Caf? Churches, Teenscreen clubs and Interfaith engagement have served only to emphasis the decline: "Overall, it would seem that just over 30,000 people in total participate in some form of nontraditional worship, compared with 36,000 in 2014danquot;.

The Membership and Finance Report (pdf) is way down the Agenda at item 19 for the next meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales to be held 14 - 15 September 2016. There will be a Motion: That the Governing Body do take note of this report.

Given the seriousness of the situation one would have thought that 'taking note' of the Report is somewhat short of the mark but with "Evangelism" coming last on the agenda it puts the current state of the Church in Wales in context.

The Report follows "Admission to Holy Communion ? Pastoral Letter " [item 18]. There is no clue as to what surprises the bishops have in store in their Pastoral Letter which is to be "distributed at the time", a device favoured by the bench sitters to avoid anyone with an enquiring mind being forewarned.

This is reminiscent of the same sex marriage manoeuvring and of the women bishops saga which provided a worthless code of practice for anyone who holds their faith in conscience making the forthcomingConference to "preserve the breadth of Anglicanism in Wales" all the more confusing. Dr Morgan has remained true to his word that there would be alternative Episcopal oversight in Wales 'over his dead body'. He retires as Archbishop of Wales in January 2017 so is there to be new life? Simply to carry on as before would make nonsense of the conference.

The un-Christian Jackson/Wigley Amendment to the women bishops legislation established that unlike other Anglican provinces 'provisions for conscience should not be included in the body of  formal legislation' and that 'legislation should not include structural provision to accommodate dissent' thus removing the prospect of any meaningful sacramental and pastoral provision for church members who in conscience could not accept the ministry of women bishops.

It would be absurd to have a male assistant to a woman bishop on whose authority he would act so given that there will be no "structural provision to accommodate dissent" in Wales the way forward must be to allow Society bishops to minister in Wales. The Welsh bishops have alreadyinvited US women bishops to celebrate the Eucharist in the Church in Wales and I see from Item 20 on the GB agenda, "Evangelism ? Report from the Evangelism Conferencedanquot;, that Bishop Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, was able to lead 2 key sessions. To refuse loyal Anglicans access to Society bishops would not just be uncharitable, it would be hypocritical.

As the Church in Wales continues to decline in numbers the Ordinariate is increasing and is gaining more priests. In this month's edition of New Directions, the Chairman of Credo Cymru (FiF Wales) quotes the previous Archbishop of Wales Rowan Williams who stressed the value of promoting internal ecumenism. By allowing bishops from outside Wales to minister to 'traditionalists' the bench would regain some much needed credibility and provide a reason for worshippers to remain in the Church in Wales.

Read More

Bishop of St Asaph to extend the hand of friendship

The Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph, possibly the  next Archbishop.      Sourse: ITV

Traditionalists in the Church in Wales should not get too excited. The Bishop of St Asaph was addressing the need not to befriend 'traditionalist' Anglicans left leaderless in the Church in Wales but so-called 'terrorists' in an ITV discussion on "How we can tackle extremism?"

Observed taking refreshment after the funeral of Bishop David Thomas, the bishop of St Asaph then made time to give his views on matters Muslim rather than attempt with others present to put their own house in order.

The three current Church in Wales diocesan bishops who attended the funeral ignored the family'sinvitation to robe in convocation dress and paraded themselves in cope and mitre in a gesture that once again appeared to be progressives thumbing their noses to traditionalists. Bishop David would not have been surprised given his treatment by Barry and his bench sitters during his time as Provincial Assistant Bishop.

In the ITV discussion, listeners were led to believe that extremism results from Muslims being the victims. No mention of numerousverses in the Koran which command Muslims to kill infidels, Jews and Christians wherever they are found.

True, the hand of friendship should be extended but to draw Muslims to Christ by comparing His message of hope and forgiveness with instructions in the Koran to kill non-believers. However, when he speaks of love and friendship Bishop Gregory should remember that charity begins at home. His message would then carry more force.

"Be joyful and keep the faith!"

Read More

Biblical definition of marriage dropped

The Christian Institute put it bluntly: "The biblical definition of marriage was dropped by the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) at its General Synod meeting in Edinburgh yesterday" in a measure carried by one vote.

From the Church Times: "Tears were shed after the result was announced. Presenting the motion on behalf of the Faith and Order Board, the Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt Revd John Armes, said that the proposal had been received with 'joy and sadness' and had led to ?Much conversation? Within the Church."

 Joy and sadness can be seen etched on some of the faces in the BBC news clip. The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth spoke of "equalitydanquot; for gay couples who want to get married in church and for gay priests like himself. He claimed that "we have been a church that decided to remain together". People who disagreed with him would still have an honoured place in the Church.

If that sounds familiar, we have been here before. The Church in Wales (CinW) rejected the ordination of women in 1994 but after a merciless campaign the measure was brought back and was carried by one vote in the house of clergy in 1996. The measured steps of the feminist campaign continued, pressing their next demand which was for women bishops.

Their pressure succeeded by convincing people that secular values were more important than religious conviction. St Davids was the first diocese in Wales to have a woman bishop while Llandaff diocese has a female bishop-designate who is to be consecrated later this month. Their next demand is for gender parity. Time will tell if there is anyone left to minister to.

The CinW has been allowed to disintegrate as political struggles take priority. Spirituality has been replaced by sexuality and gender issues. Some clergy have escaped to England but others have had to take it or leave it. Many of the laity have decided to leave it, hence the massive decline in attendance figures as illustrated by 'the naked truth'.

Traditionalists in the Church of England (CofE) were assured of an honoured place when Synod voted in favour of women bishops. Since then the feminist lobby, Women and the Church (WATCH) have done all in their power with help from their supporters to ditch the agreement. They are now campaigning for a female deity. Provision for loyal Anglicans in Wales who in conscience could not accept the ordination of women was ditched by Archbishop Barry Morgan when Bishop David Thomas, RIP, retired in 2008.

The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth was honest when he spoke of equality for gay priests like himself. It is all about self at the expense of others. Anyone who does not sign up to the latest fad is regarded as expendable.

By continuing to consider same sex marriage in "shared conversations", the CofE looks likely to follow the lead of the SEC. The bishops of the CinW failed to get the measure through but apologised for past treatment of LGBT people and promised to ensure they are "fully affirmed as equal disciples". LGBTQIA+ nowrules.

Worshippers committed to the traditional catholic faith of the Anglican Church in Britain are being abandoned by career conscious progressives pandering to secular cravings of self indulgence. So what next, in love? Polygamy?

Read More

International Gin Day 2016

A dry Fr Brown?

Today, 11 June 2016, is World Gin Day, one of the most important days in the calendar for Catholics. The sun has gone down over the yardarm so time to celebrate with a G&T in true Anglican/RC style.

Cheers to all my readers and traditionalists everywhere!

Read More

Is there any point in being a traditional Anglican, particularly in the Church in Wales?

The joy of the Christian faith is simply expressed in this rendition of the Te Deum (H/T Anglican Pastor). There is a far more stirring, majestic examplehere. It is punctuated by loud blasts on the organ which echo my feelings of exasperation and probably that of many other traditionalists at having been left by the Church.

Exhibiting their profound ignorance of matters spiritual, the response of New Anglicans to traditionalists  has been "Go to Rome if you don't like it" or, from the mainly menopausal feminist brigade, "Get used to it, we are in charge now". There have been no concessions in Wales. The only message is keep giving. For what? While the Church of England genuinely valued all church members as true Anglicans when binding provisions were made for faithful worshippers who, in common with most Christians, cannot accept the ordination of women on theological grounds, the attitude of the Church in Wales (CinW) has been take it or leave it. Theology is rejected while the latest secular fads are adopted by the bench of bishops for dissemination to congregations through largely compliant clergy.

Sunday by Sunday we are served with helpings of the latest Christian Response from an Anglican Perspective (CRAP) heavily laced with a misguided view of equality that has everything to do with political correctness and nothing to do with Christianity as the Gospel is bent to accommodate the latest alleged injustice. It is indeed very odd that the Bible can be taken literally in circumstances which threaten our very existence while bending other parts to suit a fashionable political stance.

Led by the Archbishops of Canterbury, York and Wales with the Archbishop of Westminster often in step, Christianity is continually being sold short to its owndetriment with misapplied views on neighbourliness while giving succour to Islam as Muslims abroad continue to convert non-Muslims by the sword if necessary and in the UK demand more and more special privileges to enhance their status such as opting for Sharia, a legal code that systematically discriminates against women, children, apostates, blasphemers, non-believers (infidels), adulterers, and homosexuals. Imagine the outcry if Christians espoused such discriminatory values.

The CinW is fast reaching the end of the road with extinction predicted in a generation. The possibility of the first woman bishop in Wales draws ever closer making it even more difficult for traditionalists who have remained in the Church to continue their membership. Not that there should be a woman bishop in Wales. Better that the measure be rescinded as a breach of faith since the promises of care evaporated as soon as the bishops had their way with their ultimate plan unfolding.

Moving from feminism to their next PC project the bench of bishops has made it perfectly clear that the CinW is to fully embrace the LGBT agenda en route to the acceptance of same sex marriage, again under the guise of 'equality', while the Church of England talks her way into it with 'Facilitated Conversations' concluding with this mumbo-jumbo. If LGBT people are having such a hard time being accepted, how are there so many openly gay and lesbian people in the Church with clergy very much in evidence promoting their particular life style and often viciously condemning anyone who dares to hold a contrary view to theirs? Women deacons were not enough. Women priests were not enough. Civil Partnerships were not enough. What next? The slide is endless.

True Anglicanism is expressed here in a Pastoral Letter by the Most Revd Nicholas D. Okoh, Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman, the GAFCON Primates Council, making all those pennies we saved in little cardboard boxes in Sunday School worthwhile. Too late for many, there are now just 'empty boxes, empty gestures, empty words'. Read the sorry tale of the final straw for an ex-CinW worshipperhere.

For many traditionalists the final straw has been drifting in the breeze while searching for that crumb of comfort but there has been none, nor will there be. The Church in Wales is going from bad to worse with Credo Cymru apparently impotent. As Dr Morgan approaches retirement he will have much on which to reflect having brought the Church in Wales to her knees, not in prayer but in desolation. What a legacy.

So is there any point in being a traditional Anglican? Unless you are exceedingly fortunate I think not. But Christianity is not dead. "Be joyful and keep the faith!", even if your church has left you.

Read More

Church in Wales bench of bishops in renewed push for same sex marriage

FiF National Assembly 2013

Bishop of St Davids celebrating in the Pride Cymru faith tent

Forward in Faith (left)

Backward in belief (right)

In biblical times priestesses were associated with pagan temples and fertility rites.

They and their sympathizers are now calling the tune in many churches, especially in Western Anglicanism.

Joining the homosexual obsessed bench of bishops which is hell bent on reflecting society rather than preaching the Gospel, the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales lost no time in identifying with LGBT campaigners. She was quickly followed by the second woman bishop who likewise flaunted her LGBT sympathies.

When the next vacancy arises the clamour will not  be for deeply spiritual man capable of steering the bench back on course but for parity resulting a half-and-half bench of women and men united in their desire to secularise the church.

The LGBT campaigning by the new women bishops made it clear where their main sympathies lay which explains their otherwise apparent lack of suitability for the office they hold, particularly so in the conservative Welsh speaking diocese of St Davids.

The same traits are evident in the Church of England and in the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC). Appointments have become managerial rather than spiritual. Consequently same sex marriage has become a recurrent theme in the Anglican Church as a new breed of bishops reflect rather than inform society about Christian beliefs and values.

The former Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, failed to force through gay marriage but his successor ('more of the same? But faster') is hell bent on forcing through this secular policy which is alien to Christian belief and out of step with Anglican teaching.

So desperate is the bench to ram through their secular policy that the Primus of the SEC, Mark Strange, has been invited to speak at the next meeting of the Governing Body to be held 12-13 Sept 2018.  He made headlines by calling for gay marriage in church in 2015 resulting in the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, threatening to ban the SEC.

Bishop Strange said: ?The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church voted to change its canon on marriage. This decision was ours to take as a self-governing province of the Anglican Communion."

Strange indeed that the will of the Anglican Communion to remain faithful to the teaching of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church can be pushed to one side by manipulating a synod which is often dominated by activists and sycophants resulting in decisions contrary to the will of the membership.

In Wales the bench has developed a strategy of using 'advisory' consultations to supplement the heavily loaded 'advice' received from the Doctrinal Commission of the Church in Wales. This works only in the bishops' favour. It rubber stamps their decision if favourable to them but ignores results which they regard as unfavourable.

This procedure, contrary to the wishes of the majority, led to the silencing of many faithful Anglicans who felt bound by their faith rather than by GB decisions which merely reflect the whims of society.

Little surprise, then, that the latest (2017) Church in Wales regular attendance figures show a further fall of 3% to 27,359 representing only 0.8% of the population of Wales. Confirmations are down a massive 36% reflecting the ill-thought through policy of  'Confirmation no longer required for Holy Communion thrust on the church by the bench'.

Planned giving has also fallen for the seventh consecutive year, despite individual members continuing to "give sacrificially". The average giving per Sunday attender in 2017 was £9.65 per week.

Agendum 9 to be discussed at the next meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales is

Same Gender Relationships (continued)

Question and answer session with the Most Reverend Mark Strange, Primus of Scotland followed by discussion. Background paper, together with a procedural note (Word doc).

The introduction to the background paper is a pathetic attempt to justify pushing LGBT politics to the fore. The archbishop concludes his preamble with "Among the challenging issues currently facing the Church and its Bishops is that of the pastoral care of those, both lay and ordained, who are in same-gender relationships or who have same-gender sexual orientation."

In other words, pandering to a minority which is over-represented in the church in comparison with the total population of the UK.

At this point it is worth remembering that the bench could not care less for loyal, often cradle, Anglicans who have striven through all the problems put in front of them to uphold the faith of the Church handed down through the ages.

They are regarded as a dispensable minority. The former archbishop, Barry Morgan, signalled his intention to sideline worshippers who did not accept his plan to turn the Church in Wales into a sex-obsessed shadow of its former self in hisoutright refusal to appoint a replacement Provincial Assistant Bishop after the highly respected bishop David Thomas retired. He died a broken man after the way he was treated by the bench.

Continuing his duplicitous statement the current archbishop writes:

"As for the ways in which the Church should care for them there is clear division about the leadership which the Bishops can or should properly offer. There are those who call upon us to give a lead and make a change.  There are others for whom any such change would be seen as anathema.  But both groups are valued parts of our Church family which the Bishops are called both to lead and care for pastorally. And those whose lives, faith and loves are at the centre of this particular matter are to be found in our congregations, they are members of our Christian family and some are certainly serving members of the Governing Body.  They are not, in other words, people on the outside, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ and in faith."

Having cast aside  the 'lives, faith and loves' of traditionalists, Davies is able to claim that "those whose lives, faith and loves are at the centre of this particular matter are to be found in our congregations, they are members of our Christian family and some are certainly serving members of the Governing Body."

That is despite the constant complaints that LGBT people are excluded!

In a one-sided statement of intent, the Primus of the SEC has been invited to address Governing Body. He has alreadyrevealed that he had been in love with a man - presumably the reason for his invitation to speak.

The SEC Primate represents a church in which the first woman bishop to be enthronedmade it clear that she is not interested in restricting herself to "prayers, pews and parochial parish life". She is focused on "fighting for social justice, sexual equality". Like the bishop of Llandaff  she was also appointed by bishops keen to get their secular message across.

There is no mention in the archbishop's note of the major row which erupted with half the paid clergy in one region of SEC rebelling over the appointment of their new bishop.

Neither is it mentioned that one of the largest churches in Edinburgh has voted to split from the Scottish Episcopal Church amid tensions over its decision to become the first Anglican body in the UK to endorse gay marriage.

If anything, the Scottish example is one of schism brought about by same sex marriage and appointments being made to increase the clamour for it.

By contrast there is no representative from the Church of Ireland Bishops who said there is "little appetite" across the entire island to redefine marriage.

In that regard, one priest has had the courage to stick his head over the parapet and put down the question:

"Are the Bench of Bishops able to explain why a Primate whose province upholds (and has reaffirmed) the doctrine of marriage as currently outlined in our prayer book, such as the Church of Ireland, has not been invited to speak on their processes for welcoming the LGBT community in the Church whilst not permitting same sex marriages, in order to complement the invitation of the Rt. Rev. Mark Strange and add to these important discussions?"

Bravo! But a lone voice crying in the wilderness.

Many people are drawing the conclusion that despite outward appearances the majority of Western Anglican bishops must be gay or have gay tendencies but that does not explain the urge to allow same sex marriage in church. Same sex partnerships have equal rights so why marriage, particularly marriage in church?

The Commandment 'Thou shalt not commit adultery' includes sex outside marriage. By permitting same sex marriage in church, mission accomplished having already re-written scripture to justify homosexuality.

Bishops may have no regard for their own souls but that is no excuse for putting the souls of their flock in jeopardy.

They have no business changing church doctrine on the basis that "the decision was ours to take as a self-governing province of the Anglican Communion". That attitude serves only to destroy the Communion that binds Anglicans together.

The church needs to clear out these impostors before all is lost.

Postscript [03.09.2018]

From a Church in Wales Provincial press release: Governing Body meeting ? September 12-13 2018

"Examples of how churches across Wales are reaching out and taking the Christian message to those around them will be seen in a film at the meeting of the Church?S Governing Body which takes places on September 12-13 at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

"The film features six evangelism projects, one from each of the Church?S dioceses, and will form part of a report on evangelism and church growth."

This is the contribution form the Diocese of Monmouth in a film that clearly scratches around for ideas but more importantly for the bench of bishops provides further propaganda designed to sway Governing Body members into voting in favour of their same sex marriage in church policy:

Inclusive church ? Promoting an open and welcoming church at Rumney, Cardiff

Bishop Andy John

"The film will be introduced by the Bishop of Bangor, Andy John, on Thursday morning (September 13). He says, 'We want to show the amazing work which churches all over the country are doing to take Christ?S message of love out to the communities around them. They are not stories we hear about in the news and neither are they reflected in our membership statistics. But they speak powerfully of lively and enthusiastic people, inspired by the love of God and a ?Can do? Approach that is making a difference and changing lives'.?

Actually Andy, when it comes to the church we hear about little else. Inclusive church, bonds with other faiths, regardless of their beliefs, but nothing about the thousands of faithful Anglicans the bench has displaced.

Read More

Viewed from the outside: The Church in Wales is dead.

At position tiga.30 in the above video, the decision of the Church in Wales to find a way to introduce gay marriage is discussed.

Described along with the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Brazilian Church as "the least healthy Anglican churches in the world in terms of growth, membership and viability", the Church in Wales was said to be "drowning fast". Coincidental  or not, all three along with the US Episcopal Church were said to have led the charge on gay marriage.

The treatment of conservative elements by the hierarchy in Wales, particularly under former archbishop Barry Morgan, comes in for particular criticism: Traditionalists have been demonised as 'evil' or 'mentally deluded' for not thinking the same way as the bench.

It is a "dreadful environment" for traditionalists in the province of Wales says the Rev George Conger. They no longer want to raise their heads above the ridge because they are going to get their head chopped off.

Described in the video as a fertile mission field because "the faith is still there", the possibility of revival in Wales has been stymied  by the refusal of Church in Wales bishops to allow AMIE and other conservative elements to cross the border.

That was no barrier to the woman bishop invited to celebrate the Eucharist at Llandaff Cathedral even before women bishops were legal in the Church in Wales.

In the 'inclusive' Church in Wales you are welcome only if you are allied to the prevailing culture. Within a generation, says Conger, the Church in Wales will be gone. It is even less healthy than the Church of England which has twenty years to pull out of the nosedive. The Church in Wales has even less time.

"The faith is still there but the leadership and institutions have failed. The Church in Wales is a dead church."

Murder but no revolution.

I dislike the phrase 'loved ones' but their fate sums up an impending catastrophe.

All those Parish and daughter churches so lovingly cared for by worshippers who lie buried in churchyards, perhaps to be joined by those for whom the penny has still to drop. Their graves will become overgrown with no-one to care for them as the churches close and are sold or left to decay.

Nobody in the liberal Church in Wales seems to care beyond short term gain. Ambition, gratification and relativism are all that matter.

A sad end to Anglicanism in Wales. Nobody will be tried for their crime, not in this life, but you have to wonder if the bishops believe in another life anyway.

Read More

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.

Read More