Women’s Day of Prayer

On this Women’s Day of Prayer spare a thought for these poor girls in Kenya and for all other victims of rape and violence throughout the world.

It still goes on today and in the most appalling circumstances. Yesterday a Guardian Blog entry appeared opposite. If you missed the harrowing story you can read it here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/sarah-boseley-global-health/2010/mar/04/abortion-kenya Tab down to the first comment and click on the link to go to the Vimeo film clip.

Four days ago on 1st March the people of Wales celebrated St David’s day. Today, 5th March it is the turn of David’s mother, St. Non. A nun of noble birth she was raped by the young son of the King of Ceredigion.

Today marks the worldwide Women’s Day of Prayer.

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Bishops to Abandon the Faithful

Following the example of their close neighbours in Wales, Church of England bishops are preparing to welch on their promise to provide acceptable oversight for those who do not accept their church?S departure from traditional orthodox teaching.

In the Church in Wales there was no replacement for the highly respected Provincial Assistant Bishop David Thomas after his retirement. Not being a defender of the faith himself, their politically motivated Archbishop convinced himself and those around him that the Bench of Bishops could provide satisfactory pastoral and sacramental care for all, including those who thought that their bishops had erred in their ways and simply did?T care.

Today the Church of England has published the report of the Revision Committee which has been considering legislation to permit women to become bishops: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr4210.html . There are new provisions requiring each diocesan bishop to draw up a scheme in his or her diocese that takes account of the national Code of Practice and provides local arrangements for the performance of certain Episcopal functions in relation to parishes with “conscientious difficulties” - as if there were something abnormal about being orthodox.

In their proposals they demonstrate that they have no understanding whatsoever of the needs of those who expect the pastoral and sacramental care of a bishop who shares the faith of the majority of Christians in the wider Holy Catholic and Apostolic church. Any ?Difficulty? Is of the Anglican church?S making and has nothing to do with being sexist or anti-women as is often implied.

As the once great ship of Anglicanism sails away to founder on the rocks it will be ironic if those whom the pirates abandon are saved by a Catholic lifeboat while the ship sinks into oblivion.

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Ayup me duck!

Karen Bradley on her "ordination as a canon"            Photo: Derby Telegraph

Ayup me duck! May not be as 'Father', dressed in floral frock and clerical collar, would normally be addressed in Derbyshire but perhaps that would be more appropriate than "Oh, look at her, just look at her. That's what it has come to now. Isn't it disgusting?" which is how Elaine Jones, Canon at Derby Cathedral alleges she was addressed adding "Just seeing me in the clerical collar was enough to make her recoil from me. To experience prejudice was a very good lesson and taught me a lot."

I say 'alleges' based on the the general tone of Joey Severn's article in the Derby Telegraph (here) when Joey refers to Karen Bradley's "ordination as a canon back in 2012". Far be it from me to dispute the 'facts' but I find it somewhat irksome to read articles about life in the Church written by reporters with no clear understanding of the subject they are addressing, rather like a ballet critic reporting on a boxing bout.  Here are a few gems from a very mixed up article - including the picture captions. The italics are mine.

"She was among the first women to be ordained in 1994, when being a woman in the Church was hugely controversial.... Women in the Church has been an issue that has divided the institution for decades."

And get this! "The first women ordinations took place at St Paul's Cathedral, in London. However, it was not without controversy. Members left and entire congregations changed their branch of Christianity because of their unwillingness to accept women.

"The next hurdle is for women to be given the right to become bishops."!

It is not unusual for hacks to confuse the facts but clerics should know better than to misrepresent Holy Scripture as in this piece of self-justification:

"The Rev Jean Burgess, who leads St Alkmund's Church, in Derby, is the Dean of Women's Ministry. She sees the reasons behind the unwillingness ["to accept women"] as being ingrained in thousands of years of tradition. She said: 'The tradition in the Church states that Jesus chose men. The reality is that, in the New Testament, it is very clear that it only highlights 12 men but that there were women disciples in his party. It is argued that most of the people in the Bible are men leading churches, but Paul clearly talks about women leading churches. The Bible we use is a translation from Greek and Hebrew. Greek is a very diverse language and one word can mean a number of different things. It seems to me, as a woman, that those scriptures are mistranslated and misunderstood. For me, it is about being equal under God and serving him as best we can."

There is a world of difference between serving and self-serving. St Paul used to be held up as the arch-misogynist. Here he is used to justify the ordination of women.

The article continues with what seems to me to be an odd contradiction: "Despite that opposition, women now make up a third of the Church of England's clergy and approval may soon be given for women to have the opportunity to be ordained as bishops. But for all the column inches in the press that the issue has generated across the country, people outside the Church are still surprised to see a woman in a collar."

Women have won their battle to become accepted as vicars in the Church of England. Their constant complaining about alleged inequality brings the Church into disrepute as does trying to convince outsiders that opposition to the ordination of women is simple prejudice rather than a question of theology.

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Another bite of the apple?

Pope Francis has repeatedly pushed for greater roles for women in the church, but maintains that

 priesthood is for men only.  (ANDREW MEDICHINI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO)

There have been a number of reports recently about the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church. From The Star, for example: "The Vatican’s commission of Latin American church leaders is demanding greater decision-making opportunities for women in the church and proposing that Pope Francis call a special meeting of the world’s bishops to discuss women."

"The Pontifical Commission for Latin America said after its recent plenary that the church needs a radical ?Change of mentality? In the way it views and treats half of humanity. It was published in Thursday?S Vatican newspaper, L?Osservatore Romano.

"The commission members ? 22 Latin American cardinals and bishops, plus 15 women who joined the panel for the meeting ? Said it was both possible and ?Urgent? To increase opportunities for women at the parish, diocesan and Vatican level.

" 'This opening isn?T a concession to cultural or media pressure, but the result of a realization that the lack of women in decision-making roles is a defect, an ecclesiological gap and the negative effect of a clerical and macho conception,' the communique said.

"They warned that if the church doesn?T fix the problem soon, women will simply leave." Full text here.

Also, from Life Site: "Recent comments from Viennese prelate Christoph Cdl. Sch?Nborn, apparently supportive of ordaining women, are opposed, I suggest, to at least three mendasar ecclesiological values but they have occasioned, as far I have seen, no correction whatsoever from Church leadership, and thus seem to be a chilling illustration of the erosion of order in the Church." Read the response here.

What many Anglicans liked about the Anglican Church was that it was both catholic and reformed, retaining the creeds and threefold ministry of the deacon, priest and bishop. But further reforming has plagued the Anglican Communion. In adapting to local circumstances, provinces in the US and here in the UK have allowed political activism to over-rule scripture and tradition.

In Wales a political fix saw the first woman bishop appointed to the diocese of St Davids followed by a second appointment by the bench of bishops to the diocese of Llandaff. The consequence has been a shift to gender politics. Sexuality has replaced spirituality while gender equality is the new mission.

None of this need have happened. Generally, the sort of women who agitated to become deacons saw the move as a stepping-stone. After their objective was achieved it was claimed to be unfair that women deacons were not allowed to be priests. After they were admitted to the priesthood it was the stained glass ceiling. Allowing them to be elected as bishops was now the "only logical step" said arch-schemer Barry Morgan. The stained glass was shattered along with Anglicanism. The results are clear for all to see.

To claim that 'if the church doesn?T fix the persoalan soon, women will simply leave' is absurd. Many women have left the Anglican Church because of the changes, not because they are sexist but because the church has become secularised.

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The mess we are in

'Gay cake'                                                         Source: Telegraph

The Telegraph reports that the first woman bishop to sit in the House of Lords, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek' has said she feels "frustrated" at seeing all-female clergy leading Church of England services. She believes it is undesirable to see women "at the front" of the church with no men beside them - in a suitably inferior position no doubt.

Perhaps she had the likes of the Revd Canon Rosie Harper, Chaplain to the Bishop of Buckingham, in mind. Neither can stand the inconvenient biblical truth that God is male but Harper takes it further.

She claims, "What most women experience is that “toxic masculinity” has invaded our families, our workplaces, our schools, our politics  and our churches. Patriarchal ideologies are the norm. The Church has been horribly silent in the face of violence and abuse against women. We don’t talk about it even though in our congregations there will be many, some say 87% of women who have experienced some form of harassment, and one in 6 who have been the victim of rape or attempted rape."

On the contrary, masculinity is under severe threat. Canon Harper even pokes fun at the serious problem of the falling quality and quantity of men?S sperm which, it is claimed, is falling so rapidly that were it to continue the future of the human race would be in doubt. "Too many pies it seems!", illustrates her lack of concern.

But that is today's Anglican Church.

Thank God, then, for the ruling of the Supreme Court that Ashers bakery's refusal to make a cake with a slogan supporting same-sex marriage was not discriminatory.

By their silence it appears that Church of England bishops in general couldn't give a damn about the sanctity of marriage. They have the same mentality as the Equality Commission which squandered ?250,000 punishing a Christian family for the faith.

The problem is, they do not know the difference between equality and sameness. No wonder we are in the mess we are in.

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Bishops' legacy

"Brilliant MAECymru net-working lunch hosted by +Joanna & St David’s Diocese group on Saturday."

Source: Twitter@StaryMallard

ThisTweet well illustrates the driving ambition of bishops in the Church in Wales today.

The fruits of a drive by theologically inept bishops to follow fashionable trends in society, putting their own spin in scripture and tradition. .

High on their list of priorities is their campaign for same sex marriage.

Do not be deceived.

They do not represent the remaining devout women and men in the pews.

Over the centuries faithful women have kept their heads down, praying to the Father as His Son taught us to pray.

They are appalled by the 'babies by baster' culture supported by  feminist organisations which regard children as an entitlement, denying them a normal family life, nurtured by a father and a mother as God intended.

When feminists demand that God be referred to as 'she', they mean a woman in their own image.

God help us!

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