Bishop of Stockport

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the Church of England today announced the appointment of a new Bishop of Stockton and guess what... she's a Manchester United supporter. May God richly bless the ministry of Revd Libby Lane in her new role in the Chester Diocese.

Plus ça change...

I'm ploughing my way through the Lord Green Steering Group report 'Talent Management for Future Leaders and Leadership Development for Bishops and Deans: A New Approach'. Now there's a title to excite you about the mission of the church in C21st. I first heard of the report in a Church Times article published last Friday and the report has been put up on the Thinking Anglicans blog. The Church Times also carried a robust critique of the report from one of those it is aimed at, Martyn Percy the  Dean of Christ Church, Oxford.

I'm not sure of the status of the report; some people have seen it and others are completely in the dark. Has it been published? Bishop Pete Broadbent has suggested that if you are in the loop on these things then you will have seen it. I'm fairly well networked in the C of E and I hadn't heard of it until last week, but then I'm just a parish priest so... . Is this how we handle significant reports in the Church of England these days? If so then plus ça change. The response across social media has been mixed and largely based on selective reporting. My own initial response was one of real disappointment, not because I don't believe that leadership training is important, it is, but because of the tone and language of the reports about the report. I will read the report thoroughly and discuss it with colleagues before commenting on its content further.

I would, however, make one observation. The report argues for a much more professional approach to senior church leadership, including change management. If the publication or not of this report is anything to go by, then the first people on the new courses need to be those who are responsible for the way this process has been handled because it has been nothing short of a joke.

I agree with George...

The Daily Mail seems to be having a bit of a thing about people named George at the moment. It has got itself in a pickle with George Clooney by running a completely false story about his future mother-in-law. When George challenged The Mail they offered an extremely rare apology. This apology turned out to be another piece of journalism which George has rejected as disingenuous if not dishonest. George Clooney deserves great credit for being prepared to take on a newspaper that trades in this type of journalism, particularly on-line, on a daily basis.

Today the Mail has published another article, this time penned by George. However, in this case it's George Carey the former Archbishop of Canterbury. This George is making a bit of a habit of dropping bombshells on the Church he used to lead at the most inappropriate of times. So while General Synod meets in York, George takes the headlines with an article explaining why he has shifted his position on the issue of Assisted Dying. It just so happens that George has decided to take a position on the Assisted Dying Bill before Parliament at the moment which is diametrically opposed to the official position of the Church of England on the issue. So no surprise what took the headlines in the media this morning. Let's set aside the complexities of the arguments about this sensitive and important issue for a moment; I have blogged on this in the past and will do so again and you can read about my views here and here. And before anyone lectures me, as has happened today, that this is an issue about compassion verses cold theology, I can assure you that this is an issue that directly affects my own family circumstances. I would simply make the point today that it is unhelpful and inappropriate for a former leader of the Church of England to make life so difficult for the present incumbent of that office. George Carey was fortunate to be preceded by an Archbishop who, upon retirement, on the whole held his counsel on contentious matters affecting the Church; George Carey's successors have not been so blessed.

So to be clear: I agree with George about The Daily Mail article. George Clooney that is, not the other one.

Update: Some good responses to George Carey's article being posted today. I found +Nick Baines' critique particularly lucid: Dying matters.

P.S. I tried to find an unflattering picture of Clooney so as not to unduly influence this post but to be honest I couldn't find any!

PC or not PC isn't the question.

Over the last few weeks the blogger Cranmer has been having a dig at the Church of England and has developed a particular narrative. During the European elections he attacked the House of Bishops for being too pro Europe in a piece entitled The Church must now reconsider its Europhile bent. I won't get into that particular debate as the bishops are more than capable of defending themselves as bishops Pete Broadbent and Nick Baines ably demonstrate.

Today Cranmer published a post entitled Why does the church preach a PC gospel of middle-class respectability? The simple answer is it doesn't. Cranmer's blog post is prompted by a report into the educational challenges facing white working class children and the Church of England's response. I don't know where Cranmer lives or in which church he worships but he is clearly detached from the reality on the ground in white working class parishes up and down the land. Why am I qualified to speak about this? I was born in white working class Kentish Town in 1960 where my father worked as a London City Missioner. I grew up on the streets of white working class Belfast in the mid 1960s. I've lived in Brixton, Hull and Durham. My title post as a priest was in a white working class parish in Thurrock. My second parish was a church plant on a white working class urban overspill housing estate. My third post was on the white working class Becontree Estate in Barking and Dagenham in the 1990s. I am still good friends with parishioners in these places. I have many close friends and colleagues serving as priests in white working class parishes today. They are often the only professionals working and living in these parishes, serving sacrificially and faithfully proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. What Cranmer describes is a reality I simply do not recognise. The Church of England does not preach the gospel he claims.

What I do recognise is that there are particular challenges regarding the educational under-achievement of children living in some of the most deprived parts of our country and the church takes these very seriously. Cranmer has the grace to acknowledge this in his article. I am glad Cranmer recognises this commitment because through its church schools the Church of England is working hard and dedicating resources in some of the most challenging parts of our communities.

So what is Cranmer's real problem with the Church of England. I think he gives the game away in this revealing line:

While His Grace welcomes this development, he can think of one or two bishops who might find this sort of language a bit Ukippy, not to say BNP-ish or 'racist'. Funny - isn't it - how the Church permits matters of social justice to be determined and developed by ethnic identity, but those policy issues of considerable concern to the working class - such as immigration, housing and employment - may not.

For Cranmer the issue is all about ethnic identity and so he completely misses the point. The Church of England is concerned about the education of white working class children, not because they are white and working class, but because they are children precious in God's sight and deserving of the same life chances as anyone else. The tragedy is that many of these children have struggled generation after generation long before immigration was an issue. I hope and trust that if the report Cranmer refers to had highlighted that children of another ethnicity had been shown to be those struggling most educationally, then we would be committed to addressing those particular needs. The truth is that there are children in other communities, for example some Afro-Caribbean communities, who are also really struggling and the church is just as committed to meeting those needs through its church schools.

It is also wrong of Cranmer to claim the Church of England is not concerned about immigration, housing or employment. If you want to know how concerned the C of E is about housing and unemployment read Faith in the City published in 1985, look at all the work done arising out of that ground breaking report since and the real difference it has made to people's lives, including those from white working class backgrounds. Also check out who was most opposed to that report and you may be surprised to discover it was Cranmer's political party. So much for being concerned about white working class people.

Finally, we come to immigration. The Church of England is concerned about immigration as am I. I am particularly concerned about the way we seek to scapegoat and blame the other for the ills of our society; pandering to prejudice; stirring up hatred; fostering resentment and pretending that if only we could keep x, y and z out then all our troubles would be over. What Cranmer is concerned about is not that the Church of England isn't concerned about immigration but that it isn't concerned in the way that he wants it to be. Well, here's an example of how we have got into a mess as a society over immigration.

The Diocese of Chelmsford is linked with several Anglican dioceses in Kenya. We take groups of curates there regularly and greatly value our partnership. We are amazed at the welcome, hospitality and generosity of our brothers and sisters in Kenya, giving so much often from so little. This year we are holding a year of mission and outreach in our diocese and as part of that we invited a group of Kenyan Christians, including some ordinands, to come and share with us in mission during June and July. All of the ordinands invited have had their visas turned down and only two women invited have been granted visas. These people are not a risk to our country, they are not going to seek residence here because they are called to ministry in their own country. We wanted them to join us as our guests. Yet, despite all the assurances given and appeals for common sense to prevail, visas have still been refused. And so the Church of England in our diocese will be impoverished because of the pernicious application of rules which suggest we are a country that trades hostility for hospitality, rejection for welcome and suspicion for generosity out of fear. Of course the Church of England is concerned about immigration!

The Church of England is concerned about issues that affect all the people who live in our parishes and we address those issues day in and day out. That is not about being PC, it is about proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people, whatever their ethnicity.

Corpse Bride

No, not the brilliant stop-motion animation film by Tim Burton but the words that came to mind as I reflected on the failure of General Synod to pass the Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure by the requisite two thirds majority in each house. One of the most striking images of the Church in the New Testament is of the Church as a Bride. At the moment the Church of England seems in the eyes of many to be a Corpse Bride or at least on its death bed and gasping its last breaths.

I am rather dismayed at the speed with which some of my colleagues have rushed to print in the media to pronounce the last rites over the body. I can understand the frustration, anger and hurt that is around, I feel it myself, but many seem to have forgotten that every follower of Christ is part of the Church. It’s not an optional extra for us, it’s part of the deal. Down through the centuries there have been plenty of times when the Church seems to have written its suicide note but somehow, by the grace of God, it has not died. Our challenge is and has always been to work out how we deal with the set backs, screw ups and follies because we are a flawed and damaged crew united by the grace of God and called to work out that unity in the everyday messiness of life.

So when I think about the Corpse Bride I console myself with this truth; The Bridegroom has a habit of bringing that which is dead or dying back to life, so let’s not write the obituary too hastily.

Fan Dancing and the Archbishop

It would have been more edifying for the new Archbishop of Canterbury’s name to have been revealed by Dita Von Teese fan dancing on the steps of St Paul, than for the complete omnishambles that the Church of England has managed to concoct. For months we have been encouraged to pray for those charged with discerning God’s will on this matter only for the news to have seeped out through leaks to favoured journalists and betting at the bookies. I don’t know who has done this but the whole set up seems to have been devised to make it likely this was the way the news would come out.

Anyway, enough of the rant, here are a few of my thoughts on the new Archbishop.

1. I didn’t want the last one to go but I wish Rowan and Jane well in the next stage of their journey with God and give thanks for all they have so sacrificially given in serving him and us.
2. We should give thanks for those who have borne the burden of discerning who should be appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
3. I hope the new Archbishop will make a priority of finding a new way of appointing his successor so we don’t have to endure this nonsense again.
4. It doesn’t matter how hard the Church tries to mess up God’s will for our lives, he has a habit of fulfilling his purposes even through our screw ups. That is as true for the people he raises up to positions of leadership as it is for the rest of us.
5. I really don’t care what accent he has, what school he went to or how much money he has. All I want to know is that the Archbishop is someone with a heart to serve God in the place where he has been called to minister. God looks on the heart not the outward appearance.
6. The new Archbishop needs, and has a right to expect, our prayers and support. Too often we have prayed for our church leaders on Sunday and proceeded to slag them off mercilessly the rest of the week. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be held accountable but the attacks on predecessors have usually been about our own preferences and prejudices that we have convinced ourselves must be God’s will.
7. Throughout this post I’ve referred to ‘he’ for ‘he’ it will be. I look forward to the day when that is no longer the case.

Now where did I put that betting slip?

Enough Waiting

Bishop Stephen Cottrell has called on the Church of England to say yes to women bishops. In a short and unequivocal statement the Bishop of Chelmsford declares that a decision to consecrate women bishops is of the Gospel. He basis this call on the outworking of Galatians 3:28 'There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female for all of you are one in Christ Jesus'.

 Bishop Stephen explains:

I believe this is one of those bits of scripture through which we interpret a lot of other bits. And I believe that that full humanity, which is ours in Jesus Christ, will be better revealed - much better for the world, much better for us - when men and women serve equally as bishops, priests and deacons within the Church of Jesus Christ.

The full text of his statement can be found here.

Living distinctively

At the beginning of 2012 Bishop Stephen Cottrell launched Transforming Presence (TP), a visionary challenge for the Diocese of Chelmsford. Here +Stephen talks about the challenge to Christians to inhabit the world distinctively.




Over recent months we've been exploring the different themes of TP and reflecting on how we can respond in our three churches and as a team. So watch this space...

Thanks Rowan

I’ve had the privilege of seeing the Archbishop of Canterbury in a variety of settings. After Lambeth ‘98 Rowan, still then Bishop of Monmouth, was invited to speak to the Chelmsford Diocese Clergy Synod and gave a magisterial summary of that contentious conference, teasing out the nuances and complexities in contrast to the headline grabbing bluster of others. It was no surprise when he was made Archbishop of Wales soon after and then Archbishop of Canterbury a couple of years after that. Rowan, as ABC, came to lead a session at Spring Harvest on God and Creation that ended with a bomb scare and evacuation from the building which prevented a Q & A session. In case anyone thought Rowan was running scared he came back and was interviewed at length during the Big Top evening celebration. A friend published a book, quite a short book and just one in a series, and he received a hand written letter from Rowan with some comments on the illustrations in the book!

I also greatly enjoyed working with Jane Williams as a colleague on the faculty at St Mellitus College. Jane hosted us all for a staff residential at their house next to Canterbury Cathedral and I was reminded that this was a family home as well as an official residence. At Spring Harvest Rowan was asked what we could pray for and he asked for prayers in particular for his children. Whenever I read some of the vile rubbish that has been all too frequently spouted about Rowan, it is his family I think of because they have born the cost of Rowan’s ministry alongside him. I try to imagine how I would have felt as a teenager reading or listening to some of the abuse hurled at Rowan and what I would think of such people and the faith which they espouse.

Today Rowan announced that he would be stepping down as Archbishop at the end of the year and sadly some have taken the opportunity to hurl further abuse at him. I’m not going to link to these articles because that would simply give them more of the attention they so desperately crave. I simply contrast Rowan’s graciousness, prayerfulness and Godliness with their vituperation.

Reading Rowan’s theology can sometimes be a challenge but always rewards close attention. In debate or discussion with opponents such as Richard Dawkins, or in conversation with the likes of John Humphrey’s, one senses the pastor heart longing to see these people come to know the God who loves them. Rowan’s poetry opens up another side to his faith in God and love of life.

There is one incident amidst all the international travels, conversations with world and faith leaders, debates over matters such as the Anglican Covenant and the Ordination of Women to the Episcopacy, that I want to remember about Rowan’s time as ABC.

A father sent Rowan, along with other Christians, a letter his six year old daughter Lulu had written to God. You can read the full account here but the letter simply said:

To God how did you get invented? From Lulu xo

Rowan sent a personal reply which reads as follows:

Dear Lulu,

Your dad has sent on your letter and asked if I have any answers. It's a difficult one! But I think God might reply a bit like this –

'Dear Lulu – Nobody invented me – but lots of people discovered me and were quite surprised. They discovered me when they looked round at the world and thought it was really beautiful or really mysterious and wondered where it came from. They discovered me when they were very very quiet on their own and felt a sort of peace and love they hadn't expected.

Then they invented ideas about me – some of them sensible and some of them not very sensible. From time to time I sent them some hints – specially in the life of Jesus – to help them get closer to what I'm really like.

But there was nothing and nobody around before me to invent me. Rather like somebody who writes a story in a book, I started making up the story of the world and eventually invented human beings like you who could ask me awkward questions!'

And then he'd send you lots of love and sign off.

I know he doesn't usually write letters, so I have to do the best I can on his behalf. Lots of love from me too.

+Archbishop Rowan

Pray one for me #Lentlink 3

It’s OK to pray. Many people do and about a wide variety of subjects. Some big, some small, but all important.

By posting a prayer request at the Pray One For Me website, you can be sure that it will be prayed by Christians on your behalf.

Your prayer can be about almost anything. Some of the most frequent topics are family and friends, thanking God, guidance, healing and worldwide problems. When you post you will be offered the chance to say what category your prayer falls into and you can add your own tags. But if it’s about something else, that’s fine. Your prayer is unique and it will be treated like that.

Pray One For Me is run by the Church of England for Lent.

Not so great - Rev

I’ve returned to Blighty after a couple of weeks away to much excitement on the Christian blogs and in the Twittersphere about the return of the sitcom Rev. Clearly many people enjoyed the first series and are looking forward to what the new series has to offer. I have to confess I am rather more ambivalent about the programme.

Firstly I ought to say I think Tom Hollander is a brilliant actor and plays the part of the Rev Adam Smallbone with a well judged balance of empathy and comedy. I recognise some of the characters and scenarios played out in the first series having served in an East London parish. There is a real appreciation of some of the challenges, frustrations and dilemmas of urban ministry. I’ll leave aside mention of some of the predictable inaccuracies which are used to help drive the plot; if you know anything about the C of E you’ll have spotted them.

However, the problem I have is with the ministry offered by Rev Smallbone. Put quite simply, I haven’t a clue what Good News Adam has to share with his parishioners. He seems to live out an incarnational ministry devoid of any sense of joy or hope. Watching the first series of Rev. I was often left feeling frustrated and miserable and the reason is that I couldn’t see where God entered the situation. I hardly ever heard any articulation of the gospel, or a gospel, nor was there much about worship and hardly any sense of Adam’s own relationship with God expressed in a devotional life.

One of the great strengths of the Church of England is that it has maintained a presence in communities that have been abandoned by just about everyone else, but maintaining a presence isn’t enough. The incarnate Jesus came that we might have life and life in abundance. I hope that in the second series of Rev. we might glimpse something of what that abundant life might look like.

I’ve just spent two weeks meeting with Christians living in conditions that make the parish Smallbone serves look like a cosy suburb so perhaps my perspective is somewhat distorted. Yet, having witnessed the vibrant faith and sense of mission of those with so little I’m left wondering why these aspects of ministry are missing from Rev.?

Anglican Patrimony

The Diocese of Chelmsford debated the issue of Women Bishops on Saturday and voted in favour of the following motion:

"That this Synod approve the proposals embodied in the draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure and in draft Amending Canon No. 30."

A following motion calling for more provisions for those unable on theological grounds to accept the ministry of women bishops was rejected.

I wasn’t able to attend the debate, however, I have read the Bishop of Chelmsford’s presidential address to synod. +Stephen’s theme is Anglican Patrimony and it is well worth reading through to the end. His concluding remarks are particularly pertinent not just to this debate but for others facing the Church of England at the moment.

But before the debate begins properly, let me finish by mentioning something even more important than this. Whatever the outcome of today’s debate and of the debate in General Synod next year, we will almost certainly be left without complete agreement, though make no mistake about it, complete agreement and consensus is what I am praying for. Therefore the question for each of us as we go home today is this: what shall I do with my disagreement? How we answer this question is of fundamental spiritual significance, because it demands of us two things: great love of our neighbour, a Christ like love that is willing to go the second mile; and also great trust. Do I trust that those with whom I disagree are still my brothers and sisters in Christ who in faithfully reading the same scriptures as me and inhabiting the same Anglican patrimony, have reached, in conscience, different conclusions? If I can see Christ in them and honour the decisions our synods come to, then there will be hope not just for the Church of England, but for the world. For our world is more divided and fearful and confused than ever; and it might be that in our day God is calling us to show, by the way we handle our disagreements, the love of Christ who is, says the letter to the Ephesians, “Our peace”. In his flesh he is breaking down the barriers between us (Ephesians 2. 14). May this be so today: for our church and for our world.

To which I can only add Amen.

John Richardson has posted his own reflection on the Chelmsford vote and the wider issues raised here. I don't agree with John's position but he represents a view that should be heard as part of the debate.

Ordinariate – a measured response

Certain sections of the media are prophesying disaster for the Church of England, or at least serious instability in the days ahead, with the establishment of the Ordinariate. The view on the ground looks very different and those who are not in need of a headline to earn their daily crust have a very different perspective. Many bishops are issuing clear statements to their dioceses about the situation. The Bishop of Chelmsford sent an Ad Clerum to clergy a few days ago and Elizaphanian has given a good summary of its contents.

This week the Bishop of Chelmsford and the Bishop of Brentwood issued a joint statement on the matter and this also seems to be a gracious yet firm statement, which they have asked clergy to share with their congregations. Here’s what they wrote:

Dear friends in Christ,
As bishops charged with responsibility to uphold the unity of God’s church on earth we are painfully aware of the divisions that still impair the unity that Christ longs for and for which he shed his blood. This is not just a unity within the church – though we long for this to be revealed – but a unity for all God’s people and between the families of the nations.

The church has a specific vocation to witness to this unity and it is always a cause for concern if it is threatened or damaged. Some have intimated that the introduction of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus (Personal Ordinariate in England and Wales) may present just such a challenge. We do not see it this way. We recognise that in both our communities there have been times when individuals and groups have felt it right to move from one community to another.

At the moment there are some priests and people in the Church of England who for reasons of conscience believe that their Christian journey can best continue within the Roman Catholic Community. We give thanks for their contribution to the life of the Church of England, and we pray for the new life they will have and the gifts they will bring to the Catholic Church. But the setting up of the Ordinariate does not in any way deter us from the ultimate goal of that visible unity within the church that is Christ’s prayer and which is shared by all Christian people. Nor do we think it will be
helpful if in the setting up of the Ordinariate there is confusion between the different identities of the worshipping communities. We therefore expect congregations within the Ordinariate to meet and worship in the context of their local Roman Catholic Church and form a distinct new part of that community’s witness. The worship and witness of the Church of England in the parish they have left will also continue.

Ultimately we hope that these developments will draw us closer together. During his visit to the United Kingdom in September, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI was keen to stress that the Ordinariate “…should be seen as a prophetic gesture that can contribute positively to the developing relations between Anglicans and Catholics. It helps us to set our sights on the ultimate goal of all ecumenical activity: the restoration of full ecclesial communion in the context of which the mutual exchange of gifts from our respective spiritual patrimonies serves as an enrichment to us all.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury has also indicated his support for close co-operation between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church as the Ordinariate comes into being.

We therefore also take this opportunity to re-commit ourselves to working together for the cause of the gospel in Essex and East London, and we urge priests and people within the Church of England who are considering joining the Ordinariate - and we think there may be five or six such groups - to make contact with us so that during this time of transition nothing could be seen to impede our friendship, unity and mission.

Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford
Rt Revd Thomas McMahon, Bishop of Brentwood

Sorry but this is cra... not very good

Apologies for the intemperate language but this is the new video produced by the Archbishops Council to introduce the Church of England. I am struggling to find one redeeming feature in the video. The music, words and most of the images reaffirm every stereotype of the Church of England. Who dreamt this up, who is it aimed at and who thought this would in any way make the church seem living, vibrant and attractive? And they spelt Church wrong in the opening few seconds!

The only good thing to say about it is that most people will have fallen asleep after the first minute.



Contrast with this rather irreverent but enjoyable video. Now why couldn’t the Church of England have come up with something like this?



h/t Frsimon and Changing Worship

Update: The Church of England video has now been pulled, I guess in response to the adverse reaction via social media. Thanks also to Mark Russell a member of Archbishops Council who took swift action.

Further Update: The video is up again without the spelling mistake but nothing else has changed, it's as bad as ever!

Oaths & allegiance

I’m an almost cradle Anglican who grew up in a vicarage and was ordained a Church of England priest over twenty years ago. To be honest it’s all I’ve really known, though I did have a brief and important dalliance with a home group of the Baptist church down the road during my teens. There are many things I admire about the Church of England and Anglicanism, but if I’m honest there was ever only going to be one denomination where I’d end up a minister, as much out of familiarity as out of firm conviction.

I never really had to think that hard about what being ordained into the established church involved. I can’t remember a single lecture at vicar school about the oaths I was going to take before the bishop at my ordination. When I had to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Queen, it was with the same roll of the eyes that some colleagues reserved for awkward things like the historic formularies of the Church of England. I never had a problem with the 39 Articles but I’ve always struggled with the monarchy bit. I don’t know what it is really, probably just some quaint notions about what I think democracy is.
Nevertheless, I was content to swear the Oath of Allegiance and say:

I, David Philip Ritchie, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors, according to law, so help me God.

I didn’t even have to cross my fingers, although my dad, who was present at the time,  glared at me as I let out a little sigh.

Then on Tuesday I found myself in discussion with a friend over the tribulations of the Bishop of Willesden. +Pete Broadbent had made some unguarded comments on Facebook about the Royal Family in general and the forthcoming  wedding of William and Kate in particular. He also revealed his republican sympathies. The main target of his comments, however, were the media and their coverage of the issue and not surprisingly the Daily Mail took it upon itself to splash all this across its pages in righteous (sic) indignation. Some asked how +Pete could be a bishop and keep the Oath of Allegiance if he was a republican. Despite a full and, I thought, gracious apology from +Pete, the Bishop of London felt he had to ask +Pete  to withdraw from public ministry, though no one seems sure what that means.

I confess I didn’t see what the big deal was and felt the responses to +Pete’s ill judged comments were completely out of proportion to the offence. Yet, for my friend it was a big deal because the Oath of Allegiance does really mean what it says it means. My friend had been an ordained minister in a non-conformist church and when he became an Anglican and considered ordination in the Church of England he had to think through very carefully whether he was prepared to make the oaths required of him. It wasn’t just a switch of denomination, there were ecclesial, theological and political consequences to the decision. Consequences my friend had to wrestle with long and hard before offering for ordination.

The way my friend put it was this: If the English Civil War were taking place today, those who have sworn the Oath of Allegiance are saying they are with the Crown and not Cromwell. Put like that it does seem a much bigger deal. Of course we aren’t facing that situation but it does highlight issues that I never considered to be important as a young ordinand back in the 1980s. So I’m going to have to do a bit more thinking on this one.

One last comment. I have tremendous respect for most of the bishops I have known and under whose ministry I have served. They have been Godly people striving tirelessly, often at great personal cost, for the Gospel. Some commentators have pointed out that other bishops have said things much more contentious than +Pete and not been disciplined in any way. I have to say the examples of bishops and comments they cite do seem rather selective and may reflect something of the commentators’ own position on controversial issues. How come these lists don’t include those bishops who have made a career out of denying just about  every line in the Creeds? What about the hypocrisy of those bishops who hold one position in public on matters of ethics and morality, while embracing or endorsing a contradictory position in private? What about those who have demonstrated high levels of incompetence in office, with very damaging consequences for those in their charge? As far as I am aware, not one of them was required to withdraw from public ministry and some were preferred for higher office. The lesson to me seems clear; you can say and do just about anything but disrespect the Royal Family and you are toast.

Sorting the Covenant

There’s been a lot said and written about the Anglican Covenant over the last few days. I do wonder what this looks like to the average punter in the pew, let alone people out on the streets? It does strike me that if we put as much passion into proclaiming the Good News as we do into fighting our corner and setting up groups for or against particular issues then our churches would be full.

Anyway, I am most grateful to Harry Hill who has proposed a way of resolving the arguments over the Covenant and all the other debates raging in the good old Anglican Communion.



h/t my good friend Paul Trathen.

Mr CatOlick’s guide to General Synod

For those of you who have struggled to follow the deliberations of General Synod over the last weekend in York, fear not, Mr Catolick has produced a set of videos explaining what happened.











h/t The Church Mouse who I suspect found watching these videos an unsettling experience and even gets a brief mention at the end of the last video.

the Twurch of England

Yesterday the latest ecclesiastical Twitter project went live with the launch of the Twurch of England website. The site gives a live feed of tweets from clergy in the Church of England and is the brainchild of the Church Mouse and cyber wizard Revd Peter Ould. For those of you who still question the value of Twitter then check out Bishop Alan Wilson’s inaugural guest blog on Why I Tweet.

The Twurch of England is supported by the Church of England with the message: "The Church of England is happy that this site is available as a hub for people seeking to engage with the church and its various tweeters." I gave my own explanation for using twitter here and look forward to seeing how the Twurch of England develops. The site also offers a widget for adding a live feed on other blogs and a list of known clergy members of the Twurch.

cash not credit

The Church of England is producing three short videos with suggestions for an affordable Christmas. The videocasts are made by Dr John Preston the C of E’s Resources and Stewardship Officer and offer money saving tips and advice in the lead up to this year’s festivities. Resources include The Affordable Christmas Planner to help people plan a budget for presents, food, drink, travel and other expenses.

One key tip from the first video is to use cash for purchases rather than credit cards, as a way of consciously recognising how much you are spending. In parishes where I’ve served I knew people who spent all year paying off the credit card bills run up over Christmas at exorbitant interest rates, only to go straight back into debt again for the next Christmas. The only caveat I would suggest is that on larger purchases credit cards can offer added consumer protection and some offer cash back, but it’s only worth it if you can pay off the bill in full. Beware the ‘buy now pay back in six months interest free’ offers from cards and stores because people often fail to pay back in time and then get clobbered with six months interest. Anyway, the videos offer straightforward and practical suggestions and are well worth a viewing.

bishops - what they do and what it costs

Here it is then, the statement of the Church of England House of Bishops' office and working costs for the year ending 2008. The document starts with a summary of the role and responsibilities of the bishops, before giving a breakdown of the costs for each diocese and the individual expenses for each bishop.

Don't hold your breath if you are looking for details of moat cleaning, duck houses or house flipping, though heating, lighting and cleaning costs are included. Not easy to glance through and compare costs unless one is prepared to research which posts had a vacancy during the period.

Anyway, looking at the figures I'm not expecting any Telegraph front page splashes, though you can never tell with the press. MPs will be sad to learn that attention is unlikely to be deflected from their ongoing travails over this issue.