Anglican Mainstream

From the Church of England Website

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PM read here

From Christian Concern

In light of recent developments, including the letter from 120 clergy in the diocese of London and the Bishop of Salisbury’s comments as reported in The Times, Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester and current president of Oxtrad, has made the following brief statement:

"We affirm the value of all friendships and strong relationships between people, whether in the family or with friends. We want a society with such strong friendships and relationships. Marriage, however, is a special kind of relationship and should not be confused with other relationships which have their own integrity. This is rooted in the Bible’s understanding of man and woman being created together and created together in God’s image. This means that men and women are ordered to one another and it is their similarity and also their difference which makes for the complementarity needed for a stable union.

Read here

From BBC News

By Riazat Butt, Guardian

General Synod puts off split over ordination of female prelates by delaying legislation for fine tuning until final approval in July

By Peter Mullen, Telegraph

Conscientious objectors are being shown no mercy by the Church’s Militant Tendency

There is now no doubt that the Church of England will consecrate its first woman bishop within the next couple of years. This will happen without any statutory provision for those who in conscience cannot accept women’s episcopacy. The significant minority of clergy and laity who oppose this innovation will simply be told to like it – or lump it and go elsewhere. Thus tens of thousands of traditional and faithful Anglicans will be unchurched.
 
This stinking fish has been a long time on the slab. Back in 1992, the church voted to admit women to the priesthood, but this was only agreed upon the intervention of the then Archbishop of York, Dr John Habgood, who insisted that there were “two integrities” within the church: the one that could accept women priests and the other that could not. Room must be made for both. If Dr Habgood’s agreeable compromise had not been accepted then there would not have been a majority in favour of the ordination of women.
 
The radical innovators, illiberal “liberals,” non-believing secularists and intolerant feminists who together govern the church are determined not to make the same mistake again. They are saying to the opponents of women bishops, “Well, get out then!” – except this injunction is not generally put even as politely as that.

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General Synod voted by 344 to nil with one abstention

"That this Synod, gravely concerned at the desparate plight of Christian communities in parts of Nigeria, as described in GS 1861, request the Briitsh Government to do all it can to support those in NIgeria seeking to protect religious minorities of all faiths and enable them to practice their religion without fear."

The Archbishop of York said: "Anyone who touches you touches us. Our arm is long."

The Archbishop of Canterbury noted that synod's concern was not simply about the well being of Christian communities but the well being of the entire community.

The Archbishop of Jos in Northern Nigeria was also cited as noting that there is no city or town in the middle belt and southern Nigeria where Muslims are denied a place of worship with large mosques and the guarantee of security and freedom to worship. But there is no reciprocation of this gesture, especially in the North of Nigeria. 

Attention was drawn to the current issue of Newsweek in which Ayaan Hirsi Ali notes that the violent oppression of  Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West Africa and the Middle East to South Asia and Oceania.  She notes a regrettable media reticence and indeed a conspiracy of silence surrounding this violent expression of religious intolerance. 

Keith Malcouronne urged that the Nigerian church was hurt that the English church was invaded by materialism, consumerism and sexual infidelity. The church was seen to have lost its first love. Solidarity should be shown by action and self-discipline for the sake of those who are witnessing to the gospel that we hold dear. The Church of England should not do anything to undermine their witness.

From the Church of England website

Morning Session here

Afternoon Session here

From Christian Today

The Church of England’s governing body has heard that more work needs to be done on draft legislation to allow women bishops.

General Synod is considering legislation making provision for those who cannot in conscience accept a woman bishop, including an amendment that would grant greater authority to clergy providing alternative oversight.

The Manchester motion is based on an amendment put forward by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2010 and proposes ‘co-ordinate’ jurisdiction in dioceses where a parish has requested male oversight.

This would make the intervening male bishop less subject to the authority of the female diocesan bishop than under the ‘delegated’ jurisdiction being proposed in the draft legislation as it stands.

The Rt Rev Nigel Stock, the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, told Synod that the committee on the draft Code of Practice, which he chaired, had sought to enable “consistency” and “avoid confusion” in the application of the scheme.

Canon Chris Sugden, of orthodox group Anglican Mainstream, questioned whether the Code of Practice would be able to achieve this.

He said: “They produced a code for two bishops to work together, neither of whom believes in principle in what they are called to do – one to receive delegation from a person they might not regard in episcopal orders, the other to give delegation to which they in principle object.

“This disagreement needs to be addressed and this gap reached across. Is the code of practice strong enough to bridge this principled disagreement?”

Read here

By Matthew Davies, ENS

The key legislation that will enable women to be appointed and consecrated as bishops in the Church of England has returned to General Synod for further debate and final drafting during its Feb. 6-9 group of sessions in London.

From BBC News

Fees for Church of England weddings are to increase by 40% and the cost of a funeral service by more than 50%.

Church members have voted to raise the cost of a wedding from £296 to £415 and for a funeral service from £102 to £160 from January next year.

The fees include the costs of lighting and administration for the first time.

The moves come despite a warning from some members of the Church's governing body, the General Synod, that the rises could have an impact on poorer couples.

Read here

From EV News

The Diocese of Southwark has released a press statement announcing two new Area Bishops. Rev Jonathan Clark has been appointed the 10th Bishop of Croydon and the Venerable Dr Michael Ipgrave OBE has been appointed the 12th Bishop of Woolwich.

The Revd Jonathan Clark succeeds the Rt Rev Nick Baines who is now the 10th Bishop of Bradford.

The Revd Jonathan Clark is currently Chair of Affirming Catholicism, UK, which has links with Inclusive Church.

There are now no evangelical bishops in the Diocese of Southwark despite evangelicals making up 35% of the Diocese in congregational terms.

Click here for Press Release from Diocese of Southwark

By Julian Mann

The argument deployed by the London clergy calling on the Church of England to allow civil partnership ceremonies shows why the current ban is such an easy door for the vandals of political correctness to kick in.

The signatories to last week's letter to The Times seized upon the decision by the General Synod in 2002 to allow clergy to conduct marriage services for divorced persons:

We, the undersigned, believe that on the issue of holding civil partnership ceremonies in Church of England churches incumbents/priests in charge should be accorded the same rights as they enjoy at present in the matter of officiating at the marriage of divorced couples in church. Namely, that this should be a matter for the individual conscience of the incumbent/priest in charge.

One glaring name on the list of signatories is Dr Martin Dudley, rector of St Bartholomew The Great, Smithfield. He was the clergyman who conducted a pseudo-marriage service for two homosexual clergy in 2008.

Read here
 

From the Church of England Media Centre

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Damaging relations with Sudan

This question was asked at general synod as a supplementary to a statement about the Church of England's support for the Church of Sudan:

"Given the church of Sudan's sensitivity to biblical teaching on human sexuality, as illustrated in their recent response to TEC, is the chairman aware that the Bishop of Salisbury's recent statement on gay marriage could seriously inhibit the ability of the Episcopal Church of Sudan to receive help from the Church of England?"

Mrs Sarah Finch's slightly amended private member's motion was passed decisively by 284 to 0 with 4 abstentions.

Full motion:

That this synod

A. expresses it's concern that the independent commission on assisted dying was insufficiently independent to be able to develop proposals which will properly protect the interests of vulnerable and disabled people

B.endorse the responses to the commission on assisted dying referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 of GS 1851 B

C.affirm the intrinsic value of every Hunan life and express it's support for the current law in assisted suicide as a means of contributing to a just and compassionate society in which vulnerable people are protected; and

D. Celebrating the considerable improvement in the quality of care of the dying brought about by the hospice and palliative care movements and by the input of clinicians, clergy and others, encourage the church's continued involvement in the wider agenda of the care of those approaching the end of their lives and the support of those caring for them.'

By Riazat Butt, Guardian

By Damian Thompson, Telegraph

This might seem a strange thing for a Catholic to say, but I often think that the Queen is the most impressive religious leader in Britain. She says little in public about her Christianity, but what she does say – usually at the end of her Christmas Day broadcast – is powerful in its directness.

Having discussed the celebrations, tragedies and anxieties of the past year, the Queen affirms, naturally but unflinchingly and with no attempt at religious relativism, her faith in Jesus Christ. This is from her message last Christmas Day:

Read here

By Robert Piggott, BBC News

Anglican women clergy are to rally in Westminster later at a march supporting plans to introduce women bishops.

The Church of England's ruling body, the General Synod, is to discuss legislation on women bishops this week.

It will consider a proposal that women bishops should accept intervention in their dioceses by male alternatives if called in by traditionalist parishes.

Progressive Anglicans fiercely oppose the plans, claiming it would make women second-class bishops.

They say it would force women to accept measures not imposed on their male counterparts.

It is accepted that the legislation should allow conservative parishes access to a male alternative, but traditionalists are fighting for two further concessions, and, it is becoming apparent, one in particular.

Read here

Reform chairman Rev’d Rod Thomas today called on fellow General Synod members to take a “generous approach” to those opposed to women bishops or risk seeing the legislation being voted down.

“When we come to vote on the Manchester Diocese Motion on Wednesday 8th, we will each have to choose. Do Synod members wish to see the ministry of those who are opposed to women bishops on theological grounds progressively removed from the Church of England, or can we, even at this late stage, encourage a more generous and inclusive approach?” he said.

“If the draft legislation comes back to General Synod for final approval next July unchanged, then we will have the unsavoury dilemma of either having to vote for a Measure which will lead to disunity and division, or of voting against it and thus prolonging the debate for another five years. Yet there is still an opportunity, through the amendments previously put forward by the Archbishops, to reach an agreed way forward.”

The Manchester Diocese Motion, which will be debated next Wednesday, recognises that the only body which now has legal authority to amend the draft legislation is the House of Bishops. The motion asks the House of Bishops to use their power to amend the draft legislation in line with the amendment put forward by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2010. That amendment provided that where arrangements are made for another bishop to exercise oversight over parishes which cannot accept the ministry of women bishops, such bishops could do so by exercising ‘co-ordinate’ rather than ‘delegated’ jurisdiction.

Ends

For further information contact Revd Paul Dawson, 07791 495824 or Revd Rod Thomas 07906 331110