(Ed: Forward in Faith are circulating the letter below, to be sent to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. If you wish to use the letter I suggest you cut and paste it. They have asked for a maximum of ten signatures per copy. They should be returned, when completed, to Mrs Vivienne Goddard, Dean House, 449 Padiham Road, Burnley, BB12 6TE. Don't forget the various petitions available for all points of view, here)
Lay Women within the Church of England
Dear Archbishop Rowan and Archbishop John,
It was with some considerable concern that we read the report, in the press, of the discussions on the “Manchester Report” at the recent House of Bishops meeting, with the apparent conclusion that there would be no provision within the legislation leading to the admission of women to the Episcopate in the Church of England, for those of us who, in conscience, could not accept such ministry.
We had assumed that the House of Bishops consideration of the very fair and frank “Manchester Report” would have been a confidential matter, resulting in some guidance to the General Synod debate at the July Sessions, and as such not available for media coverage at this time. However, it now seems that a Petition from some 700 women clergy may well have influenced your deliberations.
We write to redress the balance and to assure you that there are thousands of lay women throughout the Church of England, for whom the provisions of the Act of Synod has been fundamental. If women were to be admitted to the historic episcopate within the Church of England with no appropriate provision, such as transferred episcopal oversight and responsibility from the Diocesan Bishop to a complimentary Bishop, or the special diocese option, we would feel totally ignored and rejected.
Such proposals would allow us to be recognised as a valued part of the church, now and in the future. How can we say that we are “Working as One Body” if one of the limbs is to be severed?
May we assure you of our continued prayers, as you seek to lead the House of Bishops and the whole Church of England to a position in which all members, clergy and lay, can continue to serve God in the way they perceive Him to be calling them.
Yours in Christ,
Name Address Diocese
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Friday, 30 May 2008
Lay Women urged to write to Archbishops requesting transferred episcopal oversight or new dioceses
The Guardian: Williams must challenge Nazir-Ali
The editors of the new rightwing political magazine Standpoint knew they were on to a winner when they commissioned the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, to write for their first edition. As they drained their celebratory glasses of champagne at their launch party on Wednesday night, they would not have been disappointed. Mr Nazir-Ali's article neatly underlines the journal's own expressed intent "to defend and celebrate" western civilisation. The bishop, who was born in Pakistan, believes radical Islam poses a serious threat to western values; he regards multiculturalism as a fatal error into which British society has fallen through his own Anglican church's lack of moral leadership. He last grabbed headlines with an assertion that parts of some towns were no-go areas for non-Muslims. His latest article is partly a piece of internal Anglican positioning. The Lambeth conference is now just over six weeks away and is threatening to turn into the final showdown between conservative and liberal factions of the global Anglican communion. The bishop is a prominent supporter of the anti-gay African bishops.
But his article is also potentially much more dangerous: it reads like an attempt to frame the church's contribution to the debate on Britishness in the language of religious confrontation. The bishop's starting point is firm ground for most Christians (and plenty of atheists), what the Archbishop of Canterbury recently called the "inner deadness" of a greedy society. But he has a particular purpose in condemning the "moral vacuum" he detects in family breakdown and binge drinking. Read more
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Thursday, 29 May 2008
Mail comment: A churchman dares to speak out for Britain
A moral and spiritual vacuum . . . endless self-indulgence.. . the destruction of the family. . . the failure of multiculturalism. . . British identity is worth fighting for.
The Daily Mail agrees with virtually everything that the Bishop of Rochester says, but we have one question to ask.
When was the last time we heard a Church of England bishop daring to contradict so trenchantly the liberal consensus?
But Michael Nazir-Ali is an unusual churchman. Not only does he have the courage of his Christian convictions, but like another impressive and outspoken prelate, John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, he was born overseas.
Why is it that it takes churchmen born outside our country to see that we have a society and a religion worth defending? Read more
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Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Daily Telegraph: Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali: Radical Islam is filling void left by collapse of Christianity in UK
The decline of Christian values is destroying Britishness and has created a "moral vacuum" which radical Islam is filling, one of the Church of England's leading bishops has warned.
The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, claimed the "social and sexual" revolution of the 1960s had led to a steep decline in the influence of Christianity over society which church leaders had failed to resist.
He said that in its place, Britain had become gripped by the doctrine of "endless self-indulgence" which had led to the destruction of family life, rising levels of drug abuse and drunkenness and mindless violence on the streets.
The bishop warns that the modern politicians' catchphrases of respect and tolerance will not be strong enough to prevent this collapse of traditional virtues, and said radical Islam is now moving in to fill the void created by the decline of Christianity. Read more
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Californian Episcopal Church OKs gay marriage
A liberal Episcopal church says it will allow gay and lesbian couples to marry after the California Supreme Court opened civil marriage to same-sex couples.
The move by All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena is likely to fan tensions within the U.S. church and the wider Anglican Communion as Anglican bishops head to England this summer for a once-a-decade summit.
The vestry, or elected leadership, of All Saints voted unanimously Thursday to "treat all couples presenting themselves for the rite of marriage equally.” Read more
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Petitions on Women Bishops
A number of petitions are available online for those taking varying positions on women bishops, following the production of a letter by WATCH and others, apparently signed by over 700 serving women clergy, urging the bishops to take a minimalist 'Single Clause, Code of Practice' approach.
One for male clergy sharing that view and wishing to express support is here.
A similar one for laity is here.
An alternative petition for everyone, endorsing the view adopted at the National Evangelical Anglican Congress in 1977 and rejecting the Single Clause approach in favour of one of the other options in the Manchester Report is here.
A petition for all those who support the consecration of women as bishops but who reject the Single Clause approach in favour of one of the other options in the Manchester Report is here.
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New Canadian Anglican diocese backs gay blessings
A fourth diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada voted this week in favor of blessing same-sex unions, the liberal denomination announced on Tuesday.
The church's Anglican Journal said the diocese of Huron voted on Monday to ask the bishop to allow clergy to bless homosexual marriages.
Bishop Bruce Howe said he concurred with the motion but -- as in the case of three other Canadian dioceses -- he would consult with other bishops before acting on the vote. Read more
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Tuesday, 27 May 2008
The Independent: Dominic Lawson: We're hiding from the truth: eugenics lives on
[...] The original Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, under Margaret Thatcher's government in 1990, passed into law the notion that if there was a substantial risk that an unborn child could be "seriously handicapped", then there was no limit on the period during which its life, in utero, could be terminated. And there you have it: such rights as are imputed to all "viable" unborn children are absolutely withdrawn if the child is not ... normal.
There was in fact one amendment to this aspect of the law, which was put to the vote last week. It merely stipulated that when such a diagnosis is made, the mother-to-be should be provided with an-up-to-date analysis of the prospects and treatments available for such a child, and details of help-lines run by organisations such as the Down's Syndrome Association (which represents far and away the most common – and most feared – form of congenital disability).
This amendment was conclusively rejected by MPs, by 309 votes to 173. Not only did the great majority support the notion that a disabled unborn child could be terminated right up until 40 weeks' gestation, they didn't even want there to be a legal requirement that such a decision is based on more than an understandable spasm of panic, or even horror.
Those who opposed this amendment doubtless believed that the disabled associations who might provide such information would be putting pressure on the pregnant woman not to terminate. Yet there is at the moment a tremendous pressure in the opposite direction: because of the significant risks of miscarriage inherent in amniocentesis (the process by which blood for chromosomal tests is taken from the unborn child) doctors almost invariably tell the pregnant woman that they will not perform the test unless she agrees in advance to terminate the pregnancy, if Down's Syndrome is indicated.
This pressure to terminate is psychologically understandable – not least from the doctors' point of view: for every 100 instances of Down's Syndrome detected, about 400 "normal" pregnancies miscarry as a result of the amniocentesis. So if the mother refuses to be swayed by the social and medical pressure to abort her "abnormal" baby, she is making the system look even crazier and more wasteful than it already is.
Not the least crazy aspect of it is that there is actually a waiting list of people who want to adopt a child with Down's Syndrome. The idea that institutionalisation is the only alternative to abortion for such a child, if it is not wanted by his or her biological parents, is hopelessly outdated.
Some years ago, when I wrote about the birth of our own daughter Domenica, who has Down's Syndrome, Claire Rayner commented that we had behaved selfishly, because of the "misery" and cost to society of such children: "People who are not yet parents should ask if they have the right to inflict such burdens on others". There you have the classic eugenic argument, from a very well-known ex-nurse who was frank enough to blurt out what is normally covered up.
While I was discussing this article yesterday morning at home, Domenica, who will be 13 this Sunday – must have overheard. She suddenly said, at lunch, "I'm so glad I'm human." Perhaps I am being an over-proud father, but I think she put her finger on the most important argument of all. Read more
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Daily Telegraph: Two boys aged 12 and 13 arrested over Amar Aslam death
Two schoolboys aged 12 and 13 have been arrested over the death of Amar Aslam, the teenager killed in a brutal attack in the walled garden of a park.
The battered body of 17-year-old Mr Aslam was discovered by two passers-by in Crow Nest Park in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on Sunday evening.
Officers originally arrested two boys aged 15 and a 20-year-old man in connection with the death, West Yorkshire Police said today. They remain in custody.
Today two boys aged 12 and 13 are also being questioned about the assault which is thought to have taken place amid running battles between gangs of youths. Read more
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Daily Telegraph: Britain’s first interfaith game show launched by Islam Channel
An interfaith game show which sees different religious groups competing against each other for cash prizes is to be launched in Britain, it was reported on Tuesday.
Faith Off has been commissioned by the digital TV station the Islam Channel in a bid to foster good relations and better understanding between different faiths.
The show is expected to feature all of the flashing lights, buzzers, puns and cheesy smiles common to ordinary game shows.
But instead of questions about celebrities and soaps, contestants will be expected to demonstrate their religious knowledge.
Two teams of four people will compete in each episode of the eight-part series, which will be hosted by Muslim comedian Jeff Mirza.
As well as being challenged to identify key figures such as the Dalai Lama and the Pope from grainy images, there will be multiple choice questions where contestants answer questions about their own, or another contestant’s religion.
Those taking part will be picked in part from respondents to online advertisements on Muslim websites, and in part via the Islam Channel’s networks. Read more
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BBC: Peacekeepers 'abusing children'
Children as young as six are being sexually abused by peacekeepers and aid workers, says a leading UK charity.
Children in post-conflict areas are being abused by the very people drafted into such zones to help look after them, says Save the Children.
After research in Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, the charity proposed an international watchdog be set up.
Save the Children said it had sacked three workers for breaching its codes, and called on others to do the same.
The three men were all dismissed in the past year for having had sex with girls aged 17 - which the charity said was a sackable offence even though not illegal.
The UN has said it welcomes the charity's report, which it will study closely.
Save the Children says the most shocking aspect of child sex abuse is that most of it goes unreported and unpunished, with children too scared to speak out. Read more
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Damian Thompson: Bishops battle it out over Muslims
(Ed: I couldn't help noticing that the reading from which I preached at a baptism service on Sunday was from Acts 16, where the Apostles are banged up in jail for disrupting the peace of Philippi: “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” Not much community cohesion or bowing to the law there.)
The row between the Bishop of Rochester (who wants to convert Muslims) and the C of E’s “Bishop of Urban Life and Faith” (who doesn’t) goes to the very heart of Christianity.
The Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, who holds the Church’s urban life portfolio – since when was the bench of bishops a shadow cabinet? – says “the demand for the evangelisation of other faiths contributes nothing to our communities”. I’d like to hear him argue that point to St Paul, or to any of the martyrs who were put to death for preaching the Gospel to non-Christians without regard to “community cohesion”.
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali of Rochester started the row by condemning multi-faith “fudge” in a Sunday newspaper. As an ambitious anti-gay evangelical, he isn’t my idea of a fun person to sit next to at a dinner party – but on this occasion he is right on both theological and practical grounds. Read more
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The City Journal: Why Britain struggles to assimilate immigrants
[...] Problems with interpreting the law are not the only, or even the most important, ones that arise in an ever more diverse society. A feeling of unease is widespread, even among the longer-resident immigrants themselves, that Britain has lost its distinctive character: or rather, that the loss of a distinctive character is now its most distinctive character. The country that those immigrants came to, or thought they were coming to, no longer exists. It has changed beyond all recognition—far beyond and more radically than the inevitable change that has accompanied human existence since the dawn of civilization. A sense of continuity has been lost, disconcerting in a country with an unwritten constitution founded upon continuity.
London is now the most ethnically diverse city in the world—more so, according to United Nations reports, even than New York. And this is not just a matter of a sprinkling of a few people of every race and nation, or of the fructifying cultural effect of foreigners (a culture closed to outsiders is dead, though perhaps that is not the only way for a culture to die). Walk down certain streets in London and one encounters a Babel of languages. If a blind person had only the speech of passersby to help him get his bearings, he would be lost; though perhaps the very lack of a predominant language might give him a clue. (This promiscuity is not to say that monocultural ghettos of foreigners do not also exist in today’s Britain.)
A third of London’s residents were born outside Britain, a higher percentage of newcomers than in any other city in the world except Miami, and the percentage continues to rise. Likewise, migration figures for the country as a whole—emigration and immigration—suggest that its population is undergoing swift replacement. Many of the newcomers are from Pakistan, India, and Africa; others are from Eastern Europe and China. If present trends continue, experts predict, in 20 years’ time, between a quarter and a third of the British population will have been born outside it, and at least a fifth of the native population will have emigrated. Britain has always had immigrants—from the French Huguenots after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes to Germans fleeing Prussian repression, from Jews escaping czarist oppression to Italian prisoners of war who stayed on after World War II—and absorbed them. But never so many, or so quickly.
To the anxiety about these unprecedented demographic changes—a substantial majority of the public, when asked, says that it wants a dramatic reduction in immigration—one can add a reticence in openly expressing it. Inducing this hesitancy are intellectuals of the self-hating variety, who welcome the destruction of the national identity and who argue—in part, correctly—that every person’s identity is multiple; that identity can and ought to change over time; and that too strong an emphasis on national identity has in the past led to barbarism. By reiteration, they have insinuated a sense of guilt into everyone’s mind, so that even to doubt the wisdom or viability of a society consisting of myriad ethnic and religious groups with no mutual sympathy (and often with mutual antagonisms) is to suspect oneself of sliding toward extreme nationalism or fascism; so that even to doubt the wisdom or viability of a society in which everyone feels himself part of an oppressed minority puts one in the same category as Jean-Marie Le Pen, or worse. This anxiety inhibits discussion of the cultural question. In view of Europe’s twentieth century, the inhibition is understandable. One consequence, however, is that little attempt has been made to question what attachment Britain’s immigrants have to the traditions and institutions of their new home. Read more
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The Independent: 'I've got kids who sleep with knives under their pillows'
[...] Many of the children Batmanghelidjh helps have, like Peter, suffered from both neglect and physical violence. "If you are a child living with a drug addict, for example, drug dealers could and will burst into the house at any time of night or day. You are always in debt to them. Girls are often violated by the drug dealers at a young age, and pretty quickly [the dealers] want young boys to come and work for them. I've got kids who sleep with knives under their pillows because they don't know what's going to happen in the middle of the night. They live in constant terror and they are very jumpy their brains become different in structure and chemistry from other people's.
"These sorts of children don't care if they live or die. They are very brave and they cause great harm because they have nothing to lose."
Samuel is another child at Kids Company HQ today. Batmanghelidjh met him when he was five she found him wandering the streets of a rich London neighbourhood in the middle of winter with no shirt on. She started talking to him and he led her back to the flat he lived in with his mother; Batmanghelidjh quickly discovered that Samuel's mother was a crack addict who was unable to care for him. His father had died from an overdose.
"I tried to get his case picked up by social services, but because he wasn't being beaten he didn't meet their criteria.
"He was left without food, appropriate clothing or bedding. He had to cope with drug dealers coming in and out of the house, who often attacked both him and his mother." The most violent and dangerous children are those, like Samuel, who have been violently abused. "Not all children who have been abused go on to abuse, but all abusers have been abused themselves."
Batmanghelidjh rejects the idea that violent video games or rap music have much to do with these very serious cases. "The most dangerous children are those who have experienced violence first-hand, behind closed doors. Other children, who have been well cared-for at home, can come across these very violent children and have to mimic their behaviour to protect themselves from it. It's those children who are more likely to be influenced by violence in films, video games and rap music." Read more[...]
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Monday, 26 May 2008
Nigeria Saturday Tribune: Gay Bishops: Anglican Communion Sits On Keg Of Gun-powder
ANGLICAN Communion worldwide has been on this journey for ten long years. It has been costly and debilitating for all concerned as most recently demonstrated by the tepid response to the invitations to the proposed Lambeth Conference 2008.
At a time when the church should be able to gather together and celebrate remarkable stories of growth there is little enthusiasm towards the meeting.
There are continual cries for patience and understanding; and yet the record shows that those who hold to the “faith once and for all delivered to the saints” have shown remarkable forebearance while their pleas have been ignored, leaders have been demonised, and advocates marginalised.
In 1998, the Anglican Communion made a deliberate decision with regard to matters of human sexuality; it was supported by an overwhelming majority of the Bishops of the Communion. It reflected traditional teaching interpreted with pastoral sensitivity.
And yet it has been ignored and those who uphold it were derided for their stubbornness. However, the church continued to meet and pray and struggle to find ways to maintain the spirit of unity. Read more
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Daily Mail: Church pulls out of Catholic agencies over 'gay equality' adoption law
The Roman Catholic Church is pulling out of three of its top adoption agencies because it cannot comply with Labour’s new gay equality laws.
The Mail on Sunday has learned the Church will this week cut its ties with the Surrey-based Catholic Children’s Society, one of the biggest in the country covering much of the South-East.
The dioceses of Nottingham and Northampton have also decided to pull out of their agencies.
The development will anger Catholic MPs, who warned last year that the contentious legislation would have a dramatic impact on the charities.
Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said: ‘This is a tragedy. We are taking the ethos out of these adoption agencies and leaving them with a crisis, all because the Government wouldn’t listen.’
It will also dismay hundreds of thousands of parishioners who have raised millions of pounds over the years to support the much-loved organisations. Read more
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Daily Telegraph: Church of England row over Muslim conversion
A row has erupted within the Church of England over calls for British Muslims to be converted to Christianity.
The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, accused the Church of failing in its duty to "welcome people of other faiths" ahead of a motion at July's General Synod in York urging a strategy for evangelising Muslims.
However, his comments were condemned by senior figures within the Church. The Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, the former Bishop of Hulme and the newly appointed Bishop of Urban Life and Faith, said: "Both the Bishop of Rochester's reported comments and the synod private members' motion show no sensitivity to the need for good inter-faith relations. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs are learning to respect one another's paths to God and to live in harmony. This demand for the evangelisation of people of other faiths contributes nothing to our communities."
A Church of England spokesman added: "We have a mission-focused Christian presence in every community, including those where there are a large number of Muslims. That engagement is based on the provisions of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for freedom of thought, conscience and religion." Read more
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Sunday, 25 May 2008
US Presiding Bishop gives warning to traditionalists
ANGLICAN bishops exercise universal jurisdiction over the geographical territories that lie within their dioceses, US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has argued.
This proprietary ecclesial oversight covers all parts of the geographic territory of a diocese, Bishop Schori said, and extends to entities outside of the Episcopal Church --- an opinion not shared by other leaders of the Anglican Communion.
While the concept of territorial episcopal inviolability has been active in Anglicanism since the debates over the restoration of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England in 1850, it has taken on a new life within the Episcopal Church in recent years as a tool to stifle dissent, conservatives claim.
The former Bishop of Quincy was brought up on charges by the Bishop of San Diego earlier this year when he made a visitation to a non-Episcopal parish in San Diego, while the former suffragan bishop of Oklahoma was accused of violating the “ancient customs of the church” for performing an ordination in Kansas on behalf of the Archbishop of Uganda without the permission of the Bishop of Kansas.
On May 12, US Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori released a public letter addressed to Ugandan Archbishop Henry Orombi, protesting his “unwarranted incursion” into the Episcopal Church by visiting a former parish of the Diocese of Georgia.
Bishop Schori said she was “concerned that you seem to feel it appropriate to visit, preach, and exercise episcopal ministry within the territory of this Church, and I wonder how you would receive similar behaviour in Uganda. These actions violate the spirit and letter of the work of the Windsor Report, and only lead to heightened tensions."
Archbishop Orombi responded on May 14, that were he to visit a parish of the Diocese of Georgia he would “observe the courtesy” of contacting the local bishop. “However, I am visiting a congregation that is part of the Church of Uganda, I feel very free to visit them and encourage them through the Word of God.”
If there was any blame to be apportioned, Archbishop Orombi said, it fell on the Episcopal Church which had persisted in an “unbiblical” course of action in “defiance of repeated warnings by all of the Anglican Instruments of Communion.” It was “ironic for you to be quoting the Windsor Report to me,” Archbishop Orombi said in light of the Episcopal Church’s conduct. Read more
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Daily Telegraph: Church of England faces exodus over women bishop reforms
[...] Following the debate, the bishops decided to endorse legislation – which will now be voted on at the Synod – that would end special arrangements for clergy who are not prepared to accept female priests, including "flying" bishops, senior clergy who operate across different dioceses, ministering to those opposed to women priests
Instead, the bishops opted for a Synod motion that asks for respect for opponents of women bishops, but does not make provisions for them.
The motion makes clear that a significant minority disagrees with this approach.
The move means that it is now highly unlikely that new dioceses will be created for opponents of women bishops.
Less than the two-thirds majority required to pass the legislation at the General Synod were in favour of allowing women to become bishops without ensuring more extensive safeguards.
One bishop told The Telegraph that opponents of women bishops would consider what is being offered as "totally insufficient".
He added: "Traditionalist bishops are very upset because they believe there has to be some sort of structural provision to allow them space to follow their conscience, but we felt that the majority case has to be put to the Synod."
A report published this month from the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, warned that consecrating women without provision for opponents "would trigger a period of uncertainty and turbulence within the Church". It concedes that many priests and congregations would undoubtedly leave.
The Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, has said that he would be forced to leave the Church if women become bishops and suggested that as many as 800 would follow suit.
Christina Rees, the chairman of the group Women and the Church, said that the bishops' decision represented "the best possible way forward for the Church".
A Church of England spokesman said all options would be debated at the Synod.
More than 700 female clergy signed a statement this month urging bishops not to concede to traditionalist demands. Read more
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Sunday Telegraph: Dozens of historic buildings to be made redundant
Dozens of churches have been selected for imminent closure under radical plans to merge parishes and save money, The Telegraph has learnt.
The plans have been drawn up by both Church of England and Roman Catholic dioceses and will see some of their most historic buildings made redundant. In one area, buildings with fewer than 100 worshippers are under threat while more than a third of Anglican churches could be lost in one city.
The disclosure comes as more church leaders, celebrities and heritage groups give their support to this newspaper's Save Our Churches campaign. Earlier this month, The Telegraph disclosed that one in five of Britain's churches face closure by 2030.
Among those threatened by the latest plans are St Peter's in Brighton, a Gothic-styled Victorian building, and St Walburge's in Preston, which has the tallest spire of any parish church in England.
Of the 50 Anglican churches in the Brighton area, a review has recommended six closures, with a further 11 at risk, unless there is a marked increase in attendance levels or an improvement in finances. Jonathan Pritchard, Chichester's diocesan secretary, said: "People have recognised that the future of their church as it is is no longer tenable."
Dr Ian Dungavell, the director of the Victorian Society, said: "The best way to look after such national treasures is to keep them in the use for which they were designed or, where that is not possible, to find a new use which will keep what is special about the building intact."
New figures from the Church of England show that 115 buildings were made redundant between 2003 and 2007, while Catholics, Baptists and Methodists are finding it even more difficult to keep their premises open. Read more
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Thanking God for Rome
[...] these days, living in England -- a country where the bulk of the established church is in a moral funk -- I am thrilled to see Cardinal Murphy O'Connor and his Scottish counterpart, Keith O'Brien, taking on the British secular Establishment on such huge ethical issues as abortion, stem cell research and the right of children to have fathers.
It was the belt of a couple of croziers that caused three Catholic Cabinet ministers (Des Browne, Ruth Kelly and Paul Murphy) to put their religious scruples before their ambition and force Gordon Brown to allow a free vote on contentious clauses in the abhorrent Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. Read more
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Saturday, 24 May 2008
Post-GAFCON meeting in London - note the evening for PCC members
Global Anglicanism & English Orthodoxy?
1st July 2008 10.30am–4.30pm
All Soul’s Church, Langham Place, London
A briefing for Incumbents and local Church Leaders
You are invited to a gathering of incumbents and local church leaders (eg. staff, church wardens, lay readers ) to hear first hand from some of those involved and to stand with some of our gospel partners who have struggled to uphold orthodox Anglicanism.
Speakers
- Henry Orombi (Archbishop of Uganda): Orthodoxy and Effective Mission
- Greg Venables (Archbishop of the Southern Cone): Orthodoxy and Wider Connections
- Jim Packer (St John’s Shaughnessy, Canada): Orthodoxy and Personal Experience
- Peter Jensen (Archbishop of Sydney): Orthodoxy and True Anglicans
Tickets
£10 to include refreshments but please bring your own lunch
For a ticket please send a cheque for £10 payable to “All Souls Church” to Miranda Lewis, All Souls Church Langham Place, 2 All Souls Place, London W1B 3DA together with your name and address, name of church and email address.
Also…
There will be an evening meeting for PCC members at All Souls Church Langham Place from 7-9pm (tickets £5 payable on the door).
Daily Telegraph: Earth would be very happy without humans
[...] Perhaps from an asteroid, perhaps from human incompetence, short-sightedness, or malice, chances are that our species will die out or evolve into something we wouldn't recognise. That's what happens to other animals, and we're not that special. I find this prospect unexpectedly relaxing. Numerous anthropocentric religions would have us believe that mankind is the apotheosis of all creation - that the whole point of the universe is us. That without people there is no reason for all those pinpoints in the night sky. This teleology is not simply dubious and myopically self-serving, but depressing.
I'd hate for the purpose of the universe to hinge on my shuffle for the morning paper and my putter about the kitchen stirring up an omelette. I wouldn't even want the purpose of the universe to hinge on the Statue of Liberty and the Sistine Chapel. I like people, or some of them. Why, some of my best friends are people.
Nevertheless, the vision at the end of the documentary of burgeoning forests bounding with bears is strangely uplifting. If we want to stick around, we'll have to keep from defecating where we eat. But if we make a mess of matters and disappear, another form of life will take our place - creatures beautiful, not so self-destructive, or simply weird. That's cheerful news, really. For iPhones, quad bike parks, Gordon Ramsay, and Jacqui Smith not necessarily to represent the pinnacle of all creation comes as a relief. Read more
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It's a fine life No.2: Fine threatened over posters of missing moggy
(" If the ruler is wise, he will govern better by a natural sense of justice than by laws. If he is not wise, he will foster nothing but evil through legislation, since he will not know what use to make of the laws nor how to adapt them to the case at hand. Therefore, in civil affairs more stress should be laid on putting good and wise men in office than on making laws; for such men will themselves be the very best of laws, and will judge every variety of case with a lively sense of equity." Martin Luther. And see my own blog here.)
A woman was threatened with a fine by her local council for putting posters on lampposts to find the owners of a lost cat. Public-spirited Joy Tracey wanted to reunite Copper the ginger tom with his owners after he was found whimpering in a garden.
The grandmother-of-three traipsed around animal shelters, vets and pet shops in a bid to help the cat. She also put adverts in her local paper and called the RSPCA, but drew a blank.
So after two weeks, and desperate to help the homesick pet, the former secretary printed 12 laminated, A5-sized posters. Tracey tied them to lampposts near her home in Denton, Greater Manchester, advertising her telephone number and asking for help for the lost animal. A day later uniformed council patrollers spotted the offending ads.
Tracey had fallen foul of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992, Clauses A, B and F, and Tameside council was determined to enforce the rules. She was telephoned from the council offices and ordered to remove the posters. Read more
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Gene Robinson: 'Contradictory' Anglicanism perfect for 'gay Christianity'
(Ed: Ironically, my guess is that the church in Putney would be that of Revd Giles Fraser, who teaches philosophy.)
The Anglican Church is the perfect vehicle for creating a new “gay” Christianity by virtue of the fact that it is the only church that accepts the logical contradiction of asserting both the sanctity of human life and the existence of a right to abortion.
Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson, whose ordination to the episcopate has precipitated the ongoing schism between traditionally Christian Anglicans and its ultra-liberal, secularized branches, is in London to talk about his vision for the homosexual future of the Anglican Church.
He was visiting and promoting his cause in preparation for the upcoming Lambeth Conference in July.
He told an admiring audience in Putney, in southwest London, that Anglicanism is uniquely suited to the establishment of the contradiction of homosexual Christianity.
“The Anglican tradition is uniquely capable of holding two seemingly contradictory ideas together. Its position on abortion, for example is that all human life is sacred. And, that no one has the right to tell a woman what to do with her body. Both are true,” he said. Read more
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Friday, 23 May 2008
Urgent from the Bishop of Natal
(Ed: Forwarded to me.)
Dear Friends
Bishop Rubin has asked to send the following message to you.
I am deeply disturbed by what I am seeing and I ask you to please remember these people, many children as well in your prayers. Also please pray for our country”,
+ Rubin
P.S. I just had a conversation with the Minister for Safety and Security who has assured me that he will do everything in his power to ensure the safety of these people. Let us hope that it happens.
Bishop Rubin Phillip
Bishop of
Email: bishop@dionatal.org.za
Postal:
Phone: 27 31 308 9302
Fax: 27 31 308 9316
MASISUKUME SAKE! - ARISE AND BUILD!
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Bishop of Chelmsford raises question of religious freedoms in Iran
From They Work for You.
The Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishop) Link to this | Hansard source
My Lords, the Minister may or may not be aware that we on these Benches have been mourning the death of Bishop Dehqani-Tafti, a former bishop in Iran, whose son was murdered in the early years of the ayatollahs. Will he accept that in states where there is a strong and predominant religious and political tradition there is a particular duty to protect the liberties, beliefs and styles of life of those whose beliefs are in strong contrast? Will he also accept that the Government in Iran do not have a good record in these matters?
Lord Malloch-Brown (Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; Labour) Link to this | Hansard source
My Lords, the right reverend Prelate is correct. A draft penal code is being considered by the Iranian Parliament, which makes apostasy, heresy and witchcraft punishable by death. We are concerned about the impact that those provisions would have on religious minorities in Iran. On
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Cormac Murphy-O'Connor: The abortion debate is only just beginning
The politicians may have cast their votes on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, but is the conscience of the nation at ease with itself? Far from settling the issues until the next Bill comes along, this week's extraordinary debates have in fact woken us all up to the reality of what is being done in our name.
Abortion Rights group promote a Pro-choice campaign, maintaing the 24 week limit
Gordon Brown voted against any reduction after insisting there was no medical evidence to justify a change in the law
Many people are left deeply uneasy and perplexed, profoundly worried about the direction we are now taking.
And yet, for me it has been one of the most significant debates that the House of Commons has had in recent times, undertaken with a sober recognition that it was dealing with fundamental questions which transcend party politics. Although I would have much preferred other outcomes on all four of the debates, including the issue of fatherhood, I was glad at the sincerity and thoughtfulness of the discussion.
However, it would be wrong for us to think that the debate within society is over. A vote alone cannot and should not close the discussion. Underlying it are crucial questions. What is it to be a human being? What conditions do we need for our flourishing? In what sort of society can we put our faith and know that we are cherished and valued and above all enabled to grow in our search for what is right and true? It is in this context I want to make two practical suggestions. Read more
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The Times: Fortune-tellers targetted in new Consumer Protection Regulations
(Ed: My question: "Is a 'healing service' where a collection is taken included in this?" My prediction: "The EU is taking over your life.)
The fortune-tellers, at least, must have seen it coming. The biggest overhaul of consumer laws for 40 years takes effect on Monday, tightening controls on everything from door-to-door salesmen to children’s advertising.
Fortune-tellers and astrologists will be bracketed with double-glazing salesman under the new Consumer Protection Regulations. The changes, which implement an EU directive on unfair commercial practices, require businesses for the first time to act fairly towards consumers and will outlaw diresputable trading activities.
Fortune-tellers will have to tell customers that what they offer is “for entertainment only” and not “experimentally proven”. This means that a fortune-teller who sets up a tent at a funfair will have to put up a disclaimer on a board outside.
Similar disclaimers will need to be posted on the websites of faith healers, spiritualists or mediums where appropriate, as well as on invoices and at the top of any printed terms and conditions.
Andy Millmore, a partner at the law firm Harbottle & Lewis in London, said: “What is significant is the sweeping nature of the regulations. They will effectively criminalise actions that might in the past have escaped legal censure, even if they may perhaps have been covered by industry voluntary codes.
“Personalised services may also come under scrutiny. A tarot pack reader, for instance, cannot just pick one of several templates – it would have to be a proper reading designed for that person.”
Claims to secure good fortune, contact the dead or heal through the laying-on of hands are all services that will also have to carry disclaimers, other lawyers say. “You could argue that this is no different from promises given by the Church of Eternal Life, which people pay for, in the sense that they feel obliged to give to the collection,” one said. “It’s no more proven.” Read more
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BBC News: Home searched after Exeter blast
Police are searching a flat linked to a man arrested after an explosion in a restaurant in the centre of Exeter.
Armed officers raided the house in King Street, Plymouth, connected to 22-year-old Nicky Reilly, who is believed to have converted to Islam.
He was detained by Devon and Cornwall Police after a device detonated inside the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter.
Mr Reilly, who has mental health problems, is being treated in hospital for facial injuries.
Deputy Chief Constable Tony Melville said Mr Reilly, who is under police guard, appeared to be a "vulnerable" individual who had been "preyed upon" and "radicalised".
At a news conference yards from the restaurant, where the explosion happened just before 1300 BST on Thursday he said: "Our investigations so far indicate that Reilly, who has a history of mental illness, had adopted the Islamic faith.
"We believe that despite his weak and vulnerable state he was preyed upon, radicalised and taken advantage of." Read more
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Thursday, 22 May 2008
BBC News: 'Doing time didn't put me off crime'
[...] His first time in a secure unit was at 13. It was to become somewhere he got to know well.
Dale says at first he was nervous, he had no idea what to expect in custody, but the reality came as a relief.
He says: "I got in there and it was basically like Butlins, a little holiday for me," he says. "When I got out I thought it was the place to be, so I came out and I did exactly the same thing and had to go back."
Dale describes how, inside, he had use of his own TV and a games console. Life inside felt more regimented and secure than the outside. He just did not view it as punishment.
Appearing before courts, being arrested by the police, spending time locked up, none of it made any difference to him.
"I wasn't scared of it so it didn't stop me," he says. "I reckon it's just too easy really. If it had been harder for me I might not have gone back." Read more
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The Times: The Vicar of Baghdad: Through the valley of the shadow of death
(Ed: Someone once asked me if Canon White was sufficiently 'orthodox' to merit our support. My response was that if you could actually find someone orthodox willing to go and do his job, I'd happily support them instead.)
Canon Andrew White's family home is not exactly a rambling rectory, but with its peaceful village setting, immaculately tended garden and homely clutter, it is, by most people's definition, idyllic and utterly conventional.
The problem for Canon White is that he is not a conventional man.
When, as he is occasionally given to do, he opines to his wife, a former lawyer, that perhaps he should be a normal parish priest, her response is always the same. “They couldn't cope with you and you couldn't cope with them,” she tells him.
Canon White is the so-called Vicar of Baghdad. Though nominally he resides in rural Hampshire, his church, St George's, is situated 3,000 miles away, amid the razor wire and bombed-out buildings of Iraq's capital. He spends an average three days a month with his wife and two young sons in the UK; the rest of the time, he is at his home away from home, a Portakabin inside Baghdad's heavily fortified green zone - the six square miles that houses all foreign, military and diplomatic staff in what remains the world's most dangerous city.
This Sunday, an ITV documentary gives an extraordinary insight into Canon White's double life. Rageh Omaar, the veteran Iraq war correspondent, presents him as a charismatic and indisputably brave man. Read more
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BBC News: Churches unhappy over father figures
It is normally the emotive issue of abortion or the complexities of hybrid embryos that have raised the greatest passions in the debate over the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
But the Church of England has reserved its greatest ire for the decision of MPs to allow single women and lesbian couples to seek IVF treatment without having to consider the need for a father for their children.
Its verdict is stark.
"This vote sends a signal that fathers don't matter," it said.
"The Church holds that a child's right not to be deliberately deprived of having a father is greater than any 'right' to a child through IVF.
"We are extremely disappointed that the important role of fathers was not recognised in the bill, and that we now have a situation where the perceived 'right' to have a child trumps the right for a child to be given the best possible start in life." Read more
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Scotsman: Kirk calls for public cash to save churches from ruin
(Ed: Not directly an Anglican concern, but it is building costs that finish off congregations, and are the 'elephant in the room' where maintaining the Church of England's presence in rural areas is concerned. I am not aware, though that the Church of England receives any government 'grants' towards insurance as is alleged in the article - certainly not in our case!)
LACK of maintenance and under-insurance by Church members is increasing pressure on the Kirk to shed more of its properties, the General Assembly heard yesterday.
But Church members have claimed that spiralling insurance premiums were crippling their efforts to care for and protect their buildings, and called for the Scottish Government to step in and protect the nation's heritage.
The chairman of the Church of Scotland's General Trustees, Finlay Turner, told the assembly that congregations were neglecting their properties and in many cases seriously under-insuring them.
"The trustees have ongoing and mounting concern that the regulations for care of buildings in many cases are not being applied as well as they might, and major problems with buildings continue to arise from long-term neglects and a failure to attend to minor and routine maintenance as it arises," he said. Read more
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Western Australia News: First female bishop ‘may lead to gay priest’
An Anglican splinter group has warned that the consecration of Perth Archdeacon Kay Goldsworthy as Australia’s first woman bishop tonight will pave the way for the appointment of openly gay priests and further deepen the rift between Church factions.
Bishop Harry Entwistle, who heads the WA chapter of the breakaway conservative group the Traditional Anglican Communion, said the consecration would add weight to the call from liberal Church elements to accept gay priests and bishops.
He said openly gay clergy would follow female bishops “as night follows day”, as had been the case in some parts of the US and Canada.
“This has put the Church in a position where there is no way back so it is no use protesting any more,” he said. “And if (the appointment of gay priests) happens, when it happens, there is no doubt the division that is now under the surface will erupt.” Read more
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Kenya Daily Nation: Failing to attend the Lambeth Conference is cowardly
MEMBERS OF THE ANGLICAN Church in Kenya would like to know why our bishops are not attending the Lambeth 2008 Conference.
Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi is reported as reasoning thus: “Lambeth 2008 should have been about a return to God in view of these realities, yet it’s obvious that won’t be the case. Canterbury has sanctioned homosexuality. We cannot be going there to keep up with its theological gymnastics.”
Is this not missing the point of Lambeth? Isn’t this cowardly?
This conference is central in our church tradition as one of the four instruments of the Anglican Communion.
It is intended to, under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, express episcopal collegiality worldwide, and gather bishops for common counsel, consultation and encouragement, and serve as an instrument for guarding the faith and unity of the communion.
It is here that the bishops should stand to differ with their own peers on issues they feel are pertinent to the communion in terms of doctrine and spirituality, which is why they are bishops.
THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY’S emphasis in his Advent Letter (December 12, 2007) was that ‘‘acceptance of the invitation (to Lambeth Conference, 2008) must be taken as implying a willingness to work with those aspects of the Conference’s agenda that relate to implementing the recommendations of Windsor, including the development of a covenant”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s call has been taken positively by a number of those who had intended to boycott Lambeth, among them Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburg Diocese in the US, who said he believes it is important that the diocese be represented throughout the Lambeth Conference, if for no other reason than to provide an alternative perspective on the situation in the Episcopal Church.
“Those who accuse us of abandoning the Anglican Communion will certainly be present and vocal. It is important for us to be able to respond directly to their claims about the situation in the Episcopal Church and our place in the Communion,” he added. Read more
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Richard Wood: Not gone and not forgotten
It is now almost a year since Richard Wood, having been accepted for ordination by the Church of England’s advisory panel and completed his training, was refused ordination at the last minute by the Bishop of Chelmsford.
Richard had felt for a long while that he did not wish, in good conscience, to be ordained by a bishop who was patron of an organization, Changing Attitude, opposed to biblical teaching on homosexuality and campaigning to overthrow the Church’s teaching both here and abroad. The nature and extent of Changing Attitude’s commitment may be judged from their website and from their intention to have a major presence at the Lambeth Conference.
The Bishop had been advised of this difficulty well in advance by Richard’s training-incumbent-to-be and various solutions had been sought. All of these were refused, and in the end Richard decided, after a protracted personal struggle, that although he would take the oath of canonical obedience to the Bishop and accept ordination at his hands, he could not receive holy communion with him — a position held on much the same issue by a number of clergy in the same diocese. Having informed the Bishop’s chaplain of this decision at the ordination retreat, Richard was then told to go home.
Richard has, however, been employed to work in a pastoral capacity at Dagenham Parish Church, thanks to generous giving by a number of people. Indeed, it has been quite a good year for him. He has become engaged and is due to be married in November. Nevertheless, his actual ordination remains ‘on hold’, despite continuing efforts to overcome the impasse which have drawn attention from the highest levels in the Church.
Earlier this year, however, the Bishop of Chelmsford delegated the ordination of a deacon at another parish in the diocese, where similar difficulties had been raised, to the Bishop of Barking. That ordination took place on May 1st. This obviously indicates that a solution can be found, and there are signs that Richard’s long wait may be coming to an end.
Meanwhile, though, the Bishop’s personal commitments remain unaltered. At a recent Synod for all the clergy held in the Cathedral, the reader of the first lesson in the opening worship was the diocesan coordinator of Changing Attitude. In the language of Church politics, the lesson of the subtext was also clear to those with ears to hear.
Revd John P Richardson
22 May 2008
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Wednesday, 21 May 2008
The Telegraph: Dinosaur that died in "terrifying flood"
(Ed: Yeah, I know it couldn't be Noah's flood ... of course not.)
The most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in Britain is about to go on display - evidence of a species unique to Britain that perished in a devastating flood. Read more
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The Times: ‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails
A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would hand over the records to the Home Office under plans put forward by officials.
The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and security services would be able to access it if given permission from the courts. Read more
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Daily Telegraph: Abortion vote: A shameful night for MPs
So infanticide remains on the statute book, then. I’m sorry if that strikes you as offensive language, but I think it’s a perfectly reasonable description of the killing of babies that stand a chance of surviving outside the womb.
Last night’s House of Commons vote against any reduction in the upper time limit for abortions was really shameful. Over 300 MPs want the state to retain the right to kill 22-week-old foetuses, who can feel pain as they are gruesomely “terminated”.
Public opinion has shifted significantly on this question – but politicians, especially Labour ones, are not swayed by stories of babies who carry on living (albeit briefly) after botched abortions.
I’m not advancing a specifically Catholic argument here. I’m saying that the public recognises a commonsense distinction between abortion and infanticide, that the boundary between the two has clearly moved back beyond 24 weeks, and that the House of Commons made a gravely immoral decision by voting to keep the law as it stands. Read more
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The Dudley Outpouring - the next big thing?
Daily Mail: Teenager, 15, facing prosecution for holding a sign labelling Scientology 'a cult'
A 15-year-old facing prosecution for holding up a placard which branded Scientology a "cult" has appealed for help to fight possible charges.
The unnamed teenager was served the summons by City of London police after taking part in a peaceful demonstration opposite the Church's London headquarters, on May 10.
Demonstrators from the anti-Scientology group, Anonymous were outside the church's £23m headquarters near St Paul's cathedral when the boy was "strongly advised" by police to get rid of the sign which said: "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult".
scientology
A 15-year-old boy is facing prosecution for holding a sign branding The Church of Scientology, a 'cult'
A policewoman later read him section five of the Public Order Act and "strongly advised" him to remove the sign.
The section prohibits signs which have representations or words which are threatening, abusive or insulting.
But the teenager refused, and a file is now being passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for possible legal action. Read more
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The Times: US religious fundamentalism has secured Britain an advantage in engineering new humans
(Ed: note the comment highlighted in bold. That, one suspects is what this 'embryology' business is actually all about. The headline here is based on The Times' front page, not the article headline.)
Parliament has given Britain an opportunity to become great in engineering once again. It is a small chance but one worth backing, and in the defeat yesterday of the opponents of embryonic stem-cell research, there is the possibility in coming decades of building a world-beating industry.
It means engineering better human beings, not bridges, but that is no matter, unless you are hysterical or ideologically orthodox.
Years ago, we in Europe voluntarily gave up a new technology of huge commercial and social benefit - GM foods. The research went to the United States because of our fear of the new and our sentimentality about the natural world.
Supporters of stem-cell research will be grateful that the animal cells used in hybrid admixed embryos come from cows, rather than more photogenic foxes or seal pups.
A combination of luck and American religious fundamentalism has secured for Britain a competitive advantage, attracting American scientists, notably Roger Pederson and Stephen Minger, who escaped to a more congenial intellectual climate. Read more
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BBC News: Youth crime drive has 'no impact'
A decade-long government drive to cut youth offending has had "no measurable impact", an independent study suggests.
Criminologists at King's College London said success in targeting youth crime was far more mixed and ambiguous than ministers liked to claim.
The team said youth crime spending was up a massive 45% on 2000 - but every reoffending target had been missed.
The Youth Justice Board said an official independent audit showed the reforms had delivered big improvements.
One of Labour's first major acts after coming to power was to reform the system for tackling youth crime with former prime minister Tony Blair pledging to be tough on the causes of crime. Read more
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Desmond Tutu criticised by Church of England cleric for his comments on Sri Lanka
A well-respected Church of England priest and a British citizen told Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a hard hitting letter that it was matter for utmost regret that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) described as the “the most evil terrorist organization in the world” was possible to secure the Archbishop’s apparent support to denigrate Sri Lanka.
Rev. Tony de Alwis of the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham replying about Tutu’s alleged campaign against the re-election of Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council of the UN told the Archbishop that his action has become “a matter of the utmost regret that such an organization has found it possible to secure Your Grace’s apparent support in its unrelenting propaganda campaign to denigrate Sri Lanka on the international stage.”
Rev. De Alwis, an avowed campaigner against terrorism all over the world said that it had been a significant coup for the terrorists to be enabled to proclaim support for their demented cause from someone of the Archbishop’s undoubted stature and moral authority in the world.
So, he wondered in his letter whether Archbishop Tutu received information from independent sources or his sole source is the “very active cabal of supporters of this criminal organization, the LTTE, in South Africa. He said the unbalanced and unfair nature of his purported comments point to the latter. “If that is the case,” Rev. Alwis said, “then I wonder whether Your Grace would be open to learning the truth about Sri Lanka’s terrorist problem from less biased sources.”
Rev. Alwis calling the Archbishop’s condemnation of Sri Lanka a “mistaken” one said he should “look beyond propaganda” to explore the truth about Sri Lanka.
The following is the full text of his letter: Read more
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Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Daily Telegraph: Asylum seekers should be renamed sanctuary seekers, report says
The word "asylum" should be phased out and replaced with "sanctuary" when used in relation to foreigners seeking shelter in Britain, a report said today.
The recommendation was made after a poll for the Independent Asylum Commission found that only 28 per cent of people viewed the word "asylum" positively while 33 per cent viewed it negatively.
In contrast, more than 81 per cent thought "sanctuary" had positive connotations.
For 31.3 per cent the word asylum was associated with a place for the mentally ill rather than a refuge for the persecuted. Read more
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Daily Telegraph: Two million Britons emigrate in 10 years
Two million British citizens have left the UK in a decade, the greatest exodus from this country in almost a century, new figures will show.
A departure sign at an airport terminal
GETTY IMAGES
Some historians say the departure of two million Britons in a decade is almost unparalleled in the country's history
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will release figures showing that more than 200,000 Britons emigrated during 2006. That will take the total number who left the country between 1997 and 2006 to 1.97 million.
Another 1.58 million foreign nationals resident in Britain left during the same period.
However, 3.9 million foreigners arrived over the decade, including more than 500,000 in 2006.
The body will publish the raft of immigration figures on Tuesday, as MPs prepare to dismiss the national statisticians’ data as “not fit for purpose” and demand an overhaul of the way population movements are measured. Read more
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Monday, 19 May 2008
Sunday, 18 May 2008
A critique of curacies in the Diocese of Chelmsford
(Ed: This is from Sam Norton's Elizaphanian blogspot.)
Last week I attended a training course at Pleshey (part 2 of 'how to look after your curate' although it wasn't officially called that). This post explains my disquiet about one aspect of the course - click 'full post' for text.
This part of the course was primarily about the art of supervisions, how to conduct the regular meetings between training incumbent and curate in such a way that the curacy 'succeeds'. There was a strong sense that the Diocese has been a little scarred by, some years back, a high number of curacies 'failing' - hence a renewed emphasis on the training of the incumbents who are due to receive a curate for training.
However, I was a little alarmed that in the opening session we ventured straight into various secular analyses of supervision which, however worthy, are not automatically entitled to be accepted within the church. I asked whether we were going to spend any time exploring the theology of supervisions and it seemed that apart from a minimal engagement with some passages from Mark's gospel, we weren't. This I see as a typical example of the way in which training as a whole in the Church of England is not just theologically lightweight but prone to being captured by secular philosophies travelling under the guise of 'professionalism'.
What I want to do in this post is sketch out the sort of theological framework that would need to be explored prior to engaging with the secular perspectives. I have no doubt that secular perspectives have much to contribute to the conversation, it's just that I believe we need to 'arm ourselves with the Word' before engaging with them, so that our minds are attuned to what is compatible with our faith and what is not. I don't have any especial expertise in this area so this is really a requested agenda in four parts, to be developed by those who are more qualified. Read more
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