Daily Mail: Gaia author: We're all doomed!

The first angel blew his trumpet, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. Revelation 7:7

[...] Nature is adapting to the changing climate and Lovelock argues that humankind will have to do the same. We will face a ruthless period of natural selection.

"I reckon there are about 80 per cent more people than the world can carry," he says sanguinely.

Geography will play the largest role in survival. By chance, Britain is well-placed for the new hot phase. An effect of the changes will be the end of the Gulf Stream which keeps Britain warm.

So the climbing temperatures will be countered by cooler water. However, our European neighbours will not be so fortunate. "A lot of people who come here will be Europeans," predicts Lovelock.

"If you take the IPCC predictions, then by 2040 every summer in Europe will be as hot as it was in 2003 - between 110F and 120F. It is not the death of people that is the main problem, it is the fact that the plants can't grow. There will be almost no food grown in Europe.

"By 2040, parts of the Sahara desert will have moved into middle Europe. We are talking about Paris. As far north as Berlin. In Britain we will escape because of our oceanic position."

But Britain will not be entirely unaffected. According to Lovelock, rising sea levels will threaten central London, Cambridge and Somerset.

"We should do what the Dutch have done, and build a sea wall - or abandon the middle of London and have it as a lagoon city. Parliament and the City could relocate to higher ground."

The consequences of climate change are a science fiction nightmare. The writer of Dr Who, Russell T. Davies, once told me the only plot he would avoid was the environment because he could not give audiences a happy ending.

Yet Lovelock contemplates catastrophe almost with excitement. I ask why is he not terrified.

He answers that he has never lost a single night's sleep over the future. Scientific interest overcomes self-interest. He has a humility about the place of humans in the 3.5 billion year lifespan of the Earth. He talks not of people but of "our species".

He passionately wants "the best of our species" to survive, and is philosophical about the majority who won't.

"It will be a challenging and difficult life ahead but it will bring out the best in us. It will bring the most awful problem for our people and our Government. Read more
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Telegraph comment: Without Christianity, our society is doomed

[...] We might have expected the Church to resist the decay, but instead it has connived with the destructive sexual and social revolution begun in the 1960s. Back then, I voted for homosexuality to be decriminalised. But this meant "between consenting adults in private" - where "between" meant two, "adults" meant men over 21 and "private" meant behind locked doors. I did not foresee the obscene and coercive "Gay Pride" pantomimes that now disfigure our high streets.

Who would have thought we would live to see the Bishop of Hereford fined £47,000 and made to attend a re-education course because he refused to employ a practising homosexual in his diocese's youth services? How long before I am carted from the pulpit to the nick for preaching that sodomy is not morally equivalent to Christian marriage?

I voted also for abortion law reform, because I was told it would put an end to squalid back-street terminations. I did not think I would see the result: 200,000 abortions every year and most as a form of contraception.

We imagine we can ditch Christianity and yet the good things we have inherited in our way of life will continue. They will not. Christianity formed Western civilisation and is so consubstantial with it that if Christianity goes, the lot goes with it. Let T?S Eliot, writing in 1934, give us a text to think about this Easter: "Do you need to be told that even such modest attainments as you can boast in the way of polite society will hardly survive the Faith to which they owe their significance?" Read more
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Telegraph: Public school nurse sacked after son reports her for smacking his brother

A senior nurse at a leading public school has been sacked after smacking her 10-year-old son at home.

Susan Pope, 45, was investigated by the police who decided she had done nothing wrong after she hit the boy on his bottom.

But the £25,000-a-year boarding school said that because social services remained involved in the case, it could damage the school's reputation. It fired her for alleged gross misconduct.

Mrs Pope, who has three children, is taking the school to an industrial tribunal claiming unfair dismissal.

The row is likely to reopen the debate about smacking children.

Mrs Pope said she hit her son on the bottom after he was abusive and repeatedly swore at her. Her elder son, who was 15, called the police. Mrs Pope and her husband, Folker, a chartered surveyor, were arrested and held in a cell for 32 hours. Read more
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Telegraph: Bad behaviour in classrooms is blamed on indulgent parents

Classroom discipline is deteriorating because over-indulgent parents are spoiling their children, according to a report.
# Your view: Who’s in charge in Britain’s classrooms?

Primary school pupils are increasingly difficult to teach as they throw tantrums during lessons if they fail to get their own way, the Cambridge University study says.

Their problematic behaviour is being fuelled by growing exposure to television, computers and video games - as well as spending too long in baby bouncers and strapped into cots - which damages children's development, it is claimed.

The study, commissioned by the National Union of Teachers, comes amid growing fears that standards are being undermined as children are increasingly unprepared for full-time education. Read more
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Gledhill Blog: Full text of Cardinal's sermon on embryo bill

This Bill represents a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life. In some other European countries one could be jailed for doing what we intend to make legal. I can say that the government has no mandate for these changes: they were not in any election manifesto, nor do they enjoy widespread public support. The opposite has indeed taken place – the time allowed for debate in Parliament and indeed in the country at large has been shockingly short. One might say that in our country we are about to have a public government endorsement of experiments of Frankenstein proportion – without many people really being aware of what is going on.' Read more
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Times: Cardinal Keith O’Brien attacks 'monstrous' human embryo Bill

The Government is heading for its biggest confrontation with the Roman Catholic Church to date over its controversial new laws which will allow the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos.

A senior Cardinal condemned the plans as “monstrous” and of “Frankenstein proportion”.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien will use his Easter Sunday sermon to launch a scathing attack on the human fertilisation and embryology bill, describing the proposals as “grotesque” and “deathly”.

He will tell worshippers at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh: “One might say that in our country we are about to have a public Government endorsement of experiments of Frankenstein proportion – without many people really being aware of what is going on.”

In his sermon, the text of which was released today, he adds: “It is difficult to imagine a single piece of legislation which more comprehensively attacks the sanctity and dignity of human life than this particular bill.” Read more
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Telegraph: Easter message from the Bishop of Chelmsford

Right across our country and in every community Easter will be celebrated in the churches.

The story of the resurrection of Jesus will bring joy, hope, and fresh life to the people. In my diocese, which covers the old county of Essex, this will be as true in the vibrant and diverse communities of East London as it is in the rural villages in the north of the county.

The church is present in them all. Easter will be celebrated throughout.
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This is not just an accident of our history. It is a result of the Church of England having a constitutional duty in this country to ensure that Christian ministry is available to all its citizens.

Unlike the Post Office we cannot shut up shop and go where the trade is better!

We have a duty to be present and serving in every place.

It is a trust we share with all Christian people and traditions. Read more
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Central London Dean of Women's Ministry says physical resurrection of Jesus doesn't really matter

The Dean of Women's Ministry in London, Rosemary Lain-Priestly, sits remarkably light to the notion of Jesus' Resurrection in this interview on Radio 4's Sunday Programme.

5 minutes in:

Roger Bolton: [...] Do you believe it doesn’t matter whether it was about a body or not, or do you believe it definitely wasn’t?

Rosemary Lain-Priestly: The Scriptures tell us that the tomb was empty and it may well have been. Who am I to limit what God might choose to do? But my faith in the resurrection doesn’t stand or fall on whether there were human remains in Christ’s tomb. [...] So perhaps it doesn’t matter whether or not Jesus took his [physical body] with him.

RB: [...] Would it matter to you, would it shake your faith if a tomb was opened up and the bones in it were confirmed as those of Jesus? Your answer to that is it wouldn’t matter at all ...?

R L-P: I don’t think it would matter because the resurrection that I believe in, I think has continuity with what we experience in this life but in some very profound sense is about transformation, its about something other than what we have already experienced.

Listen to the broadcast here (limited time)

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The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns

(Ed: This article from Mark Thompson in Australia has some challenging things to say about Anglo-Catholicism. Even though the current divide in Anglicanism is not along the old lines of churchmanship, there are other elephants in the room, and the 'wounds of a friend' can be faithful (Prov 27:6). Others may wish to respond.)

... a golden age of Anglicanism, in which biblical patterns of doctrine and practice were accepted by the majority, is nothing but an illusion. Biblical Christianity has always struggled under the Anglican umbrella. At some times it did better than at others, but there was never a time when evangelical Anglicanism, even of the more formal prayer book kind, was uniformly accepted or endorsed by the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer were, after all, burnt at the stake with the consent of most of the rest of the bishops in Mary’s church.

The Puritans who stayed within the Church of England suffered at the hands of Elizabeth I, and William Laud and others made life increasingly difficult for them after Elizabeth’s death. The re-establishment of the Church of England following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 was never a determined return to the Reformed evangelical version of Archbishop Cranmer, but a compromise designed to exclude anything that resembled Puritanism. Wesley was hunted out of the established church. Whitfield had to preach in the open air when pulpits were closed to him.

However, the real seeds of the problem we now face lie in the nineteenth century. John Henry Newman’s infamous Tract 90, published in 1841, encouraged Anglicans to read the Thirty-nine Articles as a Catholic document.2 In this way he opened the door to the possibility that you might publicly assent to the Articles while reinterpreting them to say what you wanted them to say. What he did in the interests of a more Catholic version of Anglicanism others would do in the interests of a more liberal version before very long. As one scholar put it, ‘whether he intended to or not, he taught us to lie’.

Later in the century liberal approaches to the Bible and Christian doctrine were introduced into Anglican thought through men like Samuel Taylor Coleridge (whose Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit was published in 1840 though it had most likely been circulating privately before then) and two collections of essays: Essays and Reviews published in 1860 and Lux Mundi published in 1889. By the end of the nineteenth century, liberal Anglo-Catholicism was the dominant form of Anglicanism in Britain and elsewhere (with one or two significant exceptions).

So it is not simply that a couple of rash actions in the past five years or even the last fifty years have undermined what was a pretty well-functioning institution prior to that. Evangelical Anglicans have struggled in a hostile environment within the denomination for a very long time. Sometimes their ministry has flourished, despite the hostility of the hierarchy. Whitfield, Simeon, Ryle, Stott, Packer, Lucas — God has raised up many Anglican evangelical leaders in England and elsewhere.3 But their faithful ministry has always involved struggle within the denomination.

That background might lead you to ask, ‘So what’s changed now?’ If the denomination has long been compromised in these ways, and evangelicals have always struggled within it, why are we arguing that we have now reached a moment of crisis where decisive action needs to be taken? What is different about what’s happening at the moment? Read more
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Go to church and pray if you want to be happy, say scientists

Those with religious beliefs are likely to be happier than atheists or agnostics.

Research suggests religion can act as an "insurance policy" against the adversities of life.

Regular churchgoers also appear to cope better with events such as divorce or unemployment and may even be happier.

The study, presented yesterday at the Royal Economic Society's annual conference-in Coventry, used data from across Europe to investigate the effect of being religious on life satisfaction, as well as attitudes towards government policies.

Although the idea of religious belief as a "fortress" was not new, "this issue of insurance has surprisingly received only limited attention", the report's authors said. Read more
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Why I believe in God

[...] Does the fact that the universe ticks beautifully indicate a God? Perhaps not. But the mathematics, the physics, is very beautiful. Perhaps it only seems so to us.

But then why do we comprehend some of what it does? Why can we second-guess the universe? Why does it seem orderly?

Because, Prof Dawkins would say, we, being human, order it thus, of course. And we do so with our innate mad notions.

But human beings seem sometimes to have several other mad notions at odds with the other life we see around us: co-operation, compassion, compromise; an occasional readiness not to kill, rape and enslave which seem absent from every other species that we know of. Not that we never do; only that we often don’t. And no other creatures seem to. What makes us different?

The readiness to sympathise and at the same time rationalise is not contingent upon religious belief. But a belief in God is the most frequent mainspring for it in all of human history.

Equally, the failure of Paley’s argument from design applies to Dawkin’s modified notion of Darwinian blind design.

We are still left with the fundamental questions: why should there be anything rather than nothing? What caused the Big Bang? Why, uniquely (so far as we know), can people think, and love, and imagine a life beyond the material?

Is there, ought there to be, a point to any of this – by which I mean for every meson and gluon in the billions of galaxies, numberless beyond imagination?

Has consciousness any significance?

If your answer is “No”: All right. There you are. Dolly back. Fade to black.

If you think that there may be a reason why there is something rather than nothing, and that it is conceivable that what you think and do matters, we can continue. Read more
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Bp Mouneer Anis: Anglican Communion's "delay, obfuscation, mendacity"

THE ARCHBISHOP of Canterbury’s Anglican Covenant is not scheduled to be implemented until 2015, the Presiding Bishop of the Middle East and Jerusalem reports.

In a statement released following the Feb 29 to March 4 meeting of the joint standing committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates, Bishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt stated he had “lost many of the hopes” he had had for preserving the Anglican Communion from collapse due to delay, obfuscation and mendacity.

A member of the primates’ joint standing committee, he described an institution trapped in a culture of bureaucratic inertia that saw “conversation” as an end in itself. Bishop Anis said he was “shocked” to hear from the staff of the ACC the Anglican Covenant would not be enacted until 2015.

This “gives the impression that we are not in a state of crisis and that there is no desire to move towards a solution. In my opinion, if we wait until 2015 or even 2012 the Communion will be fragmented,” he wrote.
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Times: Shannon Matthews is the new face of poverty

[...] Poverty has a new face now, and it’s called Shannon Matthews. What her sad little story has destroyed, possibly for ever, is the convenient middle-class myth of coherent, material poverty. Instead, it has revealed that what devastates the lives of modern children is something altogether much worse – inner poverty; poverty of the soul.

Although clothed and fed, often with a parent or a stepparent in work, children in Shannon’s world have to exist in a state of pervasive, low-level psychological chaos that is beyond the remedy of any social worker. There are no state palliatives for emotional neglect; or an endemic lack of emotional stability. There is absolutely no cure for the horrors of growing up with adults who exist in a state of permanent volatility.

In a world such as Shannon’s, there are no certainties other than the fact that there are no certainties.

These children are not like our children. Their parents are not adults we would recognise as adults. The children do not come home from school to someone to ask them how their day was. Many are denied anything but fleeting attention, interest and stimulation.

Many, furthermore, spend their lives trying to be invisible in order to cope with the adults in the house – hostile boyfriends; stressed, angry mothers. Any children’s charity will tell you that the biggest threat to children comes from violent boyfriends and lovers; from mothers, in other words, who prioritise their own relationships over their children.

Add to this households where drink and drug abuse by adults is a common factor, and you begin to see how scary and unstable some children’s lives are. Read more
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The Credit Crunch - any Christian comment?

(Ed: Is it me, or is there a lack of Christian comment on the elephant in the global living room? (If you're going to remedy this, please observe the 'posting policy' and provide a proper, full, name and location.)

Larry Norman: "children died the days grew cold, a piece of bread could buy a bag of gold, I wish we'd all been ready."

The Daily Telegraph: It is unsettling to watch the world's reserve currency disintegrate. Commodities from gold to oil and wheat are taking on the role of safe-haven "currencies". The monetary order is becoming unhinged. I doubt the dollar can fall much further. What is it to fall against? The spreading credit contagion will cause large parts of the globe to downgrade in hot pursuit - starting with Europe. [...] The race to the bottom must soon begin. Half the world will be slashing rates this year to stave off credit contraction. The dollar will have a lot of company.

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Guardian: The Atheist Delusion

[...] For Dawkins and Hitchens, Daniel Dennett and Martin Amis, Michel Onfray, Philip Pullman and others, religion in general is a poison that has fuelled violence and oppression throughout history, right up to the present day. The urgency with which they produce their anti-religious polemics suggests that a change has occurred as significant as the rise of terrorism: the tide of secularisation has turned. These writers come from a generation schooled to think of religion as a throwback to an earlier stage of human development, which is bound to dwindle away as knowledge continues to increase. In the 19th century, when the scientific and industrial revolutions were changing society very quickly, this may not have been an unreasonable assumption. Dawkins, Hitchens and the rest may still believe that, over the long run, the advance of science will drive religion to the margins of human life, but this is now an article of faith rather than a theory based on evidence.

It is true that religion has declined sharply in a number of countries (Ireland is a recent example) and has not shaped everyday life for most people in Britain for many years. Much of Europe is clearly post-Christian. However, there is nothing that suggests the move away from religion is irreversible, or that it is potentially universal. The US is no more secular today than it was 150 years ago, when De Tocqueville was amazed and baffled by its all-pervading religiosity. The secular era was in any case partly illusory. The mass political movements of the 20th century were vehicles for myths inherited from religion, and it is no accident that religion is reviving now that these movements have collapsed. The current hostility to religion is a reaction against this turnabout. Secularisation is in retreat, and the result is the appearance of an evangelical type of atheism not seen since Victorian times. Read more
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Lambeth invitations 'will be reviewed'

The question of Lambeth Conference invitations will be reviewed by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Windsor Continuation Group (WCG), sources familiar with its deliberations tell The Church of England Newspaper.

Chartered last month by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, the WCG will take a second look at the decision not to extend invitations to the African consecrated American bishops of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Nigeria, and may also discuss the question of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire’s non-invitation.Were Dr. Williams to accept advice to broaden the Lambeth Conference invitation list, “that would change everything,” one global south leader told CEN, and prevent Lambeth from being a “bust.” Read more
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Forward in Faith UK condemns 'Graceless and Totalitarian Mindset' of TEC

Forward in Faith UK deplores the recent actions against the retired Bishop of Quincy, the Right Revd Ed MacBurney, by the House of Bishops of TEC as both pastorally and politically inept: pastorally on account of Bishop MacBurney’s age and tragic family circumstances; politically because of the certainty that it will alienate others across the Communion who have not yet grasped the extent of the graceless and totalitarian mindset which now dominates the Episcopal Church.

We are at a loss to understand why it is an offence for a bishop in good standing in one province of the Communion to offer episcopal ministry (at the request of its bishop) to a parish in another. Link
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REFORM Chairman Writes Letter Over Threat to Suspend J.I. Packer

The Reform Council have written very similar letters to the Church of England Newspaper and the Church Times.

Sir,

The threat by the Bishop of New Westminster in Canada to suspend the Revd Dr Jim Packer from ministry because his church has sought the oversight of the Primate of the Southern Cone has rightly created a huge sense of outrage across the Communion and especially among evangelicals in the Church of England. We are all indebted to Dr Packer for his monumental contribution to our understanding of Christian doctrine. To treat such a scholarly, godly and elderly man, who has been a key evangelical leader for over half a century, in this mean-spirited and aggressive manner is deeply upsetting.

At its most recent meeting, the Council of Reform was of the view that this development demonstrated that there are only really two sides to the current controversy over human sexuality - and we can now see clearly what they are. Read more
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TEC Presiding Bishop Plans to Try Bishop Duncan before the Lambeth Conference

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church plans to poll the House of Bishops in April 2008 for approval of a plan to move the possible deposition of Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh forward from September 2008 to May 2008.

This was announced at the post-meeting press conference yesterday. Bishops Ed Little, Roskam, Curry, and Alvarez were among those present at the conference.

The reasons for this move have not been made public, however, the effect of such a move is clear. The Lambeth Conference begins in July. Were Bishop Duncan to be deposed prior to the Lambeth Conference, the Archbishop of Canterbury would be forced to decide whether to honor the Episcopal Church’s deposition and disinvite Bishop Duncan or to disregard it, a decision similar to the one he faces with regard to Bishop Schofield of San Joaquin. Read more
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Deposition Votes Failed to Achieve Canonically Required Majority

Slightly more than one-third of all bishops eligible voted to depose bishops John-David Schofield and William J. Cox during the House of Bishops’ spring retreat, far fewer than the 51 percent required by the canons.

The exact number is impossible to know, because both resolutions were approved by voice vote. Only 131 bishops registered for the meeting March 7-12 at Camp Allen, and at least 15 of them left before the business session began on Wednesday. There were 294 members of the House of Bishops entitled to vote on March 12.

When questioned about canonical inconsistencies during a telephone press conference at the conclusion of the meeting, Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina said the bishops had relied on advice provided to them by canonical experts, and did not examine canonical procedure during plenary debate prior to the votes to depose bishops Schofield and Cox. Read more
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The Telegraph: Stop prayers or face being sued, council told

A town council is being advised to stop prayers before meetings or face the threat of legal action under race discrimination or human rights laws.

The warning has come from the National Association of Local Councils (NALC).

Bideford town council in Devon has been told by the association that councillors and members of the public could argue that their right to practise any religion could be infringed by the saying of short Christian prayers before meetings.
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Bideford council was planning to hold a meeting to discuss a possible ban but it is understood the matter will be adjourned until Hazel Blears, the Local Government Secretary, has made the Government's position clear.

NALC has urged the authority to stop the traditional practice of prayers before council meetings to "eliminate any risk" of challenge in the courts.

An email sent to Bideford council outlines Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance."

In January Bideford council voted to keep the pre-meeting prayers after a Liberal Democrat councillor tabled a motion to scrap them.

Geoffrey Cox, the Conservative MP for Torridge and West Devon, who is a QC, criticised the NALC, saying its advice "is quite simply misleading and wrong".

Mr Cox added: "This situation is proof of a disturbing tendency to try to use spurious legal arguments under the Human Rights Act and equality legislation to eliminate the Christian faith from the fabric of our public life." Read more
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Former TEC Bishop (80) charged with boundary crossing

Bishop Edward MacBurney, bishop retired of the Diocese of Quincy, has been formally charged with canonical violations by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. These charges stem from events occurring in June, 2007 when Bishop MacBurney was invited to make a pastoral visit to a non-Episcopal church in San Diego, California. MacBurney, 80 years old, retired from his position as a diocesan bishop in 1994, but as a bishop in good standing still actively ministers to churches throughout the country and also in other parts of the Anglican Communion..

The basis of the charges against MacBurney relate to the allegation that he did not receive permission to perform liturgical rites from the sitting Episcopal diocesan bishop in San Diego. Even though the church MacBurney visited had severed ties with the Episcopal Church in the United States and had re-affiliated with the Anglican Bishop of Argentina, a primate of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the charges allege that MacBurney impermissibly crossed Diocesan boundaries. Read more
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BBC: Kidnapped Iraqi Archbishop found dead

An archbishop seized by gunmen last month in Iraq has been found dead.

The body of Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul, was found in a shallow grave close to the city.

Pope Benedict XVI said he was profoundly moved and saddened, calling the archbishop's death an act of inhuman violence.

Archbishop Rahho was kidnapped not long after he left mass in Mosul, in northern Iraq, on 29 February.

According to the SIR Catholic news agency, the kidnappers told Iraqi church officials on Wednesday that Archbishop Rahho was very ill and, later on the same day, that he was dead. Read more

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Bishop Schofield responds to the HOB decision, ABp Venables responds

The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, a member diocese of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone of South America, was disappointed by today's decision of the Episcopal House of Bishops but he was not surprised by it.

"It is a shame that the disciplinary process of The Episcopal Church has been misused in this way," Bishop Schofield said in responding to the news that the Episcopal House of Bishops voted to depose him. "The disciplinary procedures used by the House of Bishops, in my case, were intended for those who have abandoned the Faith and are leading others away from orthodox Christianity, as held in trust by bishops in the Anglican Communion - and which The Episcopal Church had previously upheld also."

"The question that begs to be answered by the House of Bishops," said Bishop Schofield, "is, why bishops who continue to teach and publish books that deny the most basic Christian beliefs are not disciplined while those of us who uphold the Christian Faith are?" He added, "At least I am in good company. It is a privilege to know that I am standing along side of one of the outstanding theologians of our time, J. I. Packer, who is under similar discipline by the Canadian Church and who, also, has placed himself under the authority of the Southern Cone." Read more
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Damian Thompson: Catholics have forgotten the white working class

A BBC survey suggests that white working-class people feel ignored by politicians . They are certainly ignored by the mainstream churches in this country – and especially by the Catholic Church.

The “magic circle” that controls English Catholicism is dominated by an alliance between Left-leaning bishops and Tabletista busybodies who spend their time – forgive the cliché – preaching to the converted about climate change. They exhibit a slightly creepy obsession with ethnic minorities, but very little interest in the white working class. Read more
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The Times: Church of England benefits from budget

The Church of England will benefit to the tune of £8 million from the Chancellor’s budget.

The Church is one of the charities that has most to gain from Alistair Darling’s announcement that charities can continue to to claim 22 per cent on Gift Aid donations for three year, instead of having it cut to 20 per cent in line with the new rate of income tax. Read more
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Communiqué from GAFCON leadership meeting

We met in England as the leadership team of the Global Anglican Future Conference and Jerusalem Pilgrimage from March 10-12, 2008 and were encouraged by the support and enthusiasm of bishops, clergy and lay leaders around the Anglican Communion who have welcomed GAFCON and expressed their desire to attend.

We affirmed that the goals of GAFCON are to:

1. Provide an opportunity for fellowship to continue to experience and proclaim the transforming love of Christ.
2. Develop a renewed understanding of our identity as Anglican Christians within our current context.
3. Prepare for an Anglican future in which the Gospel is uncompromised and Christ-centered mission a top priority.

We received reports from our various task forces involved in logistics support and program development and are grateful for the remarkable progress already made. We are confident that our time together in the Holy Land will be one of great blessing for the wider Christian community, a positive witness of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and anticipation of our future as Anglican Christians.


Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola
On behalf of the Leadership Team.
12th March, 2008
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TEC House of Bishops consents to deposition of John-David Schofield, William Cox

The House of Bishops voted March 12 to consent to the deposition from the ordained ministry of the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, and the Rt. Rev. William Jackson Cox, bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Maryland, resigned.

Members of the House of Bishops are preparing a statement regarding these actions and for release after a March 12 afternoon session.

The process used to work through these resolutions took into account the importance of prayer and careful reflection before each vote was taken. Specifically, in both cases the House was first led in prayer by a chaplain, followed by small-group discussion, and then plenary discussion. After this, voting commenced. Each vote was cast clearly in the majority, with some nay votes, and some abstentions.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori asked the bishops assembled "to continue to reach out" in pastoral care to both Schofield and Cox.

"Abandoning the Communion of this Church does not mean we abandon a person as a member of the Body of Christ," Jefferts Schori said.

Full texts of the resolutions follow. Each resolution was considered and voted upon separately. The resolution pertaining to Schofield was acted upon first. Read more
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Open Evangelical website attacks member of Ridley Hall council regarding appointment of new principal

What particularly worries me in regard to Ridley is the fact that Andrew Dalton is apparently on its Council as well as that of Wycliffe. The Clare MacInnes correspondence with James Jones makes some particularly strong allegations concerning Mr Dalton's behaviour on the Wycliffe Council and yet it seems that no one is able (or willing) to bring him or the other members of the Council to account. Read more
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STDs rife among US teenage girls

One in four teenage girls in the United States has a sexually-transmitted disease, a study has indicated.

The study, by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found an even higher prevalence of STDs among black girls.

Researchers analysed data from a nationally representative sample of 838 US girls aged 14 to 19.

A virus that causes cervical cancer - HPV - was the most common, followed by chlamydia, trichomoniasis and herpes.

The CDC says the study is the first in its kind to examine the prevalence of common sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent girls.

It found that nearly half of the African-American girls surveyed had at least one STD, while the rate was 20% among white and Mexican-American teenagers. Read more
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Generosity and Mission Conference

Archbishop Douglas Hambidge – Anglican Church of Canada

There’s a message that bombards us that money impinges every part of our lives but somehow we must never talk about it in connection with who we really are as those entrusted with life and a world by God. I want to say that money is much more than something to pay the bills. No matter how important those bills are, that is not what money is for.

I believe that money has a sacred quality – almost a sacramental nature – because beneath its outward appearance there’s a deep spiritual meaning. Money is me in miniature. It says what I’m doing with my life. It says what I have done with my life. All my energies, all my time, all my skills, all the things I do. And right at the heart of worship I have an opportunity to say to God, this is who I am, this is what I have been doing with my life, this is me in the most complete form and expression that I know.

And as an outward sign of the offering of myself to you, I offer this expression of myself, this symbol of my life. I ask you to take what I offer and, in blessing it, make me more and more the kind of person you intended me to be. Consecrate my offering – consecrate me to be your person in the world. I am not giving because the church needs money. I am not giving because I might win something. I am not giving because there’s a tax benefit involved. I’m not even giving because there’s some crisis in the world. Before these things, important as they are, I am giving myself and the only way to do this that I know is to take this common commodity that expresses me and give it.

There’s a story in 2nd Samuel, chapter 24. There had been an epidemic of some kind in the land and pray had been offered that it would be taken away and the plague dies out. So David the King and the people decide that they will celebrate God’s blessing (by removing the plague) and that they will offer sacrifices of thanksgiving. And so they went to the place where the last of that plague was seen and built an altar to offer sacrifice on this piece of land. It belonged to somebody else and so he said to the owner, “How much? I want that piece of land.” And the owner said, “But you are the King. It’s yours. I’ll give it to you for nothing.” David said, “I will not offer to the Lord my God that which costs me nothing.”

What does that say to the kind of appeal that you hear so often: “Just give another dollar a week, you won’t notice it.”? We are meant to notice it! We’re giving ourselves and it’s painful and it hurts and we notice it. Giving according to proportion of faith – you will notice it. It will cost you something.

The other side of the offering is to look up and see there on the altar bread and wine. And in the bread and the wine God is saying to me and to you and to the whole Church, now do you see how much you mean to me? Now do you see how much I love you? There’s the bread and the wine – symbols of a life. Now do you understand?

And there right beside it, if I had my way, there’s a plate full of money and it’s made out of my little offering and yours and all of us – tokens of our lives, tokens of ourselves sitting right there on the altar. I would destroy all those side tables that they use to put the offering on.

And there on the altar are the offerings that we’ve gathered, inadequate as they are, symbols and tokens of ourselves, representing all that we have and all that we are, tokens of ourselves right beside it. As we’re saying to God, now do you see how much you mean to us, now do you see how much we love you? At the heart of it the offering has nothing to do with the needs of the Church or the needs of the poor or the hungry. At the heart of it the offering has nothing to do with those things – that comes later. At the heart of it it has nothing to do with paying bills, meeting deficits or responding to a crisis somewhere else. I didn’t say these things weren’t important, I said that at the heart of it this is not where it is at.

I am convinced that if we began to take our offertory moment seriously – not just bread and wine but our total offertory moment seriously – lives will be changed as people are allowed, encouraged, to say to God, “this is what you mean to me because I know what I mean to you.”
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The Guardian: Gay bishop criticises Williams for Lambeth snub

The gay American bishop whose ordination caused ructions in the Anglican church has criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury for his failure to unite the communion.

Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire, made the remarks after declining to attend the Lambeth conference, the 10-yearly gathering of the world's bishops, because his invitation was was a "non-offer".

He told a spring gathering of the US Episcopal Church House of Bishops: "It has been a very difficult 48 hours sitting here and hearing your plans for Lambeth.

"In my most difficult moments it feels as if, instead of leaving the 99 sheep in search of the one, my chief pastor and shepherd, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has cut me out of the herd."

Conservatives and liberals have accused Dr Rowan Williams of being indecisive on the issue of homosexuality and the church. He has also been under fire, from both sides, about the extent of Robinson's participation at Lambeth.

Robinson acknowledged the predicament, saying he had "respect and sympathy" for Williams. "I was trying to help him, and it just didn't work."

His bid to attend Lambeth started almost a year ago, he revealed, and organisers rang him days before official invitations were sent out.

Episcopal officials were also negotiating, with Chris Smith, the chief of staff at Lambeth palace, and the Rev Canon Kenneth Kearon, from the Communion office, for Robinson to take part in worship and study groups. Read more
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Christian Today: Study suggests homosexuals should not be discouraged from seeking change

When Stanton Jones first began to study psychology, homosexuality was a malady, listed and described in the official "diagnostic Bible," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In 1973, that diagnosis was dropped. Now the American Psychological Association's official website states, "The reality is that homosexuality is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable." The website warns that "conversion therapy" is poorly documented and could cause potential harm. The American Psychiatric Association's website adds, "[T]here is no published scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of 'reparative therapy' as a treatment to change one's sexual orientation. The potential risks of 'reparative therapy' are great, including depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior."

What to make, then, of the apparently sincere personal testimonies of people claiming to be ex-gay? Longtime Wheaton College professor of psychology and provost Jones, working with Regent University professor Mark Yarhouse, found an anomalous situation. Professional opinion made unusually absolute statements of the impossibility of change, considering older studies of homosexuals under treatment that showed substantial evidence of change. Critics of the older research noted shortcomings but offered no better evidence in support of the contention that change is impossible, even dangerous.

Jones and Yarhouse address this lack of good evidence in their book, Ex-Gays?: A Continuing Study of Religiously Mediated Sexual Orientation Change in Exodus Participants. By taking a sample of people entering ex-gay programs under the Exodus umbrella and following them with detailed questionnaires over several years, Jones and Yarhouse tested the impact of ex-gay programs on participants—whether they actually experienced change, and whether the attempt to change caused additional distress. Participants are still being followed, but the findings to date clearly upset the professional consensus. A substantial minority of participants showed significant change from homosexual patterns of behavior and thought, and there was no overall evidence of additional mental distress. The change observed was generally modest, perhaps comparable to the results of therapy for alcohol and drug addiction, for troubled marriages, or for personality disorders. Read more
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Book Review: Why Liberal Churches Are Growing

Why Liberal Churches Are Growing edited by Martyn Percy and Ian Markham T & T Clark, 176 pp., $39.95 paperback

This volume of essays explores evangelistic growth where it is coupled with liberal or progressive theology. The strongest chapters outline new sociological data or paint panoramic views of discrete segments of the church. The editors' diagnostic reflections on the nature of liberal churches are wonderful.

Among the contributors, Benjamin Watts presents a fascinating look at social justice and church growth in current and historical African-American churches; Terasa Cooley gives us a statistical analysis of the overall growth in Unitarian Universalism; and Scott Thumma suggests that an "open and affirming" approach to gays has no correlation—positive or negative—with congregational growth. Adair Lummis reflects thoughtfully on aspects of theological congruence between pastor and congregation in liberal congregations, and David Roozen incisively analyzes pockets of vitality within old-line Protestantism. Martyn Percy uses James Hopewell's Congregation: Stories and Structures to discuss one diocese's "tragic" stories ... Read more
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Bishop Michael Ingham's panentheism?

[...] Diarmuid O'Murchu in Quantum Theology: the Spiritual Implications of the New Physics says we should stop thinking of God as a supernatural Being located outside the universe. Instead, he says, we should think of the universe itself as a pulsating, vibrant dance of energy alive with benign and creative potential in which God calls to us from within, not without.

He says we should stop thinking of ourselves as created beings, and see ourselves instead as woven into the fabric of a dynamic, evolving and self-renewing universe in which we must play our part or become extinct. The damage we are doing to the planet and to other life forms may leave the universe no choice but to spit us out, as it has done to countless species before us.

Old forms of religion that perpetuate the idea we humans are some sort of crown or pinnacle of creation, the very best that God could do, may actually be dangerous, he says, in that they foster illusions of superiority that divorce us from the rhythms of nature, the pulse of existence, and prevent us from acquiring the humility we need before the vast mystery of life itself.

I am fascinated by all this. The new physics seems like more of a friend than an enemy. It brings a new understanding of the non-predictability of events, starting with Heisenberg's "Principle of Uncertainty," that begins to leave room for the unexplained, like the healing miracles of Jesus and the inexplicable interventions of God in human affairs. It begins to look as though science and religion don't necessarily conflict. It's just bad science and bad religion that conflict, and if we want to outgrow that period in human history then we need to re-think our faith as well as our science.

Easter, for example, is much more than a story about the body of Jesus walking out of a tomb. Easter is a kind of uncertainty principle thrust into the heart of our tidy, ordered universe, undermining all our theories about how things ought to be. It's an event that makes everything unstable. Read more
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Excerpts: Jim Packer speaks on Anglican realignment

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Ed Husain: It's Arabs who are showing us how to tackle extremism

[...] When I lived in Saudi Arabia, the one aspect of Saudi intolerance that irked me most was their refusal to allow people of other faiths to worship freely. There was no church for the millions of Christians in a country that is considered the West's closest ally. And yet Saudi Arabia remains free to inject millions of dollars into mosques across Europe. To date, there is no single Saudi cleric who has openly supported the cause of the largest religious minority to worship freely. Nor will the British or American governments request these basic rights for their citizens, lest they upset the House of Saud.

I met a professor of Islamic studies from Qatar University. Dr Abdul Hameed al-Ansary, without my prodding, reiterated his public position of support for churches in Qatar. Meeting an Arab Muslim scholar from a conservative Gulf state who proudly tells me that Qatar's first church building is nearly complete gives me a sense of hope that soon Saudi Arabia may follow where its neighbours lead. There are churches in Kuwait, Dubai and ancient Christian prayer halls in Yemen. The Arabian peninsula now has churches as Europe has mosques.

Meanwhile, the extreme, vacuous misinterpretation of Islam that focuses on rituals and rigidity is alive and well in Britain. Recently, I was at a sermon at Imperial College, London, where a young, radical preacher fired off a sermon about excommunicating Muslims, or takfir. It is out of such rhetoric that the jihadist mindset is born, taken from an ahistorical reading of scripture. When this is married to political grievances, pioneered by Islamist movements, we have suicide bombers.

Those who share my religion in Britain are yet to follow Qatar and publicly admit to an extremism problem in our communities. For as long as radical sermons go unchallenged, and Islamist groups adopt doublespeak in public discourse, condemning terrorism while disseminating extremist literature, British Muslim activists will be in the grip of extremism.

The older generation of immigrant Muslim leaders must move aside and give way to younger British voices. Then perhaps we, like those in Doha, can admit that social and political extremism is rife in Muslim communal discourse. Read more
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Governments' way with words impacts all

[...] Document after document, all with their enormous numbers of kilobytes listed, sit there, each hatching out of the other. There is a Single Equality Scheme Delivery Plan. Every area of equality, since legislation in 1997, requires an Equality Impact Assessment (EQUIA). There is an EQUIA for Children's Play and an EQUIA for Early Years and an EQUIA for Special Educational Needs, as well "Narratives" and "Action Plans" so that equality may be delivered safely.

The department offers a "Proforma for an Early Years EQUIA". This is how it ends: "We will be working with partners to develop the 0-7 partnership into implementation phase, and to develop criteria to select pilot authorities, including criteria relating to equalities and gap-narrowing. The pilots will be monitored and evaluated, including for their impact on equalities and gap-narrowing." All helping make England the best place in the world for children to grow up.

Some might agree that all this is rather depressing, but say that bureaucracies always have their wordy ways of doing things: the rest of us should leave them to their pointless, nonsensical documents and get on with life.

But it is not so. The documents, unfortunately, are not pointless or nonsensical, though they are atrociously written. In the Style Guide that it attaches to its equality policies, the DCSF explains the power of words. It says that the meaning of words changes "because various groups and communities ('speech communities') gain greater power and influence than hitherto".

Yes. The "speech community" of the post-1960s Left has gained almost complete power and influence over the administration of government. Its concepts, its way of putting things, now have the force of law. It is producing the slow death of free institutions in this country. Read more

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Senior layman warns 'Time for English evangelicals to get their heads above the parapet'

Sir,

The news that Dr Jim Packer has been served with a ‘notice of presumption of Abandonment of the Exercise of Ministry’ by the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada is a significant moment for ‘ordinary’ evangelicals in the Church of England.

For decades we have pursued our traditionally pragmatic, if somewhat intellectually deficient, ecclesiology that the CofE is ‘as good a boat to fish from as any’. Even with the turmoil engulfing the Anglican Communion, many evangelicals have focussed on getting on with the job. For better or worse, our (Anglican) priorities have been local rather than national. They have certainly not been international.

The suspension of Jim Packer’s licence to minister suddenly brings it all very close to home. The name of Jim Packer has an iconic resonance across vast swathes of English evangelicalism. If Jim Packer is being suspended from the Anglican Church in Canada today, then who knows what will happen here tomorrow?

This is not a time for knee-jerk reactions. There are notable differences between the situation in Canada and here, not least in terms of Church structures and polity. But it is a significant moment, nonetheless. These issues are not going to go away. We may feel deeply reluctant - but it is time to get our heads above the parapet.

Glynn Harrison

Clifton Bristol

Professor Glynn Harrison is Professor of Mental Health at the University of Bristol, Church Warden of Christ Church, Clifton Bristol, a member of General Synod, and of the Crown Nominations Commission.
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Joint Standing Committee discusses Lambeth Conference, Windsor Process

The Lambeth Conference and issues relating to the Windsor Process were the primary concerns addressed at the February 29-March 4 meeting of the Primates/Anglican Consultative Council Joint Standing Committee which was held in private at the London-based Anglican Communion Office.

While much of the conversation focused on process and the respective roles of the Joint Standing Committee, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was elected to the Primates Standing Committee in February 2007, said it had been "enlightening, not only to get to know people and to build some relationships, but to hear more about the different contexts in which people function and the ongoing frustration with how much time we spend talking about conflict rather than mission."

The committee registered its appreciation for the work of the Lambeth Conference Design Group, but noted that particular details of the meeting are still being worked out and that fundraising is a continuing need for the once-a-decade gathering of the Anglican Communion's bishops. More than 800 bishops have been invited to attend the July 16-August 3 conference in Canterbury. A separate conference for the bishops' spouses will run concurrently.

The committee acknowledged that five primates have said their bishops will not be attending the Lambeth Conference, "but recognized that some bishops from those provinces are expected to attend," Jefferts Schori said. "The hope is that more will certainly decide to attend."

The bishops are invited to Lambeth on an individual basis and not on behalf of or through their primates, Sue Parks, Lambeth Conference manager, told ENS.

Jefferts Schori said the Joint Standing Committee occasionally acknowledged differences of language and understanding language. "We functioned in English but that does not mean we are still speaking the same language," she said. "It's not just American and British English, but also its usage around the Communion, and I wonder if that might not be a source of difficulty in our conversation, certainly in some of the responses the Joint Standing Committee has had to address from particular provinces around the Communion."

Those conversations about understanding language are particularly relevant to interpreting the Windsor Report, the Presiding Bishop said, especially since "there has been an assumption that in some parts of the Communion it means x and the faithful interpretation in other parts of the Communion that it means y or z." Read more
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Telegraph Obituary: The Rt Revd Kenneth Woollcombe, former Bishop of Oxford

The Right Reverend Kenneth Woollcombe, who died on March 3 aged 84, was Bishop of Oxford from 1971 to 1978; but the pattern of his career was unusual and, in some ways, disappointing.

During the 1960s and 1970s his star was clearly in the ascendant. A series of important academic posts was followed - to the accompaniment of much cheering - by appointment to the bishopric of Oxford. He was well known in international church circles and was associated with the movements for church reform and church unity.

His early years in Oxford were full of promise. Whereas his predecessor, Harry Carpenter, had been of a somewhat dry, academic temperament, Woollcombe's stylish and open approach was found refreshing. His sense of humour enabled him to break through many an icy situation, and he had great pastoral gifts.

The day-to-day demands of so large a diocese, however, proved testing; and there were surprising moments when the bishop forecast the imminent demise of the Church of England and spoke of his own intention to retire in 10 years' time in order to "run a pub".

The humorous, provocative element in such episcopal utterances was easily recognised, but so also was an underlying uncertainty about his role as a bishop and his ability to cope with its requirements. Read more
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Front Page Magazine: A Tale of Two Archbishops

"Democracy … is a beautiful and fragile flower and we should support it, value it and protect it. It allows for dissent, for freedom of expression and for rights for all. We should not give in to claims that Islamic countries are morally, spiritually and culturally superior to other civilisations and great cultures … Muslim leaders often tell Christians and Jews that 'there is no compulsion in religion'. This sadly is only half true. If non-Muslims are not compelled to become Muslim, Muslims are not free to choose another faith. There is, we find, some compulsion, after all."
– George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, March 31, 2004.

"It seems unavoidable and indeed as a matter of fact certain provisions of Sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law … I think we need to look at this with a clear eye and not imagine either that we know exactly what we mean by Sharia and just associate it with what we read about Saudi Arabia, or whatever … I don't think we should instantly spring to the conclusion that the whole of that world of jurisprudence and practice is somehow monstrously incompatible with human rights … An approach to law which simply said, 'There is one law for everybody and that is all there is to be said'. I think that's a bit of a danger."
– Rowan Williams, current Archbishop of Canterbury, February 7, 2008.

In these excerpted statements from the heads, past and present, of the Church of England, we see encapsulated two approaches to democracy and the challenges posed to it so divergent that they look as though they emerged from different planets. Put plainly, Carey sees democracy as tender and in need of consolidation; Williams sees it as something rigid and in need of modification.

Williams might deny this formulation. After all, in his call for introducing sharia, he also stressed that he envisages a voluntary jurisdiction for Muslims freely wishing to avail themselves of it, not a coercive one without right of appeal. Yet British journalist Melanie Philips rightly points out that "his proposal would … mean that Britain would simply abandon its female Muslim citizens whose parlous position in respect of forced marriages, honour killings and all the other horrors that follow from their second-class religious status would be institutionalised by giving sharia law official recognition."

That this would prove to be the case is evident from Williams' assertion that sharia is a body of law that he cannot be reliably delineated. As it happens, however, its general provisions on family law are not in doubt. In short, whatever Williams might wish to envisage, a competing jurisdiction would indeed emerge. In these circumstances, equality under the law would become a thing of the past.

I belabor this point, not to demonstrate that Williams' inchoate ideas about democracy accommodating incompatible Islamic mores are eccentric but, on the contrary, to highlight how routine and reflective of British currents they have become.

Consider: in September 2005, the fast-food chain Burger King withdrew its ice-cream cones after the design on the lid of the dessert offended a Muslim in England's High Wycombe. The same month, London's Tate Gallery removed sculptor John Latham's work "God is Great," which included a Koran torn in half. If one doubts these to be exceptional cases in corporate and artistic self-regulation, try to imagine commerce and the arts being comparably deferential to Christian or Jewish sensitivities: no amount of (peaceful) protest ever saw the cancellation of any exhibition of Andres Serrano's Piss Christ, which featured a crucifix submerged in urine. Read more

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White working class 'voiceless'

A majority of white working class Britons feel nobody speaks for people like them, a BBC survey has suggested.

Some 58% said they felt unrepresented compared with 46% of white middle class respondents to a Newsnight poll.

White working classes were also negative about the past decade with 62% saying life had generally become worse in the UK.

In response to BBC Two's White Season, a special Newsnight on 6 March will feature full poll results and debate. Read more
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Chelmsford 'Ad Clerum' asks "What is God asking us to become?"

(Ed: An 'Ad Clerum' is a letter sent to all the clergy by the Bishop of a Diocese, usually to draw attention to some significant event or pastoral issue.)

February 2008
Ad Clerum 2008

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I am very conscious that a time of change is also a period of uncertainty. I have often noted that the mood of our culture can be reflected in the life of the church. We know we are travelling through a time of change and that we need to make the journey. We also experience that uncertainty and even anxiety as to how it will all turn out. What is God calling us to become? What is God doing? A question for all of us Anglicans in the year of the Lambeth Conference. A question also for the church in England and especially in our diocese.

In my address to the Diocesan Synod in November I tried to remind myself and all of us of our Anglican heritage as evidenced in the thinking of Richard Hooker. I would describe his approach, and the character of Anglicanism, as one of "generous listening and mutual learning". All of us have vital things to contribute and all of us have crucial things to learn. We do so in an atmosphere of generosity and in a listening posture.

Some interpret this as leading us towards some safe middle ground. Those who know me would hardly describe my ministry as occupying safe or middle ground! Strong convictions, deeply held visions, a capacity to inhabit new places and themes for the sake of the Gospel, and even a sharp-edged awkwardness, are characteristic of our history.

We have always lived with conflict! This is hardly surprising when you consider how important and deep are matters of faith in human life. Indeed, the pure gold of Hooker was refined out of deep and difficult conflict in the life of the church in the late 16th century.

If we believe and trust in the life of the Spirit of Jesus Christ the future will be shaped out of the conflict and the encounter - not in spite of it! That journey is fuelled, however, by the opportunities to listen and to learn from what sometimes seem polar opposites. There are important things we all share. Not least the trust that has been placed in us to proclaim, share and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ with and for the whole community. In this coming year I will be seeking to press our responsibility towards the wider community - its culture and social experience. The arrival of Bishops from across the whole world into our diocese just before the Lambeth Conference will bring among us the challenges of a divided and needy world. Our own diocese contains levels of poverty, social exclusion and discrimination that are offensive to the heart of the Gospel. The deeper we have the courage to move into the meaning of our faith the more challenging we find the experience of our shared life in the community.

I am both proud of and humbled by the many in our own diocese who, often at great cost to themselves, not only challenge these things but seek to contribute to their finding a resolution.

You will, I hope, forgive me bringing some specific matters to your attention.

Mission and Pastoral Order
During this year, in the light of the profound work of the Deanery Vision process, we will be seeking to answer the question "What is God asking us to become, and to do, to better serve the presence of the Church and the provision of good ministry across the diocese?" We must not be afraid of some radical thinking! The 21st century calls us to move on into new territory.

No stone must be left unturned and our thinking must include:

o liberating the ministry of all God's people
o locally rooted ministry
o sustainable posts and benefices
o stronger support for the ministry of retired clergy
o new opportunities in a growing and developing diocese
o fresh thinking about, and fresh expressions of church
o good contextual and theologically excellent foundation work.

Just a few of the lines of thought being explored.

2008 will see the implementation of the provisions of the revised Pastoral and Diocesan Measures. These are important to our future. The Bishop's Staff Team, the Bishop's Council and the Diocesan Synod will be working on these issues throughout this year.

Confirmation
I am delighted to detect that this ministry is growing in places in the diocese. I want to encourage you to use the opportunity of confirmation as part of our ministry in drawing people deeper into faith and into the life of the church. Since people's needs do not always fit set dates, do not be afraid of crossing deanery boundaries to bring candidates to the Bishops! These really are great occasions!

It still remains the case that for children under I I clergy should seek the consent of the Bishop before proceeding to confirmation. I also want to encourage parishes to consider using the new regulations opening the door to the admission of baptised children to Holy Communion. In this case I would normally expect them to be confirmed by 18 - another useful milestone in their own discipleship.

Sabbaticals, diaries and admin!
My Chaplain, Chris Newlands, is on Sabbatical from Easter to the end of June. We are in the process of ensuring cover for his work during this period. My diary is managed by Jenny Robinson, my P.A., and she makes all arrangements for people to see me and for my programme. It is a great help to me to have a full brief on services in which I am participating in good time so that I can approve them and agree the details with the parish concerned. We will all do our best to maintain excellent levels of service to you!

Pastoral Review
With this letter comes a request from Sir Roger Singleton and Christine Daly to respond to their Review of Pastoral Provision in the Diocese by completing the attached questionnaire. We have much to learn and gain through this process - so do not be afraid of telling it as you have experienced it!

Maundy Thursday
Joining with you at the Lord's Table on Maundy Thursday, both to renew and refresh our ministry vows and to ask God's blessing on the oils is one of the occasions when the story and message of Jesus strike home to me! We meet at I 1.00 am in the Cathedral and I do hope that you and representatives of your parish and ministry team will be able to join us there.

The journey we make, following our Lord as he travels to Jerusalem and the Cross, is deep and demanding. It is also the way to life abundant! Let us continue to pray for one another that we might all be given the faith to make this journey with hope and joy in our hearts.

With my prayers and warmest greetings.

John

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Hodge attacks Proms: they're narrow and lack the common British values

Ed: I wait with baited breath for a speech by the culture minister in which she shows how Henry VIII was responsible for "separating state and religion" - shurely shome mishtake?

The culture minister, Margaret Hodge, will today criticise the Prom concerts as one of many British cultural events that fail to engender new common values or attract more than a narrow unrepresentative audience.

She will make her remarks in a broad-ranging speech that examines the role culture should play in developing a stronger sense of shared British cultural identity.

Hodge will also suggest that British citizenship ceremonies should be held in places such as castles, theatres, museums, art galleries and historic houses.

In a speech at the IPPR thinktank she will also propose that a commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the accession of Henry VIII to the throne next year could be an opportunity to explore the strengths and weaknesses of British history in the same way that the abolition of slavery last year looked at uncomfortable and sensitive issues. Insisting that she wants to play a part in championing the role culture can play in building a sense of belonging, she will argue: "All too often our sectors are not at their best when embodying common belongings themselves.

"The audiences for many of our greatest cultural events - I'm thinking in particular of the Proms - is still a long way from demonstrating that people from different backgrounds feel at ease in being part of this.

"I know this is not about making every audience completely representative, but if we claim great things for our sectors in terms of their power to bring people together, then we have a right to expect they will do that wherever they can."

Proposing citizenship ceremonies in Britain's great historic spaces, she will say: "Being made a British citizen in those kind of surroundings allows people to associate their new citizenship with key cultural icons, and then offers them the chance to build a longer-term engagement."

She will admit that Henry VIII's accession, given the more unsavoury parts of his reign, is not a straightforward event to celebrate.

"Whether in separating state and religion, or in instituting English as a common language or in being the first clearly to define and map our boundaries, a deeper understanding of his reign may help the important debate on England starting to emerge," she will say. Read more
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Larry Norman dies

(Ed: Sorrow and joy mixed together over this news - you have to be 'a certain age' to remember Norman's heyday.)

THE “grandfather of Christian rock music”, Larry Norman, died on Sunday in his home town of Salem, Oregon. He was 60 years old, and had suffered from heart-related bad health for many years. Read more
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Political interference is damaging children's education, report claims

This was the Government that promised its priority would be education, education, education. Instead, as a slew of extraordinary reports are making clear, it will be remembered by schools as the Government that could not leave well alone.

The biggest inquiry into primary education for 40 years concluded yesterday that Labour's tight, centralised control of England's primary schools has had a devastating impact on children's education. Micromanagement, meddling and a succession of ministerial edicts have killed the spontaneity in the nation's classrooms. Teachers have been stripped of their powers of discretion. And the net result of a decade of new Labour "reform" has almost certainly been a decline in the quality of education that the young receive.

It would have been better, concludes the Cambridge University-based Primary Review – an ongoing inquiry into primary education in England – if the Government had done nothing at all.

The four reports published today follow 18 earlier reports that have painted a devastating picture of government interference in primary schools and laid bare ministers' obsession with testing and desire to dictate the minutiae of classroom practice.

They say government influence in the classroom has increased since 1997 to such an extent that English primary schools are now subject to a "state theory of learning" in which teachers are not only told what to teach but how they should teach it. Read more
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Jim Packer threatened with suspension

As evidence of the escalating crisis in the global Anglican Communion, today one of the of the world’s most esteemed Christian theologians, Dr. J.I. Packer, received a letter threatening suspension from ministry by the controversial Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham. Bishop Ingham accused Dr. Packer, hailed by Time Magazine as the “doctrinal Solomon” of Christian thinkers, “to have abandoned the exercise of ministry” after the church where he is a member voted to separate from the diocese and join the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone under the oversight of Anglican Archbishop Gregory Venables. Read more
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Adults to blame for feral gangs says Archbishop

THE Archbishop of Can­ter­bury sparked fresh controversy yesterday by suggesting yobs only join gangs to fend off  “un­friendly adults”.

Youths swarm on street corners and in shopping malls so they “feel secure” from older people, claimed Dr Rowan Williams.

He said rather than trying to intimidate innocent people, the young mobs are simply trying to find their own “safe public space”.

The Church of England leader also attacked “indiscriminate, knee-jerk” bids to control rowdy young people by using Mosquito ultrasonic devices, which scare them away with a high-pitched whining sound. Read more
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