Always Hope

Yesterday's vote in General Synod, which kicks the possibility of women becoming bishops into the long grass again, was the wrong decision. Not because it is right to have women at all levels in the church (although I personally believe that it is). But because the final decision does not reflect the intention of the church. As Tim Hind wrote in the run-up (I think in a national newspaper), the people of the churches are expecting to have women as bishops and expecting that soon. That expectation was based on a long and careful process that has clearly demonstrated that the Church of England is ready for this. What we saw yesterday was a failure on the part of General Synod, a catastrophic failure of process and of the body itself. Synod is not, as many commentators are saying, the Church of England. (As in "Church of England rejects women bishops"). The Church of England is where I was last night, with a group of baffled women and men who worship in their local churche...

Congratulations to David Ison on his appointment as the next Dean of St Paul's. Dr Ison, who is already a Dean, in Bradford, and thus labours under the title "the Very Reverend" (what a millstone to place around a man's neck) will take up his new post at the end of May. This is an absolutely key appointment, following the unfortunate departure of his predecessor, The Right Reverend Graham Knowles, who resigned suddenly in the midst of the "Occupy" crisis. His reasons for doing so are still slightly opaque, but it appeared that he simply buckled under the enormous pressure from all directions, including the media, opinion in the church, his own staff, and probably the Bishop of London. The new Dean may come with clean hands as far as that incident is concerned, but it's a safe bet that St Paul's, having featured on the radar in this way, will have other storms to weather before long. David Ison's style of leadership and his vision for St Paul...

The story of the so-called #OccupyLSX protest has evolved rapidly this week. You will remember that last weekend, having been unsurprisingly told they could not occupy the London Stock Exchange, the campaigners sought an easier target in the City and settled on St Paul's Cathedral . As the police moved in to prevent them, Giles Fraser (one of St Paul's senior clergy) stepped in and Quixotically asked them to move along, allowing the protestors to settle, and defending their right to do so peacefully. This unusual incident drew a lot of publicity to both St Paul's and to the protest, the organisers being quick to exploit the incident. "We are occupying St Paul's!" said their official Twitter stream, "the vicar has given us his blessing and asked the police to leave." And therein lay the seeds of trouble to come.  The Cathedral put out a statement cautiously supporting the right to protest and asking all to respect the day to day work and worship, ...

Today's C of E - related spat relates to the Telegraph's provocative Ageing Church of England will be dead in 20 years . This is a write-up of what would otherwise have been a footnote to one of the most uncontroversial General Synod meetings for some years.  I'm not sure which debate this took place in, probably the one on Mission Action Planning, but the Revd. Patrick Richmond assured the Synod that unless things change, "some extrapolations" show that the church "will not be functionally extant" by 2030.  Despite the obvious fact that "some extrapolations" translates as "my personal opinion", this is worth considering, as bloggers will.  Stuart at eChurch Blog takes it as a statement of the bleeding obvious.  Meanwhile, my blogging friend David at The Vernacular Curate is on good table-thumping form as he castigates Mr Richmond for his whingeing pessimism. So, we're all doomed, or just a bit of old-fashioned doom and gloom?...

Today it is a pleasure to redress a certain imbalance that's become apparent on this site, and to celebrate and admire the gifts of the present Archbishop of Canterbury (although the temptation to dish out some advice will not be resisted). Rowan Williams' own website today published his recent address to the national Fresh Expressions conference in Oxford (you can watch it instead , if you prefer).  This is not going to be a detailed review of the talk, but it's well worth a read.  His characteristic "thinking aloud" style works well in this environment, and as usual, his content is deep and solid, without fluff or padding.  What superficially sounds like a quickly prepared address is full of biblical reflection, cultural references, and original thought. There's some great stuff there about the nature and process of evangelism, and about how the sacraments might fit in a "fresh expressions" church culture. The idea of "helping people to...

BBC news posted an extended interview with the ABC this morning. You have to go to the BBC website to view it, since they don't enable video embedding (come on, BBC). Although not gripping TV (the chemistry between Rowan and Huw Edwards wouldn't light a candle), it is an interesting chance to hear the Archbishop reflecting on the role of weddings in a society which seems to have little time for marriage. Two royal wedding links also worth reading: Cranmer , who is always strong on church and consitutional issues, on the importance of the wedding to the country and to the Church of England. Clayboy reflects on the unusual choice of the 1928 liturgy for the wedding, and what that says about the past and future of the C of E.

Get a group of vicars together, and left to their own devices they always end up talking about funerals. This proves a) that the clergy don't have much conversation, and b) that the business of dealing with the departed and the bereaved is one of their biggest concerns. Different priests have wildly differing funeral "workloads", depending on the type of parishes they minister in. Where I served my curacy, it was rare for a week to go by without 3 or 4 (fortunately for our sanity these were shared amongst a team). Here I tend to do just 8 - 12 a year, but each funeral is an emotionally and physically draining experience, however experienced a minister is. Overall, the Church of England still conducts a huge portion of funerals in this country, but recent statistics reveal that this dominance is gradually waning. Clayboy had some interesting reflections on this last week, here and here . I'm not sure I really "get" his idea of Christian-humanist funerals,...

Well, what is a vicar going to write about when time for creative thinking is short? There's some good stuff around the blogs and elsewhere about the three "occasional offices" that occupy so much of the parish clergy's time. (Not least a creative use for the by-products of cremation ). The question that seems to be surfacing is one of whether the C of E's Baptisms, Weddings, and Funerals, popular though they still are, really offer any meaningful engagement with the Christian faith, or are they hopelessly churchy and out of touch with the language and thinking of the man and woman in the street? (And, I suppose, does it matter if they are?). Posts will follow on each of the three. 

On the blog scene this week, The Vernacular Curate produces a gem on the subject of the jobs pages in the Church Times . I've long been a connaisseur of the genre, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way he nails the subliminal messages, both intentional and unintentional. Do have a read. My only complaint is that he missed out two of my personal favourites: "a person of stamina" : Don't expect to have a life outside the church. We've already finished off two vicars in the last five years. "with a sense of humour" : You'll need it. My heart goes out to all curates seeking their first permanent post, a process made more stressful by the fact that most Dioceses leave you to sink or swim at this stage, in contrast to the enormous care that goes into placing curates at the start of their titles. Further to David's analysis, Always Hope offers this guide to the commonly spotted types in the jobs pages of the CT: The over-professional. Identification: ...

I was struck by this report of Tim Keller's address to last week's Lausanne Congress in Cape Town. Keller, to me, is the most compelling of the US mega-pastors. He is an intelligent leader in a constituency where that is not universal (notice the report's rather daft reference to his "deep thinking"; so do certain evangelicals characterise someone who has an original thought in his head). He also has a deep commitment to social justice, which is a factor in his church's commitment to the urban community. It was on the subject of "the city" that Keller addressed the congress: Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan told attendees of Lausanne III that if Christians want human life to be shaped by Jesus Christ then churches need to go into cities. Cities are where churches can reach the next generation (young adults want to live in the city); reach more unreachable people (people are far more open to the Gospel in th...

This is from the Church Times , but I picked it up from Lesley's blog . It's a classic piece of Trumpet reporting. Geoffrey Kirk, an Anglo-Catholic priest who has announced he is leaving the Church of England, addressed the Forward in Faith 'national assembly' last week. In what was clearly an emotional and riveting speech, he revealed his deepest hopes and fears for the future of the church, and even touched on his own mortality. And his audience responded in a way that is so terribly Anglican: Fr Kirk, who has recently suffered ill-health, said that he would probably not see the outcome in the C of E; or, if he did, it would be from another communion and on another continent. The Assembly stood to applaud him, and he was presented with a coffee-maker. Fantastic. "That's enough pathos now, here's your coffee maker, oh and don't forget to hand the keys in on your way out." Some people have been suggesting that Forward in Faith are perhaps not very ...

Thanks to Lesley for drawing attention to this on Damian Thompson's blog. Opponents of the proposed scheme for women bishops are apparently rubbing their hands at the prospect of blocking any further progress once the legislation returns to Synod. They believe that the recent election to General Synod has delivered them enough votes to prevent the two-thirds majority needed (why two-thirds, by the way?) for final approval. I have no problem with this in principle. This is supposed to be a democratic process, and if we are silly enough to set up a situation where a one-third minority can block a motion, then so be it. But the way in which this is being touted is thoroughly distasteful. Incidentally, the source for this may not be entirely reliable. I have no idea what the provenance of the "Christian News Release Service" is, but apart from mistrusting any organisation that is capable of such egregious capitalisation, it seems hard to believe that everybody's voting ...

The first Anglo-catholic clergy are breaking ranks and declaring that they will take up the Pope's offer of a free transfer, otherwise known as the Ordinariate. Last week the Bishop of Fulham picked up his ball and walked off the pitch, with a departing blast of extraordinary bile against the Church of England, drawing predictably rude responses from others, all of which is rather dispiriting. But the biggest stir has been created by Stephen Bould, of St Peter's, Folkestone, who has gone one better and announced that his whole parish is going to cross over to "the other side" (that's my quote, not his). Although there has been no official response from his Diocese, or the Church of England nationally, this has sparked a lively debate . The main question is whether it's actually possible for a whole parish to simply leave the Church. Is the Ordinariate just for priests? What would be the legal status of a parish that stepped outside the system? And, most pre...

There's low-level excitement in the Church of England as it's time for the five-yearly elections to General Synod, the Church's "parliament". Those of us who get a vote have received the names of our candidates and their "election addresses": in my case, the six hopeful clergy who have put themselves forward in this Diocese. There's a lot of debate right now about what makes a good candidate or a good address (see Revd Lesley for her own take on this, also Alan Wilson for an irreverent take on the electoral system). But what I haven't seen much of is any discussion of whether Synod really works, as a governing instrument of the C of E. Synod is important because it has the power to make the rules (although major pieces of legislation still have to go before Parliament). So I suppose that if it didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent it. But would it look the same? I can think of some good things about synod: 1. Making decisions at na...

The BBC apparently has an editor for arts, science, business, but not for religion .  Some people are quite vexed by this, including Bishop Nigel McCulloch (Manchester), who is the C of E's national spokesman on things to do with the media.  I don't know whether Bishop McCulloch volunteered for the role, or whether he drew it out of the hat at New Bishops' Training Camp, but he certainly gives the impression of being an enthusiast.  There does seem to be a certain repetitive quality about his public statements, though.  Perhaps he has other things to say that the press don't pick up on, but whenever he makes the papers he always seems to be saying the same thing that he is here,  ie. "there should be more religion on telly".   A slight simplification perhaps, but the logic does always seem to come down to the same basic assumptions, namely: 1.  Religious broadcasting is A Good Thing, and in some way is doing us good when we watch ...

Reading up on something yesterday, I came across this graphic , which might appear to be a diagrammatic representation of a bowl of spaghetti, but is in fact an explanation of how the various Presbyterian churches of the USA have come into being. Now, I'm not suggesting our way is superior to theirs - let's just say that all denominations have their strengths and weaknesses, something that is painfully obvious to any Anglican. But all that leaving, splitting, re-joining and re-splitting just looks really hard work. If the diagram is an accurate representation of the facts, some of these churches are forming a new denomination about every decade. It's not difficult to imagine the reasons driving this process. Doctrinal and ecclesiastical differences cause churches to part company, and once a precedent is set, then every subsequent dispute is more likely to have the same result. Occasionally two groups will find they have enough common ground to merge, but this is much mo...

Episode 2 of Rev - my overall impression is about the same as last week . It's well-written and nicely observed; I just wish the pace was a little bit less tortoise-like, then it would stand a chance of being a real hit. For those who are wondering how realistic this all is, I can tell you - everything you see on this programme is true, but exaggerated for comic effect (well, nearly everything. One or two things aren't exaggerated). So Always Hope will refrain from whingeing about the crude stereotyping of evangelicals, on the basis that all's fair in love and war, and it was quite funny. My favourite is still the Archdeacon. I liked the bit where he said "must go - got tickets to Chelsea - Man U" and put twenty quid in the collection plate.

Today I want to clarify something I wrote yesterday. I firmly believe that, with God, there is always a future for the church. But I didn't say anything about the Church of England. I don't think God holds a brief for any particular denomination more than another. The letter to the Ephesian church in Revelation has something to say here - a church that was once thriving can have the candle taken away. The Church of England, that curious 16th century innovation, has proved satisfyingly durable. It has survived purges, political interference, nominalism, vigorous nonconformity, the excesses of establishment and theological malaise. Throughout all this, its survival has been a remarkable testimony to God's ability to revive his church from the ashes. Yet this cannot be taken for granted in perpetuity. Over the last few years big cracks have opened in the edifice. This in itself is nothing new, but at the same time, the foundations have been eroding fast. If it's true tha...

Today, as we celebrate the resurrection, a lot of people will have been slightly distracted by rumours of something which, if it is true, will cause a huge meltdown of already strained relationships within the church of England. It's at times like these that those of us who care about the church might be tempted to wonder why we bother. What possible future is there for the Christian presence in this country when this kind of thing is always coming back to haunt us? Yesterday I was at the ordination of Deacons in Truro Cathedral (which, I am happy to report, is safely shored up by scaffolding and showed no signs of falling down during the proceedings). The ordination service is always uplifting and moving, especially for the ordinands and their friends and families. But actually it's not about them. It's about the whole church, and the work of God. In particular the service celebrates the work of the Holy Spirit in calling people to serve Christ in his church. It rem...

I thought it was OK. Having read at least six reviews already on vicar's blogs, of which this one , by David Keen, was right on the money, I can't really think of anything else to say. It was OK, not that special. Can't imagine anyone without the particular interest of being a Rev themselves being gripped by it. Apparently some clergy observers have commented that, although most of the scenarios are realistic, they thought the Archdeacon was a bit unbelievable. I don't know, though. Just because Archdeacons don't wear shiny gloves and wizz round in taxis giving orders to hapless clerics, doesn't mean they wouldn't, if they could. Their temptations are different to those that we, lesser clergy, are subject to.