Friday, November 23, 2007
Archbishop sends Diwali greetings to Hindu community
Archbishop's Diwali greetings to the Hindu community exemplify the true Anglican spirit of positive respect and a desire to seek common purpose with other religious communities.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Revd Canon Chris Bard
I have learned belatedly today of the death of The Reverend Canon Chris Bard last month. The Church Times website has an obituary here.. I came into contact with Chris several times as a clergy colleague in the Diocese of Chelmsford. He was combining being priest-in-charge of Epping Upland and Diocesan Communications Officer when I started work combining priest-in-charge of Hatfield Broad Oak with Bush End and Industrial Chaplain to Harlow. Only a few years older than me, Chris was the kind of priest who gave me hope for the Church of England and encouraged me to believe it was worth sticking with. He was an outright supporter of women's ordination. He had none of the hedging and evasion that characterised so many priests who professed to be in favour but wouldn't commit until the Pope did - in other words, had their heads in the sand and didn't really care that much about it. He was forward -looking and engaged with contemporary issues; as his early adoption of computer use demonstrated. Although I did not know Chis well as a personal friend his commitments and concerns inspired me in the early years of my ministry.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Church Mission Society
I am reading the October Mission Update from the Church Mission Society (CMS). These are very useful short bulletins giving stories of the way God is transforming lives in the poorest parts of the world through projects assisted by the churches working in partnership. October's edition contains a story about how a group of blind and visually impaired students at a Rwanda secondary school have found new confidence and a sense of belonging through being introduced to "goalball" - a sport that uses a heavy rubber ball with bells inside so blind people can hear it. If there are difficulties for visually inpaired people in the UK in finding fulfilling opportunities for employment and leisure, which there are, how much more are the difficulties for those living in desparately poor economies like Rwanda. CMS is involved in many needy situations like this on the ground. By sending mission partners from churches in one part of the world to churches in another,it enables skills, contacts, money and prayer to be shared between the different parts of Christ's body so strengthening the churches' mission to the poor in the name of Jesus.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Has preference for commitment over numbers been a mistake?
Writing in yesterday's Guardian David Self (Face to Faith column)argues that the increased irrelevancy of the Church of England in modern British society has been greatly assisted by the Church's preference for commitment over numbers. He cites the rise of the parish communion service at the expense of matins as the main evidence of this preference. It has made the Church of England into a club for the committed faithful worshipper rather than a church of the nation inclusive enough to allow those with questions and doubts to continue worshipping with some integrity.
Self raises some interesting issues, but I can't help feeling here is another example of special pleading from a lover of the Book of Common Prayer and the Authorised Version of the Bible. The argument is familiar to all parish priests because they hear it so often from nostalgic older worshippers: the church used to be full on a Sunday, and a respected influence in the community - we used to have Matins and Evensong every Sunday, ergo, the abandonment of these servces is the cause of the decline in numbers and influence.
But the facts on the ground don't support this. Most parishes that had a flourishing matins service introduced the weekly Sunday eucharist service as an alternative, at a less convenient time, such as 9.30am, whilst the main service of Matins classically was at 11am. These eucharist services then steadily grew in numbers attending as parishioners chose them in preference to matins. Families began to take part, bringing their children, and so creche and junior church activities began to be provided alongside. In previous practice children had been neither seen nor heard at church services like matins unless they were in the choir and that was restricted to boys only. Children were expected to attend Sunday School which took place in ancillary buildings, often during the afternoon.
Contrary then to Self's argument, the change from matins to parish communion was a move towards greater inclusivity, responding to the clear preferences of the diminishing sector of the public inclined to attend church. Wider societal changes, especially around the place of children in families have been a major factor in the move to parish communion. Without the parish communion movement church attendance would be even more restricted in numbers and public appeal than it is now; and the influence of the Church in society even more limited. Parish churches which have resisted, or been unable to introduce parish communion services, have seen drastic reductions in church atendance over the latter part of the last century. And, despite the rise of car use, lovers of matins have not bothered to travel to parish churches which have continued to offer this form of worship.
Self also cites the rise of the evangelical wing with its commitment to biblical preaching and personal conversion as another example of this preference for commitment over numbers. And yet evangelical churches generally have attracted much greater numbers than the traditional churches have done and they have made increasing numbers a primary goal of their activities. Many churchgoers now attending churches in the catholic or liberal wings of the Church acquired their faith in evangelical churches when younger. ( And in the United States evangelical churches have been integral to public life in the sense that politicians have known that they would not garner enough votes to win elections without the support of this churchgoing constituent of the electorate.)
Where I think Self's argument does pose a challenge to the Church which is worth hearing is in respect of our response to contemporary society. The Church tends to blame itself for its decline in numbers and influence and Self is no different. His claim is that the liturgical changes and the rise of evangelicalism were self-conscious decisions which were a mistake contributing to the Church's demise. Others, like Michael Hampson, for example blame the hierarchy for not giving the laity enough real power.
But I don't believe the Church's demise is chiefly the consequence of any conscious decisions or trends within the Church; nor any particularly culpable failure to act. Like the crab who stays put in slowly warming water the Church's fate has been sealed too slowly for it to realise the full severity of what was happening. The Church of England has rather been overtaken and outflanked by other powerful actors in society. Chief among these is the State, and its adopted twin, large business corporations. The sacred canopy of Christian faith has been blotted out by the new horizons of material security and comfort the modern State and business have been able to provide for Western European populations in particular. The ability of modern societies, through these key institutions, to provide populations with order, meaning, purpose, and security in their lives, quite apart from any need for recourse to spiritual power has sidelined the Church. There is more to this than alternative entertainment on Sundays. It is about the dislodgement of any significant authority or role for the transcendent in modern living. Like the inner city children who never see the Milky Way because of light pollution, the modern consumer-citizen rarely has any opportunity to be confronted by the reality of the divine.
What's interesting to me about Self's comments is that they raise the question: How should the Church respond to its contemporary situation?
Self has identified a tendency for the Church to become more inward-looking and for there to be greater dissonance between its voice and the voice of the majority on a number of matters including, notably, sexual ethics. Although I disagree that this was a deliberate turn to prefer commitment over numbers it was perhaps an almost unpremeditated effort to sustain the life and functioning of the Church. It was a response to its environment which makes sense at any particular moment in time. And this response was to focus energies on meeting the needs of the more committed - after all to keep seeing the stars through the haze of modern consumerism you need a level of distance and commitment.
But natural and understandable as it was, this response by the Church needs re-assessment. Perhaps the whole "mission-shaped church"/"fresh expressions" movement is part of that re-assessment. The small but growing resurgence of interest in the role of faith in the workplace may be another sign of a changing approach. But it is not a new approach ultimately; it will be a rediscovery of the classic Anglican spirit, such as found in Richard Hooker, the 16th century philosopher of the fledgling Church of England: listening to,learning from, and engaging with the world at large.
There is not a choice between commitment and numbers. I doubt under the present conditions of society in Western Europe that we shall see a massive return to church in a short time. But Self's comments make me think; there is a choice between a continued slide into intellectual marginalisation and dissonance which awaits a Church obsessed with small matters and its own survival; and a Church which has the courage to turn its resources towards engaging with the big questions of our time and with people where they are.
Self raises some interesting issues, but I can't help feeling here is another example of special pleading from a lover of the Book of Common Prayer and the Authorised Version of the Bible. The argument is familiar to all parish priests because they hear it so often from nostalgic older worshippers: the church used to be full on a Sunday, and a respected influence in the community - we used to have Matins and Evensong every Sunday, ergo, the abandonment of these servces is the cause of the decline in numbers and influence.
But the facts on the ground don't support this. Most parishes that had a flourishing matins service introduced the weekly Sunday eucharist service as an alternative, at a less convenient time, such as 9.30am, whilst the main service of Matins classically was at 11am. These eucharist services then steadily grew in numbers attending as parishioners chose them in preference to matins. Families began to take part, bringing their children, and so creche and junior church activities began to be provided alongside. In previous practice children had been neither seen nor heard at church services like matins unless they were in the choir and that was restricted to boys only. Children were expected to attend Sunday School which took place in ancillary buildings, often during the afternoon.
Contrary then to Self's argument, the change from matins to parish communion was a move towards greater inclusivity, responding to the clear preferences of the diminishing sector of the public inclined to attend church. Wider societal changes, especially around the place of children in families have been a major factor in the move to parish communion. Without the parish communion movement church attendance would be even more restricted in numbers and public appeal than it is now; and the influence of the Church in society even more limited. Parish churches which have resisted, or been unable to introduce parish communion services, have seen drastic reductions in church atendance over the latter part of the last century. And, despite the rise of car use, lovers of matins have not bothered to travel to parish churches which have continued to offer this form of worship.
Self also cites the rise of the evangelical wing with its commitment to biblical preaching and personal conversion as another example of this preference for commitment over numbers. And yet evangelical churches generally have attracted much greater numbers than the traditional churches have done and they have made increasing numbers a primary goal of their activities. Many churchgoers now attending churches in the catholic or liberal wings of the Church acquired their faith in evangelical churches when younger. ( And in the United States evangelical churches have been integral to public life in the sense that politicians have known that they would not garner enough votes to win elections without the support of this churchgoing constituent of the electorate.)
Where I think Self's argument does pose a challenge to the Church which is worth hearing is in respect of our response to contemporary society. The Church tends to blame itself for its decline in numbers and influence and Self is no different. His claim is that the liturgical changes and the rise of evangelicalism were self-conscious decisions which were a mistake contributing to the Church's demise. Others, like Michael Hampson, for example blame the hierarchy for not giving the laity enough real power.
But I don't believe the Church's demise is chiefly the consequence of any conscious decisions or trends within the Church; nor any particularly culpable failure to act. Like the crab who stays put in slowly warming water the Church's fate has been sealed too slowly for it to realise the full severity of what was happening. The Church of England has rather been overtaken and outflanked by other powerful actors in society. Chief among these is the State, and its adopted twin, large business corporations. The sacred canopy of Christian faith has been blotted out by the new horizons of material security and comfort the modern State and business have been able to provide for Western European populations in particular. The ability of modern societies, through these key institutions, to provide populations with order, meaning, purpose, and security in their lives, quite apart from any need for recourse to spiritual power has sidelined the Church. There is more to this than alternative entertainment on Sundays. It is about the dislodgement of any significant authority or role for the transcendent in modern living. Like the inner city children who never see the Milky Way because of light pollution, the modern consumer-citizen rarely has any opportunity to be confronted by the reality of the divine.
What's interesting to me about Self's comments is that they raise the question: How should the Church respond to its contemporary situation?
Self has identified a tendency for the Church to become more inward-looking and for there to be greater dissonance between its voice and the voice of the majority on a number of matters including, notably, sexual ethics. Although I disagree that this was a deliberate turn to prefer commitment over numbers it was perhaps an almost unpremeditated effort to sustain the life and functioning of the Church. It was a response to its environment which makes sense at any particular moment in time. And this response was to focus energies on meeting the needs of the more committed - after all to keep seeing the stars through the haze of modern consumerism you need a level of distance and commitment.
But natural and understandable as it was, this response by the Church needs re-assessment. Perhaps the whole "mission-shaped church"/"fresh expressions" movement is part of that re-assessment. The small but growing resurgence of interest in the role of faith in the workplace may be another sign of a changing approach. But it is not a new approach ultimately; it will be a rediscovery of the classic Anglican spirit, such as found in Richard Hooker, the 16th century philosopher of the fledgling Church of England: listening to,learning from, and engaging with the world at large.
There is not a choice between commitment and numbers. I doubt under the present conditions of society in Western Europe that we shall see a massive return to church in a short time. But Self's comments make me think; there is a choice between a continued slide into intellectual marginalisation and dissonance which awaits a Church obsessed with small matters and its own survival; and a Church which has the courage to turn its resources towards engaging with the big questions of our time and with people where they are.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Tutu pleads with Primates
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has issued an emotional call for the Anglican Primates to agree to disagree on the subject of homosexuality and accept one another in love.
“Our Lord is weeping to see our Communion tearing itself apart on the issue of human sexuality, when the world for which he died is ravaged by poverty, disease, war and corruption. We are one of God’s agents to deal with these scourges. God has no one but us. Please, I beg you all in our Lord’s name, agree to disagree, argue, debate; disagree, but do all this as members of one family. Accept one another as God accepts us, however we are, in Christ. “Wipe the tears from our Lord’s eyes; put the smile back on God’s face. I beg you all on bended knee.”
In a reader poll on the Church Times website currently 88% agree the Primates should heed Tutu's call.
Anglican churchgoers in England in any case are sensible charitably minded people who do not allow doctrinaire and anachronistic interpretations of Scripture to obscure the obvious demands of charity and good-will towards fellow-creatures. Just as the majority accept the ordination of women to the pristhood as the right and good thing to do in our day, so more and more accept that it is foolish and uncharitable to stigmatize people in faithful homosexual partnerships; and even more foolish to allow difference of opinion on this question to break the bonds of affection between Anglicans worldwide.
“Our Lord is weeping to see our Communion tearing itself apart on the issue of human sexuality, when the world for which he died is ravaged by poverty, disease, war and corruption. We are one of God’s agents to deal with these scourges. God has no one but us. Please, I beg you all in our Lord’s name, agree to disagree, argue, debate; disagree, but do all this as members of one family. Accept one another as God accepts us, however we are, in Christ. “Wipe the tears from our Lord’s eyes; put the smile back on God’s face. I beg you all on bended knee.”
In a reader poll on the Church Times website currently 88% agree the Primates should heed Tutu's call.
Anglican churchgoers in England in any case are sensible charitably minded people who do not allow doctrinaire and anachronistic interpretations of Scripture to obscure the obvious demands of charity and good-will towards fellow-creatures. Just as the majority accept the ordination of women to the pristhood as the right and good thing to do in our day, so more and more accept that it is foolish and uncharitable to stigmatize people in faithful homosexual partnerships; and even more foolish to allow difference of opinion on this question to break the bonds of affection between Anglicans worldwide.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Prayers to commemorate Princess Diana
The Archbishop of Canterbury has produced two prayers for use in churches on the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Synod yes to Covenant
General Synod's vote to give the green light to the Anglican Communion Covenant is a double if predictable blow against both compassion and freedom. Key gospel values are being sacrificed for the sake of ecclesiastical politics. The conservative bishops are not content simply to disagree with their more liberal colleagues over human sexuality: they want to make it a test of anglican orthodoxy. But liberals cannot and should not accept this. What is at stake is whether Anglicans are prepared to let our spirit of openness to truth in reason and experience be quenched by a basically fundamentalist approach. It is deeply tragic that more bishops are not prepared to stand up against the conservatives. And most tragic of all is Rowan William's belief that he must lead by seeking resolution of these differences in this way rather than leading the Communion to greater engagement with the issues; tragic because of recent Archbishops he is the most well equipped intellectually and spiritually to make the case for diversity within unity.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Voice of sense
Kathy Galloway from Iona Community writes sensibly and compassionately on the Christians and homosexuality issue in The Times.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Truly evangelical
The link in the title is to a piece by Elaine Storkey, (posted on the blog fatherjones.com) about her evangelical faith. Storkey is a leading evangelical Anglican scholar and was on the staff of Wycliffe Hall theological college, now in the grip of conservatives. If this understanding of Christian discipleship were what the term "evangelical" referred to then I'd be happy to call myself an evangelical. As it is I eschew those categories really. I am not "an evangelical" and I am not "a liberal" or "a catholic". But I believe that to be authentically and faithfully Christian I need to be evangelical, to be liberal, and to be catholic.
Wycliffe Hall controversy
A formerly respected Anglican evangelical theological college has been captured by conservative extremists. Wycliffe Hall in Oxford now has a principal, Richard Turnbull, who believes that 95% of the British popoulation is going to hell and a vice-principal who won't allow women to teach men in church. As Giles Fraser wrote in the Guardian:
"Of course, what should really happen is that the bishops of the Church of England stop using colleges like this to train its priests. Places such as Wycliffe are turning Anglicanism into a cult. But it's a symptom of how bad things are in the C of E, and how frightened its bishops have become of the financial muscle of conservative evangelicals, that they won't find the gumption to cut Wycliffe adrift."
I agree. The Church of England has let conservative theology drive its agenda for too long. An approach to the Bible and the faith which is basically fundamentalist and anti-intellectual has gone unchallenged. The Church of England is becoming a cult - retreating from the findings of modern science and cultural development and hiding behind a wall of false certainty based on a default literalism about the Bible and faith. Most sermons I hear outside my own parish are implicitly fundamentalist. It's as if the explosion in human knowledge of the last two centuries, including all we know about the origins and history of Christianity, never happened.
Christians who care about this need to work harder to persuade and inpire others that there are ways of being faithful to Christ which can constructively value and engage with modern culture.
Richard Turnbull's reply
A letter from leaders of the student body at Wycliffe
"Of course, what should really happen is that the bishops of the Church of England stop using colleges like this to train its priests. Places such as Wycliffe are turning Anglicanism into a cult. But it's a symptom of how bad things are in the C of E, and how frightened its bishops have become of the financial muscle of conservative evangelicals, that they won't find the gumption to cut Wycliffe adrift."
I agree. The Church of England has let conservative theology drive its agenda for too long. An approach to the Bible and the faith which is basically fundamentalist and anti-intellectual has gone unchallenged. The Church of England is becoming a cult - retreating from the findings of modern science and cultural development and hiding behind a wall of false certainty based on a default literalism about the Bible and faith. Most sermons I hear outside my own parish are implicitly fundamentalist. It's as if the explosion in human knowledge of the last two centuries, including all we know about the origins and history of Christianity, never happened.
Christians who care about this need to work harder to persuade and inpire others that there are ways of being faithful to Christ which can constructively value and engage with modern culture.
Richard Turnbull's reply
A letter from leaders of the student body at Wycliffe
Friday, June 01, 2007
The gadget of my life
My Palm Treo 600 is the gadget of my life. It is my combined diary,
notebook, addressbook, bible, phone, emailer, mp3 and video player, pocket
camera and instant messenger. And because it can access the internet it is
an encyclopedia, dictionary. newspaper, and train timetable. Google is
always to hand. Using instant messaging, I can communicate with my son
whilst he sits at his desk at work, or with my daughters whilst they study.
I read my favourites blogs whilst sitting on trains or waiting for late
appointments to arrive. I use it to access the online prayers and bible
readings for the Church of England morning and evening prayers.Or if really
needed I can check my work emails away from the desk. Using a nifty
cassette that slots into my car's tape player I connect the Treo to the
in-car stereo. With a 1GB SD card inserted I can drive from the south to
the north of England without hearing the same track twice! It also converts
the phone into a hands-free car phone so I can take calls whilst driving.
Everything is backed up on the desktop PC and my crucial diary is backed up
on a Yahoo! online calendar so even if both Treo and desktop fell apart at
the same time I can still find out where I am meant to be!
Needless to say this post is written on and posted from the Treo whilst
listening to some favourite music tracks playing in the background.
notebook, addressbook, bible, phone, emailer, mp3 and video player, pocket
camera and instant messenger. And because it can access the internet it is
an encyclopedia, dictionary. newspaper, and train timetable. Google is
always to hand. Using instant messaging, I can communicate with my son
whilst he sits at his desk at work, or with my daughters whilst they study.
I read my favourites blogs whilst sitting on trains or waiting for late
appointments to arrive. I use it to access the online prayers and bible
readings for the Church of England morning and evening prayers.Or if really
needed I can check my work emails away from the desk. Using a nifty
cassette that slots into my car's tape player I connect the Treo to the
in-car stereo. With a 1GB SD card inserted I can drive from the south to
the north of England without hearing the same track twice! It also converts
the phone into a hands-free car phone so I can take calls whilst driving.
Everything is backed up on the desktop PC and my crucial diary is backed up
on a Yahoo! online calendar so even if both Treo and desktop fell apart at
the same time I can still find out where I am meant to be!
Needless to say this post is written on and posted from the Treo whilst
listening to some favourite music tracks playing in the background.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Slavery, Sexuality and the Inclusive Community
Richard Burridge, Dean of King's College London has delivered the Eric Symes Abbott Memorial Lecture 2007 on the biblical roots of the church as an inclusive community. This demonstrates further that there are senior evangelicals who want to dialogue on the subject of homosexuality in the church and want to engage in that dialogue with lesbian and gay members of the Church.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Archbishop of Canterbury on current situations in Anglican Communion
Rowan Williams gave a press conference on his arrival in Canada at the beginning of this week about issues facing the Anglican Communion and his own role within it. Here are some extracts from it.
Archbishop of Canterbury on The Bible
Rowan Williams has given a speech in Canada describing the need for the Church to listen properly to the Bible. In his characteristically dialectical way he criticises both ultra-conservative and liberal readings of the Bible as being inadequate. Link here to the summary page where there is also a link to the full text.
Monday, April 02, 2007
How cheesy is this?
Found this quote on a blog I chanced across via Twitter.com - its just about the cheesiest thing I've seen for ages:
"If God had a wallet, your picture would be in it."
Maybe we could start a - "cheesiest spiritual quote of Holy Week" contest!
"If God had a wallet, your picture would be in it."
Maybe we could start a - "cheesiest spiritual quote of Holy Week" contest!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Anniversary of abolition of Slave Trade
Today churches across Britain are remembering the anniversary of the passing of the act of Parliament which abolished the slave trade.The Archbishops of Canterbury and York reflected on this when they visited the slave pits of Zanzibar recently. See their reflections on YouTube here.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Ben Okafor to appear on BBC1
Born in Enugu, Nigeria, Ben’s music and early life were shaped by his experiences as a boy soldier in the Biafran army during the country’s civil war, The pain and destruction he witnessed during that period soon began to influence the lyrics he wrote, his songs reflecting a heart felt plea for justice, truth and love.
An ongoing involvement in peace and justice initiatives followed with Ben currently involved with the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Amnesty International and others.
BEN OKAFOR will be appearing on BBC1's "Heaven and Earth Show" this weekend.
Broadcasting from 10.00am to 11.00am on Sunday morning (March 25th), the programme will be looking at the issue of slavery and trafficking as we reach the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Slave Trade Bill by the UK government which made the slave trade illegal.
As we unfortunately know, the modern day slave trade is still very active. Rob Taylor, Ben's manager informed us that "Ben will be giving a long interview and will be performng a song live in the studio from his latest album Acoustic Close-Up"
So, tune in or set your recorders!
You can visit the programme's website
here
An ongoing involvement in peace and justice initiatives followed with Ben currently involved with the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Amnesty International and others.
BEN OKAFOR will be appearing on BBC1's "Heaven and Earth Show" this weekend.
Broadcasting from 10.00am to 11.00am on Sunday morning (March 25th), the programme will be looking at the issue of slavery and trafficking as we reach the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Slave Trade Bill by the UK government which made the slave trade illegal.
As we unfortunately know, the modern day slave trade is still very active. Rob Taylor, Ben's manager informed us that "Ben will be giving a long interview and will be performng a song live in the studio from his latest album Acoustic Close-Up"
So, tune in or set your recorders!
You can visit the programme's website
here
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The truth isn't sexy
New campaign on the issue of sex trafficking is launched to co-incide with the 200th anniversary of the British abolition of slavery.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Charles Taylor awarded Templeton Prize
I have been quoting from Charles Taylor in sermons since the early nineties. I was delighted to hear he has received this award.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
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