C of E Laity to vote on leadership; Justin Welby is now Archbishop of Canterbury-elect; Christian Aid looks to secure longterm future; Lord Carey warns government on European rights ruling; The Beeb is out of tune with Anglicans; Lord Harries on Civil partnerships: Church ‘must prioritise blessings’; Gay marriage could signal return to ‘centuries of persecution’, – say 1,000 Catholic priests; UK child sex trafficking ‘rising’
C of E Laity to vote on leadership
The first meeting of the House of Laity since the lay members of Church of England’s General Synod narrowly defeated the women bishop’s measure will weigh whether their chairman overstepped his proper role in speaking against the proposal.
The Church Times reports and Thinking Anglicans details the vote of no-confidence in Dr Philip Giddings as chair of the House of Laity.
The mover of a motion of no confidence in the chairman of the House of Laity ( News, 7 December) has outlined his reasons in a note circulated to all members in advance of the vote next Friday.
The note concentrates on the speech given by the chairman, Dr Philip Giddings, during the debate on women bishops at the November Synod meeting ( News, 23 November), in which he opposed the Measure as “unwise”, given that a “significant minority of our Church [are] unable to accept its provisions”.
The mover of the motion, Stephen Barney, argues that the speech was delivered immediately after that of the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Justin Welby, and thus “directly undermined” what Bishop Welby had said. It was “instrumental in convincing some of the undecided members of the House to vote against”, and was a “significant contributor to the reputational damage the Church of England is already suffering”.
Mr Barney wrote: “I have always been one of the first to say that individuals must vote according to their consciences; however, leaders have other responsibilities and accountabilities. I feel that if I am to support the leader of a group of which I am a member, then that leader must show wise and good judgment, and I do not believe that this has happened.”
The meeting will take place on January 18, 2013.
Justin Welby is now Archbishop of Canterbury-elect
A medieval ceremony has begun the process of the Rt Revd Justin Welby becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral has unanimously elected Bishop Justin Welby as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury.
The 35-strong College of Canons, made up of senior clergy and lay people from the Diocese of Canterbury, met at Canterbury Cathedral’s 14th-century Chapter House to take part in the formality, which dates back more than 1000 years.
The process of electing the next Archbishop of Canterbury by the cathedral community is enshrined within its constitution and can only take place once a Congé d’Élire and Letter Missive from the Crown has been received.
The ceremony was chaired by the Dean of Canterbury, Robert Willis. As is traditional, the candidate was not invited to attend the ceremony, and only one name featured on the ballot sheet for the College of Canons to select.
The Dean of Canterbury Cathedral Reverend Dr Robert Willis said: “The decision we made this morning is taken formally to London.
“In St Paul’s Cathedral on February 4, I shall present this to the Queen’s commission.
“They will say that is valid, legal and right and at that moment Justin Welby becomes in all powers the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Christian Aid looks to secure longterm future
Christian Aid is moving to ensure generous giving and a positive future with fundraising training for over a hundred of its regional and headquarters staff.
The specially tailored training aims to boost the confidence of staff in their roles and the difference they can make to Christian Aid’s fundraising.
The three-day classroom-based course has been developed with the Institute of Fundraising and is taken together with a short online IoF course.
Staff who complete the course receive the IoF’s Introduction to Fundraising Certificate.
By the end of February, a total of 110 staff will have completed the courses, giving Christian Aid one of the biggest concentrations of trained fundraisers in the third sector.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.aid.looks.to.secure.longterm.future/31439.htm
Lord Carey warns government on European rights ruling
Mail – Lord Carey writes – On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will sit in judgment on a series of cases that have far-reaching implications for religious freedom in this country.
Two of the cases involve devout women who were banned from wearing the most important symbol of the Christian faith – the cross.
Shirley Chaplin, an experienced nurse, had worn her confirmation cross on a small chain around her neck, without incident, throughout nearly 30 years of frontline nursing. Then, one day, she was told to remove it.
In the case of British Airways check-in clerk Nadia Eweida, a national campaign was mounted when BA banned her from wearing her cross. But the airline refused to compensate her for months of being suspended without pay and subsequent tribunals have disputed her claims of discrimination.
The Government’s role in these two cases has been two-faced. On the one hand, the Prime Minister told the House of Commons last July he fully supported the right of people to wear religious symbols at work and announced his intention to change the law.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2261559/This-faced-Government-let-mania-secular-rights-betray-Christians-right-wear-cross.html#ixzz2HrDWy0Gw
The Beeb is out of tune with Anglicans
Quentin Letts, Mailonline – With its decision to move the Radio 2 Sunday evening hymns programme to 6am — yes, you read that right, six o’ clock in the morning! — the BBC might as well just admit it hates church-lovers, our old culture of hymn-singing and communal worship.
Why not scrap the programme altogether? What will simply happen is that the audience will fall off the cliff and the Darwinist atheists at the Beeb will be able to claim religious shows are even more unpopular than they have already made them. For some of us, Sunday Half-Hour has long been part of the rhythm of the week. Sunday evening is when you start to ease your mind out of weekend mode and reapply yourself to thoughts of work. Hymns helped that process.
Sunday evening is deep-rooted, distinctly British, the light closing in to the strains of The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Has Ended. Well, that’s one favourite that will no longer be played. It would sound a bit daft before dawn.
Last year Radio 2 imposed a new presenter on the programme: Diane Louise Jordan, formerly of Blue Peter. She has talked down to her adult audience as though they are children. The hymns are still OK, but the links have been as spiritual as a primary school lesson.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2261029/The-Beeb-tune-Anglicans.html
Civil partnerships: Church ‘must prioritise blessings’
BBC News – The former Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, says the Church in Wales and the Church of England should prioritise blessings for civil partnerships.
Lord Harries told Vaughan Roderick on BBC Wales’ Sunday Supplement programme they should be welcomed warmly and not through “gritted teeth”.
He nominated Dr Jeffrey John, from Tonyrefail, for the position of Bishop of Reading in 2003.
Dr John has been at the centre of the row over gay bishops, having twice been put forward for the role in the Church of England. Video here –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20925420
Gay marriage could signal return to ‘centuries of persecution’, – say 1,000 Catholic priests
John Bingham, Telegraph – More than 1,000 priests have signed a letter voicing alarm that same-sex marriage could threaten religious freedom in a way last seen during “centuries of persecution” of Roman Catholics in England.
In one of the biggest joint letters of its type ever written, they raise fears that their freedom to practise and speak about their faith will be “severely” limited and dismiss Government reassurances as “meaningless”.
They even liken David Cameron’s moves to redefine marriage to those of Henry VIII, whose efforts to secure a divorce from Katherine of Aragon triggered centuries of bloody upheaval between church and state.
They claim that, taken in combination with equalities laws and other legal restraints, the Coalition’s plans will prevent Catholics and other Christians who work in schools, charities and other public bodies speaking freely about their beliefs on the meaning of marriage.
Even the freedom to speak from the pulpit could be under threat, they claim.
And they fear that Christians who believe in the traditional meaning of marriage would effectively be excluded from some jobs – just as Catholics were barred from many professions from the Reformation until the 19th Century.
The comments are contained in a letter to The Daily Telegraph, signed by 1,054 priests as well as 13 bishops, abbots and other senior Catholic figures.
They account for almost a quarter of all Catholic priests in England and Wales.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9795680/Gay-marriage-could-signal-return-to-centuries-of-persecution-say-1000-Catholic-priests.html
UK child sex trafficking ‘rising’
The UK’s largest children’s charity, Barnardo’s, warns of an “alarming rise” in child sexual exploitation – reported to be up 22% in a year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20999529