Women bishops – House of Laity meeting called; Bristol vote of no confidence; Christian Aid – Tax dodging is a ‘moral issue’; Young Methodists discuss sexuality and gender; Scottish carers delighted by support services victory; CARE slams tax burden on families; C of E school super-academy launch; Scouts consider oath for atheists
Women bishops – House of Laity meeting called
General Synod’s House of Laity have called a secret emergency meeting to hold a vote of no confidence in their Chair, Dr Philip Giddings, who spoke forcefully against reform to allow women bishops
Jonathan Petre of the Mail Online is reporting that sufficient signatures have been obtained to force a meeting of the House of Laity of the General Synod to discuss a vote of no confidence in its chair, Dr Philip Giddings: Synod ‘may oust chairman’ after defeat of legislation to allow women bishops.
The standing orders of the House of Laity state that in these circumstances the chair of the house shall convene the House, and give at least 21 days’ notice. I cannot see anything to specify the longest he can wait before calling the meeting, but I have heard that the meeting will probably be in January.
Although the Mail calls the meeting “secret”, meetings of the House of Laity are open to the press and public on the same terms as meetings of the General Synod. The House can vote to exclude the public, or the press and public, whilst it is sitting, but I see nothing to allow such a decision to be made in advance.
Dr Giddings, 66, a leading conservative evangelical who was also a key opponent of the appointment of the gay cleric Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading in 2003, said last night he was ‘disappointed’ that fellow Synod members had turned against him.
A spokesman for the Church said that, under Synod rules, a meeting of the House had to be convened if more than a tenth of its 210 members demanded it and well over that number had done so.
Bristol vote of no confidence in women bishop row
BBC News – The diocese of Bristol is one of the first in the country to challenge the Church of England’s decision to refuse the ordination of women bishops.
The proposal was rejected by the General Synod of the Church of England on 20 November.
The Bristol Diocesan Synod has since passed a vote of no confidence in the national ruling synod’s abilities.
The Bishop of Bristol said he believes the church will remain “underdeveloped” until women bishops are permitted.
The Right Reverend Mike Hill said: “We would get a new and different perspective within the episcopate and I believe that new and different perspective would be a gift to the present House of Bishops and to the wider church.”
At a meeting on Saturday, 51 members of the Bristol synod voted in favour of the motion which was proposed by the Reverend Mat Ineson, Vicar of St Matthew’s and St Nathanael’s in Kingsdown. Three voted against and there were no abstentions.
Reverend Ineson said in voting for this motion, members expressed their “frustration and disappointment” that the support of 42 out of the 44 dioceses in the country for the women bishops legislation was not reflected in the national decision-making process.
He added: “The system has failed the people and urgently needs fixing.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-20572483
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/919563-churchs-general-synod-gets-no-confidence-vote-over-women-bishops
Tax dodging is a ‘moral issue’ that hits those with least, says Christian Aid
Christian Aid has welcomed a House of Commons committee’s report on tax dodging by multinationals, which puts morality at the heart of the tax debate.
The UK-based development agency says the harm the practice of tax avoidance causes to developing countries and poor communities should be seen in the same light.
Young Methodists discuss sexuality and gender at 3Generate
Young people aired their views on conflict and peace, exam stress, bullying, sexuality and gender orientation at the sell-out 3Generate event this month.
More than 250 children and young people met at Whitemoor Lakes in Lichfield for the annual gathering, which drew delegates from as far away as Gibraltar, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales. A report on the assembly will be presented to the Methodist Conference next summer.
Scottish carers delighted by support services victory
After online and in-person pressure from campaigners, the Scottish Government has announced that it will now develop regulations to ensure that voluntary carers for people with disabilities or debilitating illnesses are not charged for support services.
There are over 600,000 unpaid carers in Scotland, and there was a danger that a loophole would force many to face charges from local authorities for vital support services.
The Minister’s commitment came on Wednesday 28 November 2012, during the Scottish Parliament debate on the Social Care Scotland Bill.
CARE slams tax burden on families
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/3/care.slams.tax.burden.on.families/31176.htm
Church of England school super-academy launches in Cornwall
BBC News – More than 700 school children and teachers are taking part in the launch of a new super-academy in Cornwall. Five Church of England schools have formed the Saints Way Multi Academy Trust. The new trust brings together the financial, resourcing and …
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-20525140
Scouts consider oath for atheists
BBC News – The UK Scout Association launches a consultation to see if its members would back an alternative oath for those who feel unable to pledge a “duty to God”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20584208