There must be many pastors of similar ilk to those highly regarded by Joad who remain active in the Church of England today. When criticism is made of the Church of England it is leveled principally, forcibly, and deservedly, at those in positions of leadership, and also those followers who heartily approve of them. There is great cause in our time to weep at the poor quality of spiritual leadership in the Established Church.
Read moreBut not this time. Justin Welby has been called on to think again and preside over the appointment of someone whose views are less of a slight to the integrity of the Holy See. After all, much of the energy that drove the secession of the Church of England in the first place was a determination to believe and practice the faith as it was encountered in reading the Gospels. It is odd, to say the least to appoint to this office a man who cannot take the New Testament at face value.
Read more• The appointment of a number of our members to serve as bishops and in other key
responsibilities
• The growth in the number and activity of affiliated Diocesan Evangelical
Fellowships/Unions
• The rebirth of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion (EFAC) of which
we are a constituent member.
Challenged by the clergy that 'the situation is serious' and 'if not addressed, we would all struggle to support the leadership of our bishops in this matter and a number of our churches may want to seek alternative means of receiving episcopal ministry,' the bishops simply responded that they needed to be 'honest'.
Read moreIt has a staff team of eight led by its Rector, the Reverend William Taylor, plus an associate rector, four curates and an assistant curate. As a conservative evangelical church, it does not ordain women or accept the ministry of female clergy.
From July to December 2018, Brephos, a leading evangelical pro-life organisation approached St Helen's leadership pleading with Taylor and his team to address the issue of abortion in their preaching, teaching and training.
Read moreThe survey also found that more than two-thirds have been on the receiving end of verbal abuse and one in five has experienced threatening behaviour over the last two years.
The findings, released on Friday, also showed that clergy who have suffered violence are more likely to find their work "more challenging" than they did previously.
Read moreThe theological reasons for the concerns about this liturgy have been well expressed in the various resources which Church Society has published and so there is no need to rehearse those arguments here.
But the specific issue I would like please to raise with you, if I may, relates to the potential misuse of the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy against frontline ministers who cannot in good conscience celebrate gender transitions.
Read moreHenderson, who is president of the Church of England Evangelical Council, issued the statement on behalf of the CEEC saying that the rite for transgender initiation has "raised a number of serious questions and aroused deep concerns," the most serious of which was the biblical texts the House of Bishops and his committee had recommended to be read at the service.
Read moreIt's not as though we didn't see it coming. The steady creep of the mould of progressivism has been wearing down the biblically faithful in the Church for some time. But while same-sex marriage has got held up by clear biblical prohibitions on same-sex activity and the politics around that, trans affirmation has slipped in quietly round the side.
Read moreIt is this granting of canonical status to the service of initiation for transgender people that has led traditionalists to claim that a "red line" has been crossed for the first time since the debates over homosexuality and transgenderism erupted in the church.
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