Finally: women on women bishops

I suspect some people are going to have apoplexy watching this. Still, you've got to love the opening. I might just edit that bit and keep it as a clip -- if you'll pardon the pun.



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Evangelical and Catholic letter to The Times: text and signatories

Below is the text of the letter that was published yesterday in The Times and a complete list of the signatories. I would just want to add two things. First, I can immediately think of three people in the Diocese of Chelmsford who I'm sure would have signed it, but whose names do not appear. It therefore must not be regarded as a complete list.

Secondly, contra what was said in The Times, this letter is in no way a challenge to Archbishop-elect Justin Welby's authority. Some of those who signed, myself included, have already expressed in other contexts (for example a greeting from the Church of England Evangelical Council) our welcome of his forthcoming appointment.

Of course, the whole issue presents a challenge to his leadership, but that would be true whichever way it goes. And he seems to be a man who takes such challenges in his stride -- that is why some of us have invested a degree of hope in him.

*************************


Sir,

As active priests from both the Catholic and Evangelical groupings of the Church of England, we write to express our deep concern over the draft Women Bishops Measure. We believe that our future ministries will be severely prejudiced if the General Synod votes to approve the draft Measure.

The Bible teaches – and the Church has traditionally understood – that men and women are equal before God and yet have different, complementary, roles in the Church. By maintaining these different roles, neither men nor women are diminished; rather, we demonstrate God’s wisdom in creating us to operate in this way.

We accept that there is a majority desire to introduce women bishops, but we are also very conscious that the minority in disagreement is far from insignificant. We had hoped for compromise – but the provision being made for us in the draft Measure comes nowhere near what we need.

We are told that if Synod does not pass the draft Measure it will impair the mission of the Church. However, approving the draft Measure will do much more harm in the long term and will lead irrevocably to deep fractures appearing within the Church. We urge Synod to avoid this by voting not to approve the draft Measure.

Yours faithfully


The Revd Rod Thomas, Diocese of Exeter

Chairman, Reform

The Revd Canon Simon Killwick, Diocese of Manchester

Chairman, Catholic Group in General Synod

and 324 others:

The Revd Stuart Allen, Diocese of Coventry
The Revd Michael Andreyev, Diocese of Derby
The Revd Nigel Atkinson, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Andrew Hartropp, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Peter Ackroyd, Diocese of St Albans
The Revd Peter Anthony, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Ben Archibald, Diocese of Peterborough
The Revd Canon Dr Gavin Ashenden, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd David Atallah, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Simon Austen, Diocese of Carlisle
The Venerable George Austin, Diocese of St Albans
The Revd Martin Bailey, Diocese of St Albans
The Revd Iain Baker, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd David Banting, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Neil Barber, Diocese of Derby
The Revd Philip Barnes, Diocese of London
The Revd David Barnsley, Diocese of Derby
The Revd Michael Bartlett, Diocese of Worcester
The Revd Dane Batley-Gladden, Diocese of London
The Revd Brian Bell, Diocese of Wakefield
The Revd Paul Benfield, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Ian Bentley, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd Jonathan Beswick, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd John Birchall, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Michael Blackman, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Tudor Boddam-Whetham, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd Ian Booth, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd David Bourne, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Dexter Bracey, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Matthew Brailsford, Diocese of York
The Revd Andy Brewerton, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Robert Brewis, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Ian Brooks, Diocese of Liverpool
The Revd Iain Broomfield, Diocese of Rochester
The Venerable Michael Brotherton, Diocese of London
The Revd Paul Bryce, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd James Buchanan, Diocese of London
The Revd Dr Terry Buckingham, Diocese of Bradford
The Revd Canon Allan Buik, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Mark Burkill, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Tim Burrell, Diocese of Ripon & Leeds
The Revd Graham Burrows, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Andrew Burton, Diocese of St Albans
The Revd Reg Bushau, Diocese of London
The Revd William Butt, Diocese of Derby
The Revd Paul Bye, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Andy Byfield, Diocese of Peterborough
The Revd Mike Cain, Diocese of Bristol
The Revd Philip Calvert, Diocese of Birmingham
The Revd Ken Campbell, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Leon Carberry, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Charles Card-Reynolds, Diocese of London
The Revd Paul Cartwright, Diocese of Wakefield
The Revd Victor Cassam, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd John Caster, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Philip Chadder, Diocese of St Albans
The Revd Carl M Chambers, Diocese of Chichester
The Venerable Ian Chandler, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Tim Chapman, Diocese of Ely
The Revd Jim Charles, Diocese of Canterbury
The Revd Godfrey Kiprotich (Kip) Chelashaw, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Simon Clark, Diocese of London
The Revd Dr Terry Clark, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd Philip J Coekin, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Richard Coekin, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Prebendary Ian Cook, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Canon Stephen Cope, Diocese of York
The Revd Philip Corbett, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd David Craven, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd Tim Crook, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd George Crowder, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Greg Cushing, Diocese of Ely
The Revd Daniel Howard, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Paul Darlington, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Alan Davies, Diocese of Ely
The Revd Tim Davies, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Paul Dawson, Diocese of London
The Revd Andrew Dawswell, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Nicholas Deane, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd John Dewar, Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham
The Revd Steve Donald, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd Simon Dowdy, Diocese of London
The Revd Raphael Duckett, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd James Dudley-Smith, Diocese of Bath & Wells
The Revd Canon Kit Dunkley, Diocese of Coventry
The Revd James Durbin, Diocese of St Albans
The Revd William Eardley, Diocese of Derby
The Revd Robin Eastoe, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Gary Ecclestone, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Stephen Edmonds, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Nigel Elliott, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Christopher Epps, Diocese of Truro
The Revd Richard J Espin-Bradley, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Rupert Evans, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Christopher J C Evans, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd Robert Farmer, Diocese of Peterborough
The Revd Dick Farr, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Ron Farrell, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Robert Fayers, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Damian Feeney, Diocese of Oxford
The Rev’d Andy Fenton, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Joe Fielder, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Geoffrey Firth, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Michael Fish, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Jonathan Fletcher, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Tony Ford, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd Jonathan Frais, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Karl Freeman, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Jonathan Frith, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Peter Froggatt, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Matt Fuller, Diocese of London
The Revd Dr Adrian Furse, Diocese of Leicester
The Revd Simon Gales, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Canon Stephen Gallagher, Diocese of Norwich
The Revd Francis Gardom, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Ian Garrett, Diocese of Newcastle
The Revd David Gibb, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Mark Gilbert, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Ian Gilmour, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Nick Gowers, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Andy Greenhough, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Stephen Griffiths, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd Canon Michael Gudgeon, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Stuart Halstead, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd John Hamilton, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd W Graham Hamilton, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Steven Hanna, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Tim Hanson, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Canon Geoffrey Harbord, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Christopher Hardy, Diocese of London
The Revd Canon Jeremy Haselock, Diocese of Norwich
The Revd Canon Andy Hawes, Diocese of Lincoln
The Revd Canon Clive Hawkins, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd David Hawthorn, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd Neil Hibbins, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Owen Higgs, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd David Hildred, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd John Hilton, Diocese of Ripon & Leeds
The Revd Nick Hiscocks, Diocese of Salisbury
The Revd Martin Hislop, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Chris Hobbs, Diocese of Birmingham
The Revd Alan Hogarth, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd David Holloway, Diocese of Newcastle
The Revd Martin Howse, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Richard Hoyal, Diocese of Bristol
The Revd Peter Hudson, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Luke Irvine-Capel, Diocese of London
The Revd Pete Jackson, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Charles Jefferson, Diocese of Peterborough
The Revd Clive Jones, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Gareth Jones, Diocese of Ripon & Leeds
The Revd Glynn Jones, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd Mark Jones, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Dr Trevor Jones , Diocese of London
The Revd Jonathan Juckes, Diocese of York
The Revd Christian Keane, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Andrew Kearns, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Prebendary Michael Kinna, Diocese of Hereford
The Revd Clay Knowles, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Dr Andrew Latimer, Diocese of London
The Revd Julian Laurence, Diocese of Bath & Wells
The Revd David Lawson, Diocese of Coventry
The Venerable Michael Lawson, Diocese of London
The Revd Brian Lay, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Richard Leadbeater, Diocese of Birmingham
The Revd David Leaf, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd James Leggett, Diocese of Portsmouth
The Revd Andy Lines, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Marc Lloyd, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Dr Peter Long, Diocese of Truro
The Revd Mark Lucas, Diocese of Peterborough
The Revd John Luff, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd John Lyon, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Rupert Mackay, Diocese of London
The Revd Angus MacLeay, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Mark Madeley, Diocese of Bristol
The Revd Julian Mann, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Dr Tony Marks, Diocese of York
The Revd Bob Marsden, Diocese of Derby
The Revd Canon Rodney Marshall, Diocese of Wakefield
The Revd Richard Marshall, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Edward Martin, Diocese of Lincoln
The Revd John Martin, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Stephen Masters, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd James Mather, Diocese of Ely
The Revd Peter Matthew, Diocese of Guildford
The Revd Fr Aidan Mayoss CR, Diocese of Wakefield
The Revd Ian McCormack, Diocese of Wakefield
The Revd Canon Peter McCrory, Diocese of Norwich
The Revd Peter McEvitt, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd Terry McFadden, Diocese of Liverpool
The Rev’d Dan McGowan, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Alistair McHaffie, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Canon Robert McTeer, Diocese of Durham
The Revd Dafydd Meirion-Jones, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Suresh Menon, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Mark Mesley, Diocese of Truro
The Revd Canon Arthur Middleton, Diocese of Durham
The Revd David Middleton, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Stephen Midgley, Diocese of Ely
The Revd John Miller, Diocese of Bath & Wells
The Revd Jonathan Milton-Thompson, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Andrew Mitcham, Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich
The Revd Rohinton Mody, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd Prebendary Hugh Moore, Diocese of London
The Revd Michael Morris, Diocese of Canterbury
The Revd Simon Morris, Diocese of London
The Revd Shaun Morris, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Peter Moss, Diocese of Salisbury
The Revd Justin Mote, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd James Mowbray, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Dr Rob Munro, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Canon Lawson Nagel, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd James D G Nash, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Canon Geoffrey Neal, Diocese of St Albans
The Revd Martyn Neale, Diocese of Guildford
The Revd Peter Needham, Diocese of Wakefield
The Revd Gordon Newton, Diocese of Ripon & Leeds
The Revd Stephen Nichols, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Paul Noble, Diocese of Lincoln
The Revd Marcus Nodder, Diocese of London
The Revd Mark North, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Ross Northing, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Kevin Northover, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd Michael Oades, Diocese of Truro
The Revd James Oakley, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Canon Philip O'Reilly, Diocese of Leicester
The Revd James Paice, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Alasdair Paine, Diocese of Ely
The Revd Phil Parker, Diocese of Guildford
The Revd Prebendary Clive Pearce, Diocese of London
The Revd Fergus Pearson, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd John Percival, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Richard Perkins, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Malcolm Peters, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Andrei Petrine, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd David Phillips, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Ben Phillips, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd Prebendary Sam Philpott, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Al Pickering, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Mark Pickles, Diocese of Derby
The Revd James Poole, Diocese of Ely
The Revd Martin Poolton, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd Stephen Pratt, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Frank Price, Diocese of Ely
The Revd Greg Prior, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Jonathan Pryke, Diocese of Newcastle
The Revd Alan Purser, Diocese of London
The Revd Adam Pymble, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Stephen Rae, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Andrew Raynes, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Charles Razzall, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Martin Reakes-William, Diocese of Europe
The Revd Mike Reith, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd John Richardson, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Vaughan Roberts, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd John Roberts, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Francis Rodriguez-Veglio, Diocese of Peterborough
The Revd Daniel Roe, Diocese of York
The Revd Canon Andrew Sage, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Dr Andy Saville, Diocese of London
The Revd Simon Sayer, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd Carl Schaefer, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Simon Scott, Diocese of Ely
The Revd Stephen Seamer, Diocese of Europe
The Revd Dr Jeremy Sheehy, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd Rupert Shelley, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd John Shepherd, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd David Sherratt, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd David Sherwood, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd John Simmons, Diocese of Manchester
The Revd Mark Simpson, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Simon Smallwood, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Darren Smith, Diocese of Birmingham
The Revd Kevin Smith, Diocese of Durham
The Revd Christopher Smith, Diocese of London
The Revd Mike Smith, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Nicolas Spicer, Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham
The Revd Chris Spinks, Diocese of Chichester
The Revd Russell Stagg, Diocese of London
The Revd John Stather, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Andrew Stevens, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Jeffrey Stokoe, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Reginald Stretton, Diocese of Leicester
The Revd Canon Dr Chris Sugden, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Clifford Swartz, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd Simon Talbot, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd William Taylor, Diocese of London
The Revd James Terry, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Melvin Tinker, Diocese of York
The Revd Peter Tizzard, Diocese of Canterbury
The Revd David Todd, Diocese of Derby
The Revd Alistair Tresidder, Diocese of London
The Revd Stephen Trott, Diocese of Peterborough
The Revd Prebendary Brian Tubbs, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd Canon Nicholas Turner, Diocese of Bradford
The Revd Philip Venables, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Gary Waddington, Diocese of Ripon & Leeds
The Revd Simon Walker, Diocese of Carlisle
The Revd Stephen Walton, Diocese of Chester
The Revd Canon Dr Robin Ward, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Philip Warner, Diocese of London
The Revd Gordon Warren, Diocese of London
The Revd Dr Stephen Watkinson, Diocese of Blackburn
The Revd Tom Watts, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Andrew Waude, Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham
The Revd Dominic Webb, Diocese of Chelmsford
The Revd Robin Weekes, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Nicholas Weir, Diocese of Winchester
The Revd Nick Weldon, Diocese of Exeter
The Revd David Whitehouse, Diocese of Liverpool
The Revd Mark Whiting, Diocese of Portsmouth
The Revd Peter Wilkinson, Diocese of Oxford
The Revd Paul Williams, Diocese of Sheffield
The Revd Prebendary David Wills, Diocese of Truro
The Revd Stephen Wilson, Diocese of Canterbury
The Revd Bill Wilson, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Roger Woods, Diocese of Lichfield
The Revd Stephen Wookey, Diocese of Gloucester
The Revd Ian Wright, Diocese of Ripon & Leeds
The Revd Nick Wynne-Jones, Diocese of Rochester
The Revd Iain Young, Diocese of Southwark
The Revd Martin Young, Diocese of Norwich
The Revd Daniel Young, Diocese of Chester

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Why a 'no' vote is the right vote this time round

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Appleby feared 'respect' was 'a compromise too far'

In recent weeks, the word 'respect' has come to the forefront of the debate about the Women Bishops Measure. Indeed, some people are now suggesting that this word almost alone legally guarantees the future of traditionalists in the Church of England.

As with the present Archbishop of Canterbury, they feel there has been "enough waiting". If you want this development at all, it is time to vote 'yes'. If you object in principle, the right thing is to abstain, so as to allow the Church to get on with its mission.

Everyone in favour is now legally bound to 'respect' those against. In any case, that respect hardly needs to be commanded. The mood of the moment is that all will be respected and all will flourish. If you don't believe me, check out the recorded messages on the Archbishop's website, from the Bishops of Chelmsford, Willesden, Worcester and Sheffield, from Mark Russell, Chief Executive of the Church Army, Rebecca Swinson, a member of the Archbishops' Council, and last but not least, the Revd Janet Appleby herself, the woman who first suggested the 'respect' formula as a way out of the impasse.

It is when you look at Appleby's contribution, however, that questions arise. After saying how surprised she is to find herself playing such a prominent role in Church affairs, she makes this remarkably frank admission:

When I offered this suggestion I found it personally painful and feared this was a compromise too far.

Now it is worth pausing at this point and reminding ourselves just what that suggestion was. 

The original Clause 5(1)c, which caused outrage amongst many supporters of women bishops, read as follows:

5 (1) The House of Bishops shall draw up, and promulgate, guidance in a Code of Practice as to—
(c) the selection of male bishops or male priests the exercise of ministry by whom is consistent with the theological convictions as to the consecration or ordination of women on grounds of which parochial church councils have issued Letters of Request under section 3,

This has now been replaced by the 'Appleby Amendment'

5 (1) The House of Bishops shall draw up, and promulgate, guidance in a Code of Practice as to— 
(c) the selection of male bishops and male priests in a manner which respects the grounds on which parochial church councils issue Letters of Request under section 3,

Enough has been written already to show that we are some way from the original 5(1)c. Not least, this is no longer about the bishop and those whom he or she will help select as clergy, but about the Parochial Church Council and the attitude the petitioned bishop will have towards their theological views (which, when you put it like that, sounds -- frankly -- faintly ridiculous).

Be that as it may, however, in view of all the enthusiasm for 'respect', it is noteworthy that the original proponent of this new approach thought at first that this was too much to concede.

Now I have no doubt about Janet Appleby's sincerity of purpose. She goes on to say that she did this for the sake of the Church:

I took the risk of compromising my own dearly held beliefs for the sake of the unity of the church, a church which, as a cradle Anglican, I love dearly in all its glorious breadth and frustrating contradictions.

To swallow one's convictions for the sake of unity in the Body of Christ is admirable, provided it is done on proper theological grounds (compare Romans 14:13-15, concerning those whose faith is weak with Galatians 2:14ff concerning one who should have known better).

But it is the very fact that I take her seriously which leaves me worried about the new mood of optimism that this is indeed the right way forward. For if Janet Appleby found even the watered down requirement of the new 5(1)c barely tolerable -- a potential compromise of her beliefs -- what of those others who, in future years (or indeed decades) will be acting on the principles it sets out? Will they genuinely allow the flourishing of others for whom they feel 'respect' is too great a compromise?

Remember, it is not just that the legislation puts certain provisions in place for traditionalists. It puts massive powers in the hands of others -- including other PCCs. One of the things the Code of Practice is going to have to work out is what to do in multi-parish benefices where some PCCs want to petition and others don't. Another largely-overlooked provision of the Measure is that a single PCC in a multi-parish Benefice will immediately be able to revoke any existing Resolutions under the earlier legislation.

When you compare the final proposal with what might have been, it is hard to credit the compromise of 'respect' with being able to hold the weight that must rest on it. We know, because they have said so plainly, that for some campaigners, this is not the end. WATCH and others have clearly signalled their short-term intention to be monitor carefully the actual provisions of the yet-to-be-written Code of Practice, and in the long term they want a 'Single Clause' Church de facto if not de jure.

A grudging respect may not be what Janet Appleby intended, and it may be real, but it is hardly enough.

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