Church of England

Resourcing Ministerial Education: a tasty curate’s egg

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The Church of England does not have a good track record of thinking strategically about theological and ministerial education. In 1977 the imaginatively named ACCM Paper 22 swept away the General Ordination Exam, and instead asked each training institution to articulate its understanding of ministry and its approach to training. In the post-1960s liberal haze, … Continue Reading

Seven questions for men and women on platforms

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It’s been very interesting to interact with Steve Holmes on the question of men and women as conference speakers. Steve posted about Project 3:28 on his blog, to which I offered some comment, and Steve offered a response to my observations which I reposted here. I offer here some reflections and questions which come out … Continue Reading

Women and platforms: a response

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Steve Holmes has kindly taken time to response to my comments on his previous blog post. I am reposting his comments here with permission, since it seems to me that this is an important discussion which needs to be teased out. Ian Paul, who I have never had the pleasure of meeting, but with whom I … Continue Reading

Should women be on platforms?

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If women can be called and equipped in speaking, teaching and leading by the Spirit just as much men (which I think is true), then should we expect to see 50/50 gender representation at Christian conferences? Steve Holmes believes so, and as a result he and others started Project 3:28 to monitor whether this is happening. … Continue Reading

Should bishops come from a ‘talent pool’?

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The Church of England appears to have a double-minded approach to secular, business expertise. On the one hand, it often wilfully ignores it, to its detriment. At other times, it appears to embrace it uncritically, disconnecting it from theological insight. There is certainly no doubt that, in a number of places, the Church needs to … Continue Reading

The state of the (Westminster) debate

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The Westminster Faith Debates are organised by Charles Clarke and Linda Woodhead, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Lancaster University. (A good number of them, oddly enough, take place in Oxford at the University Church.) You might expect them, then, to offer a balanced … Continue Reading

Daily lectionary in your calendar

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Simon Kershaw of Oremus has once again provided a calendar containing daily and weekly lectionary readings which will fit in all major calendar applications. Download it for free here, where there is also an invitation to make a donation if you wish. You can choose how much content you have in your calendar entry, and … Continue Reading

How to save the Church of England

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There has been quite a lot of interest in my previous post on How to Save a Diocese (great to see that mission can excite as much interest as sexuality!) and some really interesting things coming out in the comments. I offer here some further thoughts on the issue. First, it is apparent that there … Continue Reading

How to save a diocese

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Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn, one year in post and after having got to know the lie of the land, has warned that unless the Church reinvents itself in his own diocese, it would disappear like the region’s textile industry. I am convinced that we need to embark on radical change. We need to reinvent … Continue Reading

More Perfect Union?

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I’ve had quite a few interactions with Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, mostly on line and (once) in person. On some occasions he has been reasonable, thoughtful and well-informed; on others, belligerent and polemical. So when I received this book for review, I was intrigued to know which way it would go. Unfortunately, it is … Continue Reading