Church of England

Can the ‘traditional’ view of sexuality ever be plausible?

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I’m often intrigued by those who argue that the church’s stance on sexuality—which usually means the church’s traditional opposition to seeing same-sex sexual unions as equivalent to male-female marriage—as an obstacle to mission. They are quite right that most people beyond the church look at this aspect of its teaching with more or less blank … Continue Reading

Allocating giving for ministry (‘parish share’)

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In just about every deanery I have been involved with, the allocation of ‘parish share’, the contribution to the central financing of the diocese, has been a matter of contention. As with many decisions, disagreements are heightened when they are focussed on the practical decisions involved. This is often because underlying principles have not been … Continue Reading

300 and still standing…

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The title of this post is not a reference to the legendary last stand of the Spartans at Thermopylae, nor the gruesome film 300 based on a fictional retelling. There might have been times when I felt outnumbered (though not by a million) and some online interactions can feel like a fight to the death—though … Continue Reading

Who is ducking what in the C of E?

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On Friday, Linda Woodhead expressed in the Church Times her serious reservations about the recent series of reports on change required in the Church of England (under the general heading of ‘Renewal and Reform’). Many of the responses I have read so far have been distinctly coloured by Woodhead’s previous comments and writing. This was, after … Continue Reading

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