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Dear Stephen I read with interest your address to York Diocesan Synod on 5th July, and one word leapt out for me: ‘final’. Near the end of your address, you comment: The Living in Love and Faith process is not yet complete. Some final proposals will be brought to the February 2026 meeting of the … Continue Reading
Dear Stephen In our working relationship, I have always sought to be open and honest with you. I have also always sought to follow Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18: if you have an issue with a brother, go to him first privately, and only if he will not listen should you then go to others, … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard offers an update, diagnosis and proposal. A more detailed analysis is available as a PDF here. Summary In the light of the House of Bishops stating that there will be no further decisions on PLF in either the February or July General Synods this year and the new papers just released, this article … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: The full interview of Archbishop Justin by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart for their The Rest is Politics: Leading podcast was released on Monday including the Archbishop’s answer on “gay sex” which was released (in a very slightly different edit) on TikTok over a week in advance and which I have argued … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: What follows demonstrates a recent statement about PLF by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is significantly misleading in relation to what the bishops have decided, what the church teaches on sexual ethics, who PLF is for, and what PLF offers. This development, contradicting and undermining past theological and legal advice as … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: As the College of Bishops gathers in Oxford next week for its regular September residential, the Bishops of Penrith and Huntingdon remain Acting Bishops of Carlisle and Ely respectively and will probably be so into the second half of next year. It is also probable that there will be perhaps 5 or … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: A recent service at York Minster in which the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) were used for two men who had entered a civil same-sex marriage has ignited controversy, highlighted several problems, and raised the question as to whether people are playing fast and loose (PFL) with PLF. The initial social … Continue Reading
Martin Davie writes: In a letter of 2 July this year to the signatories of a letter from the Alliance group within the Church of England to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishop of Oxford wrote as follows: The mind of the majority House of Bishops now seems to me to be settling … Continue Reading
Christopher Landau writes: In some of the cases of marriage breakdown I have known, a crucial moment came when one party no longer believed the marriage could be saved, and so the only option was to proceed to divorce. I fear the Church of England stands on the precipice of such a moment. I hope … Continue Reading
Not everything was bad at the session of General Synod last weekend. When someone asked me how I was, I replied ‘I feel like the violinist in the orchestra on the Titanic. The music is going very well!’ There was an important discussion about ‘rest periods for office holders’ (C of E language for vicars … Continue Reading
Andrew Goddard writes: As new LLF groups convene this weekend, in this article, I note the following issues. The three working groups and the bishops need not only to connect the work in each area (“the trees”) but also see the bigger theological picture (“the forest”) where the earlier LLF work is helpful in clarifying … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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