Rock-star REV who could trigger Church of England’s #MeToo moment

Jul 24, 2021 by

Rock-star REV who could trigger Church of England’s #MeToo moment

by David Leafe, Mailonline: HE late-night telephone calls were not at all what you would expect from a Church of England vicar contacting female members of his congregation. Summoning selected women to his lavishly appointed home in Sheffield, the Reverend Chris Brain wanted help with what became known as ‘putting him to bed’. At the very least this meant giving him a massage, often while he was naked. For some of his young followers, it stopped there. But for others, the encounters are said...

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Welby, the Church’s Captain Calamity, steers Christ’s boat towards the rocks

Jul 24, 2021 by

Welby, the Church’s Captain Calamity, steers Christ’s boat towards the rocks

By Victoria Baillon, The Conservative Woman: AS our parish churches and Christian heritage disappear from the countryside, with the dolts who run the Church of England steering it towards oblivion, this is a letter I have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Justin Welby …  Dear Archbishop, Consider the English rural parish church. For many, the church building remains the central focus of their community everyday life, not only a place for reflection and solace, but a refuge for all...

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The immoral, scandalous and disgraceful nature of CofE bullying

Jul 22, 2021 by

The immoral, scandalous and disgraceful nature of CofE bullying

by Martin Sewell, Archbishop Cranmer: ‘Immoral, scandalous or disgraceful’ is a phrase from the Statutes of Christ Church, Oxford: it describes behaviour warranting disciplinary action being undertaken within that institution, but it is also an entirely appropriate description of the way in which the Church of England has handled the case of the late Fr Alan Griffin, an innocent man who was institutionally bullied to death by a church he had served for most of his life. Instead of those...

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RIP Father Alan Griffin, victim of a travesty of justice

Jul 21, 2021 by

RIP Father Alan Griffin, victim of a travesty of justice

by Peter Mullen, The Conservative Woman: MY friend and colleague Father Alan Griffin has taken his own life. We were neighbours at two City of London churches. Alan was the very model of what a priest should be: Theologically-educated, pastorally-sensitive, kind, gentle and convivial. Fr Alan, 78, died in November 2020 having spent a year under investigation without ever having the allegations spelled out to him. He was yet one more victim of the pernicious safeguarding system which allows the...

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Statement on the CEEC website following the Bishop of Liverpool’s June 2021 speech

Jul 20, 2021 by

Statement on the CEEC website following the Bishop of Liverpool’s June 2021 speech

The recent speech by the Bishop of Liverpool caused great concern among evangelicals on a number of counts. Following its publication, CEEC wrote privately to Bishop Paul to express this and we are aware of other evangelicals who also wrote to him. We are grateful that Bishop Paul has publicly apologised for the fact that in a number of places he spoke in ways that “clearly conveyed a lack of respect for those who think differently” and overstepped “the limits of good manners, mutual respect...

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How to simply grow the church

Jul 20, 2021 by

How to simply grow the church

by Ian Paul, Psephizo: Yesterday I had a delightful, brief conversation with a friend about what is happening in different dioceses. Friend: Our bishop has turned our diocese around. Me: How has he done that? Friend: By not cutting clergy posts, and not appointing an archdeacon. Instead we have focussed on the question of stewardship. Me: Surely it isn’t as simple as that? Friend: No, not entirely, but other dioceses are doing the same. The problem is that too many have developed a groupthink...

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