LGBTI groups urge the Church of England to ‘follow the Methodist’s lead’ on same-sex marriage

Jul 14, 2019 by

LGBTI groups urge the Church of England to ‘follow the Methodist’s lead’ on same-sex marriage

by Heather Preston, Premier: Anglican LGBTI groups are calling for the Church of England to follow the example set by the Methodist Church in its acceptance of same-sex marriage. All the major LGBTI organisations in the Church of England have welcomed the Methodist Church’s move towards same-sex marriage, following a motion at The Methodist Conference earlier this month, which saw a 247 to 48 vote in favour of allowing same-sex weddings to take place in Methodist Churches and to be...

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Is the Church in the UK a sinking ship?

Jul 14, 2019 by

Is the Church in the UK a sinking ship?

by David Robertson, Christian Today: The Humanist official could hardly contain his glee – “Some genuine Good News today”, he declared on Facebook before linking to a headline – “Christianity Gives Way to Atheism in Britain Today, Survey Suggests”. A headline and press release that was repeated verbatim in most of the UK media this week. The findings from the British Social Attitudes survey certainly make grim reading for the UK church. There has been a...

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Prime minister will not have choice of archbishop

Jul 10, 2019 by

Prime minister will not have choice of archbishop

by Kaya Burgess, The Times: Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair both clashed with the Church of England over the nomination of bishops or archbishops by refusing to appoint the church’s first choice of candidates. Theresa May’s successor in Downing Street will be spared any temptation to interfere in senior church appointments after a change in the rules. In a move passed by the General Synod, the church will no longer be obliged to choose two candidates for all bishop or archbishop vacancies and...

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Church of England has become an ‘echo-chamber instead of interpreter’ on issues of human sexuality – John Sentamu

Jul 7, 2019 by

Church of England has become an ‘echo-chamber instead of interpreter’ on issues of human sexuality – John Sentamu

from Christian Today: The Church of England has been told it must return to “the whole of Scripture and to Scripture as a whole” if it is to find a way forward through the disagreement over human sexuality. In his presidential address to General Synod, Dr John Sentamu said that instead of being a guide to others, the Church had become an “echo-chamber” and that debate had been reduced to “crisp soundbite”. He suggested that the Church, both laity and clergy,...

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CofE Social Media Charter neuters the prophetic and subsumes truth to ‘respect’

Jul 2, 2019 by

CofE Social Media Charter neuters the prophetic and subsumes truth to ‘respect’

from Archbishop Cranmer: “I just signed up to #CofECharter,” tweeted the former Times religious affairs correspondent (and quite delightful) Ruth Gledhill, precisely 48 seconds after the Archbishop of Canterbury had announced his initiative to bring more love and peace to social media. “Fantastic and much-needed initiative. Please everyone sign up and follow through,” she urged. “Together we can make change and help bring about a kinder world. Thank you @churchofengland.” And so they flocked,...

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Institute challenges Cathedral over blasphemous LGBT festival

Jun 27, 2019 by

Institute challenges Cathedral over blasphemous LGBT festival

from The Christian Institute: Newcastle Cathedral is being confronted over a weekend-long LGBT festival that includes a panel discussion on “Queering the Church”. Coinciding with the city’s pro-LGBT march, the Cathedral is hosting four panellists including a Church of England curate who identifies as ‘non-binary genderqueer transgender’. Colin Hart, The Christian Institute’s Director, said such festivals lead people away from the good news of the Gospel. Beyond tolerance Between Friday 19 and...

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