The Church of England’s governance shake-up ignores the elephants in the room

Sep 18, 2021 by

The Church of England’s governance shake-up ignores the elephants in the room

by Julian Mann, Christian Today: It would seem that the Church of England’s higher-ups do not feel that the electoral process is delivering the sort of people they want at the top of the institution. That is if the new report from the  (GRG) is representative of how the CofE hierarchy is thinking. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York want a more streamlined governance structure for the national Church. So they set up the GRG led by the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines. He unveiled the...

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Anglican Conclave to ‘sift’ all candidates for vacancies to see if they are ‘appropriate’

Sep 15, 2021 by

Anglican Conclave to ‘sift’ all candidates for vacancies to see if they are ‘appropriate’

by Archbishop Cranmer: There is no doubt that the governance structure of the Church of England is labyrinthine, convoluted, inefficient and opaque. It’s what comes of half a millennium of Catholic and Reformed Erastianism forged out of a millennium of Benedictine continental rule and papal interventions from Rome. With all the disparate committees, boards, chambers, panels, commissions, councils and trustees, there’s an awful lot of time-wasting bureaucracy, energy-sapping officialdom, and...

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C of E review proposes new body to take over (almost) every central church function

Sep 14, 2021 by

C of E review proposes new body to take over (almost) every central church function

by Ed Thornton, Church Times: Archbishops’ Council should be replaced; House of Bishops influence should be scaled back, says review A RADICAL shake-up of the Church of England’s central governance has been proposed by an official review group. The Governance Review Group’s proposals, released on Tuesday, include scaling back the powers of the House of Bishops to set national policy, and placing most of the activities currently overseen by the Church Commissioners and bodies such as the...

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Review group: Oh, and the General Synod needs reforming, too

Sep 14, 2021 by

Review group: Oh, and the General Synod needs reforming, too

by Ed Thornton, Church Times: THE Church of England should give “serious attention” to reforming the General Synod, says the Governance Review Group’s report, published on Tuesday. “The General Synod sets the budget of just one of the NCIs [National Church Institutions],” the report notes, “elects board members to some but not all of them, receives annual reports from some but not all of them, and can pass motions ‘calling upon’ any of them to do things which it cannot necessarily enforce....

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Recommendations made for Church of England Governance Reform

Sep 14, 2021 by

Recommendations made for Church of England Governance Reform

A Church of England Governance Review working group, established by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to explore options for simpler and more effective governance, has recommended changes to the Church’s national governance structures. These recommendations will be considered by the Church’s governance bodies during the autumn. The main recommendation of the Governance Review Group is to reduce the number of the national governance entities by merging the oversight of most of the Church’s...

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Sunday church services under threat due to shortage of chaplains

Sep 12, 2021 by

Sunday church services under threat due to shortage of chaplains

by Phoebe Southworth, Telegraph: Celebrating the eucharist in the ‘golden slot’ may not be possible every week due to staff shortages, says Bishop of Sheffield. Earlier this year, a leaked report which had been sent to the Church of England’s 42 diocesan secretaries warned clergy to prepare for “radical” changes and cuts as officials prepare to overhaul the system to remain financially viable. Entitled “Money, People and Buildings”, it said: “Many diocesan...

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