How to view enforced withdrawal from life
For the first time since 1208, the Church in England has ceased all public worship. Church doors are closed for communion, and the gathering together of the faithful to worship…
Ministry
Whisky Priests Galore
I have a sense that many clerics today find themselves no less confused and variously out of sorts than their widely dispersed flocks. Some report being frazzled with too much work; others are hurriedly honing their skills as online pastors;…
Diocese of Bath and Wells to sell its 12th-century Grade I listed Old Deanery – in favour of ‘modern’, ‘welcoming’ and ‘spacious’ purpose-built offices
The Old Deanery in Wells sits on the north side of Cathedral Green. It dates back to the 12th century, and comes with its own gatehouse and venerable boundary walls.…
BlessU-2: a robot priest and the parable of technological emptiness
"Bless me, Robot, for I have sinned." "Do you want to receive absolution in a male voice or a female voice?" The penitent presses a button on a touchscreen torso,…
‘Dear Patrick…’ Words of comfort for clergy who feel forsaken by mutual flourishing
Returning to the Church of England's gender wars and sexuality skirmishes (which never really went away), the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, who advocates righteous discrimination against traditionalists who discriminate…
Giles Fraser has missed the point: rural churches need to be valued, not exterminated
This is a guest post by Rev Tiffer Robinson – A Church of England Priest responsible for four rural parishes in Suffolk. He is also a newly elected member of…
Bishop of Chelmsford repudiates episcopal "talent pool"
It was a glorious sermon, with an audacious, if not subversive (which some may call prophetic) intervention on the Church of England's emerging "talent pool" approach to recognising bishops.…
Bishop Philip North – catholic continuity and ecclesial unity
On 7th November 2014, it was announced by The Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street: "The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Philip John North to the…
Rev'd Libby Lane to become Church of England's first woman bishop
The Bishop of Chester, Peter Forster, cast his eyes over the male applicants for the vacant See of Stockport in Greater Manchester, and despaired. He'd rather wait for a change…
Church of England to spend £2m on "new approach" to leadership
Politicians are out of touch. We know that, because we constantly hear about the 'Westminster bubble' or the 'Westminster Village', and Nadine Dorries once told us that neither David…