Mission

Archbishops’ Racial Justice Commission has just one Conservative member

October 11, 2021
Archbishop Cranmer
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The Archbishops' Racial Justice Commission was announced last week. It is a 12-member board, chaired by former Labour MP Paul Boateng, now Lord Boateng, and its members include just one Conservative: the social entrepreneur Lord Wei. The other members are:…

Welby: there is no need to ‘save the parish’; there is no threat to it

September 28, 2021
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The Archbishop of Canterbury recently made a very subtle intervention in the process of elections to the General Synod. Indeed, so subtle was it that absolutely nobody noticed. Just as…

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The Pope, the Patriarch and the Archbishop unite for Earth’s sake

September 10, 2021
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Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop of Canterbury have united for the first time in history to issue an urgent appeal for the future of the planet. Never before…

Fr David Palmer Catholic chaplain Nottingham University

What if Nottingham University were right to ‘cancel’ its Catholic chaplain?

September 8, 2021
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TRIGGER WARNING: The following blog post includes a discussion of the harsh treatment experienced by a Roman Catholic chaplain, and issues of religious liberty, common sense and Christian compassion. Its…

A ‘Church for England’, but whose understanding of Englishness?

August 12, 2021
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Much has been written about the Archbishop of York's article in the Telegraph, in which he set out his vision for England woven with his preferred themes of Englishness, calling…

Does it matter if Church of England parishes wither on the vine?

August 6, 2021
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At the inaugural meeting of 'Save the Parish' this week at Great St Bartholomew's in Smithfield, London, the Rev'd Marcus Walker was animated and agitated. Time is short, he told…

Radical progressive activism and the Church of England

July 26, 2021
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Civitas have published a new report: Rotting from the Head: Radical progressive activism and the Church of England. 'Radical progressive activism' is a slippery concept, not least because not all…

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General Synod elections: can ‘Save the Parish’ save the Church of England?

July 13, 2021
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"There are about to be General Synod elections. So, stand. Stand and write in your manifesto that you are standing to ‘Save the parish’," writes the Rev'd Marcus Walker, Rector…

‘Key limiting factors’: the end of stipendiary parish ministry

July 3, 2021
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Priests are expensive. Church buildings are expensive. Theological formation is expensive. So the Church of England has set out its 'Vision and Strategy' for cost-cutting: 10,000 new lay-led churches over…

I do trust Tories, says Bishop of St Davids, lying through her smiles

June 7, 2021
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The apology issued by the Bishop of St Davids (of the Church in Wales) in the wake of her 'Never never never trust a Tory' tweet is disingenuous. It is…

Bishop of St David's Bishop of St Davids Joanna Penberthy

Bishop of St Davids says all Tories are duplicitous liars

June 3, 2021
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The Bishop of St Davids, the Rt Rev'd Joanna Penberthy, was the first woman to be elected a bishop in the Church in Wales, and into an archbishopric which can…

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If ‘contested’ monuments, statues and memorials must fall, who shall stand?

May 12, 2021
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The guidance issued by the Church of England in respect of its 'contested heritage' (specifically monuments, statues and monuments relating to the slave trade and/or colonialism) is confusing (to put…

BBC Panorama smears the Church of England as ‘racist’

April 20, 2021
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'Is the Church racist?', asked the BBC's Panorama yesterday evening, as reporter Clive Myrie interviewed a few minority-ethnic clergy who have experienced some awful abuse at the hands (or from…

‘Coming Home’: what role should the Church play in housing?

February 25, 2021
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"Across the UK, eight million people currently live in substandard housing, 800,000 people are in overcrowded households and one in five households face real difficulties in paying their mortgage or…

Michael Gove: “The Church has.. a critical, central and important role in building back better”

February 21, 2021
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It seems somewhat counterintuitive, in an age of increasing secularity, and with an incessant stream of triumphant tweets from the National Secular Society, that the world's perception of the Church…

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Just 6% of Anglican clergy voted Conservative in 2019

February 10, 2021
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A Savanta ComRes poll was published just over a week ago on the political affiliation of Church leaders, and it hasn't had much coverage. In fact, it doesn't appear to…

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Curate says clapping Captain Tom is “a cult of White British Nationalism”

February 4, 2021
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The Rev'd Jarel Robinson-Brown is a curate in London. He sets out his biography (and presumably mission priorities ["Black Prophetic Fire"]) on his Twitter account: "Human | Cleric | Writer…

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Archbishops call the nation to prayer as Covid deaths reach 100,000

January 27, 2021
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As the number of deaths caused by Covid-19 passes 100,000, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written an Epistle to the Nation calling everyone to prayer. And if you…

Lockdown UK: only in Scotland is public worship prohibited (except for the rich)

January 6, 2021
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Epiphany 2021. The Wise Men have arrived in the guise of SAGE – the wisest of the wise. If we follow the star of science and heed their advice, coronavirus…

Wanted: Christians who can cause a little more offence

December 18, 2020
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Would Luther have been a blast on Twitter? Historian Tom Holland thinks so. In an edition of 'The Rest is History' podcast, he observes: "What happens is that Luther obviously…