Save the Parish seeks CofE synod candidates to end ‘doom loop’ of closures, cuts and decline
“Save the Parish”, a campaign group calling for greater support for parish churches, clergy and church buildings, is urging people who share its concerns to stand for election to the General Synod, the Church of England’s parliament. Elections are held every five years, and the next round takes place in the autumn. Issuing a rallying call at Save the Parish’s conference in London at the weekend, its chair the Rev Marcus Walker, said there was an urgent need for action because “we are in danger of losing the essence of the Church of England”. He said the financial infrastructure where “Queen Anne’s bounty” ensured poor churches were not abandoned, had changed, leading to a “catastrophic cycle of closing churches, reducing clergy, merging parishes and forcing the parish share up beyond the point at which churches feel they can pay”. The Church Commissioners endowment fund, including the Bounty, now stands at £11.5 billion pounds, yet churches continue to close, with reportedly 40 per cent of the total in poor areas. Dioceses in deficit are unable to help. He said: “This fire sale created a doom loop, a spiral of closures and cuts to clergy that led people to stop attending”. Save the Parish have produced a manifesto for candidates standing with their support, calling for a rebalancing of the church’s finances, revitalisation of parishes, support for clergy and good theological education. The conference is on YouTube and Fr Walker’s address is here
Founder of rebel Catholic order excommunicated after illicit bishop ceremony
The Sons of the Holy Redeemer, an order of Catholic monks in Orkney has consecrated its founder, Father Michael Mary, as a bishop – without the blessing of the Pope. The ceremony was conducted by three unauthorised bishops from the Americas – Bishops Rodrigo Ribeiro da Silva, Fernando Altamira and Pierre Roy – and was streamed live online on Saturday. Fr Mary founded the order in 1987 with the encouragement of Archbishop LeFebvre and it was based on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, then France, before moving to the island of Papa Stronsay in Orkney, where the Golgotha Monastery was established. The Bishop of Aberdeen, Hugh Gilbert, has issued a statement saying the consecration was an act of schism and Fr Mary has been excommunicated and dismissed from ecclesiastical office, adding: “the Congregation and its now deposed Superior have removed themselves from the communion of the Catholic Church, and the faithful of the Diocese should have no dealings with them”.
Colleagues pay tribute to BBC ‘Sunday’ presenter Edward Stourton
Colleagues of the journalist and broadcaster Edward Stourton, paid tribute to him in a special contribution to the Sunday programme, on BBC Radio 4, yesterday morning. He was a presenter of the programme for 25 years and his former editor, Christine Morgan, said his Catholic faith singled him out when moments of great importance occurred such as the funeral of Pope John Paul II, reflecting that his Catholicism “never interfered with his journalist rigour – it only ever gave him the edge”. His technique as an interviewer, “rigorous, gentle and direct”, was remembered by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and former Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols. Diagnosed with prostate cancer ten years ago, he carried on working throughout. Writing to a colleague shortly before his death, he said that for him and the team, his 25 years on Sunday had been “a golden run on the programme”.
Bishop warns of risks of Artificial Intelligence
The Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, has made his valedictory speech in the Lords, warning of the risks to society of Artificial Intelligence in areas such as mental health, social cohesion, truth, and patterns of work and distribution of power. He said the speed of the development risked undermining the benefits and there was an urgent need to consider values and ethics. A clear standard and statement of intent from the Government over the implementation of new technologies was needed, alongside the “combined and collective power of nation states” to act on this issue for the good of all. The bishop, aged 69, was a member of the select committee on Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change, and retires from his office this month.
Scientific research and the challenge to ‘technological nihilism’
Author and commentataor Joel Katkin, writing in The Telegraph, says half of US scientists are atheists or agnostics and barely a third of European scientific researchers practice any faith, but he charts the growth of the Intelligent Design movement and challenges to the Big Bang theory as signs of a change in belief. He says scientific advances went hand in hand with religion in ancient Greece, among Islamic scholars, within the Hindu tradition, and among Christians, including in the Enlightenment. Modern day changing models of belief were recently discussed at his university in California and he says latest “developments suggest a pathway to challenging technological nihilism that so hangs over human society”.
Methodist Church partners with Eco Church to strengthen care of the planet
The Methodist Church has approved a new three-year partnership with Eco Church, an environmental award scheme run by the Christian conservation charity A Rocha UK. It helps churches measure and improve their environmental performance by assessing whether creation care is part of worship, buildings have low carbon emissions, churchyards encourage wildlife, churches support environmental projects and congregations reduce waste, travel sustainably and make environmentally responsible choices. The Methodist Church was one of the founding funders of Eco Church when the scheme launched in 2016. It says that under the newly approved partnership, the Church “will provide £15,000 per year for an initial three‑year period which will enable Eco Church to continue offering guidance and resources to local churches, further develop the Eco Circuit and Eco District awards, and strengthen learning and collaboration across denominations”.
Muslim Mental Health hub launched with AI guiding inquiries
The Muslim Council of Britain has launched the Muslim Mental Health Hub, offering an online national directory of Muslim mental health services – with an AI helper guiding a person to the “right kind of help”. The Hub features more than 50 verified services across 10 categories, offering help with an understanding of faith. The hub says the AI “helper” is private and the feature has “dedicated guardrails, to allow anyone to describe what they’re going through in their own words and be pointed swiftly toward the right kind of help”. Dr Wajid Akhter, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the hub is a game changer and should be available in every GP surgery, health trust, mosque and WhatsApp group.
Archbishop visits Ghana and Cameroon
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, has begun a ten day visit to churches in Ghana and Cameroon, in the Church of the Province of West Africa. This is her first visit to Africa and is at the invitation of the Primate of West Africa and Bishop of Asante-Mampong, Dr Cyril Kobina Ben‑Smith. The province is theologically conservative, has historic GAFCON links, allows women to be ordained and remains in communion with Canterbury. On Sunday, Dame Sarah preached at St Joseph the Worker Anglican Church, Kanashie, in a eucharist led entirely by female clergy from the Anglican Church of Ghana. Further engagements include meeting the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, and visiting St Monica’s Nursing and Midwifery Training College in Kumasi.
Mass baptism in a lake in Rotherham
Adrian Dexter, the pastor of Liberty Church in Rotherham, reports that 80 people were baptised in Manvers Lake this year, an area which once was the site of a coal mine. The mass baptism follows an evangelistic campaign to plant a church in every post code in the town, and one was established in the Manvers Lake boathouse. Those baptised came from 20 churches of many different denominations, and more than 2,000 people came to support them, as the service developed into a community event, with a free BBQ, youth and children’s activities, and a prayer tent.
