Posted on 12/24/2024 5:57:04 AM PST by Salman
The Church of England could be forced to create a new archbishop to cater to conservatives if efforts to prevent a split over the blessing of same-sex partnership fails.
The Rev Canon John Dunnett, director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), an influential conservative group, is among those calling for a “de facto parallel province” to be created within the church, grouping together parishes that oppose last year’s move to allow priests to bless the unions of gay couples.
If it were legally enshrined as an official province, it “would have to have an archbishop” to oversee it, Dunnett said.
This would be in addition to the archbishoprics of Canterbury and York, whose provinces cover southern and northern England.
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(Excerpt) Read more at thetimes.com ...
In my opinion, they won't officially schism until the Africans walk out.
You could very well be right. And that's what I heard from Methodists. But then the unexpected happened and entire local churches simply removed themselves from the hedonist pushing general conference.
Our country exists because of The Church of England......while we can be greatful for that, I see not much has changed with it since America was founded.
George Washington was a vestryman in his Anglican church. Don’t think he’d have much in common with today’s clown act.
The COE has been on life support for decades.
Without support from the British Crown it would have been in receivership long ago.
The blessing of Gay unions may be the last nail.
Close the grave and say a few prayers.
The End is here.
Is the continued unity based on salaries, pensions and property/housing? These concerns often override any Biblical concerns in a number of ‘churches’.
Cute how The Times makes the gay marriage opponents out to be weird ones.
Here I go to Christmas Eve services at the Episcopal church, only reason I’m going is to take my 90 year old father to the church he was married in, baptized/confirmed his children in and buried his wife in.
Short of that family history I’m holding my nose walking in and hoping I don’t burst into flames.
Of course the current Maoist PM will try to force mosques to “bless” same sex marriages.
Good for you. We took my MIL to serves when she was that age at Easter. Pastor was a woman in comfortable shoes, no mention of the resurrection or of Jesus.
About two decades ago I joined a United Methodist church knowing the church culture had problems. But they had a new pastor who said he was there to change things and make the church more Wesleyan (John Wesley was a major factor in the 1st Great Awakening's holiness movement). I joined in part because I realized the new pastor couldn't do it by himself.
About 5 years later I realized that the higher up denominational leaders (called the "general conference" in United Methodist lingo) were actually sending part of our donation money to hedonist lobbying and were in discussions to change the Book of Discipline (the Methodists' doctrine) to encourage hedonism being taught in the local churches. So I spent months discussing with my local pastor about how to petition the general conference leaders. After a couple of months of him saying "I'll check into it" I tried the associate pastor, then the elders in my church. This process lasted for a year until one of the elders had the pastor kick me out of the church. Before I was kicked out I told some of the youth I was volunteering with what was going on, just in case I wound up disappearing from their Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services.
A couple of years ago, that local Methodist church, like many Methodist churches, left the hedonist United Methodist conference and joined the new Methodist denomination. I heard from a neighbor that the loudest voices for doing so were from the young adults -- the ones I remember from countless volunteer hours in the children's church and youth group. He said I should be proud of them, and I am.
Did they remember me? Did the teenagers (now in their late 20's to late 30's) remember the countless times they said, "It's like Mr. <insert my real name> says. When I was tempted to sin by peer pressure, I instead chose to 'Live It Like Ya Mean It' for Jesus." Nobody else was encouraging that, so I made sure to do so. Did the younger adults remember the countess times in children's church they said, "Can we do the song? Please can we do the song?", leading to them loudly yelling in tune, "Well I don't care what some may say. Gonna stand up for the Lord today." Nobody else was teaching the kids that there are times to draw a line in the sand like our Bible heroes did. So I made sure to do so.
Perhaps those "kids" remember those times. I still look up to the volunteers in my old church from when I was young. Maybe I was small part of the influence that steered these young adults in the right direction when it was time for the church to have to make the tough choice. Or perhaps not.
So I urge all FReepers to at least consider staying part of churches or whatever that's being taken over by the left if you think you might can affect that organization and lean them back to doing right. I'm hoping all of us don't just immediately leave the good organizations as soon as the left tries to influence them. We need to at least make them have to fight for it.
Not to say that the Anglican Church is unique in its embrace of politically correct heresies, but it’s an interesting aspect of its history that its founding stemmed from political considerations, not doctrinal ones. Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that, in the Anglican Church of today, politics still wields an undue influence over doctrine.
How novel, the followers of the Bible could have an archbishop? How odd is that?
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