Meta tags:
description= Reflecting on sexuality and gender identity in the Church of England;
Headings (most frequently used words):
share, this, synod, at, home, and, the, monday, to, love, questions, archives, blog, sharedconversations, rest, from, our, labours, long, sunday, into, learning, be, loved, bishops, bodies, my, private, member, motion, going, quiet, working, towards, new, bishop, five, guiding, principles, two, key, issues, for, church, recognising, wiggle, room, consider, lilies, on, changing, one, mind, february, 2026, raised, by, concluding, without, ending, what, happens, next, with, living, in, faith, recent, posts, categories, stats, subscribe, via, email,
Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (1027), and (413), that (285), for (196), this (168), was (155), synod (126), are (120), which (109), not (103), but (97), about (92), with (89), from (87), church (76), what (75), there (75), new (69), have (67), one (66), some (64), has (61), #motion (59), people (59), can (57), all (57), who (57), bishops (56), more (50), they (49), those (49), how (48), you (48), our (47), been (47), #bishop (47), had (47), like (43), share (43), faoc (43), will (41), their (41), opens (40), window (40), were (40), women (39), july (38), them (37), when (37), february (36), debate (36), work (36), being (34), other (33), 2026 (33), just (33), faith (32), house (32), very (32), because (32), also (32), here (31), general (30), time (30), may (29), love (29), now (28), january (28), 2018 (28), would (28), first (28), sex (27), another (27), ministry (27), out (27), email (26), group (26), after (26), same (26), clergy (26), these (25), 2022 (24), llf (24), many (24), 2023 (23), going (23), 2025 (22), posted (22), even (22), part (22), facebook (21), process (21), flowers (21), back (21), archbishop (21), 2016 (20), england (20), reddit (20), than (20), meeting (20), see (20), 2024 (19), commission (19), member (19), its (19), before (19), where (19), any (19), then (19), living (18), against (18), don (18), could (18), question (18), make (18), members (18), statement (18), theological (18), think (18), york (18), already (17), november (17), june (17), 2021 (17), document (17), home (17), into (17), two (17), working (17), sexuality (17), well (17), doing (17), five (17), years (17), august (16), vote (16), questions (16), only (16), good (16), made (16), paper (16), such (16), favour (16), blog (15), october (15), long (15), gay (15), way (15), point (15), much (15), although (15), heard (15), rather (15), she (15), put (15), others (15), intimate (15), 2017 (14), 2020 (14), far (14), why (14), should (14), diocesan (14), while (14), diocese (14), does (14), course (14), ordination (14), gps (14), use (13), person (13), needs (13), life (13), day (13), asked (13), support (13), speak (13), her (13), over (13), abstentions (13), rest (12), whether (12), churches (12), still (12), doesn (12), since (12), get (12), thing (12), used (12), need (12), nothing (12), always (12), room (12), relationship (12), comment (11), loading (11), april (11), september (11), friend (11), service (11), relationships (11), yet (11), end (11), through (11), agenda (11), around (11), did (11), voted (11), committee (11), chair (11), said (11), guidelines (11), ordained (11), cnc (11), report (10), december (10), marriage (10), tagged (10), link (10), space (10), set (10), sexual (10), civil (10), within (10), archbishops (10), something (10), misc (10), various (10), zoom (10), full (10), coming (10), last (10), week (10), fluff35 (10), clear (10), during (10), supporting (10), excellent (10), each (10), present (10), three (10), together (10), online (10), march (9), 2019 (9), episcopal (9), bodies (9), monday (9), happen (9), too (9), pastoral (9), answer (9), next (9), marriages (9), seem (9), towards (9), again (9), came (9), thinking (9), meetings (9), pain (9), without (9), issues (9), come (9), yes (9), his (9), things (9), meant (9), priests (9), canterbury (9), committed (9), means (9), local (9), morning (9), intimacy (9), comments (8), safeguarding (8), crown (8), nominations (8), gender (8), private (8), leave (8), move (8), reference (8), dioceses (8), asking (8), say (8), interesting (8), usual (8), needed (8), really (8), post (8), mean (8), ended (8), given (8), nor (8), changed (8), happened (8), passed (8), groups (8), including (8), membership (8), know (8), 1431 (8), lgbtqia (8), business (8), parts (8), called (8), discernment (8), best (8), parish (8), environment (8), debates (8), amendment (8), voting (8), experience (8), both (8), principles (8), felt (8), elected (8), national (8), fundamental (8), faithful (8), laity (8), prayers (7), own (7), believe (7), different (7), lesbian (7), comes (7), using (7), sustainable (7), important (7), having (7), told (7), trust (7), focus (7), date (7), wider (7), sense (7), list (7), theology (7), read (7), word (7), order (7), documents (7), scheduled (7), however (7), between (7), resource (7), reading (7), range (7), whole (7), book (7), particular (7), inclusion (7), taking (7), wondering (7), conduct (7), parishes (7), guiding (7), common (7), objections (7), visc (7), found (7), entirely (7), children (7), christian (7), sharedconversations (6), 2015 (6), posts (6), programme (6), sunday (6), certain (6), isn (6), amended (6), change (6), includes (6), plf (6), ask (6), ever (6), short (6), talking (6), advice (6), identity (6), moved (6), talk (6), canon (6), reasons (6), large (6), wrote (6), days (6), response (6), pages (6), papers (6), until (6), find (6), indeed (6), anglican (6), wasn (6), didn (6), help (6), knowledge (6), item (6), houses (6), care (6), chamber (6), sarah (6), trying (6), conservatives (6), case (6), piece (6), involved (6), published (6), relevant (6), vacancy (6), odd (6), outside (6), considered (6), least (6), body (6), god (6), pmm (6), christ (6), acting (6), publication (6), views (6), website (5), subscribe (5), month (5), address (5), enter (5), your (5), shared (5), older (5), place (5), presentation (5), couple (5), described (5), 2426 (5), analysis (5), maybe (5), services (5), consider (5), board (5), meet (5), year (5), partnerships (5), apparently (5), feel (5), look (5), minutes (5), most (5), across (5), despite (5), delayed (5), standing (5), better (5), done (5), close (5), saying (5), context (5), synodical (5), human (5), quinquennium (5), looking (5), further (5), appointment (5), several (5), processes (5), men (5), raised (5), few (5), training (5), professional (5), themselves (5), discipline (5), development (5), money (5), hours (5), particularly (5), once (5), power (5), display (5), silence (5), discussion (5), speech (5), problem (5), anti (5), majority (5), little (5), eucharist (5), every (5), fringe (5), final (5), difference (5), useful (5), current (5), cannot (5), opposed (5), consecration (5), speeches (5), world (5), offer (5), key (5), down (5), result (5), event (5), oxford (5), took (5), went (5), lots (5), example (5), abuse (5), objection (5), christians (5), saw (5), stage (5), minster (5), meaning (5), manage (4), reader (4), content (4), teaching (4), learning (4), loved (4), ending (4), established (4), ongoing (4), under (4), anything (4), finding (4), longer (4), immediately (4), seeing (4), wonder (4), someone (4), possible (4), simply (4), seems (4), picture (4), times (4), areas (4), received (4), less (4), message (4), fine (4), learned (4), alongside (4), challenged (4), regular (4), mentioned (4), sent (4), ahead (4), probably (4), practice (4), originally (4), independent (4), allowed (4), add (4), easy (4), months (4), unless (4), feeling (4), able (4), europe (4), episcopacy (4), decided (4), 100 (4), law (4), continue (4), attention (4), difficult (4), level (4), representation (4), discussed (4), opposite (4), readers (4), happening (4), decision (4), primary (4), measure (4), candidate (4), candidates (4), asks (4), offered (4), flower (4), straight (4), thought (4), deanery (4), jesus (4), conversion (4), arrangements (4), words (4), light (4), information (4), based (4), water (4), enough (4), amendments (4), call (4), overall (4), funding (4), seemed (4), watching (4), recognise (4), included (4), great (4), hot (4), mission (4), choice (4), spaces (4), never (4), woman (4), earlier (4), conservative (4), let (4), regardless (4), recognition (4), believing (4), small (4), celibacy (4), accepting (4), mutual (4), flourishing (4), communion (4), noted (4), reject (4), held (4), issued (4), official (4), written (4), 2014 (4), theme (4), votes (4), everything (4), reps (4), attend (4), amount (4), antibiotics (4), bit (4), weeks (4), started (4), learn (4), shall (4), compatible (4), tried (4), 1975 (4), lunch (4), hip (4), friday (4), spoke (4), whatsapp (4), miss (4), breakfast (4), land (4), palestinian (4), required (3), view (3), site (3), sign (3), wordpress (3), com (3), archives (3), follow (3), via (3), conversations (3), movement (3), labours (3), recent (3), concluding (3), resources (3), want (3), expression (3), guidance (3), following (3), anyone (3), married (3), consultations (3), helpful (3), shows (3), weren (3), available (3), note (3), clause (3), explore (3), unlikely (3), temporary (3), title (3), decisions (3), teams (3), 2028 (3), details (3), consultation (3), four (3), making (3), progress (3), society (3), sure (3), says (3), changes (3), perhaps (3), take (3), steps (3), legislation (3), remember (3), addressed (3), neil (3), seen (3), delegated (3), suggests (3), lessons (3), period (3), continued (3), include (3), painful (3), defined (3), summary (3), contains (3), motions (3), somehow (3), holy (3), points (3), shortly (3), media (3), orientation (3), suppose (3), later (3), extra (3), london (3), structures (3), review (3), tiny (3), existing (3), attempts (3), homilies (3), lead (3), dem (3), ready (3), specifically (3), sacramental (3), won (3), 2027 (3), rejected (3), beyond (3), along (3), diversity (3), voices (3), cited (3), informed (3), scholarship (3), area (3), recognises (3), certainly (3), partner (3), revd (3), favourite (3), supposed (3), whose (3), supplementary (3), aspect (3), though (3), unlawful (3), reflect (3), norwich (3), personal (3), costs (3), staff (3), answers (3), normal (3), reflecting (3), priesthood (3), ago (3), notes (3), pointed (3), reduce (3), funeral (3), armed (3), forces (3), family (3), friends (3), run (3), lilies (3), tradition (3), experiences (3), age (3), damaging (3), treated (3), session (3), hoping (3), followed (3), previous (3), system (3), seats (3), quiet (3), failed (3), attending (3), tea (3), due (3), authority (3), false (3), debating (3), mind (3), mullally (3), misogyny (3), martyn (3), judith (3), maltby (3), homosexuality (3), posed (3), early (3), honest (3), become (3), worse (3), apart (3), major (3), concern (3), tempting (3), open (3), describes (3), writing (3), chosen (3), stated (3), sad (3), agree (3), supported (3), reduced (3), number (3), lack (3), getting (3), position (3), fall (3), access (3), respect (3), gp4 (3), either (3), conviction (3), tension (3), similar (3), language (3), remains (3), giving (3), seeking (3), creation (3), challenge (3), topic (3), matter (3), social (3), recognising (3), public (3), cncs (3), confidentiality (3), sort (3), calendar (3), subgroup (3), brought (3), commented (3), prayer (3), rcpe (3), pneumonia (3), cold (3), college (3), williams (3), wording (3), engage (3), apply (3), submitted (3), bringing (3), soon (3), hope (3), affirm (3), discipleship (3), missing (3), met (3), among (3), unity (3), practices (3), speakers (3), ordinary (3), contact (3), nation (3), rules (3), neurodivergent (3), pray (3), complete (3), food (3), palestine (3), lives (3), eco (3), left (3), usage (3), name (2), write (2), log (2), subscribed (2), join (2), subscribers (2), select (2), receive (2), equal (2), ecumenical (2), watch (2), currently (2), respond (2), heavily (2), falls (2), material (2), latter (2), importance (2), wedding (2), version (2), decide (2), cathedral (2), pretty (2), dodgy (2), activity (2), reality (2), results (2), surprise (2), participation (2), annex (2), standalone (2), couples (2), interestingly (2), stuff (2), begins (2), tells (2), term (2), resourcing (2), issue (2), gives (2), designed (2), recipe (2), culture (2), main (2), proposal (2), makes (2), legal (2), necessary (2), aren (2), fun (2), patterson (2), referring (2), necessarily (2), states (2), second (2), letter (2), indescribably (2), conclude (2), hint (2), spirit (2), offers (2), framework (2), section (2), critiques (2), instead (2), tomorrow (2), signed (2), turn (2), panel (2), monitoring (2), data (2), save (2), willing (2), near (2), involves (2), nearly (2), upon (2), starting (2), happens (2), inevitably (2), terms (2), expect (2), feature (2), agreed (2), reflections (2), ecclesiological (2), italics (2), addition (2), 254 (2), waiting (2), haven (2), careful (2), impressed (2), seek (2), engagement (2), incorporates (2), sources (2), quoted (2), considerable (2), moreover (2), backgrounds (2), scholars (2), related (2), accepts (2), specific (2), connected (2), carried (2), theologians (2), greater (2), responsibility (2), ensure (2), perspectives (2), sometimes (2), grateful (2), gibraltar (2), north (2), attracted (2), affirming (2), please (2), anglicans (2), calls (2), produced (2), lot (2), avoiding (2), article (2), knows (2), adultery (2), acts (2), 228 (2), emphasised (2), understanding (2), provide (2), reflects (2), standard (2), grounds (2), proposed (2), qualities (2), ordinands (2), definition (2), regarding (2), warning (2), generation (2), taken (2), understand (2), scope (2), euphemisms (2), replacing (2), ones (2), cost (2), million (2), spent (2), appropriate (2), mary (2), tanner (2), partly (2), wrong (2), dahlia (2), widely (2), enthusiasm (2), secretary (2), priest (2), altar (2), request (2), vicar (2), mostly (2), baptist (2), signs (2), bartholomew (2), harpley (2), huge (2), precisely (2), celebrated (2), largely (2), buildings (2), floral (2), foam (2), angered (2), gaza (2), defeated (2), convert (2), seas (2), beauty (2), itself (2), off (2), hour (2), speaking (2), urgency (2), significant (2), smaller (2), discussions (2), mental (2), health (2), recommended (2), rejecting (2), communities (2), plans (2), class (2), unaware (2), empty (2), commenting (2), exception (2), middle (2), table (2), respecting (2), teachers (2), faces (2), snow (2), homophobia (2), charlie (2), bell (2), marks (2), principle (2), live (2), urgently (2), minority (2), energy (2), secure (2), separation (2), doctrine (2), assume (2), participate (2), non (2), traditionalist (2), apparent (2), start (2), microaggressions (2), male (2), apostasy (2), cry (2), serious (2), feelings (2), describing (2), none (2), accept (2), catholic (2), sounds (2), alone (2), impression (2), applied (2), nowhere (2), modern (2), situation (2), chief (2), role (2), hands (2), pandemic (2), attempt (2), extended (2), entitled (2), choosing (2), today (2), realise (2), choose (2), strongly (2), marry (2), options (2), insist (2), telling (2), counts (2), central (2), convictions (2), caving (2), fashions (2), supporters (2), discrimination (2), injustice (2), accuse (2), calling (2), spectrum (2), simple (2), relevance (2), suggested (2), kind (2), forward (2), remove (2), bad (2), observe (2), orders (2), hooray (2), unable (2), flourish (2), holding (2), study (2), enable (2), potential (2), hereafter (2), sheffield (2), reviewer (2), noting (2), variety (2), bible (2), act (2), hatred (2), office (2), wiggle (2), confidential (2), domain (2), election (2), proceedings (2), source (2), afterwards (2), copies (2), appointments (2), bring (2), academic (2), discerning (2), diagnosis (2), attended (2), remotely (2), commissioning (2), screen (2), appearing (2), option (2), challenging (2), fixed (2), starts (2), cancelled (2), began (2), draft (2), sections (2), education (2), figures (2), third (2), focused (2), medical (2), increasingly (2), uneasy (2), meanwhile (2), away (2), sore (2), throat (2), stop (2), alive (2), exhibition (2), sorts (2), terry (2), louden (2), southwark (2), rowan (2), higton (2), happy (2), badly (2), amazing (2), quote (2), lifelong (2), journey (2), formal (2), officially (2), idea (2), whatever (2), addresses (2), names (2), actions (2), right (2), spell (2), opportunity (2), disciples (2), running (2), briefings (2), 1987 (2), air (2), mri (2), show (2), precious (2), sitting (2), 111 (2), doctor (2), technical (2), hear (2), side (2), remain (2), assured (2), silent (2), dyslexia (2), communication (2), music (2), welfare (2), hearing (2), stories (2), loss (2), institutions (2), clubs (2), halls (2), gave (2), sharing (2), kingdom (2), saturday (2), acny (2), misconduct (2), transparent (2), everyone (2), summing (2), neurodiversity (2), led (2), items (2), lived (2), successfully (2), revisions (2), publishing (2), lord (2), teach (2), stand (2), fringes (2), pre (2), bearing (2), saving (2), ice (2), managed (2), replicate (2), round (2), give (2), mum (2), holiday (2), eiffel (2), tower (2), french (2), goodie (2), whom (2), eventually (2), territory (2), investment (2), justice (2), net (2), 2030 (2), liturgy (2), positive (2), suddenly (2), opened (2), reminder (2), baptised (2), persons (2), reliance (2), spiritual (2), direction (2), professor (2), assuming (2), pass (2), original (2), chris (2), dalliston (2), jamie (2), harrison (2), security (2), got (2), anna (2), pointing (2), graham (2), lay (2), ministries (2), aimed (2), else (2), devoted (2), mine (2), usually (2), belong (2), val (2), commissioners (2), 30by30 (2), target (2), nature (2), looks (2), gift (2), reason (2), dearly (2), looked (2), collapse, bar, subscriptions, privacy, account, notifications, 135, 473, hits, stats, uncategorized, renewal, reform, preaching, categories, search, expensive, dedicated, weight, patch, grass, deposit, trans, instalments, worship, welcome, irony, traditions, 2433b, finally, updated, chaplaincy, presuppose, minister, regards, distasteful, covenanted, friendship, introduction, feedback, synods, conclusions, anyway, analysed, emails, couldn, consists, closing, setting, rsgwg, agrees, proportionate, reassurance, measures, accompany, dragging, snazzy, driving, marshalling, workstreams, heavy, picked, spotlight, falling, singleness, transgender, technology, sexualisation, purity, alternative, universe, takes, reports, delaying, tactic, dead, lesson, passes, imperfect, untidy, leaves, unresolved, repeats, late, negative, moments, load, discovering, dissected, sinful, plan, conclusion, pause, afraid, convenient, excuse, fact, intro, permanent, structural, appeared, blogs, promised, webinar, prior, sessions, flagged, actual, notice, briefing, code, planned, nugget, exploring, blessing, tag, latest, comprises, moment, restricting, thoughts, obvious, envisage, summarises, implement, traces, otherwise, referenced, quotations, exploration, clauses, lament, repent, repeated, bruised, unsafe, wish, terminology, thoroughly, debased, repetition, failures, abandoned, timetable, slip, tasks, batch, leicester, undergirding, asserting, contrary, agreeing, impairment, answering, autumn, casting, doubt, added, publish, timely, 140, scoping, 119, himself, welcomes, representativeness, broad, balanced, diverse, paid, trusts, advisers, refers, occasions, amongst, background, reflection, explicitly, reflected, cites, derives, focussed, closely, canons, disciplinary, limited, achieve, desirable, direct, argument, arguing, engages, connection, indicates, detailed, questioner, provides, reply, behalf, white, american, identifying, evangelicals, commit, ensuring, broader, base, receives, seriously, simon, talbott, ely, absolute, 144, legible, eyebrows, goodness, cite, recall, underpin, wisely, sixteenth, century, observes, quotation, homily, whoredom, commends, godly, societies, punished, mutilation, death, confirm, supports, punishments, replace, requested, ethical, matters, relating, refer, vocational, establish, extend, behaviour, highest, aspire, statutory, formation, replacement, references, create, obligations, chester, serve, consideration, intercourse, therein, understood, narrow, biological, coitus, recently, argued, https, viamedia, news, sexanyway, assessment, authoritative, committing, notoriously, coy, fond, collective, clutching, pearls, binning, patrick, richmond, contenders, award, 258, attracting, project, spire, opportunities, supplementaries, financial, excludes, 42¼, feb, 238, fell, send, answered, circulated, meets, yesterday, 106, churchwardens, wonderful, arrangers, enhanced, converted, initial, gut, reactions, versus, pictures, bluesky, hashtag, bloomscrolling, photos, galantophile, seasons, hadn, implications, knew, represents, humanity, maleness, instant, stood, wanted, mantra, reuse, recycle, husband, benefice, reused, florist, train, rapidly, rethought, wove, mortality, celebration, delighted, parishioners, field, interested, showing, forced, season, origin, easter, memo, seasonal, methods, demonstrated, amplify, concerns, invisible, decorate, arranged, recovers, lost, honours, afresh, damage, mutually, exclusive, procedural, originated, worcestershire, dimensions, pesticides, unnecessary, plastic, release, microplastics, planet, drought, affected, countries, grow, export, conditions, grows, fragility, enemy, chicken, wire, environmentally, friendly, ways, keeping, worcester, substantial, schedule, merit, anticipated, criticising, joined, applause, priorities, top, arrived, amend, pro, split, stagnation, injecting, ownership, oppose, unamended, brand, conversation, action, covered, affect, poverty, fees, burials, raise, significantly, lowest, incomes, update, encourage, city, relates, entails, irritated, feed, expressing, crossness, commonly, pee, breaks, break, thursday, stations, drink, cup, keep, hydrated, wednesday, celebrant, lily, bear, enjoy, familiar, stuffy, comfortable, sound, vision, distraction, often, hosting, lunchtimes, accounted, changing, churchy, numerals, punchline, demands, sixth, stone, rolled, legacy, hangs, discussing, decade, reigned, pressing, identify, disappear, existence, resolved, unfortunately, liberated, productive, endeavours, separate, insulate, influence, survival, solution, absolutely, undecided, confused, preferred, practical, lines, advocacy, single, hold, distinct, collegial, institutionalised, sacrament, accepted, sacraments, extends, experienced, leadership, podium, visibly, upset, recalled, author, talks, rule, accuses, ideological, delusion, evidence, weakness, emotional, manipulation, shocking, maturity, express, tears, count, sentimentality, offensive, unexpected, bonus, devotes, page, herself, crediton, mentions, invited, preach, colleagues, anglo, evangelical, polite, elsewhere, recommending, abolition, encouraging, consequences, strengthened, justin, welby, announced, norm, shift, consecrator, laying, covid, presented, arrangement, awareness, upholding, providing, rationale, returned, roles, consecrators, consecrating, minimum, similarly, stark, contrast, mass, laid, traditional, begun, consecrated, stepped, aside, preside, appears, establishing, pure, line, succession, credentials, effects, winter, edition, creep, curious, incident, vanishing, consecrations, segregation, increasing, surely, frankly, equivalences, concession, organisation, shouldn, free, unevenly, distributed, stable, decades, recognised, honour, cause, nobody, abandon, beloved, unequal, distribution, thinks, causing, harm, argues, fair, restricted, loyal, funds, integrity, characterize, stigmatise, orthodox, inclusive, former, binaries, reasserted, orthodoxy, binary, spot, contradiction, rochester, introduced, preference, custom, prejudice, prove, reconciled, eames, resolution, 1988, lambeth, conference, combine, provinces, behind, examples, australian, man, deacon, conditionally
Text of the page (random words):
w window reddit like loading posted in crown nominations commission general synod living in love and faith tagged bishops higton motion homosexuality intimacy ordination of women rowan williams sexuality southwark diocese statement of needs terry louden 4 comments going quiet working towards a new bishop posted on may 24 2026 by fluff35 i m writing this after chatting with some our congregation after the service this morning and finding out that there s much curiosity but very little knowledge about how we appoint bishops as our bishop s farewell service is on 31 may i anticipate more questions will come up about that process so thought i d preempt some of those here but first it s over two months since i last posted here and readers may be wondering whether i am still alive well that s a good question after the february general synod i had a meeting of ministry development board i was elected from synod to this and then immediately travelled up to edinburgh to the royal college of physicians rcpe to speak at the launch of their new exhibition rag full talk here starting 8 minutes in text summary here i always like doing events with the rcpe not least because one gets to talk to all sorts of doctors and to learn lots of things which are very useful for a historian of the body indeed in my talk i asked if anyone in the audience was working on a particular topic and someone who was doing just that came up for a chat afterwards while i was away i had an irritating sore throat of the kind which felt like it would develop into a cold or maybe laryngitis but not enough to stop me enjoying the trip and the experience this sore throat however went nowhere but a week or so after that i developed an increasingly annoying cough i started wondering if this was bronchitis the nhs website told me that i wouldn t be prescribed antibiotics until i d had the symptoms for a couple of weeks but i felt somehow uneasy so went to my gp he listened to my lungs heard coarse crepitations as when talking to the rcpe i learn new things by going to the gp he told me this was borderline pneumonia that i had a tiny bit of wiggle room before taking antibiotics but that he recommended hitting the drugs as a matter of urgency meanwhile total rest for 4 6 weeks that s a long time and to save you asking yes i had the anti pneumonia jab when it was offered to me three years ago i respect my gp s knowledge not just of bodies in general but of my medical history in particular so i obeyed not that i had much choice i was already feeling really exhausted so i took the antibiotics cancelled everything in the calendar spent 4 weeks sleeping or reading light detective fiction and recovered but that was over a month of doing very little the one thing i had to do vacancy in see committee when i say i cancelled everything in the calendar there was one exception and that was the oxford vacancy in see committee visc this is the group which starts the process of finding a new bishop and as a member of general synod i am automatically on this because we are a very large diocese it s a huge committee 49 members when we began to meet i volunteered for the smaller and for me more interesting statement of needs subgroup this is the group that produces a picture of the diocese and a first attempt at thinking about what we are looking for in a new bishop this meant pretty well weekly meetings for several months with the draft statement of needs going back and forth to the main visc and for some predictable sections being revised over and over again we all brought in our particular areas of interest or knowledge so i was involved in drafting sections including those on education diversity human sexuality the knowledge economy ai and women s ministry but all of us commented on everything like the rest of us i was profoundly grateful to the diocesan church house staff who found the figures we needed as well as to our chair who held it all together and to the staff member who designed the different pages the result of our labour is this document 72 pages which may well seem like overkill there came a point at which it was already so long that it seemed churlish not to include a bit more on some topics the statement of needs also incorporates results from another subgroup which was responsible for the consultation in the diocese in general and reflects the work of a third subgroup which focused on prayer fortunately all of our meetings had a zoom option indeed i had already needed to attend an earlier meeting on zoom from a hotel room which was difficult as at that one i had been asked to present a paper on one section of the statement of needs it s challenging doing this without a sense of the room the whole process of the visc seemed to be done in a rush with drafts of documents inevitably coming just before a meeting this is not unique to oxford dioceses are lined up in the queue and the deadlines are fixed centrally the sheer amount of work needed from those on a visc isn t apparent until the thing starts be warned if you are on one and on to the crown nominations commission the day after my diagnosis before the antibiotics had been given any sort of a chance i attended the visc remotely for the meeting in which the six diocesan representatives for the crown nominations commission cnc are elected you can t vote unless you are present at the meeting either in person or online i was feeling very ill but at least on mute my coughing could not be heard to my great surprise i was one of those elected which meant attending the commissioning service which followed the result through my screen and appearing on that screen in the official photo of the event as a result of this it all felt rather unreal but it is real so now my diary is taken up with the cnc alongside the 6 elected diocesan reps a cnc has 6 national reps originally these were elected from general synod as pairs so that only one of each pair had to attend a particular cnc but for various reasons those broke down and now some of the remaining national reps have to take part in all the cncs and there seem to about 6 cncs a year the two archbishops bring the membership up to 14 we are issued with many many documents some of them already in the secure online site and far more to come i am used to academic job searches where there may be 70 or so applicants for one post but the amount of paperwork per applicant is far more here by the time we get to october when the interviews happen there will have been many many days of reading because this is not like a secular appointments process but is about discerning who is being called to the office of bishop in the coming week we have the online discerning well together session i think this was formerly known as anti bias training and then the following week the national and diocesan reps meet together for the first time the details of a visc are confidential you ll note that i ve only shared the information that is in the public domain in the statement of needs or on the diocesan website and have written about processes common to all dioceses rather than moving into details of who said what in meetings whereas the election from visc to cnc is done online cncs operate with another level of confidentiality to the point where the eventual votes on which candidate to select as bishop are done by writing on a piece of paper and handing it in at a general synod meeting we voted to continue this secrecy within the meetings acknowledging that this means a person could speak one way in a cnc meeting but then vote in a different way something which seems very odd to me on our cnc we have already signed a data protection and confidentiality agreement as for the rest of the proceedings everything is confidential i understand that it is at the june meeting that we all swear the oath as a member of the crown nominations commission i promise as an obligation of such membership not to divulge to any outside person information about this commission s proceedings or about any person it has considered for the appointment or about others who have been the source of its information neither during my membership nor afterwards i also undertake not to make copies of any of the papers provided to delete all digital copies of papers held on various devices and to return all hard copy papers to the archbishops secretary for appointments at the end of the commission s meeting that s clear enough silence will fall share this share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on reddit opens in new window reddit like loading posted in crown nominations commission general synod tagged bishops crown nominations commissions discernment vacancy in see committee 4 comments five guiding principles and two key issues for the church recognising the wiggle room posted on march 16 2026 by fluff35 make no mistake as the date of archbishop sarah mullally s enthronement in canterbury cathedral draws closer the world of social media is currently as vile as it can get along with the c of e which has discerned her call to this role she faces a barrage of accusations of heresy and even apostasy try defending her and you just act as a magnet for the hatred all this is happening over thirty years after women were first ordained to the priesthood and despite the five guiding principles calling us to mutual flourishing and due respect and canonical obedience towards those who are true and lawful holders of the office which they occupy in this blog post i would like to reflect on the reception of women s ordained ministry while noting some parallels with where the church of england is on sexuality after the living in love and faith llf years a topic which forms the theme of this whole blog for women s ordained ministry we have the five guiding principles hereafter the 5 gps endorsed in 2014 as part of the package for the synodical measure to open episcopal ministry to women and addressing the variety of differing convictions on this matter and the key document is the house of bishops declaration on the ministry of bishops and priests discussions about women and about sexuality are similar in that they are about bodies and about who holds the power as well as being about how we read the bible in what follows i m going to focus on one of the other official documents about the 5 gps to see if and how that helps us when we are thinking about how we deal with difference in the church of england that other official document is one issued four years after the creation of the 5 gps partly to offer a resource to those trying to make sense of them to others such as to potential ordinands published by the archbishops council it was written by the faith and order commission and is entitled the five guiding principles a resource for study hereafter faoc 2018 this document was also informed by the experience of the church since 2014 in particular the 2017 report from the independent reviewer which concerned the issues raised by the nomination as bishop of sheffield of a bishop who does not ordain women the independent reviewer asked faoc to examine the theological challenge which this has posed to the 2014 settlement i do wonder who has read this resource for study but i believe faoc 2018 remains relevant it is relevant when thinking about the lack of women bishops even now as well as the microaggressions which women in ministry still endure it is relevant when thinking about the standing of the 5 gps they were issued without specifying a limit of time does that mean they are with us until jesus returns and it is relevant to our current divisions on full inclusion of lesbian and gay people in the church some of the claims of faoc 2018 that the 5 gps are life giving faoc 2018 and that they enable mutual flourishing in seeking the good of the other are now very widely challenged holding the tension despite the insistence in the 5 gps that they should be held together in tension rather than being applied selectively i am far from being the only person to observe that like the five marks of mission it is all too easy to focus on one to the detriment of others some people will emphasise gp1 the c of e is fully and unequivocally committed to all orders of ministry being open to all without reference to gender hooray women priests and bishops others will highlight gp4 the c of e remains committed to enabling those who are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests to flourish within its life and structures hooray you don t have to accept the full and unequivocal commitment after all how can those principles be reconciled similar questions have been asked for the whole anglican communion in the eames commission which followed a resolution of the 1988 lambeth conference by trying to combine respecting other provinces decisions without accepting the principles behind these in the 1997 report of the monitoring group for this commission s work examples of bad practice mentioned included an australian case where a man who had been ordained deacon by a male bishop in a service during which a woman was also ordained priest was conditionally reordained when he moved to another diocese paragraph 24 in 5 gps language though would we call that mutual flourishing what does it do to our ecclesiology the tension or contradiction between the gps was noted even when the then bishop of rochester first introduced them at general synod faoc 2018 p 27 faoc suggested that the answer on gp4 was that it s fine to reject women s ministry because of theological conviction but not because of personal preference local custom or any kind of prejudice faoc 2018 p 28 but how do you prove whether something is misogyny or a theological conviction it doesn t make it any better if like the forward in faith group you also reject the men who support women s ordination that s just misogyny at one remove the relevance for the current debates on full inclusion of lgbtqia people is clear here too are objections based on homophobia or theological conviction how can you spot the difference the faoc document notes that such respect for the integrity of one another s theological convictions means that those opposed to the ordination of women should not characterize those in favour as caving in to the fashions of the age and nor should those in favour stigmatise those opposed as supporters of discrimination and injustice p 28 yet this is precisely what happens now with lgbtqia inclusion those describing themselves as orthodox accuse those calling themselves inclusive of caving into the fashions of the age while the latter accuse the former of discrimination and injustice interestingly in a world where binaries are being reasserted in sexuality and gender identity the 5 gps speak of the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the anglican communion gp4 it s good to see this recognition that ...
|
