Ordained Women Priests Outpace Men in Church of England; Delay female bishop law, urges Church of England cleric; Eleven Bishops put down pre-Synod marker; Christians back call for banking code of conduct; Gove to work ‘to extend the role of the Church in the provision of schools’; Exams need ‘fundamental reform’; Reforms to target child sex abuse
Ordained Women Priests Outpace Men in Church of England
Christian Post – A survey that was recently published examined the rates of female priests being ordained in the Church of England and showed that for the first time more women were ordained in 2010 than were men.
http://global.christianpost.com/news/ordained-women-priests-outpace-men-in-church-of-england-77553/
Delay female bishop law, urges Church of England cleric
Scotsman – One of the Church of England’s most prominent female clerics has urged a delay in legislation to introduce women bishops amid protests from campaigners over late changes to the plans. The Rev Lucy Winkett, rector of St James’s Piccadilly, London, who is tipped to become one of the first women bishops in the Church of England, called for an adjournment of a debate to give final approval for legislation introducing women bishops,at the General Synod of the Church of England in York.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/delay-female-bishop-law-urges-church-of-england-cleric-1-2387500
Eleven Bishops put down pre-Synod marker
The Times – Excerpts from letter:
The Church must find a way to honour women called to the ministry, as well as respecting those who disagree with the move
Sir, We support the initiative to promote unity and our common life and mission within the Church of England called Better Together……..
We believe that two principles, long accepted by the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, remain at the heart of this debate. The first is that it is the will of the majority that women be ordained as bishops.
The second is that a way must be found to respect the minority who are unpersuaded that this is a theological development which they can, in conscience, embrace. Recognition of this conviction must benefit the Church of England as a whole.
This debate is grounded on sincerely held theological convictions. As the Archbishop of Canterbury said, this is not simply a matter of opinion but of obedience: obedience to Scripture, to Tradition, to the wider consensus of the universal Church…….
We are wholeheartedly committed to honouring those women whom the Church of England calls to the ordained ministry. We ask, too, for that proper respect for conscience which will continue to allow all traditions in our Church to flourish without detriment to one another……
The Right Rev Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe; The Right Rev Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Ebbsfleet; The Right Rev Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester; The Right Rev Nicholas Reade, Bishop of Blackburn; The Right Rev Norman Banks, Bishop of Richborough; The Right Rev John Ford, Bishop of Plymouth; The Right Rev John Goddard, Bishop of Burnley; The Right Rev Martyn Jarrett, Bishop of Beverley; The Right Rev Tony Robinson, Bishop of Pontefract; The Right Rev Mark Sowerby, Bishop of Horsham; The Right Rev Peter Wheatley, Bishop of Edmonton
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/letters/article3463391.ece
Christians back call for banking code of conduct
Christian Today – The Association of Christian Financial Advisers has come out in support of calls for a mandatory code of conduct for the banking industry
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.back.call.for.banking.code.of.conduct/30187.htm
An unholy gale brewing up in Devon
Telegraph – Over the past few weeks, a passion play of a very modern kind has been acted out in the North Devon countryside – one that may have implications for each of the 44 dioceses in the Church of England. At the heart of the drama is a clash between the …
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/9368852/An-unholy-gale-brewing-up-in-Devon.html
Gove to work ‘to extend the role of the Church in the provision of schools’
Politics.co.uk – Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove has said that he will work with the Chair of the Church of England’s Board of Education, Bishop of Oxford John Pritchard ‘to extend the role of the Church in the provision of schools.’
The statement came in response to a question in the House of Commons yesterday about the Church’s recent Chadwick Report, which set out ambitious expansion plans for the schools. Prior to publication of the report, Bishop Pritchard forecasted that 200 new Church schools will open over the next five years – four times the rate they opened over the previous decade.
http://www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/bha-british-humanist-association/article/bha-michael-gove-to-work-to-extend-the-role-of-the-church-in
Exams need ‘fundamental reform’
An MPs’ committee says there is a need for “fundamental reform” of the exams system to stop the “dumbing down” of courses.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18678213
Reforms to target child sex abuse
The government publishes reform plans aimed at combating the sexual exploitation of children in care by gangs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18675986