Chaplain to the Queen says Church of England has racism problem; Can Nicky Gumbel and Holy Trinity Brompton save the Church of England?; Archbishop voices forces cut fear; David Suchet in the footsteps of St Paul
A Chaplain to the Queen says Church of England has racism problem
Queen Elizabeth II’s chaplain Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, tipped to become one of Britain’s first women bishops, said that the Church of England is struggling with “institutional racism”.
Jamaican-born Hudson-Wilkin, a chaplain to the monarch and also to parliament’s lower House of Commons, told The Times newspaper that she had been a victim of racism in her ministry.
The church’s second-highest cleric, John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, is of Ugandan origin.
But Hudson-Wilkin asked why there were not more people of minority ethnic backgrounds in leadership roles within England’s state church.
“There’s still an element of racism running through people’s veins,” the 51-year-old said of Britain.
http://www.france24.com/en/20121222-queens-chaplain-says-church-england-has-racism-problem
Can Nicky Gumbel and Holy Trinity Brompton save the Church of England?
By Damian Thompson, Spectator – Just before stepping down as Archbishop of Canterbury, the late Robert Runcie told me — in a sotto voce conversation during the General Synod — that charismatic evangelical parishes such as Holy Trinity Brompton (‘HTB’) in South Kensington, with their American-style worship, near-fundamentalist teaching and smart social connections, posed more of a threat to the Church of England than divisions over women priests. I wonder how he would have reacted to the news that, 21 years later, an HTB man has been given his job.
Justin Welby, only recently appointed Bishop of Durham, is being translated to Canterbury with a minimum of fuss. His name just ‘emerged’; David Cameron, his fellow Old Etonian, had invited him to go to Lambeth before the media had even worked out who Welby was.
Looking at the situation from the perspective of 1991, Dr Runcie (and I) might have said: ‘Aha! That’s how HTB works. Don’t be misled by the happy-clappy exuberance. Its urbane pastors spread their influence quietly. Look at the way they win converts to Bible Belt Christianity with a deceptively casual invitation to a drinks party. Like a cult, really. Welby? Must be a Manchurian candidate…’
But if he were alive today, and had kept track of Holy Trinity’s growing influence in the Church, I suspect Dr Runcie’s reaction would be quite different. More at –
http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/8789231/alpha-male/
Archbishop voices forces cut fear
BBC – An extensive interview with the Archbishop of York in which he states cuts to the number of full-time military personnel would “risk the safety of the nation and the peace of the world”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20822188
David Suchet in the footsteps of St Paul
David Suchet will be retracing the steps of St Paul on his missionary travels in a two-part series for the BBC.
Part one of “In the Footsteps of St Paul” was aired on BBC One at 9am on Sunday 23 December, followed by part two at 9am on Monday 24 December.