publications

Churches

Articles about what’s going on in churches, primarily the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.

Women Bishops and the Revision Committee.

The Modern Churchpeople’s Union welcomes the Revision Committee’s change of policy of 14th November 2009.

However we question the emphasis on seeking to satisfy the opponents of women bishops while showing no comparable concern for the majority appalled by the continuing gender discrimination. Full text...

Identity and truth

Belonging or believing: which determines the church’s character?

For a few weeks earlier this year the UK tabloids were full of a story about footballers. The captain of a team had had sexual intercourse with the partner of a team player. The media consensus was that the act was a moral affront to the woman’s partner, even though she was not married to him, and the offender was deprived of his captaincy.

Football managers are not usually treated as moral authorities. Church leaders are. This means that when church leaders make moral pronouncements for unjustifiable reasons like the maintenance of the institutions they lead, they are more likely to get away with it. It is still an abuse of their authority. Full text...

<< Article on belonging and believing in the church, published in Signs of the Times April 2010

Covenant and Theology

argues the case against the proposed Anglican Covenant. Part of a submission to The Church of England’s General General Synod here

Future directions for Church and Communion

Submission to the Church of England’s Archbishops’ Appointments Secretary, April 2012

Summary

Modern Church hopes for an archbishop who will

• articulate and defend the Church’s unity in diversity;
• respond to controversies by seeking consensus without being unduly influenced by the prospect of schism or demands for quick resolutions;
• consider each proposal for change on its merits, without any presupposition against innovation;
• see it as his role not to tell the faithful what to believe but to encourage the ongoing processes of enquiry; and
• be willing to hear the voice of God speaking through the moral and spiritual concerns of ordinary Christians and non-Christians.

Full text