Seeker

It doesn't sound very exciting - that 2nd item on the agenda this morning for the Church of England's General Synod - 'Amending Canon 33' .  And part of me wants to say, why should it be? Today is just the rubber stamping (or so I hope and trust) on a process that goes back decades. Amending Canon C2 in the way I assume will happen today has been a long time coming. The legislation has gone through General Synod, through both Houses of Parliament and has received the Royal Assent.  Today's business dots the 'I's and crosses the 'T's and should go through without a problem. There will be no additional discussion, just a vote, which is almost certain to gain the required majority. After today we will have these new words at the start of Canon C2: 1. Canon C 2 (Of the consecration of bishops) is amended as follows –   (a) The following paragraph is inserted at the beginning –   “1. A man or a woman may be consecrated to the office of bish...

I really do not like the term 'women bishops'. It sounds as silly as 'lady vicars' or 'lady doctors'. When women are admitted to the episcopate, as they are in many parts of the Anglican church, they will simply be bishops. I hope and pray that after today we can stop talking about 'women bishops' as if they were a different species of church leader and get on with what the church is called to be and do. That said, the words that will be spoken during today's debate in the Church of England General Synod on this subject will be significant and have lasting effect. I pray for grace, wisdom, kindness and truth to be evident. With some trepidation I shall be following the live video link today*, at least for the Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure .  The trepidation is caused by my memories of how it felt following this link in November 2012 - one of the most demoralising things I had experienced since my ordination. ...

Only 3 of the 13th century Magna Carta's 63 clauses are still valid in English law. One of these 3 is the first, which guarantees the freedom of the English Church. The original charter was written in medieval Latin. An English translation of this clause (from the British Library) reads as follows: "FIRST, THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired. That we wish this so to be observed, appears from the fact that of our own free will, before the outbreak of the present dispute between us and our barons, we granted and confirmed by charter the freedom of the Church's elections - a right reckoned to be of the greatest necessity and importance to it - and caused this to be confirmed by Pope Innocent III. This freedom we shall observe ourselves, and desire to be observed in good faith by our heirs i...