2023 Review (ii): July to December
July
General Synod met again in July. Although no formal time was given to the Prayers of Love and Faith, many questions were asked and there was an informal session for information on the progress made, such as it was. The whole meeting was fraught, not only around the Prayers of Love and Faith, but also due to the disbanding of the Independent Safeguarding Board, questions about transparency and honesty, and lack of trust. Our podcast review of it is here.
August
As always in August, we hosted the Junior Anglican Evangelical Conference. We were delighted to have our largest number of delegates for some time at this year's conference, representing a wide range of training institutions and dioceses. It was a sobering time as we considered the reality of ministry in the Church of England today but an exciting one as we met so many men and women determined to serve God in hard times and hard places. You can listen to the talks from this year's conference here.
At our AGM we heard encouraging reports from our Finance Committee and our Director, and welcomed new members of the Church Society Council: Corinne Brixton and Edward Keene.
September
September saw the beginning of a new academic year and the highest number of students on the Priscilla Programme for some time. A new podcast miniseries on the Church of England proved extremely useful to many listeners:
- What is the Church of England?
- The crisis in the Church of England
- How to change the Church of England
- The Doctrine of the Church of England
- What is happening now in the Church of England?
October
In early October, Lee Gatiss and Chris Moore (whose Church Society job is now Director of Wider Church Engagement) attended a meeting of 'LLF Stakeholders', to explain what would be needed by way of pastoral guidance and provision.
The House of Bishops published their plan for the process by which they would commend the prayers. 12 of the bishops who had been present at the House of Bishops publicly stated their disagreement with the majority document. Church Society published a number of responses critiquing the plan and giving direction to our response:
Who wants the Prayers of Love and Faith anyway?
What are the Prayers of Love and Faith and why do they matter?
November
Lee Gatiss and Ros Clarke attended a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury and representatives of the Alliance organisations. Once again we had the opportunity to express some of our very serious concerns about the Prayers of Love and Faith, and the bishops' proposals to implement them. Lee's comments on the meeting are here.
By the time that General Synod met in November, it was clear that some of the bishops wanted to push further ahead than the plans outlined in October, apparently against the legal advice which had been received by the House of Bishops. Once again the debate was long and complex, with every vote finely balanced. The final, amended motion committed the bishops to continuing progress in implementing the Prayers of Love and Faith, both as prayers to be used within a normal service and as standalone services of blessing. This was carried by a majority of just four votes in the House of Laity. All three houses were much closer than they had been in February.
Throughout the year, the Network of Revitalisation Ministries (NoRM) has grown, with bimonthly webinars and other networking. The meeting in November was opened to those in non-revitalisation work, to hear a report from Synod and discuss the implications.
On the blog, we published a counter to the claim that evangelicals are espousing a doctrine of works with respect to same-sex relationships and an encouragement to keep contending. The St Antholin Lecture on same-sex love in the Puritan world was a fascinating demonstration that this is not a new issue.
Our latest Church Society book came out in November, Under Christ's Orders, in which the distinct roles of bishops, presbyters, deacons and lay people are set out.
December
We launched the Books For Christmas partnership with Equipping Pastors Worldwide, to send Church Society resources to pastors and others in the majority world.
And we have been planning another busy year which we trust will be fruitful in the Lord's work. We are looking forward to the FWS conference on Revival! in February, more events in collaboration with the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, and another JAEC in August. We will continue contending for the gospel in every way we can, as well as encouraging and supporting our members, our partner churches, and others to do the same. There is an exciting new book on revitalisation ministry coming soon, and other publications later in the year.
You can partner in our work by praying with us, donating financially, and by becoming a member. Your church can join us by becoming a Partner Church. In such uncertain and difficult times, it is more important than ever to express our gospel partnership with those who are near us and those who are far away. We hope that the fellowship that is Church Society enables you to be part of this.