This has not been a good
week for the Church of England.
But there is at least one bright spot – some evangelicals are speaking up and clearly.
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JOINT PRESS RELEASE from
Reform and Oxford Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship
Evangelicals call for the
Church of England to uphold the gospel of Jesus Christ
This week began with
Katherine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (TEC)
of the USA preaching in Westminster Abbey, it will end, we are told with Canon
Michael Smith of York Minster blessing the York Gay Pride March. In between we
have seen the Bishop of Buckingham describe doctrine that he swore to teach and
pass on as ‘lousy’.
Nowhere in any of this has
there been the clear message of the Gospel that despite our rejection of his
ways we are all loved by God and can find forgiveness through the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not surprising then, that the majority of
the world’s Anglicans now look to the Primates of Global Anglican Future
Conference GAFCON for leadership – the only question is whether after weeks
like this one, those in the Church of England who wish to proclaim this Gospel
will be forced to follow the same path.
“Christianity is based
on revealed doctrine, enabling individuals to live rightly before a Holy God as
followers of Jesus Christ. He tells us how to live in all areas of life,
including in areas of sexual behaviour. No denomination is at liberty to invent
its own doctrine or to sacrifice revealed doctrine on the altars of
contemporary fashion. We cannot be authentically Christian whilst
simultaneously rejecting the teaching of the one we claim to follow.” Rev
Simon Austen – Rector of St Leonard’s Church, Exeter Diocese
“York Minster’s leading
the way in the Gay Pride march is symbolic of what the Church of England’s
leadership is doing generally on this issue – leading people away from the
clear teaching of the Bible and the Gospel. It exposes the sham of the
consultation process for what it is – a means by which the church can validate
homosexual activity. One would hope that the Archbishop of York would do his
duty and speak clearly, upholding the Bible’s position.” Rev Melvin Tinker,
St John’s Church, Newland, York Diocese
“I am deeply
disappointed that Alan Wilson persists in undermining the teaching of the Church
by his overt support of those who have gone against the clear rules governing
clergy discipline. Describing the Church’s teaching and doctrine as “lousy” is
quite breathtakingly arrogant and not language that one would expect from a
senior leader in the Church. Were I in secular employment and so at odds with
the leadership and core values of the company that employed me, I would resign
forthwith as a matter of conscience.” Rev Will Pearson-‐Gee -‐ Rector of
Buckingham, Oxford Diocese
“The Bishop of Buckingham
courts publicity for his revisionist agenda and gets it. He has sadly become a
figure of disunity in the Oxford Diocese and a cause of grief to many faithful
Anglican Christians. The version of marriage he espouses is incompatible with
Biblical Christianity.” Rev Will Stileman – Vicar of St Mary’s Church,
Maidenhead and Chair of the Oxford Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship
“Sooner or later
everyone in the Church of England will have to decide whether they have
confidence in what God says about marriage and human sexuality in the
Scriptures. If we are not willing to trust what God says is good for us and for
our society then we lose the claim to be authentically Christian. And in the
course of time God will make it plain that our claims to be Christian are
hollow. Jeremiah 7:28 speaks of truth perishing and being cut off from the lips
of God’s people, and the prophet is clear about the disastrous consequences of
that”. Rev Mark Burkill –Vicar of Christ Church, Leyton, Chelmsford Diocese
“The Bishop of Buckingham
is a runaway train, and has lost the confidence of many of the clergy in the
Diocese of Oxford who would have him nowhere near their churches. There is now
a crisis of leadership in Oxford Diocese, shown in the fact that the Diocese
was unable to appoint a Diocesan Bishop who can work with Buckingham. The
Bishop of Buckingham thinks he can make up doctrine on the hoof to suit his own
revisionist agenda. That is not how the Church of England does things”. Rev
James Paice, Vicar of St Luke’s Wimbledon Park, Southwark Diocese
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That the Archbishops of
Canterbury and York have chimed “Me, too!” on Climate Change does not make the
week any better.
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