Covenant: briefing paper for General Synod February 2009

I've put on the MCU website a briefing paper on the Covenant for today's General Synod debate.

It assumes readers have GS 1716, the official briefing paper, available here via Thainking Anglicans.

.

Bored of liberal Christianity

There's a interesting debate entitled Bored of liberal Christianity on the Ship of Fools website. MCU gets a passing reference.

Thanks to Dave Marshall, MCU membership administrator and a shipmate on the Ship of Fools.

Assisted dying

Craig Ewert

The death of Craig Ewert broadcast on Sky TV brought the issue of assisted dying to the top of the media agenda, briefly.



Naturally the media turn to religious leaders for comment on moral social questions and, equally naturally, most comment is socially conservative. MCU takes a careful view but has come down on the side of decriminalising assisted dying with strong safeguards.

From Ekklesia

The Modern Churchpeople's Union (MCU), a historic society to promote open theological debate within the Church of England, was one of the religious bodies to come out broadly in favour of Lord Joffe's previous Bill.

In a detailed submission on MCU's behalf to the Select Committee on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill in 2006, Professor Paul Badham, who holds the Chair for Theology and Religious Studies in the University of Wales, argued for a 'good death' as a legitimate Christian option and understanding.

He wrote: "It is interesting that, though historically Jesus died a cruel death at the hands of his enemies, the fourth Gospel presents it as his own choice: 'No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own accord.' From a Christian perspective death is not viewed as a disaster, but as gateway to fuller life. In the early Church this was very firmly believed."

Dr Badham went on to argue that "before St. Augustine changed Christian attitudes to this question, many of the early Christians continued to hold the stoic understanding of suicide as 'a noble deat'. The beliefs of the early Christians provide an interesting counter balance to those of their successors today who give priority to the prolongation of life at all costs."

However MCU said at the time that legislation on the matter needed to be very carefully controlled and monitored, arguing against a time limit on any declaration of intent which ìmay put pressure on a patient to ask for implementation of assisted suicide before that date.

.

New MCU Administrator

We are pleased to announce that Christine Alker has been appointed the post of Administrator She started work on 1st December.

Christine is administror of the influential conferences of the Centre for Radical Christianity in Sheffield.

We look forward to benefiting from her skills and experience. She joins us at a time when we are expanding our activities, and we are delighted to welcome her into our team.

As Administrator Christine is now the first point of contact for enquirers. The email address office@modchurchunion.org and the telephone number 0845 345 1909 are now both directed to her.

Her postal address will bethe new MCU Office, but at the time of writing she is about to move house and we do not know what this new address will be.

Jonathan Clatworthy remains General Secretary. He still lives at 9 Westward View, Liverpool L17 7EE, so post for the MCU can still be sent to this address. However my email and landline number have changed. I can be emailed on jonathan@clatworthy.org. The landline is 0151 727 6291, aka 0845 345 1908.

Talking across the boundaries

Extract from:
A foot in many camps - a reply to Stephen Kuhrt
by Chris Sugden in the Church of England Newspaper November 21 2008
Anglican Mainstream

Sugden discusses the flavours of Anglican Evangelicals in the light of the falling out at the recent NEAC gathering (Thinking Anglicans and here).

The article includes:

As a further illustration of this problem of identity, consider the
public meeting on July 12 in the Rochester Diocese arranged by Affirming
Catholicism, in which Fulcrum took part. The aim of the meeting was
"Exploring what Diocesan and National Groups have to offer to the life and work
of the Church of England at this present critical time". Questions to be
considered were: Why so many groups that encourage us to belong? What do they
stand for? Where is the unity . . . and the diversity? Half hour
presentations were made by: Fulcrum (Graham Kings); Inclusive Church
(Erica Wooff); Modern Churchpeople’s Union (Richard Hall); Changing Attitude
(Sue Brewer); Affirming Catholicism; WATCH - Women And The Church (Charles
Read); Society of Catholic Priests (Michael Skinner). What do
these groups have in common and what differentiates them?

The meeting was reported in the Rochester Diocesan Link (October 2008) thus: "The debate ranged across subjects such as the ability to talk to one another across difference and to explore what binds us even when we are sharply divided. This includes debates about Covenant and questions around sexuality, ascertaining the right balance and looking at points of controversy, and having regard to the Gospel, the Bible, the Church and the Communion; it also means affirming the Church’s
mission, in obedience to Holy Scripture, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ
afresh in every generation. Most groups did not want to advocate a slavish
reading of Scripture; some groups were clearly campaigning groups, others saw
themselves as support organisations, yet others as doing the research which
campaigning groups could use – but why not look them up on their varying
websites?" ENDS

I could find no report of the Conference on the Fulcrum
website so do not know if Fulcrum agreed with any or none of these statements,
nor whether all supporters of Fulcrum would share the same view of them. So
there may be varieties of the Open Evangelical stream: some having common ground with the Modern Churchman’s Union which that same month had hosted Gene Robinson as a speaker. And some who do not.

Pluralist on MCU

Pluralist, in his thoughtful and informed way, has commented on the latest MCU press release (below).

In terms of the shifting balance of church party politics he has a point: it's very hard to judge how things will go. If GAFCON or women bishops result in the conservatives leaving the CofE (Anglo-Catholics or Evangelicals) the consequences will take a generation to become visible. For liberals there are two separable questions. The more important is, what will be the place of the Broad Church inheritance? And also, what will the future be for the MCU?

My guess is that the Broad Church has a healthy future. That is, to be exact, there will continue to be those who value the breadth and inclusivity of the Church of England. They may very well look different to their predecessors ('broad' is a relative term and as dependent on those it opposes as on its own self-definition) but they will claim Broad Church inheritance in any case: history is written backwards.

I'm not sure about 'suffering' from the dual role of the Broad Church. MCU has a valuable role as a home, permanent or respite, for those who find themselves located with (for the most part) evangelical congreagations but who are travelling away into a more liberal theological position. This is important but secondary, a consequence of its primary focus on promoting theological reflection and ecclesial action from liberal tenets.

But I agree whole heartedly about the difficulty of leading the organization - and not just for its President, Bishop Saxbee. Turbulent times cannot be kept outside. Each of the present associations of clergy will either have to redefine themselves and their relations to external change or they will shrivel like grapes to raisins. I also guess that those which survive will do so by sustaining a relatively high degree of flexibility, internal fluidity and thus risk-taking (in the small, risk averse world of ecclesiastical politics).

We shall see. But the MCU has more life in it yet.

Paul Bagshaw

The release was also picked up at Episcopal Café.

defend diversity, oppose covenant

ENGLAND: Liberal Anglicans defend diversity, oppose covenant

By Mary Taylor, November 12, 2008

[Episcopal News Service] The council of the Modern Churchpeople's Union (MCU) met November 6 in London's Docklands to develop a strategy for the defense of liberal theology.

Firmly opposed to the proposed Anglican covenant, the group plans to extend its network beyond England, improving links with the Episcopal Church, building branches in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, recruiting a range of ages and denominations, and increasing support among bishops and academic theologians.

The council members, many of them Church of England clergy, agreed that the organization will be re-branded, re-named, and re-constituted to reflect more fully its openness and diversity. Furthermore, the group decided that an administrator should be appointed and a system of working groups set up.

The Rev. John Plant, a parish priest in Warwickshire who chaired the MCU meeting, was joined by most of the council's 32 members, including the Rev. Jonathan Clatworthy, a Liverpool-based priest and MCU general secretary, and Professor Paul Badham, professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Wales and MCU vice president.

Founded in 1898, the organization was originally named The Churchmen's Union for the Advancement of Liberal Thought. This soon became The Churchmen's Union, then The Modern Churchmen's Union. The change to 'Churchpeople's' was an inevitable, though arguably belated, innovation in the 1980s.

The original aims and objectives -- "to unite [those] who consider that dogma is capable of reinterpretation and restatement in accordance with the clearer perception of truth attained by discovery and research" -- are consistent with MCU's view 110 years on. Asked after the November 6 meeting how he would like to see MCU develop, Clatworthy said, "It is important to offer an account of Christianity which is consistent with modern scientific understandings of the world, open to new insights and constructive in its social and moral judgments."

In July, MCU members welcomed Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as a guest speaker at their conference, "Saving the Soul of Anglicanism."

Among MCU's many supporters is the Most Rev. Barry Morgan, Archbishop of the Church in Wales, who chaired the July conference in Hoddesdon, England, and is one of the organization's vice presidents. Speakers included the Rev. Canon Professor Marilyn McCord Adams, of Oxford University; the Rev. Canon Dr. Charlotte Methuen, of Oxford University; Bishop Michael Jackson of Clogher, Church of Ireland; Bishop Frank Griswold, 25th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; and Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana.

Griswold told the July gathering that the search for truth is a communal one, and that "the Holy Spirit can do different things in different places."

Mwamba spoke of "delusions of grandeur" among some of the African primates and noted that many church members throughout the continent had not been consulted about issues of human sexuality, and were "frankly not bothered with the debate."

"Some of our primates act like ecclesiastical Mugabes," he said, making reference to Zimbabwe's tyrannical president who has led his country into a humanitarian crisis and financial collapse.

Speaking in opposition of the Anglican covenant, proposed as a way to maintain unity amid difference throughout the communion, Adams told the July gathering, "There is no single version of humanity within the church."

Badham, in his MCU booklet Liberal Anglicanism, argues that the church seems willing to "abandon two centuries of liberal scholarship and -- in the case of homosexuality -- to return to an ethic based on biblical taboo."

Further information about MCU is available here.

-- Mary Taylor is a freelance journalist based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Science and Religion

From Pluralist's Anglican Collider

Some particles are fired anti-clockwise, representing a backward motion. These include the Fulcrum particle, the GAFCON particle, the Reform particle and the Anglican Mainstream particle. Although they have different characteristics, they tend to stick together in part or whole, although the Fulcrum particle is a little more ambiguous and rather small if apparently influential. Some particles are more destructive than others. Other particles are fired clockwise, and these include the Inclusive Church particle, Affirming Catholicism particle and the Modern Churchpeople's Union particle. Again these tend to come together, so have to be fired separately at the other lot. Some of these have characteristics of weak energy, and need more effort to have any impact. In addition there are a number of free radicals, such as the Sea of Faith particle, and there are even some that seem increasingly detached and spiralling out of control, such as the Forward in Faith particle that finds some peculiar particles for interaction, such as the GAFCON particle despite obvious incompatibilities.

MCU Conference photos

Some photos from the MCU Conference in July:
Trevor Mwamba
& Barry Morgan
the lecture hall worship
in the garden
the lounge

Holding together but going nowhere

Jean Mayland

Jean is pictured here at the MCU stall at the Lambeth Conference

This is how I would describe the state of the Anglican Communion in the light of the summary of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s final address and the extracts from the final reflections given in the Church Times of 8 August. The Church Times also gave some space to the blogs of some bishops and the spoken views of others. On the whole they reported favourably on the Conference although some expressed the view that they did not really know exactly what had been decided.

How did it all feel from the point of view of MCU? It was MCU’s first experience of being at Lambeth with a stall and a fringe event. For me personally this was the third Lambeth conference, which I had attended in one capacity or another. The greatest difference was the lack of openness and the security. The press were not allowed to go to worship or plenaries, which is most unusual at international gatherings. We had to go to endless trouble to obtain passes. These were deemed essential for safety but when we arrived and not all were ready we were told that we did not really need them and they were too expensive to do more as they cost £4 each! I stood my ground and insisted we had them. People actually needed them if they wished to eat in the one restaurant where we were allowed to go. I am convinced that the passes had nothing at all to do with Islamic terrorists but were aimed at keeping gay people, women and yes- liberal theologians away from bishops!

There were lively fringe events and presentations but sadly few bishops came. Last time I remember fringe events of all kinds being full. We had been warned by security that we could not go to each others events and had even obliged to supply lists of approved helpers with the official passes. In the event no one checked up on us and we all went to each other’s events and enjoyed them and learnt a lot. It is a great pity the bishops did not do the same. We did rather better at the MCU event than did many others. We had over 60 people present and quite a number of bishops. We were well supported by Wales and Scotland. John Saxbee, our President made a good speech and there was some interesting conversation.

In the ‘Church Times’ the Bishop of Winchester complained about ‘well funded lobby groups.’ I had part in 3 of the stalls within the Inclusive Church grouping- WATCH, Changing Attitude and Modern Churchperson's Union. For 6-7 hours day for weeks before the Conference I sat at my computer contacting volunteers, working out rotas, planning fringe events and dealing with security issues. I am 72. I did so because I care about those on edge and open Anglican theology.

The groups had their centre not in luxury but in a church hall rented for the purpose where media work was carried out, meetings held and evening meals cooked by volunteers. As these were eaten at 6.30 I could never participate as the stalls did not close until 7pm and then we had to cash up. I then drove to Canterbury's other university and put my Sainsbury's ready meal in the oven- something I never do at home! I shared the kitchen with Chinese language students, music students and a Sudanese Moslem woman who had come to make sure her son worked for his finals! Other volunteers shared student houses, made their own sandwiches and avoided the expensive food on campus. People gave up holidays and paid their own expenses. One set of volunteers worked late into the night to prepare the give away paper 'Lambeth Witness' and another and another set got up early to try to distribute it in the face of every possible obstacle put in our path. Jonathan Clatworthy had some excellent articles and reflections in a number of editions.

The ‘market place’ was housed partly in a sports hall and partly in a kind of egg box like tent attached to it. We were in that bit which was very humid and hot .As the hot humid atmosphere in the market place rose so the camaraderie increased and gay people chatted with hard line groups who wanted to 'heal' them. The most popular stall in the whole place was that of 'The Episcopal Church' (TEC) who gave away hundreds of free fans!

Sometimes the ‘market place’ was quiet and we could walk around and visit other stalls and go into the posher cool bit to refresh ourselves. Then bishops and spouses would swarm in and we would try to accost them and speak with them. Our ploy was to invite them to our reception and then try to engage them in conversation. With the invitation we gave them one of our fliers. We soon found that the one headed liberal theology seemed to terrify many of them and so we changed and gave away the one about interpreting the Bible today! Jonathan also went ‘visiting’ some of the other stallholders and had useful conversations with them. Towards the end of the first week we were glad to welcome representatives of the Student Christian Movement to help on our stall and sell some of their literature and badges. They certainly brought down our average age and gave us renewed hope for the future of liberal theology. Another welcome assistant was a schoolboy from Canterbury who spent hours helping on our stall and was a tower of strength. Near the end of the fortnight, when our energy was flagging, Richard Truss et al turned up with new ideas for the stall and Elizabeth and Richard Darlington came with new energy and a new technique once the ‘Reception’ was over.

We soon stopped trying to sell our booklets and gave them away. We had pictures of our recent conference, which Joan Dorrell brought and ‘print offs’ from some of the talks, which John Plant had produced. These proved very popular. Clare Nicholson and Stephen Cox were our stalwarts at photocopying them. Jonathan did not sell as many of his books as he hoped but in the face of all the competition he did really well. The ‘Times’ reported that only one of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s books sold while Gene Robinson sold 50. Jonathan sold 14 and gave 2 away- one to the press and one to a person who had been so helpful with accommodation.

From our viewpoint the bishops talked in secret little groups in their ‘big top’ surrounded by a ring of police and only emerged once to go to London to tell society how wicked it was not to do more about the debt. Many of us had worked in or visited Africa and experienced the poverty. We do all we can to press for justice and support the aid agencies but we also know about violence against women in Africa and the persecution of gay people. They are the real victims and scapegoats in this whole process.

Now we can read the results of Lambeth – in my case with great depression. We are told the Communion held together (for the moment at least) but it is not going anywhere. There are no plans or processes to facilitate moving forward together but in different ways according to our culture and mission. There is the threat of a covenant, which is a thoroughly un-Anglican concept, and a promise of a moratorium on gay blessings and consecrations but no mention of a time limit. We are threatened with a Communion based on fundamentalist interpretations of scripture to please the Africans and a hierarchical system of control to please the Roman Catholics. We want neither for neither are Anglican. It seems to me that a vital role for the MCU is to continue to keep an eye on the Covenant process and maintain steady flow of good theologically based critical comment.

Many people in our parishes are blissfully ignorant of all this and just go on in their own sweet way. Others are deeply disturbed. Just to mention two e-mails I have received since I came home. The first was from someone with whom I used to work at CTBI -'I thought of you a lot during Lambeth. There was one Sunday morning that I listened to Sunday programme, then just couldn’t go to the C of E church, bishop and all for confirmation. I feel more and more at home with the Quakers, but if I become a Quaker, I really don’t want it to be because I’m taking refuge from the Anglicans! '

Another person wrote, 'As a gay and partnered Anglican looking to a civil partnership and blessing next year and as a man wanting to exercise gifts and training in LLM, I am nearly exploding with frustration as nothing seems to have moved forward, in fact I feel that things are more entrenched if anything... I know you have been there and still journeying with women's ministry issues, how do you do it and still remain faithful to a church, which does not seem to want to know?

The answer lies in developing a spirituality for a long haul and getting practised at lifting oneself up from blow after blow.

At the beginning of the Conference, Gene Robinson and some other American Bishops, who had panted up the hill carrying their robes after a two hour marathon in the Cathedral, joined us in a Eucharist in field outside the city walls by a simple wooden cross. In a very real way Christ was there. We trust that in the struggles ahead God will be with us and all who suffer on the fringes.