The Journal of The Church of England Continuing “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever” Hebrews 13:8. Issue No.7 November 1997 From Bishop David Samuel 81 Victoria Road, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1EU. Dear Friends, I am sure it is an encouragement to you, as it is to me, to know that there are now four young men in training for the ministry of our church, three at the London Theological Seminary and one at the Independent Theological Academy, Wolverhampton. Please pray for them; they are His goodness, and pray that as a Edward Malcolm, Ian Budgen, church we may so walk that we may Richard Mortimer and Andrew please him in all that we do, that He Price. The calling of may continue to men into the ministry pour out upon is the gift of God to “The great need of the us the riches of the church, for its edi- His grace and fication, and we hour is for dedicated built us up in rejoice to think that men to perform again by holy faith. the Lord has blessed God’s Spirit, that Recently, I us in this way and Apostolic woirk in our sent out a pas- given us this token of land” toral letter call- His good pleasure. ing upon you all Conversely, the to pray for our decline of candidates nation for the ministry must surely be seen We must be deeply conscious as a mark of God's displeasure, for of the great spiritual need of our then He withholds that which is so nation at the present time. The spir- important to the well-being of the itual darkness that now afflicts our church. Let us, then, thank God for people is, in large measure, due to thefailure of spiritual leaders and "whereby we have been brought out pastors to sow the light of God's of darkness and error into the clear Word amongst them. We have seen light and true knowledge of thee, in recent months crowds of people and of thy Son Jesus Christ". The gathered in London and elsewhere, great need of the hour is for dedi- presenting us with an affecting pic- cated men to perform again, by ture of the nation "as sheep without God's Spirit, that apostolic work in a shepherd". In the proper preface our land. Only so can the darkness of the Prayer Book Service of Holy be lifted from the soul of the nation. Communion for Whit-Sunday there Please pray for all ministers of the are some moving Gospel that they may be lights in words about "the boldness with fer- their generation to point men to vent zeal" given to the apostles, Christ, who is the Light ofthe "constantly to preach the Gospel World. unto all nations;" and it adds, O Spirit of the Living God, In all thy plenitude of grace Where'er the foot of man hath trod, Descend on our apostate race. Give tongues of fire, and hearts oflove, To preach the reconciling Word, Give power and unction from above, Whene'er the joyful sound is heard. Be darkness at Thy coming light; Confusion order in Thy path; Souls without strength inspire with might; Bid mercy triumph over wrath. Yours sincerely, David N. Samuel. 2 Through The Looking Glass By Bishop David Samuel The crisis in the Church of England - the need for the Church of England (Continuing). (An address given at apublic meeting at Wimbledon, 22nd March 1997) My talk falls into two parts (1) The crisis in the Church of England, (2) The need for the Church of England (Continuing). First: The crisis in the Church of London said that stealing is not sinful. England. It made the headlines. He was by the Somebody may say, what crisis? I way instantly dismissed, and almost as see no crisis. I am reminded of Mr. instantly reinstated! I do not want to Callaghan when he was Prime Minister, attach too much importance to this par- it was during the "winter of discontent" ticular incident, but it is significant in its and he had just retumed from a trip to way. It tells us something important. Guadeloupe. The government was in When I see a solitary bee buzzing about, crisis, rubbish was as I did the other day in piled high in the “The real cause of the the garden, it tells me streets, the dead malaise is the moral something. It I is the were lying unburied. harbinger of change. It Thejournalists gath- and doctrinal incoher- registers the changing ered round him and ence of the Church of climate and tells me asked about the cri- England” that Spring is coming sis. To which he and the weather is get- replied "What crisis? ting warmer. Very We are experiencing a little local diffi- soon the air will be buzzing with innu- culty." merable bees. So it is a sign ofthings to I will set aside for the moment the come. financial crisis and the difficulty the church is experiencing in paying its Mavericks clergy, and also the drop in attendances The maverick behaviour of some cler- at places of worship - 36 000 in one year gymen does the same. The service for 1994/95 the biggest this century. These the so-called Lesbian and Gay Christian are merely symptoms. Let us address Fellowship held at Southwark the real cause of the malaise, which is Cathedral, the divorce and remarriage the moral and doctrinal incoherence of of clergy, all these things are indicative the Church of England. of a changed climate in the church, a "paradigm shift" in its thinking and Stealing not sinful ethos. The other day a clergyman from North 3 How did this become possible? parliament, reassured parliament that When did the change begin to take they were not dealing with deeper spiri- place? It is not always easy to locate tual things but only with the framework, exactly the point. For example, a great "the outer secular rules within which change took place in this country thirty our work has to be done" (Bell, II, 975). years ago with the introduction of the This was no doubt taken, at the time, to "permissive society" There was a pro- mean that the fundamental doctrines.of found change of custom and ethos, but it the faith were secure and there would be is difficult to pinpoint the transition. no constitutional change in the Church However, I think we may say in the case of England. But the Act itself used lan- ofthe church that the change is associat- guage that was capable of a much wider ed with the introduction of Synodical interpretation, it spoke of "matters govemment which touchin gthe Church of came about in the England", without qual- 1970's. The idea was ification. The words of established that the “Fundamentals could the Archbishop may church could be be changed by a two have reassured people changed by voting thirds majority vote. at the time, but with the procedures, that passage ofyears they majority votes were Nothing was sacrosanct were forgotten, and by what counted. That any more” the time the General was the paradigm Synod came into exis- shift. It was the tence it was ready to change from the notion of a church assume committed to "eternal truths" to that of a power to change not merely the frame- church which could be changed by work but the deeper spiritual things. majority vote. Church Society and High Court Enabling Act That was the truth that was At first it seemed that the powers brought to light in the appeal of Church of General Synod were limited. The Society in the High Court over the Enabling Act of 1919, which had estab- Ordination of Women Measure. Church lished the old Church Assembly, the Society claimed the measure was a fun- forerunner of the General Synod, damental, doctrinal matter and that the appeared to exempt doctrine. It looked General Synod had no power to change as if the powers of the Church Assembly the doctrine of the Church of England. were limited to administrative matters. But Mr. Justice Lightman ruled that the General Synod is competent "in all mat- Randall Davidson ters touching the Church of England". Randall Davidson, the It can therefore initiate any change, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the time of whatever, and parliament, which is sov- the passage of the Enabling Act through ereign, can endorse it. 4 Shifting sand changed by lobbying and political This for many people was a revelation manoeuvring. It has been done and it for it gave to the General Synod and to will be done again. The Church of parliament power to change anything, England is now in crisis because it has power to change not merely the "out- now been destabilised. It has set itself ward secular rules of the church" as over the Word of God instead of under Archbishop Davidson had assured par- it. It is no longer, as Article 20 Of liament in 1919, but doctrines, the Authority in the Church puts it, "a wit- creeds, the 39 Articles ofreligion. ness and a keeper of Holy Writ" but it Fundamentals could be changed by a has now assumed the role of judge and two thirds majority vote in General arbiter of its doctrines. That is a posi- Synod. Nothing was sacrosanct any- tion it ought not to occupy, nor can it more. The power had been wielded occupy, without drawing down upon once and it would be itself the judgement of exercised again.