We are called to be prophetic – not just pragmatic

A dark cloud looms obstinately over evangelicals in the Church of England, neither advancing nor diminishing.

Its ominous presence weighs on the minds of clergy, aggravates committed church members, and repels potential candidates for ministry training. At stake is the future of Biblically faithful ministry in a denomination that is home to by far the largest number of evangelical churches in the country and reaches many parts that others do not.

Blessings for same-sex couples – Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) – remain on the agenda, but progress is stalled. Martyn Snow, the Bishop of Leicester, who is leading the process, succeeded in setting a more gracious tone at General Synod in February. But there is no change in the House of Bishops’ commitment to the trajectory set a year ago. After the vote to ‘move to next business’, Bishop Martyn now must scramble together a substantially different proposal for the July session, which is unlikely to be well-developed and unlikely to achieve a change in the stalemate. So far, he has indicated an approach that looks strikingly similar to the one that was abandoned last year.