Young ordained evangelical ministers will still be needed under every likely future of the Church of England. That was the keynote message from Charlie Skrine, Rector of All Soul’s Langham Place, as he addressed the Church Society’s recent Junior Anglican Evangelical Conference.
Other speakers included Ros Clarke and James Cary (who, with Skrine, now serve on General Synod), together with Lee Gatiss, George Crowder and Rob Munro, the new Bishop of Ebbsfleet.
Skrine, speaking on ‘The Church That Needs You’, made the case for young ordinands remaining within the Church of England. He was careful to stress throughout that conscience comes first. Crucial to his own decision to get ordained 20 years ago was encouragement from Vaughan Roberts that ‘conscience is essential. If something is wrong in your conscience then it is sin for you.’
Skrine also referenced those who will leave the Church of England and said, ‘Some people will need to leave formal ordained ministry, and will, I hope, receive no criticism, certainly not from me, but from anyone in this room. If your conscience tells you how you must serve Jesus, then we say “thank you for serving Jesus.”’
Skrine’s three headings were, firstly, referencing 1 Corinthians 15:58 and Micah 7:9, the Bible is all we need. Secondly, although young ordinands are needed under any future scenario, they need to be realistic about what might happen. The scale of the coming changes are such, he believes, that it will on balance be impossible for the next Church of England Rector of the All Soul’s parish to be an evangelical.
Under this heading Skrine considered three possible futures for the Church of England, and why young ordinands would be required under each one. Firstly: in the unlikely event that the Church were to reject the prayers of blessing for same-sex couples resulting from Living in Love and Faith (LLF), despite the huge resulting media outcry, then the steadily increasing trajectory towards Biblical orthodoxy would clearly require more evangelical ministers to renew the Church of England and take it forward.
Secondly: the LLF prayers are introduced, but with strong safeguards for orthodox believers. Both sides of the argument think they will win in the end. A settlement that pauses the conflict ‘could be brilliant’, Skrine believes, as it would provide a respite for 20 or 30 years while one side fades and the other grows, although it is not yet clear which is which. Young evangelical ordinands will still be needed as others leave the church, perhaps on conscience grounds. Or it could mean the orthodox conducting a ‘fighting retreat’ for the next 50–100 years, together with those in other denominations, as the slower we retreat and lose the better for the religious freedoms of all in England. After all, the prevailing liberal culture itself might change over such a long time period.
The third scenario is: Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) without secure provisions. Such a steady trend towards growing liberalism would make it harder for new ordinands. The Church of England currently has many members who were born overseas, where sexuality is thought about very differently. It will attract fewer and fewer of such people in future, so it will – somewhat ironically - become older, whiter and even more liberal.
Yet evangelical ordinands will still be needed, as the pace of change at what Skrine calls ‘the bureaucratic slug’ will be very slow. Most liberals are using the example of women vicars as a reference point, but they were first being seriously discussed in about 1985, women were first ordained in 1992 and female bishops arrived about 20 years later. There will be significant work to do during this slow process.
Finally, Skrine focused on the type of people needed for the task ahead. Those who should not attempt it include those who cannot face hostility and conflict and those who cannot speak negatives, for example to bishops facing away from the truth. Also unsuitable are those who are unable to take action; those who cannot find hope in God when things worsen; those who dislike doing politics (as the task is an unrelenting effort); those who dislike working with likeminded people from other denominations; and those afraid of the risks, the stresses and anxieties placed on their families as they face, for example, the possibility of losing their houses or their child’s school place.
But his takeaway was a positive one. We must remember that these circumstances are how God uses us – for example, hostility so often leads to conversions, including of same-sex attracted people. And the world will not end if we take action. Even suffering in such circumstances is good, as God is good.
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