Seven Church of England churches have commissioned seven new Christian leaders across four dioceses for ministry in Church of England churches.
At a service on Wednesday evening, led by Bishop Rod Thomas, and attended by members of CEEC and the Alliance, seven men were commissioned. The individuals were commissioned as public leaders and for public ministry in training posts in Church of England churches. All of them have been selected through experienced selection panels, trained through recognised training courses and completed necessary Safeguarding training and checks for this ministry. They will be deployed differently in different contexts.
Those commissioned for ministry in London diocese will teach the scriptures within the congregations where they serve and will preside at informal church family meals at which bread is broken and the death of the Lord Jesus is remembered.
The Revd Canon Vaughan Roberts preached on John 21. Bishop Julian Henderson, President of CEEC (the Church of England Evangelical Council) led in prayer and the Revd Canon John Dunnett, National Director of CEEC, read the Scripture.
The service, while not an official Alliance event, was attended and supported by senior lay and ordained leaders from across the Alliance network including from CEEC, ReNew, New Wine, and All Soul’s Langham Place and Holy Trinity Brompton.
Following the service, Revd William Taylor, Rector, St Helen’s Bishopsgate released a film explaining why the act of commissioning these leaders has been made necessary including contributions among others from Bishop Julian Henderson, Bishop Pete Broadbent, Revd Canon John Dunnett, Revd Charlie Skrine (All Souls Langham Place), Busola Sodeinde (Church Commissioner & HTB) and John Coles (New Wine Ambassador) and many other church leaders. The film and full transcript can be viewed here.
Revd William Taylor, Rector, St Helen’s Bishopsgate, said: 'This act of commissioning has been made necessary due to the tragic failure of the majority of bishops in the House of Bishops in the Church of England. The archbishops and most bishops have failed to uphold faithful Biblical doctrine, to guard the gospel of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus, and to show loyalty and love for Jesus and his people by teaching the Scriptures faithfully. They have failed to follow the Church of England’s own canons in calling for an unlawful departure from the doctrine of the Church of England. They have failed morally through their lack of openness and transparency with regard to legal advice and papers provided to them as a House and College of Bishops, and with regard to votes they have taken.
'These tragic failures have been compounded by the failure practically to propose a long-term peaceable solution of proper and reasonable structural provision for those represented by almost 50% of General Synod who either voted against or did not vote for the current LLF proposals to continue earlier this month.
'Wednesday’s commissioning is the second of its kind. And I suspect many others will now follow, and in due course ordination services.'
A further selection Panel is being formed for selecting more men and women to serve in Church of England churches. It is anticipated that other groups of Alliance churches will establish more selection panels across other dioceses.
It is anticipated that the individuals commissioned at this service for public leadership in Church of England churches will be ordained less publicly in due course by Anglican bishops not in partnership with the failed bishops of the Church of England.
Revd William Taylor has called on leaders of churches and their PCCs to do three things: one, to seek alternative spiritual oversight, which has been facilitated by CEEC; two, to cease paying any parish share (which is a voluntary contribution) to the Church of England and instead divert it into the Ephesian Fund or a Good Stewards Trust; three, make plans from now on to send any new trainees for paid Bible teaching and informal sacramental ministry for selection, training and commissioning through alternative selection panels and commissioning services. He also appealed to the diocesan bishops of the Church of England to provide the structural provision needed to enable those who remain faithful to the existing biblical doctrine and teaching of the Church of England to remain in it and flourish. Revd William Taylor concluded that the Alliance had been left with no other option than to establish a de facto province while pursuing structural provision.
Why I took a stuffed parrot to CofE Synod
The General Synod of the Church of England has engaged over decades in a cycle of groundhog-day debates about human …