The Anglican Church

esp.with a nice cup of tea and a fancy or two

Good thing my mum didn't find this. Or maybe not, as it's only got four posts.

(God, I love the random thread button.)

Tattoo homosexuals, priest writes

Mr Mullen said: "I certainly have nothing against homosexuals. Many of my dear friends have been and are of that persuasion."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7655585.stm

Wha, is this the thing that was on the cover of one of the free mags on the way home?

"Priest wants gay men tattooed" - what, coz he likes a bit of rough trade? was the first thing that sprung into my head.

Yes, that's it.

He has some interesting views about people "of the Muslim persuasion" too:

http://blog.newhumanist.org.uk/2008/10/how-not-to-blog-by-church-of-england.html

Not to defend the Anglican Church or anything, but...

Obviously his opinions are shit and stupid and ill informed and reactions - but they're certainly not mainstream UK Anglican belief - as evidenced by the fact that he *is* being disciplined for spouting this shit.

But hey, that's right, religion is responsible for all of men's evils, rather than the other way around...

REACTIONARY not reactions, ugh, I need to go have some supper.

That New Humanist blog post makes it fairly clear that the Bishop of London could have taken action a lot sooner against the bufoon.

Current religious affiliation of England and Wales [St. Mary's University, Twickenham]

Anglican - 19.8%
Catholic - 8.3%
Other Christian - 15.7%
Non-Christian religion - 7.7%
No religion - 48.5%

A spokesperson for the Church of England said: “The increase in those identifying as ‘no faith’ reflects a growing plurality in society rather than any increase in secularism or humanism. We do not have an increasingly secular society as much as a more agnostic one.

“In a global context, adherence to religion is growing rather than decreasing. Christianity remains the world’s largest religion with over 2 billion adherents. In the UK the latest census found the overwhelming majority of people to have a faith.”

Spokesperson is slicing it pretty thin there.

Wondering what the figures are for Scotland and Northern Ireland

Only 7% heathens in NI iirc

That was 2011 and included non-christian god botherers.

Christians still ahead in Scotland, ya beauty!

Church of Scotland - 32.4%
Roman Catholic - 15.9%
Other Christian - 5.5%
Buddhist - 0.2%
Hindu - 0.3%
Jewish - 0.1%
Muslim -1.4%
Sikh - 0.2%
Another Religion - 0.3%
No Religion - 36.7%
Not Answered -7%

why wasn't agnostic on the list

xp when was that? "Findings from the Scottish Social Attitudes survey show 52% of people say they are not religious, compared with 40% in 1999 when the survey began." - that was last month.

p sure i still get counted as a catholic in scotland

despite having lapsed at age 12 and no longer living in the country

such pretty churches tho

Good rave venues.

the distinction between your religion and your precise feelings about a deity and certainty etc. is a good one imo, there are people in the church who would describe themselves as 'christian atheists' and a lot more whose faith and scepticism vacillate while still being very much a part of the church

curious to see at what rate people of other faiths are becoming irreligious/keeping the faith if anyone has any data

the anglican church has fallen such a long way, I think its moral claim to be the established church is very weak, though the british public are seldom sufficiently exercised by the injustice of undeserved power and authority to do anything about it

Well, it would be difficult to do something without having to deal with a more obvious (and more popular) target...

what a day that will be though

about 5 years ago I worked on an Anglican monastic church refurb. The impression I got was that the monks were dripping in money and only wanted the best and most expensive of everything, not very ascetical but it was a pretty shit hot install and I'm sure P Escobar would have approved of some of the way expensive Italian light fittings.

people love giving money to kit out churches, as if a new window or piano will ease them through the eye of the needle when the big day comes

Some places still have tithes. Iirc when I bought my house I had to get insurance against the local church roof falling in.

My cousin is married to an Anglican Dean, I think. I have never been clear on the hierarchy. He seems very positive the church will continue in a fairly socially progressive direction as the cantankerous old Bishops die off.

xp In England, some of it's not voluntary - when you buy a house you're recommended to pay for research to find out if you're in a parish where you might be responsible for upkeep of the church.

The church doesn't have to be nearby - there's a story from 10 years ago of a couple being stung for £100k for repairs of one 100 miles away: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/3023276.stm

For all the Church of Scotland folks, my local (or ex local) church was
Always 30-40 sexagenarians+ each Sunday. And this was a historic church, about 1150ad. I stopped attending because of the churches stance on gay rights - my old minister was very pro, and said she would be willing to marry a gay couple. But the new minister was a bit more conservative, and in Kirkcaldy I got in an argument with the minister because he used a sermon to denounce homosexuals and stress the reality of hell. It's irritating, and I only got baptised about six years ago, so I'm maybe more bolshy than they are used to. I still believe the church can be a great force for good, even if it's been the opposite in the past.

https://www.scribd.com/doc/152217519/Menace-of-the-Irish-Race-to-our-Scottish-Nationality

What's this all about?

Someone in the bell ringers was a sexual abuser?

Allegations concerning the bellringer at the heart of the dispute are believed to date back more than 15 years, and further concerns have emerged more recently.

The York bellringers are a close-knit team, including several members of one family. Last week, the bellringers and their supporters reacted with anger to the dismissals, accusing the minster of behaving in an “unchristian” manner.

It sounds like one of the bellringers was dismissed because of something dodgy in their past and then the others weren't feeling very harmonious about the decision.

it is a volunteer gig, so it isn't like they will need recourse from Bellringers Benevolent Fund. But if they were true christians, they would at least move them on to another church elsewhere to ring the bells:p

John Sentamu has a bot (presumably) that sent me a PM blessing me for following him on twitter. This is a significant step up from prayer wheels on the way to fully automated spirituality

i dunno Sentamu seems like a guy with time on his hands

the thread linked to in this tweet is a rare delicacy

So, last night I was talking at an event with Rowan Williams. I pop into the vestry at the church beforehand and he’s there. The parish priest introduces us:

Me: ‘Hello, a real pleasure to meet you’
The Lord Williams of Oystermouth: ‘Greetings from Thai Sweet Chilli’

AMAZING https://t.co/QPtYz9D0Q7

— Fergus Butler-Gallie (@_F_B_G_) June 11, 2019

lol I knew Dr Francis Young would be referenced on that thread. He's a fellow from English history twitter who sometimes dresses as an Anglican priest to demonstrate the vestments of different eras.

Wow

One day I'll tell you about the time my pal made him say 'minge'

— Jon Mackenzie (@Jon_Mackenzie) June 11, 2019

From the perspective of international Christianity, the Church of England has always struck me as more progressive than most, so this absurdist statement comes as a bit of a surprise to me:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/sex-married-heterosexual-couples-church-of-england-christians

Great opening post itt.

C of E is a complicated creature but are they fuck "progressive"