Lay Anglicana Blog - Archbishop Of Canterbury

Category - "Archbishop of Canterbury":

29th September 2012

Candidates for Cantuar: Geraldine Grainger

‘Calm down dears‘ says the official spokesman for the Church of England (Please try not to be so patronising, if you don’t want another Peasants’ Revolt on your hands). It seems that we have neglected to take the elementary precaution like the Vatican of locking our Cantuar selectors in a room, and feeding them on a diet of gruel and water, until they come to a conclusion. The British weekend, unbelievably, takes precedence. Just as well the decision is not urgent or important, then. Perhaps their rules of life derive from those who fought Asterix the Gaul, but those Britons only stopped for tea.

Of course, it could be a sign from above that the Almighty thinks the list of possible candidates contains several huge omissions. Geraldine Grainger became Vicar of Dibley in 1994. By now, she would have had 18 years (at least) service in the priesthood, and in any normal part of the Anglican Communion would have undoubtedly been raised to the episcopate by now.
Lest you think this is proof, if further proof were needed, that Lay Anglicana has finally lost her marbles, I am putting forward this idea at the suggestion of our New Zealand brethren, who have already secured enthusiastic assent from many in The Episcopal Church of North America. The Revd Bosco Peters invites us all to sign his petition:

The time has come to move from bearded and bushy to the “babe with a bob cut and a magnificent bosom”. Bring back joy and laughter to being a Christian – no no no no no no yes?!

Here is a link to Bosco’s blog post, ‘Failing to agree on Archbishop of Canterbury’

[UPDATE: in response to people’s angst, I have re-opened the online petition to The Crown Nominations Commission and Britain’s Prime Minister: That Geraldine Granger be appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by the Queen. SIGN UP – tell your friends]

p.s. this Southern-hemisphere blogger is a little surprised, in the present state of the Communion, at how many Anglicans still live on a flat earth. By “an announcement is expected during the autumn“, for those of us having moved on to accepting the world is round, for half the planet they mean “the Spring”! [Unless they are really going to drag it out…]

p.p.s. For those of you who can cope with the “F” word – they were secretly filming the meeting (as you know they do!)

There has been much talk on twitter about the need to select a candidate who shows true humility. This was in response to a post in turn from an Archdruid, no less. I invite you to inspect closely the photograph of the Revd Geraldine Grainger illustrating this piece, which seems to me to be the epitome of humility. ‘Who, me?’ she seems to call to us…

Of course, if we are really desperate – and I hear you object that the Vicar of Dibley was a fictional character – we could always ask Dawn French to fill the post. Cyberspace is now full of references to those made Archbishop of Canterbury without previously having been ordained.

Tags: Dawn French, The Revd Bosco Peters, Vicar of Dibley | Category: Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury

25th September 2012

Candidates for Cantuar: Tim Thornton

Bishop Timothy Martin Thornton is the most elusive bishop that I have so far attempted to describe.

His Wikipedia entry, which in the case of some bishops runs to 6 pages, runs instead to six lines:

Timothy Martin “Tim” Thornton (born 14 April 1957) is the current Bishop of Truro, having previously been the Bishop of Sherborne from 2001 to 2008. Thornton was educated at Devonport High School for Boys, the University of Southampton and King’s College London. Ordained in 1980, following priestly formation at St Stephen’s House, Oxford, he began his ministry with a curacy at Todmorden followed by a spell as Priest-in-charge at Walsden. He then became Bishop’s Chaplain to David Hope: successively in the Diocese of Wakefield and the Diocese of London. From 1994 until 1998 he was Principal of the North Thames Ministerial Training Course. His final post before his ordination to the episcopate was as the vicar of Kensington.

Very good. Seeking further information from his diocesan website a week ago, I found a link to a profile page, which I followed only to be greeted with a dreaded ‘404’ message (‘Page not found’ – if you follow the link now, it is still there). Nothing daunted, I then telephoned the diocesan office and asked to speak to someone who could perhaps send me a copy of the information on the page. Did the diocese have a press officer? The person on the switchboard assured me that someone would ring back but I was not altogether surprised when nothing happened. The website has a nice line in self-deprecation, at least when describing their bishop. If you search ‘Thornton’, you will get no illuminating results and when Bishop Tim joins some teenagers on an Outward Bound-type course, he is described as ‘tagging along‘ (somehow I cannot imagine the Bishop of London being described as ‘tagging along’ to anything) which he gamely did, despite admitting to having no head for heights.

Bishop Tim is chairman of the national Continuing Ministerial Development Panel, which would indicate that he does have some experience of the Church of England at a national level.

The Crockford’s entry reads as follows:

+THORNTON, The Rt Revd Timothy Martin. b 57. Southn Univ BA78 K Coll Lon MA97. St Steph Ho Ox 78. d 80 p 81 c01. C Todmorden Wakef 80-82; P-in-c Walsden 82-85; Lect Univ of Wales (Cardiff) Llan 85-87; Chapl 85-86; Sen Chapl 86-87; Bp’s Chapl Wakef 87-91; Dir of Ords 88-91; Bp’s Chapl Lon 91-94; Dep P in O 92-01; Prin NTMTC 94-98; V Kensington St Mary Abbots w St Geo Lon 98-01; AD Kensington 00-01; Area Bp Sherborne Sarum 01-08; Bp Truro from 08.

Publications

I have not been able to find any. There is just one YouTube clip, but don’t blink or you will miss it (less than 5 seconds)

Attitude to Same-Sex Marriage

Bishop Tim wrote in December 2010 in The Daily Telegraph:

There is a difference between marriage and what are at the moment called civil partnerships. We need to be honest about that.
From my faith perspective and background, marriage is about the relationship between a man and a woman who commit themselves to a lifelong faithful partnership out of which in many cases, but not all, can come the gift of children.
That is a different thing from a civil partnership.
Speaking as the chairman of the Children’s Society, I don’t have any problem in understanding that civil partnerships can be places where children are adopted and they have very good relationships. I know of such couples who are very good parents. I don’t have a problem with that.
Speaking as a bishop, I do not myself see that at this stage it would be right for us to be making a significant change.

Colin Coward of ‘Changing Attitude’ commented on this article:

Even younger and supposedly more alert bishops like Tim Thornton, recently moved from Sherborne to Truro, can write an article about civil partnerships and marriage for the Daily Telegraph which is defensive and badly argued. He talks about the blessing of ‘homosexual practice, to put it in crude terms’ which is, from Changing Attitude’s perspective, to put it in very crude terms indeed, Tim.
Bishop Tim thinks the most significant thing is the danger of a confusion between different things, marriage and civil partnerships, which, “if we open ourselves up to blurring that difference … would be unhelpful for all concerned.” This is a problem for a minority, for bishops who spinelessly toe the line and other Christians who still think gay relationships are unlike heterosexual relationships.

Churchmanship

Bishop Tim was one of the very few bishops actually to vote against the Anglican Covenant, in November 2011, which would have needed a degree of moral courage and shows a principled stand.

He also voted at General Synod in favour of adjourning the debate to enable reconsideration of amendment 5.1.c, the position generally taken by those in favour of women bishops.

Is it reasonable to infer that Bishop Tim is an Anglo-Catholic from his chairmanship of the English Anglican-Roman Catholic Committee, together with the RC Archbishop of Birmingham, announced in March this year?

English ARC, which was established in 1974, now comprises ten Roman Catholic and ten Anglican members, with the General Secretary of Churches Together in England as an observer. It is chaired by the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Revd Bernard Longley, and the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton.

The Archbishop of Birmingham said, ‘I look forward to working with the members of English ARC to find new paths towards the unity for which Our Lord prayed.’

The Bishop of Truro said, ‘I am excited by the commitment of English ARC’s new members and the prospect of a programme of work which will make a difference to our churches and their common witness both nationally and at the local level’.

Conclusions

Edwardian books on etiquette advised that ladies should only appear in the press on three occasions in their life: birth, marriage and death. Although my experience might lead me to suppose that Bishop Tim is attempting to live his life according to the precepts of genteel Edwardian womanhood, I am drawn instead to a different and more interesting inference.

I think it is perhaps likely that Bishop Tim is a genuinely humble man. It may be that he takes seriously the various versions of: So the last shall be first, and the first last (Matthew 20.16).

Leap in the dark assessment

If the Crown Nominations Commission are looking for a Servant King, Bishop Tim Thornton could be their man.

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The illustration is from the BBC (the Wikipedia entry contains no picture of Bishop Tim). Google images show that there are not many photographs in the public domain and those that there are tend to be of low resolution. The one I have used is a thumbnail, which I have magnified three times before inserting in this blog post.

Tags: Bishop of Truro, Bishop Tim Thornton, Candidate for Archbishop of Canterbury | Category: Archbishop of Canterbury

24th September 2012

Rules for Lacrosse Double Up As Instructions for Next Cantuar: Ernie Feasey

According to the official website for Lacrosse as it is played in England:

Lacrosse has a history that spans centuries and is rooted in Native American religion. It was often played to resolve conflicts, prepare for war, heal the sick, and develop strong, virile men. To Native Americans, lacrosse is still referred to as “The Creator’s Game.” Legend tells of as many as 1,000 players per side, from the same or different tribes, who took turns engaging in a violent contest. Contestants played on a field from one to 15 miles in length, and games sometimes lasted for days. Some tribes used a single pole, tree or rock for a goal, while other tribes had two goal posts through which the ball had to pass. Balls were made out of wood, deerskin, baked clay or stone.

The Creator’s Game

This seems an appropriately elevated title for the game of being an archbishop. ‘Game’ in this context, of course, does not indicate a simple hand of whist, say, but the game theory beloved of experts. The description (played to resolve conflicts, prepare for war, heal the sick and develop strong, virile men) seems to cover pretty well what we currently expect of the Primate of All England. Although the original game was conducted on horseback, I see no reason why the next Cantuar should make a habit of this, although given the strife that ensues at most recent debates in the Anglican Communion, insisting that speakers only be ‘heard’ while mounted would at least ensure a quick, if undignified, exit.

It must be pointed out that, whereas the finest flower of British womanhood play this ‘contact’ game completely unarmed and with their womanly attributes protected only by a T-shirt, in other parts of the Anglican Communion (notably the USA) it is regarded as madness to enter the fray without full body armour: what we stiff-upper lip Brits call a ‘contact game’ is more accurately described on the other side of the Atlantic as a collision sport, with the concomitant degree of injury. British school girls are not ‘injured’ on the lacrosse field, merely inconvenienced by the odd (?mis-directed) thwack. Similarities with the Anglican Communion are too obvious to need pointing out: although both are under the impression that they are playing the same game, local variations in fact make the rules of the game played in one Province almost unrecognisable in another.

Job Description suggested by the Crown Nominations Commission (I paraphrase:)

1. Diocesan in Canterbury (duties of diocesan normally devolved to Bishop of Dover).

2. Metropolitan of the 30 dioceses of the province of Canterbury.

3. Primate of All England – Chaplain to the Nation.

4. Focus of the Anglican Communion (first among equals), Convener of the Lambeth Conference.

5. International Spiritual Leader (together with the Pope and Ecumenical Patriarch representing Christianity).

6. National and International Ecumenical Role.

7. Take a lead among leaders of other faiths, nationally and internationally.

The Rules of Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a contact game played by ten players: a goalkeeper, three defence men, three mid fielders and three attack men. The object of the game is to shoot the ball into the opponent’s goal. The team scoring the most goals wins.

The Archbishop is part of a team of bishops who play the game of running the church on behalf of God and the Queen. The prime objective is to preserve the status quo. His team generally plays defensively in all matters, and only goes on the offensive in matters of gender and sexuality. There are both defence men and attack men amongst the bishops but all play the game according to the Church’s interpretation of the rules.

The Archbishop normally plays the game for about 10, 15 or 20 years (variable) with an end time of 70 years. The game is divided into 5-year quarters, when the Archbishop convenes the Lambeth Conference to mark half-time. Quarters have periods, of indeterminate length, but everything stops for a crisis. Such crises have included, either in reality, or in the planning department at Church House, the following:

The Pope parking his tanks on the Lawn of Lambeth Palace.
Women forgetting subservience and expecting to play the game alongside men.
Gays asking for equality and disturbing the consciences of players.
The Church Commissioners investing unwisely, putting clergy pensions in jeopardy.
A Royal Wedding or other major public event, preventing normal play.
An ethical public protest and attempt to occupy sacred ground, disturbing the business of money-making in cathedrals.
An article written by the Archbishop creating public uproar.

The Archbishop may blow the whistle at any point, according to conscience or whim. He and his team then change sides. Time-outs for consultation are permitted, after which the status quo is maintained, unless the Archbishop wishes the status quo to be amended, in which case it is amended.

The Archbishop may run with the metaphorical ball in his metaphorical stick or ‘crosse‘ as it is called. The intention is to keep the ball in play, pass to one another and to continually defend the status quo without of course dropping the ball. It is in this sense that it is a team game. Fouls are rare, in that it is almost always acceptable for the player to plead unintentional injury to the other player. Part of the gamesmanship lies in pushing at the boundaries of what is acceptable to each umpire. Of course, it may be advantageous at times to cry ‘Foul’ in order to disqualify a player on the opposing team.

The expression ‘moving the goal posts’ makes little sense in the context of lacrosse, since the lacrosse field has no boundaries and nothing is therefore out of bounds.

So there we have it. Lacrosse for the Archbishop of Canterbury.

“The Brave Do Not Live Forever, But The Cautious Do Not Live At All’ (Richard Branson)

Tags: Cantuar Job description: rules of lacrosse | Category: Archbishop of Canterbury

17th September 2012

Candidates for Cantuar: Stephen Cottrell

It is very hard to dislike someone who introduces himself as ‘a bit of an oik from Essex’, as Bishop Stephen does in this 2011 address to Sheffield diocese. And I defy you to dislike Bishop Stephen Cottrell. Dare I insist that you listen to the first 9.55 minutes of this 47.55 minute video? You will not regret it. It is masterly, both as a memorable sermon in the truest meaning of the word and as an example of showmanship, the orator’s art of slowly drawing the audience in. And then please listen to the rest of it as well.

I have never met Bishop Stephen, but I too have been drawn in to the group of his followers. I became hooked one August, when researching a ‘thought for the day‘ for a service of Matins which I was due to take. I came across Bishop Stephen’s ‘Do Nothing to Change Your Life: Discovering What Happens When You Stop‘. I was entranced. Realising that I needed to quote a large chunk of it for full effect, I thought I had better ask the bishop whether he minded. So I, the smallest of small fry, emailed the Bishop of Reading, as he then was. I don’t know what I expected – a standard reply from a minion perhaps – but instead I had the most charming personal reply from Bishop Stephen himself, wishing me (I don’t think he used the word ‘luck’) as a lay worship leader.

Bishop Stephen has his own website, though I don’t think he has yet been persuaded to blog or twitter. His Wikipedia page is here.

Background

Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell, born 31 August 1958, in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, was educated at Belfairs High School and the Polytechnic of Central London. After studying at St Stephen’s House, Oxford he was ordained in 1985. He is married to Rebecca, and they have three teenage children.

Career

The Crockford’s entry reads as follows:

+COTTRELL, The Rt Revd Stephen Geoffrey. b 58. Poly Cen Lon BA79. St Steph Ho Ox 81. d 84 p 85 c 04. C Forest Hill Ch Ch S’wark 84-88; P-in-c Parklands St Wilfrid CD Chich 88-93; Asst Dir Past Studies Chich Th Coll 88-93; Dioc Missr Wakef 93-98; Bp’s Chapl for Evang 93-98; Springboard Missr and Consultant in Evang 98-01; Can Res Pet Cathl 01-04; Area Bp Reading Ox 04-10; Bp Chelmsf from 10

He was nominated Bishop of Reading in 2004, after the Jeffrey John affair. Cottrell had been a supporter of Jeffrey John’s original appointment. He said of his nomination:

I am looking forward to becoming the next Bishop of Reading with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.I believe my work in mission and evangelism has prepared me well for the challenges facing the church in this new century.I hope and pray that my love for and understanding of the different traditions of the Church of England will enable me to be a focus for unity in the Reading Episcopal area.

Bishop Stephen has been Bishop of Chelmsford since 7 October 2010.