Church of England

Life in all its fullness

Life in all its fullness

Changing Attitude England works in the context of an always evolving faith in God, ‘True God’ and in the essence of Jesus’ life and teaching. we will continue to pursue its vision of a God of unconditional, infinite, intimate love and of Jesus who says “I have come that you may have life, life in all its fullness” (John 10.10); of  the Archbishops’ commitment to “a radical new Christian inclusion”. The Church of England’s focus must be turned towards nurturing the essence of God’s unconditional, cosmic love in the hearts, bodies, minds and souls of all human beings. This is Jesus’ message, the truth of creation revealed in the Gospels, embodying a God of compassion, empathy, and unconditional Christian, universal love.

CEEC plot to impose an abusive, prejudiced, discriminatory, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic culture on the Church of England

CEEC plot to impose an abusive, prejudiced, discriminatory, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic culture on the Church of England

The Church is living through a period of great uncertainty as to whether the Jesus we worship and the God he reveals is a model for unhealthy, abusive teaching and practice or a creative, evolutionary model opening us to and drawing us into unconditional love.

How to be a Christian re-imaginer in an era of crisis

How to be a Christian re-imaginer in an era of crisis

A friend suggested that I am daring to believe and trying to articulate is that something unarticulated is lying out there which, when named, will generate a widespread response. To put it out there as I am gradually trying to do is an act of faith. Getting it out there in a way that attracts maximum attention is the only way to find out if the Spirit is moving in the way I and some of my friends think she should.

A Spiritual Health Check for the Church of England

A Spiritual Health Check for the Church of England

In a heart-felt blog for ViaMedia the Revd Dr Charlie Bell writes of “a sense of almost total, paralysing powerlessness amongst ordinary churchgoers and clergy” in the Church of England. He proposes that “As a church, we need to commit ourselves to undertaking a serious spiritual health check.” Yesterday’s blog attempted to set out in some detail what the landscape looks like to me. When and where is such a radical movement going to start? Going public is the only way such a movement to persuade the Church of England to undertake a serious spiritual health check stands a chance of achieving anything.

"I have come that you may have life, life in all its fulness"

"I have come that you may have life, life in all its fulness"

Unless spiritually and mentally and conceptually we are drawn towards and become immersed in an open-minded, open-souled, open-hearted, unconditionally loving presence, the dream of God will not come to be. People will reject Christianity and walk away from the Church. They will find healing and truth wherever men and women recklessly, generously pour ointment on feet, where tears and love flow and the broken hearted are healed.

Faith in England – the 2021 census

Faith in England – the 2021 census

Faith as held by those identifying with religious institutions is clearly in decline, but the majority still identify with “faith”, though the content of their faith may vary significantly from what has hitherto been accepted as ‘orthodox’. It is, I think, what people believe in or do not believe in that is changing. I sense the majority of members of the Church of England no longer have a deeply internalised sense of the unconditionally present, loving, physical, dynamic energy of the divine, intimately present “Other”, what is identified as the Spirit of God and the integration of the human and the divine in Jesus in Trinitarian theology.

Has Lambeth 2022 blown fear of change out of the water?

Has Lambeth 2022 blown fear of change out of the water?

Has this Lambeth Conference successfully achieved a breakthrough leading to a successful outcome for the Living in Love and Faith project and a transformation of the status of LGBTQIA+ people leading to our radical new Christian inclusion? The failure of all but two Church of England bishops to sign the letter supporting LGBTQIA+ people is deeply distressing for us and our allies. Many are understandably very angry and feel betrayed.

The abusive toxic culture produced by the evangelical doctrine of penal substitution

The abusive toxic culture produced by the evangelical doctrine of penal substitution

The Iwerne Trust produced many of the most prominent Evangelical Christian leaders, people associated with Reformed theology in the Church of England over the past 40 years. At the heart of the Iwerne philosophy was a brand of wholehearted, sacrificial, masculine Christianity maintained by a detailed programme of supervision. Its origins lie in the toxic culture created by the founder of the Iwerne network, Eric Nash. John Smyth’s regime of abuse continues to affect the culture of today’s Church of England. The powerful theology and culture of the movement is being leveraged in contemporary debates on gender and sexuality. It is abusive.

The necessity for radical LGBTIQ+ activism in the Church of England

The necessity for radical LGBTIQ+ activism in the Church of England

As I read an article in the Guardian yesterday about Kehinde Andrews, the UK’s first Black studies professor, I wondered what effect it would have, in the context of the Living in Love and Faith process, if I replaced all the references to black with LGBTIQ+. Here is a very abbreviated version of the article. What effect does this have on you?

False ideas in the church

False ideas in the church

The Church of England as an institution still looks okay on the surface. Congregations may age and decline and parishes are amalgamated as clergy numbers reduce (while the bishops add to their number) but worship and parish life and the central structures continue to function. But look inside and underneath and pay close attention to events at local, national and international levels and things are not looking good. At local, national and international levels the church is lacking - the church lacks leaders with courage, prophetic vision and wisdom. The church lacks the integrity and insight to tell the story of creation and evolution and human potential revealed in the Bible and Jesus (if you know where to look).