• Sermon – the parable of the sower

     

    The church is completely obsessed with one topic.

    Whenever you go to church meetings there is one thing that dominates everything and has done so for at least the last 15 or 20 years.

    We talk about it endlessly. Whether it is local regional chapters, diocesan synod, General Synod or even the meetings of the Anglican Communion such as the Lambeth Conference which gathers all the bishops of the communion together every 10 years, there is sure to be this one item on the agenda.

    Reports are written.

    Debates are had.

    Motions are passed.

    Decisions are made.

    All in relation to this topic which has seemed to dominate absolutely everything we do.

    People (by which I mean me) are bored to the back teeth of hearing about it and yet still we go over and over it all again at every meeting.

    Bishops and archbishops make statements about it. And our concern is matched by similar conversations in other denominations.

    Who would like to hazard a guess at what that topic is?

    Is it wonga?

    Is it assisted dying that Lord Carey has been highlighting rather unhelpfully this weekend?

    Is it sex in general and homosexuality in particular?

    Well, (more…)

2 responses to “Are bishops above the law?”

  1. chris Avatar

    So – when is someone going to challenge this in a court of law? We’re a few weeks behind you on the same road, here in A&TI.

  2. kelvin Avatar

    I’d like to think that everyone involved would prefer this to be sorted out outside the courts.

    It is unseemly for the bishops to be behaving in this way and I think that at least some of them know that. I also know that they know that behaving in an unseemly way is even worse than behaving illegally in our church.

    I think it is quite likely that our bishops know how foolish it would be to pursue a policy which would allow a situation to develop where bishops are reminded repeatedly during their episcopacy that their election was irregular.

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