LIKE a lot of people, I vaguely consider myself to be Anglican.
I don’t go to church regularly but the C of E is always there if I need it, providing comfort and support.
Which is why I, along with who knows how many other Anglicans who may not be active attenders but still regard the Church as their spiritual home, have been watching in increasing horror as it seems about to implode.
Right from the start Dr Rowan Williams has been an absolutely useless Archbishop of Canterbury, appearing more concerned with climate change than, to choose one example, how to deal with the spread of Islamic extremism.
But over the past month or so he has surpassed even himself. He has been sitting back, watching one extremely small minority in the form of the gay rights brigade, bring the Church to its knees. (The row over women bishops is another matter entirely.)
Will the Church split? Possibly, and at a time when many people will need it badly.
And events have come to a head. Last month an Anglican vicar, Dr Martin Dudley, “married” two gay vicars, the Rev Peter Cowell and the Rev Dr David Lord, in a service expressly forbidden by the Church. Dr Williams’s response was to express “very great concern”. That’ll have them quaking in their boots.
Shortly afterwards about 200 Anglican bishops, mainly but not wholly from Africa, attended the first Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem, which had been set up as an alternative to this month’s Lambeth conference. The reason they are breaking away is that they cannot accept the ordination of gay priests.
Nor can quite a few other people. As Lambeth approaches, three archbishops, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, the Archbishop of Uganda, Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney and Archbishop Greg Venables, the Primate of South America’s Southern Cone, have set up the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, again in protest at the ordination of gay priests, accusing the Anglican Church of being in “chaos”, with Dr Williams having lost any moral authority. They’re too right there.
Why is the Archbishop of Canterbury allowing this to happen? He has responded to the three archbishops by saying they should “think very carefully about the risks” of what they are doing without seeming to realise that a lot of careful thinking has already been done.
Will the Church split? Possibly, and at a time when many people will need it badly.
This is not about the rights and wrongs of homosexuality: it is about an archbishop who is allowing a tiny group of people, motivated by self-interest and a delight in taking centre stage, to destroy the Church.
Where, within what is left of the Anglican congregation, is the widespread call to ordain gay men? Not only does it not exist but most Anglicans don’t want it. So why not expel from the Church everyone who has anything to do with this farrago, thus not only uniting every bit of it but also sending out a message of strong moral leadership?
At this moment we need a strong archbishop as never before. On the one hand we’re terrified by the faltering economy; on the other by threats to our very way of life. Everything around us is uncertain and we need senior public figures to take the lead. Our politicians aren’t up to it and neither is Dr W, another of whose recent pronouncements was that western society should be prepared to accept sharia law.
If anything good comes out of all of this, it is that there are some Anglican leaders who are not prepared to accept the Church’s drift towards moral vacuity. And they’re needed. After September 11, church attendance soared when we all wanted spiritual sustenance. Does Dr Williams even know what that is?
NOT THE MAN
04.07.08, 4:36pm
About eighteen months ago, John Humphrys broadcast a series of Radio 4 programmes "in search of God."
He interviewed the Chief Rabbi and a Muslim scholar, both of whom gave a sound and intelligent appraisal of the reasons for their faith.
Then the Archbishop had his turn, rambling, muttering,apologising and basically telling us that the other religions are better than Christianity.
I have heard him described as a buffoon who perms his eyebrows.
That seems pretty accurate to me.
The C of E is finished,as are probably all the other mainstream British Christian churches, which are hardly any better led.
If thats what it takes let the Anglican church split with those that live in the 21st century in a changing world and those who want to l ive in the dark ages, they can believe what they like as long as they do not cause misery for others ,
Weman and homosexuals are fighting for their place in their church just as those to wish live by a way of life which has no comparison with modern times, are the ones hanging on to the past any better than those who wish to change with the times , the Christian church preaches love,apparently a conditional love or is it that some could be hiding their prejudice and bigotry behind religion,think what they like as long as they remember we all have human rights or is the church above the law and can discriminate?
Video 
NOT THE MAN
04.07.08, 4:36pm
About eighteen months ago, John Humphrys broadcast a series of Radio 4 programmes "in search of God."
He interviewed the Chief Rabbi and a Muslim scholar, both of whom gave a sound and intelligent appraisal of the reasons for their faith.
Then the Archbishop had his turn, rambling, muttering,apologising and basically telling us that the other religions are better than Christianity.
I have heard him described as a buffoon who perms his eyebrows.
That seems pretty accurate to me.
The C of E is finished,as are probably all the other mainstream British Christian churches, which are hardly any better led.
• Posted by: peterwest • Report Comment
WHY?
03.07.08, 6:39pm
If thats what it takes let the Anglican church split with those that live in the 21st century in a changing world and those who want to l ive in the dark ages, they can believe what they like as long as they do not cause misery for others ,
Weman and homosexuals are fighting for their place in their church just as those to wish live by a way of life which has no comparison with modern times, are the ones hanging on to the past any better than those who wish to change with the times , the Christian church preaches love,apparently a conditional love or is it that some could be hiding their prejudice and bigotry behind religion,think what they like as long as they remember we all have human rights or is the church above the law and can discriminate?
• Posted by: Maggie • Report Comment
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