Letter to the Editor: The Murder of Sir David Amess
Murder of Sir David Amess Dear Editor, I grieve at the loss of a friend and former Party colleague Sir David Amess, MP who was murdered in an increasingly dangerous world. In the 70s I worked with David in the Young Conservatives before he became an MP and he was...
466th Anniversary of the Martyrdoms of Latimer & Ridley
466th Anniversary of the Martyrdoms of Latimer & Ridley Saturday, 16 October marked the 466th anniversary of the martyrdoms of Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley. They were burned at the stake after being found guilty of heresy due to their refusal to...
Clergy & Ordinands Subscribing to the English Churchman Get Free Book
Clergy & Ordinands Subscribing to the English Churchman Get Free Book Any serving clergyman or theological student in training within the UK will receive a free copy of JC Ryle’s, Knots Untied when they subscribe to the English Churchman newspaper. The Banner of...
Plaque Commemorating the Martyrdom of William Bamford Unveiled
Plaque Commemorating Martyrdom of William Bamford Unveiled By Stephen Toms A plaque has been erected to the memory of William Bamford in the town of Harwich, where he was burned for his Protestant faith on 15th June, 1555. William Bamford, sometimes called William...
Diocese of Leicester Votes for Minsters
Diocese of Leicester Votes for Minsters By a vote of 72% in favour to 28% against, the Synod of Diocese of Leicester voted to implement a new framework for diocesan ministry. According to the Diocesan summary of the plan, the intention is to organise into 20-25...
Federation of Independent Evangelical Churches Schedule 2021 Conferences
Federation of Independent Evangelical Churches Schedule 2021 Conferences The Federation of Independent Evangelical Churches in the UK has released its schedule for their 2021 Conferences. In total, there will be five conferences held around the UK. The first will be...
Street Preachers Win Permission to Appeal Over Police Arrests
Street Preachers Win Permission to Appeal Over Police Arrests Mike Overd, Don Kams, Mike Stockwell, and AJ Clarke, street preachers in Bristol, have won the right to appeal their cases. Overd’s original case goes back to July 2016. The four had been preaching in the...
Sir David Amess Assassinated
Sir David Amess Assassinated Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West, Essex was assassinated by a 25 year old British man of Somali background whilst holding a constituency surgery in the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, 15 October. A knife was used in...
Just When You Thought You’d Heard Everything: The apostle Paul Welcomes the News that Peter Has Returned to the Judaisers
Just When You Thought You’d Heard Everything … (Editor’s Note: Please put down your tea and swallow your biscuit before reading.) Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles, has today welcomed the news that his fellow-apostle Peter has taken a new path in his...
Letter to the Editor: Assisted Suicide
Letter to the Editor Assisted Suicide Dear Sir, One of the main arguments in favour of the abolition of the death penalty fifty or sixty years ago was that occasionally an innocent person would be killed. If parliament votes to allow assisted suicide then the only...
Letter to the Editor: Should I Stay or Should I Go–Another View
Letter to the Editor Should I Stay, or Should I Go - Another View? The Revd Dr Mark Pickles makes some pertinent points in the E.C. (Numbers: 8088 & 8089) Dr Pickles main argument is to stay on and fight in the CofE. Is he really saying the 2000 remarkable men of...
Sanlon’s Response to Turner’s Letter
Sanlon’s Response to Turner’s Letter Dear Mr Turner, Thank you for engaging with my article on Common Grace. You are correct that neither the 39 Articles nor Westminster Confession use the phrase. When the Westminster Divines met they were aware of the term - the...
Letter to the Editor: Objection to Sanlon’s Column
Objection to Sanlon’s Column Dear Editor, I write this letter because I have objections to the article “ Common Grace” by Revd Dr Peter Sanlon. Revd Dr Peter Sanlon has confused common grace with the providence of God. Some would say my civilised neighbour is common...
Pilgrim’s Process: Pilgrim’s Need the Light of God’s Word, Sanlon
Pilgrim’s Process by Peter Sanlon Pilgrim’s Need the Light of God’s Word As pilgrims travelling through a dark world, we need the light of God's Word (Ps.119:105). Despite knowing this we often struggle to regularly read the Bible. Many of God's people feel guilty...
Church Broadcasts Worship on Community Radio
Church Broadcasts Worship on Community Radio By the Diocese of Leicester The churches of St Peter’s and St Philip’s in Highfields and Evington in Leicester began livestreaming services on Facebook and YouTube from the start of the first lockdown last year. In May 2020...
Save Our Parsonages Campaign Joins Forces with the Prayer Book Society
SAVE OUR PARSONAGES CAMPAIGN JOINS FORCES WITH THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY _______ Their joint campaign is to retain, use and value historic rectories and the Book of Common Prayer By Tim Stanley Save Our Parsonages (SOP), established in 1995 to encourage the Church of...
Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Report on 68th School of Theology
Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Report 68th School in Theology By E. Trevor Kirkland The 68th School in Theology gathered in Carronvale House, Larbert, after the hiatus of the previous year. The chief aim of the School is a combination of instruction and...
Book Review: Historical Dictionary of the Baptists
Historical Dictionary of the Baptists (3rd Edition) William Brackney Rowman and Littlefield, 2021 (ISBN: 978-1538122518, 691pp, £130) The series of Historical Dictionaries from this publisher is extensive and growing, ranging from Italian cinema to Arab and Islamic...
Westminster Conference 2021 Dates Set
Westminster Conference 2021 Dates Set The Westminster Conference for Theological and Historical Study is scheduled for 6-7 December (Monday and Tuesday) in London at Regent Hall (The Salvation Army) on Oxford Street. The Conference Secretary asks people to book...
Pickles: Should I Stay or Should I Go, Gospel-Driven Anglicanism
Gospel-Driven Anglicanism Should I Stay or Should I Go? Part 3 By the Revd Dr Mark Pickles We read with the benefit of hindsight. Jeremiah’s message was proved to be true. God’s judgement did come upon the nation, those who preached a different message were shown to...
Prudence Dailey Commentary: The Church Needs to Stop Obsessing Over Climate Change
Prudence Dailey’s Commentary The Church Needs to Stop Obsessing Over Climate Change The philosopher Thomas Hobbes famously described the life of mankind in his natural state as ‘nasty, brutish, and short’. And so it was, for most of human history, for the great...
Archbishop of Armagh’s Address to General Synod of the Church of Ireland
Archbishop of Armagh’s Address to General Synod of Church of Ireland In his Presidential address to the Church of Ireland’s General Synod, meeting for a second time online, the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd John McDowell covered a wide range of subjects. The...
Songs of Praise Marks Sixty Years On-Air: Queen Sends Congratulations
Songs of Praise Marks Sixty Years On-Air Queen Sends Congratulations Songs of Praise, the BBC One television show which began in 1961, marked a milestone by completing sixty years of broadcasting over the weekend. In a pre-recorded video message, Her Majesty Queen...
Heidi Crowter: I Feel Discriminated Against
Heidi Crowter “I Feel Discriminated Against” Twenty-six year old Heidi Crowter lost her bid to stop abortions for babies with Down’s Syndrome in a court ruling on 23 September. Ms Crowter, who has Down’s Syndrome, launched the legal bid to stop the practice earlier...
Bishop of St Albans Responds to Public Health England Review on Gambling-Related Harm
Bishop of St Albans Responds to Public Health England Review on Gambling-Related Harm The Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, has spoken about the need to address the UK’s continuing regional health inequalities and level up via reform, following the...
Being Clearly and Positively Anglican Part 2
Anglican Futures on Being Clearly and Positively Anglican In the first post in this series, we thought about what it will mean for us to be faithful to the biblical gospel and biblical priorities for church life as they find expression within authentic Anglicanism....
Pilgrim’s Process, Promises, Revd Dr Peter Sanlon
Pilgrim’s Process By Peter Sanlon Promises At every step of our pilgrimage we depend on God. Peter stumbled at many points in his walk with the Lord, but came in due course to see that ‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.’ (2...
Banner of Truth Conference Dates Set
Banner of Truth Conference Dates Set The next Banner of Truth Conference will be held on 6 and 7 November at the Church of Scotland Chapel in Carlisle. The theme of the two day event is, The Glorious Body of Christ. Speakers to address the gathering are: Spencer...
Gospel-Driven Anglicanism: Should I Stay or Should I Go, Part 2
Gospel-Driven Anglicanism “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Part 2 By Revd Dr Mark Pickles The mark of the hired hand is flight, the mark of the Under Shepherd following THE Good Shepherd is to give his life (in sacrificial service, not of course in redemptive...
Climate Change, COP26, and Limits of Episcopal Authority
Editorial Climate Change, COP26, and Limits of Episcopal Authority In February of 2021, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, was appointed to additional duties within the Church of England. At the invitation of both archbishops, Bishop Usher took on the...
Church of England Governance Reform Planned
Church of England Governance Reform Planned A plan, shaped by discussions of focus groups on how to reform the governance structures of the Church of England, is being mooted. If approved by the General Synod, it would be the first major change since 1995. In a public...
Scottish Episcopal Church in Dire Straits over Aberdeen & Orkney
Scottish Episcopal Church in Dire Straits over Aberdeen and Orkney The Scottish Episcopal Church appears to be in dire straits regarding the ongoing saga in the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney. Anne Dyer was appointed bishop after the diocese failed to elect a...
Statement from the Scottish Episcopal Church College of Bishops Regarding Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney
Statement from the Scottish Episcopal Church College of Bishops Regarding Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney The publication today of the Torrance Report comes after a period of difficult and lengthy consideration by the College of Bishops. In publishing the report, the...
Archbishop of Armagh Finally Enthroned After 18 Month Wait
Archbishop of Armagh Finally Enthroned after Eighteen Month Wait On the evening of 14 September, The Most Revd John McDowell, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland was finally enthroned at St Patrick’s Cathedral on the Hill of Armagh. The service had been...
Church of England in Lancashire Has Key Role in G7 Summit
CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN LANCASHIRE HAS KEY ROLE AT G7 SUMMIT By Ronnie Semley The Diocesan Bishop for The Church of England in Lancashire, Rt Revd Julian Henderson, praised The Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon. Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, for his success in bringing the...
Northern Ireland Ministry Assembly Announces November Meeting
Northern Ireland Ministry Assembly Announces November Meeting The Northern Ireland Ministry Assembly will take place on Monday and Tuesday, 8 and 9 November at Maze Presbyterian Church in Lisburn. The General Epistle of James will be the topic of this year’s...
Lord Carey Joins in Support of Assisted Dying
Lord Carey Joins with others in Support of Assisted Dying Lord Carey has joined with former Archbishop of South Africa, Desmond Tutu, Canon Rosie Harper in support of assisted dying. He seems to have taken the position that it is justified because of a shift in...
BMA Adopts Neutral Stance on Assisted Dying
British Medical Association Adopts Neutral Stance on Assisted Dying The British Medical Association has adopted a neutral stance on assisted dying. The change was made in an announcement to the media and is found on the www.bma.org.uk website. Two former...
Rowan Williams Writes the British Medical Journal About Assisted Dying
Rowan Williams Writes the British Medical Journal About Assisted Dying It is rare that this publication finds itself in agreement with Baron Williams of Oystermouth, former Archbishop of Canterbury. However, his Letter to the Editor of the British Medical Journal...
Letter to the Editor: Welcome the Afghani Refugees but Know the Problems
Welcome the Afghani Refugees But Know the Problems Dear Sir, There is widespread sympathy for resettling Afghans into Britain fleeing from tyranny and persecution and I am supportive of it. Many of them are Muslims and will have every facility to follow their...
Free Presbyterians Protest COP26 Visit of Pope Francis
Free Presbyterians Protest COP26 visit of Pope Francis The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland has sent a protest to the First Minister urging her to resist political and diplomatic ties with the Pope, ahead of the COP26 summit of world leaders in Glasgow in...
Pilgrim’s Process: Common Grace by Peter Sanlon
Pilgrim’s Process By Peter Sanlon Common Grace Loving God is so important for satisfaction and joy in life, that it is easy to mistakenly think only spiritual concerns are important in life. There are many ways for this error to arise: We can think the only truly...
Anglican Futures: Knitted Together In Love
Anglican Futures "Knitted together in love" - Should Christian Communities be 'Thicker'? The terms 'thick' and 'thin' have been used by sociologists and political scientists to describe cultures for decades. Thick cultures are socio-centric; they tend to be...
Editorial: The Departure of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet
The Departure of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet The Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Rt Revd Jonathan Goodall has decided to leave the Church of England and become a member of the Roman Catholic Church. For eight years he has been the Provincial Episcopal Visitor for the Province of...
Former Bouncer Becomes Boys’ Brigade President
Former Bouncer Becomes Bew Boys’ Brigade President The Boys’ Brigade UK and RoI has elected Rev Dez Johnston to the role of President. The uniformed youth organisation provides opportunities for children and young people to learn, grow and discover in a safe, fun...
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Gospel-Driven Anglicanism
Gospel-Driven Anglicanism Should I Stay or Should I Go? Part 1 By Revd Dr Mark Pickles One of the most vital and pressing question for those in a doctrinally mixed denomination is, “At what point, if any ought we to leave the denomination”? Is there a non-negotiable,...
Save the Parish Campaign Update
Save the Parish Campaign Update The Save the Parish Campaign is still hoping to find members of the laity and clergy to stand for General Synod. They are looking to find laity candidates for the Dioceses of Bristol, Canterbury, Carlisle, Durham, Exeter, Hereford,...
Prudence Dailey Commentary: Putting the Cart Before the Horse on Sexuality Issues
Prudence Dailey Commentary Putting the Cart Before the Horse on Sexuality Issues Only a recently arrived visitor from Mars could be unaware of the long-running debate raging within and around the Church concerning matters of human sexuality, pitting the Church’s...
Bishop of Down & Dromore Calls for Season of Renewal
Bishop of Down & Dromore Calls for a “Season of Renewal” Calling for a “Season of Renewal”, The Rt Revd David McClay, Bishop of Down & Dromore in the Church of Ireland, wrote to his diocese on 5 September. “We are living in days when society around us...
Bishop of Ebbsfleet Swims the Tiber
Bishop of Ebbsfleet Goes to Rome The Anglo-Catholic Provincial Episcopal Visitor (PEV) for the Province of Canterbury, the Rt Revd Jonathan Goodall, has announced his resignation and intention of entering into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. In a...
UK Government Announces Plans for Afghan Relocation & Assistance
UK Government Announces Plans for Afghan Relocation & Assistance The UK government has announced its plans for assisting people who were evacuated from Afghanistan. According to the official government website: “There are two separate schemes designed to help...
Gospel-Driven Anglicanism, Baptism: Part 3 by Mark Pickles
Gospel-Driven Anglicanism Part 3 By Dr Mark Pickles We pick up where Dr Pickles left off last time in his explanation of infant baptism. He had just quoted from the late RC Sproul’s question: “Isn’t it strange that this departure and deviation from the purity of the...
Tentmaker Publications to Close
Tentmaker Publications to Close The closure has been announced of the book printer and publisher, Tentmaker Publications. Founded in the late 1980s when Phil and Joy Roberts were church planting in the Republic of Ireland, it became a pioneer in the field of desktop...
Christian Medical Fellowship Welcomes Debate on Proposed Changes to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Law
Christian Medical Fellowship Welcomes Debate on Proposed Changes to Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide Law The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) has welcomed the decision of the British Medical Association (BMA) to debate the significant problems associated with...
Anglican Futures: General Synod, Will My Voice Be Heard?
Anglican Futures General Synod: Will My Voice be Effective? In September 2021, after a delay of a year due to the pandemic, there will be a national election for the General Synod of the Church of England. To encourage people to get involved, the Church has launched...
Upcoming AGMs and Conferences
Upcoming AGMs and Conferences 31 August—Junior Anglican Evangelical Conference (JAEC) Northampton, King’s Park Conference Centre, Northampton 1 September—Church Society AGM, King’s Park Conference Centre, Northampton 9 September—Intercontinental...
Editorial: Organising Suggestions for Members of the Next General Synod
Editorial Organising Suggestions for Members of the Next General Synod Since the elections for the next General Synod are rapidly closing in upon us, we offer a few ideas for special interest groups for the new members to throw their support behind to make this the...
Lord Carey Supports Save the Parish Campaign
Lord Carey Supports the Save the Parish Campaign Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, has thrown his support behind the Save the Parish campaign. In an op-ed piece in the Telegraph he set forth a clear argument for increasing support for the traditional means...
Archbishop Welby’s Address to the Lords Regarding Afghanistan
Archbishop Welby’s Address to the House of Lords Regarding Afghanistan On 19 August, the Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury addressed the House of Lords regarding the situation in Afghanistan. Welby said, "I look forward today...
Economic and Social Impact of Cathedrals
The Economic and Social Impact of England’s Cathedrals In a report for the Association of English Cathedrals, ECORYS, an 80 year old research firm based in the UK, found that Church of England Cathedrals have a major economic impact on the nation. The report’s...
Silence on Pro-Life Issues, Letters
Silence on Pro-Life Issues Dear Sir, What is blatantly obvious in twenty- first century worship is that most churches are silent on pro-life issues to the point it is a taboo subject for a variety of puerile excuses. Many Christians prefer to avoid the subject as a...
Salisbury Reformed Seminary Graduates First Students
Salisbury Reformed Seminary Graduates First Students Salisbury Reformed Seminary held its first graduation ceremony on 3 July. Kevin Armstrong and Alex Clarke are the first two to complete the three year course of study. The seminary is located in Cardiff and started...
Trinitarian Bible Society Announces 2021 AGM Info
Trinitarian Bible Society Announces 2021 AGM Info God willing, the 190th Annual General Meeting of the Trinitarian Bible Society has been scheduled to be held Saturday, 18 September 2021 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London. The Business Meeting starts at 11:00 and...
EC Interviews Arlene Foster, MLA
EC Interviews Arlene Foster The Rt Hon Arlene Foster is one of those rare people in public life that in her home patch is known by one name. In Northern Ireland, her first name suffices. There are other women with the same name but there’s only one, Arlene. She has...
Judge Julia Newton Rules “No Case to Answer”
Christian Concern Judge Julia Newton Rules “No Case to Answer” On 9 August, Christian Concern announced the news of a verdict in a major free speech case before UK courts. District Judge Julia Newton was the presiding judge. “The first Christian woman to face...
Statute of Limitations Proposed for Legacy of Troubles
Statute of Limitations Proposed for Legacy of the Troubles During the Prime Minister’s Question time on 15 July, PM Johnson announced that the government would be bringing forth a statute of limitations in regard to occurencess committed before the Good Friday...
Church of England Considering Legislation Regarding Parishes Seeking Input on Proposals
Church of England Considering Legislation Regarding Parishes Seeking Input on Proposals Input has been requested on the proposals to change the current legislation regarding parishes within the Church of England. The review of the Mission and Pastoral Measure...
Church of England Evangelical Council Reacts to Unorthodox Remarks by Bp of Liverpool
Church of England Evangelical Council Reacts to Unorthodox Remarks by Bishop of Liverpool The Church of England Evangelical Council has responded to a widely criticised public address and subsequent apology made last month by the Rt Revd Paul Bayes, Bishop of...
Questions Out of LFF, Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir, I read the first article from Anglican Futures, regarding the document, Living In Love and Faith, [LLF] EC 8083. I found the article helpful, well presented and gives a clear overview of the document. However, I found myself seriously disquieted and I raise...
Pilgrim’s Proces: Baptism Depths of Meaning by Peter Sanlon
In my last column we looked at the Lord’s Supper. Today, we take a look at the other sign our Lord Jesus instituted among us. These signs, or sacraments, which God gives his people are both simple and profound. In their simplicity, God's grace is powerfully...
School Required 4 yr Old Participation in Gay Pride Parade
Christian Concern has announced that the Christian Legal Centre is supporting a Christian mother whose four-year-old son was required to take part in a school’s gay pride parade against her will is to have her legal case heard in court this week. In June 2018, Mrs...
Pilgrim’s Process: Spiritual Nourishment Needed by Peter Sanlon
We all need food to energise us for daily life. We all need food to energise us for our journey to heaven. There is something relationally encouraging and engaging about sharing a meal with a friend or family member. This is why the early church often ate together,...
Whistleblow & the Sheep-Guarders, A Parable
Whistleblow and the Sheep-Guarders: A Parable By Jon Kuhrt Once upon a time in the town of Northrun, there was a shepherd called Whistleblow. He was one of many shepherds who worked for Lord Northrun who owned most of the land in the area. Each shepherd had their own...
Interview with Tim Farron
EDITOR’s NOTE: Over the next few editions of the English Churchman, we will feature interviews with a number of people in public life who are professing and practicing Christians. You will read views with which you disagree. Likewise, you will read views with which...
Ad Campaign for General Synod Candidates
Ad Campaign for General Synod Candidates The Church of England has launched an ad campaign to encourage people to stand for election to the General Synod. It is the first such effort. A 90-second film, a short explanatory animation, and a dedicated webpage have been...
Methodist Church in Britain Embraces the Spirit of the Age
Methodist Church in Britain Embraces the Spirit of the Age The Methodist Church in Britain has embraced the Spirit of the Age. Twenty-nine out of thirty Methodist Synods in Britain voted to approve same-sex marriage at the Methodist Conference held in Birmingham on...
PBS To Maximise Digital Platforms
PLANS TO MAXIMISE USE OF NEW DIGITAL PLATFORMS ARE UNVEILED BY THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY The continuity and longevity of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer – originally compiled by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and still used by churches across the country – is assured, thanks...
PBS Gets Its First Corporate Member in Wales
PBS Gets First Corporate Member in Wales The church of St Paul’s in Craig y Don near Llandudno in North Wales is the first in the Principality to join the Prayer Book Society (PBS) as a corporate member. It will add the service for Holy Communion from the Church of...
Protestant Reformation Society Conference 2021 Postponed
Protestant Reformation Society 2021 Conference Postponed The Executive Committee of the Protestant Reformation Society has postponed the scheduled 2021 conference. This makes the second year in a row that the conference has not been able to be held due to the...
Trent College Fails to Comply with Court Directive
Trent College Fails to Comply with Court Directive in Fired Chaplain Case Legal counsel for Trent College has failed to comply with directive of the East Midlands Employment Tribunal in regard to the case of fired Chaplain, The Revd Dr Bernard Randall. Judge Heap has...
Presbyterian Church in Ireland Minister Resigns
Presbyterian Church in Ireland Clergyman Resigns Does Not Agree with Denomination’s Stance on Same-Sex Relationships The Revd Ian Carton, of Whitehead Presbyterian Church (PCI) in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland has announced his resignation. It is thought to be that he...
Life Beyond Covid: A Renewed Hope
National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast Goes Local “Life Beyond Covid: A Renewed Hope” Churches are using this year’s National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast (NPPB) as a chance to host constituency breakfasts with their MPs across the country Friday, 25 June. Once...
Sex Matters Wins on Appeal
Sex Matters Wins on Appeal Gender-Critical Beliefs are Worthy of Respect in a Democratic Society In a landmark judgment handed down at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London at 10:30 am, Mr Justice Choudhury overturned an earlier judgment of the Employment Tribunal,...
A House for Aasia Bibi: Barnabas Fund Raising Funds
The Barnabas Fund is raising monies to purchase a home for Aasia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who spent nearly eight years on death row in that country. “When I was in prison, I never imagined that one day I would be free. At the same time I had my hope in...
PSNI Investigating Four Alleged Hate Crimes
Four street preachers were reported to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for alleged hate crimes. Chief Inspector Barney O’Connor told the Belfast News Letter: “We have received four reports in relation to street preachers in the Banbridge area, which...
Hitchens Criticised for Re-Tweeting Prof. Ferguson
Peter Hitchens, renowned columnist for the Mail on Sunday, has gotten a lot of criticism for continuing to re-tweet a quote from Professor Neil Ferguson that appeared in The Times last Boxing Day. It is well worth your consideration. “Sage—had watched as China...
Former Presbyterian Elder Files Police Complaint
A long simmering dispute in the Presbyterian Church of Ireland has resulted in a former Ruling Elder filing an official complaint with the Gardai over having been removed from office after he entered a same-sex marriage. Mr Stephen Smyrl was a Ruling Elder at Christ...
Trueman: “Assisted Catechetical Suicide–Anglican Style”
The ever insightful and pithy, Revd Dr Carl Trueman, Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, had some thoughts on the recent instructions the Church of England issued regarding school assemblies. His full comment can be...
EC Interviews Bishop Josep Rossello
For a number of years, Anglican Christians in the UK and abroad have often heard of The Rt Revd Josep Rossello. Before moving to the UK, he was a successful church planting, missionary bishop in Brazil and Venezuela. Lately, he has been in the spotlight as he, his...
Norwich Pastor Cautioned by Police for Social Media Posts
Norwich Pastor Cautioned by Police for Social Media Posts Norwich Reformed Church Pastor, The Revd Alan Clifford, BA, MLitt, PhD, was cautioned by the Police after complaints were made about things he had posted on social media between February 2018 and June 2020. Dr...
“Conversion Therapy Ban”
“Conversion Therapy Ban” Dear Sir, The Conservative government is about to 'blunder', big time. There seems to be a lack of understanding of the meaning of the word 'conversion' as it applies to the experience of millions of Christians across the world, including...
Marriage Registration Changes
Marriage Registration Changes The Church of England issued the following statement regarding the changes made to marriage registration law. “It will also correct a historic anomaly to allow for the names of both parents of the couple to be included in the marriage...
Corrections & Clarifications
Corrections & Clarifications Two corrections and clarifications from recent editions of the English Churchman: 1.) The Global Anglican Journal was referred to as a magazine. Alas and alack, it is a journal and not a magazine. 2.) On page 3 of EC8079, Mr George Rae’s...
Free Church of England Congregation Leaves After Actions of Bishops
The Church Council & Trustees of Emmanuel Anglican Church (FCE), Tunbridge Wells have unanimously voted to leave the denomination after actions by Bishop Primus (Presiding Bishop) John Fenwick and Bishop Paul Hunt have gone unanswered. The parish was a recent...
FCE Primus Accused of Blackmail & Racism
Free Church of England Bishop Primus, The Rt Revd John Fenwick has been accused of attempted blackmail and racism in a growing public dispute within the denomination. The FCE left the Church of England in 1844 and linked with the Reformed Episcopal Church in the US...
Skrine Instituted as Rector of All Souls’
The Revd Charles Walter Douglas Skrine was instituted as Rector of All Souls’, Langham Place on Wednesday, 28 April. His predecessor was The Revd Hugh Palmer. Palmer had been rector of the parish since 2005 and Chaplain to HM The Queen since 2012. Skrine had been the...
Anglican Futures Asks the Question
Quantity or Quality? The question has been asked in the Anglican Futures blog dated 04/02/2021, ‘How many churches does the Church of England actually need (and where)?’ I want to argue the issue in the Church of England is less the number of churches and more the...
Prudence Dailey Commentary
The General Synod of the Church of England, at its most recent meeting (held via Zoom), debated among other things a motion on international religious freedom, affirming the importance of freedom of religion and belief, and recognising the duty of Christians to defend...
Bishop of Maidstone’s Pastoral Response to the Fletcher Report
Bishop of Maidstone, the Rt Revd Rod Thomas has released his pastoral response to the Thirtyone:8 Report regarding Jonathan Fletcher. The response was sent privately to the parishes under the bishop’s care and has since been made available for public dissemination. It...
Protestant Truth Society Expresses Outrage at Pastor Sherwood’s Arrest
Mr George Ray, the spokesman for PTS expressed outrage over the arrest of Pastor John Sherwood for engaging in public preaching in Uxbridge. “Christians throughout Britain have expressed outrage at the wrongful arrest of an elderly Christian minister in Uxbridge on...