12 December: CofE D-day or Dunkirk?

Evangelical eyes in the Church of England are on the date of 12 December, which is when the College of Bishops next meets to discuss human sexuality.

The gathering is the latest stage at the end of the process known as ‘Living in Love and Faith’ which has been running for some years. It could see a reassertion of orthodox morality – or a retreat from it.

Further discussions will be held in January which are likely to result in proposals of some sort being put to February’s General Synod.

Anglican evangelicals were furious after the Bishop of Oxford, Stephen Croft, said the Church of England should embrace same-sex marriage and allow clergy to marry a same-sex partner. A number of other bishops announced their support for that view.

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) said Croft’s stance ‘highlights the fundamental incompatibility that exists between the current teaching of the CofE and the position he (and others he might speak for) have come to adopt…’

It added that in the event of any change there should be ‘differentiation’ of ‘a structural nature’ which was ‘robust enough to secure the sustained flourishing of orthodoxy’.

However, evangelical bishops remained publicly silent. en contacted quite a few of them and not one was willing to speak on or off the record or publicly defend orthodoxy at this point in time.

A theologically-robust response to Bishop Croft was written by Vaughan Roberts, the Rector of St Ebbes, Oxford and widely disseminated online.

And the Oxford Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship stated: ‘We … appreciate [the Bishop of Oxford’s] recognition that a change in the Church’s position will require not only the protection of conscience of those who could not support this, but also a differentiation of ministry and oversight. There are those in the Diocese who have already felt the need for this, believing these matters to be first-order issues and, very sadly, as a result of this publication, that number is bound to increase.

It added: ‘We encourage our members to engage with this debate with the same spirit of grace that Bishop Steven has himself exhibited. We should always remember that this is not firstly a political issue but, above all, a deeply personal and pastoral one.’

Keeping Faith

• It is in this context that the CEEC has launched the ‘Keeping Faith’ initiative to help equip and resource evangelicals across the country to contend for the reaffirmation of current teaching, as part of the CEEC’s ongoing campaign to enable the Church of England to keep faith with its Biblical inheritance. ‘Keeping Faith’ has a dedicated page on its website (www.ceec.info) where it is hosting a suite of resources, including films, to help churches have good discussions about human sexuality and to get involved. The CEEC has called on evangelicals to write to their bishops as a matter of urgency asking them to uphold the CofE’s current position and stating why they would not be able to welcome or work with an ‘accommodation’ (e.g. permission to affirm relationships outside of heterosexual marriage) and has developed materials as part of its efforts to equip and support parishes.

‘Whilst continuing to pray that our bishops will affirm and uphold existing doctrine, liturgy and practice we need to consider the possibility of this not happening,’ said John Dunnett, CEEC’s Director of Strategy and Operations. ‘So we’re calling on churches and evangelicals to do three things. First, ensure that you are helping your congregations to engage with a Biblical viewpoint on these issues; second, write a courteous but clear letter to their bishops asking them to maintain the church’s current and Biblical position; and third, for PCCs to be having the What if…? conversations – What if change is approved by General Synod? What will you do about it? Where will your church stand on the issue?’