The CofE and the Bad Job Description

How It's So Sad They Aren't Looking For A Christian

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Alphege,_Archbishop_of_Canterbury,_is_asked_for_advice.jpg

A few housekeeping items this morning, before I leap into the subject at hand. First, Matt tells me that some were confused yesterday by my post about Bethel in Redding, CA. What about all the times in the Bible, especially the Psalms, where God is asked to pour out favor and blessing, and then other places where he is asked to slay all the wicked? Isn’t that just what Bethel is doing? This is a very wonderful question and we thought we’d like to take it up on our Monday Livestream (noonish EST). So bookmark that, and send in any thoughts and other questions you might have.

Second, I almost got a computer virus last week, or something like it, and finally switched over to a more secure browser, but when I did that, Grammarly fell off (I’m pretty sure that’s a technical computer term). And—I hope it’s ok for me to even admit this—I’m so happy. There is some low-grade spell check still trucking along, but that’s it. No tone policing, no fussing about my bad use of commas, no pointing out that my sentences are too long. My deep joy in writing is now so profound that I just can’t bring myself to reinstall it. I hope all of you will be willing to put up with less than stellar grammar and spelling as a result, because I feel like my own satisfaction at the craft of the daily Blog should factor in, at least a little.

And now on to the business of the day. Last week I was interviewed by Becca McCallum of WORLD about the long delay the Church of England is suffering in electing a new Archbishop of Canterbury after the resignation of Justin Welby. Why can’t they get their act together, when the Roman Catholics got themselves a pope in a week or so? I had never been interviewed like that before, and it was very exciting.

Here’s one bit:

The Church of England claims its starting point in the late sixth century, when Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine of Canterbury (not to be confused with the author of Confessions), who became the first archbishop of Canterbury, on a missionary journey to Britain.

Almost a millennium later, after King Henry VIII’s infamous break with the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, the See (derived from the Latin word for seat) of Canterbury became Protestant. To date, the reigning British monarch serves as the official head of the Church of England. Although the U.K. state church is divided into two provinces, York and Canterbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the Church of England’s main primate, often referred to as “first among equals.”

The Church of England gained global influence with the spread of colonialism, according to Anne Kennedy, director of liturgics at Church of the Good Shepherd in Binghamton, N.Y., and a contributor to WORLD Opinions. “The British Empire went out as a great wave and then gradually receded back to the shores of England, but they left in their wake really strong local Anglican jurisdictions,” she said. “There were archbishops and bishops and clergy in every place where the British Empire had been.”

And, the punchline:

Another frontrunner, Bishop of Dover Rose Hudson-Wilkin, told The Times in 2012 that she has known “decent gay people who are in faithful monogamous relationships and who are hugely committed to each other.” She added she was more concerned about “institutional racism.”

The Crown Nominations Commission is expected to announce its pick for the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury this fall. Since it hasn’t released a list of its top contenders, it could still choose a more orthodox candidate.

Anne Kennedy isn’t holding her breath. “I would expect them to pick a woman of color in a same-sex relationship,” said Kennedy. “I don’t see how they could do anything less at this point.”

So I thought it would be fun to look at the official job description which I found on Sky News via MSN:

•A person with "theological depth" who is a strong communicator with people of all ages and backgrounds;

•Someone of the "utmost integrity who is able to speak honestly" about issues and injustices in the church;

•A "servant leader who shows compassion towards the disadvantaged and marginalised";

•Being "unapologetic about offering a Christian perspective to local, national, and international dialogue";

•A willingness to ordain and consecrate both men and women, support the ministry of both, and may themselves be male or female;

•Having previously "worked, and will continue to work constructively" around ongoing discussions around blessing services for same-sex couples, but also someone who can "embrace" both those who support and oppose same-sex marriage in the church.

I have so many thoughts and feelings. Let me take them in order.