www.churchsociety.org
NEWS ITEM
Date : 18 May 2004
Source : Church Society
The following letter was sent by a number of members of the Diocese of St. Albans to the Bishop. Many other members had written individually.
Rt Rev C Herbert
Abbey Gate House
Abbey Mill Lane
St Albans
AL3 4HD
11th May 2004
Dear Bishop Christopher
It was with considerable disappointment and great sadness that we heard the news that Canon Jeffrey John had been appointed as Dean of St Albans cathedral.
We have a number of serious concerns.
1. The teaching of Canon John on human sexuality is clearly out of
step with and contradictory to the clear and plain teaching of the Scriptures,
the public teaching of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
The Church
of England affirms that the Scriptures are "God's word written", the word
by which God rules his church so that 'it is not lawful for the church
to ordain any thing that is contrary to that word'. (Article 20).
He has
been appointed to a significant and high profile position of leadership
and teaching within the Diocese yet we are aware that in his
teaching Canon
John has publicly advocated views and patterns of conduct wholly incompatible
with the Scriptures and with the understanding of the vast majority of
Christians historically, ecumenically and internationally. Indeed he
did so very publicly
at the press conference on Monday 19 April.
We understand that Canon John
has given certain undertakings about his lifestyle however the primary issue
is his teaching. His views are so
far out of step
as to render his appointment unacceptable and provocative. We fail to see
how this can be anything other than deeply divisive within the Diocese
and cause particular dismay to Anglican Christians in Africa, Asia, South
America
and beyond.
2. Last summer you wrote to the clergy of the Diocese encouraging
us to "wait with patience and humility" and "to repent of and renounce all
forms
of bullying".
We listened carefully to those words and did not take issue in this Diocese
over events in Oxford. We therefore find this appointment precipitate
and provocative, not least since your encouragement to wait with patience
was
echoed by Archbishop Rowan Williams in establishing the Lambeth Commission
process. We can only express our deep disappointment that you have chosen
not to wait. We confess that we are further puzzled by your most recent
letter which calls on us "to simply pray" while you have already chosen
what appears
a provocative and divisive course.
We do understand that your decision will have been a difficult and lonely
one but
regrettably we believe it to be wrong.
3. Given your decision and your warm endorsement of Jeffrey John as a teacher it appears that as our Bishop you are now endorsing his teaching on same sex unions and his promotion of same sex blessings. It would be very helpful if you were able to clarify your position on these issues.
In conclusion we wish to express our sadness at what has happened. It will inevitably have consequences and will damage relationships but for us it is a matter of conviction and of the authority of the Scriptures over our lives and our church. In the light of this and for the sake of the unity of the Diocese and the Anglican Communion we request that this appointment is withdrawn.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues with you personally.
with our prayer for all concerned in this matter and the renewing of all God's people
List of signatories attached
Signatories:
Peter Ackroyd (St. Mary the Virgin, Wootton)
John Aldis (St. Mary's, Watford)
David Alexander (St. Thomas, Stopsley)
Dennis Bannard-Smith (Pavenham, St. Peter - NSM)
Laurence Biggs (St. Giles, Codicote)
David Bourne (All Saints Riseley
Denis Cole (St. Andrew's Chorleywood - Reader)
Gavin Collins (Christ Church, Chorleywood)
Joy Daniel (St Andrew, Woodside)
Charles Dobbie (Holy Trinity, Lyonsdown)
Simon Dust (Christ Church, Bushmead)
Jos Drummond (St. Albans - licensed to officiate)
Henry Faulkner (Retired)
Kevin Fitzgibbon (St. Mary, Eaton Socon)
Tony Gorton (St Peter, North Watford - Curate)
David Heath-Whyte (Holy Trinity, Frogmore)
Norman Holden (Stodden Churches - NSM)
Will Hunter-Smart (St. Mary's Watford - Curate)
Jonathan Kissell (St Peter's, Stevenage)
David Miller (Eaton Socon - Stipendiary Lay Minister)
Mike Newbon (St. Francis, Luton)
Carol Ormond (Odell, All Saints - lay)
Brian Penfold (St. James, New Barnet)
David Phillips (Church Society & General
Synod)
Malcolm Pritchard (St Matthew, Luton)
Mike Rajkovic (St Luke's, Bricket Wood)
Matthew Sleeman (Southgate, licensed to officiate)
James Spanner (St. Mark, Colney Heath)
Hugh Symes-Thompson (St. Peter & St.
Paul, Cranfield)
Richard Wilkins (St Luke's, Bricket Wood - Reader)
Tony Wills (Ware, Christ Church)
This information is provided by Church Society for the benefit of users of the www.churchsociety.org and EVNEWS mailing list. Information is provided free of charge. The Society does not claim to be the source of the information and where possible this will be indicated in the text. The Society cannot guarantee the accuracy of news and the views expressed in articles forwarded does not express the views of the Society unless actually stated. Other conditions are in accordance with the policies set out on www.churchsociety.org.