hardcore Anglicanism – Page 2

Liturgical Hair: Advent I

Byartsyhonker December 1, 2013 2 Comments

The liturgical hair thing has not started all that well, though it could have been worse, I suppose. I started by cutting the very ends of my hair off. These bits would have too much henna in them, I thought, to bleach well. Then came bleaching: well, I missed a bit, but also it became apparent that the henna goes rather further up my hair than I had thought. When I went to put purple in my hair...

Of baptism, press releases and consistency

Byartsyhonker July 24, 2013 3 Comments

The Church of England published a press release yesterday about baptism. There was something of a mixed response on Twitter: broadly, it seems that some people are concerned that the press release contained too little theology, while others insist it must be as broad and general as this in order to be accessible rather than unwelcoming. I think it is good to make things accessible and clear, and...

New Legislative Proposals — what does GS 1886 mean?

Byartsyhonker May 24, 2013 0 Comments

Right, if you're not interested in Church of England politics, look away now. Go watch some kittens or something. The House of Bishops has published a report recommending one of four possible legislative proposals drafted by the working group on women in the episcopate. They have recommended Option One. Option One, most simply put, means: 1) make it legal for women to be Bishops 2) remove the...

Evensong at St Paul’s — from the inside

Byartsyhonker January 1, 2013 1 Comment

This week I am singing with the Ontario Cathedral Singers as they are doing a "cathedral week", singing services in cathedrals while the regular choristers are away. I met their director, and had an organ lesson with him, this past summer while visiting my parents in Canada. We've sung two services in St Paul's so far. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we'll be at Southwark Cathedral for Evensong at 5.30pm,...

On the ordination of women — a personal note.

Byartsyhonker December 6, 2012 5 Comments

I haven't always been Christian. I was brought up in the United Church of Canada. I think it's fair to say that, on some level, it didn't "take". There are many reasons for this, but a key one is that my relationship with a minister was extremely difficult, and that people close to me also had difficult relationships with him and with other ministers. That relationship coloured my interactions...

General advice during General Synod, part II

Byartsyhonker November 20, 2012 12 Comments

Well, that's a bit embarrassing. For the measure on women in the episcopate to pass, it needed a 67% majority in all of three houses: bishops, clergy and laity. It got 94% in the House of Bishops (Yes 44; No 3; Absentions 2), 77% in the House of Clergy (Yes 148; No 45) , 64% in the House of Laity (Yes 132; No 74). So it lost by a whisker, really. Six votes -- or fewer than that and a few...

So why does a poor East London church need a pipe organ, anyway?

Byartsyhonker October 8, 2012 4 Comments

At St Andrew's Leytonstone we're hosting a hymnathon this weekend, to raise money for the repair of our pipe organ. Fundraising is going well, but there have been some questions. In this time of austerity, unemployment and recession, what are we doing raising money to pay for the repair of an instrument a century old? Can't we just get an electric organ, and spend the money on more useful things,...

Let all the world in every corner sing.

Byartsyhonker July 13, 2012 7 Comments

I had a bit of a rant on Twitter this morning. I was upset by the government's continued assault on the poor and vulnerable through the dismantling of the welfare state, and I was frustrated with churches for what seems like apathy in the face of it, though it may be that it's closer to self-preservation than lack of care. Too often, it seems, we want to leave "politics" out of our religious...

More on the same Measure

Byartsyhonker July 10, 2012 0 Comments

Background update: voting on the amended Measure for the consecration of women as bishops was adjourned until November in light of opposition to Clause 5.1.c (the second amendment by the House of Bishops, which I discussed in a previous post). The House of Bishops will meet in September to discuss what to do next. Rev Peter Ould, who I follow on Twitter, said this: The main objection to Clause...

A Provisional Note

Byartsyhonker July 4, 2012 5 Comments

The dear old Church of England has been tying itself into knots of late over the Bishops' amendments to the Measure on Women in the Episcopate. The good bishops made two amendments. One has been welcomed as providing some clarity about exactly from where episcopal power is derived in the case of an alternative bishop being assigned to a parish (essentially it's the inherent bishoppy-ness, not the...