"Documents released on Friday confirmed that Canon David Porter has been leading a team of “facilitators” to help find a solution to the crisis in the Church.Canon Porter, originally from Belfast, is the director of the International Centre for Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral, a post once held by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.All well and good; but who, I wonder (and, of course, we don't have to restrict our speculations to the male sex) are the Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness of the Church of England?
During his previous ministry in Northern Ireland he and a small group of church leaders worked for years behind the scenes preparing the way for the peace process.Uniquely, he held talks with both the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries.
At the time the British Government was publicly denying that it was speaking to terrorists.The Church of England confirmed for the first time that the Canon and his team had been leading mediation sessions between different interest groups last week as part of a process to attempt to find a solution to the crisis over women bishops...."
"This, then is our desert: to live facing despair, but not to consent. To trample it down under hope in the Cross. To wage war against despair unceasingly. That war is our wilderness. If we wage it courageously, we will find Christ at our side. If we cannot face it, we will never find him."
Saturday, 9 February 2013
Another Good Friday agreement?
There was a fascinating report (and highly revealing about the current state of things) in The Telegraph yesterday about an Anglican priest who held secret talks with the IRA being employed to bring together the seemingly irreconcilable factions in the contemporary Church of England [here]:
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Oh, that's tempting! I shall watch this space with interest.
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