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Ad Clerum
19th July 2006
Dear Colleagues
I don’t want this letter to concentrate too much on my personal news, but I know you will want to know how I am getting on. I have been in hospital for four weeks, undergoing a very intensive course of chemotherapy – known in the trade as FLAG. Then, as the blood counts inevitably dropped, I caught the inevitable infection, which the medical staff located in the gut. I am on four different kinds of antibiotics, including one that will preclude alcohol for a few weeks (lucky me!). I hope to be home later this week.
FLAG knocks the system for six, and it can take some time for the blood counts to rise. However, mine started kicking back last week, and I am feeling better and stronger as a result. Time scales are hard to give at the moment, because things take longer with the kind of régime I am under. I hope to have another course of FLAG, which could well lead to a bone marrow transplant. Although my relapse has obviously been a disappointment, I would rather it happened now than in three years’ time (or later), as the transplant option would be ruled out on grounds of age. Strangely, although I mistrust ‘inklings’, when I was diagnosed last September, I wondered whether it would lead all the way to where I am now. But I want to assure you that I am in good heart, and that both Sarah and I continue to be buoyed up by your cards and prayers. Every time I return to my hospital room after day release, I know that, for whatever reason, this is where God has put me; and I never feel alone, especially at night-time.
Now to some diocesan matters.
The Diocesan Office move from Cathedral House to Peninsular House is due to take place imminently. This will be a mammoth operation, and I gather that everything is well under control. There will inevitably be a short spell, 24th July – 4th August, when no business will be able to be done, nor any calls taken. During that time, any emergencies will be dealt with by the Archdeacons. Meantime, I must ask you to forebear with the office staff, just as you did (with one or two exceptions!) during the move from Bishopswood to Bishopsgrove in September 1997.
Then there is the welcome arrival of Caroline Baston as Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight. The service of Collation will take place in the Cathedral at Evensong on Sunday 10th September at 6.00 pm. The Service of Welcome at St. Thomas’s, Newport, will be on Friday 15th September at 7.30 pm. I am sure I speak for many people indeed in saying how good it will be to have her wisdom and experience in the Diocese.
Thirdly, the autumn Confirmations. Because of the uncertainty of my own schedule, I am assuming that at least some of these will be taken by Bishop Trevor, and combined in the process; he generously stepped into the breach both for the recent Diocesan Synod and the Petertide Ordinations – our warm thanks to him. But the time has come for me to reassert the need for a bit more self-discipline over Orders of Service. There were one or two ‘pier-head jumps’ (to use Royal Marines jargon) in the early summer – and not just over Confirmations. I am not going to reveal any secrets of the trade (other than those you have worked out already!), but I think some of you might be surprised at how much episcopal forethought has to go into these (and other) occasions. It is vital that draft Orders of Service, together with the names of those to be baptised and confirmed, reach Bishopsgrove at least a week in advance; and some briefing about the age of the candidates is also helpful. Alex Hughes will be adopting a less ‘relaxed’ approach – so do co-operate. He is always ready to help.
Fourthly, Elections to Diocesan Synod. During the consultation about the Dilloway Report a common concern was the perceived lack of representation offered by the proposed new structures. This encouraged me to believe that parishes and deaneries were keen to participate fully in the governance of the diocese, and I am pleased that Diocesan Synod finally agreed that the structures were properly representative. However, the latest figures in relation to elections for the new Diocesan Synod show not only that there is not a single contested seat, but that every single deanery has failed to nominate its full quota of members – there are only 28 clergy nominations out of a possible 72, and 36 lay nominations also out of a possible 72. In other words, as things stand the new Synod will only be 44% complete. This really is not good news, and I hope – indeed it is my clear expectation – that deaneries will do everything possible to ensure that their clergy and lay representation is improved.
What of the larger Church scene? General Synod had a useful debate on Marriage Law, which could lead to a loosening of the traditional parochial ties, and allow couples to be married in another Church where one or other of them has some kind of connection. This has been under discussion for some time, and while we want to resist the ‘pretty Church’ syndrome, I sense that we may well be moving towards having certain Churches that specialise in marriage ministry, where the preparation and follow-up is thorough and well carried out. Over and above all that, the debate highlighted the attractiveness – and not just the demands – of Marriage in Church, and that came over well in the media.
General Synod also spent some considerable time on Women Bishops. While I was not able to be at York, for obvious reasons, I did attend the Bishops’ Meeting in early June, and was struck by the strong bonds of affection among us. Those few Bishops who oppose refuse to be labelled as ‘died-in-the-wool’, just as those of us in favour resist any notion that we are simply going with public opinion.
Cardinal Kasper’s address, which ‘Cost of Conscience’ printed in the Church Times a few weeks ago, was courteously and warmly received. Indeed, it said something of the importance with which our debate is taken that he came to speak to the Bishops in the first place. But whatever one’s views, it was a very ‘Roman’ analysis, history and all, and I am glad that the Bishops of Durham and Salisbury produced their response, ‘Women and Episcopacy’, which is available at Church House Publishing for £1.50. There are quite clearly deep theological issues at stake, but it simply isn’t the case that they only exist in the direction of those who are against.
Quite what the future holds, I can’t tell. Right now, the outside world is more concerned with other issues, such as Europe’s disgracefully muted voice over the Middle East. But there are going to be Women Bishops in the Church of England in the foreseeable future. It is important that we don’t hive off to our favourite corners, either for mutual commiseration or to strengthen ourselves for some kind of a fight. One final thought: it is sometimes said that we have never been here before, and of course that’s true. But the Church has known conflict and disagreement from the very beginning, and the real test is how that conflict and disagreement are handled, and that mutual respect remains – however strained friendships become in the process. In working on an essay on seventeenth century theology, I recently read of the many people who predicted the imminent demise of the Church of England – and we’re still around, alive, and kicking!
With every blessing.
+Kenneth
