The following Interregnum newsletter was printed and handed out at both churches in the Parish on 4 December:
PCC vote on the resolution
At a meeting on Tuesday 29th November the PCC was due to vote on the following resolution under the House of Bishops Declaration:
For the sake of the unity of our parish, this PCC requests, on the grounds of theological conviction set out in the statement appended to this resolution, that arrangements be made for it in accordance with the House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests.
The full statement which was appended to the resolution is available in the folders in each church.
Statement of Needs and Theological Conviction
The finding of the PCC was that to proceed with the Resolution Vote under the current circumstances would be detrimental to the unity of the parish. There was a desire to allow time for further reflection and discernment, possibly including external mediation, to discover the will of God for our parish. It was therefore decided to postpone the vote until the New Year in the hope that the love of Our Lord will guide us in pursuing the right course.
A sub-committee of the PCC has been formed and is at work exploring external mediation between all parties solely for the sake of parish unity. Further updates on what this involves will come soon.
The PCC also plans to continue drafting the Parish Profile and person specification for the new Rector role informed by the many thoughtful comments and preferences the 89 parishioners who completed the questionnaire provided in their responses.
The House of Bishops’ Declaration
When the Church of England decided to introduce women bishops, it also made arrangements to accommodate those who believe that the Bible teaches that while men and women are equal, their roles in the church and the family are different.
The arrangements are set out in the House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests. It is important to remember that these arrangements are designed not to separate parishes from their dioceses but to enable them to continue to play a strong part. They are based on five Guiding Principles which stress that the Church of England has reached a clear decision on all orders of ministry being equally open to both sexes, but at the same time recognises and wishes to accommodate those who disagree, because their position is recognisably Anglican. The aim is to enable ‘mutual flourishing’ across the whole Church of England. https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/general-synod/bishops/house-bishops-declaration-ministry-bishops