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The following Interregnum newsletter was printed and handed out at both churches in the Parish on 22 January:

PCC progress on finding a middle way for parish unity

The sub-committee[1] of the PCC has been exploring potential ways to resolve the differences expressed at the November 2022 PCC meetings about the future direction of the parish. It has:

** Sought advice from a similar Anglo-Catholic parish

** Drafted a proposal for the PCC

** Drafted a new resolution and Statement of Need

Advice from a similar parish

Initially advice was sought via email from Archdeacon Guy Elsmore. As a result, the sub-committee had a very informative Zoom conversation with Fr Christopher Woods of the Parish of St Barnabas and St Paul, with St Thomas the Martyr in Oxford. This Anglo-Catholic parish was identified by the Archdeacon as one with which we have a lot in common. Their parish has found a ‘middle’ way which, as Fr Christopher says, is unusual and almost unique in the Church of Englandand has been working well for them, though they are now going through a period of discernment though not an interregnum (Fr Christopher is the incumbent vicar). They are an Anglo-Catholic parish with a Resolution and Statement of Need which has enabled them to have oversight from the Diocesan Bishop (Oxford) and a relationship with the Bishop of about their parish and the circumstances leading to their period of discernment via Ebbsfleet (though since he resigned a year ago, their oversight has been from the Bishop of Oxford only). Fr Christopher Woods is not a member of The Society and FiF. You can read more the background document within the folders in both SMSG and All Saints churches.

Subsequently, following thoughtful advice via Zoom and email from Fr Christopher (who read our interregnum news before the Zoom meeting), the sub-committee drafted a Proposal for the PCC plus a new Resolution and Statement of Need based on those of the Parish of St Barnabas and St Paul, with St Thomas the Martyr in Oxford. These documents were sent to the PCC ahead of its 10 January 2023 meeting and were discussed at length during the meeting.

The Sub-Committee Proposal

For the sake of unity of the parish we propose that the existing Resolution and Statement of Need be rescinded and a new Resolution and Statement of Need drafted and voted upon which enables us to recruit from a wider range of Anglo-Catholic priests. This may mean leaving The Society and Forward in Faith.

We propose to ask the Diocesan Bishop and the Bishop of Oswestry to support our parish in this endeavour. The Diocesan Bishop would have oversight, but a full relationship is envisaged with the Bishop of Oswestry.

About the proposal and The House of Bishops’ Declaration

As explained in the 4 December 2022 Interregnum news, 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. In our parish, as revealed by the questionnaire, a minority (about 17%) of our congregations hold that view, for various reasons. The questionnaire responses showed that even among the majority who are in favour of the ordination of women and would be happy to have a female priest as Rector of this parish; many thought this parish would need to appoint a male priest this time to accommodate the minority who do not accept the sacraments from a woman priest.

Legally, the parish cannot limit applications to male priests only without having a Resolution and Statement of Need under the arrangements set out in the House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests. However, our Resolution and Statement of Need can be rescinded and replaced with revised versions plus the Parish can leave FiF and The Society to enable interregnum cover and recruitment from a wider range of male Anglo-Catholic priests, both non-society and The Society members (this was noted as one of the options available for the PCC in points made by Fr Gary Ecclestone in the Interregnum news of 18 September 2022).

Fr Christopher Woods noted that it is also healthy to periodically review the Resolution and Statement of Need, in consultation with the views of the congregations. He also advised that although the proposed arrangement may look like ‘dual oversight’, this is not legally possible; hence the Diocesan Bishop would have oversight and allow our parish to have a relationship with the Bishop of Oswestry.

PCC action on the proposal

The PCC overwhelmingly decided at the 10 January meeting that the sub-committee should continue its work and carry out the next steps towards investigating how to carry out the proposal in practice, namely:

** Find out if the Diocesan Bishop and the Bishop of Oswestry would work collaboratively to support our parish (the Bishop of Buckingham is soon to retire so oversight might be from the Bishop of Oxford).

** Check the communication and legal implications with the Diocese to ensure the new Statement of Need is coherent, legal and workable.

Once these initial steps have been completed, the PCC would arrange to vote on whether to rescind the existing Resolution and SoN and adopt the new ones, also whether to leave The Society and FiF.

You can find the existing Resolution and Statement of Need, plus the new draft Resolution and Statement of Need within the folders in both churches and attached below.

PCC subcommittee on future direction of parish Background information for Parish

Existing Resolution with Statement of Need

PCC subcommittee draft proposed new Resolution and Statement of Need

[1]Sub-committee members: Peter Eales, Anna Page, Mike Parsons, Gwen Yates

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 29^th 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

The following Interregnum newsletter was printed and handed out at both churches in the Parish on 20 November:

The PCC of the Parish of Stony Stratford with Calverton has received a 40 page report of the responses to the questionnaire which was issued following the parish meeting on 8 October 2022, and has discussed the report at a meeting on 15 November 2022. On the 29 November 2022 is the PCC meeting in which there will be a PCC vote on the Resolution under the House of Bishops Declaration relating to the ordination of women priests and the consecration of women bishops. The PCC have agreed that a summary of the report findings be published to the parish ahead of the PCC vote on the 29 November, this summary is published below.

Summary of the analysis

60 people attended the meeting on 8 October 2022. At the meeting, and subsequently, 100 questionnaires were distributed with 89 completed and returned, which is a very high response rate.
In the analysis, the symbol ‘n’ represents the total number of individuals in the population (n=89 total respondents for the questionnaire) or in the sample for a given question subset.

Question 1 (Please tell us what you like about worship in our Parish churches) showed that people mostly like the elements of worship which were listed, especially the musical contributions to worship, with sung hymns and psalms with organ, plus choral anthems proving very popular. Anglo-Catholic liturgy, ceremonial and witness processions are generally well liked, while sharing the peace and incense were liked by some but not others. There were some calls to move sharing the peace to a different place in the liturgy. See separate pie charts in the folders in each church.

Question 2 (Please tell us what you have liked about worship at other churches you have visited or belonged to which you think would be good to try in our parish worship) resulted in plenty of suggestions being offered about worship practices elsewhere which might be tried in the parish, with some people taking the opportunity to comment further on their experience of the style of worship in the parish.

Question 3 (Before attending the meetings and reading the summary documents provided, how aware were you of the following points?) asked about range of awareness regarding points made in six statements.

1. There are women priests who are Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholic male priests who support the ordination of women
2. The Society under the patronage of St Wilfred and St Hilda parishes only allow male priests to preside at Eucharistic Mass in Society churches
3. Non Society churches can invite any priest, male or female, to preside at Eucharistic Mass, at the invitation of the incumbent
4. The theological arguments for or against the ordination of women in the Church of England
5. The church unity (with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches) arguments for or against the ordination of women in the Church of England
6. The inclusion arguments for or against the ordination of women in the Church of England

Those people against the ordination of women and people in favour of the ordination of women generally had a higher awareness of the six points listed than those who had no particular view on the ordination of women.

Awareness of these points is not the same as understanding the issues involved. There were no questions specifically to measure understanding, though comments made throughout the questionnaire sometimes demonstrated what those points meant to some individuals.

Questions 4, 5a and 5b aimed to try and get a picture of people’s views on the ordination of women before and after the meeting (and information provided in the Interregnum news sheets and folders).

• Before you attended the meeting and/or read the summary documents, what was your view on the ordination of women?
• Now you have heard and read the perspectives of The Society plus those who support the ordination of women, what is your view on the ordination of women?
• Now you have heard and read the perspectives of The Society plus those who support the ordination of women, what is your view on who can preside at the Eucharist in this parish?

The responses indicated a slight shift after the meeting towards being in favour of the ordination of women, mainly from those who previously had no particular view, or had not indicated their previous view. 10 people who are in favour of the ordination of women or have no particular view chose a preference for a male priest for this parish in Question 5b. This may indicate their acknowledgement of a need for a gradual shift to accommodate those in the parish who would not accept a female priest as Rector, if the resolution is rescinded. Some people chose to annotate their responses with comments, though no comments box had been provided for these 3 linked questions.

Question 4 (n=86)

Question 5a (n=83)

Question 5b (n=86)

Question 6 (Please explain what you would you like the PCC to think about regarding this parish and its future as the PCC makes its decision about the Resolution) gathered plenty of comments with more than two thirds of those who responded to the questionnaire explaining what they would like the PCC to consider as it makes a decision about the Resolution. There was a strong call via many comments for making both churches more accessible, welcoming and inclusive for everyone, especially to attract families with young children and teenagers, as there was recognition from many that the demographics of the regular congregations include few young people.

Questions 7 and 8 were designed to discover what people might do once the PCC votes on the Resolution.

• Please indicate what you might do if the PCC votes to retain the Resolution regarding the ordination of women (keep to male priests only)
• Please indicate what you might do if the PCC votes to rescind the Resolution about the ordination of women (allow both male and female priests to preside)

Multiple choices of the 5 options for each were allowed. Some people indicated they would support and/or respect the PCC decision regardless of which decision was made and what their personal views are on the ordination of women. A few indicated they might consider worshipping elsewhere if they did not agree with the decision made (15 if retained, 14 if rescinded). Not all of the 14 against the ordination of women indicated they would consider worshipping elsewhere if the resolution is rescinded – one specifically stated they would continue worshipping in the parish but not necessarily receive communion. In the report, analysis of the data was compared for the retain (Question 7) and rescind (Question 8) options. Although a comments box was not provided, a few people annotated their responses with comments.

Question 9 (Please comment if you have anything else you wish to share with the PCC about this topic) resulted in a variety of thoughtful comments being made. Several people thanked the PCC for providing the opportunity for them to share their views via the meeting and questionnaire.

Question 10 (Please indicate where you usually worship in the parish) was the only demographic question.
As expected, due to the size of each regular congregation, there were far more responses from those who worship at SMSG than at All Saints. The choices were:

Because some people ticked more than one box (if they worship at both churches, or also worship elsewhere), it is difficult to get a precise percentage of those with no particular view, against or for the ordination of women at each church when cross referenced with question 5b, however data tables in the report presented what could be deduced from the responses.

Conclusion of the report findings: The data and comments in the report indicates that many more parishioners in both congregations are in favour of the ordination of women and rescinding the resolution, than are against doing so.

PCC vote

The discussion at the 15 November meeting indicated the PCC vote outcome might not be the same as the findings of the report indicates about the wishes of the congregations. A simple majority vote of those present at the meeting on 29 November is required for the decision either way. Please pray for the PCC.
The 15 PCC members are:
Jill Barby, Graham Brown, Susi Crompton, Anne de Broise, Peter Eales, Richard Hearne, John Hickman, Deborah Kidd, Richard Martin, Anna Page, Rhian Parsons, Michael Parsons, Robert Scarff, Gwen Yates, Fr Tunji Adebiyi.

Anna C Page, Researcher and PCC member, 17 November 2022

Public extracts of the report for the PCC of responses to the Parish Questionnaire about the resolution

The following Interregnum newsletter was printed and handed out at both churches in the Parish on 2 October:

This is a reminder about the Parish open meeting the PCC has arranged at 5:00pm on
8 October 2022 in St Mary & St Giles church when you can learn more about the respective perspectives of Forward in Faith and The Society as well as Anglo-Catholic priests who are in favour of the ordination of women. If you need a lift to the meeting, please speak to any PCC member. You can ask questions, hear comments from others and reflect on your perspective before telling the PCC your views via a questionnaire which will be handed out at the end of the meeting for return by 16 October 2022. If you are unable to attend the meeting, you will be able to obtain a copy of the questionnaire on 9 October in both churches or by contacting Anna Page annacpage.parish@gmail.com 07944 192921.

Please read the information the PCC has been gathering which is now available in both churches. We have also provided all the information in a document hosted on the Parish website for you to read online or download and print https://parishstonystratfordcalverton.com/2022/09/24/background-information-for-the-parish-questionnaire/

The questionnaire is also designed to gather your views on how we worship God in our churches; this will inform what we write in the Parish Profile document which introduces our Parish to priests who might apply to be our Rector.

Timetable for the interregnum

8 October 2022 at 5pm open meeting and questionnaires handed out.

By 16 October 2022 all completed questionnaires to be returned to Anna Page who will analyse them and prepare a report for the PCC.

15 November 2022 date allocated for an interim PCC meeting to discuss the report findings if required.

29 November 2022 is the PCC meeting in which there will be a PCC vote on the Resolution under the House of Bishops Declaration relating to the ordination of women priests and the consecration of women bishops.

We don’t have exact dates yet for the next part of the timetable.

Once the PCC has voted on whether to retain or rescind the Resolution, the following documents, currently in draft, can be updated and finalised to reflect the findings of the questionnaire about the style of worship and type of Priest this Parish prefers:

• Parish profile document (which tells candidates all about our parish)
• Person specification for the parish priest
• Job advertisement for the parish priest

This will be done in conjunction with guidance from the Diocese.

Once these documents are finalised, the job will be advertised, with the Parish profile and person specification providing helpful information to prospective candidates. The documents will also be published on the Parish website.

Parish Representatives on the Interview panel

The panel which will be responsible for short-listing and interviewing candidates will consist of the same balance of people regardless of whether the PCC votes to retain or rescind the Resolution. We have been advised by the Diocese that it is usual for the Parish representatives to be people who are in agreement with the decision of the PCC relating to the resolution.

The PCC will need to appoint two Parish representatives to serve on the short-listing and interviewing panel. Their duties will include:

• reading all the applications
• attending a short-listing meeting to discuss the applications and decide which prospective candidates to interview
• possibly visiting the parishes where the selected candidates are currently based, to see the priests taking a service
• interviewing the candidates with the panel, this includes asking some of the interview questions (provided by the Diocese)
• participating in the discussion afterwards about each candidate and deciding who to appoint as the Parish priest

The two parish representatives do not need to be members of the PCC, so if you would like to be considered for this role, please speak to the PCC Secretary Susi Crompton.

The short-listing and interview panel is likely to consist of the following people:

1. Archdeacon of Buckingham The Venerable Guy Elsmore, patron appointed by the Diocese
2. Another patron appointed by the Diocese
3. Rev Tim Norwood, MK Area Dean
4. David Thom, Lay Chair of MK Deanery Synod
5. Parish of Stony Stratford with Calverton representative
6. Parish of Stony Stratford with Calverton representative

We understand the interview process usually includes an opportunity for members of the parish congregations to meet the prospective candidates the day before the interviews take place and feedback their impressions to the Parish representatives on the interview panel, however more details about the interview process will be shared once the PCC has received further guidance from the Diocese.

The following Interregnum newsletter was printed and handed out at both churches in the Parish on 25 September:

In last week’s Interregnum news we explained about the Parish open meeting the PCC has arranged at 5:00pm on 8 October 2022 in St Mary & St Giles church when you can learn more about the respective perspectives of Forward in Faith and The Society as well as
Anglo-Catholic priests who are in favour of the ordination of women. If you need a lift to the meeting, please speak to any PCC member. You can ask questions, hear comments from others and reflect on your perspective before telling the PCC your views via a questionnaire which will be handed out at the end of the meeting for return by 16 October 2022. If you are unable to attend the meeting, you will be able to obtain the questionnaire on 9 October in both churches or by contacting Anna Page annacpage.parish@gmail.com 07944 192921.

The next Interregnum newsletter will outline the timetable and process for the Interregnum.

The PCC has been gathering information which we plan to put on display in both churches as there are several pages of information to read. We also plan to provide all the information in a document hosted on the Parish website for you to read online or download and print.

In the meantime, you may wish to read the following which forms part of the information the PCC has compiled:

Factsheet: Women priests in the Church of England (2019)

https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/factsheets/25-years-of-women-as-priests-in-the-church-of-england/ (written in 2019)

Women have now been able to become priests in the Church of England for 25 years. This marked the culmination of decades of wrangling and activism, although arguments around the representation of women in senior positions in the church have continued in the quarter-century since.

When did women become able to be ordained as priests?

The Movement for the Ordination of Women was founded in 1979 and was the main group campaigning for women to become priests. It wound up in 1994 after it had achieved its objective. A group called Watch https://womenandthechurch.org/ was formed in 1996 to campaign for gender justice in the church.

After 19 years of debate, the Church of England’s parliament – the General Synod – took the decision in 1992 to allow women’s ordination. The measure had to be approved by a two-thirds majority in each of the synod’s three houses of bishops, clergy and laity. It passed by a margin of only two votes among lay people.

Thirty-two women were priested at a service in Bristol Cathedral on 12 March, 1994. They were ordained in alphabetical order, which means that Angela Berners-Wilson is officially the Church of England’s first woman priest.

She had previously served 15 years as a deaconess and deacon and went on to be a chaplain at Bath University. She is now a parish priest and a prebendary at Wells Cathedral.

What about women bishops?

Figures for 2017 show that 28% of clergy are women and 23% of senior leadership positions are held by women https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2018-08/Ministry Statistics 2017_final report_v2.pdf.

On 17 November 2014, the General Synod voted in favour of removing the legal obstacles preventing women from becoming bishops, ending a process that began nine years earlier.

Libby Lane became the first woman to serve as a bishop of the Church of England when she was consecrated in 2015 as suffragan Bishop of Stockport in 2015, an assistant bishop in the diocese of Chester. She is now the diocesan Bishop of Derby.

As of March 2019, there are 18 women bishops: London, Bristol, Gloucester, Newcastle, Derby, Aston, Crediton, Dorking, Hull, Jarrow, Lancaster, Loughborough, Penrith, Repton, Ripon, Sherborne, Taunton and Warrington https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_Anglican_bishops.

Five are diocesan bishops with seats in the House of Lords, including the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London, and the third most senior bishop in the Church of England.

What was the resistance to women priests?

In 1993 the Act of Synod was passed allowing for the creation of “flying bishops” (provincial episcopal visitors) to minister to churches that did not accept the ordination of women. Today there are seven: the bishops of Richborough (based in St Albans), Ebbsfleet, Maidstone, Fulham, Beverley, Wakefield and Burnley.

363 parishes https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/Church Statistics 2009-2010.pdf (from a total of 13,000) opted to come under the care of these “flying bishops” (2010 stats). 1,000 parishes object to women priests working in their churches (2010 stats as above). 430 priests resigned https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2004/20-february/news/uk/conscience-payouts-to-priests-top-26m from the Church of England over the issue and claimed compensation.

Forward in Faith https://www.forwardinfaith.com/index.php was set up in 1992 after the vote to allow women’s ordination. It has branches in many parts of the UK and says it is committed to the catholic faith and order, and opposed to women priests and bishops. The Bishop of Wakefield chairs the group.

Reform https://www.reform.org.uk/is a conservative evangelical group set up in 1993 against the ordination of women, now also campaigning on issues such as homosexuality. It is led by the Rev Mark Burkill, from Leyton, east London.

There was also a Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod which called for the law which paid compensation to those who resigned and set up structures for opponents of women’s ordination to be withdrawn, calling it “institutionally sexist”.

What are the theological arguments in this debate?

Opponents of women’s ordination may draw on the following arguments:

• The Bible says women should not hold authority over men (Ephesians 5:21-22 says the husband is the head of the wife, the ‘headship’ argument)
• The 12 disciples were all men and there has been a 2,000-year line of male “apostolic succession”
• Ordaining women as priests is an obstacle to unity with the Roman Catholics and Orthodox churches, which do not allow women priests
• A priest represents Jesus at the altar and Jesus was a man

Those in favour of women’s ordination counter that:

• The text from Ephesians should be read in its cultural context. Elsewhere St Paul said “in Christ there is no male or female” (Galatians 3:28)
• Jesus had many women disciples, including Mary Magdalene
• Unity talks continue but Roman Catholics and the Orthodox do not accept Anglican ordinations or sacraments are valid. The issue of women’s ordination is one of many obstacles to unity.
• Jesus is representative of all humanity, male and female