Two cheers for the Church of England

I am writing this in a personal capacity, although for several years I have been chair of the friends of the local parish church.  As well as raising funds for the fabric of the Church, as an iconic building in the townscape (larger than many cathedrals), we have been seeking to promote its wider use as a community asset, e.g., there is a café run by Ukranian refugees (not my work). We even showed Life of Brian in the church.

I was baptised in the Church of England and attended a CoE primary school.   This was of enormous benefit to my intellectual development as I had to wrestle with complex theological ideas at the age of seven or eight.  After we had been told we could attend Catholic services if we were on holiday abroad (none of us could afford that then), it was not received well when I suggested that the main quarrel with the Roman Catholic church appeared to be that the Pope was in Rome not Canterbury and was Italian not English.

I was never confirmed and I am not in communion with the CoE and have refused to be blessed.  I have had some interesting theological discussions with the vicar, but I remain an agnostic liberal Erastian (supporter of an Established Church).   I think that many of the ethical principles listed in the New Testament are good ones.   Katja Hoyer seems to take a similar stance in her most recent blog: https://www.katjahoyer.uk/p/whats-left-of-christianity

On the specific issue of safeguarding, the parish church has been trying for months without success to secure a replacement voluntary safeguarding role and it is now going to become part of a new paid post.

The impression I have formed is that the bureaucracy of the CoE is rigid and dysfunctional, not least at diocese level.   I also think that the Bishop of Newcastle has been badly treated by her fellow bishops.

Within my town each of the churches of the CoE offers a different menu: one is Pentecostalist (having been visited by the Holy Spirit); two are hand clapping evangelical; one appears to tolerate speaking in tongues; one reserves the sacrament, has Benediction and is under the aegis of a 'flying Bishop'.  A member of the PCC kindly invited me to his house to try and explain the theological stance of the parish church and 'English Catholic's is the nearest label I can provide.

Given such variety, it is difficult to maintain an established Church, although the legislation required to disestablish it would be complex. (See: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8886/ As far as I can tell, Wills has little enthusiasm for the role of Supreme Governor.   The position of bishops in the House of Lords is best dealt with as part of a wider reform.

There also some interesting questions about who would take responsibility for maintaining the fabric of cathedrals and architecturally valuable churches.

One of the advantages of an Established Church is that its services are available to all citizens regardless of their religious standing.   I have paid up front for my funeral and asked a friend who is a lay preacher to conduct it according to CoE rites.   The timing should be ok.