Anglicanism in Scotland: a brief overview
The Scottish Episcopal Church is officially part of the Canterbury-aligned Anglican Communion. According to Wikipedia,
The membership of the church in 2023 was 23,503, of which 16,605 were communicant members. The attendance at Sunday worship, as counted on Sunday next before Advent was 8,815. This compares with the figures from six years previously, in 2017, where church membership had been 30,909, of whom 22,073 were communicant members, and there was a Sunday worship attendance of 12,149.
This decline in attendance of approximately 30% coincides with the 2017 decision by the Synod of the SEC to ratify the changing of the canons of marriage to include same sex couples. Following this decision, SEC was officially suspended from full decision-making membership of the Primates Council of the Anglican Communion, but in the same way as a similar sanction on the Episcopal Church in the USA, this decision was effectively ignored by the Archbishop of Canterbury and senior figures in the Anglican Communion, who continued to platform SEC leaders at global Anglican meetings.
Four congregations took the initiative, in 2017, to appeal to Gafcon who consecrated a “missionary bishop for Europe” to oversee those who could not remain in SEC, and were looking for a new Anglican jurisdiction as a theologically orthodox spiritual home. Initially this bishop, Andy Lines, was overseen by the Gafcon-authorised Anglican Church in North America, but in 2020 the Gafcon Primates approved the formation of a new jurisdiction, the Anglican Network in Europe (formally launched in February 2021), one of whose Dioceses, the Anglican Convocation Europe, includes the Scottish Anglicans who first courageously took a stand against the unfaithfulness of their leaders. So it is these faithful Scottish Anglicans in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and the remote western areas who can be said to be the original founders of ANiE, which now includes some 70 congregations in 3 Dioceses across the British Isles and continental Europe.
Recently Bishop Andy Lines commissioned a lay leader for a new church plant planned by St Silas in Glasgow, and also a lay pastor and licensed ordained minister for St Thomas in Edinburgh. Pray for faithful Anglicans in Scotland, and for their witness to Christ in a secularized society.
Church of England
From the week before General Synod:
There is no solution to the Church of England permacrisis, by Tim Wyatt, New Statesman
“John Perumbalath quit [as Bishop of Liverpool] two days after Channel 4 News revealed two women had accused him of sexual assault and harassment.…safeguarding crises have plunged the Church into institutional depression…Among the wider public – or at least those who are paying any attention – there is mounting incredulity that a body supposedly offering moral and spiritual leadership to the nation is home to such morally bankrupt behaviour.”
The problem with the C of E: an open letter to Stephen Cottrell
By Ian Paul, Psephizo. The Archbishop of York has demonstrated on numerous occasions that he is untrustworthy, not up to the job, and should resign.
Headlines from General Synod itself, 10-14 February
Synod stops short of fully independent national safeguarding, Report from Church Times: Opting to outsource all safeguarding straight away to an independent body was deemed impractical and legally problematic. Synod instead supported Bishop Philip North’s ‘halfway house’ arrangement: an independent body will take over the work of the C of E’s National Safeguarding Team for overall scrutiny, day to day operations will remain the responsibility of diocesan and cathedral bodies, further work will be done on a model for a fully independent system.
Confusion in the C of E
Living in Love and Faith
Bishop Martyn Snow, the Lead Bishop for LLF, continued to urge holding together in unity despite differences on the issue of sexuality and marriage. He said:
"What we are offering is a possible way forward which holds us together, and it starts in the imagination, not the detail... what we are offering is in parts about shared episcopacy, in parts about clergy and congregations remaining in relationship even when they cannot agree to disagree, it involves 'bespoke services with Prayers of Love and Faith'... it may be that this is enough to enable clergy to enter civil same-sex marriages."
See this report from Anglican Futures, which summarises the discussion and offers critique (as well as showing how Synod is divided in other areas as well).
CEEC
The meeting of the Church of England Evangelical Council in January noted the commissioning of more informal ‘overseers’ for evangelical clergy and parishes, spent time reflecting on lessons learned from the Makin Review, and heard from global leaders from GSFA and GAFCON.
In this video John Dunnett explains why the plan to offer ‘delegated episcopal oversight’ to those parishes and clergy who cannot accept the Prayers of Love and Faith is not acceptable to CEEC
The Alliance are extending the operation of a “de facto Province” in which administrative issues remain under the Church of England, while a system of spiritual oversight separate from official C of E structures is developed for participating parishes.
However in a speech to Synod about structural problems exacerbating potential for safeguarding risks, Bishop Sarah Mullally said in the Church Times:
“…we have seen the de facto distancing of churches from dioceses and the appointment of overseers through opaque means and without clarity of whom they are overseeing. Following on from the Scolding report [on abuse within Soul Survivor], how do we address the attendant risks?”
Gafcon
Gafcon communique 28 February 2025 - the recommendations of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order “will fail to bring about renewal in the Anglican Communion” due to continuing to “embrace the diverse theology of locally-authorised prayer books throughout the Anglican world including those that have departed from the biblical doctrine of human sexuality expressed in our foundational 1662 Book of Common Prayer”.
Pray for Gafcon 25, a gathering March 11-14 of global Anglican leaders in Plano, Texas, at the church led by Gafcon General Secretary Paul Donison. The conference will have a special focus on the next generation of faithful bishops across the world, and on how Gafcon can continue to lead the renewal of Anglicanism. Leaders from Gafcon Great Britain and Europe will be represented. Please contribute to the costs of attending this conference if you can!
Pray for Rwanda and DRC
- Anglicans in Rwanda and DRC (Congo) are Gafcon-affiliated.
- Praise the Lord for church growth and new ministries of evangelism, training and poverty relief / community development.
- The Rwandan government is increasingly authoritarian. All churches must be government approved and hundreds (all denominations) have been closed.
- Rwanda threatened by instability in eastern Congo: have supported military takeover (By M23 militia) of some regions including Goma (massive city).
- More conflict, refugees, poverty into which churches have to minister.
- Pray for peace; for wisdom and continued gospel faithfulness under pressure for church leaders, especially for Archbishop Laurent Mbanda.
Rwanda Inter-Religious Council statement on the humanitarian situation in the Congo
One of Archbishop Laurent Mbanda’s many roles is Chairman of this Council. This brief statement, published on Anglican Ink, expresses compassion for the suffering, and urges support for peace talks as well as prayer.
People of Goma ‘terrified in their homes’ as humanitarian conditions worsen
UK and continental Europe news
School worker sacked for LGBT+ posts wins appeal, from BBC News.
Report from Christian Concern:
Kristie Higgs wins as Court of Appeal rules dismissal for free speech is illegal.
In a seminal judgment for Christian freedom and free speech, the Court of Appeal has reversed a ruling which defended the dismissal of Kristie Higgs from Farmor’s School in Gloucestershire for raising concern on Facebook about extreme sex education and transgender ideology being taught in her son’s Church of England primary school….
…The authoritative judgment re-shapes the law on freedom of religion in the workplace. For the first time in employment law, the judgment has effectively established a legal presumption that any dismissal for an expression or manifestation of Christian faith is illegal.
The Challenge of Islam
On 6th February Christian Concern hosted the launch of a new book by their public policy leader Tim Dieppe, detailing the fast growing influence and control of Islam in Britain. Dieppe, who left the world of finance when his employment required the facilitating of sharia principles, has spent years researching Islam’s foundational ideology, and agenda in the West. As Christians we need to understand this, and where necessary campaign and even stand with secular politicians against further Islamification in the public square. But this is primarily a spiritual battle; our posture is one of love towards Muslims, and our weapons are prayer and the Gospel of Jesus. Report and video here.
America First
The Christian theology underpinning America First: and why Rory Stewart clashed with JD Vance By Catherine Pepinster, Religion Media Centre:
A summary of the debate which went ‘viral’: is our first responsibility to our family, local community and nation, and then from a place of stability we can reach out to the rest of the world? Or does the command to love our neighbour mean we help those in need and don’t think about the order of relationships? Theological debate in the public square, in the secular West! [Editor’s note: one thing that is seldom mentioned in this debate, is that Jesus advocated personal generosity to the stranger, but to what extent should this be applied to the impersonal concept of government aid?]
How do Christians across the world, and especially in Europe, view the new ‘Trumpian world’? Joel Forster, writing in Evangelical Focus, provides a thoughtful response to a recent survey, and includes commentary from analysts of mission in Europe. The liberal values of ‘old Europe’ are at odds with the new ascendancy of populist nationalism. Christians need to beware of associating the kingdom of God with a political programme, and to understand why ‘Trumpism’ is attractive to many, including Christians. In the meantime, the faithful church continues proclaiming the gospel: “God has always worked through faithful minorities; that Christianity is always about death and resurrection…Jesus is sovereign over history.”
More to think about
Jordan Peterson and the problem of God, from Public Discourse.
Peterson’s book ‘We who wrestle with God’ is his own commentary on some Old Testament books. The stories convey powerful truths about the depths of human psychology – but what of God? Peterson rejects Richard Dawkins’ bald assertion that there is no God, but “ties himself in knots” trying to explain what he does believe. Catholic Priest and theologian Mike Johns concludes his review with a re-statement of Christian truth: we can be confident that the God of the Bible is not a picture of something in our psyche but the personal Lord of the universe.
The ARC conference (Alliance for Responsible Citizenship) which met 17-19 February in London, featured Prof Peterson and other conservative leaders and thinkers from around the world, aiming “to halt the perceived decline in Western culture and shape a strategy of transformation, renewal, and re-discovery". Veteran cultural commentator Os Guinness’ speech (see here on YouTube) was a powerful reminder that such an aim cannot be achieved without rejecting secular humanism and restoring the foundation of biblical Christian faith.
Os Guinness
Should We Pray Written Prayers? The Surprising Scriptural Basis for Scripted Prayer, By Casey Bedell, Logos.
Some reformed and charismatic leaders down the ages have argued that liturgy distances prayer from its purpose as personal expression of relationship with God; it is “old covenant” and quenches the Spirit”. But “in the Book of Common Prayer, you will see that they are so rich in biblical theology that as you pray these prayers, you will be praying Scripture… This is why J. I. Packer is said to have defined scripted prayers as ‘the Bible arranged for worship.’ Scripted in this sense just means Scripture put in the language of the heart.”
Prayer summary
- Give thanks for the Bible, the word of God; pray for all faithful clergy and laity, and for Gafcon in the task of restoring the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion.
- Pray for ACE congregations in Scotland, for continued godly leadership, church growth and new church plants, and witness in a secular society.
- Pray for wisdom and spiritual protection for Alliance leaders amid confusion in the C of E; for wisdom and humility in relationship with Gafcon and GSFA.
- Pray for the forthcoming Gafcon conference in Plano, Texas: for clear direction on future plans, development of good relationships, and resources for ministry.
- Bring the situation in Rwanda and other conflict zones before the mercy of the Lord.
- That all God’s faithful people (not just a small number) would be stirred to pray fervently for leaders of nations at this time of turmoil and rapid change.