Taking them in turn,
GS 1733A Episcopal and Senior Church Posts: A note from the Diocese of Bradford
The upshot on this the thought that the church might look more carefully at the matter of its top heavy ecclesiastical system. Now there is a good idea!
GS 1742 Ecclesiastical Judges, Legal Officers and Others (Fees) Order 2009
This one is worth the read so that we can appreciate just how wonderful it is not to be a state church, or one ordered with set fees for all sorts of activities. I was particularly interested in the fee attached to the application to become licensed as a priest in the UK. On the other hand when you need a lawyer it seems a lot cheaper there than here.
GS 1743 Parochial Fees Order 2009 [Monday]
Here they are - the stole fees for all sorts of things clergy do. One good note: burial of a child under one year or stillborn - free. The fees issue is alive and well here in the US as well, but not neatly handled as in the UK. For many, given a reasonable salary anyway, it seems inappropriate to charge anything for any service, but accept support of the Rector's discretionary fund or he parish coffers.
GS 1744 Being Adult about Childhood: A Consideration of the Good Childhood Inquiry
accompanying pamphlet: Children’s Evidence
This is really good stuff. I hope this can be transmogrified to somehow be of use here. I particularly like the reference to William Temple's thoughts on the matter of childhood.
GS 1747B Clergy Discipline Measure: A note from the Clergy Discipline Commission
This note raises a problem that happens in both our churches - Bishops get caught being both pastors to their clergy and administers of the system of justice and judgment. The bind is awful.
Background Papers
GS Misc 921 Engaging with Europe
Just a note: This paper points to the quite different way that the CofE needs to consider its work in Europe, its connection with the European Union, etc, from the way our much smaller Convocation of Churches in Europe might consider the connections. TEC would, I suspect, have little interest in being represented in EU circles for its own benefit. This may in part be simply because of the reality that we are not, after all, a European church. We have in TEC European congregations, but the church is focused for the most part on this side of the ocean. The Convocation may be engaged, and one hopes so, but the agenda of TEC carries little reference to that engagement. Then again this paper does not say anything about relation to the other Anglican agencies in Europe - the Churches in Spain, Portugal and the Convocation of American Churches in Europe.
On the whole I found the papers I read interesting and informative and highly suggestive of the very real differences between the life of a church that is the State Church and (in the case of TEC) a church that has no such mandate.
Take a look for yourselves.
Mark, the clergy fees in England are handed over by the clergy to the Diocesan Stipends Fund where along with payments from the parishes, central church funds (but not the state!) they are used to pay the clergy so that we are able to pay all parish clergy the same stipend regardless of how poor or wealthy the parish is.
ReplyDeleteBrian Lewis
Brian...thanks for the info. That's a great way to use the fees. My comment was that we have no schedule of fees (although there might be arguments for doing so). You point out that the monies do not go to the state but to the church funds. Great. My point was not about where the money goes, but the fact that there is a uniform charge for things across the whole of the Church, related in part to services (burials, marriages, etc) provided for everyone.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt I get it wrong, in part because it is a system quite different from that in TEC. Not better or worse, just different.