Saint Edmund, Downham Market, Norfolk

 Society of St Wilfrid & St Hilda

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The Mission Society of
St Wilfrid and St Hilda
('SSWSH')

 

CLICK HERE - For the main website of the Society of St Hilda & St Wilfrid (SSWSH)
 

CLICK HERE - To read a lead article about the Society of St Hilda & St Wilfrid (SSWSH) in the journal 'New Directions', by +Martyn Jarrett, the Bishop of Beverley
 

The Mission Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda

Is a company of believers led by bishops and loyal to the Church of England and her catholic heritage who are committed to a bold proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord through:

* A lively ministry of preaching and teaching

* A careful and creative celebration of the Sacraments Pastoral care that extends from the local congregation to the nation

* A working with others of goodwill in the Church and beyond to build a society that reflects the values of the Kingdom of God Bishops, priests and deacons consistent with the tradition of the Church, East and West

* The creation for the sake of the whole Church of an ecclesial community that is both loyal to the traditions of the Church of England and yet, because of the clear difference of views about the ordination of women, has its own bishops with jurisdiction and so a guaranteed sacramental and missional life

* Continuing to work with urgency for the unity of the Church consistent with the prayer and purpose of Jesus, and as reflected in the ARCIC process.

 

Membership of The Society is open to parishes, institutions, existing organisations and to individuals who are:

* Committed to its aims

* Committed to pray for The Society and its leaders

* Committed to active participation in the overall mission of the Church of England

* Committed to a personal Rule of Life, including the active service of those in need

* Committed to urge those in authority to provide a structured provision with jurisdiction for those who remain committed to the Church of England but are unconvinced that it has the authority to admit women to the episcopate or presbyterate.

 

A Pastoral Letter from Bishops Associated with the Society:

We write as bishops within the Church of England, who seek both to maintain and promote its Catholic heritage, believing that this demands maintaining the ministry of bishops, priests and deacons in a manner consistent with the tradition of the Church, East and West. We address all those, ordained and lay, who look to us at this time for pastoral guidance.

In July 2010 the General Synod of the Church of England took yet another decisive step in the direction of enacting legislation that would make it possible for women to be admitted to the episcopate. At the same time General Synod declined to make any appropriate provision that would satisfy the consciences of those of us who cannot accept that such ordinations would be a legitimate development in the life of the Church. Some have already decided that they can no longer remain within the Church of England. We genuinely wish them Godspeed as, heeding the call of conscience, they embark on a new episode in their Christian discipleship. We, too, in similar obedience to conscience, seek, if at all possible, to remain faithful members of the Church of England and undertake to support all who seek to do likewise.

Even at this late hour we are seeking a way forward that would enable us with integrity to retain such membership. We are passionate in our commitment to the mission of the Church of England and urgently seek a settlement through which we would be free to play our part to the fullest measure. We believe this could be done by the formation of a society within the Church of England, overseen by bishops committed to our viewpoint. Such bishops would need, of course, the necessary ordinary jurisdiction that would enable them to be the true pastors of their people and to be guarantors of the sacramental assurance on which we all depend for our authentic sharing within the Body of Christ. Given that our parishes are also constituent parts of local dioceses we also understand that some way would have to be identified for sharing jurisdiction with the diocesan bishop. We understand it to be something of this nature that our archbishops were trying to achieve in their ill-fated amendment at the July meeting of the General Synod. That amendment, though narrowly defeated in the House of Clergy, was widely supported elsewhere in the Synod and, indeed, a majority of members supported it. It might well be that a revisiting of the archbishops' proposals, with some further development of them, could still help our Church to find a way forward that enabled us all to remain faithful members of it.

To this end we have set about forming 'The Society'. It is under the patronage of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda. Two of our number, the Bishops of Blackburn and of Gibraltar in Europe, have agreed to serve as episcopal protectors of The Society. The Bishop of Beverley will be the co-ordinating bishop. We are still in the process of giving more substance to its constitution. It may well be that the latter cannot be finally resolved until we know whether or not the House of Bishops and then the General Synod will be prepared to build further on our initiative. You can find more details as to our thinking by visiting The Society's website. Many have already enrolled as prospective members of The Society and we now encourage all who support us to do so. We need to discover whether such a way forward commands the support of those who look to us for guidance. If that were to be so then it would be good to demonstrate to the wider Church just how many of its members need such provision in order to remain faithful members of it.

We do not want to build up false hopes. Every attempt we have made so far to persuade the Church of England to make the kind of provision that would enable us in good conscience to remain within its fellowship has been thwarted. We feel, nevertheless, duty bound, once again to seek a way out of the impasse that otherwise would make it impossible for many of us to remain faithful members of our Church. We recognise the huge change of heart that would need to happen for us to succeed. We ask you to pray fervently that such a change of heart might take place and encourage you to support us by enrolling in The Society.

+ Nicholas Blackburn
+ John Cicestr:
+ Geoffrey Gibraltar
+ Martyn Beverley
+ John Burnley
+ Peter Edmonton
+ Mark Horsham
+ John Plymouth
+ Anthony Pontefract
+ Martin Whitby
+ Lindsay Urwin
+ Robert Ladds