THE Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, said on Thursday afternoon that, after the Bishop of Newcastle’s resignation, he would proceed as co-chair of the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process, “with several provisos”.
That morning, the Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, had cited “serious concerns referring to the recent technique of appointing an interim theological adviser to the House of Bishops” as her reason for resigning as the opposite co-chair (News, 1 February).
In his statement, Bishop Snow says that he’s “deeply saddened” by Dr Hartley’s decision, which got here just two months after they were appointed as co-chairs.
“I greatly enjoyed working together with her on this process and I would like to precise my personal thanks for her support and encouragement, and my respect for her decision to prioritise her ministry in her own diocese,” he writes.
He says that he has spoken to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and told them that he would stay on, provided that one other co-chair was appointed who commanded “similar respect” to that commanded by Dr Hartley.
Bishop Snow and Dr Hartley have made public their differences on the problem of blessings for same-sex couples, which lies at the center of the LLF process. In an article for the Church Times last week, they appealed for “reconciliation and bridge-building” within the Church (Comment, 26 January).
Bishop Snow says that the Secretary-General of the Archbishops’ Council, William Nye, “might want to appoint a second interim theological adviser to the House of Bishops in order that there’s the same model of working together across difference”.
Bishop Snow indicates that the co-lead bishops for LLF ought to be involved within the appointment of future advisers, and writes that “the Faith and Order Commission must remain a various group which resources the House of Bishops through careful, wealthy and nuanced theological work.”
Though he isn’t mentioned by name in either statement, the appointment referred to is that of the Revd Dr Tom Woolford, who’s to be the interim theological adviser to the House of Bishops and secretary to the Faith and Order Commission (FAOC), until the position is filled permanently in September.
On Thursday, the chair of the FAOC, the Bishop in Europe, Dr Robert Innes, explained the appointment process, which involved interview by a panel on which Dr Innes was joined by Mr Nye and two clergy members of the FAOC.
Dr Woolford, who’s the Vicar of All Saints’, New Longton, and a tutor at Emmanuel Theological College, was shortlisted and and interviewed by the panel in a “proper process”, Dr Innes said.
“I’m a bit concerned that people who find themselves outside the method are wanting influence what was a correct process, and from my standpoint we will’t have people chosen for effectively civil service roles by popular vote.”
Dr Innes said Dr Woolford can be in an “advisory role, not an executive role”.
The appointment had been criticised online, with a give attention to an article published in 2019 by which Dr Woolford wrote: “I believe it will be disastrous and desperately wicked if the Church were to organize blessings for things we must not bless.”
Speaking to the Church Times, Dr Woolford said “I’m still a conservative on blessings and on sexuality; in order that part hasn’t modified . . . but I’d put quite a lot of things in another way in light of the journey that we’ve been on in Synod and in the broader Church.”
He emphasised that the article had been written for a conservative readership, and pre-dated the conclusion of the discussion stage of LLF and his election as a General Synod representative for the diocese of Blackburn — a position that he has relinquished to take up his recent role.
In his statement, Bishop Snow also emphasises that the diocese of Leicester is his “first priority”, and asks the Archbishops to “consider leading a time of prayerful reflection at General Synod which sets this whole process once more within the context of discernment about what kind of Church we’re called to be in the approaching years”.