I am writing regarding your letter in the Telegraph. Unfortunately I don't think it had the impact that you desired, instead it compounded the growing concern about the Church of England leadership that is quite strong in the general public, although the Senior C of E seem oblivious to it. I am not an angry man normally, but I am furious about the current situation because it is harmful to many.
As you have used the Telegraph for your opinion, I will assume that you are a subscriber and ask you to do as the C of E systematically fail to do, look at the response to what you have said. Look at the comments in response to your letter. The C of E use of the press has been one-way for a very long and miserable 7 years, ignoring feedback and acting as if the press are there for the C of E's personal use.
Giles Fraser based his article on facts. He wrote well and reflected a concern that is there among the general public and the remaining congregation. Your letter in response appeared bitter, attacking, and completely devoid of any relationship with Christ, and presumably you hold your position because you profess to be a servant of Christ, although the general public and congregation are increasingly wondering about any remaining relationship with Christ among C of E leadership.
It would appear that the Archbishop and his council are either unaware of, or ignoring the fact that the general public and congregation are being turned away from the Cof E by the leadership. Even elderly and lifelong congregants are considering leaving or converting, and a number have, as Justin Welby's press releases have become unthinkably bizarre and desperate, and his, and the senior Bishops' interferences in politics are disliked universally and intensely. I am sure that you will recall that even the biased 'Yougov' carried out a poll worded in Welby's favour, asking the general public if his interferences in politics were accepted, and the answer was no.
Your article attacks the decline in Gile's Fraser's parish. But with no figures relating to the decline of surrounding parishes or parishes in other areas. If you were not too high up to see the response of the general public to the C of E's press releases, maybe you would see that people are leaving the church because of the senior leadership and their behaviour.
Many elderly and isolated people have no access to 'Zoom' whatever that may be, the crisis has pushed some people over an edge whereby they have lost their internet and landline. So the C of E seems even more exclusive than usual in those circumstances. Traditionally being for the better off, and with a policy making the vulnerable into a liability as it is, for insurance purposes. The C of E, more than ever is at odds with Jesus' Work and Example of inclusiveness.
You proudly talk of having been in so many meetings, but if that is the case, why has the C of E's response to the crisis been so abjectly appalling? What meetings? Meetings about Justin Welby's serious misconduct and refusal to resign? The general public is aware of that too, and the reality of how Welby being investigated by his gatekeeping safeguarding team for only one incident of misconduct, when they have aided him in so many is a sick farce. Justin Welby has caused loss of life through his misconducts, Bob's for example: http://bobhilljersey.
Welby's victim is still homeless because of the biggest cover-up in C of E history where every wrongdoer was allowed to abuse power in law and law enforcement, social services and safeguarding, media and press and more, because the C of E conflict every body for their own use. Did any of your meetings contain the arrangement for the removal and punishment of those involved? This is a serious safeguarding matter, and of course the national safeguarding team have deliberately taken part in harming, smearing, and silencing the victim; you and all of your colleagues are aware of it, so, considering the recent move to pretend to investigate Welby over ONE of his misconducts, you need to refer this, for real, to a neutral body. If there is one left.
The matter was flung into the press by Welby as one of his early vanity and falsehood stunts before people really understood the strategy of the past 7 years, to deceive and to try to make the C of E look good, the strategy has long since failed but is still being used, and Welby's failure to protect the victim and his condonement of the persistent horrific harm to her while he upheld the powerful abusive members of law, government and other senior positions made the whole matter a farce. His and Tim Dakin's actions with the aid of the national safeguarding team to slander the victim and have her violently destroyed to silence her, make him a criminal and Dakin too, why are they still around? And he isn't anyone's archbishop as far as the general public are concerned, the fact that this matter remains unresolved and the victim remains a fugitive and seriously injured; remarkable that she's alive, if she is, not that you care, is a statement about the church that the desperate letters by you and the Dean of Sheffield and others do not drown out but enhance. The victim of the biggest whitewash, in sheer numbers and involvement bigger than the Peter Ball case, in C of E history, didn't have her story recorded anywhere by the C of E, only the opinions of conflicted C of E judges and counsellors and other qualified C of E members were recorded. How many meetings have you had to rectify this as you leave the victim homeless, branded and suffering, You hold no weight with Christ. Your pompous letter to the Telegraph is beyond a joke in light of such things.
You, in your belligerent attitude to Giles Fraser's truths, show that this culture is the core and system of the C of E and it isn't just harmful to the faithful and tearfully deserting congregation, it is a risk to the vulnerable and the general public. Those meetings... cancel them, the C of E is nose diving like the Titanic; address the real issues rather than vanity stroking and waffling. You know the story of the Emperor's New Clothes? How many times does the little boy have to shout out that the C of E is naked? How much longer does this show have to go on? Last night twitter was full of a double bill of the Archbishop toadying the MP for Canterbury as well as supporting Prince Andrew. People are not happy and instead of being an institution which we can turn to for prayer and spiritual support, the C of E has become self-serving, serving Mammon, as former congregant Will Self put it, and completely deaf to the anger of the general public and the distress of the elderly congregation, who can't all up sticks and leave as I and others have done. Parish priests, the final stand in Christianity, are being made redundant, those left are being burdened with too many parishes and responsibilities as well as being strangled in red tape that you create, making it very hard for them to effectively offer Christian Ministry, this isn't new but is now at crisis point.
Finally, I felt compelled to share with you one concise comment on your letter, as you are unlikely to listen to or read any response, we all know the C of E, we know they like to use clever words and arguments but not hear the response.
Ian Walker5 Aug 2020 12:26PM
Canon Simon Butler seems to have been reduced to playing the man rather than the game, his letter is full of ad hominem argument, which suggests to me that he can't actually refute the arguments of Giles Fraser in a way that would convince. Adding this to the fact that as a Canon he has skin in the game, and I think we can ignore what he says until he can come up with a better answer. As to Fraser's congregation having declined, this may be so, but unless we know how much others have also declined in the period, the figures are meaningless. Canon Butler is whistling in the dark, I'm afraid.
The concise opinion and view of the general public is that the C of E has split into struggling parishes and an engorged and out of touch leadership who are ruining the C of E, and an article by another retired clergyman recently gave the view that it is too late to save the C of E, the damage is done. Please think carefully about that as you continue to get drunk on the money and power on your side of the split, and before you make any more offensive pronouncements. Your priorities right now should be safeguarding, the wellbeing of the remaining congregation, and a slimming down of yourselves in the high positions as the top-heaviness is not increasing the Church, it is making it into a secular and hated establishment. The C of E is in the unique position of standing between the nation and Christianity, as was amply pointed out when Welby attacked his family in front page headlines and was 'supported' by the Archbishop of Westminster. And time passes, and things get worse. We as a nation, pray that you find humanity, more is too much to ask for.
Yours in Christ,
Mr John Carter
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