Surviving Church Conflict

Product Information

In the circumstances, surely none of the existing Christ Church trustees should have been considered for appointment as Dean to succeed Martyn Percy, even on an interim basis. If an appointment was to be made, ahead of Dominic Grieve KC’s report and the implementation of any changes he may recommend to the governance of the college, an outsider should have been appointed, as often happens these days in a benefice where there has been division, and/or other historic problematic issues, when an interim priest-in-charge is appointed, both to seek to heal the divisions and oversee any necessary changes ahead of the appointment of a successor incumbent. Under these circumstances it is hard to see how Prof Foot could be able to remain as a charity trustee, let alone being appointed to a permanent salaried position that involves acting as chair of the trustee body. That servile relationship with the Archbishops’ Council is highlighted by the fact that Meg Munn has been imposed on the ISB as acting chair, in clear breach of the ISB’s terms of reference, which state that the Archbishops’ Council “ratifies” board appointments and that each member is appointed following a process that includes “public advertisement of vacancies” and “the use of expert recruiters to ensure a wide field”. Added to this is the obvious conflict of interest in appointing a person who is also chairs the National Safeguarding Panel [NSP]. As I ponder the facts and watch the consequences unfold over the next few weeks I am put in mind of the late political interviewer Robin Day who explained late in his career that he usually began an interview with one simple question in his mind. “Why is this bastard lying to me”? Ms Atkinson’s resignation comes at the conclusion of a process of contractually “enforced conciliation” – an oxymoron – which was never likely to have a happy outcome after eight months of estrangement seasoned with findings of adverse data mishandling by the Chair. Survivors were reporting a loss of confidence in her, and one can hardly be surprised that the Survivor Advocate Jasvinder Sanghera took their concerns very seriously. Without survivor confidence the ISB is incapable of functioning properly.

We believe that one of the best ways we can help individuals and communities to respond well to abuse is through creative projects. This creates space for a conversation between those with lived experience and others in their communities. Imagination is one of the most powerful resources God gives us to foster a more empathetic understanding of the needs of survivors and what helpful responses might look and sound like as we journey forwards together.

It is some months since Surviving Church last looked at the ongoing saga of Christ Church in Oxford. Over the past few days, we have heard, without a great deal of surprise, that the College and the Diocese have appointed Canon Professor Sarah Foot to the post of Dean vacated by Martyn Percy. The question about whether Canon Foot will make a good Dean is not a topic I feel qualified to comment on. But there are some observations about this appointment to be made.One major challenge for the new Dean exists which will define her legacy. Is she able to help heal the entire institution, Cathedral and College, from the bitter divisions of the last five years of conflict? So now we know that the Audit Committee can look into these matters and it needs to do so as a matter of urgency. Isn’t the problem that the C of E feels it can ‘mark its own homework’ and doesn’t really like the idea of any truly independent scrutiny? I see the ISB as the secondary issue here, but what has so far been revealed about it rather supports the point. When the ISB Chair and Lead Bishop were insisting the ISB was “fully independent” they may well have been speaking in good faith, but did nobody know this was false or erroneous?” Readers of this blog will recognise the signs and symptoms of narcissism. Individuals with severe narcissistic personalities in leadership have had plenty of exposure on this and the other side of the Pond. I need not name examples, except to note that despite continuing uncovering of significant moral and other failures, they still believe wholeheartedly in their own narrative and are not dissuaded in carrying on their crusades to regaining power whatsoever.

There are several known complaints against the Secretary General from survivor victims none of whose grievances appear to quite to fit within the parameters of those NCI complaint policies which have been ascertained. The enquiry into the Christ Church statutes and systems of governance by Dominic Grieve KC has begun. No doubt the difficult underlying issue of whether the Dean of Christ Church should always be an ordained Anglican priest will, at some point, be faced. Canon Foot appears to see herself as an interim holder of the post, pending any possible major changes to the constitution of the College that may be recommended by the different enquiries. At this moment it does make sense to appoint an available in-house candidate who meets the current requirements. I have no doubt that Canon Foot will have made some careful assessment of the existing and potential problems of the College/Cathedral. The challenges are enormous. She will be carrying the additional burden of having been identified firmly with one group of members of the Governing Body and it remains to be seen if she can ever fulfil the role of being a unifying figure. The statement from the CofE, after a thorough investigation, exonerating the Dean of any wrongdoing. The rejection of that judgment by dons prosecuting the Dean of Christ Church, who were still wanting to assert that the Dean posed a “risk”. (Both September 2020). One of the issues faced by every ‘apostate’ is that of enforced social upheaval. I was moved by the account of the young Janet Fife (contributor to this blog) being utterly alone on the day of her confirmation. The normal social affirmation of parents and godparents was, for her, completely absent. The path of a Christian who wishes to forge their own way towards their reality can be painfully lonely. It takes a particular kind of stamina to place one’s sense of authenticity and truth ahead of the need to fit in and belong to family or tribe. One of the things I take from the book is an enormous respect for the bravery of these spiritual ‘apostates’, even though the solutions they choose do not necessarily conform to anything I personally would want to commend. In writing this, I am reminded of the old liberal principle which states something along the lines of: ‘I disagree with you profoundly, but I defend to the last your right to express your opinion.’In 2015, following the completion of the review of past safeguarding cases over the last fifty years (the Courage, Cost & Hope Report), The Methodist Church offered a full unreserved apology to survivors and victims of abuse for the failure of current and past processes in fully protecting children, young people and adults from abuse.

The circumstances in which Joanne Grenfell became a member of the House of Bishops are, I suspect, not well-known, and are not without controversy. These, then, are the facts concerning Bishop Joanne’s election to the HoB: Well, the thanks is really for you Ms Stein, and to your colleagues, for the substantive efforts you have made!Those who are to devise the Review questions and set the all-important terms of reference include Sir Roger Singleton – the acting head of the NST during the early period of the complaints scope; he reported directly to William Nye, and worked with the Lawyers of Church House – all of whom are the explicit subject of the complaint. Apparently, in the eyes of the Church and its Secretariat, no reasonable person could have a reasonable perception of bias arising out of those associations! The reader who can identify with the stories of ‘apostasy’ told by those who travelled the path of hard and demanding study, will know that one of the features of this approach to faith is the sheer untidiness, even messiness, that they find in ‘liberal’ statements of belief. Many Christians are unwilling to exchange the certainties of conservative teaching for the ‘uncertainty’ path where questions are not always answered. Clinching an argument by a neat quote from scripture would be an approach that most of our authors, recalling their journeys through change, would reject. Freedom of thought for them is a highly valued commodity. These two approaches to faith, loosely described as conservative and liberal, account for the chasm that we find today among Christians. Some are content with the place of settled unchanging opinions where difficult problems are brushed aside. Others are prepared for the challenges of ambiguity and uncertainty, recognising that the world of questioning and challenging assumptions is rarely tidy. We do not, this side of the grave, arrive at the kind of secure safety that many people think is claimed by the Christian faith. The perspective of Percy and Foster’s book is that the Church and its members should always be on a journey of learning. The feature of this kind of journey is one that requires the humility to say that it will never have all the answers to human problems. Statements which emerge from popular Christian teaching, which begin with the words ‘the Bible is clear’, are frankly dishonest and this dishonesty is damaging to the point of being destructive. The destination that our ten contributors have found is one, not described as presenting certainty, but as a place of personal integrity and honesty. That does not make the individual journeys described as necessarily right for anyone else. What is right for us as the readers of the book is that we should consider the place of spiritual pilgrimage and change in our Christian calling. This book Faiths Lost and Found gives us some idea of what each of our personal journeys might look like. clergy and lay members of church bodies who need to see, hear and respond well to those who have experienced trauma and abuse in the church Such expertise does exist, but rarely resides in a single individual. Teamwork will be needed. Someone who knows the detailed inside workings of the CC, having worked there, would top my list. But in this case the brief is different: it’s not how to scam the system to max out the benefit for dodgy trustees, but how to enforce the system, using the system as it stands, in the likely most effective way, to protect smaller people with generally less money.