Let this be a warning to all of us!
The Church of England (not really a Church since it doesn’t have apostolic succession) follows the winds of trends and fads. It must do so. It is tied to the State, which follows trends and fads. There is also the problem of weirdness.
I bring up the C of E not because I think that it is a big deal, over all. It’s main utility is to serve as a warning to real Churches.
Here is an example. This, by the way, is the path that the writers of the Fishwrap, or National Schismatic Reporter, want for the Catholic Church. You can tell just by reading the latest slimy piece over there.
From The Guardian:
Church of England to consider transgender naming ceremony
The Church of England is to debate plans to introduce a ceremony akin to a baptism to mark the new identities of Christians who undergo gender transition.
The Rev Chris Newlands, the vicar of Lancaster Priory, has proposed a motion to the General Synod to debate the issue, after he was approached by a young transgender person seeking to be “re-baptised” in his new identity.
The motion, which was passed by Blackburn Diocese last month, calls on the House of Bishops to consider whether it should introduce a new service to mark the milestone in the life of a trans person. A spokesperson for the Archbishops’ Council confirmed that the motion had been received, but said it would not be debated imminently.
Newlands urged the church to take the lead on welcoming a group that suffered high levels of discrimination.
He said he knew a number of trans people though his work with LGBT organisations. “It’s an absolute trauma to go through this, with the surgery, as people get a lot of transphobic bullying. The church needs to take a lead and be much more proactive to make sure they are given a warm welcome.”
The motion had “captured people’s imagination”, he said, and already gathered a large amount of support. It has been passed by the parochial church council, the Deanery Synod and the Blackburn Diocese, which covers Lancashire.
[…]
The rest is just plain bizarre.
