Whither the Church of England – London diocese an exemplar?

David Goodhew’s blog Whither the Church of England? charted the Church of England’s declining trajectory in terms of numbers. Goodhew reported that most C of E dioceses have seen a deep decline in attendance in recent decades but only one diocese, London, has grown. He argues that the C of E learn from the Diocese of London, respecting rather than criticising the elements (largely the HTB model) that have created this success. Thanks to Changing Attitude England’s strong links with the Diocese of London, we are learning from a variety of sources that it is the diocese with the highest reported level of systemic homophobia, abuse and prejudice against LGBTIQ+ people. Is this the kind of model diocese those who wish to arrest the decline in numbers in the Church of England wish to replicate elsewhere?

Victim of abuse failed by London bishops who perversely then pursue the victim’s defender

This blog describes the abuse experienced by Rachel Gillingham at St Luke’s, Kentish Town, and the complaint for misconduct raised against Fr Robert Thompson, Vicar of St James’ Church, West Hampstead in the same Deanery under the Clergy Discipline Measure. Fr Robert is supporting and advocating on behalf of Rachel. The hierarchy of the Church of England when dealing with cases of abuse has repeatedly prioritised the defence of the reputation of individual bishops and of the Church rather than recognising the impact on victims and the priority to deal effectively with the abuse perpetrated on them. Rachel’s abuser has not been effectively dealt with by the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, nor by the Bishop of Edmonton the Rt Revd Rob Wickham, who instead pursue Robert, a gay priest.