Mr. Slope lives!

Well. bless me ! Here is a neat joke. A letter arrives to tell of Important Changes in the way clergy hold their jobs. It will use the daft excuse that we have to modify our practice to meet modern Legislative requirements.

It is the imminence of a beastie called Common Tenure. And what does this fine letter say? It tells people who are Priests in Charge with no security of tenure, or Team Vicars and Team Rectors on five year contracts, that Common Tenure will give them more security. And it even has the gall, generously to invite people who hold Office as Incumbents to have the chance to change to this wonderful Common Tenure (which, frankly, is no more than a glorified version of being a Priest in Charge!)

Too many Anglican Clergy have not been around long enough to have watched the dear Archdeacons and Bishops spending the last twenty years suspending the Right of Presentation to Benefices so that clergy could be appointed as Priests in Charge at the Bishop's whim, with little or simply no security. They have done this, so that that they could appoint appropriate people to Parishes while appearing to give the people much more say in choosing their new Vicar (or they won't pay their quotas :-)

The terrible fraud has been, that Bishops and Archdeacons don't want people to have any more say in the choice of their next incumbent than they ever have had..... and they reckoned it was a neat way to control clergy better. Incumbents are a nuisance for our silly Management-orientated people. Too independent.

And Bishop/Managers really don't like independent clergy. Actually they want Yes-Men. And in the Church of England today that generally means Very Evangelical Yes-Men, because it is the Very Evangelical bit of our church that looks successful (i.e. generate funds)........

Well, I find it deeply amusing, that after spending 20 years making lots of clergy less secure than they should have been, the dear Archies and Bishops, bless them, are now busy telling us that they have been working at a way to give us more security!! Take away with one hand and give back, but less, with the other.. Some deal eh? Sneaky, I call it. Just plain sneaky.

Tell you what.
I will think about exchanging my Freehold for this Common Tenure, when every single Bishop and every single Archdeacon in the whole Church of England holds office by Common Tenure. A five year contract, renewable only if their clergy vote for them to stay. How about that ? Not seen all that many Bishops rushing to give up their Freeholds...... Well, well......