Anglicans rending at Oxford seminary

Stephen Bates, religious affairs correspondent for the Guardian writes:

The discontent at Wycliffe Hall, an evangelical Anglican college which is part of Oxford University, has seen several resignations among its small academic staff and claims that one of its most prominent members, the regular Thought for the Day contributor Elaine Storkey, was threatened with disciplinary action.

The college has been accused of becoming more theologically conservative, more hostile to women's ordination and more homophobic since the appointment of its principal, Richard Turnbull, a vicar from Basingstoke and a former accountant without senior academic managerial experience, two years ago.

Last night, the governing council announced it had launched an internal review and pledged support for Dr Turnbull.
...
It counts two current diocesan bishops, Tom Wright of Durham and James Jones of Liverpool, who now chairs the governing council, among alumni as well as the Rev Nicky Gumbel, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton and founder of the Alpha Course.

According to its website, the college aims to be "an international centre of evangelical theology....

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Posted by John B. Chilton on May 16, 2007 8:10 AM | |
Comments (1)

A very similar thing happened to the parish I used to belong to in the USA, in the Fort Worth diocese. A very conservative rector was brought in and the parish immediately made a hard right turn. It had been diverse and tolerant. Now it is neither. Finally, my wife and I moved to a different parish in the neighboring diocese, because we felt completely shut out. Like Wycliffe College, the old parish became "more theologically conservative, more hostile to women's ordination and more homophobic" in a very brief time. (posted by Alan Justice)

Posted by AlanJ [TypeKey Profile Page] | May 16, 2007 10:08 AM

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