Embattled ordinations of eight deacons and one priest proceeded Dec. 7 with a service held at the East London Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Several retired bishops attended the service, one of the first official acts of the Rt. Rev Andy Lines, who became a bishop for the Anglican Mission in England almost immediately after the Scottish Episcopal Church authorized marriage rites for same-sex couples.
The ordination service included video messages from the archbishops of Nigeria and Uganda but, unlike Church of England ordinations, no celebration of the Eucharist. Both archbishops have boycotted recent Primates’ Meetings.
The Rev. Rico Tice, a senior minister for evangelism at All Souls’ Langham Place, preached. Jane Patterson, a member of General Synod, read a lesson, while Susie Leaf, director of the conservative evangelical network Reform, led intercessions.
The new deacons are Jon Cawsey, Alistair Harper, Christopher Houghton, Kenny Larsen, Martin Soole, Robert Tearle, Matthew Thompson, and Christopher Youngs. The new priest is Peter Jackson.
John Martin
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
