Church Times - Andrew Carey: Withhold a proportion of giving in protest at 'gay wedding'

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Andrew Carey: Withhold a proportion of giving in protest at 'gay wedding'

19/06/2008 17:30:00

Church of England newspaper columnist Andrew Carey has suggested that churchgoers and parishes withold 'a proportion of giving' in protest at the recent blessing service at St Bartholomew the Great. From his 'Lambeth notes' column in this week's CEN (not online as far as I am aware):

So what do we do now? Events like this should be met with protest to ensure that they do not pass into the theological lifeblood of our Church, without the people having some say about it. Protest, of course, is very different from disengagement and division. And the only effective way for individual laypeople, clergy and PCCs to protest is by withholding a proportion of giving and putting it to another charitable use.

As a one-off response, such ‘quota-capping’ does not imply separatism, it will not bankrupt the Church, and it has more of a symbolic nature. A PCC could, for example, inform the diocese that on one given Sunday the collection will be going directly to a particular mission project in the diocese. This amount will, in turn, be subtracted from the quota. An individual church member could also undertake this form of protest by withholding his or her giving from the Church for one week, and giving instead to another good cause. Such protests are far better undertaken in a co-ordinated way. So email or write to me (via the CEN) if you believe the idea has legs: [email address]

I can understand how a member of St Bartholomew the Great might make such a protest if they were unhappy about recent events, but I fail to see how witholding giving can make sense elsewhere - especially in other dioceses.

If you are planning to let the collection plate pass by this weekend feel free to let us know in the comments below.

Oh yeah, this makes sense. Next week, Andrew Carey will write an article explaining how an apparent crime in Sussex (which is being investigated) should lead people in Durham to withhold a share of their taxes because they live in a country where such things happen.

Doug Chaplin | 19/06/2008 23:57:35

Some of us in the hard-up Durham Diocese have trouble paying the whole of the Parish Share anyway. What world does Carey live in? Without gay clergy this Diocese would be even worse off. Get a life.

Fr David Heron | 20/06/2008 07:24:10

Having read Andrew Carey's comments I can see where he is coming from - a complete disregard of Church regulations for political reasons by a small minority. But for evangelical churches to withhold part of their share because of what happened would be a case of pot calling the kettle black. It would harm the innocent parishes who disagree with what happened and isolate the evangelical voice. But to turn a blind eye, and "get a life" because of the good work people do is not an option either.

Phelim McIntyre | 20/06/2008 10:58:49

If people want to read the whole of Andrew carey's comments they are available as a downloadable PDF file from http://www.churchnewspaper.com/Get-CEN-Online.aspx. Click on the button for The Record and choose "THe Record 20/06/2008"

Phelim McIntyre | 20/06/2008 11:01:26

I will double my giving this week to compensate for Andrew Carey's letting the plate pass.

Mike Lawlor | 20/06/2008 22:56:47