Young ordained evangelical ministers will still be needed under every likely future of the Church of England. That was the keynote message from Charlie Skrine, Rector of All Soul’s Langham Place, as he addressed the Church Society’s recent Junior Anglican Evangelical Conference.
Other speakers included Ros Clarke and James Cary (who, with Skrine, now serve on General Synod), together with Lee Gatiss, George Crowder and Rob Munro, the new Bishop of Ebbsfleet.
Skrine, speaking on ‘The Church That Needs You’, made the case for young ordinands remaining within the Church of England. He was careful to stress throughout that conscience comes first. Crucial to his own decision to get ordained 20 years ago was encouragement from Vaughan Roberts that ‘conscience is essential. If something is wrong in your conscience then it is sin for you.’
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For evangelicals in the Church of England, and especially those in full-time ministry, “contending for the faith” has become a …