As Anglo-Catholic laity we tend to get on with the job in hand, with living our faith day by day, with showing God’s love to all around us, and we leave the running of the church to our representatives on the various synods.
It can appear we are a small minority, when in fact there are thousands of us up and down the country who are deeply concerned with what the church has done and is about to do.
On January 28 you have the opportunity to show your concern and highlight our need for structured provision. It is time to stand up and be counted. Don’t leave it to other people; this is your opportunity to be heard; so grasp it with both hands.
I look forward to seeing you in a packed Central Hall.
If you don’t manage to get a ticket for Forward in Hope – please pray for us on the day.
Sister Anne Williams CA
Vice-Chairman FiF
It can sometimes seem that ordinary Catholic folk in the Church of England are victims of a system which does not understand our position and has no awareness of our needs. As a people we have long been committed to a structural solution for our continued life within the church of our baptism as it proceeds to the ordination of women to the episcopate. As the time draws near when the guidelines for the drafting of legislation will emerge our voice needs to be heard.
We have come a long way since November 1992. We have learned to support each other, to grow alongside each other and to face the future with confidence and hope. That is why we have called the meeting which is to take place at Central Hall, Westminster on January 28 Forward in Hope.
We know we have a future in this church; and we are prepared to fight for it and to make our voice heard. It would be an absurdity – a crime even – were the House of Bishops and the General Synod to seek to provide for us without listening to what we need. We owe it to them as well as to ourselves to make our case clearly and with all the force we may.
Be with us on January 28. Be among those who won for Catholic Anglicans a secure future and a firm foothold.
X John Fulham