THE
P RTAL
November 2018
Page 11
What goings on Anglican
in Lancashire! News
The Revd Paul Benfield has quite a tale to tell!
I first visited
Preston about thirty years ago when I was practising at the Chancery Bar in Newcastle
upon Tyne. I was appearing in the Preston Sessions House in a Variation of Trusts Act case before His
Honour Judge Blackett-Ord, Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster, representing the unborn
children, not yet conceived. Some fifteen years ago I appeared in the same courthouse, but this time as a
witness in the Crown Court. It was a licensing appeal and I am pleased to say that the then Recorder of
Preston allowed the owner of my local off-licence to keep his licence for the sale of alcohol.
At the beginning of October I made my third visit
to the Preston Sessions House, this time dressed in
Anglican choir dress. We had processed from Preston
Minster after the Lancashire Judges’ Service at which I
had preached. The service is attended by High Sheriffs
from the ancient County Palatine, which is larger than
the present county of Lancashire and includes Greater
Manchester, Merseyside and part of Cheshire.
that generally civil society looks to the Church of
England for such occasions, even if inviting those of
other denominations to preach or take part.
The fact that the Church of England is established
was further emphasised by events in York Minster on
St Luke’s Day when the Venerable Beverley Mason,
Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven, was consecrated
to be Bishop Suffragan of Warrington.
The service marks the beginning of the legal year
and was this year unusually more dramatic than usual.
I was there in my role as Synodal Secretary of the
First, a chorister collapsed during my sermon (I hope Convocation of York. I processed in convocation
not because of it) and had to have treatment from robes immediately behind the Principal Registrar of
paramedics.
the Province of York and the Vicar General of the
Province of York in their wigs and gowns. Before the
Then, outside the Minster there were demonstrators consecration could take place the Principal Registrar
complaining about the harsh prison sentences handed had to read the mandate from the Queen appointing the
out to some anti-fracking protesters a few weeks candidate to the See of Warrington and commanding
earlier. When the procession of mayors, high sheriffs, the Archbishop to perform all such benedictions and
judges, magistrates, barristers and solicitors arrived at other ceremonies as were necessary.
the Minster there were only a few protesters shouting
outside.
When women bishops were being discussed we had
to settle for a separation of the juridical and sacramental
However, during the service the numbers of protesters roles of bishops and so, though I cannot accept Bishop
grew and the police decided that it was too dangerous Beverley’s sacramental acts, I accept that she is legally
for the procession to return immediately, and so for and canonically the Bishop of Warrington and give her
some twenty minutes the assembled dignitaries were due respect as such.
locked in the Minster unable to leave while arrests
were made outside.
After my last contribution to The Portal, in which
I wondered whether members of the Ordinariate
However, this gave time for some informal and those who had stayed in the Church of England
networking. Finally, we were allowed out and could do anything together for the sake of the gospel,
processed to the Session House for the reading of the I received a couple of letters, to which I shall reply in
royal proclamation.
due course.
Similar events will have been held up and down
the country in major court centres. Though they will
not have exclusively been in Anglican Churches (for
example the Red Mass in Westminster Cathedral) the
established nature of the Church of England means
I want to make clear that what I write here is a
personal contribution and is not necessarily the view
of Forward in Faith (of which I am a trustee) or the
Catholic Group in General Synod (of which I am
chairman).