Church Pastoral-Aid Society

The Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) is an Anglican evangelical mission agency that works across Ireland and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1836.

History

The CPAS was founded in 1836 in the midst of the social upheaval of the Industrial Revolution to take "the gospel to every man's door, with a single eye to the glory of God".About CPAS - History
Its founders included the prominent social reformer Lord Shaftesbury.

It initially sought to fulfil its vision by giving grants to poorest parishes to enable them to take on extra help. One early recipient of such a grant was Haworth, which enabled its minister, Patrick Brontë, to employ a curate, Arthur Nicholls, who later married Patrick's daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte summarised and praised the early work of the CPAS in the opening of her 1846 novel ''Shirley'':

While the CPAS has since diversified in its methods, which now notably include its holidays for young people, it retains its original vision of "enabl ngchurches to help every person hear and discover the good news of Jesus Christ."

Work

The CPAS works with churches across Ireland and the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "enable churches to help every person hear and discover the good news of Jesus". Its activities include the ''Growing Leaders'' suite of resources, the Arrow Leadership Programme, weekends, and a range of events and resources for youth and children's leaders.

CPAS is responsible for Venture and Falcon holidays, which are holidays for children aged 8 to 18. Falcons are subsidised holidays for young people who might not otherwise be able to go on holiday. CPAS also has responsibility (sole or shared) for around 700 patronages of Anglican churches across the country. It largely proposes evangelical candidates for appointment by bishops.

Ruth Bushyager, the Bishop of Horsham, is the chair of trustees.

There is a head office team who develop and deliver tools, training and resources for churches.

Their records are held at the University of Birmingham Special Collections.

Controversy

In March 2021, the ''Church Times'' reported a conflict in 2018 between CPAS and the PCC of St Luke's, West Holloway (a member of Inclusive Church), over the appointment of a new vicar. The PCC representatives could not agree with the patron on which candidates to shortlist, after two rounds of interviews. After a year elapsed, CPAS' right of presentation expired, and eventually the new vicar, John MacKenzie, was appointed by Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London. Joanne Grenfell, Bishop of Stepney, is working to resolve the situation by trying to find another parish with which to do a patronage swap. Neither John Dunnett, CPAS general director, nor Mike Duff, CPAS patronage secretary, commented to the ''Church Times''.

Writing about the system of patronage, Martin Wroe suggested it is "time to disempower some of these hidden hierarchies and place a little more trust in the local".

Affirmations on Sexuality

Following the proposed introduction of same-sex blessings (Prayers of Love and Faith) by the Church of England, CPAS released an announcement that included a statement titled "Affirmations on Sexuality" (a copy of such a summary made by the Evangelical Alliance). This states, among other things, the following:

* "We affirm that marriage is an institution created by God in which one man and one woman enter into an exclusive relationship for life."
* "We oppose moves within certain churches to accept and/or endorse sexually active same-sex partnerships as a legitimate form of Christian relationship and to permit the ordination to ministry of those in such sexual relationships."
* "We oppose church services of blessing for civil partnerships and other forms of gay and lesbian relationships as unbiblical"

"Affirmations on Sexuality" also included the following paragraph:

On 8 January 2024, following criticism, CPAS removed reference to the "Affirmations on Sexuality" from their website and noted that "CPAS is opposed to any form of conversion therapy". A follow up statement clarified that while "our patronage represent a broad family, holding a spectrum of convictions", the intention of the Affirmations was to express that the trustees of CPAS "hold to the doctrine of the Church of England on marriage and sexual ethics" (i.e. that marriage between one man and one woman for life is the only place for sexual activity).

Notes

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.cpas.org.uk/

Anglican organizations
Christian charities based in the United Kingdom
Church of England societies and organisations
Church of England missionary societies
Organisations based in Coventry
Religion in Warwickshire
University of Warwick
1836 establishments in the United Kingdom