Bishop Schofield of San Joaquin ‘inhibited’
In a move which will surprise few, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Kathering Jefferts Schori has inhibited Bishop John-David Schofield –
“I hereby inhibit the said Bishop Schofield and order that from and after 5:00 p.m. PST, Friday, January 11, 2008, he cease from exercising the gifts of ordination in the ordained ministry of this Church…”
He has been given two months to ‘recant’. The inhibition will have little effect since Bishop Schofield and his Diocesan Convention have formally left the Episcopal Church and aligned with the Province of the Southern Cone, although the inhibition is seen as a precursor to legal action by Bishop Jefferts Schori.
Read a report from Episcopal Life.
See also this story – “Episcopal Church bans bishop for 2 mos. after he pushed secession” – from the San Jose Mercury.
Don Carson in Sydney this March
A reminder that Professor Don Carson will be speaking at Moore College in Sydney on Wednesday 26th March.
Details are available in this PDF file from the Moore College website.
Preliminary Report from Fort Worth on the Invitation to Join the Southern Cone
“Based on our review, we have concluded that the structure and polity of the Province of the Southern Cone would afford our diocese greater self-determination than we currently have under the General Convention of The Episcopal Church. This autonomy would be evident most specifically in the areas of property ownership, liturgy, holy orders, and missionary focus. …”
Read the full Preliminary Report from the Bishop of Fort Worth and his Standing Committee – on the Fort Worth website.
Church Society analysis of the C of E response to Draft Covenant
“The Church of England has issued its response to the Anglican Covenant first mooted by the Windsor Group and then put out by the Covenant Design Group. The General Synod unwisely gave the Archbishops authority to respond on their behalf and the fears of some in doing so have been realised. In effect the response completely re-writes the original CDG version.”
Read the Church Society’s analysis by David Phillips, Church Society General Secretary.
Church of England Response to draft Anglican Covenant
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, as Presidents of the General Synod, have submitted a Church of England Response to the draft Anglican Covenant published last year for discussion around the Anglican Communion.
All Anglican Provinces were invited to comment on the text prepared by the Covenant Design Group chaired by the Archbishop of the West Indies, the Most Revd Drexel Gomez.
The Response to the draft Anglican Covenant can be read here (rtf file) – linked from this page on the C of E website.
Anglican archbishop spurs opposition to gays
“Outspoken Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen is galvanising opposition to homosexuality in the church, in the lead-up to an unofficial meeting of conservative bishops in Jerusalem.
As rifts in the worldwide Anglican Church threaten to become a schism, the Sydney Archbishop said American Anglicans had become missionaries for homosexuality in defiance of the Bible and Anglican teaching. The Global Anglican Future Conference is provocatively timed just before the 10-yearly meeting of all the world’s bishops at Lambeth in London. That meeting must resolve the sexuality crisis or worldwide Anglicans will probably divide into two separate churches. …”
Read the full report by Barney Zwartz in The Age.
(Concerning the inaccurate headline – see the GAFCON FAQ.)
31 bishops stand with Bishop Schofield
Thirty one bishops, including Jack Iker (Bishop of Fort Worth), Peter Jensen (Archbishop of Sydney), Robert Forsyth (Bishop of South Sydney) and Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali (Bishop of Rochester), have written a letter of support for Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin in his decision to leave The Episcopal Church and to align with the Province of the Southern Cone.
The letter, posted today on the San Joaquin diocesan website, reads as follows –
Dear Bishop John-David,
We, Episcopal colleagues from across the Anglican Communion and across the world, write to salute you on the courageous decision of the Diocesan Convention of San Joaquin to take leave of The Episcopal Church and to align with the Province of the Southern Cone. We know that decision was to a large extent the result of your tenacity and faithful leadership, and for that we give thanks to God. It has been said that you are isolated and alone. We want you and the world to know that in this decision for the faith once delivered to the saints, we stand with you and beside you. May Christ abundantly bless you and your diocese with all the gifts of the Spirit and with joy in believing.
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth
and:
The Most Rev. Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney
The Rt. Rev. Matthias Medadues-Badohu, Bishop of Ho
The Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester…
Read the letter and see the full list of signatories on the San Joaquin website (PDF file).
Hugh Latimer – Apostolic Preacher
The Church Society has made available a helpful piece on Hugh Latimer, bishop and martyr of the English Reformation. Written by David Streater and originally published in Crossway in 1996, the nine page article can be downloaded as a PDF file.
Take the opportunity, this quiet time of year, to learn of and to thank the Lord for Bishop Hugh Latimer.