Anglican Communion ‘in first stages of divorce’
The Archbishop of the Southern Cone says the Anglican Communion is in the first stages of divorce.
“I believe that the time comes when a marriage is no longer a marriage and you have to recognise it. With reference to the two positions in Anglicanism at present we are incompatible doctrinally and ethically and quite different in our presuppositions…” said Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone. …
Speaking at a press conference of the Anglican Network in Canada, a conference of 400 orthodox Anglicans meeting near Vancouver, BC, Venables said liberal Christianity does not have a doctrine of salvation or believe that Jesus is uniquely the Son of God. Liberal Christianity is not true Christianity. There is no eternal hope or salvation. …
from David Virtue at VirtueOnline. (Photo: Anglican Network in Canada. L–R: Bishop Don Harvey, Archbishop Greg Venables, Dr J I Packer.)
True Worship
“To worship God ‘in spirit and in truth’ is first and foremost a way of saying that we must worship God by means of Christ. In him the reality has dawned and the shadows are being swept away (Hebrews 8:13). Christian worship is new covenant worship; it is gospel-inspired worship; it is Christ-centred worship; it is cross-focussed worship.”
– D.A. Carson, Worship by the Book (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 37. With thanks to firstimportance.org
San Joaquin legal action begins
As has been widely expected, The Episcopal Church has begun legal action against the Diocese of San Joaquin (Southern Cone) –
“The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin and The Episcopal Church (TEC) filed a complaint in Fresno County Superior Court on April 24 ‘to reclaim possession of the real and personal property belonging to the diocese’. …”
– from Episcopal Life Online.
Update: Anglican Mainstream now has a letter from Bishop Schofield to the members of his diocese.
Vero Beach Florida in ‘amicable separation’
Bishop John Howe, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, has written to the members of Trinity Episcopal Church Vero Beach, Florida –
“It was agreed that those who wish to disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church will do so as of July 1, 2008. They will leave the historic Trinity Episcopal Church property and organize as a new congregation elsewhere. …”
Read the full letter below – Read more
J I Packer at “Compelled by Christ’s love”
Dr Jim Packer has spoken on the first day of the “Compelled by Christ’s love” conference currently being held in Vancouver.
“May I begin by saying where I come from. If a certain dignitary kept his word and threat, I am here under false pretences. Two days ago I will have been deprived of the ministry to which I was ordained in 1952 and I ought not to be wearing a clerical collar. It is utterly tragic. This led me to resonate deeply with the way Archbishop Venables presented in his talk. I have a joyful heart. …
God is preparing and toughening us for specially demanding conflict. In our call to mission, I suspect that over the next generations it is going to be exceedingly tough as we face secularism and ethnic religions surge which do not tolerate Christianity. The pressure is on and increasing. God is toughening us for mission. …”
Southern Cone bishop lends support
Why can’t Canada’s infighting Anglicans just love each other?
That’s the question one of South America’s high-level Anglicans is bringing to the country – even while he accuses Vancouver-area Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham of not being an authentic Christian for allowing the blessing of same-sex relationships.
“I tell people in Canada not to get filled up with bitterness about the homosexual issue, to just try to allow Christ’s love and generosity to come through,” says Gregory Venables, who was elected primate (senior archbishop) of the Southern Cone in 2001. … “I believe truth is above geography. I place doctrine above jurisdiction,” Venables said, the day before he was to attend a conference at South Delta Baptist Church sponsored by the Anglican Network in Canada, which represents breakaway Anglicans. …
Report by Douglas Todd in the National Post. (Photo: Bill Keay/Canwest News Service)
Second Australian woman bishop announced
This press release has just been issued by Anglican Media Melbourne –
“The Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Philip Freier, has announced the appointment of Canon Barbara Darling as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Melbourne. She is currently the vicar of the parish of St James’, Dandenong.
Canon Darling (60) is only the second woman to be made a bishop in Australia, following the recent appointment of Archdeacon Kay Goldsworthy as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Perth. Canon Darling will be consecrated as a bishop on 31 May in St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. …”
Read it all here. Canon Darling will be the second woman bishop in Australia.
(The first Australian woman bishop, Kay Goldsworthy, was announced on April 11. At that time, ACL President Dr Mark Thompson said that the Perth decision add “a new level of difficulty to the relationship between the various dioceses in the Anglican Church of Australia and raises a series of significant issues of conscience for those committed to living out the teaching of Scripture, rejoicing in that teaching as God’s good word to us”.)
Update: See also “Women Bishops in Australia” by David Ould, at Stand Firm.
Call for prayer for Zimbabwe this Sunday
Christians worldwide have been asked to make this Sunday (April 27) a special day of prayer for Zimbabwe, “a nation in dire distress and teetering on the brink of human disaster”. The call comes from Bob Stumbles, Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Harare. Read the press release via the Anglican Communion News Service.
(Graphic: Anglican Communion Office.)
The flowers are blossoming
“The flowers are blossoming into a kaleidoscope of shapes and colours. The congregations are blossoming with a variety of ministries and languages. The church’s programs are blossoming into vibrant systems of education, assistance, development and growth.
During her short stay in the Diocese of Southeast Florida April 15 – 17, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori journeyed from the northern end of the diocese to the south, visiting five churches and addressing seven gatherings along the way. …”
– What reads like a Messianic visit to Florida, from Episcopal Life Online.
(Photo: Mary Cox / Episcopal Life Online.)