Dr Phillip Aspinall re-elected Primate

Archbishop Phillip Aspinall“The Anglican Church of Australia has re-elected Brisbane Archbishop Phillip Aspinall as the Primate of the Church for a further term of six years.

A meeting of the Primate Board of Electors in Sydney today re-elected Dr Aspinall following his election in 2005 for three years…”

– Full press release (PDF) from the General Synod Office.

(Note: The Primate’s main role is to chair meetings of General Synod. Unlike, for example, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church of Australia does not have a ‘head’, other than Christ. Each diocese operates largely independently. Dr. Aspinall is Archbishop of Brisbane.) Photo: General Synod Office.

Joint Statement made at City of London Deanery Synod

St. Bartholemew the Great, LOndonThe latest from London –

“All of us who sign this statement are sinners and celebrating any of our sins would have just the same serious consequences.”

Joint Statement from the City of London Deanery Synod representatives from St Helen Bishopsgate, St Peter-upon-Cornhill, and St Botolph-without-Aldersgate, made at the Deanery Synod on 16th October 2008.

On 31 May 2008 at The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great the Revd Dr Martin Dudley conducted a service of blessing for the Revd Peter Cowell and the Revd Dr David Lord, subsequent to their civil partnership ceremony. We are grateful that the Bishop of London has called for an investigation, but given that our Deanery Synod meets on Thursday 16th October 2008 for fellowship and prayer we want to explain the degree to which that fellowship has been fractured.  Read more

Manitoba parish votes to join ANiC

Anglican Network in CanadaThe congregation of St Bede’s Anglican Church in Kinosota, Manitoba voted overwhelmingly yesterday, October 15, to come under the episcopal oversight of Bishops Donald Harvey and Malcolm Harding of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) and under the Primatial authority of Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. …

– Full press release at the Anglican Network in Canada.

Invitation to CofE members to support Vancouver churches

David Short and James PackerMembers of the Church of England have been invited to express their support for the Anglican Network in Canada parishes, including St. John’s Shaughnessy, where David Short is Rector.

The petition, and background information, is available at this link. The actual petition reads:

We, the undersigned, as active clergy and lay members of the Church of England, stand with those parishes in Vancouver that are part of the Anglican Network in Canada, affirming that they are authentically Anglican.

Australian readers (who therefore cannot sign this petition) are urged to continue in prayer. Formore information, please see the St. John’s website.

(Photo: David Short and James Packer at St. John’s Shaughnessy.)

The ESV Study Bible – A Review

ESV Study Bible“The ESV team has done an excellent job of generating excitement for the ESV Study Bible and particularly so among the type of person who tends to read my book reviews. So in this review I will try to cut through the hype and, to the best of my ability, judge this new Bible on its own merits.…”

– Tim Challies offers his review of the just-published ESV Study Bible.

Also, learn about the ESV Study Bible Online – the full text of which will be available to owners of the printed version. The site explains –

“Even if you don’t have a registration code, the ESV Online Study Bible offers you several features:

Basically, without a registration code you can do everything except access the ESV Study Bible notes and resources. If you buy a print ESV Study Bible later, you can unlock these notes and resources. One of our goals is to make the ESV Online Study Bible useful to you, even if you don’t yet own a print ESV Study Bible.”