Bishops in bid to overturn gay marriage
On Nov 17, Bishop J Jon Bruno of Los Angeles and Bishop Marc Andrus of California along with the California Council of Churches, the Progressive Jewish Alliance and the Unitarian Universalist Church filed a writ with the California Supreme Court seeking an injunction blocking implementation of the petition based by voters. …
– Report by George Conger for Religious Intelligence.
(Photo of Bishop Marc Andrus: Diocese of California.)
Coming soon to EHarmony – Adam & Steve
EHarmony … the Pasadena-based dating website, heavily promoted by Christian evangelical leaders when it was founded, has agreed in a civil rights settlement to give up its heterosexuals-only policy and offer same-sex matches. …
It must not only implement the new policy by March 31 but also give the first 10,000 same-sex registrants a free six-month subscription. …
– Report from The Los Angeles Times. (Graphic: EHarmony.)
What’s going on in Sydney?
Sydney Diocesan Synod passed a resolution in October that recognized that it is both legal and desirable for those in deacon’s orders to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This has raised again the issue of lay people presiding at the Lord’s Supper, which has long been a strongly held view in the Diocese of Sydney.…
– Canon Chris Sugden writes for Evangelicals Now. Read it at Anglican Mainstream.
Paralysed Speakers and Hearers – John Stott
Even those who no longer see any particular merit in preaching would probably agree that it is not what it was. Many of those who value it would say that it is in a state of steep decline, and to recall a few notable names from the past would appear to confirm this. Of course, styles have changed, the world has changed. But are we not missing out? Are we not in danger of losing a basic ingredient of a living church? …
– John Stott, as published in CrossWay, 1981. Read his brief article, as a PDF file, courtesy of Church Society. (Photo: Langham Partnership.)
What if Starbucks marketed like a church? A parable.
Of course, your church won’t be like this – but this video provides plenty of food for thought. Richard Reising, with a background in marketing, produced it to show how not to welcome visitors.
See the video on YouTube – and read Richard’s comments at his new Beyond Relevance blog.
Thinking about preaching
Colin Adams in Edinburgh shares what he finds helpful about his senior pastor’s preaching…
“Peter Grainger is the current Senior Pastor of Charlotte Baptist Chapel, the 18th in its history. It has been an immense blessing for me to work under him for almost six years. Peter’s preaching has not only taught me many biblical truths. Sitting under his expository messages has probably been more influential in developing my own preaching style than anything else.…”
– Read it at Unashamed Workman.
Plans to create a conservative province ‘disturbing,’ says primate
News of a plan to create a new North American Anglican province that would be defined by conservative theology rather than a geographic location may have been greeted with enthusiasm by delegates at the Anglican Network in Canada’s first synod last week, but Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, described the plan as “disturbing.”…
– Text of a report from the Anglican Church of Canada’s Anglican Journal – interspersed with commentary on the Anglican Essentials Canada blog.
Anglicanism upside down Down Under? – understanding Lay Administration
“Conservative evangelicals, such as those typically found in Sydney, do not see themselves as bound to tradition as their High Church friends. Indeed, they are more than happy to reject Tradition if they understand it to be contrary to the Scriptures, as they understand Cranmer and his peers felt impelled to do.
It is no surprise that Sydney is a place that, while having a very low rate of usage of the Prayer Book, has a very high allegiance to the 39 Articles and the theology of the Prayer Book.…”
– David Ould explores Sydney thinking on Lay Administration – at Stand Firm.
Anglican Leaders seek to unite North American Churches
Leaders of the Common Cause Partnership, a federation of more than 100,000 Anglican Christians in North America, will release to the public on the evening of December 3 the draft constitution of an emerging Anglican Church in North America, formally subscribe to the Jerusalem Declaration of the Global Anglican Future Conference and affirm the GAFCON Statement on the Global Anglican Future at an evening worship celebration in suburban Chicago. …
– Read the full media release from The Common Cause Partnership.
Verbal Aspect & all that jazz in Biblical Greek
Con Campbell’s new book, Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek, is now available.
He recently wrote several blog posts on it at Zondervan’s Koinonia blog: part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5
Here’s a list of scholars endorsing the book.
(Thanks to Justin Taylor.)
New North American Province set to be formed on 3rd December 2008
Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh has just announced that a meeting of the Council of the Common Cause Partnership will be held in Wheaton, Illinois, on December 3rd – with the intention of forming a new North American Anglican province and to adopt the Jerusalem Declaration.
Speaking in Pittsburgh, Bishop Duncan, who was joined by Bishop William Murdoch of the Province of Kenya, said
“We want to bring Jerusalem to North America, we want to embrace the movement that began at the Global Anglican Future Conference, we want to claim our place as members of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans…”
Anglican TV has video of the announcement.
New Dean for Newcastle Cathedral
From a press release from the Diocese of Newcastle –
“The Anglican Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Brian Farran, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Dean of Newcastle and Christ Church Cathedral.
Dr James Rigney (49), an Australian who is presently the Chaplain and Director of Studies in Theology at Magdalene College in the University of Cambridge, will take up the prestigious position of Dean in mid March 2009.”
In the meantime, a new Dean for St. David’s Cathedral in Hobart is being sought, following Dean Lindsay Stoddart’s retirement.
Fort Worth joins Southern Cone
Delegates attending the 26th annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth on November 15 overwhelmingly approved realignment with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
It was the fourth time within 12 months that members of a diocese severed ties to the Episcopal Church, which has a total of 110 dioceses…
– An Episcopal Life Online report. (Image: Results posted on the Fort Worth website.)
Bishop Jack Iker’s Address to the Diocese of Fort Worth
“We here in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth intend to be who we have always been, to believe what we have always believed, and to do what we have always done.
We are not going away, nor are we abandoning anything. We are not leaving the Church – we are the Church. We will remain an orthodox diocese of catholic Christians, full members of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Above all else, we remain committed to serving and obeying the Lord Jesus Christ, upholding the authority of the Holy Scriptures as the revealed Word of God and our ultimate authority in all matters of faith, morals and doctrine.”
– Read Bishop Iker’s full address at the Diocese of Fort Worth.
Watch the Fort Worth Convention
As the Diocese of Fort Worth’s convention meets this weekend to vote on leaving The Episcopal Church, video of the proceedings will be streamed live on the internet.
See it at ustream.tv.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…