Rowan Williams on the Anglican Covenant
Archbishop Rowan Williams calls for the just-released ‘final version’ of the Anglican Covenant to be ratified by the Provinces.
Washington-based Anglican blogger BabyBlue notes the claimed ‘centralized authority’ of what is now called ‘The Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion’. (Indeed, they have just issued a press release.)
J I Packer interviewed at Oak Hill
In May 2009, Dr Jim Packer spoke at Oak Hill College’s annual School of Theology.
While at the college, he was was interviewed on camera by Principal Mike Ovey.
Each segment runs for about 10 minutes.
Part 1: Knowing your stuff – theological training in a climate of cultural scepticism.
Part 2: The faith taught not caught – the challenge of being a pastoral theologian.
Part 3: Training the congregation – the greatest challenges facing Christian ministers today.
Also see the new Commentary magazine online.
The death of Oral Roberts
“Roberts was a pioneer in the use of modern electronic media. Early on, Roberts recognized the power of television. He understood that radio could reach untold thousands, but he saw television as the way of reaching hypermodern America.”
– Albert Mohler writes about Oral Roberts’ methods, his message, and his legacy.
Tributes for Denis Ryan
The Mosman Daily has this tribute to Denis Ryan, who fell asleep in Christ earlier this month.
Denis is remembered with affection by many ACL members.
Bishop John Harrower’s Christmas message
Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, has released this Christmas message –
Enjoying God, enjoying life
Apparently, coming to a bus near you is a Tasmanian version of the UK bus ads, ‘There’s probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy life.’
While Christians are enjoying life and celebrating Christmas precisely because there is a loving God [the Christmas message is ‘Emmanuel, God with us’]; some atheists are worrying that there is probably no God.
This is sad. Read more
‘Lampooning literalism’
StandFirm linked to this chat by The Venerable Glynn Cardy, Vicar of St. Matthew-in-the-City, Auckland.
He gives the background to the billboard causing offense in Auckland and explains that “Progressive Christianity believes the Christmas stories are fictitious accounts designed to introduce the radical nature of the adult Jesus”.
(Tip: Keep your expectations low.) Video update from TVNZ.
‘Jesus-era’ burial shroud found
“A team of archaeologists and scientists says they have for the first time found pieces of a burial shroud from the time of Jesus in a tomb in Jerusalem…”
– Report from BBC News.
‘Being Faithful’ now available
“Being Faithful: The Shape of Historic Anglicanism Today” is now available for purchase. Details from GAFCON.
Sovereign Grace church plant coming to Sydney
Sovereign Grace Ministries have today announced their planned church plant in Sydney will be ‘in the Hornsby area’.
See this video for the reasons for coming to Sydney.
Christmas songs for download
At Between Two Worlds, Justin Taylor has received permission to make some Christ-centred Christmas songs and hymns available for free download.
T. F. Torrance on the meaning of the cross
“As many of us await the endlessly delayed second volume of T. F. Torrance’s lectures on the person and work of Christ, I thought I would share a purple passage from the end of volume one, Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ …”
– Read it at ACL President Mark Thompson’s blog.
Learning from a Liberal mistake
Charles Raven has written a characteristically insightful article on the latest happenings in the Anglican Communion:
“the orthodox should not be in a hurry to draw the simplistic conclusion that my enemy’s enemy must be my friend…”
Learning from a Liberal mistake
As GAFCON was launched in Jerusalem last year, Archbishop Peter Jensen spoke of the ‘extraordinary strategic blunder’ by the Episcopal Church of the United States in consecrating a practising homosexual, Gene Robinson, as a bishop in 2003 which awoke the “sleeping giant that is evangelical Anglicanism”.
Now liberals have committed a second strategic blunder. Not so much the emergence of partnered lesbian Mary Glasspool as suffragan bishop elect by the Diocese of Los Angeles – such a move was entirely predictable after this year’s General Convention rejected Rowan Williams call for ‘gracious restraint – but their very public hostility towards Dr Williams following his rather cool and disapproving response. Read more
12 Days of Christmas
Each day, for twelve days, the Centre for Public Christianity is releasing a short video on a Christmas-related theme.
“There’s a mixture of vox pops drawing on the public’s attitudes to the meaning of Christmas, interviews, book reviews, and brief discussions on the historical and philosophical questions surrounding the birth of Jesus.”
– See them (as they are released) here and consider how you might use them.
Presbyterian propectus online
The prospectus for the Presbyterian Theological Centre in Sydney is now online for any who may be interested.
Church in Quebec is ‘dying’
The Diocese of Quebec is all but dead, its bishop told the Canadian House of Bishop at their fall meeting in Niagara Falls, the Anglican Journal of Canada reports.
The Rt. Rev. Dennis Drainville said his diocese was “teetering on the verge of extinction” according to an account given by the church’s official newspaper.
Of the diocese’s 82 congregations, 50 were childless and 35 congregations had an average age of 75. These graying congregations often had no more than 10 people in church on Sundays, he said. “The critical mass isn’t there, there’s no money anymore,” he said. …
(R)etired marketing expert Keith McKerracher … said, “…We’re losing 12,836 Anglicans a year. That’s 2 percent a year. If you draw a line on the graph, there’ll only be one person left in the Canadian Anglican church by 2061.”
– Read George Conger’s full story written story for the Church of England Newspaper. (Photo of Bishop Drainvolle: Diocese of Quebec.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…