Scottish Episcopal Church goes for inclusive language

“The Scottish Episcopal Church’s College of Bishops has approved inclusive language prayers, authorising optional changes that remove ‘Lord’, ‘He’, ‘his’, ‘him’, and ‘us men’ from its 1982 Eucharistic Liturgy…”

– George Conger reports for The Church of England Newspaper.

(Photo: Scottish Episcopal Church College of Bishops celebrate the Eucharist at this year’s Synod.)

Why aren’t ‘Emerging Adults’ emerging as Adults?

Albert Mohler writes about a significant shift in US culture (it’s also happening in Australia).

Related: The Spirituality of Emerging Adults.

Tasmanian Anglican August 2010

The latest edition of Tasmanian Anglican (August 2010) is now available from  the Diocese of Tasmania. Use it as a reminder to pray for Christ’s church in Tasmania.

The Gospel for those broken by the Church

This talk by Dr. Rod Rosenbladt (known to many through The White Horse Inn broadcast) on the topic ‘The Gospel for those broken by the Church’ is well worth your time.

It runs for 50 minutes and is available from New Reformation Press (direct link to 36MB mp3 file).

“For all of you who have been given morality lessons instead of the Gospel, hear how Dr. Rod Rosenbladt succinctly presents Christianity as first and foremost a genuine truth claim about Christ as our righteous substitute, instead of a never ending list of popular religious recipes for personal success.”

(Photo: Bryan Johnson.)

The Castle on King

Need to lighten up after the election? Enjoy this video from the recent Moore College Review. It’s a parody of the Australian film The Castle.

Trivia served up for the twittering classes

“Saturday night will be the first election in 33 years that I won’t be behind a microphone for an election coverage. For the first time, I’ll experience an election party and probably turn to the internet for updates…”

– Russell Powell has some reflections on the coverage of the election campaign in his weekly roundup at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Also, don’t forget the resources for comparing policy statements at Australia Votes from the Australian Christian Lobby.

Anglican Church is broken, says Orombi

“The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi, yesterday said the Anglican Church today faces many challenges which have made it dysfunctional.

‘What I can tell you is that the Anglican Church is very broken,’ Bishop Orombi said. ‘It… has been torn at its deepest level, and it is a very dysfunctional family of the provincial churches.…’

Speaking at the opening of a three-day provincial Assembly in Mukono, the head of the Church of Uganda noted that the church has lost credibility…”

– from a brief report in Uganda’s Daily Monitor. (Photo Stephen Otage.)

Vancouver churches ordered to pay court costs

“St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Abbotsford and three Vancouver parishes have been ordered to pay about $120,000 in court costs to the Diocese of New Westminster.

Justice Stephen Kelleher issued the ruling in the Supreme Court of B.C., as part of an ongoing case involving a battle over same-sex blessings. … In addition to ruling that the churches pay costs to the diocese, Kelleher directed St. Matthew’s Church to permit one service a week by a priest chosen by diocese Bishop Michael Ingham. …

Also included in the legal battle are St. John’s Shaugnessy, the Church of the Good Shepherd, and St. Matthias and St. Luke’s – all based in Vancouver.”

– Story from the Abbotsford News via Anglican Essentials Canada.

The Inerrancy of Scripture: The Fifty Years’ War… and counting

“Back in 1990, theologian J. I. Packer recounted what he called a ‘Thirty Years’ War’ over the inerrancy of the Bible. He traced his involvement in this war in its American context back to a conference held in Wenham, Massachusetts in 1966, when he confronted some professors from evangelical institutions who ‘now declined to affirm the full truth of Scripture.’ That was nearly fifty years ago, and the war over the truthfulness of the Bible is still not over — not by a long shot…”

While it’s never been quite the issue in Australia as it has been in the US, the implications of questioning the trustworthiness of Scripture are clear in this piece by Albert Mohler.

Global Impact conference

The 2010 Equipping Your Church For Global Impact conference will be held at SMBC on Saturday 18th September.

“We live in a world where vast numbers of people still wait to hear the good news of Jesus. God has given to his church the responsibility to make him known throughout the world. … More than ever, we need well informed, fully resourced global mission enthusiasts in every local church. This conference will provide ideas, resources and opportunity for discussion with other mission enthusiasts.”

– Read the details at the SMBC website.

Idea for your church: Garage Sale Giveaway

Some Canadian churches are running garage sales with an difference:

“The only way to explain that God’s love is free in a tangible way … is to say every item here is free.”

Read about it here. (h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog.)

To Serve is to Suffer

“In a world where physical health, appearance, and convenience have gained almost idolatrous prominence, God may be calling Christians to demonstrate the glory of the gospel by being joyful and content while enduring pain and hardship. People who are unfulfilled after pursuing things that do not satisfy may be astonished to see Christians who are joyful and content after depriving themselves for the gospel. This may be a new way to demonstrate the glory of the gospel to this hedonistic culture.”

– Christianity Today has published this challenging essay by Ajith Fernando, national director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka.

Embattled Episcopal Bishop, seeks allies overseas

“Jefferts Schori recently wrapped up a whirlwind tour of six Anglican provinces–all of them English-speaking–where she defended her church’s acceptance of gay bishops and same-sex unions, and its commitment to maintaining ties with other provinces.

In June and July, Jefferts Schori traveled to Canada, Scotland, England, Australia, New Zealand and Wales, addressing synods, preaching at cathedrals, sitting on panels, talking with parishioners, and meeting with powerful archbishops.

At almost every stop, the presiding bishop’s message was subtle but clear…”

– This story about the not-so-subtle meetings with ‘powerful’ archbishops from The Huffington Post. (Image from a July 28 webcast from ECUSA HQ in New York City)

New website for Defence Anglicans

A new website to raise awareness of Anglican Chaplaincy in the Defence Forces was launched last month at RMC Duntroon in Canberra.

The new site includes resources and contact information – and also is a good reminder to pray for those serving as Chaplains, and those to whom they minister.

(Photo of Director Chaplaincy Air Command Kevin Russell at the website launch, by Sgt Dave Morley.)

30 days of prayer

Now that Ramadan has begun (August 11 – September 9 2010), it’s a great time to love Muslim people through prayer.

30-days.net has much helpful information, including PDF resources and a 2.2MB downloadable prayer guide. Worth passing on.

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