Annual Litigation Summary for TEC
“It is a fact well known to certain Episcopalians — both those who have left the Episcopal Church (USA) and those who have remained — that ECUSA and its dioceses have followed a pattern of suing any church that chooses to leave for another Anglican jurisdiction. But the full extent of the litigation that has ensued is not well known at all, either in the wider Church, or among the provinces of the Anglican Communion…”
– The Anglican Curmudgeon (AS Haley) has posted quite a list.
Related: National Cathedral to Perform Same-Sex Weddings.
Bushfire Appeals
The Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, has launched the Tasmanian Anglican Bushfire Appeal.
And the Bush Church Aid Society has also launched an appeal. Details from their website.
Prayer in time of Bushfire
(Re-post – with severe conditions in NSW and the ACT.) With bushfires raging in Tasmania, the Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, is calling Christians to pray.
Church of England Bishops and Civil Partnerships – Statement by Archbishop of Kenya
A STATEMENT BY ARCHBISHOP ELIUD WABUKALA
As we enter the season of Epiphany we rejoice in the splendour of the light that has dawned upon us in the appearance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Yet it is a great sadness that before the New Year has hardly begun, the life of the Anglican Communion has yet again been clouded by compromise with the secular preoccupations of the West.
The decision by the Church of England’s House of Bishops, just announced, that clergy in Civil Partnerships can be eligible to serve as bishops will create further confusion about Anglican moral teaching and make restoring unity to the Communion an even greater challenge.
South Carolina moves to protect property from TEC ‘land grab’
“The Diocese of South Carolina, the Trustees of the Diocese and congregations representing the vast majority of its baptized members today filed suit in South Carolina Circuit Court against The Episcopal Church to protect the Diocese’s real and personal property and that of its parishes. …”
– from the Diocese of South Carolina.
(Image: Anglican TV.)
What’s happening to our preaching?
“On Boxing Day 2012, a series of electronic booklets called “Fresh Perspectives on Women in Ministry” was released by Zondervan. One of these booklets was written by John Dickson, a highly respected Australian evangelist, writer, researcher and Anglican minister…
In light of these claims, we need to do whatever we can to promote gospel unity and avoid an unnecessary “taking of sides”.”
– Lionel Windsor writes a brief initial response to one of the three e-books recently published by Zondervan.
Responses to the C of E House of Bishops on civil partnerships and clergy
The announcement issued overnight by Bishop Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, on behalf of the House of Bishops of the Church of England:
“”The House has confirmed that clergy in civil partnerships, and living in accordance with the teaching of the Church on human sexuality, can be considered as candidates for the episcopate…”
From Andrew Goddard at the Anglican Communion Institute:
The press release describes the decision on civil partnered bishops as one of “confirmation”. This implies continuity with current policy. In fact, no priest in a civil partnership has ever been appointed as a bishop and the 2005 statement did not address this issue.
Full statement. (Italics added.)
And for Anglican Mainstream, Dr Philip Giddings and Canon Dr Chris Sugden:
As made clear in the Ordinal, Bishops of the Church of England promise both to fashion their own life and that of their household according to the way of Christ and to be guardians of the Church’s doctrine.
Given the ambiguous nature of civil partnerships, it would not be credible for a person in such a partnership to make such promises. Most people assume that civil partnerships are sexual relationships. It is casuistical to claim that they are not. This is presumably why many clergy in such partnerships refuse to “give assurances” to their bishops that theirs is a “non-sexual” relationship.
Since a decision to move from the current position would be a grave departure from the Church’s doctrine and discipline it should be made by Bishops in Synod not by Bishops alone. Otherwise it looks too much like salami-slicing away at the Church’s teaching.
A bishop known to be in a civil partnership could hardly be a focus of unity nor be a bishop for the whole church. Such an appointment would be a very divisive move both within the Church of England and in the wider Anglican Communion.
Dr Philip Giddings (Convenor)
Canon Dr Chris Sugden (Secretary)
Anglican Mainstream
(via e-mail.)
The Best Christmas Ever
“Christmas 2012 turned out to be the best Christmas ever! Who would have thought that we would have such a large congregation on Christmas night itself! Nearly all our initiatives worked better than anybody expected. In terms of congregational members’ involvement, evangelistic outreach, follow up contact cards, and conducting different gatherings, a whole new way of programming Christmas has been created for 2013.
To call it “the best Christmas ever” is a great claim that is of course slightly ridiculous…”
– Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, looks back at Christmas 2012 at the Cathedral.
Rescuing the Baby from the Bilgewater
Peter Bolt continues his response to recent publications on women preaching to mixed congregations of men and women.
“How do you talk about a ‘prohibition’ in God’s good economy in which he always commands what is good for us? Grammatically, a prohibition is simply saying ‘don’t do it!’, but what is the force of this ‘No!’ when it comes from our loving Creator who has graciously redeemed us in Christ in order for the universe to ring out with his ‘Yes!’?…”
– There’s plenty of food for thought in this post at Theological Theology.
Still Not Professionals — free eBook
Free eBook from Desiring God.
Contributions by John Piper, Douglas Wilson, R. C. Sproul, Jr., Daniel L. Akin, Thabiti Anyabwile, Jeff Vanderstelt, Sam Crabtree, Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr., & Mike Bullmore.
Seeking the living among the dead
“While I was preaching at communion services in Kinloch, in Lewis, I visited the old cemetery in Laxay where my maternal grandparents are buried. To stand by the grave of loved ones, even at a distance of thirty years from their deaths, is a solemn thing. But the hope of resurrection is as exhilarating as the westerly winds that swirled around me that day. …”
– Iain D Campbell, who blogs at Creideamh (as well as Reformation21) reflects on his visit to the old cemetery on the Isle of Lewis in the far north of Scotland.
Greco-Roman Slavery
“Many modern readers assume that slavery in the New Testament is equivalent to the race-based slavery of the African slave trade. While not defending the Greco-Roman institution of slavery, Tim Keller and Don Carson explain why it’s important not to equate it with the race-based slavery that we may be more familiar with. …”
– Andy Naselli summarises some important facts.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…