Archbishop Davies interviewed on ABC Sunday Nights
Archbishop Glenn Davies was interviewed by Noel Debien on Sunday Nights on ABC Radio last night.
Topics included: Relationships with the Roman Catholic Church, liturgy, clerical dress, education, the Archbishop’s election process, women in Christian leadership, ‘lay presidency’, ‘homophobia’ and more. The 39 minute programme can now be downloaded from the ABC website.
Billy Graham writes to Iran’s President
“Dear President Rouhani,
I have been watching with great concern about the case of Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen who is currently a prisoner in your country. He was in Iran working to build an orphanage when he was arrested and later sentenced to eight years in prison. …”
– Read it here. Photo of Pastor Saeed Abedini: BGEA.
Christians now suffering mass martyrdom, says Archbishop of Canterbury
“The Most Rev Justin Welby said that there had been more than 80 Christian “martyrs” in the last few days alone.
He was speaking about the bombing of All Saints Anglican church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 85 were killed and more than 200 injured. But he said that Christians were also being singled out for violence in a string of other countries.”
– from The Telegraph.
Related: As Lambs in the Midst of Wolves – six godly reactions to persecution, drawn from 1 Peter.
First woman bishop of Church of Sth India
“The Church of South India has today appointed its first woman bishop.
The Revd Eggoni Pushpalalitha was ordained in 1983 and has most recently been a priest in the Diocese of Nadyal in Andhra Pradesh. …—
– from the Anglican Communion News Service.
Potentially hundreds dead in Peshawar church bombing
“Potentially hundreds of people have been killed in a suicide bombing attack against an Anglican church in the Pakistani border city of Peshawar. …
The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid has sent emergency aid to the congregation and Archbishop Davies has written to the Bishop of Peshawar, the Rt Rev Humphrey Peters, expressing shock…”
– SydneyAnglicans has a comprehensive report on the bombing,
See also the Anglican Aid page to send a donation to help (select “Pakistan Emergency All Saints Church” from the drop down list).
Anglican Aid seeks help for three urgent causes
The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid is seeking donations for three key causes:
1. Emergency Appeal for Anglicans in Peshawar
2. Helping Tanzanian Bishops and Leaders go to GAFCON2
3. Emergency Appeal for Syrian Refugees being cared for in Egypt
See the Anglican Aid website and donation page for more.
Reform Ireland statement on the appointment of the new Bishop of Meath
“The Church of Ireland, in common with the Anglican Communion worldwide, has always prized doing things ‘decently and in order’ (1Corinthians 14:40).
With the appointment of the first woman bishop in Britain and Ireland, it has furthered the disorder in God’s church that it originally initiated with the decision to appoint women as presbyters and bishops by an act of Synod in 1990. …”
– full statement here.
More details emerge from Peshawar attack
“More details on the deadly attack on a Pakistani church over the weekend – the worst attack on Christians in the country’s history – are surfacing today as Christians around the world mourn the tragedy.”
– News and prayer requests via Eternity Newspaper.
Barnabas Fund pledges to do what it can to help.
The Greatest Entertainment Launch in History
“GTA V is significant in that movies allow us to watch violence and sexuality, but games allow us to experience and participate in these acts. We do not passively consume games, but interact with them and make choices that carry us through them.”
– Tom Challies writes about the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto V video game.
Suicide bombers kill dozens at Anglican church in Peshawar
“A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a 130-year-old Anglican church in Pakistan after the Sunday service, killing at least 78 people in the deadliest attack in recent history on Christians in the predominantly Muslim country. …”
St. Helen’s Training: Bible Overview
St. Helen’s Bishopsgate has posted two new videos in its ‘St Helen’s Training’ series.
These begin an overview of the Bible.
Canada: Anglican Church faces falling membership, deeper divisions
“More than 15,000 packed Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. Crowds thronged the lobby of the Royal York Hotel. Two hundred reporters scrambled for news and The Globe and Mail splashed the story on its front page.
Not for the Beatles or Muhammad Ali, but a congress of the Anglican Church. It was late summer, 1963, and the Anglican Church, bastion of the old order, was at its demographic peak in Canada. …”
– The Globe and Mail in Toronto reports on the Back to the Anglican Future conference held last week.
ACL Synod Dinner bookings open soon
This year’s ACL Synod Dinner will be held in the St. Andrew’s Cathedral Chapter House on Monday 14th October from 5:30pm (or when Synod rises). Dr Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore College will be our over-dinner speaker. We’ll open bookings soon, but in the meantime, you might want to note the date!
School Chaplains challenged again in High Court
“Scripture Union Queensland (SU QLD) will again defend national school chaplaincy in the High Court of Australia this month, with the first directions hearing to be held in Sydney on 20 September.
Ron Williams, the man behind the High Court Challenge, announced on his Facebook page in August that a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim had been issued to the Commonwealth of Australia (First Defendant), the Minister for Education (Second Defendant) and SU QLD (Third Defendant). …”
– Report from Bible Society Australia.
And now SU Queensland is seeking support, and you can request an Advocacy kit.
“SU QLD is again being forced to attend the High Court of Australia to defend the vital program of school chaplaincy. This second challenge has the potential to impact the funding of thousands of chaplains across the nation who support and encourage our students every day. Read more
Anglicans appoint first female bishop in UK and Ireland
“Anglicans have appointed the UK and Ireland’s first female bishop. The Rev Pat Storey, rector of St Augustine’s in Derry, has been elected by the Church of Ireland as the new bishop of Meath and Kildare. …”
– from The Guardian. Photo: Church of Ireland.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…