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.)
‘God already at work through shamanism’ and other news from Montreal
Two stories from the latest issue of The Montreal Anglican –
1.) “Recovering a diaconal ministry that will reach out to people on the fringes of society is one of the top items on the agenda of the church today, the Anglican Church of Canada bishop for aboriginals said in Montreal in November. …
The church needs to recognize that God is already at work through, for example, first nations spirituality, shamanism in various traditions and Confucianism, Bishop Mark MacDonald, national indigenous bishop, said.” – page 6.
2.) “Bishop Barry Clarke of Montreal – from 1993 to 2004 parish priest of St. Paul’s Church in Lachine – asked members … in a near-capacity congregation of over 300 parishioners and well-wishers to stand and be recognized as he presided over a closing service marking the end of the 139-year history of the parish…” – page 7.
1.3MB PDF here. (h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog.)
Hiltz calls on ABC-d to say ‘no’ to the ACNA
“The leader of the Anglican Church of Canada has lobbied the Archbishop of Canterbury-designate not to extend formal recognition to the Anglican Church in North America. …”
– George Conger has the story at Anglican Ink.
AnglicanTV Interviews Bishop Mark Lawrence
45 minutes, here. And a good reminder to pray for the people of the Diocese of South Carolina.
Understanding Sydney Diocese
What is it that makes Sydney Diocese what it is?
Between March and August 2012, Dr Mark Thompson, then President of the ACL, penned a series of articles on the topic.
We’ve also added them to our Resources page.
“Here I want to look at some of those things which, while not by any means unique to Sydney Anglicans, nevertheless are important characteristics of the diocesan ethos.”
Sydney Anglicans I. Biblically confessional
Sydney Anglicans II. The congregation as the centre
Sydney Anglicans III. Complementarian ministry
Sydney Anglicans IV: The Primacy of the Word
Sydney Anglicans V: A commitment to mission
Sydney Anglicans VI: An evangelical episcopate
Sydney Anglicans VII: The value of theological education
Dysfunction Everywhere
“So ECUSA, through its hopelessly conflicted Disciplinary Board for Bishops, blames the Bishop for the actions of the Diocese — even though he had no vote on them to begin with, and no Constitutional power to set aside the acts of the diocesan convention. …”
– AS Haley, The Anglican Curmudgeon, weighs in on the latest from The Episcopal Church of the USA. (Photo: ENS.)
Getting to know the new Archbishop of Canterbury
How well do we know Bishop Justin Welby, soon to be the Archbishop of Canterbury?
Take the time to read or listen to some of his recent sermons:
Pentecost sermon, Durham Cathedral, 27th May 2012 (PDF).
Enthronement sermon, 26th November 2011. (text)
The Chrism Eucharist, 5th April 2012. (text)
Easter Vigil 2012, 8th April 2012. (text)
Last sermon at Liverpool Cathedral – link downloads a 23MB mp3 file.
and others here and here. (Photo: Diocese of Durham.)
South Carolina — time to turn the page
The Special Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina has just concluded. Bishop Mark Lawrence summed it up:
“We have spent far too many hours and days and years in a dubious and fruitless resistance to the relentless path of TEC.”
ACL President encourages members to pray for the Archbishop of Canterbury
Statement from ACL President Gav Poole:
The ACL congratulates Bishop Justin Welby on his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury designate.
This is an honoured office which played a key role in the protestant reformation.
Bishop Welby has his work cut out for him. The credibility of the Archbishop’s office has been eroded in recent times due to a failure to properly deal with the liberal revisionist agenda which has beset the Anglican Communion in the West. He serves a communion which is in serious impairment.
It remains to be seen whether the Archbishop will demonstrate clarity and bravery on many of the issues that have plagued the communion. We will be looking for leadership that is faithful to Jesus and solidly Biblical.
There are many faithful Anglican Bishops, clergy and congregations in North America who have suffered at the hands of the provincial leadership. We pray as the Archbishop must reach out to them and ensure they receive adequate oversight.
The FCA Primates have called for the chairman of the Anglican Primates’ meeting to be elected by the Primates. We pray that the Archbishop will encourage that development.
Rev Gav Poole
President
Wednesday, 14 November 2012.
Diocese of Niagara moves to sell vacated buildings
Anglican Essentials Canada reports that the Diocese of Niagara is moving towards selling property vacated by two Ontario congregations – St Hilda’s Oakville (vacated in May) and Church of the Good Shepherd in St Catharines.
Earlier related posts on this site.
Photo: David Jenkins.
American Anglican Council on the Archbishop of Canterbury announcement
Bishop David Anderson of the American Anglican Council writes:
“Archbishop Welby, in his new appointment, will have to work with the more orthodox Global South provinces, especially the GAFCON Primates who represent a huge majority of the churchgoing Anglican world. The new Archbishop will need to find a way to disengage the Anglican Communion Office and the office and work of the Archbishop from the incestuous ties with the American Episcopal Church’s money, influence and power.”
New Archbishop of Canterbury announced
Just in:
“Justin Welby appointed 105th Archbishop of Canterbury
The Queen has nominated the Right Reverend Justin Welby, MA, Hon FCT, the Lord Bishop of Durham, for election by the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury in the place of the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Rowan Douglas Williams, MA DPhil DD FBA, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan.”
– The official announcement.
Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.
In a statement issued after the announcement, the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, said “We welcome the appointment of Bishop Welby to the ministry of Archbishop of Canterbury. It remains an important role though obviously the events of the last decade have diminished its significance in the world-wide Anglican Communion. Bishop Welby has our prayerful support.” Dr Jensen said. “We look forward to him speaking with clarity from the word of God about the gospel and its impact on the issues confronting the Church in England and the West.
Message of welcome to Archbishop of Canterbury Designate
November 9, 2012 – from Archbishop Eliud Wabukala Read more
Some questions for the new Archbishop of Canterbury
Mark Thompson does us a great service by respectfully raising key questions for the next Archbishop of Canterbury –
“There is a great deal that is wonderfully hopeful in this appointment. Bishop Welby self-identifies as an evangelical. He is able to communicate clearly and winsomely. However, as he prepares to take up this challenging role at a very challenging time, one characteristic that has not been attributed to him is ‘courage’. So there are a number of questions which I would like to put — or at least have someone put — respectfully but seriously, to the next Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Full text here – Read more
Report: Bishop of Durham to be Archbishop of Canterbury
A report from The Telegraph –
“Sources have confirmed that the Eton-educated bishop [Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham] will be announced as successor to Dr Rowan Williams as early as Friday, after the Crown Nominations Commission put his name forward to Downing Street. …”
Photo: Diocese of Durham.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…