Church Society pays tribute to former Director

“Members of Church Society will be saddened to hear of the recent death of the Revd David Streater who was Director of the Society 1991 – 1998.”

– Michael Walters pays tribute at the Church Society blog.

(On this anniversary of the death of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, it might be appropriate to read this article by David Streater on another Anglican Reformer who died for the gospel, Bishop Hugh Latimer. – PDF.)

Beer, Bibles and free speech in Australia

“The Bible Society of Australia has recently celebrated its 200th birthday – a significant milestone in a country whose European settlement only took place about 230 years ago. It decided to celebrate the event by way of connecting with popular Australian culture – and in a fairly secular country, a key aspect of that culture is beer!

So in a creative move, the Society formed a partnership with Coopers, a long-established but slightly “niche” brewery, to arrange the release of cans of “Coopers Light”, a low-alcohol beer, with Bible verses on the cans. (The link was all the more appropriate because the motto of the Society was “Live Light”. Coopers also claims to be “Australia’s longest living family brewery”, having been established in 1862.)

So far, so good …”

– At MercatorNet, Neil Foster recounts the disturbing tale of the “Keeping it Light” video.

Former Queen’s Chaplain ‘resigning’ from Church of England

“A former Queen’s chaplain has quit as a Church of England priest after a long-running objection to what he saw as the liberalising trend of the CofE.

Canon Gavin Ashenden made the unusual move of resigning his orders on Friday, Christian Today can reveal, leaving more than 35 years of ordained ministry. … 

An ardent conservative on both sexuality and women priests, Rev Ashenden confirmed to Christian Today he had signed the ‘deed of relinquishment’ under the Clerical Disabilities Act 1870. This starts a six-month interim period before he officially leaves the Church.

He declined to comment on the move until his six-month waiting time is up.”

– Report from Christian Today. Photo from ashenden.org.

Coopers outrage ‘over the top’, Liberal MPs say

“The two Liberal MPs involved in a video which sparked outrage over Coopers Brewery’s links with The Bible Society have hit back, calling the public response ‘over the top’ and the brewer’s backdown ‘spineless’. …”

– ABC News report. Image: ABC.

‘First Anglican evensong in Catholic St Peter’s Basilica’

“The first ever Anglican choral evensong has been celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. … It marks closening ties between the Anglican and Catholic churches and is one of several examples of ecumenism between them in the last year.”

– Report from Premier Radio in the UK, featuring an interview David Moxon, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Vatican (and formerly Archbishop of NZ). Photo courtesy Vatican City State.

Related: Reformation Rally at Moore College, Saturday 18th March.

Diocese of South Carolina votes to join ACNA

The Diocese of South Carolina voted [on Saturday] to affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). The vote, which was held during their 226th Convention, was unanimous in both orders (clergy and laity).

“I cast my vote to affiliate with the ACNA with eager and expectant faith,” said the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, the 14th Bishop of South Carolina during his address to the convention. “I believe God has called us to this and I believe we will find a deeper richness in our vocation, fuller fellowship in the Spirit, a more zealous thrust in mission.”

– News from GAFCON. And from South Carolina.

Interview with Bishop Glenn Lyons of South Africa

“The history of fellowship between the Australian Church Record and REACH-SA (formerly the Church of England in South Africa) stretches a long way back.

When the ACR publicly supported the installation of Bishop Fred Morris as the first Presiding Bishop of REACH-SA, our South African brothers and sisters responded by writing: ‘We place on record sincere appreciation of the warm-hearted support that we have enjoyed from … the Australian Church Record.’ (Church News, November 1955).

In the context of that special bond of fellowship, Mark Earngey was pleased to recently interview Glenn Lyons, the current Presiding Bishop of REACH-SA.”

– Read it at The Australian Church Record.

(Photo: Bishop Glenn Lyons with Bishop Jomo Mchunu at George Whitefield College.)

‘Beer and Bibles: brewery cops same-sex marriage backlash’

“Coopers has been copping a bit of flack over a video produced with the Bible Society in which two MPs debate same-sex marriage. …”

– Story from ABC’s Triple J Hack.

Related: 1. Press release from Bible Society. 2. A good drop for the Good Book.

Update: Coopers Brewery distances itself from Bible Society’s marriage equality video, faces backlash – ABC News.

Philip North crisis: ‘Good Disagreement’ has become ‘bad bullying’

“When the house that has been painstakingly constructed on the sand falls flat, there is nothing to rejoice over. Discernment works better when unclouded by the sin of taking and giving offence.

Bishop Philip North’s election to the Diocese of Sheffield was a litmus test. … a serious test for the much vaunted ‘Good Disagreement’ that Archbishop Justin Welby has staked his archiepiscopal strategy on.

It has all gone badly wrong.”

– Dr Gavin Ashenden guest posts at Archbishop Cranmer.

Those who attacked Philip North have made same-sex blessing compromise impossible

“Remember that ‘radical new Christian inclusion’ Justin Welby spoke of in the wake of Synod’s decision not to ‘take note’ of the Bishops’ report on marriage and same-sex relations? Well, you can forget it. …”

– ‘Archbishop Cranmer’ argues the hounding of Philip North demonstrates that ‘radical inclusion’ is not possible in today’s Church of England.

(Photo of Bp North courtesy Diocese of Blackburn.)

Exacerbating the credibility crisis

“It is with regret that we have today heard that Philip North, suffragan Bishop of Burnley, has chosen not to accept his nomination as diocesan Bishop of Sheffield.

The circumstances surrounding his withdrawal exacerbate the already acute credibility crisis for the Church of England, especially in its treatment of those with traditional Christian views. What now does ‘flourishing’ mean?…”

– Church Society Director Lee Gatiss responds to the news that Philip North has been forced to withdraw his nomination as Bishop of Sheffield.

Statement on the Rt Rev’d Philip North’s withdrawal from nomination as the next Bishop of Sheffield

Bishop of Maidstone, Rod Thomas, has released this statement on the withdrawal of Bishop Philip North for consideration as the next Bishop of Sheffield.

“I am deeply saddened that Philip North has felt forced to withdraw from his nomination as the next Bishop of Sheffield. It will be a huge loss to Sheffield and is a body blow to the concept of ‘mutual flourishing’ which lay at the heart of the agreement to introduce women bishops in the Church of England.

Philip has huge gifts to offer the Church, and his leadership in Sheffield would have given a great boost to mission.

However, the damage to the principles on which the House of Bishops Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests is based, is profound. If all orders of ministry and all appointments are equally open to men and women, then the same has to apply to those who hold that the ministries of men and women are distinctively different. If it does not, if there is, in effect, a glass ceiling that prevents those of traditional churchmanships ministering at all levels of the Church, then the Declaration and the provisions that came with it lose all credibility.

I know that both Archbishops were personally wholly committed to the concept of mutual flourishing and it was warmly supported by the General Synod. If it is to survive as our governing motif, then urgent action will be needed to demonstrate its effectiveness. In the absence of such action, we will simply have given in to those who hounded Philip North out of office.”

– So much for ‘radical inclusion’ in the Church of England. Emphasis added.

And from Bishop North’s statement:

“There is clearly much to be done on what it means to disagree well and to live with theological difference in the Church of England. The highly individualised nature of the attacks upon me have been extremely hard to bear. If, as Christians, we cannot relate to each other within the bounds of love, how can we possibly presume to transform a nation in the name of Christ?”

GAFCON Chairman’s March 2017 letter

“As I remarked in my last letter, because of our shared history events in the Church of England have a special significance for the whole Anglican Communion. So this month I must comment on the vote by General Synod on 15th February not to ‘take note’ of the House of Bishops report on marriage and sexuality.

A refusal to ‘take note’ is very unusual. Such a motion is usually just a formality preceding further debate. In this case, people on both sides of the argument about sexuality perceived that the report tried to face two ways. …”

– GAFCON Chairman, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, shares his March pastoral letter.

A Call to Evangelicals to Stand Firm — Bp. Rod Thomas

“Since the widely publicised General Synod debate about the House of Bishops’ Report on marriage and same-sex relationships, there has been speculation about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s call for ‘radical inclusion’ and a number of bishops have called for the Church of England to be more affirming of same-sex relationships. The latter see the Church as being on a trajectory towards change. One bishop, John Wraw, has explicitly said he hopes that in time there will be full acceptance of same-sex marriages in the Church of England.

Evangelicals in the Church of England are on a different trajectory. We hope we are not insensitive to the value of intimate relationships or the needs we all feel for intimacy and life sharing. But it is both our conviction and our experience that, as people who find their identity in Christ, there is great joy, fulfilment and blessing in obedience to the Word of God. …”

– Bishop of Maidstone, Rod Thomas, calls evangelical Christians in the Church of England back to the saving gospel, and away from false teaching.

TEC Bishop Michael Curry “intervenes” in Supreme Court transgender case

“Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the US based Episcopal Church has put his name to a document going before the Supreme Court, as it examines the issue of transgender bathroom use. …

The case involves a teenager who took on male gender identity and was allowed by his school to use the boys’ bathroom for two months. But then, after some parents objected, he was offered a private bathroom instead. …

Bishop Curry anchored his support of the brief in Genesis 1:26-27…”

– Report, including an ‘interesting’ reading of Genesis 1:26-27, from The Anglican Communion News Service. Photo: Episcopal News Service.

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