Peerage for the Archbishop of Canterbury

News from 10 Downing Street:

“Peerage for Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury upon his retirement from the See of Canterbury.

The Queen has been pleased to confer a peerage of the United Kingdom for Life on the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Rowan Williams Lord Archbishop of Canterbury upon his retirement from the See of Canterbury.”

The Episcopal News Service is reporting  that Archbishop Williams will be known as ‘Baron Williams of Oystermouth’. (Oystermouth is near Swansea in Wales…)

The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2012

“This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only son ‘to serve, not to be served’. He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.”

– See Queen Elizabeth’s 2012 Christmas Broadcast (8’36”) – or read the text.

(Dr Rowan Williams’ Christmas message may be read here.)

Ramon Williams — a hero of Australian Christian Media

“If you read any published Australian Christian ‘news’ article over the past 50 years, it has almost certainly been distributed by one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Australian Christian movement, the “AAP-equivalent” of Christian wire news, Ramon Williams, now aged 81. …”

– Mark Tronson – and we at the ACL website – are very grateful for the faithful ministry of Ramon Williams over the years.

Many of our readers will have seen Ramon with his camera in and around the Cathedral and at other Christian meetings. (You’ll find some of his photos among these of Sir Marcus Loane, for example.) Photo: Christian Today Aust.

Four videos from Reform on women bishops, sex equality and Church unity

Members of Reform explain their stand at last month’s General Synod of the Church of England:

 

Reform ‘nonplussed’ over C of E House of Bishops Working Group on Women Bishops

Reform Media Statement Dec 20, 2012

PRESS STATEMENT FROM REFORM

Following the announcement of the formation of a House of Bishops Working Group on 19th December, Reform chairman Rod Thomas has written to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. The letter reaffirms Reform’s commitment to the process of seeking a new way forward on women bishops legislation, but says that the membership of the working group leaves it feeling ‘apprehensive’.

Prebendary Rod Thomas said he was ‘nonplussed as to why the membership of the working group does not contain anybody who shares our convictions about male headship – despite the fact that this was a key concern underlying the vote on 20th November.

We very much wish to contribute to fresh proposals that will command broader agreement in the General Synod than was achieved last month. Achieving such an outcome depends on hearing clearly the needs of those who were both for and against the draft Measure. Our fear is that the constitution of the working group might make this more difficult. Nevertheless we will seek to contribute positively during the discussions that are planned for next February.’

(via e-mail)

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.

Australian Church Record, December 2012

The latest issue of The Australian Church Record, and the results of their recent Survey of Sydney Synod members are now available from their website.

Christmas messages from around Oz, 2012

We’ll post Christmas messages from Anglican leaders around the country, as we discover them.

Please pray that all who speak in the name of the Lord Jesus this Christmas will do so with great clarity and faithfulness to his gospel.

Here are the messages so far –

Archbishop of Melbourne, Philip Freier. (video)
Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower. (video)
Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn, Stuart Robinson. (video)
Dean of Riverina, Robert Harris. (text)
Bishop of Wangaratta, John Parkes. (2.5MB PDF – page 3 of The Advocate.)
Bishop of Gippsland, John McIntyre. (14.5MB PDF – page 3 of The Gippsland Anglican.)
Bishop of Ballarat, Garry Weatherill. (video)
Bishop of Willochra, John Stead. (PDF)
Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, Len Eacott.

And from the leaders of other denominations (via the National Council of Churches in Australia), messages are mixed – but that from David Jones, Moderator General Presbyterian Church of Australia, stands out:

Cry of a Tiny Baby

Bruce Cockburn the Canadian singer and songwriter describes the birth of Jesus beautifully in the chorus of one of his Christmas songs

“Like a stone on the surface of a still river
driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe”

Something happened at Bethlehem that has sent ripples throughout the history of the human race.

If you have ever been robbed of something precious, you will want the culprit caught and punished and you will want your property returned to you. God has been robbed. He made us in his image and likeness but that has been defaced by sin.

Jesus has come to right the wrong done to God by his creatures, to pay the price of our sin and rebellion. But God wants back what is rightfully His. He wants his picture back. He wants his image and likeness restored. That is why Jesus came among us. That is the meaning of Redemption. That is the message of Christmas.

“Redemption rips through the surface of time”
“And the message is clear if you’ve got ears to hear
That forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear
It’s a Christmas gift you don’t have to buy
There’s a future shining in a baby’s eyes”

(Second photo: Pilgrim Hill.)

Reform Newsletter December 2012

Reform has posted excerpts from their current newsletter, with a focus on ‘the Women Bishops Measure’.

AnglicanTV Interviews Bishop Mark Lawrence

45 minutes, here. And a good reminder to pray for the people of the Diocese of South Carolina.

Twitter Christmas sermons for Anglican bishops

“Britain’s senior Anglican bishops will be tweeting their Christmas Day sermons for the first time this year. …

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Rowan Williams, his soon-to-be successor the Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Justin Welby, and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu will be tweeting. …”

– BBC News.

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

Queensland’s first woman bishop

“…a Melbourne priest has been selected to lead the Southern Region of the Diocese of Brisbane as Queensland’s first woman bishop.

The Venerable Alison Taylor, Melbourne’s Archdeacon for International Partnerships and Vicar of St John’s Anglican Church Camberwell…”

– Story from the Diocese of Melbourne.

Digital Advent Calendar

In this 2 minute video Greg Clarke at The Bible Society introduces 25 days. 25 people. 25 words. for Christmas.

Sounds like a great idea – and ideal to pass on to your friends.

‘Sadness and shock’ re Women Bishops vote

Statement on the Conclusion of the Meeting of the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England:

“In its discussions the Council decided that a process to admit women to the episcopate needed to be restarted at the next meeting of the General Synod in July 2013.”

“The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England met on November 27-28th to consider a wide ranging agenda. A substantial amount of time was given over to the discussion of the recent vote by General Synod on Women in the Episcopate.

“As part of their reflections, many council members commented on the deep degree of sadness and shock that they had felt as a result of the vote and also of the need to affirm all women serving the church – both lay and ordained – in their ministries.

“In its discussions the Council decided that a process to admit women to the episcopate needed to be restarted at the next meeting of the General Synod in July 2013. There was agreement that the Church of England had to resolve this matter through its own processes as a matter of urgency. The Council therefore recommended that the House of Bishops, during its meeting in a fortnight’s time, put in place a clear process for discussions in the New Year with a view to bringing legislative proposals before the Synod in July.”

– From the Anglican Communion News Service.

Related: Joint Press Statement from The Chairmen of The Catholic Group And Reform.

“It has never been our intention to prevent the consecration of women as bishops; our concern has always been for legislation which also made clear and fair provision for the substantial minority,” the Chairmen concluded.

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