Anglican and Catholic Dioceses of Bathurst to enter into Covenant

A report from Bathurst Diocese’s Anglican News –

“Clergy from across the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst and their counterparts from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst will gather in Bathurst on Thursday May 24 to witness the signing of a covenant between the two denominational groups.  Read more

Bishop of Bathurst to retire in November

From the Diocese of Bathurst Anglican News, May 2012 –

“Bishop Richard Hurford has formally announced his intention to retire on November 10, when he will lay up the Diocesan Pastoral Staff in a service of Pastoral Leave-Taking in All Saints’ Cathedral, Bathurst, commencing at 10.30am.  Read more

2,200 Anglican women say ‘No Thanks!’ to having a woman bishop

“A petition signed by more than 2,200 Anglican women who oppose women bishops will be presented today to the House of Bishops at the start of their meeting in York…”

– Media statement from Reform.

Papers from the FCA leaders conference available

More papers from the FCA leaders conference in London have been uploaded to the GAFCON website.

See this page for the complete listing of resources from the GAFCON website.

The newly available papers are –

What is the Gospel? – from a seminar led by Drs Ngozi Okeke & Mark Thompson

Ecclesiology:

A Summary of Anglican Ecclesiology – Ashley Null
16th Century Anglican Ecclesiology – Ashley Null
The Anglican Mind in Caroline and Tractarian Thought – Arthur Middleton

Faithful and Effective – Evangelism and Church Planting.

Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire elected

“The Rev. A. Robert (Rob) Hirschfeld was elected bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire today at St. Paul’s Church, on the first ballot. In January 2013 he will succeed Bishop Gene Robinson as the Xth Bishop of New Hampshire. …

Rev. Hirschfeld is married to Polly Ingraham… and has two sons and a daughter.”

– New Hampshire elects a bishop coadjutor. (Photo credit: Reynolds Winslow.)

How will Anglicans react if New Hampshire Episcopalians elect another Gay Bishop?

Time asks the question, and includes mention of FCA and quotes a response from Archbishop Peter Jensen –

“‘Having once made an appointment which defies both orthodox Christian teaching and the commitment of the majority of their fellow Anglicans, it would not be surprising that the Episcopal Church would continue its intransigent path,’ he wrote…”

– Story at Time. (Photo credit: Forester Photography, Concord NH via Dioc NH.)

The Bishop of Tasmania’s Pentecost message

In his Pentecost message, Bishop John Harrower reminds us that the Holy Spirit points us to Christ. Watch it here.

(In 2012, Pentecost falls on Sunday, May 27.)

Prayers for Defence ministry

Our friends who minister to Australia’s Defence personnel would be very glad of your prayers on a regular basis.

There’s the current Prayer Diary (pdf) and other prayer resources at this link.

Falls Anglican Church Virginia has last Sunday at property

“A departing Anglican congregation held its final services at a Virginia church property that they lost to The Episcopal Church in a years-long court battle.

The Falls Church Anglican, a congregation that broke away from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia years ago over the increasingly liberal theology of the denomination, held two services on Sunday, leaving the property to a much smaller Episcopal congregation…”

– story from Christian Post. Photo: Falls Church.

New West Synod moves to lift same sex blessing ‘partial moratorium’

From a report on the Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster, which concluded yesterday –

“Of interest to many was the passing of Motion #1 on the afternoon of May 12th by a substantial majority of Synod.

In this motion, Synod requested that the Bishop lift the partial moratorium that has been in place since 2005 and authorize priests of the Diocese of New Westminster to bless the civil marriages of gay and lesbian couples in those parishes that support this pastoral act. …

Bishop Michael responded by saying that he will think about this decision and that he plans to confer with many members of the diocese…”

– from the New Westminster website. (Photo: Dioc. New Westminster. h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog.)

Related: The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns by Dr Mark Thompson, 2008.

UK Advertising Standards Authority investigates blogger

This from well-known UK blogger “Archbishop Cranmer” –

“Apparently there have been a number of complaints about one of the advertisements His Grace carried on behalf of the Coalition for Marriage. He has been sent all manner of official papers, formal documentation and threatening notices which demand answers to sundry questions by a certain deadline. He is instructed by the ‘Investigations Executive’ of this inquisition to keep all this confidential…”

– Read about it here.

Jesus, Lord of His Church and of the Church’s Mission

The transcript of Bishop Michael Nazir Ali’s address to the Leaders Conference of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in London last month, has now been posted online.

It’s entitled “Jesus, Lord of His Church and of the Church’s Mission”.

“I was once at a very grand assembly of a denomination in the West, let’s put it like that. It was very grand, very awe-inspiring. But in the middle of it, I had this sense that they had the form of godliness but not the power. You know what I am talking about.

What makes the church has to do with the Gospel, that is to say, everything that the Church needs in its ministry – its life together, its preaching, the celebration of the sacraments – comes about because of the nature of the Gospel itself. In other words, how we are church is not different from what the Gospel is. The Gospel produces what is authentically church.

This is a lesson we must learn again and again if the ecclesia is to be semper reformanda: again and again to check how we are church against the Gospel, and you’d be surprised at how much resistance there is to such an idea in some circles if you put it forward.”

Photo: GAFCON.

New Bishop for Wellington, NZ

“Justin Duckworth has been announced as the next Anglican Bishop of Wellington.

And he may just be the least likely-looking bishop ever elected in New Zealand. He has dreadlocks, for starters. He’s usually in shorts and bare feet, too. But the voters in the Diocese of Wellington saw past that…”

– Report from Anglican Taonga. More from the Diocese of Wellington.

Churches oppose Greens motion on same sex marriage

Media release from the NSW Council of Churches – 03 May 2012

“The motion, set for debate in the May sittings of the NSW Legislative Council, could be voted on as early as today.”

Churches oppose Greens motion on same sex marriage

The NSW Council of Churches has urged church leaders to publicly oppose a motion by Greens MLC the Hon. Cate Faehrmann supporting same sex marriage and calling on the federal parliament to extend the legal definition of marriage to include same sex couples.

The motion, set for debate in the May sittings of the NSW Legislative Council, could be voted on as early as today.  Read more

Stories from FCA Leaders Conference — Dr William Philip

Dr William Philip from the Church of Scotland was an observer at the FCA Leaders meeting in London. He’s interviewed by Russell Powell in this 2 minute video.

Related: Video of Ministers and Elders Meeting, June 2011 (esp. #3) at St. George’s Tron in Glasgow.

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