Final decision from the Bishop of London
In a letter to clergy in the diocese (October 24th 2008) the Assistant Bishop of London declares that since Martin Dudley has apologised, the case is now considered closed.
– Read the letter here at Reform London.
For earlier stories, see here.
(Photo of Bishop Richard Chartres: Diocese of London.)
Anglican bishop seeks OK to bless same-sex marriages
An Anglican church in Ottawa may soon be the second in Canada to bless same-sex marriages.
Bishop John Chapman plans to ask the Canadian House of Bishops next week if he can develop an appropriate rite, then designate one parish — possibly Saint John the Evangelist on Somerset Street — to offer blessings to gay couples already married in a civil ceremony…
– Report from The Ottawa Citizen. (Photo: The Anglican Journal.)
Connect09 orders due next week
Just a reminder for Sydney parishes – the phase 1 orders for Connect09 Gospels (versions in English, Chinese and Arabic) close next Friday (October 31). Don’t miss out!
(See also The Essential Jesus.)
How free is your religion?
Dr Andrew Cameron, chairman of the (Sydney) Diocesan Social Issues Executive –
“The ‘Freedom of Religion and Belief Project’ is an initiative of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC, formerly HREOC), the government’s main advisory body on human rights.
Researchers for the AHRC want to study the state of religious freedom in Australia. Their research will cover a variety of areas, and they will produce a report to the Federal government in 2010 which will probably recommend legislative changes…
The project could be a good thing if it brings to light any inappropriate limitations on the freedom of religion and belief. Or, it may be unhelpful if it recommends changes that damage the delicate balance of religion freedoms that have developed in Australian life. We don’t know yet. But this is an important enough project that some of us want to do our part to be actively involved as citizens.”
Dr Cameron, is presenting a seminar on the project next Thursday –
‘Freedom of Religion and Belief Project’ Information Hour
A seminar presented by Andrew Cameron,
chairman, Diocesan Social Issues Executive
Thursday 30th October 2008
5.30pm-6.30pm
Chapter House, St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney Square.
No RSVP necessary.
Only a limited number of copies of the relevant Australian Human Rights Commission discussion paper will be available. You can download your own copy here before the seminar. It might help to skim pp. 8-11 of that paper before the meeting.
For further background, see Social Issues briefing #079 (PDF file, direct link).
For more information from the AHRC, see
Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21st Century and
Freedom of Religion and Belief.
Bp John Broadhurst – strong words on Lambeth
At the UK Forward in Faith National Assembly two weeks ago, Bishop John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham within the Diocese of London and Chairman of Forward in Faith, spoke about the betrayal of Anglicanism he felt at Lambeth and from the UK General Synod.
The 21MB mp3 file (direct link) runs for 22 minutes.
Related: Forward in Faith UK reacts to C of E vote (July 8, 2008.)
Right to Death
Writing in The Guardian [London], Simon Jenkins argues that the right to end one’s life on one’s own terms is basic to humanity, and that only “religious primitivism” stands in the way of cultural acceptance and legal approved for assisted suicide…
– Al Mohler writes about the growing Culture of Death.
Q & A from the Covenant Design Group
A Lambeth Commentary: The Reflections on the St Andrew’s Draft for an Anglican Covenant by the bishops gathered at the 2008 Lambeth Conference together with responses from the Covenant Design Group has now been made available from the Anglican Communion Office.
It’s a 200kb PDF download (direct link).
Bishop John Harrower reports on Lambeth
Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, shares his experience of the Lambeth Conference –
“One of the saddest moments of the Conference for me personally occurred in our Indaba when a bishop spoke earnestly of his views on same sex issues with a brief and solemn conclusion.
Some minutes after I saw him surreptitiously pass a sheaf of the TEC briefing notes to the TEC bishop seated in front of him. He had parroted one of the ‘sample narratives’. I wanted to shout and to cry. Any idea of transparency and trust through Indaba had been tragically thrown in our face. Set piece parroting surreptitiously orchestrated was poisoning our communion. God have mercy on us!…”
– Read Bishop Harrower’s full report on the Diocese of Tasmania website.
(Photo of Bishop John and Mrs Gayelene Harrower: Samuel Dow.)
Anglican Church of Canada slashes budget
Directors at the General Synod office have been asked to slash $1.3 million from the 2009 budget, a move designed to break a recurring pattern in recent years of huge budget deficits. …
Archbishop Hiltz … cautioned against looking at the situation negatively, saying, “The ship is not sinking; rather it’s moving in another direction…”
– Report from The Anglican Journal of the Anglican Church of Canada.
The Seinfeld Conference: A Reflection on Lambeth 2008
“Lambeth 2008 was about nothing, said nothing, and achieved nothing, and by its inaction, the Anglican Communion was left in a worse place than if it had never taken place at all, Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda said…”
– George Conger writes for the Institute on Religion & Democracy. (Photo: Lambeth Conference media.)
Tibetan monks at Louisville cathedral
“Visiting Tibetan Buddhist Monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery in South India are once again at Christ Church Cathedral to create a Sacred Sand Mandala for Compassion and World Peace…”
– from the Diocese of Kentucky.
(Hat tip to Greg Griffith at Stand Firm.)
Dr Martin Dudley responds
The Rector of The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, the Rev Dr Martin Dudley, has responded to the statement, made last week, by members of the Diocese of London Deanery. Read it at Anglican Mainstream.
And then read a critque of his response – “Martin Dudley mishandles Donatism” – by Peter Ould:
Is he arguing that we should simply ignore sin in the church? Or is he arguing that we shouldn’t discipline him, “because we’re all sinners”?
(Photo: Church of St Bartholomew the Great.)
Sydney Synod overwhelmingly endorses GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration
Tonight a packed meeting of the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney very strongly supported the Jerusalem Declaration.
Read the Media Release by Russell Powell. See also this story.
Related: The Jerusalem Declaration.
Reform pledges support for GAFCON movement
Reform, the 1,700-strong conservative evangelical network, has pledged support for the initiatives of GAFCON at its annual conference in London.
Revd Rod Thomas, Reform’s chairman, welcomed the clear Biblical leadership given by the GAFCON Primates at the Jerusalem meeting in June 2008, saying that there “we saw what an Anglicanism united in the Gospel and dedicated to mission could look like.”…
– Read the full Reform statement here.
Update: The Anglican Mainstream steering committee has released a statement of support for the Jerusalem Declaration.
Bp David Mulready’s Presidential Address to the Synod of North West Australia
Bishop David Mulready’s Presidential Address to the Synod of the Diocese of North West Australia last weekend has now been made available.
“Our Diocese is committed to the Bible as The Word of God. We are committed to teaching God’s Word and obeying it, living it out in our lives. As the Bible is taught during sermons and at Bible Studies, our teachers consistently seek to bring God’s Word to impact on every area of our lives.
One of the most important exhortations in the Scriptures is for God’s people to make God known to those who do not know Him. So we know that God is a ‘missional God’ and we are to be ‘a missional church’. At every opportunity and in a great variety of ways our churches are to be reaching out with the Good News of Salvation found only in Jesus Christ and His atoning death. …
There are many worthy causes to which our Church could turn our attention: climate control, improving the environment, justice for refugees to name just three. These are important matters and I hope that some members of our Churches are involved with a Christian voice. However, they are not the ‘core business’ of the church.
We must keep our minds and our energies on the main event: The Gospel. It is by proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and repentance and faith in Him as the means by which people are rescued from hell and come into friendship with God. This is the main event. This is our core business. This is why we exist. Let’s do all that we can in our local Churches to be calling people from darkness into God’s wonderful light.…”
If only every Anglican bishop could affirm these things!
Download Bishop Mulready’s full text as a PDF file. (Photo: Russell Powell.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…