Episcopal church starting from scratch
“The mission parish was created by the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York following last month’s departure of most members of the former St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, a large, conservative congregation that had been at odds for years with the direction of the national church. …
Now Gordy has the job of trying to pick up the pieces for the Episcopal Diocese. She begins with a parish of four people and a determination to get past the past. …
Sunday, Gordy said goodbye to her current congregation, Trinity Church on Delaware Avenue, perhaps the diocese’s most theologically progressive parish…”
– Report from The Buffalo News. (See this earlier post from Oct 2008 for context.)
Canberra consecration on Saturday
Stuart Robinson will be consecrated as Bishop of the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn at a service at 11:00am on Saturday 31st January 2009 in St. Saviour’s Cathedral, Goulburn.
North Hobart church building preserved
“The Anglican Church has agreed to pass ownership of the Holy Trinity Church building, in Hobart, to the Greek Orthodox Church thus protecting its future and ensuring the site remains used for Christian worship. …
In March of 2007 the Holy Trinity Parish Council… petitioned Bishop Harrower to close the Holy Trinity building. This was in response to a comprehensive report from an expert heritage architect which put the cost of restoration and upkeep of Holy Trinity at around $4million.”
– Press release from the Diocese of Tasmania.
Virginia goes over the brink
“This is not California, or El Camino Real, or even North Carolina. Virginia has long defined the ‘moderate middle’ of the Episcopal Church, and for that reason among others I believe the passage of this resolution will send shockwaves through the entire church. I also have to believe that if this is what has happened in Virginia in January, we’re in for a real circus come July in Anaheim.”
– Greg Griffith at Stand Firm writes about the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia’s Annual Council meeting held in Reston, Virginia, on January 23 & 24.
(h/t Anglican Mainstream.) Photo of Bishop Peter Lee: Diocese of Virginia.
Abortion and Obama’s first few days
Here was President Obama’s statement on abortion yesterday, released late in the day:
“On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters. I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose. …”
– Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds provides the text of the President’s statement as well as some reflections.
Fort Worth Asst Bp Wantland ‘removed and released’ by TEC Presiding Bishop
“Dr. Schori:
This will acknowledge electronic receipt on this date of a letter apparently not mailed to me, but dated January 15, 2009, purporting to ‘accept’ my letter to you dated November 15, 2008 as a Renunciation of my Orders.
As you must know, my letter specifically declared that ‘I am not resigning my Orders’. …”
– Assistant Bishop William C. Wantland of the Diocese of Fort Worth responds to a letter from the TEC Presiding Bishop. Read it on the Fort Worth website. (And here’s the Episcopal Life version.)
‘Magic’ goat arrested for armed robbery
“Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery.
Vigilantes took the black and white beast to the police saying it was an armed robber who had used black magic to transform himself into a goat to escape arrest after trying to steal a Mazda 323. …”
– Report at ABC News. (image adapted from Google maps.)
Episcopal diocese funds frozen
Financial services firm Morgan Stanley has frozen the accounts of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh because it is unsure who should be allowed to access them. …
In October, a group that represents about 60 percent of the local parishes voted to join the more theologically conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. …
On Nov. 20, the group that voted against leaving the diocese wrote to Morgan Stanley about the assets. Its leaders claim they have not been able to use any of the $20 million in diocesan assets or personnel files since the split. …
– Read the full report from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Pittsburgh Anglican website. Pittsburgh Episcopal website.
There’s probably no bus
Steve Kryger at Communicate Jesus links to a witty response in The Church Times to the ‘Atheist Bus’ campaign in the UK.
(Photo: Jon Worth / British Humanist Association.)
Rick Warren’s prayer
Rick Warren’s prayer at the inauguration of President Barack Obama may be seen here on YouTube.
Transcript here.
And the text of Gene Robinson’s prayer on Sunday is here.
New GAFCON and FCA websites
The GAFCON website has been relaunched after a redesign – and a site for the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans is also up and running.
At gafcon.org and fca.net.
Beyond the Elizabethan Settlement
Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth delivered this address on Friday at the Mere Anglicanism Conference in Charleston, South Carolina –
“Have you noticed how nearly everything we speak of in today’s world is global? …
The consecration of a partnered homosexual bishop in the Diocese of New Hampshire impacts the life of the Diocese of Jos in Nigeria. The blessing of same-sex unions in a growing number of North American dioceses send shock waves throughout the Anglican world. To speak of Global Anglicanism is to speak of fragmentation, division and schism… ”
– Read his full address at the Diocese of Fort Worth website.
A Conversation with Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali
On Friday, Al Mohler’s radio programme featured an interview with Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali. Both have been speaking at the Mere Anglicanism Conference in Charleston, South Carolina.
The segment begins 5’14” into this mp3 file (direct link) and runs for 33 minutes.
h/t Anglican Mainstream. (Photo: Joy Gwaltney, GAFCON.)
Inauguration Prayer Service plans
“Today, as part of an Inauguration for all Americans, the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the spiritual leaders from the diverse array of our nation’s religious traditions who will participate in the National Prayer Service on Wednesday, January 21st. …”
– from The Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Most US Christians define own theology
American individualism has made its imprint on Christianity.
A sizable majority of the country’s faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven. …
– Read the full article by Jane Lampman in The Christian Science Monitor.
(Illustration CS Monitor.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…