Evangelicals love the Church of England
Posted on February 17, 2023
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The Church of England Evangelical Council has published this 17 minute video.
Do watch it and share widely to provoke prayers for our brothers and sisters in the Church of England.
New start at Cobar — Commissioning Saturday morning 11:00am
Posted on February 16, 2023
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James Daymond will be commissioned to minister in Cobar on Saturday 18th February 2023 at 11:00am.
It’s been more than 20 years since there was a resident Anglican minister in Cobar. (According to the diocesan Facebook page, James’ great uncle was once the minister there.)
Please pray for James and Brittany Daymond and for the church in Cobar, that this will be for the eternal good of many people, and for the glory of Christ.
Here James and Brittany are pictured with Dr Warwick Baines, business manager and registrar of the Diocese of Bathurst.
You can watch the livestream here.
Anglican Network in Europe
Posted on February 15, 2023
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The Anglican Network in Europe has written to clarify how they can serve churches and clergy in the Church of England in light of the General Synod vote and moves by the House of Bishops.
They also explain what they are unable to do –
“We recognise that this is a very trying time for you in the light of the direction that the House of Bishops is setting and you face many difficult decisions in the days and months ahead.
We do not envy you the dilemmas you face in remaining faithful to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor do we seek to take advantage of your discomfiture.
There will be many different strategies that you will consider adopting as you seek to do this. …”
– Read the full statement via Anglican Ink.
Bishop Alfred Olwa on what the Anglican Communion needs
Posted on February 15, 2023
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From The American Anglican Council:
“During his trip to Uganda to be with the leaders of the Church of Uganda, Canon Phil [Ashey] got to sit down with Bishop Alfred Olwa about the work of Gospel ministry in Uganda, the Global Communion and the fighting against false teaching, and how to move forward in faith for the sake of the world.”
– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey speaks with Bishop Alfred Olwa.
He expresses hopes for closer fellowship between GAFCON and the Global South and is looking forward to GAFCON IV in Kigali. (Bishop Olwa is well-known by many in Sydney after his time at Moore Theological College.)
Image: Bishop Olwa speaking at GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem.
Darrell Parker to be installed as Bishop of North West Australia — Wednesday 9.00pm AEDT
Posted on February 15, 2023
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Darrell Parker will be installed as the Bishop of the Diocese of North West Australia at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Geraldton tonight, Wednesday 15th February, at 6:00pm AWST (9:00pm AEDT).
We understand the service will be live-streamed – available via the Geraldton Cathedral website or on the Cathedral Youtube channel.
Photo: Darrell and Elizabeth Parker.
What next for the Anglican Communion & Church of England – with Dr Peter Jensen
Posted on February 14, 2023
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In this week’s The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele speaks with Dr Peter Jensen, former General Secretary of the GAFCON movement and former Archbishop of Sydney.
There is deep sadness over what has happened.
“This has been, and is, the decisive moment,” he says.
Mentioned in the conversation is the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Acra, Ghana. Here are videos of
Welby proposes pulling Canterbury out of Anglican instruments of communion
Posted on February 13, 2023
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“The Archbishop of Canterbury will surrender his authority as first among equals among the primates of the Anglican Communion in light of the General Synod of the Church of England’s adoption of gay blessings.
Speaking to the opening ceremony of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Accra, Ghana on 12 February 2023, the Most Rev. Justin Welby stated ‘I will not cling to place or position as an Instrument of Communion.’
His concession comes the day before 12 of the primates affiliated with the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans meet to offer a united response to last week’s vote in General Synod. The decision to introduce same-sex blessings, without seeking a Scriptural or theological foundation for the decision, or respecting the church’s agreements with other Anglican provinces has prompted the largest provinces: Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya to break fellowship. …”
– Is the Archbishop of Canterbury offering to jump before he is pushed? George Conger has this report at Anglican.ink.
Photo credit: Jaqui J Sze, Archbishop of Canterbury’s office.
New start in West Wyalong
Posted on February 12, 2023
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From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page – news from Saturday 11th February –
“A joy to see Steven and Caitlin Klouth warmly welcomed in West Wyalong as the Rev’d Steven Klouth was commissioned this morning as Priest-in-Charge.
This full time appointment would not be possible without the generous partnership of the Bush Church Aid Society.
NSW director of BCA, Paul Sampson joined us, as did CFO Greg Bridge and Chair of council, Fred Chilton and his wife Jill.”
– Food for your prayers.
George Carey, Former Archbishop of Canterbury, writes to The Times
Posted on February 12, 2023
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The Right Rev Lord Carey of Clifton, Archbishop of Canterbury 1991-2002, writes to The Times –
“Sir, I have no doubt that General Synod’s decision to allow blessings to same-sex couples will delight many (report, Feb 9). It will concern others, including me, who believe that marriage can be a true sacramental rite only between a man and a woman in a lifelong union of love. It is obvious that the next step can only be the acceptance of same-sex marriages. …”
– via Anglican Ink.
On not snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory
Posted on February 12, 2023
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“In the immediate aftermath of the Synod vote, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York declared that the vote meant that; ‘For the first time, the Church of England will publicly, unreservedly and joyfully welcome same-sex couples in church’ …
The problem with this interpretation, however, is that it fails to do justice to the motion which Synod passed. When we look at this motion carefully, we find that what Synod actually voted for makes any general liturgical affirmation of same-sex relationships by the Church of England impossible. …”
– Martin Davie expands on the same point made earlier by Dr Ian Paul. That is, the addition to the Bishops’ proposed motion of an amendment – paragraph g – limits what the Bishops can do.
The paragraph reads –
“g) endorse the decision of the College and House of Bishops not to propose any change to the doctrine of marriage, and their intention that the final version of the Prayers of Love and Faith should not be contrary to or indicative of a departure from the doctrine of the Church of England.” (bold added)
He continues,
“… the addition of clause (g) to the Synod motion was a great victory. This is because when taken seriously it will mean that the Church of England continues to maintain an orthodox biblical position. However, in order to avoid ‘snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory’ traditionalist Anglicans need to do three things. …”
Image: Several members stand to seek the call during the debate in the Church if England’s General Synod.
“As for me and the Church of Uganda, we will serve the Lord.”
Posted on February 11, 2023
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“There is a lot of sexual sin in Uganda. I know that, and you know that. Nevertheless, we haven’t changed our message. Our message is the message of the Bible, which is, ‘Go, and sin no more.’
The Church of England, on the other hand, has now departed from the Bible and their new message is the opposite message of the Bible. They are now saying, ‘Go, and sin some more.’
They are even offering to bless that sin. …
We now want to ask the Church of England, ‘Do you have the integrity to step out of the Anglican Communion because you have departed from the Anglican faith?’ God called you to preach a Gospel of repentance and faith. Instead, you’re like Jonah. You have disobeyed and are running in the opposite direction.
God called the church to go to Nineveh and preach repentance, but the Church of England is running to Tarshish and preaching acceptance of sin. There is no way we are walking together.”
‘Jesus tells the world a better story. Does the church still believe it?’
Posted on February 11, 2023
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Here’s another encouraging and Christ-honouring speech given at the Church of England General Synod on Thursday morning.
In her maiden speech at the assembly, Sophie Clarke, Senior Parliamentary Assistant and lay member of General Synod, urges the Church of England to uphold Jesus’ teaching on sex and marriage.
This video clip with thanks to Christian Concern.
Related:
The C of E has forgotten its better story about sex – Peter Ladd. (Link via Anglican Mainstream.)
Be encouraged again by Ben John’s appeal to the Church of England General Synod
Posted on February 11, 2023
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Amidst the gloom of bishops (and others) who turn away from the clear teaching of God’s Word, take the time to hear the appeal from General Synod member Ben John during Wednesday’s debate.
Do not be ashamed of the gospel – it is God’s power for the salvation for all who trust in Christ. (Romans 1:16, but re-read the full chapter for context.)
See it from 4 hours, 38 minutes and 50 seconds into the Wednesday afternoon video. (We also highlighted that day’s speeches by Vaughan Roberts and Ian Paul on this page.)
What exactly happened at Synod on the Prayers for Love and Faith?
Posted on February 11, 2023
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At Psephizo, Dr Ian Paul gives some much-needed clarity on what the Church of England General Synod voted for –
“In reflecting about anything in the Church of England, and especially in relation to General Synod, it is worth bearing in mind this mantra from the Troubles in Northern Ireland:
‘If you are not confused, you don’t really know what is going on.’
The newspapers seemed to be very clear what had happened:
‘The Church of England has approved blessings for gay couples for the first time. In a historic vote, the General Synod, the Church’s legislative body, voted to officially recognise same-sex couples on Thursday.’
You can understand why they would understand the vote in that way—since the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have both used that language. Unfortunately, that is not what happened!
The proposals that the bishops brought to Synod were that the doctrine of marriage, as a lifelong union between one man and one woman, would not change, but within the constraints of that they would propose some ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ which might be used to bless those people in same-sex relationships of some forms or other (as yet unspecified), but not function as a proclamation of God’s blessing on the relationship itself. (Please refer to my opening mantra!).
What Synod narrowly voted for, after about eight hours of debate on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, was for the bishops to continue to work on this, with some serious qualifications. For ecclesiastical nerds, this is the wording of the final motion as amended …”
Later, he sums up,
“If this is any kind of ‘victory’ for those who wanted to moved forward, it looks very much like a Pyrrhic victory. ‘If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined’ (Plutarch’s account of Pyrrhus of Epirus).
The motion was passed, with a significant addition which explicitly limits the scope for manoeuvre, so the work will continue. But I think the cost has been immense damage to the reputation and standing of Justin Welby, the final nail in the coffin of the Anglican Communion, damage to ecumenical relations, a further loss of confidence in the leadership of bishops within the Church, and the first signs of fracture at local and diocesans levels. And for what gain?”
Image: Dr Paul speaks at General Synod on Wednesday.
Living in Love and Faith: Moving Forward — a 3 minute promo video
Posted on February 11, 2023
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Video just released by the Church of England. Must have taken some time to put together.
Says the Archbishop of Canterbury:
“Over the last six years, the Church of England has been travelling together through our Living in Love and Faith process as we consider questions around identity, sexuality, relationships, and marriage.”
Says the Archbishop of York:
“We’ve studied the scriptures, paid attention to the Church’s tradition, and listened to the wider Church through your responses.”
Says one commenter under the video,
How to say “we do not believe in the authority of scripture” without saying “we do not believe in the authority of scripture”?
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…