South Carolina speaks out on TEC General Convention

Posted on July 15, 2012 
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The Bishop of South Carolina, Mark Lawrence, has requested that a letter be read aloud to all congregations in his diocese today, following landmark votes at the TEC General Convention during the week –

“Given these changes in the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church the question that is before us is: ‘What does being faithful to Jesus Christ look like for this diocese at this time? How are we called to live and be and act?  In this present context, how do we make Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age?’”

Read the text of his letter below – Read more

What Ails the Episcopalians

Posted on July 14, 2012 
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“During the day, legislators … discussed such weighty topics as whether to develop funeral rites for dogs and cats, and whether to ratify resolutions condemning genetically modified foods. Both were approved by a vote, along with a resolution to ‘dismantle the effects of the doctrine of discovery,’ in effect an apology to Native Americans for exposing them to Christianity. …”

– The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the Episcopal Church and its General Convention.
(Photo: Episcopal News Service.)

Where ‘mercy ministry’ fits into the church

Posted on July 14, 2012 
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The latest 9Marks Journal – on Where Mercy Ministry fits into the Church – is now available for download.

The Perfect Saviour: Key themes in Hebrews

Posted on July 13, 2012 
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Dr. David Peterson draws our attention to an important new book.

(Get a copy.)

Lightning strikes

Posted on July 13, 2012 
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“Apparently York University was hit by lightning last week. In and of itself, that fact may be of minor meteorological interest; but given that the General Synod of the Church of England was meeting there to discuss the possibility of ordaining female bishops, some have turned it into a matter of major theological interest. …”

– Iain Campbell at Reformation21 writes about the nature of God, the status of the Bible, and the willingness of the church to hear.

South Carolina delegates leave TEC General Convention early

Posted on July 12, 2012 
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“The bulk of the deputation to the House of Deputies from the Diocese of South Carolina has left General Convention one day early, following the actions of the Convention thus far to (a) add transsexual persons to the list of people who cannot be denied work at any level in the Episcopal Church (USA); (b) adopt a rite for the blessing of same-sex unions, in violation of both the Book of Common Prayer and the ECUSA Constitution; and (c) refuse to act at this time on the proposed Anglican Covenant. …”

– Story from The Anglican Curmudgeon.

South Carolina statements here –

“It is with heavy hearts that Bishop Mark Lawrence and the South Carolina deputation to General Convention must report the final passage and adoption of Resolution A049, the Resolution to Authorize Liturgical Resources for Blessing Same-Gender Relationships. The Bishop and our deputation, in both speaking and voting against its passage, remain united and unanimous in our support of the historic understanding of ‘the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this Church has received them.’…”

Related: Why is the Episcopal Church near collapse? – Beliefnet. (h/t SydneyAnglicans.net)

“This is no longer George Washington’s Episcopal Church – in 1776 the largest denomination in the rebellious British colonies. Membership has dropped so dramatically that today there are 20 times more Baptists than Episcopalians.”

NZ Church to hold conversations ‘with the wider community’ on marriage

Posted on July 11, 2012 
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“Without dissent, and after a debate that at times included displays of raw emotion, the synod passed a resolution that “asks Episcopal Units to hold conversations in our church and with the wider community about the nature of marriage.”

It’s clear that the mover of the resolution, the Rev Glynn Cardy, of St Matthew-in-the-City, in Auckland, hopes this will lead, eventually, to the possibility of gay and lesbian couples getting married in Anglican churches…”

– more ‘conversations’ coming to the Anglican Church of NZ. Text of resolution here.

Sydney Anglicans IV: The Primacy of the Word

Posted on July 11, 2012 
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Mark Thompson writes about the primacy of the word in part four of his series on Sydney Anglicans –

“Unsurprisingly, confidence in the Bible as the written word of God, the supreme authority in all matters of faith and life, would soon become an enduring characteristic of the church in Sydney.”

Read it all here –

“The churches of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney are sometimes caricatured as Bible-centred rather than Christ-centred or God-centred. The truth behind the caricature is the attention we give to the proclamation of the word in public and private gatherings. While elsewhere Anglican churches might give more prominence to the sacraments or to an experience of the Spirit, Sydney Anglican churches typically place great store on the reading and exposition of Scripture. Expository preaching is the staple diet of most congregations. Fellowship groups routinely involve Bible study. Read more

Making sense of Scripture’s ‘inconsistency’

Posted on July 11, 2012 
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“I find it frustrating when I read or hear columnists, pundits, or journalists dismiss Christians as inconsistent because ‘they pick and choose which of the rules in the Bible to obey.’

Most often I hear, ‘Christians ignore lots of Old Testament texts – about not eating raw meat or pork or shellfish, not executing people for breaking the Sabbath, not wearing garments woven with two kinds of material and so on. Then they condemn homosexuality. Aren’t you just picking and choosing what you want to believe from the Bible?’…”

– Tim Keller looks at the relationship of the Old Testament to the New. (h/t Tim Challies.)

Getting to grips with the ‘God-particle’

Posted on July 10, 2012 
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“If you have studied a lot of physics, then you may understand your photons from your bosons and your leptons from your quarks. And you might be able to understand with ease what such things tell us about our universe.

But for those of us who struggle with physics and want a little assistance when it comes to engaging with our non-Christian friends on this subject, here are some helpful words from the Gospel Coalition…”

– Helen Thorne writes at The Good Book blog. (Image: phdcomics.com)

Remembering a Pioneer

Posted on July 10, 2012 
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“On 13 July each year we remember Bishop Sydney Kirkby, a pioneer missionary for Rural Australia and the Bush Church Aid Society.”

– The Diocese of Perth website gives thanks.

Read more about Bishop Kirkby (1879–1935) at The Australian Dictionary of Biography.

 

TEC affirms “gender identity and gender expression”

Posted on July 10, 2012 
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“‘Gender identity and gender expression’ have been added as a category of protected classes of personas and behavior for the Episcopal Church. On 9 July 2012 the House of Deputies adopted resolutions … forbidding discrimination in the employment, ordination and the ‘life, worship, and governance’ of trans-gendered or transsexual persons……”

– George Conger reports at Anglican Ink.

No censure for “Fort Worth 9” in TEC House of Bishops

Posted on July 9, 2012 
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“The push by the provisional bishops of Fort Worth and Quincy to censure nine bishops for disloyalty to the Episcopal Church has failed in the House of Bishops and has likely sunk any attempt to discipline the accused through the church’s legal system. …”

– George Conger reports at Anglican Ink.

Bishops respond to accusations

Posted on July 7, 2012 
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“Our Constitution … specifies no office or body with supremacy or hierarchical authority over the Ecclesiastical Authority of the diocese for matters within a diocese. And as bishops, we take no vow of obedience to any other office or body.”

– Six of the nine bishops accused of violating TEC’s canons have written an open letter to the TEC House of Bishops and Presiding Bishop. A report and the letter at The Living Church.

Related:

“The lawyers for Bishop Iker’s Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth continue to stay several moves ahead of their ECUSA opponents. Bishop Ohl’s and Bishop Buchanan’s tactic of trying to lower the boom on the seven Bishops signing an amicus brief with the Texas Supreme Court in the Fort Worth case may be said to have backfired. …”

– read more at The Anglican Curmudgeon.

Commended: The Faith we Confess

Posted on July 7, 2012 
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“The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion found at the back of the Book of Common Prayer are the doctrinal standard of the Church of England.

… Anglican churchgoers, ordinands, and ministers still require some kind of exposition of the Articles which are nearly four and a half centuries old, in order to understand them and see their importance as an expression of the faith we confess today. Into the breach steps Gerald Bray with this well-written, historically-aware, and faithful unwrapping of each Article.”

– Lee Gatiss, review editor for Churchman commends (PDF file) Gerald Bray’s book on the Articles. (Availability.) Related: “a brilliant resource” – Mark Thompson.

Download the Introduction from The Latimer Trust.

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