TEC Presiding Bishop’s opening remarks to General Convention

Posted on July 5, 2012 
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TEC Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori:

“If this convention is The Episcopal Church’s family reunion, then go find somebody who represents the outlaw side of the family for you and spend a few minutes learning your relative’s story.… Episcopalians are increasingly engaged in creative reconciling work…”

– for anyone interested, the full text of the opening remarks to the TEC General Convention in Indianapolis can be read here. (Photo: ENS.)

‘Divine Conference’ attracts 2000 to All Saints Nairobi

Posted on July 4, 2012 
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“In the West the adjective ‘divine’ is used more to describe chocolate or clothes than the things of God, but the ‘Divine Conference’ held at Nairobi’s All Saints’ Cathedral last month, 24-27 May, was intended to be exactly what it said it was – a time given to God for his glory and to seek his face. …”

– Charles Raven, now based in Kenya, looks at what’s happening in East Africa. At Anglican Mainstream.

Calculated to intimidate?

Posted on July 4, 2012 
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“It turns out that in the Diocese of Quincy litigation, each side was scheduled to file last Friday, June 29, a list of the witnesses, both lay and expert, whom they plan to call to the stand at the trial scheduled for next April.

What a curious coincidence, then, that on the day before the Anglican Diocese of Quincy had to file its statement (i.e., on June 28), one of the Bishops which they planned to list as an expert witness received an email from the Intake Officer, the Rt. Rev. F. Clayton Matthews…”

– A S Haley, The Anglican Curmudgeon, asks about the timing of the notification from TEC of ‘disciplinary proceedings’ against nine bishops.

TitusOneNine has a good summary – Bishopsgate: A Guide with Links.

BBC Radio 4 programme on women bishops

Posted on July 2, 2012 
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Adrian Reynolds at The Proclamation Trust writes:

Interesting programme on Radio 4 yesterday including a very high quality section with Andrea Trevenna from St Nicholas’ Sevenoaks. Listen here. Go to 16:38 if you want to skip context and go straight to her part. She’s very strong on the authority of Scripture. She pretty much was the only person interviewed who mentioned the Bible.

(Includes comments from Kay Goldsworthy.)

Griffith Thomas on Original Sin

Posted on July 2, 2012 
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Church Society has posted the latest extract from W H Griffith Thomas’ classic work, Principles of Theology. This is the first section of his piece on Article IX of the Thirty Nine Articles.

TEC strikes again

Posted on July 1, 2012 
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“Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against three bishops of the Episcopal Church under the provisions of Title IV for having endorsed a legal pleading filed in the Quincy lawsuit.

On 28 June 2012, the Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr., former Bishop of South Carolina and Dean of Nashotah House seminary, the Rt. Rev. Peter H. Beckwith, former Bishop of Springfield, and th Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana received an email from the Rt. Rev. F. Clayton Matthews stating that the charges had been leveled against them…”

– George Conger reports at Anglican Ink. Photo of Bp Edward Salmon: Nashotah House.

Related: Comment from The Anglican Curmudgeon.

Dean of Dallas reflects on 41 years in the Episcopal Church

Posted on June 30, 2012 
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As he retires from his position as Dean of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Dallas, Texas, Kevin Martin bemoans the direction in which TEC is heading –

“Things have changed and I think not for the better. For example, as a seminarian I attended the General Convention held in Houston. I remember the hearing held on the proposed new Baptismal Rite. It started with a 20 minute presentation by a leading theologian and seminary professor on the need for changes. This was followed by a 10 minute ‘response’ by another theologian from a different perspective. This theologian began by affirming a number of points made in the initial address, and only then did he respectfully present a differing opinion. This was followed by a panel discussion among a group of outstanding leaders and thinkers. Only then was the discussion open to deputies in the audience who could ask questions.

Compare all this to a discussion at the General Convention in 2000 over the issue of ordination of gay and lesbian persons in same-sex relationships. The initial resolution that would be taken to the floor of convention was read by the Chair of the Committee and then members of the audience were invited to give testimony limited to two minutes. Participants went to a set of microphones labeled either pro or con.

I saw a seminary dean given only two minutes to speak to the Church’s theology of marriage. This was followed by a two minute personal sharing by a woman who was married to a transvestite on how accepting their local parish had been. I sat watching as a once thoughtful and intelligent community that valued substantive engagement with issues reduced itself to a community of passionate partisanship who reduced discussion to a superficial series of slogans and clichés.”

– Read it all at his blog. (h/t Anglicans United.)

The Wisdom of the Cross (2)

Posted on June 30, 2012 
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“In part one of this series I considered Paul’s question to the church in Corinth concerning wisdom, Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? (1 Cor.1:20). There I concluded that Christian wisdom is neither a matter of gaining kudos amidst worldly fashions nor the desire we have for God to do something spectacular to make us feel like we are on the winning side. Instead, we seek a world-view that rests on God’s actions for us in the cross of the Lord Jesus.

Next, I’d like to add Job’s question to the mix: In Ch.28:12 Job asks, Where shall wisdom be found?…”

– Dr David Höhne continues his series at the Moore College Faculty blog.

Defining Marriage webcast

Posted on June 29, 2012 
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On Tuesday night, the Australian Marriage Forum’s Defining Marriage webcast was seen in hundreds of churches across the country. The video from the evening has now been posted on their website and at Vimeo.

(John Anderson’s comments starting at 67 minutes 30 seconds are well worth watching.)

Welcoming Defence families

Posted on June 29, 2012 
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Defence members and their families probably move houses more than most and can face real challenges. Defence Anglicans have some ideas on how to welcome defence families to your church.

(The article complements the feature in the July 2012 issue of Southern Cross newspaper.)

Reform statement on Women Bishops measure in the C of E General Synod

Posted on June 28, 2012 
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“Reform says ‘furore’ over women bishops shows need for better provision.

Reform Chairman Rev’d Rod Thomas said today that “Reform deeply regrets that we have reached such an impasse on women bishops” with the current House of Bishops’ amendments not satisfying the conservative evangelical network’s concerns over their future in the Church of England. …”

– See the full Reform statement.

Moore College Principal

Posted on June 28, 2012 
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Here’s the official advertisement from Moore College (PDF file).

Applications close 31 July 2012.

A double-minded man

Posted on June 28, 2012 
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“Those with long memories will recall that when Dr. Williams was appointed a decade ago we at Churchman predicted that his tenure would not be a happy one and that he would have been better off refusing the poisoned chalice of Canterbury altogether.”

– Gerald Bray writes the Summer 2012 editorial of Churchman. (PDF file.)

The Atonement — Visual Theology

Posted on June 28, 2012 
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Tim Challies has published another chart in his ‘Visual Theology’ infographic series, this one to help explain what is meant by the Penal Substitutionary Atonement. See it here.

Sydney Anglicans III. Complementarian ministry

Posted on June 26, 2012 
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Mark Thompson writes about complementarian ministry in part three of his series on Sydney Anglicans –

“It is the Bible which teaches us to celebrate the differences between men and women and the way attention to those differences enhances our unity rather than undermines it, not least as together we seek to serve Christ and his gospel.”

Read it all here –

“Some of the most insistent critics of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney are those who oppose its complementarian approach to the ministry of men and women. A number of those critics feel personally injured by the repeated decisions of the diocesan synod to reject measures authorising the ordination of women to the presbyterate. Others go further and insist these decisions arise from a deep-seated misogyny, perhaps related to the peculiar conditions of the early colony, but in any case fuelled by a way of reading the Bible which is authoritarian and androcentric. Yet men and women in Sydney respond that they are seeking above all else to be faithful to the word which God has given us. It is the Bible which teaches us to celebrate the differences between men and women and the way attention to those differences enhances our unity rather than undermines it, not least as together we seek to serve Christ and his gospel. This is not an authoritarian reading but a submissive one.  Read more

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