Melbourne remembers Bishop David Shand

Posted on July 12, 2011 
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Bishop David Shand, former Assistant Bishop in Geelong in the Diocese of Melbourne has died, reports Anglican Media Melbourne. (Photo: Christ Church South Yarra.)

Pastoral Letter issued as the Republic of South Sudan becomes independent

Posted on July 9, 2011 
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Archbishop Daniel Deng and the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, have issued a Pastoral Letter as North and South Sudan become independent republics today.

From their website –

“At midnight of 8th July, the huge country of Sudan is divided, north and south. This momentous change will cause all manner of upheaval for many people, particularly for those who had fled to the north to escape fighting and for those who live in the border areas and on disputed land.”

Read the Pastoral Letter here (PDF).

William Taylor on ‘Why Expository Preaching?’

Posted on July 9, 2011 
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William Taylor spoke at a Simeon Trust workshop on Biblical Exposition, in 2008. The audio of the workshop is available on their website. Most encouraging – especially for preachers of God’s word.

New website for AMIE

Posted on July 8, 2011 
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The Anglican Mission in England now has its own website. The ‘About AMIE’ page will answer some questions.

“For four and a half years representations have been made to the senior leadership of the Church of England and discussions have been held with bishops appointed for the purpose by the Evangelical Bishops Meeting and by the Archbishop of Canterbury to find a way of providing alternative oversight for those who are in ‘temporarily impaired communion’ with their diocesan bishop. Most recently a strong representation was made by a range of concerned people for there to be a conservative evangelical ‘PEV’. No proposal or response has been received.

Taking the serious step of setting up AMIE is needed now in order to provide some way for people with such a calling for ministry to remain with the Anglican Communion and Church of England.”

– Read it all here.

Church, Women Bishops and Provision

Posted on July 7, 2011 
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The Latimer Trust has released a draft version of a forthcoming book, “Church, Women Bishops and Provision” – for the information of members of the Church of England General Synod.

Roger Beckwith, Sarah Finch, Michael Ovey, Charles Raven, Vinay Samuel, Chris Sugden and Anthony Thiselton are the contributors.

The draft book is available here – but please note: “This Draft is being released for the information of members of General Synod and will be removed from circulation as soon as the final printed version is available, which will also be made available for download. Any persons downloading this draft are kindly requested to refrain from circulating it and to delete it once the final version is available, as in all respects the latter will be the approved version.”

Lambeth Palace on the formation of The Anglican Mission in England

Posted on July 6, 2011 
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Yesterday, Lambeth Palace issued a statement on the formation of The Anglican Mission in England and AMiE has now responded.

Lambeth: “There needs to be some further discussion of this development between those involved and the diocesan bishops of the Church of England.”

AMIE: “AMIE … is grateful for the statement … Discussions on these issues have taken place with Lambeth Palace and its representatives over a period of four and half years. … We warmly welcome the invitation to meet to clarify the goals of AMIE which are to preach and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Both statements in full below:  Read more

Science and Genesis 3:1-24

Posted on July 5, 2011 
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Barry Newman is continuing to write stimulating notes as he reads through the early chapters of Genesis. He’s posted his latest complete series of explorations, “Science and Genesis 3:1-24” – as a PDF file – at his blog.

The Great Creeds

Posted on July 4, 2011 
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“The earliest function of the creeds was baptismal, that is for instruction beforehand and interrogation of the candidate at the baptism itself. Between their embryonic beginnings and ultimate finalization of the creed in the forms we have them further elements were added.

This was because the era between the New Testament and the finalization of the Creeds in the fourth century was chaotic, with the intrusion of serious doctrinal errors threatening the survival of apostolic truth and the unity of the church. …”

– Bishop Paul Barnett is continuing to post some of his writings online.

Related: J.I. Packer: More Catechesis, Please.

When the bishops don’t want you to ask

Posted on July 2, 2011 
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What questions should parish representatives in the Church of England ask of prospective clergy?

“parish reps are being discouraged or prevented from asking questions about sexuality… This is a clear instance where parish reps must obey the Lord whatever an Archdeacon or Bishop may say to them.”

David Phillips, General Secretary of Church Society, writes about the Church of England’s ‘Common Application Form’ and the situation in England. –

“Clergy applying for posts or laity acting as Parish Reps may well have encountered the Church of England’s Common Application Form. A revised version has been issued and there are a couple of notable omissions.

The first is that in early drafts a question was proposed for candidates to state that they comply with the Bishops guidelines “Issues in Human Sexuality”. What they were trying to avoid was some clergy being asked about their sexuality whilst others are not. This question has not been included but more importantly we know that parish reps are being discouraged or prevented from asking questions about sexuality. Given that clergy can now be in Civil Partnerships and some Bishops seem unwilling to ask clergy if they abide by the guidelines this is a serious problem. It is essential to be sure that clergy are modelling Biblical standards in their own lives, that is a requirement not only of Scripture but also of our Canons and Ordination services. This is a clear instance where parish reps must obey the Lord whatever an Archdeacon or Bishop may say to them.   Read more

A Fresh Look at Mission conference audio

Posted on July 1, 2011 
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The “Sydney and Anglican: A Fresh Look at Mission” conference was held in Sydney two weeks ago. (SydneyAnglicans.net reported on the day here.)

A quote from Michael Jensen:

“My conviction is that not only is being evangelical the most authentic way of being Anglican – we’ve been saying that for years – but also that being Anglican is the best way to be evangelical in Australia in the 21st century. Our Anglican identity is, by grace, a precious gift which teaches us to stay true to the central convictions of the Christian faith without losing our missionary zeal.”

The audio files and handouts are now available on their new website.

Ten Elements of Historic Anglicanism

Posted on June 30, 2011 
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“It is important to begin with two comments:

1) This paper was inspired by something J.I. Packer wrote in 1995, ‘Speculating in Anglican Futures’. I have added to it, but Dr Packer must not be blamed for my additions, or the final form this brief paper has taken.

2) I need to define ‘Anglicanism’. You will notice that I qualify it as ‘historic’ Anglicanism. What do I mean? I mean the Anglican way – the way of the Church of England as defined by the three historic documents: the Book of Common Prayer (1662); the Ordinal (for Bishops, Priests and Deacons); the 39 Articles of Religion. We find the doctrines, beliefs and ethos of historic Anglicanism in these documents.

Let me now turn to these ten elements.

First and foremost this Anglicanism locates its final authority in matters pertaining to salvation in the Holy Scriptures.

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article  of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation  (Article 6).

This places final authority for faith and salvation in “Holy Scripture”. By contrast the church is the “witness and keeper of holy writ”, but not the source of “Holy Writ”. The articles recognise that various “rites” need to be authorised and adjudication given in matters of “controversy” and the church has “power…and authority” in such things  (Article 20). Nonetheless, churches may err and have erred within history; they are not infallible.

So, to begin, Holy Scripture is the basis and touchstone of faith.

Thus the church must defer to the Bible in all matters relating to salvation and, indeed, in the ultimate in all matters relating to rites, ceremonies and controversies. Thus the Anglican Church is biblical as to the basis of its authority.

At ordination the minister is given a Bible as the instrument of ministry. The Bishop’s charge in the Ordinal, along with the questions and answers, make it abundantly clear that Christian ministry has the Bible as the basis and means of ministry.…”

– Read the full paper at Bishop Paul Barnett’s blog.

Simplicity and Integrity: the KJV in the church and the world

Posted on June 30, 2011 
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A Conference to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible.

Thursday July 7th 2011, 9.30am – 4:00pm at Moore College in Newtown.

Details here.

Joint statement from St. John’s and the Diocese of New Westminster

Posted on June 29, 2011 
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“During the transition ministry and services will continue to be administered by St John’s Vancouver clergy and staff. While there are still some legal matters to resolve all parties present expressed the wish to avoid further litigation and find a mutually acceptable way forward which will glorify God and care for his people.”

– from a brief statement posted on the St. John’s website.

Why did Jesus have to die?

Posted on June 29, 2011 
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In a new 5 minute video from The Gospel Coalition, David Short is asked, “Why did Jesus have to die? and What actually takes place on the Cross?”.

Also see his discussion of the question, “If homosexuality is simply another sin, why is it treated differently in churches?”.

(Worth reading in conjunction with the first video are these excerpts from an interview with John Piper.)

‘New York bishops praise state passage of same-gender marriage’

Posted on June 28, 2011 
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“At least one Episcopal Church bishop in the state of New York has said that clergy in his diocese may solemnize same-gender marriages as soon as the state’s recently passed Marriage Equality Act goes into effect.

‘Diocese of Western New York Bishop William Franklin said in a statement welcoming the law’s passage that he will be holding meetings soon ‘for members of our diocese to listen to how Episcopal churches in Western New York might integrate this decision into our life.’…

The New York State Senate voted 33-29 on June 24 to pass the bill making New York the largest state in the United States to allow same-gender couples to wed.”

– The Episcopal News Service reports. Bishop R William Franklin’s full statement here. (The Roman Catholic bishops take a different view. h/t Anglican Mainstream.)

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