Diocese of Maine to ‘continue the conversation’ on same-gender couples
Posted on November 5, 2009
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Bishop Stephen Lane of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine issued a statement on the result of the Marriage Equality referendum in his state –
“Yesterday, Question 1 provided each of us with the opportunity to exercise our franchise, to express our support for the right of same-gender couples to be afforded the full rights and responsibilities of a civil marriage or to disagree. Yesterday, Mainers chose to disagree.
Many faithful Episcopalians are deeply grieved at this decision.
Although the question of same-gender civil marriage may be settled in Maine for now, I would remind all Episcopalians – both here in Maine and across the wider Church – that we will continue the conversation about these issues for years to come.”
– Read his full statement on the Diocese of Maine website.
As Night follows Day?
Posted on November 5, 2009
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“The premise is wrong, the logic is wrong and the conclusion is wrong, but who cares so long as we can make the Bible say what we want it to say?”
– Church Society’s David Philips on the slippery-slope of making the Bible teach whatever you want. (90kb PDF file.) From the Autumn 2009 edition of Cross†Way.
Where now, after October 20th?
Posted on November 5, 2009
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“As long ago as 1971, Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote a book titled, What is an Evangelical? John Stott addressed the same issue in 1977, as did Mark Thompson as recently as 1995 in a book titled Saving the Heart? subtitled, What is an evangelical?
However, in recent years the evangelical identity has become even more diffuse, even within Anglicanism…”
– John Richardson gave this address at Forward in Faith’s Manchester branch last weekend. (It was on October 20th that the Vatican made its offer to Anglo-Catholics.)
Church discipline: a good idea?
Posted on November 4, 2009
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The latest version of the 9Marks eJournal is devoted to the often-difficult question of church discipline. It’s available as a PDF file here.
A tip for the Melbourne Cup
Posted on November 3, 2009
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Last year, Kel Richards and Dean Phillip Jensen discussed the topic of gambling at The Chat Room.
Watch it at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Free AudioBook for November
Posted on November 2, 2009
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This month’s free AudioBook from Christian Audio.
Stott on Anglican Evangelical Identity
Posted on November 2, 2009
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“First and foremost, by God’s sheer mercy, I am a Christian seeking to follow Jesus Christ.
Next, I am an evangelical Christian because of my conviction that evangelical principles (especially sola scriptura [Scripture alone] and sola gratia [by grace alone]) are integral to authentic Christianity, and that to be an evangelical Christian is to be a New Testament Christian, and vice versa.
Thirdly, I am an Anglican evangelical Christian, since the Church of England is the particular historical tradition or denomination to which I belong.
But I am not an Anglican first, since denominationalism is hard to defend. It seems to me correct to call oneself an Anglican evangelical (in which evangelical is the noun and Anglican the descriptive adjective) rather than an evangelical Anglican (in which Anglican is the noun and evangelical the adjective).”
– Quoted in R. Steers, The Inside Story, p. 191. (h/t Mark Thompson.)
‘Free to Live and Love as we see fit’?
Posted on November 1, 2009
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“President Barack Obama signed the ‘Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act” into law on Thursday, fulfilling a campaign promise and handing the gay rights community one of its most sought-after achievements…”
– Albert Mohler draws attention to what the US President said as he signed the bill into US law.
FiF 2009 annual conference
Posted on November 1, 2009
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Some of our readers may be interested in the upcoming Forward in Faith (Australia) Annual Conference.
Josiah Fearon, Bishop of the diocese of Kaduna, Nigeria, and Bishop Harry Goodhew are the speakers. The topic: ‘Upholding Christ in a Multi-Faith World’. Details.
(Related: CMS interview with Bishop Josiah Fearon.)
Tackling climate change a ‘moral imperative’
Posted on October 31, 2009
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“The Archbishop of Canterbury hosted a meeting of faith leaders and faith-based and community organisations at Lambeth Palace to discuss the response of faith communities to the environmental crisis. With 40 days to go before the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit the participants have pledged to work together to raise awareness about the effects of ‘catastrophic climate change’ on the world’s poor…
In the first statement of its kind, signed by leaders from every faith community (including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Baha’i, Jain and Zoastrian) the signatories recognise ‘unequivocally that there is a moral imperative to tackle the causes of global warming’…”
– Press release from the Anglican Communion Office.
(For a summary of contrary views on global warming, see this article from The Telegraph. Here’s a greater imperative. Photo: Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.)
‘ABC outdoes BBC’
Posted on October 30, 2009
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– says Russell Powell in his weekly roundup of media stories at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Has ‘the Anglican Experiment’ really failed?
Posted on October 30, 2009
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Charles Raven: “The Anglican Communion crisis is not about Anglicanism in itself, but a crisis of faithfulness. Failure to maintain Anglicanism’s doctrinal and moral integrity precipitated GAFCON and is the root cause of the Pope’s offer of the Ordinariate.”
– Charles Raven responds to a statement by Forward in Faith UK’s Chairman (and also Bishop of Fulham), John Broadhurst, that ‘the Anglican experiment is over’. At SPREAD.
(Photo of Bishop Broadhurst: Diocese of Fulham.)
Responsible gambling?
Posted on October 30, 2009
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Opinion from Peter Brain, Bishop of Armidale –
“From time to time I enjoyed watching Friday night football on the telly (quite an admission from one brought up on the other rugby!)
What surprised me was the statement by the commentators (at half-time, I think it was) that advised us that we could ‘get $1.18 for St George and $4 for Parramatta by ‘phoning … – but please remember to gamble responsibly.’ Read more
The latest from the national capital
Posted on October 29, 2009
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Stuart Robinson, Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, has released his latest ‘StuTube’ video.
He speaks of the encouragement of Back to Church Sunday and exhorts the churches of his diocese to continue to be ‘missional, engaging, and loving’.
He also commends the book “Facing the Future: Bishops Imagine a Different Church”, edited by Bishops Stephen Hale and Andrew Curnow, and reads an extract. (Related.)
See also “Starting Mission-Shaped Churches” by Stuart Robinson. (Moore Books, Gospel Outreach Ministries, Ridley Bookshop.)
The video runs for 8:38 at YouTube.
Timothy Partnership to be launched
Posted on October 29, 2009
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A new joint project of Anglican Youthworks College and Presbyterian Youth.
“In 2010, we are proud to launch the Diploma of Theology by Distance: practical theological training made accessible to every Christian, everywhere. This unique collaboration brings together the expertise of two experienced and trusted ministry organisations to offer the best possible ministry education and formation experience for students. We also work with local church ministers on the ground to train up a generation of leaders.”
Read about it at timothypartnership.com.au.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…