Latest Australian Church Record online
Posted on June 3, 2008
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The publishers of The Australian Church Record have placed their June 2008 edition online. This is issue 1894.
This ACR touches on Lambeth and GAFCON, among other topics.
It’s available now from the Church Record website.
Bishop of Yukon to stay on after synod fails to elect successor
Posted on June 3, 2008
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The Most Rev Terrence O. Buckle, Archbishop of Yukon, Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of BC & Yukon, announced this morning that he has decided to remain in office after none of the four candidates in yesterday’s diocesan synod received the required majority of votes to succeed him.
Thirty-five delegates at Yukon Diocese’s special episcopal synod deliberated, prayed, and voted all day and into the evening at Christ Church Cathedral, Whitehorse. In the end, however, the synod adjourned without selecting a coadjutor bishop to serve alongside and then replace Archbishop Terry Buckle, who had announced his intention to retire at the end of this year. …
– Report from Anglican Essentials Canada. (Bishop Buckle is one of the few Canadian bishops supportive of biblically faithful Anglicans.)
Authority in the Church – Resource paper
Posted on June 2, 2008
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We posted a link to this very helpful paper back in February. In the run-up to Lambeth (next month) and GAFCON (this month) it’s well worth reading –
“At this present moment of crisis, there is hardly a more important issue for us to address than that of authority in the church. It is certainly true that God’s people need to keep returning to the question of authority. The legacy of the rebellion in the Garden of Eden ensures that even those who have tasted God’s extraordinary generosity and mercy too readily assert their own opinions and preferences as the measure of all things. …”
– An important resource paper written by Dr Mark Thompson, Academic Dean of Moore Theological College and President of the Anglican Church League.
It was presented to the GAFCON Theology Resource Group and can be read in full on the GAFCON website.
TEC gay weddings next month?
Posted on June 1, 2008
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Episcopal Churches in California will begin offering gay weddings next month. On May 22, one of Los Angeles’ largest Episcopal parishes – All Saints Church, Pasadena, announced that in light of the California Supreme Court’s decision to strike down laws barring gay marriage, it “will treat all couples presenting themselves for the rite of marriage equally.”…
– Report from George Conger in Religious Intelligence.
(Photo: Diocese of LA Bishop’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Ministries.)
The revival of a rebel Jew
Posted on June 1, 2008
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In the context of a piece on a new biography on Francis Schaeffer, Tim Challies shares the testimony of Richard Ganz, pastor of Ottawa Reformed Presbyterian Church –
“In my youth I spent every afternoon studying the Hebrew Scriptures, five days a week, and on Friday night and Saturday I worshipped. As I grew older I worshipped for a time each day in the synagogue morning and evening. I would rise before dawn and before going to the morning service, in obedience to rabbinic tradition, I would put on tefillin—the boxes containing God’s law—on my forehead and arm.
Then one cold, clear midwinter night my life was shattered. …”
– from Challies.com.
Impact of the Manchester report
Posted on May 31, 2008
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For those, such as WATCH, advocating the Manchester Report’s ‘Single Clause, Code of Practice’ option as the way ahead on the consecration of women bishops, there is just one question that should be asked: “Do you accept that men opposed to women’s ordination will continue to be consecrated as bishops in the Church of England?”
The answer must surely be “No.” Indeed, given the tiny handful of such consecrations which have taken place in the last few years, despite the 1993 Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod, any other answer would have to be seen as reflecting either self-delusion or the intention to delude others.
That Act established that “no person or body shall discriminate against candidates … for appointment to senior office in the Church of England on the grounds of their views or positions about the ordination of women to the priesthood.” Yet there is no doubt that it has been consciously and deliberately ignored. The ‘stained glass ceiling’ for ordained women has been as nothing compared with the cast iron version for traditionalists in the last decade.…
– Read John Richardson’s full article at The Ugley Vicar.
‘Pray – Connect – Expect’ video available
Posted on May 31, 2008
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As part of this Sunday’s prayer focus (link to 3.8MB pdf) in Sydney Diocese, Archbishop Peter Jensen has released a 4 minute 12 second video to encourage us all. The video has also been posted on DVD to parishes for this weekend for possible use in services.
Download it from the Connect09 website –
Quicktime movie: 640 x 360 pixels. 25 MB.
As always, to save a link, right-click and save (Windows) or control-click and save (Mac).
Colorado Bishop seeks to remove previously transferred priests
Posted on May 31, 2008
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The Rt. Rev. Robert O’Neill, Bishop of Colorado, is seeking to remove from the ministry more than a dozen priests that his predecessor lawfully transferred to another Anglican province after they joined the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) more than seven years ago.
The initial list included at least one priest, the Rev. Robert John Bryan, who claims not to have received any communication on the matter. He expressed surprise at the news of his inhibition when contacted by The Living Church, and said he had not received any communication from anyone in the Diocese of Colorado since receiving a copy of his letter of transfer nearly eight years ago. …
– Story from The Living Church. Note that it is Bishop O’Neill whom the TEC Presiding Bishop hopes to be her uninvited “eyes and ears” at GAFCON. (Photo: Episcopal Church.)
Christians have duty to witness
Posted on May 31, 2008
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Britain’s destiny depends on Christianity, the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, said this week, in an article published the day after he responded to questions on a General Synod motion that has called for Christians to evangelise British Muslims.
The private member’s motion, by Paul Eddy, who is training for the priesthood, called on the Church to proclaim Christianity as the only route to ultimate salvation. Mr Eddy said he had been under pressure to withdraw his motion. …
– Report from the Church Times.
See also this piece in The Telegraph. (Photo: Church Times.)
Mark Dever interviewed on ministry
Posted on May 31, 2008
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At the risk of posting too many links to video files…
Last week, Mark Dever spoke at Whiteboard, a rather diverse gathering of US church planters.
After the sessions, he was interviewed on topics such as – working with those with whom you disagree theologically, styles of worship, preaching, and priority on evangelism. It’s presented in two parts on YouTube – part 1, part 2 (10 minutes each).
– For ministers in particular, this is well worth watching. (Thanks to Between Two Worlds.) The start of Mark’s talk has also been posted on YouTube.
First woman bishop in Victoria to be consecrated tomorrow
Posted on May 30, 2008
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From Anglican Media Melbourne –
“The service for the consecration of the first woman bishop in Victoria, Canon Barbara Darling, will be held in St Paul’s Cathedral, corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets, on Saturday 31 May, commencing at 11am.
Read more
Judge orders congregation to leave their church building
Posted on May 30, 2008
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This press release has just been issued by the Anglican Network in Canada –
29 May 2008
A B.C. Supreme Court judge, Madam Justice Allan, has ordered the congregation of St. Mary of the Incarnation in Metchosin (St. Mary’s), to hand over their church building to the diocese of B.C. in the Anglican Church of Canada, pending the resolution of a trial over who is entitled to ownership of the building. Read more
David Wells on The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World
Posted on May 30, 2008
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Dr. David Wells, Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, spoke at the 2006 Desiring God Conference.
The theme of the conference was a response to his book, “Above All Earthly Powers”.
Audio and video of all the talks (by David Wells, Don Carson, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Voddie Baucham, and John Piper) is available at Desiring God.
The video of Dr Wells’ very helpful address is available via this link and could be used for Bible Study groups or downloaded to a video iPod to watch anywhere. (Note: it’s a 148MB mp4 file.)
On a related note, Dr Wells was interviewed for The A-Team Blog last month – part 1, part 2.
(Photo: Desiring God.)
Archbishop to do the Lambeth Walk
Posted on May 30, 2008
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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has today announced plans to mount an unprecedented mass walk of bishops and other faith leaders through central London during the forthcoming Lambeth Conference to demonstrate the Anglican Communion’s determination to help end extreme poverty across the globe.
The Archbishop will be joined by approximately 600 other archbishops and bishops, and their spouses, alongside other UK faith leaders for the high-profile symbol of commitment to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – eight promises made by world leaders to halve world poverty by 2015. Taking place on Thursday 24th July, the event will culminate in a rally in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, the London home and office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. …
– from a press release from the Anglican Communion Office.
(Photo credit: Jim Rosenthal, Anglican World.)
Who needs a Creed?
Posted on May 30, 2008
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‘Who needs a creed?’
The answer to that question from many in the broad sweep of Christendom, would probably be, ‘Not us!’ Such ancient documents are seen at best as outdated and at worst an irrelevance in an age that is more interested in the present than the past …
– Mark Johnson calls for a return to confessional Christianity – at Reformation21.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…