Lambeth: To Go or Not To Go II: Tips for Take-overs
Posted on March 20, 2008
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There have been two significant responses elicited by recent developments within the Anglican Communion. I would like to analyse what has been said – and left unsaid – and where it’s all heading.
The first response is that of the Statement by the Province of SE Asia. I begin, though, with the second, the Reflections of Bishop Mouneer Anis on the Joint Standing Committee where he shared with the world his bleak perspective on the future of the Anglican Communion. …
Opinion-piece by Dr Lisa Severine Nolland on Anglican Mainstream.
Statement from the Synod of The Province of South East Asia
Posted on March 19, 2008
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The Synod… hereby:
- encourages the bishops of our Province to participate in the Lambeth Conference 2008 yet also fully understands and respects the decision of some who for their own principled reasons may choose not to attend the Lambeth Conference 2008;
- supports our bishops in fully and actively expressing our on-going concern for the issues and challenges facing the Anglican Communion, and our continued participation in and commitment to the position of the Global South; and
- gives support for such appropriate further action on the part of our House of Bishops as they may among themselves decide in order to give full effect to this Statement, and to report any such further action taken to the Provincial Synod and/or Provincial Standing Committee as soon as practicable for ratification. …
Read the full statement via GlobalSouthAnglican. (Graphic: Anglican Communion website.)
First woman to preach at St. George’s Cathedral Jerusalem
Posted on March 18, 2008
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At the invitation of Bishop Suheil Dawani of the Diocese of Jerusalem, TEC Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori became “the first woman ever to preach at St. George’s Cathedral” in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Visiting the city where GAFCON leaders will hold their pilgrimage in June, the Presiding Bishop was beginning “a week-long visit to the Holy Land”.
And from the Episcopal News Service –
The Rev. Canon Hosam Naoum, acting dean of St. George’s, described the Presiding Bishop’s visit as a historic moment. “With all the differences in the Anglican Communion today, I see her as a uniting figure who brings beliefs and understandings and cultures of other people around the world.”
(Photo: Episcopal News Service.)
Bishop Mouneer Anis’ Reflections on JSC
Posted on March 18, 2008
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Bishop Mouneer Anis has shared his thoughts on last week’s “Joint Standing Committee” meeting in London –
“By the time I finished the meetings of the JSC, I realised that I lost many of the hopes which I had before the meeting. …
I cannot see any desire to follow things through as decided before. The Windsor Report recommendations, which was accepted by everyone since it was produced in 2004 is a very good example. … What action did we take or recommend in the JSC meeting? The answer is nothing. …
While the presence of the Presiding Bishop of TEC was so important during discussions, her presence as we decided about resolutions of assessment of the response of TEC inhibited other members from speaking freely. …”
Notes from the Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis, Bishop of Egypt, North Africa and the Horn of Africa – via Global South Anglican. (Photo: Episcopal News Service.)
Bishop Duncan Formally Responds to TEC Presiding Bishop
Posted on March 18, 2008
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Bishop Robert Duncan responded on March 14 to allegations that he had “abandoned the communion of this church.” The allegations, made by a small group of priests and laity of the diocese and supported by the chancellor to the Presiding Bishop, were forwarded to Bishop Duncan on January 15 along with a cover letter from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. …
Read the full press release – and the letters from Bishop Duncan and his lawyers – on the Diocese of Pittsburgh website.
The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns
Posted on March 17, 2008
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“The first thing to note about the crisis the Anglican Communion is facing today is that it has been coming for a very long time.
I remember almost twenty years ago reading an article by Robert Doyle in The Briefing entitled ‘No Golden Age’.1 (It’s shocking that it is actually so long ago!)
The gist of the article was that the idea of a golden age of Anglicanism, in which biblical patterns of doctrine and practice were accepted by the majority, is nothing but an illusion. …”
Read the full text of ACL President Dr. Mark Thompson’s paper delivered at the Sydney ‘Lambeth Decision Briefing’ at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, Friday 14th March 2008.
The Sydney Lambeth Decision Briefing
Posted on March 16, 2008
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Audio and PDF files of Friday’s Lambeth Decision Briefing called by Dean Phillip Jensen, and held in the Chapter House of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, are now available, courtesy of SydneyAnglicans.net.
All very helpful in understanding the crisis facing the Anglican Communion.
The topic of the briefing was – ‘The Lambeth Decision: Refining or Redefining Anglicanism?’
The mp3 audio and PDF files will open in new windows.
Phillip Jensen – Are there limits to fellowship? (70 min / 24MB) – PDF file.
Mark Thompson – The Anglican Debacle. (30 min / 11MB) – PDF file.
Robert Tong – Doing the Lambeth Walk. (21 min / 7 MB) – PDF file.
Russell Powell – What is GAFCON all about? (7 min / 2.4MB) – PDF file.
New Bishop for NZ: Victoria Matthews
Posted on March 16, 2008
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A Canadian Bishop who is part of a high-level advisory group to the worldwide Anglican Communion has been elected Bishop of Christchurch. …
Bishop Matthews, 54 and unmarried, is only the second woman to become a diocesan bishop in New Zealand.
– Press release from the Diocese of Christchurch.
More Canon XIX Charges in Canada
Posted on March 16, 2008
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The Rev George Sinclair, despite relinquishing his licence for ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC), has been issued a Notice of Presumption of Abandonment of the Exercise of the Ministry according to ACoC Canon XIX by the Bishop of Ottawa.
He joins good company with Dr J I Packer and the rest of the Vancouver-area ANiC clergy who received the same notice earlier from the Diocese of New Westminster. …
– from the Anglican Network in Canada newsletter. George is on the leadership team of the Anglican Network of Canada. (Images courtesy St. Alban the Martyr.)
Realignment takes on new urgency in Pittsburgh
Posted on March 16, 2008
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The newly-formed Coalition for Realignment supports the effort to realign the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh with a biblically orthodox Province of the Anglican Church.
As the group sent a letter of introduction to the parishes of Pittsburgh, news was received of the likely proceedings against Bishop Bob Duncan.
We in the Diocese of Pittsburgh are aware of what is occurring in the wider Anglican world and how powers outside of the diocese are attempting to influence the decisions we make about our future. During these difficult “in-between” times we are humbled, hopeful and even excited about what God is doing with Anglicanism.
Locally, we have not been idle. The Steering Committee of the Coalition for Realignment, comprised of lay and clergy members from across the diocese, has been meeting to help navigate the path forward to the next annual convention when the second vote on realignment will occur. …
See the full letter on the Coalition for Realignment website.
Clock is ticking for fate of Bishop Duncan
Posted on March 16, 2008
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The leader of the Episcopal Church will poll bishops nationally next month in an effort to move the possible deposition of Pittsburgh Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. ahead to May.
While Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s reasons have not been made public, the impact of accelerating the deposition could be far reaching not only for Bishop Duncan but the entire worldwide Anglican Communion. …
from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Virtue Viewpoints: Bishops Schofield & Cox Deposed…
Posted on March 15, 2008
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It was a week that saw further disintegration and separation from The Episcopal Church of its godly remnant.
The House of Bishops met in Camp Allen, Texas, and did a number of predictable things. …
David Virtue has posted his roundup of this week’s events in the Anglican Communion at VirtueOnline.
Episcopalians oust retired bishop
Posted on March 15, 2008
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The Episcopal House of Bishops voted Wednesday to defrock a retired Episcopal bishop who is living in Tulsa. The Rt. Rev. William Cox is one of two conservative bishops deposed by the House of Bishops in a continuing struggle in the Episcopal Church over biblical authority.
Bishop William Cox: “I feel sorry that they felt they needed to do this. A more charitable thing to do would be to say, ‘We recognize that you are now a member of the church in Argentina and ask God’s blessing on your ministry.’ ”
– report from Tulsa World, Oklahoma. (Photo credit: George Conger.)
Reform Chairman on J.I. Packer
Posted on March 15, 2008
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Rod Thomas, the Chairman of Reform has written this letter to the Editor of The Church Times –
“The threat by the Bishop of New Westminster in Canada to suspend the Revd Dr Jim Packer from ministry because his church has sought the oversight of the Primate of the Southern Cone has rightly created a huge sense of outrage across the Communion and especially among evangelicals in the Church of England. …”
Read the full letter at VirtueOnline. (Photo: Reform.)
Retired TEC Bishop charged for canonical violations
Posted on March 14, 2008
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Bishop Edward MacBurney, bishop retired of the Diocese of Quincy, has been formally charged with canonical violations by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. These charges stem from events occurring in June, 2007 when Bishop MacBurney was invited to make a pastoral visit to a non-Episcopal church in San Diego, California. MacBurney, 80 years old, retired from his position as a diocesan bishop in 1994 …
– Press release from the Diocese of Quincy, via the Anglican Communion Network. (Photo: Forward in Faith.)
It appears Bishop MacBurney has been charged but has not (yet) been inhibited. Note that Bishop MacBurney is one of those who, along with Archbishop Peter Jensen, signed a letter of support for Bishop John-David Schofield and the Diocese of San Joaquin in January.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…