St. John’s Shaughnessy to vote today on breaking with church
Posted on February 13, 2008
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“The fate of what is described as the largest congregation in the Anglican Church of Canada hangs in the balance tonight.
Members of St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church, a neo-Gothic landmark in the heart of the city’s wealthiest neighbourhood, are gathering for an expected vote on breaking with Vancouver-area Bishop Michael Ingham over same-sex blessings … Read more
Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney on the Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations
Posted on February 13, 2008
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The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Peter Jensen, welcomes the government’s apology.
Dr Jensen says, “As Christians, we know that repentance and forgiveness liberates people to serve one another.”
“I hope the apology will help to reconcile indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and that it will make a real difference in the lives of those affected.”
– Media release from Sydney Diocese.
UK Anglican Bishop Fined £47,345 and Sent for ‘Re-Education’
Posted on February 13, 2008
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The Anglican bishop of Hereford has been ordered by a court to undergo “equal opportunities training” and pay a fine of £47,345.00… for refusing to hire an active homosexual for a position of trust with young people. The ruling also stated that Hereford diocese staff “involved in recruitment should receive equal opportunities training”.
Story from Life Site. (Photo: Diocese of Hereford.)
General Synod updates from Church Society
Posted on February 12, 2008
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For those interested, the Church Society is posting updates on the progress of the Church of England General Synod at Evangelicals.org.
An Unfortunate Draft
Posted on February 12, 2008
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“The fundamental weakness of the Covenant, as many have pointed out, has been the decision not to push for an agreement on theological foundations as either a part of the Covenant document itself or as a necessary corollary to it. As it stands the Covenant is simply a way of relating. It is a structure founded on a process that exists for the sake of the structure. …”
Matt Kennedy at Stand Firm suggests that the draft Anglican Covenant can only legitimise heresy.
Thinking theologically about the UK debate
Posted on February 12, 2008
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“But there is a second reason why Rowan Williams was theologically wrong, and that is that the Christian approach to Muslims should surely be neither to bring them further under the laws of Islam, nor to offer them the scraps from the table of modern secularism, but to offer them the gospel.”
John Richardson gets to the heart of the issue on
The Ugley Vicar.
Presidential Address to the opening of C of E General Synod
Posted on February 12, 2008
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“Some of what has been heard is a very long way indeed from what was actually said in the Royal Courts of Justice last Thursday. But I must of course take responsibility for any unclarity in either that text or in the radio interview, and for any misleading choice of words that has helped to cause distress or misunderstanding among the public at large and especially among my fellow Christians. …”
From the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Presidential Address to the Church of England General Synod last night Australian time.
(Photo: Jim Rosenthal, Anglican Communion News Service.)
Advice to Pastors: Preach the Word
Posted on February 12, 2008
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John Piper’s sermon from the installation of a colleague is good advice –
My message to you is very simple and very precarious. It is 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the Word.”
I call it precarious, because there is a constant temptation to do other things in the place of this. There ARE other things to do in the ministry, as these letters to Timothy show. And we must do them to be found faithful. But none of them is treated as solemnly and forcefully as this one simple exhortation from the apostle: “Preach the Word.” …
Available as text and audio download from Desiring God.
Book to be launched in UK: “God, Gays and the Church”
Posted on February 12, 2008
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Anglican Mainstream has an item about “God, Gays and the Church”, a new book to be launched on Wednesday to coincide with the Church of England’s General Synod meeting –
“Orthodox Anglicans make a new contribution to the homosexuality debate within the Church of England, by launching a book containing testimonies of Christians who once believed they had a homosexual orientation …”
See Anglican Mainstream for the article and Latimer Trust to order copies.
Elections for two new NZ bishops
Posted on February 11, 2008
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The Anglican Church in New Zealand is in the process of choosing two key leaders – new bishops for the Dioceses of Waiapu and Christchurch.
The Diocese of Waiapu Electoral College gathered in Havelock North last Friday evening (February 8) and ran through until the following evening. And the Christchurch Electoral College convenes in Christchurch this coming Friday evening (Feb 15) and runs through till Sunday Feb 17. …
– from a press release from the Anglican Church of New Zealand.
Row over gay clergy threatens to divide a Synod still reeling over Sharia furore
Posted on February 11, 2008
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The row over the Church of England’s attitude to homosexuality revives this week, posing another headache for the Archbishop of Canterbury as he tries to reduce the temperature over his remarks about Islamic law. …
Story from Times Online.
See also “Synod turns on Rowan Williams in sharia row” from The Telegraph.
(Photo: Church of England.)
Spot the difference? Why Rowan said so much about Islam and Sharia
Posted on February 11, 2008
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“Right now I’m feeling rather less sympathetic towards Rowan Williams than I was on Friday night.
The reason is this. Go to the Archbishop’s website, as I (and doubtless many others) did in the wake of the controversy in the press, for the text of his talk …”
Read the full comments from John Richardson on Ugley Vicar. See also this opinion piece from The Spectator.
(Photo: Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.)
Episcopalians support break from church
Posted on February 10, 2008
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Nearly 100 leading laity in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh have signed an open letter expressing their “strong support for the godly direction” of Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. in removing the diocese from the national church and realigning it with a more biblically conservative province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. …
Story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Read the letter.
See also this pastoral letter to his congregation – dated 2nd February 2008 – from the Rector of Church of the Ascension Pittsburgh, The Rev. Jonathan Millard. He writes, in part –
“What about us? Will we be steadfast? I want to exhort you not to lose heart, not to give up, not to waiver. Please remember that the real issues facing us are rooted in the authority of God’s Word as revealed in Holy Scripture. We are not arguing about human sexuality, or the minutiae of canon law, but the timeless truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is life and hope and salvation to those who are perishing. Because of this we cannot just agree to differ and carry on as if nothing has changed.”
New Westminister: Leave? You can’t
Posted on February 10, 2008
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Bishop Michael Ingham sat down with a group of 17 Anglicans from parishes across the Diocese to talk about several issues facing the Church and answer questions they had. …
The Bishop stressed that Anglicans belong to a diocesan Church. Dioceses establish parishes — and not the other way round. …
Read the report and other material from the New Westminister website.
See also “Neighbouring Bishop warns separatists in his diocese”.
(Photo: Diocese of New Westminister.)
Williams ‘shocked’ at Sharia row
Posted on February 9, 2008
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“The Archbishop of Canterbury is said to be overwhelmed by the ‘hostility of the response’ after his call for parts of Sharia law to be recognised in the UK. Friends of Dr Rowan Williams say he is in a state of shock and dismayed by the criticism from his own Church. …” – BBC News report.
Reactions to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s comments continue – Anglican Mainstream has the text of a BBC interview with Archbishop Ben Kwashi, Archhbishop of Jos in Northern Nigeria. (This is apparently not yet available on the BBC website.)
Related: Liberal Christianity Intensifies Radical Islam Threat in Christian Post.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…