Blog Homepage
Members: Login | Register
Click here if you're having trouble getting registered.
| July 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
click on a date to see all the day's entries
About TitusOneNine
Old Titusonenine site (Jan04-May07)Kendall's Bio
Kendall's e-mail (replace -at- with @)
"Elves" e-mail (blog admin)
A free floating commentary on culture, politics, economics, and religion based on a passionate commitment to the truth and a desire graciously to refute that which is contrary to it….
"He must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it."
--Titus 1:9, Revised Standard Version
Blog Tips & Info
Info to help you learn your way around the new blog, and posts where you can report problems or offer suggestions
Mobile-friendly view (blog headlines): Click HerePrint-friendly view of all articles: Click Here
Recent Comments Page:
Click Here
Registration & Login Help
Blog Tips Series
Categories
The above list is limited to "parent" categories. To see the entire category index and select specific sub-categories, click on "Full Category Index"
Full Category Index
Monthly Archives
July, 2008
June, 2008
May, 2008
April, 2008
March, 2008
February, 2008
January, 2008
December, 2007
November, 2007
October, 2007
September, 2007
August, 2007
July, 2007
June, 2007
May, 2007
Anglican / Episcopal RSS Feed
©2008 Kendall S. Harmon. All rights reserved.
TitusOneNine Links Page
I. Anglican / Episcopal Resources & Links
1. Important Documents
documents are in chronological order, most recent first
Also, don't miss:
2. Websites & Blogs
A. Official websites
B. Anglican / Episcopal News
C. Anglican / Episcopal Blogs
By no means exhaustive. Let us know what we've missed
Previous versions of Titusonenine:
NORTH AMERICAN ANGLICANS:
Reasserters' Blogs:
Reappraisers' Blogs
INTERNATIONAL ANGLICAN BLOGS & BLOGGERS
BLOGGING BISHOPS (US & Overseas)
II. General Resources & Links
YET more links coming soon...! including Non-Anglican links
Is it right to have women priests and bishops?
Should this be legislated for?
What provision should be made for those who do not consider it right?
What should opponents do if legislation goes ahead without adequate provision?
Read it carefully and read it all.
Should this be legislated for?
What provision should be made for those who do not consider it right?
What should opponents do if legislation goes ahead without adequate provision?
Read it carefully and read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
In his sermon in York Minster on Sunday morning, the Archbishop of Canterbury urged General Synod members to relinquish the attempt to control their future; for that way they would be freer to encounter God.
Read it all.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
A new class of so-called "super bishop" is to be proposed as a way of saving the Church of England from a damaging split over women bishops, it has been disclosed.
The Church's ruling body, the General Synod, is to be asked to back work on two options to solve the impasse over how to introduce women bishops in the Church.
One of the options would be to develop a national code to accommodate those who object to women bishops on grounds of religious conscience.
Read it all.
The Church's ruling body, the General Synod, is to be asked to back work on two options to solve the impasse over how to introduce women bishops in the Church.
One of the options would be to develop a national code to accommodate those who object to women bishops on grounds of religious conscience.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
Dr Williams said: "In the middle of our discussions at Synod, where would Jesus be?
"Jesus is going to be with those who feel the waterlessness of their position, with those traditionalists feeling the Church is slipping away from them, the landmarks have shifted....
"He will be with those in very different parts of the landscape who feel that things are closing in, that their position is under threat and their liberties are being taken away by those anxious and eager to enforce new ideologies in the name of Christ.
"He will be with those who feel that their liberty of questioning is under threat, he will be with gay clergy who wonder what their future is in a Church so anxious and tormented about this issue."
Read it all.
"Jesus is going to be with those who feel the waterlessness of their position, with those traditionalists feeling the Church is slipping away from them, the landmarks have shifted....
"He will be with those in very different parts of the landscape who feel that things are closing in, that their position is under threat and their liberties are being taken away by those anxious and eager to enforce new ideologies in the name of Christ.
"He will be with those who feel that their liberty of questioning is under threat, he will be with gay clergy who wonder what their future is in a Church so anxious and tormented about this issue."
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Abp of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
PHILLIP ASPINALL: Oh well I think if people tried to make off with property that belongs to the Anglican Church, the trustees of that property in the church at law would be, would have an obligation to protect it.
I hope we don't get to that point, I mean I hope sense will prevail and respect for people will prevail and that kind of thing wont eventuate but you know people who hold at law, positions of trustees where they have a responsibility to ensure property is used for a particular purpose, have obligations at law to protect it.
MONICA ATTARD: It would be a very dangerous route I imagine because I think at the moment the situation in the United States at least is that a lot of the decisions are going the way of those who are attempting to move away from the mainstream church.
Is that something that might give you pause to think here?
PHILLIP ASPINALL: Oh look I think there are more important reasons for pause, nobody wants to resort to law but, there are no winners, once you get into court cases about these kinds of issues, there are no winners.
People should understand what the ethos and spirit of life in the Anglican Church is about and abide by that spirit and live by the family rules.
MONICA ATTARD: Have you discussed this option with the Archbishop of Canterbury?
PHILLIP ASPINALL: No I haven't.
MONICA ATTARD: Is it something that you will at Lambeth?
PHILLIP ASPINALL: No, I don't intend to.
Read it all.
I hope we don't get to that point, I mean I hope sense will prevail and respect for people will prevail and that kind of thing wont eventuate but you know people who hold at law, positions of trustees where they have a responsibility to ensure property is used for a particular purpose, have obligations at law to protect it.
MONICA ATTARD: It would be a very dangerous route I imagine because I think at the moment the situation in the United States at least is that a lot of the decisions are going the way of those who are attempting to move away from the mainstream church.
Is that something that might give you pause to think here?
PHILLIP ASPINALL: Oh look I think there are more important reasons for pause, nobody wants to resort to law but, there are no winners, once you get into court cases about these kinds of issues, there are no winners.
People should understand what the ethos and spirit of life in the Anglican Church is about and abide by that spirit and live by the family rules.
MONICA ATTARD: Have you discussed this option with the Archbishop of Canterbury?
PHILLIP ASPINALL: No I haven't.
MONICA ATTARD: Is it something that you will at Lambeth?
PHILLIP ASPINALL: No, I don't intend to.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Analysis • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Australia
The Church of England would not confirm or deny a report that senior bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials over the crisis in the Anglican Communion.
The Church of England bishops met senior advisors of Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the issue of homosexual priests and women bishops, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
The news of the meeting comes ahead of a crucial vote on Monday at the General Synod, the Church of England's ruling body, on how far to accommodate parishes and clergy who oppose women bishops.
A Church of England spokesman said: "This is one of a plethora of stories on the internet and in print ahead of Monday's debate and it will be down to General Synod to determine the way ahead on this issue."
Read it all.
The Church of England bishops met senior advisors of Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the issue of homosexual priests and women bishops, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
The news of the meeting comes ahead of a crucial vote on Monday at the General Synod, the Church of England's ruling body, on how far to accommodate parishes and clergy who oppose women bishops.
A Church of England spokesman said: "This is one of a plethora of stories on the internet and in print ahead of Monday's debate and it will be down to General Synod to determine the way ahead on this issue."
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic
"Church in crisis over women priests." This is the kind of headline that was appearing in the press 30 years ago when the general synod of the Church of England began to debate the ordination of women.
I was at that time training at theological college, along with a small number of other women. Like most of them I was a theology graduate studying an identical course to the male ordinands.
However, at the end of the training I knew I would be a deaconess, unable like the male deacons to progress to the priesthood. I would have to live with the frustration which lay ahead, because, unable to preside at the eucharist or pronounce absolution, my options in terms of appointments would be very limited.
How things have changed.
Read it all.
I was at that time training at theological college, along with a small number of other women. Like most of them I was a theology graduate studying an identical course to the male ordinands.
However, at the end of the training I knew I would be a deaconess, unable like the male deacons to progress to the priesthood. I would have to live with the frustration which lay ahead, because, unable to preside at the eucharist or pronounce absolution, my options in terms of appointments would be very limited.
How things have changed.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops
I'm glad that Jonathan Wynne-Jones has respected the anonymity of the bishops in question. We at the Catholic Herald have known for some time about these historic negotiations. I pray that they succeed.
What one of the bishops has made clear to us is that they are worried that the liberal English Catholic hierarchy will throw a spanner in the works. Yet I infer from Jonathan's report that the most liberal of all the bishops, Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton, is apparently prepared to countenance Anglican converts retaining some elements of their tradition. Has he had his arm twisted?
The attitude of Pope Benedict is crucial. He is very well aware that, in the years 1992 to 1994, the Bishops of England and Wales put pressure on Cardinal Hume to resist any concessions to Anglicans wishing to convert en masse.
Read it all.
What one of the bishops has made clear to us is that they are worried that the liberal English Catholic hierarchy will throw a spanner in the works. Yet I infer from Jonathan's report that the most liberal of all the bishops, Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton, is apparently prepared to countenance Anglican converts retaining some elements of their tradition. Has he had his arm twisted?
The attitude of Pope Benedict is crucial. He is very well aware that, in the years 1992 to 1994, the Bishops of England and Wales put pressure on Cardinal Hume to resist any concessions to Anglicans wishing to convert en masse.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic
As the divisions in the Anglican faith grow wider ahead of the Lambeth conference in the UK over homosexuality, Uganda’s Archbishop was in London last week to drum up support for traditional Anglican teachings.
But Archbishop Henry Orombi denied trying to ‘poach’ traditional Church of England supporters.
Archbishop Orombi, who is Archbishop of Uganda as well as Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, Australia and Archbishop Greg Venables, Primate of South America’s Southern Cone, were in London last week to address a meeting of the Church of England supporters on the formation of a new grouping within the church known as the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.
The meeting and the setting up of Foca drew strong criticism from the spiritual head of the Anglican faith, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
But the three clergymen denied that they were trying to “seize power” within the church. Archbishop Orombi said that he had travelled to Britain to ‘help restore traditional theology’ to the mother church.
Read it all.
But Archbishop Henry Orombi denied trying to ‘poach’ traditional Church of England supporters.
Archbishop Orombi, who is Archbishop of Uganda as well as Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, Australia and Archbishop Greg Venables, Primate of South America’s Southern Cone, were in London last week to address a meeting of the Church of England supporters on the formation of a new grouping within the church known as the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.
The meeting and the setting up of Foca drew strong criticism from the spiritual head of the Anglican faith, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
But the three clergymen denied that they were trying to “seize power” within the church. Archbishop Orombi said that he had travelled to Britain to ‘help restore traditional theology’ to the mother church.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of Uganda • * International News & Commentary • Africa • Uganda
Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops.
They met senior advisers of the Pope in an attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was not told of the talks and the disclosure will be a fresh blow to his efforts to prevent a major split in the Church of England.
In highly confidential discussions, a group of conservative bishops expressed their dismay at the liberal direction of the Church of England and their fear for its future.
Read it all.
They met senior advisers of the Pope in an attempt to build closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was not told of the talks and the disclosure will be a fresh blow to his efforts to prevent a major split in the Church of England.
In highly confidential discussions, a group of conservative bishops expressed their dismay at the liberal direction of the Church of England and their fear for its future.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic
The Bishop of Manchester, the Right Rev Nigel McCulloch, who chaired the group that drew up the proposals for women bishops, warned of the "dangers" of further delay. He said: "The moment for making choices has come."
He said the Church should be clear about the consequences of going ahead, which he admitted "would represent a very significant new direction and the withdrawal of assurances offered 15 years ago."
He also admitted the Church's tendency to muddle through. "We remain perplexed over how to distinguish between good muddle and bad muddle. When does principled pragmatism and a generosity of spirit topple over into theological incoherence and the loss of any clear guiding principles?"
Read it all.
He said the Church should be clear about the consequences of going ahead, which he admitted "would represent a very significant new direction and the withdrawal of assurances offered 15 years ago."
He also admitted the Church's tendency to muddle through. "We remain perplexed over how to distinguish between good muddle and bad muddle. When does principled pragmatism and a generosity of spirit topple over into theological incoherence and the loss of any clear guiding principles?"
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops
Check it out, including full audio for those interested.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
Dr. John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, has today urged the Church of England to reach out to young people involved in knife crime.
Speaking at the Church's General Synod in York, Archbishop Sentamu used his presidential address to urge the Church to face outwards in its work: "Our call is to reach out to our neighbours with God's message of love in Jesus Christ. To be a servant in the Church of God, you too are volunteered. The call is addressed to people who are not expecting to be invited – and not those who have become their own good cause!"
"We are called to reach out to people who are desperately searching for identity, meaning and belonging. When crime involving the use of knives by young people is on the increase, we can stem the tide by our outreach to young people.
"Attempting to change the behaviour of young people by tough talk will not solve it."
Read it all.
Speaking at the Church's General Synod in York, Archbishop Sentamu used his presidential address to urge the Church to face outwards in its work: "Our call is to reach out to our neighbours with God's message of love in Jesus Christ. To be a servant in the Church of God, you too are volunteered. The call is addressed to people who are not expecting to be invited – and not those who have become their own good cause!"
"We are called to reach out to people who are desperately searching for identity, meaning and belonging. When crime involving the use of knives by young people is on the increase, we can stem the tide by our outreach to young people.
"Attempting to change the behaviour of young people by tough talk will not solve it."
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
The archbishop of York on Saturday rebuked some Anglican traditionalists for what he calls ungracious behavior toward Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Williams has drawn criticism from both sides in the Anglican Communion's bitter division over the role of homosexuals in the church, but Archbishop John Sentamu told the Church of England's General Synod that some of the criticism was wide of the mark.
Sentamu, regarded as the second-ranking figure in the Church of England, said it had "grieved me deeply to hear reports of the ungracious personalization of the issues through the criticism and scapegoating of Rowan Williams."
"Rowan Williams exemplifies that quest of holding together holiness, truth, love and unity.
"The accusations and inferences of what has been said by some are not only ungenerous and unwarranted but they describe a person I don't recognize as Rowan. He demonstrates, in his dealings with others, the gift of gracious magnanimity."
Read it all.
Williams has drawn criticism from both sides in the Anglican Communion's bitter division over the role of homosexuals in the church, but Archbishop John Sentamu told the Church of England's General Synod that some of the criticism was wide of the mark.
Sentamu, regarded as the second-ranking figure in the Church of England, said it had "grieved me deeply to hear reports of the ungracious personalization of the issues through the criticism and scapegoating of Rowan Williams."
"Rowan Williams exemplifies that quest of holding together holiness, truth, love and unity.
"The accusations and inferences of what has been said by some are not only ungenerous and unwarranted but they describe a person I don't recognize as Rowan. He demonstrates, in his dealings with others, the gift of gracious magnanimity."
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Abp of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
Big words are being thrown around in the Church of England these days; words such as schism, with echoes from 1,000 years ago when the world divided between Rome and the Orthodox; words such as Reformation, with echoes of the split between Catholic and Protestant, which spilt a deal of English blood in the 16th century.
Some 1,333 vicars and other clerics have written to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York threatening to leave the church if its General Synod presses ahead this weekend with the idea of women bishops.
Ho-hum, says the rest of society, for whom gender and sexuality equality has become an unquestioning desideratum, if not an always practised norm, over the past decades. For those with a secularist world view such debates have become a yawning irrelevance. But the air is febrile with a sense of history in the church and for reasons which are not always immediately apparent to outsiders. Women and gays have become its totems.
Read it all.
Some 1,333 vicars and other clerics have written to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York threatening to leave the church if its General Synod presses ahead this weekend with the idea of women bishops.
Ho-hum, says the rest of society, for whom gender and sexuality equality has become an unquestioning desideratum, if not an always practised norm, over the past decades. For those with a secularist world view such debates have become a yawning irrelevance. But the air is febrile with a sense of history in the church and for reasons which are not always immediately apparent to outsiders. Women and gays have become its totems.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
The Anglican Church of Tanzania has reiterated its opposition to the consecration of homosexuals and women as bishops.
Archbishop Valentino Mokiwa told The Citizen yesterday that the practice that threatens to tear apart the Anglican faithful resulted from what he termed ''a leadership failure at Canterbury'', headquarters of the church.
He also said he would not support the proposed ordination of women as bishops during his leadership as the head of the Anglican faithful in Tanzania.
He also denied during the interview that there was a physical split of membership in the Church over homosexuality.
He said the final decision would be reached at the coming Lamberth conference.
Dr Mokiwa said the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) that Tanzania is part of, is meant to bring churches in the developing world together but not to break them away from Canterbury.
''It is not a breakaway church but we decided to come together because we were uncomfortable with the state of communion,'' he said.
Read it all.
Archbishop Valentino Mokiwa told The Citizen yesterday that the practice that threatens to tear apart the Anglican faithful resulted from what he termed ''a leadership failure at Canterbury'', headquarters of the church.
He also said he would not support the proposed ordination of women as bishops during his leadership as the head of the Anglican faithful in Tanzania.
He also denied during the interview that there was a physical split of membership in the Church over homosexuality.
He said the final decision would be reached at the coming Lamberth conference.
Dr Mokiwa said the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) that Tanzania is part of, is meant to bring churches in the developing world together but not to break them away from Canterbury.
''It is not a breakaway church but we decided to come together because we were uncomfortable with the state of communion,'' he said.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Tanzania
Dublin: Irish evangelical leader Bishop Harold Miller of Down and Dromore conceded his decision to attend the Anglican Lambeth Conference “did not make sense” in light of the agenda and invitation list put forward by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but it was important to “give it one more chance” so as to preserve the gathering’s “moral authority.”
In his Presidential Address to the Synod of the Diocese of Down and Dromore on June 19, Bishop Miller noted this month’s Lambeth Conference would be marked by the absence of a “quarter of our bishops." He was “deeply saddened” by their decision as it would undermine the “moral authority” of the Conference, as well as excluding the voices of the most vibrant churches in the Communion.
However, he also expressed concerns about the conference as planned, noting it had been recast into a “retreat-come-training-conference and a meeting and listening place for bishops.”
The agenda “bothers me,” he said, asking “Who is doing the ‘training’ and how is it going to be ‘slanted?”
Read it all.
In his Presidential Address to the Synod of the Diocese of Down and Dromore on June 19, Bishop Miller noted this month’s Lambeth Conference would be marked by the absence of a “quarter of our bishops." He was “deeply saddened” by their decision as it would undermine the “moral authority” of the Conference, as well as excluding the voices of the most vibrant churches in the Communion.
However, he also expressed concerns about the conference as planned, noting it had been recast into a “retreat-come-training-conference and a meeting and listening place for bishops.”
The agenda “bothers me,” he said, asking “Who is doing the ‘training’ and how is it going to be ‘slanted?”
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of Ireland • Lambeth 2008
So far, the help and order needed in this matter is coming from the southern hemisphere. Ironically, the very churches established by colonial Anglican missionaries have provided clarity and leadership. They understand that our present structures are unable to cope and that taking rose-coloured glasses to have tea with the Archbishop of Canterbury will not help either. Those who have stepped forward are primates, senior leaders of our denomination, with huge responsibilities in their own churches. They don't need to do it, but they are prepared to do it for Western Christians who have lost the plot.
I can understand some in Australia will say, what has this to do with me? That has never been the way of the Anglican communion. We rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn and seek to restore those who have strayed. Our "broad" church should never encompass those who deny basic Christian teaching. I don't expect any Australian church-goer to notice changes here because of Gafcon. These events are being played out on the world stage. But we too have our part to play in this Anglican renewal and the first step is to recognise the crisis and that Gafcon is part of the solution. The past two weeks have been among the most spiritually invigorating of my life. I have seen great generosity of spirit.
Americans, from a proud nation with a proud history, have been willing to genuinely reach out to their African, Asian and South American brothers and sisters and say: "Help." No hint of paternalistic or racist attitudes. The "Church of England" has come full circle.
Read it all.
I can understand some in Australia will say, what has this to do with me? That has never been the way of the Anglican communion. We rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn and seek to restore those who have strayed. Our "broad" church should never encompass those who deny basic Christian teaching. I don't expect any Australian church-goer to notice changes here because of Gafcon. These events are being played out on the world stage. But we too have our part to play in this Anglican renewal and the first step is to recognise the crisis and that Gafcon is part of the solution. The past two weeks have been among the most spiritually invigorating of my life. I have seen great generosity of spirit.
Americans, from a proud nation with a proud history, have been willing to genuinely reach out to their African, Asian and South American brothers and sisters and say: "Help." No hint of paternalistic or racist attitudes. The "Church of England" has come full circle.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Australia • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
My dilemma, as your diocesan bishop - as one who has worked with this question ecumenically and within the Anglican Communion and the Church of England since 1975 – is that if the answer to the two questions posed by the Manchester Group (should we have diversity of theological view on women’s ordination and should there consequently be special arrangements for those who dissent) is ‘yes,. I do not believe that just a Code of Practice would enable this to happen. In which case, the question arises as to why we should be offering a discriminatory Code of Practice when it is known, in advance, with some certainty, that this will not provide a distinct enough space for those who cannot accept this development within the Church of England. I do not think that the circle can be squared – or certainly not in this way, and I have worked as Vice Chairman of the Rochester Commission for a number of years and then with the Guildford Group and then with the Bishop of Gloucester on precisely trying to see whether there is an acceptable way forward. My own conviction (at least prior to the General Synod Debate) is that if we do not wish to say ‘goodbye, it really is time for you to go’ to those who are against, some sort of structural provision will need to be provided in a way which least damages the nature of the Church and least impinges on the general recognition of women’s ministry, including Episcopal ministry.
Read it all.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops
The Gospel of God in Christ is faithfully proclaimed by Canadian Anglicans today just as it has been by generations who have gone before us. I believe it is important to state this truth in response to the recent statement from the GAFCON gathering in Jerusalem, which suggests otherwise.
The GAFCON statement is based on a premise that there is "acceptance and promotion within the provinces of the Anglican Communion of a different gospel which is contrary to the apostolic gospel." The statement specifically accuses Anglican churches in the Canada and the United States of proclaiming this "false gospel that has paralysed the Communion." I challenge and repudiate this charge.
In my first year as Primate, I have visited many parishes across the country, attended synods and participated in gatherings of clergy and laity who care deeply for the church, its unity and witness. What I see is a faithful proclamation of the apostolic gospel in liturgy and loving service to those in need and in advocacy for justice and peace for all people.
Read it all.
The GAFCON statement is based on a premise that there is "acceptance and promotion within the provinces of the Anglican Communion of a different gospel which is contrary to the apostolic gospel." The statement specifically accuses Anglican churches in the Canada and the United States of proclaiming this "false gospel that has paralysed the Communion." I challenge and repudiate this charge.
In my first year as Primate, I have visited many parishes across the country, attended synods and participated in gatherings of clergy and laity who care deeply for the church, its unity and witness. What I see is a faithful proclamation of the apostolic gospel in liturgy and loving service to those in need and in advocacy for justice and peace for all people.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Canada • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
Rarely has an archbishop been so tested. Only days before he attends the General Synod in York, Dr Rowan Williams has received a letter from more than 1,300 clergy, including 11 serving bishops, threatening to defect from the Church of England if women are consecrated bishops. The letter comes hard on the heels of an equally minatory ultimatum issued in Jerusalem last week by more than 250 bishops from across the Anglican Communion excoriating the Archbishop of Canterbury for his lack of moral leadership and calling on traditionalists to “sideline” him.
That is not all. In a challenge to his authority as primus inter pares, some 800 Church of England clergy and lay leaders took the first step on Tuesday to forming a “Church within a Church”. Led by three overseas bishops, the group met in a London evangelical church to assert their opposition to the ordination of [noncelibate] gay people as well as an anathema on liberal theology that they said was undermining the Church.
Read it all.
That is not all. In a challenge to his authority as primus inter pares, some 800 Church of England clergy and lay leaders took the first step on Tuesday to forming a “Church within a Church”. Led by three overseas bishops, the group met in a London evangelical church to assert their opposition to the ordination of [noncelibate] gay people as well as an anathema on liberal theology that they said was undermining the Church.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Abp of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
Anglicanism is is a dynamic, changing, growing and living faith which takes its authority from scripture, reason and tradition. It is unafraid to learn and receive anew the lessons of God's unconditional love. The last century has taught us how we must make sure that there are no barriers to the welcome we offer to God's house. Anglican Christians in the United States, Britain and across the world have applied those lessons and, in accordance with scripture, opened their doors to those previously shut out.
We welcome the response of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the GAFCON statement. The arbitrary creation of a "Primates' Council” without legitimacy or authority cuts directly across the Anglican Instruments of Communion - the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates Meeting. The Statement represents, in sum and despite its denials, a schismatic document which seeks to re-form Anglicanism in a way which is without justification historically and ecclesiologically.
We regret the stumbling blocks which are created by the insistence on a narrow understanding of scriptural authority, especially for members of Anglican Churches in provinces whose leaders support the ideas of GAFCON. And those who break away from the Anglican Communion will still have the challenge of celebrating the diversity in God's universe, and acknowledging the divine gifts bestowed on people who may be marginalised in some provinces - especially women and lesbian and gay people.
Read it all.
We welcome the response of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the GAFCON statement. The arbitrary creation of a "Primates' Council” without legitimacy or authority cuts directly across the Anglican Instruments of Communion - the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates Meeting. The Statement represents, in sum and despite its denials, a schismatic document which seeks to re-form Anglicanism in a way which is without justification historically and ecclesiologically.
We regret the stumbling blocks which are created by the insistence on a narrow understanding of scriptural authority, especially for members of Anglican Churches in provinces whose leaders support the ideas of GAFCON. And those who break away from the Anglican Communion will still have the challenge of celebrating the diversity in God's universe, and acknowledging the divine gifts bestowed on people who may be marginalised in some provinces - especially women and lesbian and gay people.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
In a lecture about the crisis facing world Anglicanism, Canon [Gregory] Cameron said that senior clerics in the Western church were in danger of adopting a NATO-style attitude of "intellectual superiority".
He criticised the US church, which donates generously to the African and Asian evangelical provinces of the Global South, for placing "implicit obligations" on the recipients of their largesse.
Urging understanding of the conservative evangelicalism which led to a rival Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans being set up in Jerusalem last week, Canon Cameron said: "The average Anglican is a black woman under the age of 30, who earns two dollars a day, has a family of at least three children, has lost two close relatives to AIDs, and who will walk four miles to Church for a three hour service on a Sunday."
Read it all.
He criticised the US church, which donates generously to the African and Asian evangelical provinces of the Global South, for placing "implicit obligations" on the recipients of their largesse.
Urging understanding of the conservative evangelicalism which led to a rival Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans being set up in Jerusalem last week, Canon Cameron said: "The average Anglican is a black woman under the age of 30, who earns two dollars a day, has a family of at least three children, has lost two close relatives to AIDs, and who will walk four miles to Church for a three hour service on a Sunday."
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Commentary • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
Dr Butler, head of the Anglican community in the boroughs of Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich, said: "Those attending the GAFCon make claims concerning the Anglican Communion which are frankly not supportable.
"It would seem that some of the authors of the statement from the conference and the founders of the new organisation are coming to Britain to recruit from amongst our parishes and clergy.
"I will be very surprised if many from Southwark Diocese rush to join them as it was only a couple of years ago that some of our good, hardworking, thoughtful evangelical clergy asked me to take action against other, more militant, evangelicals who were planting congregations in their parishes.
"What is proposed goes against the spirit of Anglicanism and Archbishop Dr Williams is right to challenge them to think carefully before going on down this path."
Read it all.
"It would seem that some of the authors of the statement from the conference and the founders of the new organisation are coming to Britain to recruit from amongst our parishes and clergy.
"I will be very surprised if many from Southwark Diocese rush to join them as it was only a couple of years ago that some of our good, hardworking, thoughtful evangelical clergy asked me to take action against other, more militant, evangelicals who were planting congregations in their parishes.
"What is proposed goes against the spirit of Anglicanism and Archbishop Dr Williams is right to challenge them to think carefully before going on down this path."
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
Topics covered included both the GAFCON gathering and the Lambeth Conference--listen to it all (about 8 and 1/2 minutes).
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008 • Lambeth 2008
HE General Synod’s secretary general, William Fittall, has told reporters to expect “quite a lot of tension and anxiety” at the Synod’s next meeting (4 to 8 July).
The outcome of the debates on women bishops was “genuinely hard to call”, Mr Fittall said during a media briefing on the agenda in Church House, Westminster.
Mr Fittall said that, while simple majorities on motions and amendments were all that was necessary at this “pre-legislative” stage, two-thirds majorities in all Houses would be required later for any legislation. So voting figures on motions and amendments would be watched carefully, and were likely to “prompt people to consider their estimates about their own futures”.
In response to complaints in the church press from a Winchester lay representative, Paul Eddy, after his private member’s motion on the evangelisation of Muslims did not, as he and others had expected, appear on next month’s agenda, Mr Fittall said: “There has been no malarkey.”
Mr Eddy wanted to know who set the agenda for the Synod, and, Mr Fittall said, it was the Synod’s business committee, but “not in a vacuum”: it had to respond to many demands for the Synod’s time.
Read it all.
The outcome of the debates on women bishops was “genuinely hard to call”, Mr Fittall said during a media briefing on the agenda in Church House, Westminster.
Mr Fittall said that, while simple majorities on motions and amendments were all that was necessary at this “pre-legislative” stage, two-thirds majorities in all Houses would be required later for any legislation. So voting figures on motions and amendments would be watched carefully, and were likely to “prompt people to consider their estimates about their own futures”.
In response to complaints in the church press from a Winchester lay representative, Paul Eddy, after his private member’s motion on the evangelisation of Muslims did not, as he and others had expected, appear on next month’s agenda, Mr Fittall said: “There has been no malarkey.”
Mr Eddy wanted to know who set the agenda for the Synod, and, Mr Fittall said, it was the Synod’s business committee, but “not in a vacuum”: it had to respond to many demands for the Synod’s time.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
Nearly 800 clergy and lay leaders from the Church of England took the first steps yesterday towards forming a “Church within a Church” to be an evangelical stronghold against the ordination of [noncelibate] gay people.
The clergy met at All Souls Langham Place, in Central London, a prominent evangelical church, where they were invited to sign up to the “Jerusalem declaration” rejecting liberal doctrines. Most are expected to endorse the statement, forming the British arm of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a rival Anglican Communion that was started in Israel last week at a conference of conservative Anglicans from around the world.
In the declaration conservative bishops, mainly from Africa and Asia, stated: “We reject the authority of those Churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, hit back at the evangelical rebels yesterday, warning them that their new structures lacked legitimacy and urging them to “think very carefully about the risks entailed”.
Read it all.
The clergy met at All Souls Langham Place, in Central London, a prominent evangelical church, where they were invited to sign up to the “Jerusalem declaration” rejecting liberal doctrines. Most are expected to endorse the statement, forming the British arm of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a rival Anglican Communion that was started in Israel last week at a conference of conservative Anglicans from around the world.
In the declaration conservative bishops, mainly from Africa and Asia, stated: “We reject the authority of those Churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, hit back at the evangelical rebels yesterday, warning them that their new structures lacked legitimacy and urging them to “think very carefully about the risks entailed”.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
The Anglican church is in "chaos" with the "moral authority" of the Archbishop of Canterbury lying in tatters amid growing splits over homosexuality and women bishops, rebel leaders claim.
In a direct challenge to the leadership of Dr Rowan Williams, three leading Archbishops said they had decided to "take things in hand".
Leaders of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Foca), a newly formed network for millions of Anglicans angered by the rise of liberal theology, denied that they planned to "seize power" within the church.
Read it all.
In a direct challenge to the leadership of Dr Rowan Williams, three leading Archbishops said they had decided to "take things in hand".
Leaders of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Foca), a newly formed network for millions of Anglicans angered by the rise of liberal theology, denied that they planned to "seize power" within the church.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Abp of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
Please check it out.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
What stands out in the statement? Five initial impressions of what will be important.
1. A strong commitment to stay in and affirm the Anglican Communion, despite all.
2. The creation of a fellowship of Confessing Anglicans within the Communion.
3. The issuing of the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis for such a fellowship.
4. A Council of Primates to oversee the movement.
5. A new Province in the USA recognised by the Council of Primates, which means that the power of the Archbishop of Canterbury alone to say who is in and who is out is to be shared.
Read it all.
1. A strong commitment to stay in and affirm the Anglican Communion, despite all.
2. The creation of a fellowship of Confessing Anglicans within the Communion.
3. The issuing of the Jerusalem Declaration as the basis for such a fellowship.
4. A Council of Primates to oversee the movement.
5. A new Province in the USA recognised by the Council of Primates, which means that the power of the Archbishop of Canterbury alone to say who is in and who is out is to be shared.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Australia • Global South Churches & Primates • GAFCON 2008
More than 1,300 clergy, including 11 serving bishops, have written to the archbishops of Canterbury and York to say that they will defect from the Church of England if women are consecrated bishops.
As the wider Anglican Communion fragments over homosexuality, England’s established Church is moving towards its own crisis with a crucial vote on women bishops this weekend.
In a letter to Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, seen by The Times, the signatories give warning that they will consider leaving the Church if two crucial votes are passed to introduce female bishops.
Read it all.
As the wider Anglican Communion fragments over homosexuality, England’s established Church is moving towards its own crisis with a crucial vote on women bishops this weekend.
In a letter to Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, seen by The Times, the signatories give warning that they will consider leaving the Church if two crucial votes are passed to introduce female bishops.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)
Contrary to their claims, the Anglican Communion is traditionally one that embraces difference and respects diversity. Since the reign of Henry VIII the Church of England has sought to encompass a range of opinions because it recognized that no one group has special access to truth. Therefore engagement with those with whom you disagree is essential in pursuit of truth.
The formation of FOCA is nothing less than a pre-emptive first strike by those who are determined to have their own way come what may. Their abandonment of serious theological discussion and debate is a betrayal of the ethos of Anglicanism.
Jonathan Clatworthy, General Secretary of the MCU said: “They tried to take over, using homosexuality as a rallying-cry and threatening to split the Anglican Communion. Finding their more extreme demands rejected they have finally decided to go their own way. This will be an opportunity for the Anglican Communion to reaffirm its traditional openness and diversity, recognizing that nobody has all the answers”.
Read it all.
The formation of FOCA is nothing less than a pre-emptive first strike by those who are determined to have their own way come what may. Their abandonment of serious theological discussion and debate is a betrayal of the ethos of Anglicanism.
Jonathan Clatworthy, General Secretary of the MCU said: “They tried to take over, using homosexuality as a rallying-cry and threatening to split the Anglican Communion. Finding their more extreme demands rejected they have finally decided to go their own way. This will be an opportunity for the Anglican Communion to reaffirm its traditional openness and diversity, recognizing that nobody has all the answers”.
Read it all.
Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) •