Friday, March 31, 2006

Repent, repent, Anglicans urged

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/repent-repent-anglicans-urged/2006/03/31/1143441339520.html

[The Age] April 1, 2006--Sydney's version of Anglicanism is bad for people's spiritual health and all "Sydney Anglicans" should repent, according to one of Australia's leading theologians.

This is an April Fools Day joke, isn't it?!

Christian evangelists causing stir here

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06090/678308-53.stm

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] March 31, 2006--An international group whose goal is converting Jews to Christianity is holding its North American conference next month in Pittsburgh.

Bishop Bennison: Diocese Ready to Heal

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1921

[The Living CHurch] March 30, 2006--The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., said he and members of his staff at Church House worked hard to build trust and educate members of the Diocese of Pennsylvania during the 140 days that elapsed between Nov. 5 when the annual convention failed to approve a budget and a March 25 special convention, which he described as a victory for the spirit of cooperation and a vote of confidence in his leadership.

Former Episcopal Congregations Pledge Cooperation

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1919

[The Living Church] March 30, 2006--Clergy and lay leaders from 63 Anglican congregations formerly affiliated with the Episcopal Church and now under the jurisdiction of overseas Anglican primates met March 22-24 at Christ Church in Overland Park, Kan., and agreed to “work together to build a biblical, missionary and united movement of Anglicans in North America.”

Claiming the Blessing Announces Convention Objectives

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1918

[The Living Church] March 30, 2006--Representatives from the advocacy groups Integrity and Claiming the Blessing intend to make their presence known during the 75th General Convention. The steering committee for Claiming the Blessing announced March 25 a series of General Convention objectives at the conclusion of a joint meeting with the board of Integrity at Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland.

Episcopal ads hyping church won't win the faithless to ECUSA

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3827

[VirteuOnline] March 30, 2006--Over the years the national Episcopal Church has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Ad campaigns of one sort or another, trying to entice the faithless, and those drop out Episcopalians, back to the Episcopal fold.

Episcopal diocese sued; abuse claimed

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3831

[The Times-Union] March 30, 2006--A Volusia County woman is suing the Episcopal Diocese of Florida for $5 million for sexual assaults she said were committed against her by a now-deceased priest at a Jacksonville church in the late 1960s.

Episcopal Bishops would oppose homosexual agenda in secret vote

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3829

[VirtueOnline] March 31, 2006--Episcopal bishops in the United States, if voting secretly now, would turn away from two critical votes in 2003 which championed a pro-homosexual agenda, according to a survey by Lay Episcopalians for the Anglican Communion (LEAC). The convention votes divided their church and caused the worldwide Anglican Communion to put about 2 million Americans in limbo.

Episcopal Bishop says Diocese has turned corner and moving forward

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3830

[VirtueOnline] March 30, 2006--In the last several weeks, we have arrived at a turning point in our life together as a diocese. I want to share with you some good news of forward movement, and let you know about one development.

Anglicanism - its new divisions in 2006

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3828

[VirtueOnline] March 30, 2006--Since the mid nineteenth century, there have always been differences in churchmanship and style in church services of worship and related activities - from low-church Latitudinarian and low-church Evangelical to high-Church Latitudinarian and Affirming Catholic; from low-church Charismatic to high-church Charismatic, and from high-church Anglo-Catholic to Romanizing Anglo-Catholic, and so on.

A Commentary on the Address of the Bishop of Exeter to the American House of Bishops"

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3832

[Anglican Communion Institute] March 30, 2006--The content of the address of the Bishop of Exeter to ECUSA's House of Bishops would have made it highly significant in its own right. The fact that he delivered it as the representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury 'who", as Bp. Langrish says, "specifically asked me to bring you this message and assure you of his own prayers', makes it perhaps the most important and illuminating perspective since the Dromantine Communiqué from the Primates on the current and future state of the Anglican Communion and the decisions facing ECUSA in just under three months.

Sydney Diocese Suppports Prime Minister in Stand Against Act Recognition of Civil Unions

http://www.acl.asn.au/

[Anglican Church League] March 31, 2006--The Bishop of North Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, speaking on behalf of the Diocese of Sydney, today congratulated the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, for his strong and positive stand regarding the Civil Unions Bill proposed in the ACT.

How to Preach the Word in a World of Words

http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/pastors/1386318.html

[BreakPoint] March 31, 2006--While planting a new church, I wrestled with the concept of preaching. At the time, “seeker services” were all the rage. Everybody knew about the Incredible Shrinking Attention Span, where the remote control is always within reach, the effects are always special, and the image always shifting. In such a climate, preaching—one guy standing in one place talking about one thing—seems anachronistic.

Rahman One of Thousands Awaiting Death Sentenc

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/1386311.html

[AgapePress] March 31, 2006-- News reports indicate that Abdul Rahman, the Afghan man who faced a possible death penalty for his acceptance of Christ as his personal Savior, has been released from a Kabul prison. No one, however, seems to know where he is since being released late yesterday. He had indicated that because of death threats from radical Muslim clerics, he wished to seek asylum in another country.

German Protestant Leader: Sharia Violates Human Rights

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/1386439.html

[ASSIST News Service] March 31, 2006--The German Protestant leader Bishop Wolfgang Huber has welcomed the release of Christian Abdul Rahman in Afghanistan. But despite the good news the basic problem remains: The application of Sharia law in the case of conversion contradicts universal human rights, says Huber.

Common Worship: Then and Now

http://www.churchnewspaper.com/englandonsunday/index.php?read=on&number_key=5812&title=Common%20Worship:%20Then%20and%20Now

[The Church of England Newspaper] March 24, 2006--“Moreover, the number and hardness of the rules called the Pie, and the manifold changes of the Service, was the cause, that to turn the book only was so hard and intricate a matter, that many times there was more business to find out what should read, than to read it when it was found out.”“

And whereas heretofore there hath been great diversity in saying and singing in Churches within this Realm … now from henceforth all the whole Realm shall have but one use.”(The first Prayer Book of King Edward VI, 1549)

There were two central points set out in the Preface to the First Book of Common Prayer in 1549. Up to, and including, the abortive 1928 Book, this preface has been reprinted in each subsequent Prayer Book revision under the heading “Concerning the Service of the Church.”

Spain’s Evangelicals Urge Forgiveness Following ETA Ceasefire

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/europe/spains.evangelicals.urge.forgiveness.following.eta.ceasefire/584.htm

[Christianity Today UK] March 30, 2006--One week after the declaration of a ceasefire by militant Basque-separatists Eta, Evangelicals in Spain have called for justice and forgiveness to make it work.

But she was wearing a short skirt . . .

http://www.getreligion.org/?p=1496

[GetReligion] March 30, 2006--Time’s Rachel Morarjee, writing from Kabul, had a bizarre piece alleging that Rahman was a deadbeat, abusive dad who shamed his family. The title of the piece, by the way, is — and I am not joking — “Abdul Rahman’s Family Values”:

Growing Numbers of Churches Affiliating with the Network

http://www.acn-us.org/archive/2006/03/growing-numbers-of-churches-affiliating-with-the-network.html

[Anglican Communion Network] March 30, 2006--Since the beginning of 2006, eleven parishes with their clergy and ten individual clergy have affiliated with the Anglican Communion Network (ACN). Another eleven affiliates are slated to be approved within the week. This steady stream of new affiliate churches and individuals comes from within the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) and from those churches that are now under the authority of bishops from other parts of the Anglican Communion.

'I want to read Bible in peace': Afghan convert

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/i-want-to-read-bible-in-peace-afghan-convert/2006/03/30/1143441254578.html

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 30, 2006--Abdul Rahman, the Afghan who risked the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity, has thanked Italy for granting him political asylum, saying he will finally be able to read the Bible in peace.

Lawyer Says Canada’s Charter to Blame for Today’s Social Liberalism

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06033101.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 31, 2006--A Canadian lawyer has said the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has allowed Canada’s courts to turn the country into one of the most socially liberal societies in the world.

Australian PM Howard Says Government Will Overturn Same-Sex Union Law

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06033004.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 30, 2006--Australia’s federal government said yesterday it would overturn proposed legislation granting equivalent marriage rights to gay civil unions, if the capital territory brings it into law.

Belgian Priest to Stand Trial for Hatred for Citing Fears of Coming Islamic Persecution

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06033010.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 30, 2006--Melkite Catholic Patriarch: Since 9/11 There's a Plot to Eliminate All Christians from Arab World.

Mississippi Lawmakers Extend Deadlines to Review Abortion-Ban Bill

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06033001.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 30, 2006--A bill that would have banned most abortions in Mississippi failed to pass House and Senate negotiations before deadline Monday night. Lawmakers passed a resolution that extended the deadline, in an effort to reach agreement on the controversial bill.

Moscow Gay Pride Ban Rebuked by Council of Europe

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06033003.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 30, 2006--The president of a congress of the Council of Europe has written to Moscow Mayor Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov, strongly recommending that he revise his stance and allow a “Gay Pride” parade originally planned for May this year.

Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches Attend Conference to Fight Secularism

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06033007.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 30, 2006--Leaders from the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church gathered to discuss ways to address a growing trend towards secularism and the marginalisation of religion in society.

Court Upholds Massachusetts Law Preventing Same Sex 'Marriage' by Out-of-State Couples

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06033005.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 30, 2006--The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled today that the Governor and State Attorney General were justified in using a little-remembered 1913 law to prevent out-of-state homosexual couples from “marrying” in the state.

Related article:
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22938
Mass. court limits ‘gay marriage’ to in-state couples; ruling a win for conservatives - Baptist Press

Abortion Key Issue in Italian Election

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06033009.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 30, 2006-- For the first time in 25 years, Italian politicians have been campaigning for an election with abortion as a key issue.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Death penalty “outrageous, unjust and exceptional”

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0603/S00526.htm

[Scoop Independent News] March 30, 2006--Threatened death penalty “outrageous, unjust and exceptional” Archbishop of Canterbury tells Muslim leaders

The Christian Agenda

http://www.queerplanet.us/moxie/newscast/national/033006-001.shtml

[queerplanet] March 30, 2006--The christians have decided they are at war. Who exactly are they at war with though? And why do they blame the "damnedable sodomites" for all thier woes? Why won't they use the word gay? All these questions and more are answered within...

Communicating the Purpose of Your Church

http://www.christianpost.com/article/ministries/1803/section/communicating.the.purpose.of.your.church/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 30, 2006--Pastor, God has established your church for a purpose. Too often, though, we fail to communicate that purpose to the people who would be most interested in hearing about it – the church itself.

''Marriage is for White People''

http://www.christianpost.com/article/editorial/726/section/marriage.is.for.white.people/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 30, 2006--"Marriage is for white people." That's what Joy Jones was told when she was teaching a career exploration class for sixth-graders at an elementary school in the nation's capital. As a matter of fact, more than one student offered Jones this retort when she spoke of marriage and parenthood.

Progressive Christians Prepare for 2,500-Mile Walk of Affirmation

http://www.christianpost.com/article/church/2563/section/progressive.christians.prepare.for.2500-mile.walk.of.affirmation/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 30, 2006--Martin Luther brought reform to Christianity when he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, centuries ago. Today, a group of Christians plan to articulate Christianity from a progressive Christian standpoint, crossing through 2,500 miles of U.S. grounds to nail their own affirmations to the doorway of America.

Okla. Senate Urged to Hear House Anti-Abortion Bills

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/2363/section/okla.senate.urged.to.hear.house.anti-abortion.bills/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 30, 2006--A coalition of anti-abortion groups urged the Oklahoma state Senate Tuesday to schedule hearings and a vote on House-passed anti-abortion measures.

Same-Sex Marriage Among Looming Ballot Issues

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/2362/section/same-sex.marriage.among.looming.ballot.issues/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 30, 2006--The divisive issues that spurred voter turnout in 2004 and helped decide the presidency will be back with a vengeance in November.

Attempt to Revive Md. Gay 'Marriage' Issue Fails

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/2361/section/attempt.to.revive.md.gay.marriage.issue.fails/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 30, 2006--An attempt to revive a constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriage failed in the Maryland Senate Tuesday, apparently leaving no further options this year for opponents of gay marriage.

Gay 'Marriage' Numbers Continue to Decrease in Netherlands

http://www.christianpost.com/article/europe/636/section/gay.marriage.numbers.continue.to.decrease.in.netherlands/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 29, 2006--The number of same-sex “marriages” has stabilized since the introduction of gay marriage in the Netherlands five years ago, according to new figures recently released by a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the western European nation.

Dutchman builds modern Noah's Ark

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4853890.stm

[BBC News] March 28, 2006--Dutchman Johan Huibers is building a working replica of Noah's Ark as a testament to his Christian faith.

The 47-year-old from Schagen, 45km (30 miles) north of Amsterdam, plans to set sail in September through the interior waters of the Netherlands. Johan's Ark is a fifth of the size of Noah's and will carry farmyard animals.

Mr Huibers, who plans to open the vessel as a religious monument and zoo, hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands.

"This will speak very much to children, because it will give them something tangible to see that Noah's Ark really existed," Mr Huibers told the Associated Press news agency.

Area cleric to mind new flock as bishop

http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16400611&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=17708&rfi=6

[The Saratogian] March 30, 2006--The Rev. William Love is a bit like Moses, who found reasons not to lead when the opportunity first presented itself.

Burundi needs food aid and development, say agencies

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060330burundi.shtml

[ekklesia] March 30, 2006--As the food crisis in Africa continues to loom large, UK-based international aid agency Christian Aid says that its partners have distributed 130 tonnes of bean seeds to more than 10,000 families in response to shortages in northern Burundi.

All Saints sues Episcopal diocese

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060330/NEWS01/603300355/1002/NEWS

[Rochester Democrat and Chronicle] March 30, 2006--All Saints Anglican Church has filed suit claiming that the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester and its bishop "abused their discretion and failed to follow their own rules and the law of the state of New York" in declaring the church extinct.

Gen-X women target audience in Episcopal advertising

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3825

[Episcopal News Service] March 30, 2006--Paige Blair, 35, speaks frankly in a new 30-second ad inviting television viewers to visit the Episcopal Church.

Something is missing--Jesus Christ!!

Archbishop of Canterbury - Faith communities can't solve problems alone

http://www.wfn.org/2006/03/msg00376.html

[Anglican Communion News Service] March 30, 2006--The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said that faith communities need to promote confidence and earn trust in order to face the common problems that confront the world.

Bishop says membership in Communion cannot be taken for granted

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3822

[VirtueOnline] March 30, 2006--It appears that this common ground is now emerging. In order for us to get to the Lambeth Conference 2008, the only body which can bring some clarity and resolve to these divisive matters, we in the Episcopal Church must demonstrate restraint.

BJP pressured state to harrass Christians, panel finds

http://www.compassdirect.org/en/newsen.php?idelement=4272

[Compass Direct] March 21, 2006--Arrested EMI President Samuel Thomas ordered to spend three more days in police custody.

Alexy II urges for defense of Christian ideas in Europe

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1217

[Interfax] March 29, 2006--Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia has stated that it is the ideas of Christianity that ensure freedom and equal rights to people of various faiths and cultures in European countries.

Ruddock threatens ACT same-sex union laws

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1604208.htm

[ABC News Online] March 30, 2006--The Federal Government is threatening to block the ACT's civil union laws for gay and lesbian couples.

ACT civil union bill deliberately undermines federal marriage law

http://www.acl.org.au/pdfs/load_pdf_public.pdf?pdf_id=504

[Australian Christian Lobby] March 30, 2006--The Executive Chairman of the Australian Christian Lobby, Jim Wallace, is astounded that the ACT Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, is so obviously and deliberately undermining the Federal Marriage Act. The Civil Unions Bill 2006 was tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly yesterday.

You will need an Acrobat reader to read this article.

Student's Lawsuit Compels UW to Lift RA-Led Bible Study Ban

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/292006a.asp

[AgapePress] March 29, 2006--A Christian resident assistant (RA) at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has dropped his lawsuit against the school following its elimination of a ban on RA-led Bible studies. The UW's Board of Regents recently approved a policy allowing student dormitory workers to lead Bible studies.

Killing Babies 'Compassionately' in the Netherlands

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1386409.html

[The Weekly Standard] March 30, 2006--At last a high government official in Europe got up the nerve to chastise the Dutch government for preparing to legalize infant euthanasia. Italy's Parliamentary Affairs minister, Carlo Giovanardi, said during a radio debate: "Nazi legislation and Hitler's ideas are reemerging in Europe via Dutch euthanasia laws and the debate on how to kill ill children."

Afghan Convert Saved, But Apostasy Problem Endures

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1386361.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 30, 2006--An Afghan Christian threatened with execution for leaving Islam has arrived safely in the West, but religious freedom campaigners remain concerned about the broader and enduring problem of the shari'a-mandated death penalty in parts of the Islamic world.

Study Finds Daycare Damages Babies Brain Chemistry

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032903.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 29, 2006--Major research firms and universities in America, Canada, and England have arrived at the same conclusion as the new study reported in the Australian Sydney Morning Herald, that "daycare damages babies' brain chemistry and affects their social and emotional development."

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Endorses Gay Pride Events

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032905.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 29, 2006--California’s governor has issued a 2006 “pride message,” supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride celebrations in the state.

25,000 teens rally in San Fran. against ‘virtue terrorism’; book examines Pa. Intelligent Design trial

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22929

[Baptist Press] March 29, 2006--The proportion of adults who fall into the “born again Christian” category based on their beliefs is at the highest rate ever measured in The Barna Group’s 25-year history.

“The same tracking survey shows us that people’s faith is not at all deep, but at least more people are becoming attuned to the importance of the life, death, resurrection and message of Jesus Christ,” George Barna said in a March 27 news release.

Mohler, Dobson refute writer's attack on stay-at-home moms

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22931

[Baptist Press] March 29, 2006--Stay-at-home moms are not a threat to civilization as one feminist argues, but they are one of society’s cornerstones, R. Albert Mohler Jr. said March 22 on Focus on the Family radio program.

Afghan Christian arrives in Italy, expected to take asylum

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22932

[Baptist Press] March 29, 2006--The Afghan man who was facing death for converting from Islam to Christianity is in Italy, where he is expected to take asylum.

Realted articles:
http://smh.com.au/news/WORLD/Afghan-Christian-convert-lands-in-Italy/2006/03/30/1143441240031.html
Afghan Christian convert lands in Italy - Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1386411.html
Afghan Convert to Christianity Finds Asylum in Italy - AgapePress
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/international/asia/29cnd-afghan.html?_r=1&ei=5094&en=ade171d3166a7d42&hp=&ex=1143694800&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin Afghan Christian Convert Granted Asylum in Italy - The New York Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2109903,00.html
Released Christian convert granted asylum in Rome - Times Online
http://www.christianpost.com/article/missions/2001/section/afghan.christian.convert.in.italy.under.protection/1.htm
Afghan Christian Convert in Italy, 'Under Protection' - The Christian Post

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Church public relations blogs up discussion about the doctor and the vicar

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/blog-sparks-talk-of-womens-subordination-in-church/2006/03/29/1143441215880.html

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 30, 2006--Paola Totaro follows the electronic trail that led to an Anglican mouthpiece.

Anglican Church Warns It's Leaders Against Political Campaigning

http://www.pacificislands.cc/pina/pinadefault2.php?urlpinaid=21088

[Pacific Magazine] March 29, 2006--The Diocese of Hanuato'o of the Church of Melanesia in the Solomon Islands has warned church leaders on Makira-Ulawa against involvement in politics, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation reports

Bishop Barrett’s successor to be

http://www.kilkennyadvertiser.ie/index.php?aid=200

[Kilkenny Advertiser] March 29, 2006--The new bishop of Cashel and Ossory will be chosen tomorrow afternoon when the electoral college meets in private at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.

Presiding Bishop Encouraged by Bishops’ Meeting

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1917

[The Living Church] March 29, 2006--Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold told The Living Church he is encouraged that the House of Bishops seemed to be of a common mind by the conclusion of the March 17-22 spring retreat, the last at which Bishop Griswold will preside.

Prayer Will Undergird Special Committee on Communion

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1916

[The Living Church] March 28, 2006--The special committee responsible for handling resolutions pertaining to the Windsor Report during General Convention will be grounded in prayer, according to the two co-chairs of the committee. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and the Very Rev. George Werner, president of the House of Deputies, announced the composition of the 18-member commission earlier this month.

Bishop of Chicago to Resign in 2007

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1914

[The Living Church] March 28, 2006--The Bishop of Chicago, the Rt. Rev. William D. Persell, announced his intention to resign his office in the fall of 2007 upon the consecration of his successor. In a letter sent March 27 to clergy and congregations, Bishop Persell said his decision is motivated by his age, his more than three decades of ordained ministry, and health considerations.

Why African Anglicans would oppose ordination of homosexuals: A rebuttal

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3821

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] March 29, 2006--Bishop John Bryson Chane invites reaction to the current movement of "intolerance" that threatens the rights of gays and lesbians within the Anglican Communion. This movement of exclusion is led by Archbishop Peter J. Akinola of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. In Bishop Chane's op-ed essay, he urges church members and American citizens to make known their minds on this issue. Being a Nigerian citizen, I offer my opinion to help the wider American public to know the mind of Africans.

Woman ECUSA Priest Renounces her Orders

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3820

[VirtueOnline] March 29, 2006--Alice Linsley is a former ECUSA priest who recently renounced her orders, having come to the conclusion that women should not be priests.

Why Dr Williams must stand firm

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/80256fa1003e05c1/httppublicpages/2114d75b248fca0b802570ca003b2602?opendocument

[Church Times] March 24, 2006--He should keep to the Windsor report over the North Americans, says Tom Wright.

Bishop of Exeter's Statement to the House of Bishops Meeting

http://www.americananglican.org/site/c.ikLUK3MJIpG/b.691905/apps/nl/content2.asp?content_id={D5B32CC3-16ED-46D9-9987-945A8059FA7A}&notoc=1

[American Anglican Council] March 29, 2006--It has been really good to be with you this week and I do thank you for your invitation. This is my first visit to the USA, and so means a great deal to me. Visiting here has been on my 'to do' list, for years now and I have felt increasingly disabled by having no direct experience of American culture so dominant an influence is it in the world today. I do wonder to what extent Americans recognise and understand just how great this dominance and influence really is.

A Wind that Swirls Everywhere

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/003/38.52.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 29, 2006--Pentecostal scholar Amos Yong thinks he sees the Holy Spirit working in other religions, too.

Grace as a License for Sin

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/003/39.76.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 29, 2006--Why obedience isn't just for legalists.

Dutch/Nazi Comparison Apt Says US Legal Expert

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032802.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 28, 2006--Bioethics critic and legal counsel for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Wesley J. Smith, has written in the Weekly Standard that the Dutch outrage over being called “Nazis” by an Italian government minister, is misplaced. According to Smith, the philosophies underpinning the Dutch move towards euthanasia of infants and the Nazi extermination of the “unfit” stem from the same utilitarian, materialistic source.

Canadian Media Co. Issues Token Apology for Bashing Catholicism in New Zealand

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032804.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 28, 2006--The CanWest broadcaster that aired the offensive South Park cartoon’s “Bloody Mary” episode has apologized to New Zealanders for any offence that was caused by the show, but the apology appears to be a token gesture.

First Australian Territory to Grant All Marriage Rights to Same-Sex Unions

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032805.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 28, 2006--Australia’s Capital Territory will pass legislation allowing same-sex civil unions, the first territory in Australia to do so.

Archdiocese of St. Paul claims no "Subculture of Homosexual Priests" Here

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032801.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 28, 2006--The Vicar General of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, the most authoritative voice in the archdiocese next to Archbishop Harry Flynn, in comments published by the St. Paul Pioneer Press today, said he did not believe that there is a "subculture of homosexual priests" in the diocese. The statement is raising eyebrows in a diocese known to be overrun with clergy at odds with Church teaching on homosexuality, including the Vicar General's own brother.

TV Networks Reject UCC Gay 'Ejector' Ad

http://www.christianpost.com/article/church/2558/section/tv.networks.reject.ucc.gay.ejector.ad/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 28, 2006--The nation's major television networks have rejected an ad that shows a gay couple and others being banished from a church, saying it violates their rules against controversial or religious advertising.

Presbyterian Church May Reconsider Divestment

http://www.christianpost.com/article/church/2561/section/presbyterian.church.may.reconsider.divestment/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 29, 2006--The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) may suspend its highly-publicized process of divesting church stock from multinational corporations that profit from the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine.

Filipino church wary of reported land seizure reversal

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22921

[Baptist Press] March 28, 2006--Judging by local news reports, the members of Filipino Baptist Fellowship in Long Beach, Calif., have reason to rejoice because the redevelopment board reversed course in condemning their building. But the church’s attorney warned that they’re not “out of the woods yet.”

Miss. abortion ban dies in House-Senate conference

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22922

[Baptist Press] March 28, 2006--A bill that would have banned most abortions in Mississippi died March 27 when members of the state House and Senate failed to reach a compromise.

The dying American church

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22927

[Baptist Press] March 28, 2006--I am by nature an optimist. I have seen the hand of God too often in my life to live in a state of despair and defeatism. But the state of evangelism in the American church is such that I do have my moments when I wonder if the church is headed down the path of many European congregations: decline and death.

Experiencing Prayer With Jesus

http://www.crosswalk.com/fun/books/1384487.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 29, 2006--The twelve disciples whom Jesus chose were no doubt men who prayed. They had been raised in a culture that valued and practiced prayer, and each of their hearts must have been prayerfully tender toward God for each man to leave everything and follow after Jesus when He extended His call to them.

Afghan Christian Convert Released, Protests Expected

http://www.christiantoday.com/news/missions/afghan.christian.convert.released.protests.expected/651.htm

[Christianity Today UK] March 28, 2006--The Afghan who faced a death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity has been freed today after numerous pleas from Western governments that his religious freedom should be respected, the Afghan minister reported on Tuesday.

Related article:
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/1386074.html
Afghan Court Releases Christian Convert - Agape Press
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22920
Afghan Christian convert released; asylum reportedly requested amid tumult - Baptist Press

‘Jesus All About Life’ Officially Launched In Canberra

http://au.christiantoday.com/news/ministries/jesus.all.about.life.officially.launched.in.canberra/278.htm

[Christianity Today UK] March 28, 2006--On the 27th March 2006, more than 60 flags along Commonwealth Avenue leading up to Parliament House, in Canberra were hoisted up where ‘Jesus’ in a large white script printed in a red background could be visible for those driving along the avenue as the ‘Jesus All About Life’ (JAAL) Campaign comes knocking in Canberra.

Afghan Christian Convert Arrives in Italy After Gaining Asylum

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=acPkuds8v9tc&refer=canada

[Bloomberg.com] March 29, 2006--Abdul Rahman, an Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity, has arrived in Italy and is under the protection of the government, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.

Related article:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/missions/2000/section/afghan.christian.convert.granted.asylum.in.italy/1.htm
Afghan Christian Convert Granted Asylum in Italy - The Christian Post

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Henry Morris Obituary

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2105015,00.html

[Times Online] March 27, 2006--Henry Morris, who died last month, was the founder of the Creation Research Society and co author of The Genesis Flood (1961). He was regarded by many as the founder of the modern creationist movement.

Collect Views From Rest of the Country, Kiplagat Team Told

http://allafrica.com/stories/200603270894.html

[East Africa Standard] March 27, 2006--The Bethwel Kiplagat commission, formed to jumpstart the constitutional review process, should collect views from all regions of the country, an Anglican bishop has said.

Bishop Told to Resign As Diocese Head

http://allafrica.com/stories/200603271274.html

[The Nation] March 28, 2006--Several Anglican Church of Kenya clerics yesterday questioned Eldoret Diocese bishop Thomas Kogo's leadership and told him to resign.

SC Judge called for support for Christian youth

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/regional/artikel.php?ID=101588

[GhanaWeb] March 26, 2006--Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyira, a Supreme Court Judge, on Sunday has called for support for the youth in the church to enable them play the role expected of them. He told the youth that one of the greatest gifts that God has given them was the ability to enjoy pleasure but advised them that they should do so to bring glory and pleasure to God

Africa's Azusa Street

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/113/23.0.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 28, 2006--East Africa has experienced Pentecost continually for nearly 80 years.

Pro-Gay Bishop Ssenyonjo Defies Archbishop Orombi

http://allafrica.com/stories/200603280382.html

[New Vision] March 28, 2006--The controversial Dr. Christopher Ssenyonjo, who was excommunicated by the Church of Uganda Bishop Dr. Luke Orombi, and stripped of his title and rights, is defiant.

Related article:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200603271173.html
I Will Die a Bishop, Says Ssenyonjo - The Monitor

Anglican archbishop addresses current issues during visit to St Vincent

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000010/001078.htm

[Caribbean Net News] March 28, 2006--Anglicans internationally will in June ask their brethren in New Hampshire for reassurance that they will not approve other homosexual ministers, two years after a gay priest was ordained there.

Christianity's link to politics is an unfair generalization

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_3647164

[The Salt Lake Tribune] March 28, 2006--It's become fashionable to take shots at the Christian religion. In a lot of otherwise civilized circles, the faithful and the faith itself are an easy object of prejudice; and worse, it's a prejudice you can get away with.

California’s Choices

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1907

[The Living Church] March 26, 2006--The decision by the bishop search committee of the Diocese of California to include two partnered homosexual priests — a lesbian and a gay man — among its slate of five nominees to become the next bishop of the diocese has significantly raised the already high level of tension within the Church.

Pennsylvania Special Convention Approves Deep Budget Cuts

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1911

[The Living Church] March 27, 2006--Delegates to Pennsylvania’s March 25 special convention rejected the budget proposed by diocesan council that would have drawn upon $950,000 of unrestricted net assets to fund the diocese’s programs. The approved budget reduces the draw to $550,000 and prohibits council from amending the budget unless approved by convention.

Related article:
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3814
Bishop Bennison's Spending Wings Clipped! - VirtueOnline

Archbishop holds talks over fear of a schism

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3812

[Times Online] March 25, 2006--The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has invited senior bishops and advisers to a private meeting in London in the clearest indication to date that Anglican church leaders are braced for a schism. The Times has learnt that the meeting at Lambeth Palace next month is intended to examine the crisis in the Church over homosexuality.

A liberal bishop reflects on HOB meeting in Kanuga

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3817

[VirtueOnline] March 28, 2006--Sitting in the airport, waiting to catch a plane back to Phoenix from the North Carolina House of Bishops meeting gives me a chance to add my own unofficial "Word to the Church" as an introduction to the official published document, which I have included below in case you have not already seen it.

Under the Scimitar of Damocles

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3813

[The American Thinker] March 26, 2006--Abdul Rahman faced death at the hands of our Afghan allies for the "crime" of converting to Christianity. This fate is no fluke, not a brutal Afghan variant on the practice of "tolerant" Islam. Death for apostacy is part and parcel of Islamic scripture and tradition. When Afghanistan's leading clerics endorse his death, they are on solid ground. Thus, in the wake of appeals by world leaders , including the Pope, even though Mr. Rahman appears to have received a "dispensation" by the Karzai Government -for "mental health", or other reasons, unfortunately, he is and remains guilty as per Afghan religious leaders, and Shari'a.

Getting It Right From the Beginning, Part Two

http://www.christianpost.com/article/editorial/724/section/getting.it.right.from.the.beginning.part.two/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 28, 2006--The doctrine of creation does not stand alone. The universe has not been set adrift in time without purpose or divine direction. The Christian affirmation of God requires an affirmation of His continuing sovereign Lordship over the created order. This affirmation sets the Christian worldview apart from alternative worldviews which recognize no continuing divine direction. Deism, a perspective accepted by many in the nineteenth century, affirmed God as the creator of the universe, but denied any continuing divine will expressed in the history or future of the creation. God, it was suggested, had created the world much as a clock, and had wound it up to move by its own direction. Contemporary challenges to the affirmation of divine providence suggest that though God created the world and set the original forces in order, God has either ceased to will, or is unable to make his will effective within the creation.

Inside Islam

http://au.christiantoday.com/news/society/inside.islam./382.htm

[Christianity Today Australian Edition] March 27, 2006--On the 25th March 2006, Christians in the Media held a forum in Annandale Community Church, Sydney to address the rising challenges presented by Islam, especially after 9-11.

The first speaker was Amir Mesrinejad who gave a personal account of how he escaped from Iran to Australia and during this period his conversion to Christianity. In Iran he was a Muslim not by personal choice but it was imposed on him. He explained that if you were born into a Muslim family then you were a Muslim by birth. In his youth he had many questions about Islam, which he dared not asked due to fear of persecution from his family such as why does he had to pray in Arabic when he speaks Farsi (Persian).

Couple ordered to divorce after sleep talking episode

http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2006/03/27/1143441082606.html

[Sydney Morning Herald] March 28, 2006--An Indian couple has been ordered by Muslim clerics to separate after the man uttered "talaq" - or divorce - three times while asleep.

Holiness Without the Legalism

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/113/12.0.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 27, 2006--Ten denominations cooperate to revive their historic emphasis.

The Holiness Manifesto

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/113/13.0.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 27, 2006--Leaders of historic Wesleyan Holiness denominations restate their doctrine for the 21st century.

The Mixed Gender Team

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2006/001/4.89.html

[ChristianitToday.com] March 28, 2006--How men and women can work in sync.

The Idea Behind Motivation

http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/areas/teamdevelopment/articles/022706.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 28, 2006--You can't build a head of steam for a weak idea.

Topical Preaching on Contemporary Issues

http://store.yahoo.com/pttranscripts/toproncois.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 28, 2006--How to preach expositionally when a current issue is the talk of the town.

RSS Plans to Reconvert 10,000 Christians in India

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/1385890.html

[Compass Direct] March 28, 2006--A Hindu extremist group planning centenary celebrations in April hopes to “reconvert” as many as 10,000 tribal Christians to Hinduism during the event.

Just What Is This Thing Called 'The Emerging Church'?

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/1385244.html

[ASSIST News Service] March 28, 2006--Will it, in fact, address the decreasing involvement of young people in many churches - the problems of the drop-out rate among churchgoing young people from 12 to 30, and of an increasing sense of alienation among both young and old?

The Defining Character of Ministry

http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/pastors/1385514.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 28, 2006--Ministry in Paul's day was not easy. Leon Morris observes: "There has probably never been such a variety of religious cults and philosophic systems as in Paul's day. East and West had united and intermingled to produce an amalgam of real piety, high moral principles, crude superstition, and gross license." Sounds like today, doesn't it? "The sincere and the spurious, the righteous and the rogue, swindlers and saints, jostled and clamored for the attention of the credulous and the skeptical."

Russian Jewish Leaders Join Orthodox in Supporting Moscow Mayor’s Ban on Gay Pride

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032705.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 27, 2006--Leaders in Russia’s Jewish community have come out in support of Moscow Mayor Juri Luzhkov, who banned the Moscow Gay Pride parade scheduled for May 27.

Hundreds of Christian Youth Descend on San Francisco to 'Retake the Culture'

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032709.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 27, 2006--Battle Cry for a Generation is a Christian evangelization project started by a young Texas minister working against the degeneration of modern popular culture and its effects on young people. The group says that a “stealthy enemy” has corrupted the youth of America with a highly sexualized media and corporate culture that contributes to underage sex, drug use and suicide.

Related article:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/ministries/1800/section/over.25000.bay.area.youth.engage.pop.culture.war/1.htm
Over 25,000 Bay Area Youth Engage Pop Culture War - The Christian Post

Alabama Legislators Push For Law to Ban Abortion

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032704.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 27, 2006--Alabama will soon join South Dakota in making abortion a felony, if state legislators have their way.

Homosexual Activist Irish Senator Compares Pope Benedict XVI to Hitler

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032710.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 27, 2006--Irish Senator David Norris, the first openly homosexual politician elected in Ireland, has compared Pope Benedict XVI to Hitler for the Catholic Church's stand against homosexuality.

Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Ahern to Officially Open Homosexual Activist Office

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032702.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 24, 2006--The Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern, will officiate at the opening ceremony for the new offices of Ireland's top homosexual activist organization on April third. Mr. Ahern's endorsement of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) will be the first time an Irish government leader has officially supported homosexual activism.

Pseudo-Catholic group says right to abortion ‘essential’ for women

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=6339

[Catholic News Agency] March 28, 2006-- The Mexican branch of the pro-abortion group “Catholics for a Free Choice” (CFFC) presented the Spanish version of the book, “Our Right to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion,” in Mexico City last week, in a ceremony attended by various leaders of the movement to legalize abortion in Latin America.

Battle Brews over Gay Paper in Ohio Library

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039963.cfm

[CitizenLink] March 27, 2006--One trustee wants the Outlook Weekly removed from shelves.

Afghan Christian absolved of charges but awaits release; asylum elsewhere possible

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22913

[Baptist Press] March 27, 2006--Apostacy charges were dropped March 26 against an Afghan Christian whose arrest and possible execution drew fervent concern from President Bush and other leaders of the nations that helped secure freedom for Afghanistan.

Related article:
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032708.html
Afghan Christian Released – Seeks Asylum through UN - LifeSiteNews.com
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1386047.html
Afghan Christian Reportedly Freed - Crosswalk.com
http://www.christianpost.com/article/missions/1999/section/top.christian.rights.groups.rally.for.afghan.convert/1.htm
Top Christian Rights Groups Rally for Afghan Convert - The Christian Post
http://www.christianpost.com/article/asia/923/section/afghan.christian.convert.vanishes.after.release/1.htm
Afghan Christian Convert Vanishes After Release - The Christian Post

Abortion rights not helpful to candidates, poll implies; signature drive to rescind S.D. abortion ban begins

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22914

[Baptist Press] March 27, 2006--It does not appear promoting abortion rights will help candidates in the 2006 and 2008 elections, according to a massive public opinion survey.

Fla. ‘gay marriage’ suit withdrawn; eight states face similar suits

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22918

[Baptist Press] March 27, 2006--Homosexual activists have withdrawn a Florida case seeking the legalization of “gay marriage,” although eight states nationwide remain involved in identical suits seeking the redefinition of marriage.

The intolerance of the ACLU

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22919

[Baptist Press] March 27, 2006--Like many civic assemblies, Oconee County, S.C., has opened council meetings with an invocation. Council member and pastor Bill Rinehart closed a meeting in October of last year with prayer by saying, “We ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.”

Monday, March 27, 2006

Muslims demand respect - but not for Christians

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/03/26/do2604.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/26/ixworld.html

[Telegraph] March 26, 2006--The Prince of Wales enjoys a high reputation in the Muslim world, higher than he has in this country. This is because he has taken Islam seriously and attempted to engage with the various civilisations associated with it. His speech in Cairo last week accepting the honorary doctorate conferred on him by al-Azhar, the oldest place of Muslim learning in the world, repays close study.

Cyclone charity desperately needed

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/cyclone_charity/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 27, 2006--In the aftermath of Cyclone Larry, The Bush Church Aid (BCA) Society is launching an appeal to provide relief for those in the cyclone affected areas of Northern Queensland.

As a Hurricane Katrina survivor I can appreciate what North Queensland has suffered and urge that people give generously to this appeal.

African Christians a Growing Dynamic Force

http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00164447.html

[LeadingtheCharge] March 25, 2006--It‘s eight hours into the service and the congregation is still dancing. Shout, they‘re told. Yell out to the Lord. Their cries melt into a muggy night that smells of sweating bodies, jasmine and the tropical musk of the Nigerian bushland.

The conservatives are not tearing the Anglican Communion apart. The liberals in the ECUSA, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the other Anglican provinces are the ones who have created the divisions in the Anglican Communion. They are the ones who have rejected the teaching of the Bible and blessed the liasons of homosexuals and ordained actively homosexual clergy.

Church has stolen artefacts returned

http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3677900&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=

[Wanganui Chronicle] Marhc 27, 2006--A fundraising garden party in Patea on Saturday would have been a doubly joyous occasion, particularly for the parishioners and supporters of the town’s Anglican church of St George.

Traditionalists beat clergymen to coma * destroy N6m property, attack churches

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/niger_delta/nd127032006.html

[Vanguard] March 27, 2006--Uneasy calm has continued to pervade Okitipupa local government area of Ondo State following attack on churches by traditionalists in Ode Aye during the celebration of Okute Traditional Festival as five clergy men were reportedly beaten to a state of coma and property worth N6 million destroyed.

Related article:
http://www.independentng.com/news/nnmar270628.htm
Church Demands N6m For Damaged Property - Daily Independent

The West in an Afghan mirror

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HC28Df01.html

[Asian Times Online] March 28, 2006--Death everywhere and always is the penalty for apostasy, in Islam and every other faith. It cannot be otherwise, for faith is life and its abandonment is death. Americans should remove the beam from their own eye as they contemplate the gallows in the eye of the Muslims. Philistine hypocrisy pervades Western denunciations of the Afghan courts, which were threatening to hang Christian convert Abdul Rahman until the case was dropped on Monday.

Archbishop: Stop teaching creationism

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=267752&area=/insight/insight__international/

[Mail&Guardian] March 27, 2006--Speaking of the church’s situation in Africa, the archbishop issued snubs to two of the region’s archbishops. He described the position in central Africa, where Archbishop Bernard Malango has absolved without trial Bishop Norbert Kunonga of Harare, accused by his parishioners of incitement to murder, as “deeply problematic’’ .

Will Young has joined “anti-gay” Church- press claim

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-937.html

[pinknews.co.uk] March 27, 2006--The gay Pop Idol winner, Will Young has joined a Christian group that allegedly “frowns on homosexuality and labels it an 'illness'.”

Related article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=381153&in_page_id=1773
'Depressed' Will Young wants to find God - Daily Mail

Episcopal diocese elects bishop

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=464906&category=REGION&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/26/2006

[timesunion.com] March 26, 2006--After more than five hours of voting, praying and strategizing, the rector of a small Warren County parish emerged over 10 other candidates as the next bishop of Albany's Episcopal Diocese Saturday.

Support for newly-elected bishop

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/headlines/?ArID=173501&SecID=33

[CapitalNews9] March 26, 2006--It could be some time before he takes over as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany, but it appears that Bishop Coadjutor William Love is getting support from many of the 20,000 followers he will lead.

Bishop of Exeter Urges ECUSA to Abide by Windsor Report

http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/bishop_of_exeter_urges_ecusa_to_abide_by_windsor_report/
[Global South Anglican] March 26, 2006--The Bishop of Exeter attended the recent spring retreat of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America where he urged the U.S. bishops to embrace the recommendations of the Windsor Report.

Anglican Network in Canada adds churches

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3811

[The Anglican Planet] March 27, 2006--Until recently, only individuals were joining the Anglican Network in Canada. Now six churches across the country have joined and four others in New Westminster are prepared to take that step.

Face to faith

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3810

[Guardian Unlimited] March 25, 2006--Liberal tolerance is easy even for liberals to misunderstand. Liberal societies do and should respect the right of citizens to hold whatever beliefs they like and to organise groups around them, so long as they do nothing to jeopardise the life, liberty, health or property of outsiders. Typically, however, liberal tolerance does not extend any entitlement to set public or institutional policy. In the US for example, the Ku Klux Klan is still a legal organisation, whose members meet to reinforce one another's racist beliefs. But the government's respect for their conscience does not grant them any right that schools be segregated.

Gay Unions: Consistent Witness or Pastoral Accommodation?

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3808

[VirtueOnline] March 26, 2006--The cluster of issues I wish to address has to do with the way in which the church is called to live out its convictions regarding the meaning of sexuality, particularly as it deals with real people whose lives do not yet reflect fully God's intention for human life.

Rhode Island Bans Abstinence-Only Sex Education from Schools

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1385686.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 26, 2006--Rhode Island has banned an abstinence-only-until-marriage program from public schools, saying the program violates students' rights, embraces sexist stereotypes, and isolates homosexual teens.

Michigan Gov. Signs Abortion Ultrasound Law

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/2350/section/michigan.gov.signs.abortion.ultrasound.law/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 25, 2006--Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed legislation Friday that would give women considering an abortion the chance to see ultrasound imaging of the fetus.

Conservatives Rally Grassroots as Opposition to Gay Marriage Declines

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/2351/section/conservatives.rally.grassroots.as.opposition.to.gay.marriage.declines/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 25, 2006-- The majority of Americans still oppose gay marriages but the public backlash over such unions has receded since the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 2003 overturned the state ban on homosexual marriage.

Afghan Court Drops Case Against Christian

http://www.christianpost.com/article/middleeast/522/section/afghan.court.drops.case.against.christian/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 26, 2006--An Afghan court on Sunday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity because of a lack of evidence and he will be released soon, officials said.

Related articles:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/asia/921/section/afghan.authorities.debate.when.how.to.release.christian.convert/1.htm Afghan Authorities Debate When, How to Release Christian Convert - The Christian Post
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18611481-401,00.html?from=rss
Christian convert may escape death - The Australian
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1385878.html
Convert Case Sparks Surge of Interest in Christianity Among Afghans - Crosswalk.com
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/27/wchrist27.xml
Convert facing death likely to go free - Telegraph

Do not be surprised if some Muslim fanatic murders Abdul Rahman - not an uncommon outcome in cases like this one where the defendant is released.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Schism looms, Exeter warns US bishops

http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/london_times_schism_looms_exeter_warns_us_bishops/

[Global South Anglican] March 25, 2006--The Bishop of Exeter, Michael Langrish, has delivered an extraordinary speech to ECUSA bishops which makes me believe for the first time that schism might actually be a possibility. Fundamentally, he has told the US bishops that if they consecrate another gay bishop or authorise same-sex relations, the Anglican Communion will break apart, ARCUC will be finished and inter-faith dialogue with the Muslims will be at an end.

Trinity School for Ministry Needs You!

"I know how antichrist knowledge hath obscured the glory of God and the true knowledge of his word, overcastting the same with mists and clouds of error and ignorance through false glosses and interpretations. It pitieth me [grieves me] to see the simple and hungry flock of Christ led into corrupt pastures, to be carried away blind they know not whither, and to be feed with poison instead of wholesome meats."

On March 21, 2006 Anglicans around the world commemorated the 500th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Over five hundred years ago Archbishop Thomas Cranmer penned these words in the Preface to his Defense of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament. He was describing conditions in the Church of his day. He and his fellow Reformers, John Bradford, John Hooper, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and others, sought to restore the true setting forth of God’s Word in the English Church and died as martyrs to the cause. These words written more than five years ago are an apt description of conditions in the Episcopal Church in our day. Apostate bishops and theologians denigrate the truth of God’s Word and deride and ridicule those who believe the teaching of his Word. Once more antichrist knowledge obscures the glory of God and the true knowledge of his word, casting mists and clouds of error over the same.

Since the disappearance of the Evangelical tradition in the Episcopal Church in the late nineteenth century, modernist theology has come to dominate most of the seminaries of the Episcopal Church. Dr. Leslie P. Fairfield, professor of Church History at Trinity School for Ministry, the Episcopal Church’s only Evangelical ministerial training school, writes:

Modernism asserted that God is not a transcendent, personal creator, but rather an impersonal “force” that fills the universe. Nothing exists other than nature; miracles do not happen; Scripture is not a revelation but a collection of primitive writings; “salvation” means “enlightenment;” and Jesus was simply an inspired man. In the 1960s, the “Situation Ethics” (an idea popularized by an Episcopal seminary professor) and the “Death of God” theologies capped this rejection of Christianity. (Leslie P. Fairfield, Our Heritage & History, p.2)

In 1976 the Trinity School for Ministry was established to restore a biblical ministry to the Episcopal Church as Archbishop Cranmer had sought to do for the English Church in his day, a ministry whose chief office is “the setting forth of God’s word truly to the people in preaching and instruction, in the administration of the sacraments of the gospel, and in diligent pastoral labor” (Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, Theology of the English Reformers, p. 206). As well as training Episcopal ordinands, Trinity School for Ministry also trains students from East Africa - from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Since the early 1990s the seminary has focused upon training church planters and missionaries not only to serve in the mission field abroad but also in the increasingly secular culture of the United States itself. A growing number of Trinity students have become involved in cross-cultural evangelism.

Trinity is a “faith seminary.” Since its founding it has depended upon God and the generosity of its supporters. The student body of Trinity is growing and with it the need for increased support of the Annual Fund. A record increase (20% or $400,000) in the 2006 Annual Fund is need this year to maintain a balanced operating budget. The Annual Fund goal for this year is $2.4 million. Trinity needs both your prayers and your gifts.

You can save your stamp by giving online. Go to www.tesm.edu/give.

Many of Trinity’s donors take advantage of corporate matching gift programs and secure a matching gift for the seminary, doubling the impact of their gifts. For more information about corporate matching gift programs, you can contact Leslie Deily, Director of Development.

I urge you to support with your prayers and gifts the one seminary in the Episcopal Church that stands firmly with the English Reformers in seeking to restore the true setting forth of God’s Word in his Church.

Buzzing your church

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/mission/missionthinking/buzzing_your_church_andrew_lim/

[sydneyanglicans.net] March 15, 2006--Wouldn't it be great if your church had a buzz?

A full, sufficient sacrifice

http://www.pqbnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=50&cat=46&id=615338&more=

[pqbnews.com] March 24, 2006--Several years ago at a college in Saskatoon where I was preparing for ordained ministry, I read a comment in one of my texts, written by a woman theologian named Sally McFague in a book titled, Models of God. She said, “It’s not what one man did 2,000 years ago upon which our salvation rests, but on what we do today.”

It presented and continues to present two serious problems for me.

Gay clergy issue concerns ministers

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Lifestyle/Religion/lifeREL01032506.htm

[Daytona Beach News-Journal] March 25, 2006--Controversy over gay clergy in the Episcopal Church runs so deep that the Rev. Comforted Keen thinks some kind of schism is inevitable.

Uganda: Church Expels Bishop Ssenyonjo

http://allafrica.com/stories/200603240871.html

[allAfrica.com] March 25, 2006--The Church of Uganda has expelled Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo who supports homosexuals.

Ssenyonjo, the former overseer of West Buganda Diocese, was yesterday excommunicated from the Church of Uganda after he had abandoned his ministry to form his own church called Charismatic Church of Uganda.

Episcopals gather to elect new bishop

http://www.wnyt.com/x7527.xml?ag=x995&sb=x183

[WYNTTV13] March 24, 2006--Delegates are gathering to decide who'll lead the region's 20,000 Episcopal Church members Episcopals.

New Blood Hard To Find In Clergy, Survey Says

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/family/8238190/detail.html

[WBALTV11] March 24, 2006--A survey by Wesley Theological Seminary finds that less than 5 percent of United Methodist clergy are under the age of 35.

Episcopal Church names presiding bishop candidates

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060325/LIFE/603250305/1093

[News-Leader] March 25, 2006--Seven candidates to be the new head of the Episcopal Church spoke Sunday to a closed-door meeting of the House of Bishops, three were late additions to the slate.

Church Society condemns the trial of Afghan Christian

http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=367

[Church Society] March 24, 2006--The council of Church Society, the senior evangelical body in the Church of England, today utterly condemned the trial of Abdul Rahman, an Afghan Christian convert from Islam, who may face the death penalty simply for becoming a Christian.

Standing Committee Passes Last Minute Resolution to Hamstring Bennison

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3795

[VirtueOnline] March 24, 2006--The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania met with Bishop Charles E. Bennison on Thursday night in an 11th hour attempt to force the bishop to resign or retire on the eve of a special diocesan convention.

International Conference of Network Partners Created

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3799

[VirtueOnline] March 24, 2006-- Clergy and lay leaders of 63 American congregations under the Anglican provinces of Uganda, Southern Cone (South America), Kenya and Central Africa gathered at Christ Church, Overland Park, Kansas, from March 22-24, 2006.

'Serious Times' Calls for Understanding of Time, Culture

http://www.christianpost.com/article/ministries/1795/section/serious.times.calls.for.understanding.of.time.culture/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 24, 2006--Glynn Goble with Serious Times said the culture today is without God or Christian influence.

"It's about going out into the world instead of waiting for them to come to us," she commented.

America's Youth Declares 'Battle Cry' Against Secularism

http://www.christianpost.com/article/ministries/1798/section/americas.youth.declares.battle.cry.against.secularism/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 25, 2006--The world’s largest Christian youth organization made its presence known mid-afternoon yesterday at the city hall, despite rain and demonstrators.

Pressure Grows to Free Christian Convert; Afghan Gov't May Rethink Charges

http://www.christianpost.com/article/asia/920/section/pressure.grows.to.free.christian.convert.afghan.govt.may.rethink.charges/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 24, 2006--The chief judge trying an Afghan man who faces a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity defended the court's autonomy Friday amid reports the man could be freed.

“Moderate” Afghan Muslim Clerics call for Mob Execution of Christian Convert

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032406.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 24, 2006--Abdul Rahman, an Afghani former medical aid worker and Christian convert may be “torn to pieces” at the instigation of Muslim clerics whether or not he is legally acquitted of the capital crime of converting away from Islam. Rahman was denounced to authorities for his conversion by his family during a custody dispute.

4-Year-Old Killed for Refusing to Call Mom's Lesbian Lover "Daddy"

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032407.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 24, 2006--Writing in the South African paper, The Star, journalist Baldwin Ndaba reports on the outcome of a court case concerning the death of four year old Jandre Botha, a young boy who according to evidence given in court was beaten to death after refusing to call his mother's lesbian love "Daddy".

This incident, from my own experience in the field of Child Protection, is not an isolated one.

Nothing to Apologize for on Dutch/Nazi Euthanasia Comments says Italian Minister

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032404.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 24, 2006--Italy’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs was excoriated by Dutch officials for comparing Dutch legalization of euthanasia, including for ‘defective’ infants, to the Nazi eugenics programme that preceded the Holocaust. But Giovanardi says he has nothing to apologise for.

School Diversity Day Cancelled after being Legally Required to Present Ex-Gay Viewpoints

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032408.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 24, 2006--Intolerance of Christian views blatant as other faiths allowed and encouraged to give views.

Californians Do Not Support Gay “Marriage,” Says Poll

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032409.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 24, 2006--A majority of California residents have said they do not approve of “marriage” between homosexual couples, despite the state’s reputation for being the most liberal in the Union.

V for Vendatta Agenda – Christians, Conservatives evil; Liberal ‘freedom fighters’ good

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032410.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 24, 2006--“Artists use lies to tell the truth, politicians use lies to cover it up,” claims V, the heroic V for Vendetta movie's anti-hero with that soft, yet masculine voice that assures the audience of his great wisdom. This first half of this statement is a barely veiled self-congratulation on the part of V’s producers for their remarkable daring in using art to tell the truth. By the film’s end, however, I could not agree that politicians have a monopoly on covering up the truth; artists too can be quite adept at it.

A Mother's Example: Strive for Godliness, Not Perfection

http://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/1385109.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 25, 2006--Don’t you ever do that again!” Janelle scolded Patty-Lynn in the severest tone her sweet, little voice could muster. Patty-Lynn (or Lynn-Patty as she was also known) was her Cabbage Patch doll. I listened from around the corner as the reprimand continued in an angry voice: “How many times do I have to tell you that it is not acceptable to disobey Mommy? I am very, very upset with you. That was your last warning, and now you will have to be punished. Do you hear me?”

Classics like Narnia Offer Lenten Lessons for Kids

http://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/1384811.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 25, 2006--As Christians, we grew up learning of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We rejoiced that we have been saved. We wear crucifixes and crosses as a constant reminder of God’s love for us. But many felt the magnitude of this sacrifice on deeper levels when they saw Mel Gibson’s version of The Passion on the big screen. What our minds tended to censor, the movie forced us to visualize -- the magnitude of Christ’s death and pain. Many viewers wept uncontrollably as they finally grasped what Jesus endured for each of us to be forgiven and saved.

Video Games: An Ethical Training Ground?

http://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/1384255.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 25, 2006--If you forbid gaming completely, or rely only on the ESRB ratings of "E" (Everybody), "T" (Teen), "M" (Mature), or "A" (Adult), you're missing out. Games are a great venue to establish and reinforce a code of honorable masculinity. Our boys know that a game has a better chance of passing through the parental censors if....

House sponsor hopeful about bill that would bar ACLU’s rewards in religion lawsuits

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22902

[Baptist Press] March 24, 2006--Indiana’s John Hostettler is trying for the fifth consecutive Congress to prevent the American Civil Liberties Union from receiving government funds when it succeeds at legal challenges to public expressions of religion.

Fla. court clears way for marriage amendment in '08; N.H. House votes down amendment

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22908

[Baptist Press] March 24, 2006--Giving a big boost to pro-family groups, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled March 23 that a proposed constitutional marriage amendment can appear on the statewide ballot in 2008 if enough signatures are gathered.

The Kingdom-focused church

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22911

[Baptist Press]arch 24, 2006--Some of our most profound events are the least expected. During the early days of my first full-time pastorate, I was standing outside the doors of the church under the drive-through portico. I had stationed myself there to open the car doors and welcome our people to church. My attention was soon drawn to a car a few cars back in the queue. It contained a young man about twelve years old and his dad.

Study on teens, media & sex confirms obvious

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22912

[Baptist Press] March 24, 2006--Teenagers are influenced by the immoral and irresponsible sex that saturates the media. Who could have known?

Duh!

Friday, March 24, 2006

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) Archbishop of Canterbury

http://www.churchsociety.org/issues/history/CranmerIntroduction.htm

[Church Society] March 24, 2006--"And as for the Pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and antichrist, with all his false doctrine."

Consoling the Cartoon Mob

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21780

[FrontPagemagazine] March 24, 2006--As angry Muslim rioters sent Christians to a martyr's death during last month's riots over cartoons depicting Muhammad, leftist-led Christian groups in the West chose to console the murderers.

Anglican Church donates to Fevers Unit

http://www.newsinghana.com/general.php?story=1587

[News in Ghana] March 24, 2006--The Fevers Unit at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital last Thursday received medical equipment and provisions worth more than ¢20 million from the Anglican Diocese of Accra.

Rwanda: Gahini Church Wages War On Ignorance

http://allafrica.com/stories/200603240159.html

[allAfrica.com] March 23, 2006--ICT is no longer a reserve for urban communities. It has permeated to the villages and been embraced by all. Computer knowledge is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. Even deep in the villages people are yearning for computer knowledge which can be used in almost any type of development activity. In this regard therefore, many individuals, churches and other organizations have picked interest in the field of computer training.

Key parish denies leaving Anglican Church

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/na.cgi?nationalupdates/060323anglican

[CanadianChristianity.com] March 24, 2006--ST. JOHN'S Shaughnessy -- the largest Anglican parish in Canada -- is denying a seemingly persistent rumour that it has left the Anglican Church of Canada.

A call to national mourning by Archbishop Peter Akinola

http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/a_call_to_national_mourning_by_archbishop_peter_akinola/

[Global South Anglican] March 24, 2006--We have watched with sadness and utter dismay the recent crises in some States in Northern part of this country where many Christians were ruthlessly killed, and Churches and other property wantonly destroyed by some criminals – murderers and arsonists hiding under the guise of religion.

The martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, March 21 1556

http://www.e-n.org.uk/2006-03/3349-The-martyrdom-of-Archbishop-Thomas-Cranmer-March-21-1556.htm

[evangelicals now] March 21, 2006--The light of truth and freedom had been kindled into a new and brighter flame all through England by the moral shock and indignation which the burning of the martyrs evoked.

Archbishop William's sermon on the Martyrdom of Thomas Cranmer

http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/archbishop_williams_sermon_on_the_martyrdom_of_thomas_cranmer/

[Global South Anglican] March 24, 2006--From today’s epistle: ‘The word of God is not bound’.

When it was fashionable to decry Cranmer’s liturgical rhetoric as overblown and repetitive, people often held up as typical the echoing sequences of which he and his colleagues were so fond. ‘A full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction; ‘Have mercy upon us, miserable offenders; Spare thou them which confess their faults; Restore thou them that are penitent’; ‘succour, help and comfort all that are in danger, necessity and tribulation’; direct, sanctify and govern’; and of course, ‘earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust’. The liturgical puritan may well ask why it is not possible to say something once and for all, instead of circling back over what has been said, re-treading the ground. And in the same vein, many will remember the arguments of those who complained of the Communion Order in the Book of Common Prayer that it never allowed you to move forward from penitence to confidence and thanksgiving: you were constantly being recalled to your sinful state, even after you had been repeatedly assured of God’s abundant mercies.

Bishop of Exeter Represents Canterbury at House of Bishops Retreat

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1901

[The Living Church] March 23, 2006--The Rt. Rev. Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter, was invited to observe the spring retreat of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops and to speak as a representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Bishop Langrish offered an analysis of how the Episcopal Church is viewed in the wider Anglican Communion and urged the U.S. bishops to embrace the recommendations of the Windsor Report.

Roll over, Beethoven

http://www.tesm.edu/deans-corner/dcchurch/beethoven

[Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry] March 6, 2006--Camille Paglia says it well in this week's New York Times (6 March 2006). She says that faculties like Harvard's want diversity in all things except diversity of thought. She could have been speaking of the Episcopal Church.

The "black" sins of Bishop Charles E. Bennison

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3793

[VirtueOnline] March 24, 2006--A black woman priest in the Diocese of Pennsylvania threw Charles E. Bennison out of her husband's hospital ward telling the visiting bishop that "the last thing he needs to hear is your voice and you are the reason he is here."

Anglican Communion Network Announces Church Planting Initiative

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3792

[VirtueOnline] March 23, 2006--Fifty-four Anglican church planting enthusiasts attended a two-day Visioning Seminar in Southern California March 10-11 led by the Rev. Tom Herrick, National Director for Church Planting for the Anglican Communion Network (ACN). Church planting teams came from Arizona, Oregon, and California to experience a hands-on "boot camp" designed to move each team, no matter where they are in their development, closer to their dream of becoming a new congregation.

'Rediscovery' of Anglican identity found in new forms of church

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060323freshexpressions.shtml

[ekklesia] March 23, 2006--Theology is alive and well in new forms of church, with Christians rediscovering what it means to be Anglican in the Twenty First Century, a new report suggests.

'Rediscovering' Anglican identity or redefining Anglican identity?

Top Afghan Clerics Demand for Execution of Christian Convert

http://www.christianpost.com/article/asia/919/section/top.afghan.clerics.demand.for.execution.of.christian.convert/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 24, 2006--Senior Muslim clerics are demanding that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity be executed, warning that if the government caves in to Western pressure and frees him, they will incite people to "pull him into pieces."

Gay Adoption Debate Heats Up; Top Institute Speaks Out

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/2348/section/gay.adoption.debate.heats.up.top.institute.speaks.out/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 24, 2006--As debate over the issue flares in several states, a major adoption institute says in a new report that it strongly supports the rights of gays and lesbians to adopt, and urges that remaining obstacles be removed.

Faith Leaders Confront Inter-Religious Challen

http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/2347/section/faith.leaders.confront.inter-religious.challenges/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 23, 2006--The number of Americans who view Evangelical Christians favorably “closely rivals” the number expressing favorable attitudes toward Muslims, a new analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life revealed.

You Should Always Preach For Commitment

http://www.christianpost.com/article/ministries/1794/section/you.should.always.preach.for.commitment/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 24, 2006--I believe we should always offer unbelievers an opportunity to respond to Christ in a seeker-service. They may choose to not respond, and you must respect that without pressuring them, but I feel the opportunity must always be offered. Too many pastors go fishing without ever reeling in the line or drawing in the net.

Getting it Right from the Beginning

http://www.christianpost.com/article/editorial/722/section/getting.it.right.from.the.beginning/1.htm

[The Christian Post] March 24, 2006--"In the beginning," Scripture says, "God created the heavens and the earth." That first biblical affirmation points to the priority of the doctrine of creation within the system of Christian doctrine. Nevertheless, even the doctrine of creation presupposes a biblical notion of God and the authority of his revelation in Scripture. The Christian believer does not acknowledge the creation and then infer a Creator. Indeed, it is not God who must be explained by the creation, but creation which must be explained by the Creator. Thus, the very first verse of the Bible affirms the cosmos as the free creation of the sovereign God of Scripture--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Role of the Pastor in Evangelism

http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/areas/missions/articles/031306.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 24, 2006--Personal and corporate involvement in evangelism.

Pentecostals: The Sequel

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/004/7.30.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 24, 2006--What will it take for this world phenomenon to stay vibrant for another 100 years?

Pentecostal Connections

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/004/8.10.html

[ChristianityToday.com] March 24, 2006--Full Gospel's forbidden fruit.

Dr Williams defends Akinola on anti-Muslim riots

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/80256FA1003E05C1/httpPublicPages/A3978FA00393EFA08025713A004F1364?opendocument

[Church Times] March 24, 2006--The Archbishop of Canterbury has attempted to explain a speech made by the Primate of Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter Akinola, about Muslim violence against Christians, which was followed by attacks in which 80 people died.

Position Yourself to Help Others

http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/1385442.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 24, 2006--One of the marks of a Christian is the desire to help others.

Backsliding: Watch That First Step

http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/ministry_articles/1380385.html

[Crosswalk.com] March 24, 2006--If you wanted a study of character, nobility, wisdom, courage, and devotion; you could not find a better man than David. The Bible calls him, “…a man after God's own heart” (Acts 13:22).

Bush expresses concern over Afghan Christian; report says others arrested

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22895

[Baptist Press] March 23, 2006--On the day President Bush expressed concern that the arrest of an Afghan Christian convert reveals a disturbing lack of religious freedom, a Christian news service reported the arrest of at least two other Afghan Christians elsewhere in the country.

Related articles:
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2006/03/23/1143083906469.html
Pressure on Afghanistan over jailed Christian - Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18580936^7583,00.html Michelle Malkin: No faith in Karzai's new democracy - The Australian
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/80256FA1003E05C1/httpPublicPages/A55AEB493835BAC68025713A0051E2D6?opendocument
Afghan faces death for converting to Christianity - Church Times

Don't forget what it’s like to be lost

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22900

[Baptist Press] March 23, 2006--Do you remember what it’s like to walk in darkness without Christ?

Deaths now Automatically Reported to Organ Donation Program

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032303.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 23, 2006--Ethicists concerned over informed consent.

Spanish Magistrate Refuses to Perform Another Gay Marriage

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032302.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 23, 2006--The Spanish judge who refused to “marry” a homosexual couple this past summer has turned away another gay partnership.

TV Promotes Promiscuity in Children

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032304.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 23, 2006-- Movies, television, music and magazines are fuelling promiscuity in children aged 12-15 according to a new study recently released.

Slim Majority of Canadians Approve of Homosexuality

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032306.html

[LifeSiteNews.com] March 23, 2006--Just over half of Canadians surveyed in an online poll said they agreed with the statement, “To me, homosexuality is morally acceptable.”

A new campaign about Wichita

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/local/14140858.htm

[The Wichita Eagle] March 20, 2006--"Wichita: Abortion Capital of the World."

That's the message on two billboards south of Oklahoma City on I-35.

Expert warns of new strategy to promote abortion in Latin America

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=6316

[Catholic News Agency] March 23, 2006--The recent case of Paulina Ramirez, a rape victim who was used by the US-based “Center for Reproductive Rights (CFR)” and its partners to force the Mexican state of Baja California to approve abortion in cases of rape, is part of a new strategy to force Latin America to accept abortion, according to Carlos Polo, director for Latin America of the Population Research Institute.

Court lets Vista doctors use religious beliefs as defense

http://www.californian.com/articles/2006/03/16/news/top_stories/21_30_273_15_06.txt

[North Country Times] March 24, 2006--Two Vista doctors can argue to a jury that they did not violate an Oceanside lesbian's civil rights when they refused to artificially inseminate her, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.