Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Massachusetts Congregation Joins AMiA

http://www.theamia.org/index.cfm?id=EBBCF4DA-2255-47AA-9FAE10A93B4A8859

[Anglican Mission in America] 21 Nov 2006--On Sunday October 29th, All Saints Anglican of Attleboro was received into the Anglican Mission in America under the episcopal oversight of the Rt. Rev. Thaddeus Barnum. The Anglican Mission in America is a missionary outreach of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, begun with a desire to plant churches and reach out to the un-churched in North America. The Sunday service of reception followed a Saturday meeting of Common Cause partners in the North East.

Related article:
http://www.anglicanmissioninamerica.org/index.cfm?id=78D11E4B-E7B6-4921-8FF99C22223EB8A2
The Episcopal Church of Rwanda - Anglican Mission in America

New Michigan Churches

http://www.theamia.org/index.cfm?id=3EF322CE-9C71-4542-B5E9E55C4C8E636D

[Anglican Mission in America] 21 Nov 2006--Michiganders often will point out their relative location by using a hand--a proximation of the shape of their home state. Now two new congregations are raising hands in celebration over their mission journey, and their new home with the Anglican Mission in America and its Heart of America Network.

FORT WORTH: Diocese withdraws from Province VII, adopts procedure for parishes to leave Anglican Communion Network

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_79856_ENG_HTM.htm

[Episcopal News Service] 21 Nov 2006--The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, meeting in its 24th annual convention on November 17 and 18, adopted four resolutions, including one that withdraws the diocese's consent to membership in Province VII of the Episcopal Church, and another that provides a mechanism for parishes to remove themselves from membership in the conservative Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, also known as the Anglican Communion Network (ACN).

Episcopal split reaches Mass. diocese

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/19/episcopal_split_reaches_mass_diocese/

[The Boston Globe] 21 Nov 2006--The wave of defections that has rocked the Episcopal Church since the ordination of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop in 2003 has reached the liberal Diocese of Massachusetts, where one congregation has severed its ties to the national church. Nearly two dozen others across New England have disassociated themselves from the church's teachings on gay clergy, homosexuality, and salvation.

Hallelujah, they're standing up for Jesus

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3561-2460047,00.html

[Times Online] 21 Nov 2006--The example of Islam in this country, for better and for worse, has powerfully concentrated Christian minds. Confronted with Muslim convictions, Christians — and particularly Anglicans — find themselves and their own faith renewed. There is nothing like a strong consciousness of a different identity for clarifying one’s own. Years of milksop tolerance and ecumenical dither have given way, here and there, to a new conviction. The church strikes back!

New Anglican Parish Birthed Outside of ECUSA

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061120/23584.htm

[The Christian Post] 21 Nov 2006--An interdenominational church in Richmond, Va. started a new Anglican congregation under the oversight of an offshore bishop. The church plant is one of a number of new congregations that was never a part of the Episcopal Church.

Bishop Sauls: Not All APO Requests Violate Canons

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2770

[The Living Church] 21 Nov 2006--The members of the House of Bishops’ Task Force on Property Disputes have come to no conclusions as to impermissible dissent from General Convention by diocesan leadership, but the acting chair said the six official and four informal members have been asking that question.

Pursuing the desired outcome of the 'Windsor process' - a GSSC report

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

[Global South Anglican] 21 Nov 2006--The Global South Steering Committee, at the request of the Global South Primates, recently met with bishops and representatives of eight Anglican Communion Network Dioceses who have appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Global South Primates for various forms of Alternative Primatial Oversight. Representatives of other Windsor-compliant Dioceses and the more than one hundred congregations that are now separated from the Episcopal Church also joined us.

Schori writes +Schofield: "Seek a home elsewhere"

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1495/

[Stand Firm] 21 Nov 2006--I certainly understand that you personally disagree with decisions by General Conventions over the past 30 and more years. You have, however, taken vows three times over that period to uphold the "doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church." If you now feel that you can no longer do so, the more honorable course would be to renounce your orders in this Church and seek a home elsewhere. Your public assertion that your duty is to violate those vows puts many, many people at hazard of profound spiritual violence. I urge you, as a pastor, to consider that hazard with the utmost gravity.

For more articles from Stand Firm, go to http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/index.

Related article:
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2772
Presiding Bishop Urges San Joaquin Bishop to Reverse Course - The Living Church

Burned by Branding

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2006/11/burned_by_brand.html

[Out of Ur] 21 Nov 2006--What churches can learn from the anti-Starbucks movement.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Bishops' Task Force Identifies 'Problem' Dioceses

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2762

[The Living Church] 17 Nov 2006--The House of Bishops’ Task Force on Property Disputes has identified eight “problem dioceses” and will maintain contact persons within those dioceses who wish to “remain loyal to The Episcopal Church,” according to a report presented to The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council. The Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls, Bishop of Lexington, presented the written report to the council on Nov. 15.

Archbishop Williams: ‘Full Support’ for Women’s Ordination

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2765

[The Living Church] 17 Nov 2006--Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has denounced British press reports that he was rethinking the Church of England’s decision to ordain women to the priesthood.

Related article:
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/archbishop.of.canterbury.reopens.debate.on.women.priests/8350.htm
Archbishop of Canterbury Reopens Debate on Women Priests - Christianity Today UK
http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=546
Williams admits doubts over ordination of women - EV News

Truro and The Falls Church Vestries recommend severing ties with The Episcopal Church

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

[Global South Anglican] 17 Nov 2006---The following is the official press release that the Global South Anglican website received by e-mail from the vestries of Truro and The Falls Church. The text is also available online at BabyBlue’s blog. An earlier entry about Falls Church is also posted on the Global South Anglican website.

Related article:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20061116-120201-8497r.htm
Episcopal leaders vote to leave - The Washington Times
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1475/
Falls Church and Truro: Protocol Does Exist; We are Following It - Stand Firm

Churches Saving the Wrong 'Lost,' Says Youth Leader

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061112/22831.htm

[The Christian Post] 17 Nov 2006--More youth leaders are preaching the alarming exit of college students from the church yet churches don't seem to be grasping the significance of the loss of even one youth.

Bible-Based Youth Ministry Bumps Out Pop Culture

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061116/23499.htm

[The Christian Post] 17 Nov 2006--Sugarcoated, MTV-style youth ministry is over, Time magazine reported. The current trend that is packing teens in pews: Bible-based worship.

Opening the Bible for Seekers

http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/areas/biblestudies/articles/061115.html

[ChristianBibleStudies.com] 17 Nov 2006--Discussion Bible studies are powerful agents of change.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Kendall Harmon Interviewed on the Albert Mohler Radio Show

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1440/

[Stand Firm] 11 Nov 2006--Stand Firm provides a link to this interview at its web site.

Chancellor Sees Hopeful Outlook For TEC On Church Property Issues

http://www.challengeonline.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=137

[The Christian Challenge] 11 Nov 2006--Though some have cultivated the opposite impression, there is no "epidemic" of church property lawsuits in the U.S.-based Episcopal Church (TEC), and TEC has won or is winning most of the property disputes of recent years.

"Episcopal Majority" Mobilizes To Defend TEC

http://www.challengeonline.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=136

[The Christian Challenge] 11 Nov 2006--A November 3 gathering of moderate and progressive Episcopalians in Washington is evidence, it seems, of a perhaps-surprising phenomenon: Though last June's Episcopal General Convention was widely seen as failing to change the liberal course of the U.S. Episcopal Church (TEC), some who have supported that course still think their church may be "overtaken" by reforming forces.

Indeed, they are concerned enough - despite having another co-religionist as presiding bishop - to conclude that a nationwide effort is needed to "defend" TEC and "combat" the Anglican Communion's 2004 Windsor Report, in the words of the Rev. William Coats, a retired Diocese of Newark priest.

Friday, November 10, 2006

IRD: New Episcopal Bishop Fails to Bridge Gap Within Splintering Church

http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/735411471.html

[ChristianNewsWire] 10 Nov 2006--"Sadly, Bishop Jefferts Schori's investiture may exacerbate tensions already existing in the Anglican Communion, which is still deeply wounded as a result of TEC's actions in consecrating an openly gay bishop and approving same-sex blessings as a local option subject to the approval of the diocesan bishop...."

'Separated' Anglicans may get alternative bishop

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/na.cgi?nationalupdates/061109bishop

[canadianchristianity.com] 10 Nov 2006--ARCHBISHOP Terry Buckle has offered to appoint an alternative bishop for B.C. Anglican parishes which still refuse to accept Bishop Michael Ingham's approval of the blessing of same-sex unions.

Battersea vicar causes stir by remarks about Global South

http://www3.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=28820

[Church Times] 10 Nov 2006--A vicar of a south-London parish where one of the Church of England’s most senior officials is a Reader explained this week why he asked for the tape-recording system to be turned off at the end of a Sunday service so that he could talk about supporting the Global South.

Episcopal congregations seeking spiritual shelter in Africa

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/15972312.htm

[The Mercury News] 10 Nov 2006--Angry over their U.S. church's position on homosexuality, a growing number of Episcopal congregations are seeking spiritual shelter thousands of miles away, in the Anglican churches of Africa.

Legal Setback for San Diego Diocese

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2741

[The Living Church] 10 Nov 2006--Last summer, the rector of St. John’s, Fallbrook, and the bulk of the congregation voted to disassociate from the diocese and The Episcopal Church. Now, a California court has handed a legal setback to the Diocese of San Diego in its attempts to regain possession of the property.

Related article:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/10/news/inland/21_20_8211_9_06.txt
Judge tentatively rules against diocese in Fallbrook church dispute - North County Times

Diocese of Virginia, All Saints’ Church Agree on Disposition of Property

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1437/

[Stand Firm] 10 Nov 2006--The Diocese will lease the property to the congregation for five years at $1 rent per year while All Saints’ proceeds with a building program on other property. The congregation will bear responsibility for all costs associated with use of the Saratoga Lane property, including utilities, insurance, routine maintenance and capital repair.

Jim Naughton on TEC's Membership Problem

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1435/

[Stand Firm] 10 Nov 2006--Jim Naughton questions 815's handling of TEC's recent grim membership statistics....

Outside the Bounds of Christian Orthodoxy: Many Mediators or One Mediator of the Divine?

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1433/

[Stand Firm] 10 Nov 2006--I was and remain surprised that neither Fr. Jake nor Mr. Naughton seem to have actually read the criticism in full or grasped its content. Nor do they seem to understand the nature of the wider debate within Christendom.

Survey: How Americans View Christian Groups, Muslims

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061109/25903.htm

[The Christian Post] 10 Nov 2006--Americans generally have a positive outlook on some Christian groups, a new survey revealed, while their view on Mormons and Muslims are less favorable.

5 Moral Fences

http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/1999/summer/9l3045.html

[ChristianityTodayLibrary.com] 10 Nov 2006--Fact: Some kids like to play "near the edge," and some kids don't. I always did! Whether the "edge" was rock jumping into a cool mountain lake or "bumper jumping" moving cars to slide along an icy winter street, the potential of peril invigorated me.

But "when I became a man, I put away childish things" (1 Cor. 13:11). I was a pastor and in seminary when the moral failures of the late '80's hit the news. In addition to the big names, I heard a shocking number of similar tragedies from my own circle of pastor/friends.

5 Keys to Explosive Growth

http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach/articles/5keystoexplosivegrowth.html

[ChristianityToday.com] 10 Nov 2006--Doubling the size of your church may sound fantastic, but feel impossible. Bil Cornelius, senior pastor of Bay Area Fellowship in Corpus Christi, Texas, and church growth consultant Bill Easum, share the multiplication secrets they've learned along the way.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Mere Comments: What Katharine Jefferts Schori Does Not Say

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1429/

[Stand Firm] 8 Nov 2006--David Gustafson on omission....

More articles from Stand Firm can be found at http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/index.

Chancellor: Episcopal Church Will Prevail in Communion and Courts

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2735

[The Living Church] 8 Nov 2006--Although The Episcopal Church currently finds itself in uncharted territory both legally over ownership of diocesan property and with respect to its standing within the Anglican Communion, the Presiding Bishop’s chancellor, David Booth Beers, does not anticipate that the Archbishop of Canterbury will make any formal change in the church’s membership status in the Communion nor does he expect any dioceses affiliated with the Anglican Communion Network to attempt to leave.

"...a badly behaved and vocal minority has left some Episcopalians with the mistaken idea that their church is under siege"?! Denial?!

Research Director Calls Membership Loss ‘Precipitous’

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2733

[The Living Church] 8 Nov 2006--C. Kirk Hadaway, the director of research for The Episcopal Church, told the magazine that “we were actually doing better than most other mainline denominations in the 1990s through 2002, with a few years of growth. So it is a precipitous drop in losing 36,000 in both 2003 and 2004, and now 42,000 in 2005.” The losses bring the church’s reported active membership to just over 2.2 million.

A Statement by the Global South Steering Committee on Consultations with bishops requesting APO

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

[Gobal South Anglican] 8 Nov 2006--As indicated in the Kigali Communiqué (September 2006), we will be holding a consultation with the leadership of Episcopal dioceses requesting Alternative Primatial Oversight (APO). Our aim is to investigate their appeal in greater detail and identify possible responses.

Episcopal Forum calls for caution in consent process

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_79434_ENG_HTM.htm

[Episcopal News Service] 8 Nov 2006--A second group of Episcopalians has called on bishops and standing committees to consider seriously South Carolina Bishop-elect Mark Lawrence's stance toward the diocese's continued affiliation with the Episcopal Church, as they decide whether or not to consent to his ordination.

Anglican Church split on gay marriage

http://iafrica.com/news/sa/390500.htm

[iafrica.com] 8 Nov 2006--Cracks persist within the leadership of the Anglican Church over the same-sex marriage bill that is to be signed into law next month, Dispatch Online reported on Tuesday.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

New era in Episcopal Church

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611040223nov04,1,5066924.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

[Chicago Tribune] 4 Nov 2006--When Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori takes hold of the staff that symbolizes her rise in rank on Saturday, she will turn the tables on five centuries of Anglican history and quite possibly alter its course.

"a new Pentecost"?!

Related article:
http://newsbyus.com/more.php?id=6000_0_1_0_M
Satanic Female Eipscopal Bishop Installed - News By Us Or "a new phenomena in the world where there are Christian leaders who no longer believe the Christian faith, and yet stay on as leaders"?

New Anglican Head Beyond Heresy

http://cripescorner.blogspot.com/2006/11/new-anglican-head-beyond-heresy.html

[Cripe's Corner] 4 Nov 2006--When Schori was elected on the fifth ballot, I predicted her appointment pretty much as a guarantee of future schism within the disunified denomination. Last week, I believe she sealed that eventuality by stating that Jesus Christ is not the only way to heaven.

Related article:
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1400/
Schori: Homosexuality Not a Choice, Jesus Not the Only Way - Stand Firm
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1401/
Bending the Map: Schori is Betraying Gays and Lesbians - Stand Firm

Resolution I Passes

http://www.pgh.anglican.org/news/local/resone110306

[The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh] 4 Nov 2006--Diocese of Pittsburgh overwhelmingly passes APO resolution.

Related article:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061104/25781.htm
Pittsburgh Episcopalians Vote to Withdraw from National Church - The Christian Post

Follow-up letter from Bishop Donald Harvey

http://www.anglicannetwork.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=45

[Anglican Essentials Network] 4 Nov 2006--On the surface the Report seems eminently reasonable. But dig a little deeper and you’ll quickly find serious problems. At the core, the Panel failed to deal with the fundamental problem and, in doing so, failed to fulfill the mandate given them by the Primates and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Related article:
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/New%20Direction%20-%20November.pdf
Sticking Plaster - Anglican Mainstream

Archbishop to meet leaders seeking split from liberal Church

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/02/nchurch02.xml

[Telegraph] 4 Nov 2006--Conservative Anglican leaders are to flesh out plans for a formal split in the worldwide Church at a confidential meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, later this month.

Presiding Bishop invites fellow Primates into dialogue

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_79163_ENG_HTM.htm

[Episcopal News Service] 4 Nov 2006--A remarkable public invitation has been issued by Katharine Jefferts Schori on the eve of her installation.

Dialogue?!

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2583
Presiding Bishop Offers to Meet Global South Visitors - The Living Church

Anglican Church in New Zealand could split if 'practicing homosexual' is ordained

http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=538

[EV News] 4 Nov 2006--The Latimer Fellowship (New Zealand) report that the ordination of a ‘practising homosexual’ in Dunedin this Saturday could split the Church in New Zealand.

Related article:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20693149-1702,00.html
Gay ordination threatens to split church - The Australian
http://www.anglican-mainstream.org.nz/amnz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2036
Protest at Dunedin Ordination - Anglican Mainstream NZ
http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=539
Latimer Fellowship press release on Dunedin - EV News
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/new_zealand_anglicans_divide_over_gay_ordination/
New Zealand Anglicans Divide over Gay Ordination - Global South Anglican
http://www.latimer.org.nz/media.htm
Constitutional Basis for objecting to the Ordination of Persons in same-sex relationships - Latimer Fellowship

Cathedral bans Carey as a 'divisive force'

http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=537

[EV News] 4 Nov 2006--The Times reports today that the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey has been banned from speaking at Bangor Cathedral in North Wales in February.

Related article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/columnists/columnists.html?in_article_id=414249&in_page_id=1772&in_author_id=230
Canterbury banned, but an imam's OK - Daily Mail (You will need to scroll down to this article)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Are we ready for Sydney's future?

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/senior_clergy/archbishop_jensen/are_we_ready_for_sydneys_future_peter_jensen/

[sydneyanglicans.net] 1 Nov 2006--Twenty-first century peopple have lived through a tumult.

No other generations has experienced such ever-hastening transformation as we have.

Latest News from the Anglican Mission in America

http://www.theamia.org/index.cfm?id=F3BB9E5F-B40F-4DE7-B90A065719B60470

[Anglican Mission in America] 1 Nov 2006--The latest news posted on the Anglican Mission in America website.

Episcopal Church 'Regarded, Currently' as U.S. Anglican Province

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/1383/

[Stand Firm] 1 Nov 2006--UPI uses an interesting choice of words to describe the Episcopal Church....

More articles from Stand Firm can be found at http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/index.

Dioceses' Appeal for APO Modified

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2573

[The Living Church] 1 Nov 2006--The dioceses which appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury for alternate primatial oversight (APO) last summer have modified their demands and no longer seek an “alternative primate” to exercise metropolitan oversight. Instead they have asked Archbishop Rowan Williams for a “commissary” from Canterbury. The Living Church has learned that Archbishop Williams recently informed the petitioning bishops the issue will be discussed during the meeting of Anglican primates Feb. 14-19 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Williams has no answer to questions of life

http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=534

[EV News] 1 Nov 2006--In an interview on Radio 4 this morning, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury engaged in discussion with John Humphreys.

Humphreys invited Rowan Williams to try and persuade him that God exists. Humphreys said that he used to believe in God but he has seen too much suffering in the world to believe in God now. He set about asking Williams a number of questions about suffering, God's existence, why he can't believe, life after death etc. To all these questions Williams was completely incapable of delivering a straight forward biblical answer, but instead gave very vague philosophical answers.

20 Questions to Help You Share Your Faith

http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/areas/biblestudies/articles/051012.html

[ChristianityToday.com] 1 Nov 2006--Transitions you can use to turn a conversation to spiritual things.