http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/5041/
[Stand Firm] 14 Aug 2007--Step right up...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
PCUSA Moderator Goes Awry in Her Claims of a "Deeply Pernicious Heresy"
http://robgagnon.net/JoanGrayResponse.htm
[Robert Gagnon] 14 Aug 2007--When Rev. Joan Gray was elected Moderator of the PCUSA at the last General Assembly I, as a voting delegate, felt that, though we could done better (had one of the other candidates been elected), we also could have done far worse (had either of two other "Covenant Network" candidates been chosen). She is certainly a much better moderator than a couple of recent ones. However, recent remarks by Joan Gray should be filed under the "we could have done better" category—unless, of course, she has the courage and humility to acknowledge publicly her error.
[Robert Gagnon] 14 Aug 2007--When Rev. Joan Gray was elected Moderator of the PCUSA at the last General Assembly I, as a voting delegate, felt that, though we could done better (had one of the other candidates been elected), we also could have done far worse (had either of two other "Covenant Network" candidates been chosen). She is certainly a much better moderator than a couple of recent ones. However, recent remarks by Joan Gray should be filed under the "we could have done better" category—unless, of course, she has the courage and humility to acknowledge publicly her error.
Sydney Archbishop Jensen bans John Shelby Spong
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22239593-421,00.html
[news.com.au] 14 Aug 2007--A row has erupted within the Anglican Church over a visit to Australia by an American cleric who has being accused of modernising Christ to the point of stripping him of all divinity.
[news.com.au] 14 Aug 2007--A row has erupted within the Anglican Church over a visit to Australia by an American cleric who has being accused of modernising Christ to the point of stripping him of all divinity.
Nzimbi to consecrate two American priests
http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143972846
[The Standard] 14 Aug 2007--Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi will consecrate two American priests fleeing the liberal US church over a gay clergy crisis.
[The Standard] 14 Aug 2007--Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi will consecrate two American priests fleeing the liberal US church over a gay clergy crisis.
Full Emerge-ion
http://amywelborn.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/full-emerge-ion/
[Amy Welborn] 14 Aug 2007--I was actually going to save this for a couple of months, and will, indeed, probably return to the subject when October rolls around, but since the topic of Emergent Christianity has popped up on a couple of Catholic blogs over the past week, as well as reaching a sort of energize peak on other Christian blogs, mostly because of these sarcastic posters created by some vigorous anti-Emergents. I thought I might as well take a crack at it now.
[Amy Welborn] 14 Aug 2007--I was actually going to save this for a couple of months, and will, indeed, probably return to the subject when October rolls around, but since the topic of Emergent Christianity has popped up on a couple of Catholic blogs over the past week, as well as reaching a sort of energize peak on other Christian blogs, mostly because of these sarcastic posters created by some vigorous anti-Emergents. I thought I might as well take a crack at it now.
Episcopal bishop hopes for healing
http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2007/08/14/news/top_story/6aaa01_jeffertsschori.txt
[Corvallis Gazette-Times] 14 Aug 2007--A year after her controversial election as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Katharine Jefferts Schori is still hopeful tensions within the denomination and the worldwide Anglican Communion can be resolved.
"...refocus on the mission of the church." Katie Jefferts Schori reminds me of one of those wind-up toy monkeys beating a drum. She is always playing the same tune.
[Corvallis Gazette-Times] 14 Aug 2007--A year after her controversial election as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Katharine Jefferts Schori is still hopeful tensions within the denomination and the worldwide Anglican Communion can be resolved.
"...refocus on the mission of the church." Katie Jefferts Schori reminds me of one of those wind-up toy monkeys beating a drum. She is always playing the same tune.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Coming Home
http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach/articles/cominghome.html
[Christianity Today] 13 Aug 2007--Do your neighbors go to church? If not, do you know why? Their reasons are probably not the ones you'd expect. New research reveals why people leave churches and what you and your church can do to bring them back.
[Christianity Today] 13 Aug 2007--Do your neighbors go to church? If not, do you know why? Their reasons are probably not the ones you'd expect. New research reveals why people leave churches and what you and your church can do to bring them back.
Simple Church
A book review by Robin G. Jordan
I just finished reading Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger (Nashville: H & B Publishing Group, 2006). This book is a must read for clergy and lay leaders planning to plant a new Anglican church from scratch or to lead an existing congregation out of The Episcopal Church and to reorganize the congregation as a new Anglican church under the jurisdiction of another province.
Rainer and Geiger’s research points to the need for a simple process of discipleship in 21st century American churches and the great difference that a simple discipleship process can make in the ministry of churches that adopt this approach. Rainer and Geiger found a definite relationship between a simple church design and the vitality of a local church. Among their findings was that a simple church is much better suited to the growing complexity of life in the 21st century.
Many American churches have become too complicated, adding more and more programs out of the mistaken notion that more is better. Yet they are having no appreciable impact upon the lives of their church members or the communities in which they are located. The more vibrant churches, the churches that are making a difference, have a very simple discipleship process and few programs. What programs they do have serve this discipleship process.
Simple Church is written to help church leaders to design and to implement a simple process of discipleship in their own churches. While the transition to a simple church approach is not an easy one, it is easier for new churches. This is good news for church planters. Becoming a simple church does not require that a church own property or have a lot of money. According to Rainer and Geiger, a simple church approach is the best stewardship of limited resources.
I believe that Simple Church will be particularly helpful to clergy and lay leaders contemplating the loss of property and reduction in programs that face a congregation leaving The Episcopal Church. Starting over may not seem as daunting as it may have at first. God is actually presenting the congregation with an opportunity to adopt a streamlined church design that will make it much more effective in fulfilling his mission.
Churches that make the transition to a simple church are likely to experience a new lease on life. Adopting a simple church model can provide a non-growing or declining church with a new direction that puts the church back on the upward side of the church growth bell curve.
I just finished reading Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger (Nashville: H & B Publishing Group, 2006). This book is a must read for clergy and lay leaders planning to plant a new Anglican church from scratch or to lead an existing congregation out of The Episcopal Church and to reorganize the congregation as a new Anglican church under the jurisdiction of another province.
Rainer and Geiger’s research points to the need for a simple process of discipleship in 21st century American churches and the great difference that a simple discipleship process can make in the ministry of churches that adopt this approach. Rainer and Geiger found a definite relationship between a simple church design and the vitality of a local church. Among their findings was that a simple church is much better suited to the growing complexity of life in the 21st century.
Many American churches have become too complicated, adding more and more programs out of the mistaken notion that more is better. Yet they are having no appreciable impact upon the lives of their church members or the communities in which they are located. The more vibrant churches, the churches that are making a difference, have a very simple discipleship process and few programs. What programs they do have serve this discipleship process.
Simple Church is written to help church leaders to design and to implement a simple process of discipleship in their own churches. While the transition to a simple church approach is not an easy one, it is easier for new churches. This is good news for church planters. Becoming a simple church does not require that a church own property or have a lot of money. According to Rainer and Geiger, a simple church approach is the best stewardship of limited resources.
I believe that Simple Church will be particularly helpful to clergy and lay leaders contemplating the loss of property and reduction in programs that face a congregation leaving The Episcopal Church. Starting over may not seem as daunting as it may have at first. God is actually presenting the congregation with an opportunity to adopt a streamlined church design that will make it much more effective in fulfilling his mission.
Churches that make the transition to a simple church are likely to experience a new lease on life. Adopting a simple church model can provide a non-growing or declining church with a new direction that puts the church back on the upward side of the church growth bell curve.
The Problem with Mere Christianity
http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/areas/biblestudies/articles/070718.html
[Christianity Today] 13 Aug 2007--We jettison 'nonessential' theology at our own peril.
[Christianity Today] 13 Aug 2007--We jettison 'nonessential' theology at our own peril.
What Did Paul Really Mean?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/august/13.22.html
[Christianity Today] 13 Aug 2007--'New perspective' scholars argue that we need, well, a new perspective on justification by faith.
[Christianity Today] 13 Aug 2007--'New perspective' scholars argue that we need, well, a new perspective on justification by faith.
Africans woo conservative U.S. Anglicans in gay row
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSL1373149220070813
[Reuters] 13 Aug 2007--As an Anglican row over gay clergy deepens, growing numbers of conservative American priests are abandoning the liberal U.S. church and pledging allegiance to traditionalist African bishops instead.
[Reuters] 13 Aug 2007--As an Anglican row over gay clergy deepens, growing numbers of conservative American priests are abandoning the liberal U.S. church and pledging allegiance to traditionalist African bishops instead.
Portraits of Impotence: TEC Polity and the Windsor Bishops (Mark Harris, Chris Johnson, etc…)
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4995/
[Stand Firm] 13 Aug 2007--Here is a section from Mark Harris' article on the Windsor Bishops' gathering in Navasota....
[Stand Firm] 13 Aug 2007--Here is a section from Mark Harris' article on the Windsor Bishops' gathering in Navasota....
St Peter’s College Oxford faces enquiry after chaplain made redundant in cost-saving
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1999
[Anglican Mainstream] 13 Aug 2007--An Oxford college founded by a former bishop on Christian principles is to be investigated after making its chaplain redundant as part of a cost-cutting drive.
[Anglican Mainstream] 13 Aug 2007--An Oxford college founded by a former bishop on Christian principles is to be investigated after making its chaplain redundant as part of a cost-cutting drive.
Ecclesiastical Courts and Universal Fallenness
http://richardkew.blogspot.com/2007/08/ecclesiastical-courts-and-universal.html
[The Kew Continuum] 13 Aug 2007--During the last couple of days I have been following the responses to the reporting of the ecclesiastical trial of a priest in Colorado who has been accused of the misuse of more than $400,000 of funds. It is not so much the details of this tragic case that I want to focus on, however, but the way people have greeted the guilty verdicts of the church court.
[The Kew Continuum] 13 Aug 2007--During the last couple of days I have been following the responses to the reporting of the ecclesiastical trial of a priest in Colorado who has been accused of the misuse of more than $400,000 of funds. It is not so much the details of this tragic case that I want to focus on, however, but the way people have greeted the guilty verdicts of the church court.
'A huge victory' for gay Lutheran clergy
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/religion/507255,CST-NWS-luth12.article
[The Chicago Sun-Times] 13 Aug 2007--The nation's largest Lutheran denomination on Saturday passed a measure calling on church leaders to "refrain from or demonstrate restraint" in disciplining gay clergy in committed relationships.
[The Chicago Sun-Times] 13 Aug 2007--The nation's largest Lutheran denomination on Saturday passed a measure calling on church leaders to "refrain from or demonstrate restraint" in disciplining gay clergy in committed relationships.
Church rift cuts deeper for brothers
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/12/church_rift_cuts_deeper_for_brothers/
[The Boston Globe] 13 Aug 2007--The Murdoch brothers don't often talk about the controversy dividing the Episcopal Church, but they really don't have to: In the Murdoch family, schism starts at home.
[The Boston Globe] 13 Aug 2007--The Murdoch brothers don't often talk about the controversy dividing the Episcopal Church, but they really don't have to: In the Murdoch family, schism starts at home.
An Interview with Archbishop of York John Sentamu
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2007/1999683.htm
[The Religion Report] 13 Aug 2007--The Ugandan born Archbishop of York, John Sentamu talks about how the violent regime of Idi Amin propelled him into ordination in the church of England.
[The Religion Report] 13 Aug 2007--The Ugandan born Archbishop of York, John Sentamu talks about how the violent regime of Idi Amin propelled him into ordination in the church of England.
Archbishop faces conference snub
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/13/nchurch113.xml
[Telegraph] 13 Aug 2007--Only a couple of hundred of the 880 Anglican bishops invited to next year's Lambeth Conference, one of the most critical gatherings in the Church's history, have replied by the deadline set by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
[Telegraph] 13 Aug 2007--Only a couple of hundred of the 880 Anglican bishops invited to next year's Lambeth Conference, one of the most critical gatherings in the Church's history, have replied by the deadline set by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
"High" and "Low" Church
http://www.anglican.ca/search/faq/031.htm
[The Anglican Church of Canada] 11 Aug 2007--The terms "High" and "Low" are rarely used nowadays but refer to different "parties" or schools of churchmanship within the Church of England/Anglican Communion. "High" Church is the older of the two terms historically and was first applied, in the late seventeenth century, to those individuals who were opposed to the Puritan wing of the Church of England.
[The Anglican Church of Canada] 11 Aug 2007--The terms "High" and "Low" are rarely used nowadays but refer to different "parties" or schools of churchmanship within the Church of England/Anglican Communion. "High" Church is the older of the two terms historically and was first applied, in the late seventeenth century, to those individuals who were opposed to the Puritan wing of the Church of England.
Overstepping Authority?
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=85726&paper=63&cat=104
[The Connection] 11 Aug 2007--Former Episcopalians claim the latest move by The Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church of the United States is just another legal step meant to intimidate both current and former Episcopal clergy.
[The Connection] 11 Aug 2007--Former Episcopalians claim the latest move by The Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church of the United States is just another legal step meant to intimidate both current and former Episcopal clergy.
Dr. Ephraim Radner: A Conversation with Bishop Fitzsimmons Allison
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4979/
[Stand Firm] 11 Aug 2007--In response to renewed interest on the blogosphere to the topics covered, I am re-posting the original response (from '04) that Ephraim Radner wrote to an article about him written by the Rt. Rev Fitzsimmons Allison....
[Stand Firm] 11 Aug 2007--In response to renewed interest on the blogosphere to the topics covered, I am re-posting the original response (from '04) that Ephraim Radner wrote to an article about him written by the Rt. Rev Fitzsimmons Allison....
The Rt. Rev. Dr. C. FitzSimons Allison on Dr. Radner and the ACN
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4977/
[Stand Firm] 11 Aug 2007--The following article was written several years ago in response to Ephraim Radner's address to the ACI in Charleston, S. C. I offer it as a contribution to the discussion among Radner, Noll, and Turner...Fitz Allison.
[Stand Firm] 11 Aug 2007--The following article was written several years ago in response to Ephraim Radner's address to the ACI in Charleston, S. C. I offer it as a contribution to the discussion among Radner, Noll, and Turner...Fitz Allison.
Episcopal bishop publicly deposes three area clergy
http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab2.cfm?newsid=18685901&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=580094&rfi=6
[Facquier Times-Deomcrat ]11 Aug 2007--Bishop Peter James Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia announced late in the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 2, that the 21 clergy who have transferred to the Anglican Communion are officially deposed.
[Facquier Times-Deomcrat ]11 Aug 2007--Bishop Peter James Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia announced late in the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 2, that the 21 clergy who have transferred to the Anglican Communion are officially deposed.
Reverend Doctors
http://captainyips.typepad.com/journal/2007/08/reverend-doctor.html
[Captain Yip's Secret Journal] 11 Aug 2007--Watching the reverend doctors Radner, Noll, and Turner go at it about What To Do is like watching giants wrassle - stunning, amazing, instructive, and conducted at a level of skill and learning far above us midgets. That people of intelligence, learning, and devotion to God should come to differing conclusions shouldn't surprise us.
Down in the comments, Craig has a pretty good analysis of the situation that I think holds lots of water, so I'm going to post it in its wholeness up here....
[Captain Yip's Secret Journal] 11 Aug 2007--Watching the reverend doctors Radner, Noll, and Turner go at it about What To Do is like watching giants wrassle - stunning, amazing, instructive, and conducted at a level of skill and learning far above us midgets. That people of intelligence, learning, and devotion to God should come to differing conclusions shouldn't surprise us.
Down in the comments, Craig has a pretty good analysis of the situation that I think holds lots of water, so I'm going to post it in its wholeness up here....
Canon David Anderson reports on the current state of the orthodox Anglican movement
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1995
[Anglican Mainstream] 11 Aug 2007--The American Anglican Council (AAC) released its first video interview for the internet this week. The video comes in response to requests for interpretation of current events in the orthodox Anglican world.
[Anglican Mainstream] 11 Aug 2007--The American Anglican Council (AAC) released its first video interview for the internet this week. The video comes in response to requests for interpretation of current events in the orthodox Anglican world.
“Inherent racism” at root of LGCM attack on Archbishop Akinola - Sydney Diocese
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1991
[Anglican Mainstream] 11 August 2007--ACCUSATIONS made by the head of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) that the Church of Nigeria was a puppet of the Archbishop of Sydney are false and demeaning, a spokesman for the diocese has said. “No one guides and advises Archbishop Akinola what to do except the Lord of the Bible,” the Archbishop of Sydney’s media officer Margaret Rodgers said in a statement given to The Church of England Newspaper.
Related article:
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4976/
Sydney Diocese respond to LGCM allegations - Stand Firm
[Anglican Mainstream] 11 August 2007--ACCUSATIONS made by the head of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) that the Church of Nigeria was a puppet of the Archbishop of Sydney are false and demeaning, a spokesman for the diocese has said. “No one guides and advises Archbishop Akinola what to do except the Lord of the Bible,” the Archbishop of Sydney’s media officer Margaret Rodgers said in a statement given to The Church of England Newspaper.
Related article:
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4976/
Sydney Diocese respond to LGCM allegations - Stand Firm
Bishop Pope: Catholic Movement at an End
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3717
[The Living Church] 11 Aug 2007--The Catholic movement in The Episcopal Church has degenerated from a theological imperative into haberdashery, the retired Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Clarence C. Pope, Jr., told a reporter for The Living Church, explaining his departure to the Roman Catholic Church.
[The Living Church] 11 Aug 2007--The Catholic movement in The Episcopal Church has degenerated from a theological imperative into haberdashery, the retired Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Clarence C. Pope, Jr., told a reporter for The Living Church, explaining his departure to the Roman Catholic Church.
Archbishop Jensen and the five Assistant Bishops from the Diocese of Sydney reply to Lambeth 2008
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/archbishop_jensen_and_the_five_assistant_bishops_from_the_diocese_of_sydney/
[Global South Anglican] 11 Aug 2007--As Archbishop and Assistant Bishops of the Diocese of Sydney, we send our thanks for your kind invitation to attend next year’s Lambeth Conference. Your invitation has been received with pleasure and it would give us a great deal of joy to be able to join you.
Unfortunately the timing of the invitation has proved difficult. We have been looking for the response of the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church to the Primates’ Communiqué from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. We understand that this response is due by 30th of September.
Related articles:
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3713
Sydney Delays Lambeth Response - The Living Church
http://au.christiantoday.com/article/sydney-anglicans-adopt-a-wait-and-see-approach-to-lambeth-invitation/3094.htm
Sydney Anglicans Adopt A ‘Wait-And-See’ Approach To Lambeth Invitation - Christianity Today Australian Edition
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-bishops-snub-anglican-chief-in-gay-row/2007/08/10/1186530617596.html
Sydney bishops snub Anglican chief in gay row - Sydney Morning Herald
[Global South Anglican] 11 Aug 2007--As Archbishop and Assistant Bishops of the Diocese of Sydney, we send our thanks for your kind invitation to attend next year’s Lambeth Conference. Your invitation has been received with pleasure and it would give us a great deal of joy to be able to join you.
Unfortunately the timing of the invitation has proved difficult. We have been looking for the response of the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church to the Primates’ Communiqué from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. We understand that this response is due by 30th of September.
Related articles:
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3713
Sydney Delays Lambeth Response - The Living Church
http://au.christiantoday.com/article/sydney-anglicans-adopt-a-wait-and-see-approach-to-lambeth-invitation/3094.htm
Sydney Anglicans Adopt A ‘Wait-And-See’ Approach To Lambeth Invitation - Christianity Today Australian Edition
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-bishops-snub-anglican-chief-in-gay-row/2007/08/10/1186530617596.html
Sydney bishops snub Anglican chief in gay row - Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Church in the City
http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach/articles/churchinthecity.html
[Christianity Today] 09 Aug 2007--Although they are different New York City churches with very different audiences, Redeemer Presbyterian and Infinity Church are part of the same multiplication equation with a product of continuous Kingdom growth.
[Christianity Today] 09 Aug 2007--Although they are different New York City churches with very different audiences, Redeemer Presbyterian and Infinity Church are part of the same multiplication equation with a product of continuous Kingdom growth.
The Childcare Checklist
http://www.christianitytoday.com/smallgroups/articles/childcarechecklist.html
[Christianity Today] 09 Aug 2007--Use this practical tool to determine the childcare options in your small group.
[Christianity Today] 09 Aug 2007--Use this practical tool to determine the childcare options in your small group.
Praying by the Book
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2007/august2.html
[Christianity Today] 09 Aug 2007--Historian Eamon Duffy's latest work sheds light on medieval prayer practices—and may prompt us to think againabout our own.
[Christianity Today] 09 Aug 2007--Historian Eamon Duffy's latest work sheds light on medieval prayer practices—and may prompt us to think againabout our own.
Slotting in Seniors
http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/slotting_in_seniors/
[your.sydneyanglicans] 09 Aug 2007--Seasoned evangelist John Chapman says he feels “cared for wonderfully” as an older member of his congregation at Hurstville Grove.
However he admits resources for telling the gospel to his generation are thin on the ground.
[your.sydneyanglicans] 09 Aug 2007--Seasoned evangelist John Chapman says he feels “cared for wonderfully” as an older member of his congregation at Hurstville Grove.
However he admits resources for telling the gospel to his generation are thin on the ground.
Young adults aren't sticking with church
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-08-06-church-dropouts_N.htm
[USA Today] 09 Aug 2007--Protestant churches are losing young adults in "sobering" numbers, a survey finds.
[USA Today] 09 Aug 2007--Protestant churches are losing young adults in "sobering" numbers, a survey finds.
Episcopal Church deposes separation ministers
http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab5.cfm?newsid=18671768&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506096&rfi=6
[Fairfax County Times] 09 Aug 2007--Several local ministers who have been removed from the rosters of the clergy by the Episcopal Church are calling the move an uncalled-for act of intimidation.
[Fairfax County Times] 09 Aug 2007--Several local ministers who have been removed from the rosters of the clergy by the Episcopal Church are calling the move an uncalled-for act of intimidation.
The Revisionist Dictionary - Part IV
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4893/
[Stand Firm] 09 Aug 2007--Without further ado, Part IV of The Revisionist Dictionary by Ireneaus.
DISCLAIMER: Drinking liquid beverages while reading may cause permanent and irreversible harm to your keyboard.
[Stand Firm] 09 Aug 2007--Without further ado, Part IV of The Revisionist Dictionary by Ireneaus.
DISCLAIMER: Drinking liquid beverages while reading may cause permanent and irreversible harm to your keyboard.
The Revisionist Dictionary - Part III - Updated
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4892/
[Stand Firm] 09 Aug 2007--Are you ready to dive into Part III of Ireneaus' Revisionist Dictionary?
WARNING: Liquids should not be consumed while reading. May cause permanent harm to sensitive electronics.
[Stand Firm] 09 Aug 2007--Are you ready to dive into Part III of Ireneaus' Revisionist Dictionary?
WARNING: Liquids should not be consumed while reading. May cause permanent harm to sensitive electronics.
Lambeth RSVP deadline extended
http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2007/08/lambeth-rsvp-de.html
[Ruth Gledhill] 09 Aug 2007--The deadline for bishops to respond to their invite to the Lambeth Conference has been extended, according to a report in the Church of England Newspaper tomorrow.
[Ruth Gledhill] 09 Aug 2007--The deadline for bishops to respond to their invite to the Lambeth Conference has been extended, according to a report in the Church of England Newspaper tomorrow.
Gay Lutheran clergy lead fight against church's celibacy rule
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1186549078219510.xml&coll=1
[The Star-Ledger] 09 Aug 2007--The Rev. Robert Kriesat, 68, never hid his relationship with his male partner from his congregants, even though his denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, mandates celibacy for gay ministers.
[The Star-Ledger] 09 Aug 2007--The Rev. Robert Kriesat, 68, never hid his relationship with his male partner from his congregants, even though his denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, mandates celibacy for gay ministers.
Former rector Don Armstrong found guilty of financial misconduct
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_88955_ENG_HTM.htm
[Episcopal Life Online] 09 Aug 2007--The Rev. Don Armstrong, former rector of Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs, has been found guilty on all counts of financial misconduct presented to an Ecclesiastical Court of the Diocese of Colorado that has been reviewing the evidence since July 31.
[Episcopal Life Online] 09 Aug 2007--The Rev. Don Armstrong, former rector of Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs, has been found guilty on all counts of financial misconduct presented to an Ecclesiastical Court of the Diocese of Colorado that has been reviewing the evidence since July 31.
DOV releases "Hijack By Forces" letter two days before hearing
http://babybluecafe.blogspot.com/2007/08/tinfoilhat-alert-fascinating-letter.html
[BabyBlueOnline] 09 Aug 2007--BB NOTE: We've highlighted the lovely bits. Wonder why Patrick would write such a letter? It's curious, very curious. And we'll just leave it at that.
[BabyBlueOnline] 09 Aug 2007--BB NOTE: We've highlighted the lovely bits. Wonder why Patrick would write such a letter? It's curious, very curious. And we'll just leave it at that.
Its the Anglican Communion not just the Episcopal Church that is lost
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1989
[Anglican Mainstream] 09 Aug 2007--On all sides there is a sense of betrayal. Conservative Episcopal theologians are divided, stretching and straining friendships over whether the apostasies and heresies of the Episcopal Church are worthy of flight or fight.
[Anglican Mainstream] 09 Aug 2007--On all sides there is a sense of betrayal. Conservative Episcopal theologians are divided, stretching and straining friendships over whether the apostasies and heresies of the Episcopal Church are worthy of flight or fight.
Deadline for responding to Lambeth Invitations extended. Sydney "cannot give an answer until later in the year"
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1988
[Anglican Mainstream] 09 Aug 2007--The diocese of Sydney’s six bishops has told the Archbishop of Canterbury he will have to wait to find out if they will attend next year’s Lambeth Conference. While they were grateful to receive an invitation to attend the Conference, they said they would not decide until they know the course of action taken by the American bishops to the demands made by the Primates in their February Dar es Salaam communiqué.
[Anglican Mainstream] 09 Aug 2007--The diocese of Sydney’s six bishops has told the Archbishop of Canterbury he will have to wait to find out if they will attend next year’s Lambeth Conference. While they were grateful to receive an invitation to attend the Conference, they said they would not decide until they know the course of action taken by the American bishops to the demands made by the Primates in their February Dar es Salaam communiqué.
The Miserable Theology of TEC
http://www.peter-ould.net/2007/08/07/the-miserable-theology-of-TEC/
[Peter Ould] 09 Aug 2007--Most people realize that change within the church is difficult. In fact, change within any organization is hard, and systems theory has long studied the reality that any change, whether good or bad, will be greeted with resistance. That is because all change causes loss, which creates accompanying reactions of confusion, anger, and grief. The best way to make a change is for the people involved to become convinced that, although they are still doing things the old way, they should be doing them the new way. In religious institutions it is important to undergird changes with a clear and articulated theological reasoning to justify the change. This stated reasoning should always precede the change and allow for a theological discussion about whether the change should be made. In this process either the change will be owned by those involved in the change, or the change in the form proposed may be revealed to be inappropriate before any injury is done to the church. The recent turmoil within the Episcopal Church demonstrates what can go wrong when the articulated theological reasoning follows rather than precedes and founds the change.
[Peter Ould] 09 Aug 2007--Most people realize that change within the church is difficult. In fact, change within any organization is hard, and systems theory has long studied the reality that any change, whether good or bad, will be greeted with resistance. That is because all change causes loss, which creates accompanying reactions of confusion, anger, and grief. The best way to make a change is for the people involved to become convinced that, although they are still doing things the old way, they should be doing them the new way. In religious institutions it is important to undergird changes with a clear and articulated theological reasoning to justify the change. This stated reasoning should always precede the change and allow for a theological discussion about whether the change should be made. In this process either the change will be owned by those involved in the change, or the change in the form proposed may be revealed to be inappropriate before any injury is done to the church. The recent turmoil within the Episcopal Church demonstrates what can go wrong when the articulated theological reasoning follows rather than precedes and founds the change.
Bishop Pope Rejoins Roman Catholic Church
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3709
[The Living Church] 09 Aug 2007--The retired Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Clarence C. Pope, Jr., has rejoined the Roman Catholic Church.
[The Living Church] 09 Aug 2007--The retired Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt. Rev. Clarence C. Pope, Jr., has rejoined the Roman Catholic Church.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Episcopal Theologians Fight Over Staying or Leaving TEC
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6467
[VirtueOnline] 06 Aug 2007--A war has broken out among orthodox Episcopal theologians as to whether dwindling conservative Episcopalians should stay or leave. More than 700 Episcopalians flee the Episcopal Church each week. Massive litigation has been instituted against many parishes, from east coast to west coast, both large and small. At the same time orthodox theologians cannot agree on what should be done.
[VirtueOnline] 06 Aug 2007--A war has broken out among orthodox Episcopal theologians as to whether dwindling conservative Episcopalians should stay or leave. More than 700 Episcopalians flee the Episcopal Church each week. Massive litigation has been instituted against many parishes, from east coast to west coast, both large and small. At the same time orthodox theologians cannot agree on what should be done.
Episcopal diocese settles lawsuit
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/07/episcopal_diocese_settles_lawsuit/
[The Boston Globe] 06 Aug 2007--A group of former Episcopalians from Attleboro has agreed to return an undisclosed amount of money to the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts to settle a lawsuit alleging that the group, who broke away to protest the denomination's approval of an openly gay bishop, took cash and property belonging to the diocese.
[The Boston Globe] 06 Aug 2007--A group of former Episcopalians from Attleboro has agreed to return an undisclosed amount of money to the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts to settle a lawsuit alleging that the group, who broke away to protest the denomination's approval of an openly gay bishop, took cash and property belonging to the diocese.
Article Four: Of the Resurrection of Christ
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4872/
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--It is difficult to identify the source(s) of this broad contemporary shift toward a disembodied faith. Perhaps two centuries of academic skepticism with regard to the historicity of the bodily Resurrection and Ascension has succeeded in refocusing Christians away from the once foundational hope in the general Resurrection as a real future event? That is, perhaps in the age of Marcus Borg and the Da Vince Code, average Christian people, not just radical skeptics and carnal “Christians”, have effectively, if subconsciously, surrendered, given up hope in the real restoration of creation and the literal Resurrection of the body and, as a result, begun to content themselves with a “demythologized”, other-worldly, experience-centered “faith”?
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--It is difficult to identify the source(s) of this broad contemporary shift toward a disembodied faith. Perhaps two centuries of academic skepticism with regard to the historicity of the bodily Resurrection and Ascension has succeeded in refocusing Christians away from the once foundational hope in the general Resurrection as a real future event? That is, perhaps in the age of Marcus Borg and the Da Vince Code, average Christian people, not just radical skeptics and carnal “Christians”, have effectively, if subconsciously, surrendered, given up hope in the real restoration of creation and the literal Resurrection of the body and, as a result, begun to content themselves with a “demythologized”, other-worldly, experience-centered “faith”?
The Revisionist Dictionary - Part I
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4889/
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--Whether guarding a Little Stone Bridge or held hostage by the man behind the curtain, this is a must read. The Revisionist Dictionary takes the mystery out of the metaphorical language of the Revisionists. Sure to be a classic.
Bravo, Irenaeus, Bravo!!!
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--Whether guarding a Little Stone Bridge or held hostage by the man behind the curtain, this is a must read. The Revisionist Dictionary takes the mystery out of the metaphorical language of the Revisionists. Sure to be a classic.
Bravo, Irenaeus, Bravo!!!
The Revisionist Dictionary - Part II
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4891/
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--For your pleasure and edification - Part Two (or as we say in Louisiana, Part Deux). By reader Irenaeus.
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--For your pleasure and edification - Part Two (or as we say in Louisiana, Part Deux). By reader Irenaeus.
The Parish of St. Odilia: A Helpful Survey for the Upcoming Rector Search Process
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4903/
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--With so many rector search processes going on throughout the Episcopal church, I have found this guide to be most helpful. It arrived a few days ago in my email box and so far I have been unable to discover the author's name. So I am attributing this to St. Anonymous, and wish whoever wrote it great joy -- because she or he has certainly given that to me.
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--With so many rector search processes going on throughout the Episcopal church, I have found this guide to be most helpful. It arrived a few days ago in my email box and so far I have been unable to discover the author's name. So I am attributing this to St. Anonymous, and wish whoever wrote it great joy -- because she or he has certainly given that to me.
Why Canon Anderson Got it Wrong
http://www.dioceseofyork.org.uk/cgi/news/news.cgi?t=template&a=1138
[The Diocese of York] 06 Aug 2007--Arun Arora responds to The Revd. Canon David Anderson.
[The Diocese of York] 06 Aug 2007--Arun Arora responds to The Revd. Canon David Anderson.
The latest in the theological debate: Philip Turner answers Stephen Noll’s response to him
http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/4917/
[TitusOneNine] 06 Aug 2007--This elf is thinking we might need a scorecard soon to keep track of who has written what to whom... But all kidding aside, ACI has posted Dr. Turner's rebuttal to Dr. Noll's letter to him.
[TitusOneNine] 06 Aug 2007--This elf is thinking we might need a scorecard soon to keep track of who has written what to whom... But all kidding aside, ACI has posted Dr. Turner's rebuttal to Dr. Noll's letter to him.
Lutherans to Open Sexuality Debate--Again
http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=9275
[Ethics Daily] 06 Aug 2007--The nation's largest Lutheran denomination will again face the divisive issue of sexuality when it considers resolutions on gay clergy and same-sex blessings at its biennial assembly in Chicago this week.
[Ethics Daily] 06 Aug 2007--The nation's largest Lutheran denomination will again face the divisive issue of sexuality when it considers resolutions on gay clergy and same-sex blessings at its biennial assembly in Chicago this week.
Church dispute heads to state Supreme Court
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6563227?nclick_check=1
[San Jose Mercury News] o6 Aug 2007--Three churches that split from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in a dispute over a gay bishop are asking the state Supreme Court to weigh in on who controls the parishes' buildings.
[San Jose Mercury News] o6 Aug 2007--Three churches that split from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in a dispute over a gay bishop are asking the state Supreme Court to weigh in on who controls the parishes' buildings.
Communiqué from the House of Bishops of the Church of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/communique_from_the_house_of_bishops_of_the_church_of_the_province_of_jerus/
[Global South Anglican] 06 Aug 2007--The House of Bishops of the Church of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East met in Iran on the occasion of the installation of Bishop Azad Marshall and issued the following communiqué....
[Global South Anglican] 06 Aug 2007--The House of Bishops of the Church of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East met in Iran on the occasion of the installation of Bishop Azad Marshall and issued the following communiqué....
Monday, August 06, 2007
Dr. Stephen Noll: Reply to Sarah Hey
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4878/
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--As always, Sarah Hey is impassioned and provocative.
But this is a curious essay. Since I appear as one of the protagonists in her dialectic between the Federal Conservatives (FedCons) and the Communion Conservatives (ComCons), I beg to reply at some length. I have tried to follow the logic of her piece, and here is what I have come up with.
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--As always, Sarah Hey is impassioned and provocative.
But this is a curious essay. Since I appear as one of the protagonists in her dialectic between the Federal Conservatives (FedCons) and the Communion Conservatives (ComCons), I beg to reply at some length. I have tried to follow the logic of her piece, and here is what I have come up with.
Cathedral Church in DioKY Lowers Debt… by Dipping into Endowment
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4887/
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--After raiding its endowment to the tune of almost $280,000, Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville is still over $100,000 in debt (p.3).
[Stand Firm] 06 Aug 2007--After raiding its endowment to the tune of almost $280,000, Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville is still over $100,000 in debt (p.3).
Richard Kirker links Akinola to Jensen
http://ugleyvicar.blogspot.com/2007/08/richard-kirker-links-jensen-to-akinola.html
[The Ugley Vicar] 06 Aug 2007--The Rev Richard Kirker, chief executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) has been quoted on the Ecclesia website as saying that the real driving force behind what has been going on in Nigeria vis a vis the Anglican Communion is the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen.
Related article:
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/5516
Nigerian Primate may ordain breakaway Church of England bishop - ekklesia
[The Ugley Vicar] 06 Aug 2007--The Rev Richard Kirker, chief executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) has been quoted on the Ecclesia website as saying that the real driving force behind what has been going on in Nigeria vis a vis the Anglican Communion is the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen.
Related article:
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/5516
Nigerian Primate may ordain breakaway Church of England bishop - ekklesia
A different Anglican angle
http://www.projo.com/opinion/editorials/content/ED_bishop2_08-02-07_UD5007M.1afbff3.html
[The Providence Journal] 06 Aug 2007--Episcopalians in the United States should spare a thought for Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who has objected to the ordination of a gay bishop by the American Episcopal Church in 2004. The American church acted, it says, to bear more faithful witness to the ministry of Jesus Christ, but the move has strained the church.
[The Providence Journal] 06 Aug 2007--Episcopalians in the United States should spare a thought for Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who has objected to the ordination of a gay bishop by the American Episcopal Church in 2004. The American church acted, it says, to bear more faithful witness to the ministry of Jesus Christ, but the move has strained the church.
Jamaica's Anglican church to modernize hymnals with reggae songs
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/04/news/CB-REL-Jamaica-Reggae-Hymns.php
[International Herald Tribune] 06 Aug 2007--Songs by late reggae legends Bob Marley and Peter Tosh — both devout Rastafarians — will be included in a new collection of Anglican church hymnals in Jamaica.
Marley's "One Love" and Tosh's "Psalm 27" will be the first reggae tunes to appear in songbooks alongside traditional worship music on the island that gave birth to reggae, said church leaders preparing a new collection of hymns.
[International Herald Tribune] 06 Aug 2007--Songs by late reggae legends Bob Marley and Peter Tosh — both devout Rastafarians — will be included in a new collection of Anglican church hymnals in Jamaica.
Marley's "One Love" and Tosh's "Psalm 27" will be the first reggae tunes to appear in songbooks alongside traditional worship music on the island that gave birth to reggae, said church leaders preparing a new collection of hymns.
No Surprises, Much Rejoicing in South Carolina
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3651
[The Living Church] 06 Aug 2007--Under the canopy of ancient moss-covered Oaks, historic St. James’ Church near Charleston was the site of Diocese of South Carolina’s convention to elect a bishop. Eleven months after electing the Very Rev. Mark J. Lawrence on the first ballot September 16, 2006, the diocese again gathered to express their emphatic support for the once and future Bishop-elect.
[The Living Church] 06 Aug 2007--Under the canopy of ancient moss-covered Oaks, historic St. James’ Church near Charleston was the site of Diocese of South Carolina’s convention to elect a bishop. Eleven months after electing the Very Rev. Mark J. Lawrence on the first ballot September 16, 2006, the diocese again gathered to express their emphatic support for the once and future Bishop-elect.
Task Force Revisits Making Laity Liable to Church Discipline
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3650
[The Living Church] 06 Aug 2007--A task force charged with proposing revisions to the ecclesiastical Title IV disciplinary process met July 23-24 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City to discuss how it will approach modifications to the current disciplinary process, which does not include jurisdiction over members of the laity.
[The Living Church] 06 Aug 2007--A task force charged with proposing revisions to the ecclesiastical Title IV disciplinary process met July 23-24 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City to discuss how it will approach modifications to the current disciplinary process, which does not include jurisdiction over members of the laity.
South Carolina Re-Elects Father Lawrence as Bishop
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3649
[The Living Church] 06 Aug 2007--The Very Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, rector of St. Paul’s Church, Bakersfield, Calif., was elected to be the 14th Bishop of South Carolina at a special Bishop’s Election held August 4 at St. James Church, James Island, S.C.
[The Living Church] 06 Aug 2007--The Very Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, rector of St. Paul’s Church, Bakersfield, Calif., was elected to be the 14th Bishop of South Carolina at a special Bishop’s Election held August 4 at St. James Church, James Island, S.C.
Network Bishops Pledge Solidarity With Virginia Clergy
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3648
[The Living Church] 06 Aug 2007--Five bishops who are members of the Anglican Communion Network have pledged to “remain in relationship and ministry” with 21 priests whom the Rt. Rev. Peter Lee, Bishop of Virginia, declared Aug. 1 to have “abandoned the communion of this church.”
[The Living Church] 06 Aug 2007--Five bishops who are members of the Anglican Communion Network have pledged to “remain in relationship and ministry” with 21 priests whom the Rt. Rev. Peter Lee, Bishop of Virginia, declared Aug. 1 to have “abandoned the communion of this church.”
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Replya to Phil Turner
http://www.stephenswitness.com/2007/08/reply-to-philip-turner.html
[Stephen's Witness] 04 Aug 2007--Thank you for responding to my "Open Letter to the Network Bishops and Common Cause Partners Regarding the Future of Anglicanism in North America" (posted on this blog). with an Open Letter of your own to me (posted at http://www.anglicancommunioninstitute.com/). I have ever valued openness of theological exchange and wish to keep dialogue alive among genuine partners, even when it leads to different recommended courses of action.
You and I are both senior priests and theologians of the Episcopal Church with experience of the wider Anglican Communion. That grants us a certain standing to be heard, but obviously not as the voice of God. I agree with you that at the end of the day discerning God’s will is our common aim and prayer. But it is also the case, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, that the prayers of all cannot not be equally answered.
[Stephen's Witness] 04 Aug 2007--Thank you for responding to my "Open Letter to the Network Bishops and Common Cause Partners Regarding the Future of Anglicanism in North America" (posted on this blog). with an Open Letter of your own to me (posted at http://www.anglicancommunioninstitute.com/). I have ever valued openness of theological exchange and wish to keep dialogue alive among genuine partners, even when it leads to different recommended courses of action.
You and I are both senior priests and theologians of the Episcopal Church with experience of the wider Anglican Communion. That grants us a certain standing to be heard, but obviously not as the voice of God. I agree with you that at the end of the day discerning God’s will is our common aim and prayer. But it is also the case, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, that the prayers of all cannot not be equally answered.
Hereford - did the tribunal misread the 2003 act?
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1965
[Anglican Mainstream] 04 Aug 2007--The tribubal misquoted section 7 (3) b of the 2003 Regulations. The way that they read it affected their judgement as to whether Reaney received direct discrimination. Reading the regulation properly might lead one to the conclusion that it was lawful, given the Church’s position in “Issues in Human Sexuality”, to question someone about homosexual practice in a manner that they wouldn’t be questioned about heterosexual practice.
Peter Ould says: This was the very ground (sections 97 and 98 of the ruling) on which they ruled that Reaney had been directly discriminated against.
[Anglican Mainstream] 04 Aug 2007--The tribubal misquoted section 7 (3) b of the 2003 Regulations. The way that they read it affected their judgement as to whether Reaney received direct discrimination. Reading the regulation properly might lead one to the conclusion that it was lawful, given the Church’s position in “Issues in Human Sexuality”, to question someone about homosexual practice in a manner that they wouldn’t be questioned about heterosexual practice.
Peter Ould says: This was the very ground (sections 97 and 98 of the ruling) on which they ruled that Reaney had been directly discriminated against.
Friday, August 03, 2007
'Nigeria on verge of appointing flying bishop in England'
http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=701
[EV News] 03 Aug 2007--The Church of England Newspaper reports today that Nigeria is on the verge of appointing its own 'flying bishop' in England to represent disillusioned Anglicans.
A new bishop to be appointed by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola could be consecrated before next year's Lambeth Conference if plans succeed.
A source describing himself as a 'worker in the Nigerian diocese' said that there were plans to appoint someone as a 'mission co-ordinator'.
Rumours regarding the possibility of such a role have been circulating over the last few months but this is the first time it has been confirmed by a clergy member from Nigeria.
Speaking to the CEN he said: "It is possible that Archbishop Peter Akinola will have somebody appointed by the next Lambeth Conference in July 2008."
It is believed that the appointment will be of an English priest, rather than a Nigerian one, following the pattern set in such appointments in the USA....
[EV News] 03 Aug 2007--The Church of England Newspaper reports today that Nigeria is on the verge of appointing its own 'flying bishop' in England to represent disillusioned Anglicans.
A new bishop to be appointed by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola could be consecrated before next year's Lambeth Conference if plans succeed.
A source describing himself as a 'worker in the Nigerian diocese' said that there were plans to appoint someone as a 'mission co-ordinator'.
Rumours regarding the possibility of such a role have been circulating over the last few months but this is the first time it has been confirmed by a clergy member from Nigeria.
Speaking to the CEN he said: "It is possible that Archbishop Peter Akinola will have somebody appointed by the next Lambeth Conference in July 2008."
It is believed that the appointment will be of an English priest, rather than a Nigerian one, following the pattern set in such appointments in the USA....
"Canterburyism"
Commentary by Robin G. Jordan
I have serious difficulties with the claim of the “Canterburyists” that communion with the See of Canterbury is essential to an Anglican identity. Indeed “Canterburyists” would make recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury the primary requirement for being “Anglican”.
1. Anglicans have historically rejected the argument of Roman Catholics that in order to be a “Catholic,” one must be in communion with the Pope. Having rejected communion with the See of Rome as essential to a Catholic identity, how can “Canterburyists” make the same argument for an Anglican identity, that is in order to be an Anglican one must be in communion with a particular bishop, with the Archbishop of Canterbury. If the first argument is not valid, the second argument is not valid. To insist that it is valid, is to ignore the law of contradiction.
2. One can be faithful to the Protestant and Reformed faith of the Church of England, believing that all that is essential to one’s salvation is found in the Bible and nothing contrary to the Bible is allowed. Between things plainly commanded and things explicitly forbidden there seems to be room for things indifferent. One can subscribe wholeheartedly to the Biblical doctrine and principles of the classical Anglican formularies – the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion of 1571 and the Book of Common Prayer of 1662. One can be baptized and confirmed in accordance with the rites of the Anglican Prayer Book and ordained in accordance with the rites of the Anglican Ordinal. One can be steeped in the theology of the English Reformers and the benchmark Anglican divines; one can be intimate with the classics of Anglican spirituality. One can recite the prescribed Psalms and read the appointed lessons and prayers at the canonical hours of 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM every day. One can evidence every mark that has historically set Anglicans apart from members of other traditions. Yet by the logic of the “Canterburyists,” one is not a true Anglican if one does not belong to a province that is in communion with the See of Canterbury.
On the other hand, one can espouse the heresy of Origenism, the belief that all men are saved, a belief that the original Forty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1552 declared “pernicious.” One can embrace the other beliefs of the extremists that the English Reformers loosely described as “Anabaptists” and who represented one of the two extremes between which the Reformers charted the course of the Anglican via media. These beliefs include that Jesus is not divine, just a great religious teacher or prophet; Christians are not bound by the moral law; personal revelations from God supercede the Holy Scriptures; and the duty of all Christians is to establish God’s Kingdom on earth through economic, political, social reform and even armed revolution and violence. One can hold the belief that the 16th century Romanists and Papists held, that the present Church has progressed since the times of the New Testament and the first six centuries of Christianity and therefore is more mature than the primitive Church. The teaching of the present Church trumps the teaching not only of the primitive Church but also the Bible. The Romanists and the Papists represented the other extreme that the English Reformers sought to avoid. One can embrace all kinds of unorthodox beliefs and outright heresies. One can walk the serpentine ways of the labyrinth, the great icon of the Mistress of the Beasts, the ancient European goddess of fertility and death, believing that treading its twisting paths brings one closer to the divine. One can practice sorcery, consult the dead, read one’s future in the stars, and pour out libations and offer cakes to the Queen of Heaven. Yet by the logic of the “Canterbury Anglicans,” if one belongs to a province in communion with Canterbury, one is an authentic Anglican.
3. As the Rev. Guy Hawtins points to his readers’ attention in his treatise on the English Church, Ecclesia Anglicana, Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, did not establish the English Church in 597 AD. Far from it. When Augustine and his monks arrived in Kent, a small Saxon kingdom in southern England, it was the one part of the British Isles that was still for the most part heathen. There was a Christian presence in Kent – priests and monks from Gaul (modern day France) who ministered to Queen Bertha, a Christian princess from Gaul, who was the consort of the Kentish king. The king gave Augustine and his companions an existing church building for their use. This building had been constructed by the British Christians, not the Gallicans. The West and North of the British Isles were for the large part Christian. The indigenous British Church – commonly called the Celtic Church, while it had suffered some reversals with the Anglo-Saxon invasion of the British Isles was enjoying a resurgence. It had established an extensive network of missions throughout the rest of Britain. This Church we now call the Church of England.
Claims that Augustine of Canterbury was the first Primate of Britain, Hawtins points to our attention are also empty. Britain already had its own Primate – the Archbishop of Carleon, the successor to Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, who had died some 20 years before the arrival of Augustine’s mission. The British Isles also boasted 120 bishops and hundred of priests, monks, and nuns.
If Augustine did not establish the English Church and he was not the first British primate, then what did he do. Augustine established a foothold for Romanism and Papalism in the British Isles. Despite his instructions from Pope Gregory the Great he showed no respect for the indigenous British Church. He offended the British bishops, refusing to stand to greet them after having arranged a meeting with them, and treating them as his inferiors and expecting their submission.
Romanism gradually spread from the See of Canterbury to the rest of the British Isles. The process was not fully completed until the 11th century. Papal authority, however, did not fare as well as the Romanist influence. The Saxons and the Danes and subsequently the Normans refused to recognize the jurisdiction of foreign bishops. The Pope was a foreign bishop.
Pope Gregory did not consecrate Augustine a British bishop. Rather he asked one of the bishops of Gaul – whose see was closest to Britain – to consecrate Augustine as a personal favor. The Gallican bishop was reluctant to consecrate Augustine. He appears to have questioned his own authority to perform such a consecration. He kept Augustine waiting for a very long time before he with great reluctance acceded to Gregory’s importuning. Gregory did eventually send a pallium to Augustine, recognizing him as “Rome’s man” and his see in Kent as “Rome’s territory,” once Augustine had established himself at the court of the Kentish king. The first Archbishop of Canterbury to be consecrated by a Pope was Theodore.
The basis of Canterbury’s preeminence in the English Church then is that it was the earliest Saxon see that was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff. It certainly does not justify assigning preeminence to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican Communion.
4. The Reformed Church of England inherited its provinces and dioceses from the pre-Reformation Medieval Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury would continue to enjoy pre-eminence in the Reformed English Church as he had in the pre-Reformation Medieval Church. The English Reformers did not see any need to do away with the existing episcopal hierarchy in England. Under the Act of Supremacy, however, the English monarch was the supreme governor of the English Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury was subordinate to the English monarch. The jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome over the English Church was rejected.
From the 16th century on the Archbishop of Canterbury has been a state functionary as much as a leading bishop. He sat with the other bishops in the House of Lords, the second chamber of the English Parliament. Archbishop Whitgift was a member of the Privy Council of Queen Elizabeth I. The Queen in Council selected new bishops and translated bishops to new dioceses. The Queen in Council also appointed commissions to investigate troublesome bishops and to depose them. Elizabeth sequestered Archbishop Grindal over his refusal to enforce her policy and appointed commissioners to perform his state functions. She was considering removing him when he died.
While Gordon Brown has proposed a number of reforms, the Archbishop of Canterbury is presently appointed by the English Prime Minister. His appointment has more to do with English politics than the needs of the Anglican Communion. As in the case of the present Archbishop his theological outlook may be totally at odds with that of most of the Communion.
5. The Archbishop of Canterbury did not play a significant role in the expansion of the Church of England beyond the British Isles. The Bishop of London played that role. The Bishop of London had oversight of overseas chaplains and missionaries. The Bishop of London was the one to whom the British colonies sent candidates for ordination.
The Archbishop of Canterbury became the titular head of the Anglican Communion principally by default. Most of what are now autonomous provinces were the Church of England in a particular colonial possession of the British Empire. The pre-eminence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the former churches of the English colonial empire is more a survival of English colonialism than anything else.
In the 21st century it makes no sense to continue to give preeminence to the metropolitan of a shrinking province because it was the first Saxon see nominally under the Pope’s jurisdiction in a Church that asserted its independence from the See of Rome in the 16th century. A President of the Anglican Communion, elected by the Primates for a set term, could, acting in consultation with his fellow Primates, perform all of the Anglican Communion functions of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Communion Presidency could be rotated among the Primates.
One suspects that liberal and revisionist Episcopalians would not be ardent “Canterburyists,” as they are for the moment, and would be less insistent that communion with the See of Canterbury is essential to being Anglican if the present Archbishop of Canterbury was not so weak and showed an inclination to discipline The Episcopal Church. For many liberal and revisionist Episcopalians, belonging to a province which at the present time is in communion with the See of Canterbury is the only basis upon which they can claim to be Anglicans.
Under the influence of Anglo-Catholicism in the 19th century and liberalism and modernism in the 20th century The Episcopal Church has drifted away from the Anglican via media. As the Rev. Dr. Paul Zahl, former dean of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, observes in his article The Crisis in the Episcopal Church, the present synthesis of Anglo-Catholic, liberal and modernist elements in The Episcopal Church is more accurately described as “contemporary Episcopalianism” than Anglicanism. It is arguably the antithesis of the Anglican via media. Contemporary Episcopalians are arguably at best nominal Anglicans.
I have serious difficulties with the claim of the “Canterburyists” that communion with the See of Canterbury is essential to an Anglican identity. Indeed “Canterburyists” would make recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury the primary requirement for being “Anglican”.
1. Anglicans have historically rejected the argument of Roman Catholics that in order to be a “Catholic,” one must be in communion with the Pope. Having rejected communion with the See of Rome as essential to a Catholic identity, how can “Canterburyists” make the same argument for an Anglican identity, that is in order to be an Anglican one must be in communion with a particular bishop, with the Archbishop of Canterbury. If the first argument is not valid, the second argument is not valid. To insist that it is valid, is to ignore the law of contradiction.
2. One can be faithful to the Protestant and Reformed faith of the Church of England, believing that all that is essential to one’s salvation is found in the Bible and nothing contrary to the Bible is allowed. Between things plainly commanded and things explicitly forbidden there seems to be room for things indifferent. One can subscribe wholeheartedly to the Biblical doctrine and principles of the classical Anglican formularies – the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion of 1571 and the Book of Common Prayer of 1662. One can be baptized and confirmed in accordance with the rites of the Anglican Prayer Book and ordained in accordance with the rites of the Anglican Ordinal. One can be steeped in the theology of the English Reformers and the benchmark Anglican divines; one can be intimate with the classics of Anglican spirituality. One can recite the prescribed Psalms and read the appointed lessons and prayers at the canonical hours of 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM every day. One can evidence every mark that has historically set Anglicans apart from members of other traditions. Yet by the logic of the “Canterburyists,” one is not a true Anglican if one does not belong to a province that is in communion with the See of Canterbury.
On the other hand, one can espouse the heresy of Origenism, the belief that all men are saved, a belief that the original Forty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1552 declared “pernicious.” One can embrace the other beliefs of the extremists that the English Reformers loosely described as “Anabaptists” and who represented one of the two extremes between which the Reformers charted the course of the Anglican via media. These beliefs include that Jesus is not divine, just a great religious teacher or prophet; Christians are not bound by the moral law; personal revelations from God supercede the Holy Scriptures; and the duty of all Christians is to establish God’s Kingdom on earth through economic, political, social reform and even armed revolution and violence. One can hold the belief that the 16th century Romanists and Papists held, that the present Church has progressed since the times of the New Testament and the first six centuries of Christianity and therefore is more mature than the primitive Church. The teaching of the present Church trumps the teaching not only of the primitive Church but also the Bible. The Romanists and the Papists represented the other extreme that the English Reformers sought to avoid. One can embrace all kinds of unorthodox beliefs and outright heresies. One can walk the serpentine ways of the labyrinth, the great icon of the Mistress of the Beasts, the ancient European goddess of fertility and death, believing that treading its twisting paths brings one closer to the divine. One can practice sorcery, consult the dead, read one’s future in the stars, and pour out libations and offer cakes to the Queen of Heaven. Yet by the logic of the “Canterbury Anglicans,” if one belongs to a province in communion with Canterbury, one is an authentic Anglican.
3. As the Rev. Guy Hawtins points to his readers’ attention in his treatise on the English Church, Ecclesia Anglicana, Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, did not establish the English Church in 597 AD. Far from it. When Augustine and his monks arrived in Kent, a small Saxon kingdom in southern England, it was the one part of the British Isles that was still for the most part heathen. There was a Christian presence in Kent – priests and monks from Gaul (modern day France) who ministered to Queen Bertha, a Christian princess from Gaul, who was the consort of the Kentish king. The king gave Augustine and his companions an existing church building for their use. This building had been constructed by the British Christians, not the Gallicans. The West and North of the British Isles were for the large part Christian. The indigenous British Church – commonly called the Celtic Church, while it had suffered some reversals with the Anglo-Saxon invasion of the British Isles was enjoying a resurgence. It had established an extensive network of missions throughout the rest of Britain. This Church we now call the Church of England.
Claims that Augustine of Canterbury was the first Primate of Britain, Hawtins points to our attention are also empty. Britain already had its own Primate – the Archbishop of Carleon, the successor to Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, who had died some 20 years before the arrival of Augustine’s mission. The British Isles also boasted 120 bishops and hundred of priests, monks, and nuns.
If Augustine did not establish the English Church and he was not the first British primate, then what did he do. Augustine established a foothold for Romanism and Papalism in the British Isles. Despite his instructions from Pope Gregory the Great he showed no respect for the indigenous British Church. He offended the British bishops, refusing to stand to greet them after having arranged a meeting with them, and treating them as his inferiors and expecting their submission.
Romanism gradually spread from the See of Canterbury to the rest of the British Isles. The process was not fully completed until the 11th century. Papal authority, however, did not fare as well as the Romanist influence. The Saxons and the Danes and subsequently the Normans refused to recognize the jurisdiction of foreign bishops. The Pope was a foreign bishop.
Pope Gregory did not consecrate Augustine a British bishop. Rather he asked one of the bishops of Gaul – whose see was closest to Britain – to consecrate Augustine as a personal favor. The Gallican bishop was reluctant to consecrate Augustine. He appears to have questioned his own authority to perform such a consecration. He kept Augustine waiting for a very long time before he with great reluctance acceded to Gregory’s importuning. Gregory did eventually send a pallium to Augustine, recognizing him as “Rome’s man” and his see in Kent as “Rome’s territory,” once Augustine had established himself at the court of the Kentish king. The first Archbishop of Canterbury to be consecrated by a Pope was Theodore.
The basis of Canterbury’s preeminence in the English Church then is that it was the earliest Saxon see that was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff. It certainly does not justify assigning preeminence to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican Communion.
4. The Reformed Church of England inherited its provinces and dioceses from the pre-Reformation Medieval Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury would continue to enjoy pre-eminence in the Reformed English Church as he had in the pre-Reformation Medieval Church. The English Reformers did not see any need to do away with the existing episcopal hierarchy in England. Under the Act of Supremacy, however, the English monarch was the supreme governor of the English Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury was subordinate to the English monarch. The jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome over the English Church was rejected.
From the 16th century on the Archbishop of Canterbury has been a state functionary as much as a leading bishop. He sat with the other bishops in the House of Lords, the second chamber of the English Parliament. Archbishop Whitgift was a member of the Privy Council of Queen Elizabeth I. The Queen in Council selected new bishops and translated bishops to new dioceses. The Queen in Council also appointed commissions to investigate troublesome bishops and to depose them. Elizabeth sequestered Archbishop Grindal over his refusal to enforce her policy and appointed commissioners to perform his state functions. She was considering removing him when he died.
While Gordon Brown has proposed a number of reforms, the Archbishop of Canterbury is presently appointed by the English Prime Minister. His appointment has more to do with English politics than the needs of the Anglican Communion. As in the case of the present Archbishop his theological outlook may be totally at odds with that of most of the Communion.
5. The Archbishop of Canterbury did not play a significant role in the expansion of the Church of England beyond the British Isles. The Bishop of London played that role. The Bishop of London had oversight of overseas chaplains and missionaries. The Bishop of London was the one to whom the British colonies sent candidates for ordination.
The Archbishop of Canterbury became the titular head of the Anglican Communion principally by default. Most of what are now autonomous provinces were the Church of England in a particular colonial possession of the British Empire. The pre-eminence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the former churches of the English colonial empire is more a survival of English colonialism than anything else.
In the 21st century it makes no sense to continue to give preeminence to the metropolitan of a shrinking province because it was the first Saxon see nominally under the Pope’s jurisdiction in a Church that asserted its independence from the See of Rome in the 16th century. A President of the Anglican Communion, elected by the Primates for a set term, could, acting in consultation with his fellow Primates, perform all of the Anglican Communion functions of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Communion Presidency could be rotated among the Primates.
One suspects that liberal and revisionist Episcopalians would not be ardent “Canterburyists,” as they are for the moment, and would be less insistent that communion with the See of Canterbury is essential to being Anglican if the present Archbishop of Canterbury was not so weak and showed an inclination to discipline The Episcopal Church. For many liberal and revisionist Episcopalians, belonging to a province which at the present time is in communion with the See of Canterbury is the only basis upon which they can claim to be Anglicans.
Under the influence of Anglo-Catholicism in the 19th century and liberalism and modernism in the 20th century The Episcopal Church has drifted away from the Anglican via media. As the Rev. Dr. Paul Zahl, former dean of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, observes in his article The Crisis in the Episcopal Church, the present synthesis of Anglo-Catholic, liberal and modernist elements in The Episcopal Church is more accurately described as “contemporary Episcopalianism” than Anglicanism. It is arguably the antithesis of the Anglican via media. Contemporary Episcopalians are arguably at best nominal Anglicans.
Priest to be ordained at Trinity Anglican Church
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/FOSTERS04/108030316/-1/NEWS05
[Foster's Online] 03 Aug 2007--Trinity Anglican Church will host visiting bishops and clergy as they gather from all parts of the Northeast. They will gather in Rochester to take part in the ancient ceremonies of the church for the ordination of a man to the sacred order of priest. The Rev. Terrance Tutor, a deacon in the Anglican Church in America, will be ordained by the Right Rev. George Langberg at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Deacon Tutor is a Augustinian monk and is known to many in the community and church as Brother Christian. He maintains the traditional garb of a "Religious" – cassock, scapular and cowl. He holds degrees from Southern Oregon University and Marylhurst University where he earned his Master's Degree in Pastoral Theology. His long time friend, the Rev. Owen Williams, invited him to come to New England and speak to Bishop Langberg about serving in this diocese.
[Foster's Online] 03 Aug 2007--Trinity Anglican Church will host visiting bishops and clergy as they gather from all parts of the Northeast. They will gather in Rochester to take part in the ancient ceremonies of the church for the ordination of a man to the sacred order of priest. The Rev. Terrance Tutor, a deacon in the Anglican Church in America, will be ordained by the Right Rev. George Langberg at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Deacon Tutor is a Augustinian monk and is known to many in the community and church as Brother Christian. He maintains the traditional garb of a "Religious" – cassock, scapular and cowl. He holds degrees from Southern Oregon University and Marylhurst University where he earned his Master's Degree in Pastoral Theology. His long time friend, the Rev. Owen Williams, invited him to come to New England and speak to Bishop Langberg about serving in this diocese.
Should campaigns collar clergy endorsements?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-seekerboxaug03,1,454651.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
[Chicago Tribune] 03 Aug 2007--After triggering a debate that threatens to divide the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire has stirred another controversy. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, has endorsed Barack Obama to be the next U.S. president.
"As my work shows me every day, leadership means bringing people together and inspiring them to live out their values," Robinson said in a statement released by the Obama campaign. "Barack Obama sees beyond the partisanship and hopelessness that have dominated in recent years, and the movement he's building is bringing vital new energy and optimism into our democratic process."
Some Episcopalians resent Robinson, believing that far from "bringing people together" he has driven a wedge between liberals and conservatives in the Episcopal church. Some have left the church because they believe Robinson's relationship violates Scripture.
But his ringing endorsement also did not ring well in the ears of at least one interfaith organization. The Interfaith Alliance wagged its finger at all Democratic and Republican presidential candidates for seeking endorsements from clergy.
[Chicago Tribune] 03 Aug 2007--After triggering a debate that threatens to divide the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire has stirred another controversy. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, has endorsed Barack Obama to be the next U.S. president.
"As my work shows me every day, leadership means bringing people together and inspiring them to live out their values," Robinson said in a statement released by the Obama campaign. "Barack Obama sees beyond the partisanship and hopelessness that have dominated in recent years, and the movement he's building is bringing vital new energy and optimism into our democratic process."
Some Episcopalians resent Robinson, believing that far from "bringing people together" he has driven a wedge between liberals and conservatives in the Episcopal church. Some have left the church because they believe Robinson's relationship violates Scripture.
But his ringing endorsement also did not ring well in the ears of at least one interfaith organization. The Interfaith Alliance wagged its finger at all Democratic and Republican presidential candidates for seeking endorsements from clergy.
A Brief Note on the Use of the Word “Heretic”
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4817/
[Stand Firm] 03 Aug 2007--How long does the Church need to condemn something? How many councils must consistently and universally agree before one can say, flatly, "This is heresy and those who promote it heretics"? Must there be an infinite progress of Councils re-publishing, infinitely, the same decision on the same matter each and every time it arises? Or, more plausibly and reasonably, once the Church has settled a matter and her decision accords with the Word of God, may we then, finally, rest.
[Stand Firm] 03 Aug 2007--How long does the Church need to condemn something? How many councils must consistently and universally agree before one can say, flatly, "This is heresy and those who promote it heretics"? Must there be an infinite progress of Councils re-publishing, infinitely, the same decision on the same matter each and every time it arises? Or, more plausibly and reasonably, once the Church has settled a matter and her decision accords with the Word of God, may we then, finally, rest.
A Response to Ephraim Radner
http://toalltheworld.blogspot.com/2007/08/response-to-ephraim-radner.html
[To all the world...] 03 Aug 2007--On Stand Firm, Greg Griffith has commented on the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner's resignation this week from the Anglican Communion Network. To say, as Greg does, that Ephraim Radner's resignation was done clumsily is too generous. His "resignation" was nothing less than an unwarranted public attack on Bishop Robert Duncan. Radner acts as if the direction the Network is taking is due to Bishop Duncan alone. Bishop Duncan is not a Pied Piper leading naive children. The members of the Network Council who met this past week are bishops and elected representatives of the several dioceses that comprise the Network, along with representatives of regional convocations composed of several thousand Episcopalians and other Anglicans in parishes that are not in Network dioceses. These elected leaders are members of diocesan councils and standing committees, deputies to the Episcopal Church's General Convention--delegates with many years of experience at all levels of the Episcopal Church. These bishops and diocesan leaders re-elected Bishop Duncan as Moderator of the Network by acclamation. Dr. Radner, on the other hand, was elected by no one and speaks for no one other than himself and possibly the other scholars of the Anglican Communion Institute.
[To all the world...] 03 Aug 2007--On Stand Firm, Greg Griffith has commented on the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner's resignation this week from the Anglican Communion Network. To say, as Greg does, that Ephraim Radner's resignation was done clumsily is too generous. His "resignation" was nothing less than an unwarranted public attack on Bishop Robert Duncan. Radner acts as if the direction the Network is taking is due to Bishop Duncan alone. Bishop Duncan is not a Pied Piper leading naive children. The members of the Network Council who met this past week are bishops and elected representatives of the several dioceses that comprise the Network, along with representatives of regional convocations composed of several thousand Episcopalians and other Anglicans in parishes that are not in Network dioceses. These elected leaders are members of diocesan councils and standing committees, deputies to the Episcopal Church's General Convention--delegates with many years of experience at all levels of the Episcopal Church. These bishops and diocesan leaders re-elected Bishop Duncan as Moderator of the Network by acclamation. Dr. Radner, on the other hand, was elected by no one and speaks for no one other than himself and possibly the other scholars of the Anglican Communion Institute.
American anger at Archbishop
http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/4831/#more
[TitusOneNine] 03 Aug 2007--Poised to fracture over the thorny issue of institutional loyalty towards the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) emerged from its annual council meeting with a degree of unanimity and confidence not seen since the aftermath of the Gene Robinson consecration in 2003.
As the Sept 30 deadline for the US House of Bishops to respond to the Dar es Salaam communiqué approaches, the ACN voted not to take precipitous action and to wait upon the direction of the Primates of the Anglican Communion.
The Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone, Gregory Venables challenged the delegates ‘not to hold back’ challenging them to choose between a ‘Christian church or a comfortable church.’
He said he had ‘dealt eyeball to eyeball’ with the leaders of the American church and had ‘no illusions’ left. But encouraged their resolve saying, “It ain’t us who left it. We are the Anglicans.”
[TitusOneNine] 03 Aug 2007--Poised to fracture over the thorny issue of institutional loyalty towards the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) emerged from its annual council meeting with a degree of unanimity and confidence not seen since the aftermath of the Gene Robinson consecration in 2003.
As the Sept 30 deadline for the US House of Bishops to respond to the Dar es Salaam communiqué approaches, the ACN voted not to take precipitous action and to wait upon the direction of the Primates of the Anglican Communion.
The Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone, Gregory Venables challenged the delegates ‘not to hold back’ challenging them to choose between a ‘Christian church or a comfortable church.’
He said he had ‘dealt eyeball to eyeball’ with the leaders of the American church and had ‘no illusions’ left. But encouraged their resolve saying, “It ain’t us who left it. We are the Anglicans.”
Theological liberalism of Archbishop of Armagh’s tirade is totalitarian
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1964
[Anglican Mainstream] 03 Aug 2007--As a middle-of-the-road English Anglican who carries no card of particular church ‘party’ allegiance I was disturbed by your report of the Archbishop of Armagh’s tirade (CEN, July 27).
It is not just his demonising of some with whom he obviously most vehemently disagrees but also the certainty of his own convictions about the Bible, the Spirit, and the nature of revelation and truth that ought to raise alarm bells. The kind of doctrinaire liberalism that belittles reverence for revelation and tradition and respect for orthodox and conservative scholarship is not only schismatic in character and effect; in the same way that the politics of New Labour is criticised for being increasingly totalitarian, so too the persecutory nature of much modern western theological liberalism increasingly constrains any genuine freedom either to think or to love one’s neighbour.
[Anglican Mainstream] 03 Aug 2007--As a middle-of-the-road English Anglican who carries no card of particular church ‘party’ allegiance I was disturbed by your report of the Archbishop of Armagh’s tirade (CEN, July 27).
It is not just his demonising of some with whom he obviously most vehemently disagrees but also the certainty of his own convictions about the Bible, the Spirit, and the nature of revelation and truth that ought to raise alarm bells. The kind of doctrinaire liberalism that belittles reverence for revelation and tradition and respect for orthodox and conservative scholarship is not only schismatic in character and effect; in the same way that the politics of New Labour is criticised for being increasingly totalitarian, so too the persecutory nature of much modern western theological liberalism increasingly constrains any genuine freedom either to think or to love one’s neighbour.
Archbishop of Armagh “goes beyond the Anglican understanding of Revelation”
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1963
[Anglican Mainstream] 03 Aug 2007--The ‘text’, as the Archbishop calls it, is, according to the Thirty-Nine Articles (which he affirms, and requires everyone he ordains to affirm), God’s word written, holy Scripture which is the measure even of the Creeds we recite, sufficient for salvation and the sole source of those things which we are required to believe or to do.
To summarize it as “attempts to set down what” human witnesses have “known and seen of the action of God in the world” is to demean Scripture below what Anglicans believe it to be.
To say that “the unfolding revelation of God” goes on “beyond the written text” via ‘the Body of Christ’ as a “Spirit filled entity” is to go beyond the Anglican understanding of revelation.
[Anglican Mainstream] 03 Aug 2007--The ‘text’, as the Archbishop calls it, is, according to the Thirty-Nine Articles (which he affirms, and requires everyone he ordains to affirm), God’s word written, holy Scripture which is the measure even of the Creeds we recite, sufficient for salvation and the sole source of those things which we are required to believe or to do.
To summarize it as “attempts to set down what” human witnesses have “known and seen of the action of God in the world” is to demean Scripture below what Anglicans believe it to be.
To say that “the unfolding revelation of God” goes on “beyond the written text” via ‘the Body of Christ’ as a “Spirit filled entity” is to go beyond the Anglican understanding of revelation.
ADV Responds to the Bishop of Virginia’s Announcement to Depose Former Clergy
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1962
[Anglican Mainstream] 03 Aug 2007--The churches of the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV), an association of Anglican congregations in Virginia, responded to the public announcement made today by the current Episcopal Bishop of Virginia to depose the approximately twenty clergy who have transferred their canonical residency to other branches of the Anglican Communion.
“We are sorry that Bishop Lee would seek to make such a public announcement when the clergy are no longer under his jurisdiction. The clergy he seeks to depose include a bishop-elect in the Province of Uganda, as well as a number of other ordained men and women who have faithfully carried out their pastoral duties as priests in the Church,” said ADV Vice Chairman Jim Oakes.
[Anglican Mainstream] 03 Aug 2007--The churches of the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV), an association of Anglican congregations in Virginia, responded to the public announcement made today by the current Episcopal Bishop of Virginia to depose the approximately twenty clergy who have transferred their canonical residency to other branches of the Anglican Communion.
“We are sorry that Bishop Lee would seek to make such a public announcement when the clergy are no longer under his jurisdiction. The clergy he seeks to depose include a bishop-elect in the Province of Uganda, as well as a number of other ordained men and women who have faithfully carried out their pastoral duties as priests in the Church,” said ADV Vice Chairman Jim Oakes.
Bishops will continue in ministry with Virginia priests
http://www.acn-us.org/archive/2007/08/bishops-will-continue-in-ministry-with-virginia-priests.html
[Anglican Communion Network] 03 Aug 2007--A decision by Bishop Peter Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia to declare 21 priests to have “abandoned the communion of this Church,” will not have force in much of the Anglican Communion or in a number of Episcopal dioceses.
The Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, the Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, the. Rt. Rev. Jack Iker of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Rt. Rev. John David Schofield of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin have issued the following statement....
[Anglican Communion Network] 03 Aug 2007--A decision by Bishop Peter Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia to declare 21 priests to have “abandoned the communion of this Church,” will not have force in much of the Anglican Communion or in a number of Episcopal dioceses.
The Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, the Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, the. Rt. Rev. Jack Iker of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Rt. Rev. John David Schofield of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin have issued the following statement....
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Churches that give newcomers vertigo
http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/indepth/articles/churches_that_give_newcomers_vertigo/
[your.sydneyanglicans.net] 03 Aug 2007--Shellharbour City Centre Anglican Church, in conjunction with Shellharbour Anglican College, are planning to start a new church in the school. As part of their planning they sent a team out to different church plants. What they found was a real eye opener into what is considered the forefront of the Sydney mission. Team leader Mal York speaks to Your.Sydneyanglicans.net
[your.sydneyanglicans.net] 03 Aug 2007--Shellharbour City Centre Anglican Church, in conjunction with Shellharbour Anglican College, are planning to start a new church in the school. As part of their planning they sent a team out to different church plants. What they found was a real eye opener into what is considered the forefront of the Sydney mission. Team leader Mal York speaks to Your.Sydneyanglicans.net
Saving Anglicanism
http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/indepth/articles/saving_anglicanism/
[your.sydneyanglicans.net] 03 Aug 2007--Global South is a term frequently used these days by journalists and bloggers commenting on Anglican Communion issues. It seems at first glance to be a geographical term. But that’s not so. It is really a theological term used by conservative Anglicans, coming mainly from the developing world, to describe themselves. It is much more elegant and apt than the term ‘Third World’ which Anglican leaders from the developing world always disavowed as demeaning.
There now exists a Global South Network which is making its presence forcefully felt, especially through its leaders’ presence in Anglican Communion primates’ meetings.
[your.sydneyanglicans.net] 03 Aug 2007--Global South is a term frequently used these days by journalists and bloggers commenting on Anglican Communion issues. It seems at first glance to be a geographical term. But that’s not so. It is really a theological term used by conservative Anglicans, coming mainly from the developing world, to describe themselves. It is much more elegant and apt than the term ‘Third World’ which Anglican leaders from the developing world always disavowed as demeaning.
There now exists a Global South Network which is making its presence forcefully felt, especially through its leaders’ presence in Anglican Communion primates’ meetings.
Welcome Stranger
http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/welcome_stranger/
[your.sydneyanglicans.net] 03 Aug 2007--Are we failing newcomers? What really helps newcomers integrate into church life? A pilot study of Anglican churches in South Sydney region has revealed some answers. Jeremy Halcrow looks at the five most welcoming parishes and gets their hospitality tips.
[your.sydneyanglicans.net] 03 Aug 2007--Are we failing newcomers? What really helps newcomers integrate into church life? A pilot study of Anglican churches in South Sydney region has revealed some answers. Jeremy Halcrow looks at the five most welcoming parishes and gets their hospitality tips.
Harry Potter and the Fire breathing Fundamentalists
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/JerryBowyer/2007/08/02/harry_potter_and_the_fire_breathing_fundamentalists
[Townhall.com] 03 Aug 2007--KKLA is the largest Christian talk radio station in America. I hold a dubious record there – I am responsible for causing the largest number of complaint calls the station had ever gotten in a single day. The topic? Harry Potter.
The Bowyers love Harry Potter: the novels, the movies, the video games, the midnight bookseller parties, we’re game for any of it. It didn’t start that way; ten years ago my mother wanted to give Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to one of my girls as a Christmas gift. “No way,” I said. “We don’t do witches and wizards here.”
A couple of years later my mother-in-law asked the same question. By then I’d become a little less rock-ribbed and quite a bit more disillusioned with the religious right wing of the conservative movement. Gracie loved the books and started sharing the story with me. As I noticed more and more references to classical and medieval literature my guard started to fall.
[Townhall.com] 03 Aug 2007--KKLA is the largest Christian talk radio station in America. I hold a dubious record there – I am responsible for causing the largest number of complaint calls the station had ever gotten in a single day. The topic? Harry Potter.
The Bowyers love Harry Potter: the novels, the movies, the video games, the midnight bookseller parties, we’re game for any of it. It didn’t start that way; ten years ago my mother wanted to give Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to one of my girls as a Christmas gift. “No way,” I said. “We don’t do witches and wizards here.”
A couple of years later my mother-in-law asked the same question. By then I’d become a little less rock-ribbed and quite a bit more disillusioned with the religious right wing of the conservative movement. Gracie loved the books and started sharing the story with me. As I noticed more and more references to classical and medieval literature my guard started to fall.
Brief Testimony in Presentment Trial of Colorado Priest
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3641
[The Living Church] 03 Aug 2007--An ecclesiastical court hearing in the Diocese of Colorado adjourned three hours after the trial began July 31 at St. John’s Cathedral in Denver. The Rev. Don Armstrong stands accused of a number of charges, including failing to maintain proper church financial records and diverting church endowment money to himself and his family.
Fr. Armstrong has denied that he is guilty of any financial misconduct and has accused the Rt. Rev. Robert O’Neill, Bishop of Colorado, of instigating a politically motivated vendetta against him.
[The Living Church] 03 Aug 2007--An ecclesiastical court hearing in the Diocese of Colorado adjourned three hours after the trial began July 31 at St. John’s Cathedral in Denver. The Rev. Don Armstrong stands accused of a number of charges, including failing to maintain proper church financial records and diverting church endowment money to himself and his family.
Fr. Armstrong has denied that he is guilty of any financial misconduct and has accused the Rt. Rev. Robert O’Neill, Bishop of Colorado, of instigating a politically motivated vendetta against him.
Why the Archbishop of York got it wrong
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1960
[Anglican Mainstream] 03 Aug 2007--Archbishop of York John Sentamu has been quoted as saying, “…I haven’t found that in Ecusa (sic) or in Canada, where I was recently, they have any doubts in their understanding of God which is very different from anybody. What they have quarrelled about is the nature of sexual ethics.”
John Sentamu hasn’t looked or listened hard enough. The battle, at least in North America, is over core doctrine and belief: who Jesus is and what authority Holy Scripture has. Although in a brief article there is not ample space for a full-length dissertation on the extent of the problem, let some of the North American and especially Episcopal Church leaders speak for themselves.
[Anglican Mainstream] 03 Aug 2007--Archbishop of York John Sentamu has been quoted as saying, “…I haven’t found that in Ecusa (sic) or in Canada, where I was recently, they have any doubts in their understanding of God which is very different from anybody. What they have quarrelled about is the nature of sexual ethics.”
John Sentamu hasn’t looked or listened hard enough. The battle, at least in North America, is over core doctrine and belief: who Jesus is and what authority Holy Scripture has. Although in a brief article there is not ample space for a full-length dissertation on the extent of the problem, let some of the North American and especially Episcopal Church leaders speak for themselves.
Archbishop Venables Challenges 'Curia' Characterization
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3639
[The Living Church] 03 Aug 2007--During a press conference after the Anglican Communion Network’s two-day council meeting, the Most Rev. Gregory Venables of the Province of the Southern Cone challenged the notion among some Episcopalians that the primates are claiming curial powers for themselves.
Because Anglicans worldwide are led by locally elected bishops, he said, “Common sense and biblical concepts would say that the primates are at that highest level of authority, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
[The Living Church] 03 Aug 2007--During a press conference after the Anglican Communion Network’s two-day council meeting, the Most Rev. Gregory Venables of the Province of the Southern Cone challenged the notion among some Episcopalians that the primates are claiming curial powers for themselves.
Because Anglicans worldwide are led by locally elected bishops, he said, “Common sense and biblical concepts would say that the primates are at that highest level of authority, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
John Stott Address at Kewsick
http://www.langhampartnership.org/2007/07/31/john-stott-address-at-kewsick/
[Langham Partnership International] 03 Aug 2007--I remember very vividly, some years ago, that the question which perplexed me as a younger Christian (and some of my friends as well) was this: what is God’s purpose for His people? Granted that we have been converted, granted that we have been saved and received new life in Jesus Christ, what comes next? Of course, we knew the famous statement of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: that man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever: we knew that, and we believed it. We also toyed with some briefer statements, like one of only five words – love God, love your neighbour. But somehow neither of these, nor some others that we could mention, seemed wholly satisfactory. So I want to share with you where my mind has come to rest as I approach the end of my pilgrimage on earth and it is – God wants His people to become like Christ. Christlikeness is the will of God for the people of God.
[Langham Partnership International] 03 Aug 2007--I remember very vividly, some years ago, that the question which perplexed me as a younger Christian (and some of my friends as well) was this: what is God’s purpose for His people? Granted that we have been converted, granted that we have been saved and received new life in Jesus Christ, what comes next? Of course, we knew the famous statement of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: that man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever: we knew that, and we believed it. We also toyed with some briefer statements, like one of only five words – love God, love your neighbour. But somehow neither of these, nor some others that we could mention, seemed wholly satisfactory. So I want to share with you where my mind has come to rest as I approach the end of my pilgrimage on earth and it is – God wants His people to become like Christ. Christlikeness is the will of God for the people of God.
An Open Letter to Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll
http://anglicancommunioninstitute.com/content/view/106/1/
[Anglican Communion Institute] 03 Aug 2007-- had finished a draft of this letter before the recent meeting at which Bishop Duncan expressed his view that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lambeth Conference are "lost" in so far as they can serve as instruments of communion. He has expressed to me in private views similar to these on several occasions; but now that they have been expressed in such a public manner I feel a response to your open letter is even more urgent than when I first sat down to write. In your Open Letter to Network Bishops and Common Cause Partners you advise these Bishops that the time has come for a "full and final separation between those in The Episcopal Church (TEC) who hold a false gospel and those who hold fast the truth revealed in Holy Scripture and the evangelical and catholic faith of the Church." You write as a baptized and confirmed member of the TEC of 40 years standing and as a priest of some 35 years standing. You write also as one who for the past seven years has viewed TEC with the eyes of the church in Africa.
[Anglican Communion Institute] 03 Aug 2007-- had finished a draft of this letter before the recent meeting at which Bishop Duncan expressed his view that the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lambeth Conference are "lost" in so far as they can serve as instruments of communion. He has expressed to me in private views similar to these on several occasions; but now that they have been expressed in such a public manner I feel a response to your open letter is even more urgent than when I first sat down to write. In your Open Letter to Network Bishops and Common Cause Partners you advise these Bishops that the time has come for a "full and final separation between those in The Episcopal Church (TEC) who hold a false gospel and those who hold fast the truth revealed in Holy Scripture and the evangelical and catholic faith of the Church." You write as a baptized and confirmed member of the TEC of 40 years standing and as a priest of some 35 years standing. You write also as one who for the past seven years has viewed TEC with the eyes of the church in Africa.
A response from Ephraim Radner to criticism upon his resignation from ACN
http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/4770/#88543
[TitusOneNine] 03 Aug 2007--But my resignation from the ACN itself was a necessary move to make. It simply made no sense – logically, theologically, and morally— for a member of the Covenant Design Group like myself to remain a member of an organization that has, through its chief leader and spokesperson, repudiated the very basis for the work I accepted and accepted willingly and under the Lord. I vowed at my ordination before God to “take my share in the councils of the Church”, and the Covenant process is at the center of these councils within Anglicanism and its Communion at present. There was no question in my mind, when faced with this choice, about which direction I am bound to go. I need to say very clearly, however, that it is not a choice I wanted to make, nor a choice that I wish had been forced upon me. Yet, for all that, I did not seek it out or invent it. Someone else did.
[TitusOneNine] 03 Aug 2007--But my resignation from the ACN itself was a necessary move to make. It simply made no sense – logically, theologically, and morally— for a member of the Covenant Design Group like myself to remain a member of an organization that has, through its chief leader and spokesperson, repudiated the very basis for the work I accepted and accepted willingly and under the Lord. I vowed at my ordination before God to “take my share in the councils of the Church”, and the Covenant process is at the center of these councils within Anglicanism and its Communion at present. There was no question in my mind, when faced with this choice, about which direction I am bound to go. I need to say very clearly, however, that it is not a choice I wanted to make, nor a choice that I wish had been forced upon me. Yet, for all that, I did not seek it out or invent it. Someone else did.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
The true meaning of baptism
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/578853
[New Vision Online] 01 Aug 2007--Whether one uses immersion and another uses pouring water to baptise a person (which is known as affusion) both serve the purpose as long as it is done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as Jesus Christ instructed His Disciples to keep doing, when baptising (Matthew 28:19).
The word “baptism” comes from a Greek word baptizo or baptizomai, which means pouring water on or immersing in water. So in this language, where the word baptism originated, the etymology of it is one.
In the Anglican Church of Uganda we do not baptise a person who has changed from where he or she had been baptised by immersion, if the baptism was made in the three-fold name of God.
In fact, in the Anglican prayer Book, the instruction to the priest on the Baptism is, “Pour water on him or her or immerse him/her, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
[New Vision Online] 01 Aug 2007--Whether one uses immersion and another uses pouring water to baptise a person (which is known as affusion) both serve the purpose as long as it is done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as Jesus Christ instructed His Disciples to keep doing, when baptising (Matthew 28:19).
The word “baptism” comes from a Greek word baptizo or baptizomai, which means pouring water on or immersing in water. So in this language, where the word baptism originated, the etymology of it is one.
In the Anglican Church of Uganda we do not baptise a person who has changed from where he or she had been baptised by immersion, if the baptism was made in the three-fold name of God.
In fact, in the Anglican prayer Book, the instruction to the priest on the Baptism is, “Pour water on him or her or immerse him/her, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Conservatives back federation
http://www.star-telegram.com/407/story/187404.html
[Star-Telegram] 01 Aug 2007--Dissident Episcopalians from across the nation approved a plan Tuesday aimed at creating a federation of Anglican groups opposed to liberal church decisions, such as the U.S. church's election of a gay bishop.
Eighty delegates to the annual council meeting of the Pittsburgh-based Anglican Communion Network took the initial steps to form a federation of Anglican groups still in the Episcopal Church, along with other groups that have left.
[Star-Telegram] 01 Aug 2007--Dissident Episcopalians from across the nation approved a plan Tuesday aimed at creating a federation of Anglican groups opposed to liberal church decisions, such as the U.S. church's election of a gay bishop.
Eighty delegates to the annual council meeting of the Pittsburgh-based Anglican Communion Network took the initial steps to form a federation of Anglican groups still in the Episcopal Church, along with other groups that have left.
Conservative U.S. Anglicans Outline 'Classic Christianity'
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070801/28700_Conservative_U.S._Anglicans_Outline_'Classic_Christianity'.htm
[The Christian Post] 01 Aug 2007--A group of conservative Anglicans planning to form a separate orthodox Anglican body in the United States ratified a "common cause" document on Tuesday.
The Anglican Communion Network, consisting of those discontent with The Episcopal Church or those who have split from the denomination, approved a statement that would no longer require its members to operate within the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.
Noting that many individual parishes and leaders in the Anglican Communion Network are no longer part of The Episcopal Church, delegates voted to add to the federating Articles of the Common Cause Partners the following statement: “Nothing in the charter or bylaws shall be interpreted as requiring submission to the constitution of The Episcopal Church by affiliates of this Network who are not themselves members of The Episcopal Church.”
[The Christian Post] 01 Aug 2007--A group of conservative Anglicans planning to form a separate orthodox Anglican body in the United States ratified a "common cause" document on Tuesday.
The Anglican Communion Network, consisting of those discontent with The Episcopal Church or those who have split from the denomination, approved a statement that would no longer require its members to operate within the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.
Noting that many individual parishes and leaders in the Anglican Communion Network are no longer part of The Episcopal Church, delegates voted to add to the federating Articles of the Common Cause Partners the following statement: “Nothing in the charter or bylaws shall be interpreted as requiring submission to the constitution of The Episcopal Church by affiliates of this Network who are not themselves members of The Episcopal Church.”
Common Cause Articles and Theological Statement
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/4741/
[Stand Firm] 01 Aug 2007--We believe and confess Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Him. Therefore, the Common Cause Partnership identifies the following seven elements as characteristic of the Anglican Way, and essential for membership....
[Stand Firm] 01 Aug 2007--We believe and confess Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Him. Therefore, the Common Cause Partnership identifies the following seven elements as characteristic of the Anglican Way, and essential for membership....
A Brief Response to Eprhaim Radner's “Open Letter to the Conservative Clergy of the Diocese of Colorado” [2000]
http://www.stephenswitness.com/2007/07/brief-response-to-eprhaim-radners-open.html
[Stephen's Witness] 01 Aug 2007--Dr. Radner's original "Letter" is now available at Dr. Louie Crew's website at www.andromeda.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/assays.html. Originally, my "Brief Response" appeared there as well, with Dr. Radner's to me and a response from Dr. Louie Crew to Radner on the "Moratorium." It seems, however, that my essay has been scrubbed from the latter. Given the ongoing relevance of this dialogue, I am reposting my original essay with minimal updating.
[Stephen's Witness] 01 Aug 2007--Dr. Radner's original "Letter" is now available at Dr. Louie Crew's website at www.andromeda.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/assays.html. Originally, my "Brief Response" appeared there as well, with Dr. Radner's to me and a response from Dr. Louie Crew to Radner on the "Moratorium." It seems, however, that my essay has been scrubbed from the latter. Given the ongoing relevance of this dialogue, I am reposting my original essay with minimal updating.
Bishop Duncan Re-elected Network Moderator
http://www.acn-us.org/archive/2007/07/bishop-duncan-reelected-network-moderator.html
{Anglican Communion Network] 01 Aug 2007--On July 31, Delegates to the Anglican Communion Network’s Annual Council meeting in Bedford, TX re-elected Bishop Robert Duncan of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh moderator of The Anglican Communion Network. Delegates also re-elected the Rev. Canon David Anderson secretary and elected Mr. Bill Roemer treasurer. All three were elected unanimously by acclamation.
{Anglican Communion Network] 01 Aug 2007--On July 31, Delegates to the Anglican Communion Network’s Annual Council meeting in Bedford, TX re-elected Bishop Robert Duncan of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh moderator of The Anglican Communion Network. Delegates also re-elected the Rev. Canon David Anderson secretary and elected Mr. Bill Roemer treasurer. All three were elected unanimously by acclamation.
A Brief Statement of Resignation from the Anglican Communion Network
http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/4770/#more
[TitusOneNine] 01 Aug 2007--It is with sorrow and deep disappointment that I tender my resignation from the Anglican Communion Network. Since the time I assisted in its founding, its leaders, members, and mission have been dear to me, even when I have disagreed with some of its corporate actions. The recent statements by the Moderator of the Network, Robert Duncan, however, so contradict my sense of calling within this part of Christ’s Body, the Anglican Communion, that I have no choice but to disassociate myself from this group, whom I had once hoped might prove an instrument of renewal, not of destruction, of building up, not of tearing down.
Bishop Duncan has now declared the See of Canterbury and the Lambeth Conference -- two of the four Instruments of Communion within our tradition – to be “lost”. He has said that God is “doing a new thing” in allowing these elements to founder and be let go. I find this judgment to be dangerously precipitous and unfair under circumstances when current, faithful, and hard work is being done by many to bolster these Instruments as servants of our common life in Christ. The judgment is also astonishingly self-confident and autonomously prophetic in a mode not unlike the baleful claims to visionary authority of those who have long misled the Episcopal Church. Finally, the declaration in effect cancels out the other two Instruments of Communion that also uphold our common Anglican life – the Primates’ Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council. It is the entire Anglican Communion, therefore, that Bp. Duncan is declaring to be “lost”. The judgment is far too sweeping.
[TitusOneNine] 01 Aug 2007--It is with sorrow and deep disappointment that I tender my resignation from the Anglican Communion Network. Since the time I assisted in its founding, its leaders, members, and mission have been dear to me, even when I have disagreed with some of its corporate actions. The recent statements by the Moderator of the Network, Robert Duncan, however, so contradict my sense of calling within this part of Christ’s Body, the Anglican Communion, that I have no choice but to disassociate myself from this group, whom I had once hoped might prove an instrument of renewal, not of destruction, of building up, not of tearing down.
Bishop Duncan has now declared the See of Canterbury and the Lambeth Conference -- two of the four Instruments of Communion within our tradition – to be “lost”. He has said that God is “doing a new thing” in allowing these elements to founder and be let go. I find this judgment to be dangerously precipitous and unfair under circumstances when current, faithful, and hard work is being done by many to bolster these Instruments as servants of our common life in Christ. The judgment is also astonishingly self-confident and autonomously prophetic in a mode not unlike the baleful claims to visionary authority of those who have long misled the Episcopal Church. Finally, the declaration in effect cancels out the other two Instruments of Communion that also uphold our common Anglican life – the Primates’ Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council. It is the entire Anglican Communion, therefore, that Bp. Duncan is declaring to be “lost”. The judgment is far too sweeping.
Network States Willingness to "Engage in Mediation" with National Church
http://www.acn-us.org/archive/2007/07/network-states-willingness-to-engage-in-mediation-with-national-church.html
[Anglican Communion Network] 01 Aug 2007--Delegates to the Network’s Annual Council have stated their “unconditional commitment to the unanimous urging of the Primates of the Anglican Communion that all existing litigation between The Episcopal Church (TEC) and those who have left TEC or are otherwise engaged in litigation involving claims of TEC, be suspended.”
The resolution, passed on July 31 in Bedford, TX, goes on to declare the Network’s willingness on behalf of its affiliates and partners “to engage in mediation” with TEC to find a mutually agreeable way forward.
[Anglican Communion Network] 01 Aug 2007--Delegates to the Network’s Annual Council have stated their “unconditional commitment to the unanimous urging of the Primates of the Anglican Communion that all existing litigation between The Episcopal Church (TEC) and those who have left TEC or are otherwise engaged in litigation involving claims of TEC, be suspended.”
The resolution, passed on July 31 in Bedford, TX, goes on to declare the Network’s willingness on behalf of its affiliates and partners “to engage in mediation” with TEC to find a mutually agreeable way forward.
Grasping the nettle of Conciliarism
http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/4778/#more
[TitusOneNine] 01 Aug 2007--The past four years have been for me and many faithful Anglican Episcopalians an exercise in hope: hope that our Lord will sort out this mess we’re in; and particularly hope that the conciliar processes of the Anglican Communion will be allowed to grow and to come to fruition. Certainly the draft Covenant presented to the Primates Meeting by the Covenant Design Group in February of this year bears witness on the part of the wider Communion to a desire for such a development.
The Lambeth Conference, because it is at least theoretically composed of all the bishops of Anglican Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, has a particular and central role to play in these conciliar processes. Indeed, because of the charism for ministry given to bishops by God the Holy Spirit at their ordination (both personally and corporately) to guard the faith of the Church and to act as faithful pastors, it is they who have a particular responsibility and ministry to take counsel together to discern the mind of Christ for the Church as new challenges to faith and praxis arise. This ministry is not shared with the clergy and the laity, though theologically and pastorally gifted clergy and laity may advise bishops in their task of discernment, because the laity, presbyters and deacons do not share the charisma for this discerning authority with the bishops. This ministry of discernment belongs, not to the Anglican Consultative Council (as is claimed by those who have elevated democracy and “representation” in the councils of the Church over charism), but to the Lambeth Conference, which by the exercise of this pneumatic authority would evolve into an episcopal synod. Nor does this ministry of discernment, this conciliar authority belong only to the Primates Meeting, composed as it is only of the primates, presiding bishops and moderators of the Churches of the Anglican Communion, and not of all the bishops of the Churches. So was it ever in the undivided Church, at Nicaea, at Chalcedon, at Ephesus, and in many regional councils and synods contemporary with and subsequent to the Ecumenical Councils. It may well be that our Lord, in this time of a Communion-wide crisis that cries out for conciliar discernment and decision-making, is calling the Churches of the Anglican Communion to recognize the charismatic and pneumatic authority of the Lambeth Conference.
[TitusOneNine] 01 Aug 2007--The past four years have been for me and many faithful Anglican Episcopalians an exercise in hope: hope that our Lord will sort out this mess we’re in; and particularly hope that the conciliar processes of the Anglican Communion will be allowed to grow and to come to fruition. Certainly the draft Covenant presented to the Primates Meeting by the Covenant Design Group in February of this year bears witness on the part of the wider Communion to a desire for such a development.
The Lambeth Conference, because it is at least theoretically composed of all the bishops of Anglican Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, has a particular and central role to play in these conciliar processes. Indeed, because of the charism for ministry given to bishops by God the Holy Spirit at their ordination (both personally and corporately) to guard the faith of the Church and to act as faithful pastors, it is they who have a particular responsibility and ministry to take counsel together to discern the mind of Christ for the Church as new challenges to faith and praxis arise. This ministry is not shared with the clergy and the laity, though theologically and pastorally gifted clergy and laity may advise bishops in their task of discernment, because the laity, presbyters and deacons do not share the charisma for this discerning authority with the bishops. This ministry of discernment belongs, not to the Anglican Consultative Council (as is claimed by those who have elevated democracy and “representation” in the councils of the Church over charism), but to the Lambeth Conference, which by the exercise of this pneumatic authority would evolve into an episcopal synod. Nor does this ministry of discernment, this conciliar authority belong only to the Primates Meeting, composed as it is only of the primates, presiding bishops and moderators of the Churches of the Anglican Communion, and not of all the bishops of the Churches. So was it ever in the undivided Church, at Nicaea, at Chalcedon, at Ephesus, and in many regional councils and synods contemporary with and subsequent to the Ecumenical Councils. It may well be that our Lord, in this time of a Communion-wide crisis that cries out for conciliar discernment and decision-making, is calling the Churches of the Anglican Communion to recognize the charismatic and pneumatic authority of the Lambeth Conference.
Revised Network Charter Retains Clause Acceding to TEC Constitution
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=3637
[The Living Church] 01 Aug 2007--Delegates to the annual council meeting of the Anglican Communion Network declined removing the organization from under the authority of the constitution of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church during a plenary session July 31.
The proposal would have deleted language from the group’s organizational charter that the Network “shall operate in good faith within the Constitution of the Episcopal Church.”
Instead, the council adopted a bylaws resolution that says Network affiliates outside The Episcopal Church are not required to submit to the constitution of The Episcopal Church.
[The Living Church] 01 Aug 2007--Delegates to the annual council meeting of the Anglican Communion Network declined removing the organization from under the authority of the constitution of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church during a plenary session July 31.
The proposal would have deleted language from the group’s organizational charter that the Network “shall operate in good faith within the Constitution of the Episcopal Church.”
Instead, the council adopted a bylaws resolution that says Network affiliates outside The Episcopal Church are not required to submit to the constitution of The Episcopal Church.
ACN Council Ratifies Common Cause Structural Document
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/acn_council_ratifies_common_cause_structural_document/
[Global South Anglican] 01 Aug 2007--Delegates to the Network’s Annual Council voted unanimously to ratify the federating Articles of the Common Cause Partners, to clarify the relationship of Network affiliates to The Episcopal Church, and to restate the Network’s commitment to making space for different opinions about women in Holy Orders.
Describing the federating Articles, Bishop-elect John Guernsey said, they are “a step forward for Common Cause that allows the constituent partners to retain their identity and autonomy while forming a more coherent and accountable structure. None of the groups disappear and none of the groups stop their gospel mission… Yet we are forming a more coherent whole.”
[Global South Anglican] 01 Aug 2007--Delegates to the Network’s Annual Council voted unanimously to ratify the federating Articles of the Common Cause Partners, to clarify the relationship of Network affiliates to The Episcopal Church, and to restate the Network’s commitment to making space for different opinions about women in Holy Orders.
Describing the federating Articles, Bishop-elect John Guernsey said, they are “a step forward for Common Cause that allows the constituent partners to retain their identity and autonomy while forming a more coherent and accountable structure. None of the groups disappear and none of the groups stop their gospel mission… Yet we are forming a more coherent whole.”
American Province 'Lost,' Network Asserts
http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/printarticle.asp?ID=3635
[The Living Church] 01 Aug 2007--The fourth annual council meeting of the Anglican Communion Network began July 30 with a somber address in which the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh and moderator of the Network, stressed that reforming The Episcopal Church is a lost cause. Later, during a question-and-answer session, he criticized the Archbishop of Canterbury for not intervening more forcefully.
“The American province is lost and something will have to replace it,” said Bishop Duncan, who has served as the Network’s elected moderator for three and a half years.
[The Living Church] 01 Aug 2007--The fourth annual council meeting of the Anglican Communion Network began July 30 with a somber address in which the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh and moderator of the Network, stressed that reforming The Episcopal Church is a lost cause. Later, during a question-and-answer session, he criticized the Archbishop of Canterbury for not intervening more forcefully.
“The American province is lost and something will have to replace it,” said Bishop Duncan, who has served as the Network’s elected moderator for three and a half years.
Bishop Duncan's speech this morning to Network Council Meeting
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/bishop_duncans_speech_this_morning_to_network_council_meeting/
[Global South Anglican] 01 Aug 2007--David Anderson, John Guernsey, Andy Fairfield, Dave Roseberry, Martyn Minns, Dan Herzog, Alison Barfoot, Bill Cox, John Yates, Bill Attwood, Bill Cobb, Valarie Whitcomb, Dwight Duncan, Ron Jackson, Dave Bena, Bill Murdoch, Don Armstrong… What do these believers all have in common? …Great leaders, all. Yes, of course. One other thing, at least… Each was a priest or bishop (four bishops in fact) of the Episcopal Church at the Network Council one year ago… None is a leader of the Episcopal Church today. This seismic shift is the context in which we meet for this fourth Annual Council of the Anglican Communion Network.
[Global South Anglican] 01 Aug 2007--David Anderson, John Guernsey, Andy Fairfield, Dave Roseberry, Martyn Minns, Dan Herzog, Alison Barfoot, Bill Cox, John Yates, Bill Attwood, Bill Cobb, Valarie Whitcomb, Dwight Duncan, Ron Jackson, Dave Bena, Bill Murdoch, Don Armstrong… What do these believers all have in common? …Great leaders, all. Yes, of course. One other thing, at least… Each was a priest or bishop (four bishops in fact) of the Episcopal Church at the Network Council one year ago… None is a leader of the Episcopal Church today. This seismic shift is the context in which we meet for this fourth Annual Council of the Anglican Communion Network.
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