http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/bishop_bob_duncan_deposed/
[sydneyanglicans.net] 19 Sep 2008--One of the most significant conservative leaders in the United States, Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, has been deposed from the ordained ministry by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church.
Bishop Duncan was accused by the National church leadership that his actions over recent months and years constitute “abandonment of the communion of this church”.
The bishop has been in conflict with revisionist leaders over the erosion of historic Christian teaching, particularly in the area of human sexuality.
The reported final tally was 88 yes, 35 no, with four abstentions, however Texan bishops were absent because of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Nine other bishops did not respond to the meeting call.
Immediately after the vote, Bishop Duncan was welcomed into the House of Bishops of the Province of the Southern Cone.
Related articles:
http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=2810
Bishop of Pittsburgh deposed by House of Bishops - Religious Intelligence
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08263/913401-85.stm
Episcopalians vote to oust Pittsburgh bishop - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/mediareleases/archbishop_jensens_statement_on_bishop_duncan/ Archbishop Jensen's statement on Bishop Duncan - sydneyanglicans.net
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16287/
Statements by +Iker and +Schofield on the +Duncan Deposition - Stand Firm
http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/16289/
Statement from the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Pittsburgh - TitusOneNine
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/09/19/diocese-of-recife-expresses-solidarity-with-bishop-duncan/
Diocese of Recife expresses solidarity with Bishop Duncan - Anglican Mainstream
http://transfigurations.blogspot.com/2008/09/albany-bishop-and-standing-committee_18.html
Albany Bishop and Standing Committee letter to HOB: Do Not Depose Duncan - Transfigurations
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/18/house-of-bishops-deposes-bishop-robert-duncan
House of Bishops Deposes Bishop Robert Duncan - The Living Church
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9024
House of Bishops votes to depose Bishop Duncan 87 to 36 with four abstentions - Virtue Online
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/bishop_duncans_statement_on_his_deposition/ Bishop Duncan's Statement on his "Deposition" - Global South Anglican
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16269/
Updated Actions Taken at the HOB Meeting Today in the Purported Deposition of Bishop Duncan - Stand Firm
http://www.anglicansunited.com/2008/09/duncan_deposition.html
+Duncan Deposition - Anglicans United & Latimer Press
http://www.pitanglican.org/news/local/duncandeposition091808
Diocese of Pittsburgh Maintains Course after Purported Deposition - The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2008/09/the_heresy_of_o_1.html
The Heresy of Orthodoxy - Christianity Today
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9033
The "Just War" against Robert Duncan - VirtueOnline
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/09/18/anglicantv-bishop-duncans-last-tec-interview/
AnglicanTV: Bishop Duncan’s last TEC interview - AnglicanTV
Friday, September 19, 2008
Esteemed Theologian J.I. Packer to Keynote ADV Synod Council
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/esteemed_theologian_ji_packer_to_keynote_adv_synod_council/
[Global South Anglican] 19 Sep 2008--The Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) will celebrate its second annual Synod Council meeting that will be held on September 26 and 27. The meeting, which will be held at Church of the Epiphany in Herndon, Va., will center on the theme of “Making Disciples” and will include a keynote address by Dr. J.I. Packer on the morning of Saturday, September 27.
“This is an exciting time in the life of the Anglican District of Virginia. Not only are we enormously blessed to be able to come together to celebrate moving forward with the Gospel for Christ’s church, we also have the great honor of hosting one of the world’s most esteemed theologians - J.I. Packer,” said Jim Oakes, vice-chairman of ADV, an association of Anglican congregations in Virginia.
[Global South Anglican] 19 Sep 2008--The Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) will celebrate its second annual Synod Council meeting that will be held on September 26 and 27. The meeting, which will be held at Church of the Epiphany in Herndon, Va., will center on the theme of “Making Disciples” and will include a keynote address by Dr. J.I. Packer on the morning of Saturday, September 27.
“This is an exciting time in the life of the Anglican District of Virginia. Not only are we enormously blessed to be able to come together to celebrate moving forward with the Gospel for Christ’s church, we also have the great honor of hosting one of the world’s most esteemed theologians - J.I. Packer,” said Jim Oakes, vice-chairman of ADV, an association of Anglican congregations in Virginia.
How to increase small group participation
http://legacy.pastors.com/RWMT/default.asp?id=361&artid=11405&expand=1
[pastors.com] 19 Sep 2008--I’ve had the privilege of being a member of Saddleback Church for 22 years. I attended the church for almost nine months before I went to the membership class. And in that membership class, they cast a vision: “Come help us reach our community for Christ. But if you’re looking for a place to sit and soak, let us give you the names of 10 or 12 really good churches in the area where you can go.”
That changed my whole perspective. They taught that every member is a minister. It’s about service, not serve us. They were looking for people to join them in a mission and I found myself saying, “You know, I can do that.”
Small groups are a key part of that mission. Everything we do at Saddleback funnels people to the weekend services, into the Christian Life and Services Seminars (C.L.A.S.S.) system, and into small groups. Our whole purpose is to build the five biblical purposes deep within the heart of every believer, and we’ve created a pathway for that.
[pastors.com] 19 Sep 2008--I’ve had the privilege of being a member of Saddleback Church for 22 years. I attended the church for almost nine months before I went to the membership class. And in that membership class, they cast a vision: “Come help us reach our community for Christ. But if you’re looking for a place to sit and soak, let us give you the names of 10 or 12 really good churches in the area where you can go.”
That changed my whole perspective. They taught that every member is a minister. It’s about service, not serve us. They were looking for people to join them in a mission and I found myself saying, “You know, I can do that.”
Small groups are a key part of that mission. Everything we do at Saddleback funnels people to the weekend services, into the Christian Life and Services Seminars (C.L.A.S.S.) system, and into small groups. Our whole purpose is to build the five biblical purposes deep within the heart of every believer, and we’ve created a pathway for that.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Despite his own injuries, priest gave last rites to crash victims
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-priest18-2008sep18,0,791232.story
[Los Angeles Times] 18 Sep 2008--Still in a daze from the crash, Donald Ashman walked over to the first body.
Ashman knelt down and lifted a corner of a white blanket covering the body, placed his hand on the man's forehead and said the words he had said so many times before, almost always at a hospital
A priest, Ashman leads a small congregation at the Anglican Church of Our Saviour on the Westside of Los Angeles, where he has been for a quarter of a century. He also teaches Latin and world history at Hoover High School in Glendale.
[Los Angeles Times] 18 Sep 2008--Still in a daze from the crash, Donald Ashman walked over to the first body.
Ashman knelt down and lifted a corner of a white blanket covering the body, placed his hand on the man's forehead and said the words he had said so many times before, almost always at a hospital
A priest, Ashman leads a small congregation at the Anglican Church of Our Saviour on the Westside of Los Angeles, where he has been for a quarter of a century. He also teaches Latin and world history at Hoover High School in Glendale.
Evangelical Dismisses Obama Faith Buttons as 'Clever Packaging'
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080917/evangelical-dismisses-obama-faith-buttons-as-clever-packaging.htm
[The Christian Post] 18 Sep 2008--A prominent evangelical leader dismissed presidential candidate Barack Obama’s new line of faith-based merchandise as “clever packaging.”
Various campaign buttons targeted at strategic voting constituencies on the Obama campaign’s Web site are the cause for Dr. Albert Mohler’s remark.
Among the buttons is one that reads “Obama Pride” underneath the campaign logo that has been modified to feature a rainbow, a sign associated with the gay community.
Then a few rows down, visitors can find buttons that read, “Catholics for Obama,” “Pro-Family, Pro-Obama” and “Believers for Barack.”
"This generic reach-out to people of 'faith' is going to be pretty quickly seen for what it is: more advertising than substance," Mohler, who is a member of the Focus on the Family board, told the ministry’s political action arm CitizenLink news.
He connects the faith items with Obama’s performance at Saddleback Civil Form, describing them both as trying to reach out to evangelicals but seeming “to be completely out of touch with what evangelicals were concerned about."
In particular, Mohler – president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and who often represents the Christian voice on programs such as CNN’s “Larry King Live” and NBC’s “Today Show” – said Obama is out of touch with evangelicals on issues of human life and marriage.
[The Christian Post] 18 Sep 2008--A prominent evangelical leader dismissed presidential candidate Barack Obama’s new line of faith-based merchandise as “clever packaging.”
Various campaign buttons targeted at strategic voting constituencies on the Obama campaign’s Web site are the cause for Dr. Albert Mohler’s remark.
Among the buttons is one that reads “Obama Pride” underneath the campaign logo that has been modified to feature a rainbow, a sign associated with the gay community.
Then a few rows down, visitors can find buttons that read, “Catholics for Obama,” “Pro-Family, Pro-Obama” and “Believers for Barack.”
"This generic reach-out to people of 'faith' is going to be pretty quickly seen for what it is: more advertising than substance," Mohler, who is a member of the Focus on the Family board, told the ministry’s political action arm CitizenLink news.
He connects the faith items with Obama’s performance at Saddleback Civil Form, describing them both as trying to reach out to evangelicals but seeming “to be completely out of touch with what evangelicals were concerned about."
In particular, Mohler – president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and who often represents the Christian voice on programs such as CNN’s “Larry King Live” and NBC’s “Today Show” – said Obama is out of touch with evangelicals on issues of human life and marriage.
Of Obtaining Eternal Salvation
http://www.churchsociety.org/crossway/documents/Cway_109_EternalSalvation.pdf
[Church Society] 18 Sep 2008--David Phillips expounds Article 18 of the 39 Articles - " Of Obtaining Eternal Salvation only by the name of Christ."
[Church Society] 18 Sep 2008--David Phillips expounds Article 18 of the 39 Articles - " Of Obtaining Eternal Salvation only by the name of Christ."
Rajni Burnt to Death: A Case of Mistaken Identity
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/09/17/rajni-burnt-to-death-a-case-of-mistaken-identity/
[Anglican MainstreaM] 18 Sep 2008--Fr Edward Sequeira is among the victims of fundamentalist violence in Orissa. It was only by a miracle that he escaped from the burning of his orphanage, where his co-worker Rajni Majhi was burned to death. Now hospitalized in Mumbai, in intensive care, he agreed to talk with AsiaNews. For the priest, there needs to be international condemnation of the lack of respect for human rights and religious freedom that dominates rural India.
Fr Edward Sequeira, one of the victims of the violence committed by Hindu radicals in Orissa, does not hesitate to call them "terrorists". Groups connected to Sangh Parivar seized him, beat him for more than an hour, and then shut him inside a room that they set on fire. Fr Edward was able to save himself by taking shelter in the bathroom. Before he passed out, he heard the screams of Rajni Majh, who was tied up and thrown into the flames, where she was burned to death.
Initial reports said that she was a sister, then a lay missionary. Fr Edward explains that the girl was one of the many orphans he had rescued, and that she lived and worked in the orphanage he had founded.
[Anglican MainstreaM] 18 Sep 2008--Fr Edward Sequeira is among the victims of fundamentalist violence in Orissa. It was only by a miracle that he escaped from the burning of his orphanage, where his co-worker Rajni Majhi was burned to death. Now hospitalized in Mumbai, in intensive care, he agreed to talk with AsiaNews. For the priest, there needs to be international condemnation of the lack of respect for human rights and religious freedom that dominates rural India.
Fr Edward Sequeira, one of the victims of the violence committed by Hindu radicals in Orissa, does not hesitate to call them "terrorists". Groups connected to Sangh Parivar seized him, beat him for more than an hour, and then shut him inside a room that they set on fire. Fr Edward was able to save himself by taking shelter in the bathroom. Before he passed out, he heard the screams of Rajni Majh, who was tied up and thrown into the flames, where she was burned to death.
Initial reports said that she was a sister, then a lay missionary. Fr Edward explains that the girl was one of the many orphans he had rescued, and that she lived and worked in the orphanage he had founded.
Closures ensue to protest anti-Christian pogrom
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=122&id=16163&t=Closures+ensue+to+protest+anti-Christian+pogrom
[Spero News] 18 Sep 2008--Schools and shops remained closed and vehicles kept off the roads in the city of Mangalore on Monday, to protest the Churches being burnt by suspected Bajrang Dal activists. This is the third Sunday in a row when the Christian community has been targeted in the BJP ruled state.
The police clashed with Christian protestors at a Church in Ullal in the outskirts of Mangalore. Police were forced to fire in the air, lathicharge and arrest several people.
The Catholic Bishop of Mangalore, Aloysius Paul D'Souza, urged the Christians to remain calm amidst persecution and violence and demanded the release of all Christians who have been arrested. He said, "This morning I sent people to different places where protests were happening and I have asked them to withdraw the protest. I have asked for peace."
[Spero News] 18 Sep 2008--Schools and shops remained closed and vehicles kept off the roads in the city of Mangalore on Monday, to protest the Churches being burnt by suspected Bajrang Dal activists. This is the third Sunday in a row when the Christian community has been targeted in the BJP ruled state.
The police clashed with Christian protestors at a Church in Ullal in the outskirts of Mangalore. Police were forced to fire in the air, lathicharge and arrest several people.
The Catholic Bishop of Mangalore, Aloysius Paul D'Souza, urged the Christians to remain calm amidst persecution and violence and demanded the release of all Christians who have been arrested. He said, "This morning I sent people to different places where protests were happening and I have asked them to withdraw the protest. I have asked for peace."
Archbishop of Wales warns there is no 'quick-fix'
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/09/17/archbishop-of-wales-warns-there-is-no-quick-fix-91466-21842644/
[Wales Online] 18 Sep 2008--Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan today warned any attempt to find a quick-fix solution to issues dividing the 80 million-member Anglican Communion will “end in tears”.
He told the Church in Wales’ Governing Body in Lampeter that:
- Sexuality should not be a Communion-breaking issue;
- Churches must not be required to sign-up to a new set of binding beliefs;
- The church has clamped down on homosexuality but not on heterosexual sex outside marriage.
Dr Morgan said that while there was a focus on homosexuality “most people who come to be married in Anglican churches in Britain live together beforehand”.
[Wales Online] 18 Sep 2008--Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan today warned any attempt to find a quick-fix solution to issues dividing the 80 million-member Anglican Communion will “end in tears”.
He told the Church in Wales’ Governing Body in Lampeter that:
- Sexuality should not be a Communion-breaking issue;
- Churches must not be required to sign-up to a new set of binding beliefs;
- The church has clamped down on homosexuality but not on heterosexual sex outside marriage.
Dr Morgan said that while there was a focus on homosexuality “most people who come to be married in Anglican churches in Britain live together beforehand”.
Study: Homosexual Lifestyle Strongly Linked to Depression, Suicide
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091704.html
[LifeSiteNews] 18 Sep 2008--A new study in the United Kingdom has revealed that homosexuals are about 50% more likely to suffer from depression and engage in substance abuse than the rest of the population, reports Health24.com.
After analyzing 25 earlier studies on sexual orientation and mental health, researchers, in a study published in the medical journal BMC Psychiatry, also found that the risk of suicide jumped over 200% if an individual had engaged in a homosexual lifestyle.
These findings strongly support the results of similar studies conducted in the United States, which have unveiled the severe physical and psychological health risks associated with homosexual behavior. Drs. Paul and Kirk Cameron of the Family Research Institute revealed in 2007 that research shows that the lifespan of a homosexual is on average 24 years shorter than that of a heterosexual. As a health threat, even smoking pales in comparison, as studies show smoking can shorten one's life by only 1 to 7 years on average.
[LifeSiteNews] 18 Sep 2008--A new study in the United Kingdom has revealed that homosexuals are about 50% more likely to suffer from depression and engage in substance abuse than the rest of the population, reports Health24.com.
After analyzing 25 earlier studies on sexual orientation and mental health, researchers, in a study published in the medical journal BMC Psychiatry, also found that the risk of suicide jumped over 200% if an individual had engaged in a homosexual lifestyle.
These findings strongly support the results of similar studies conducted in the United States, which have unveiled the severe physical and psychological health risks associated with homosexual behavior. Drs. Paul and Kirk Cameron of the Family Research Institute revealed in 2007 that research shows that the lifespan of a homosexual is on average 24 years shorter than that of a heterosexual. As a health threat, even smoking pales in comparison, as studies show smoking can shorten one's life by only 1 to 7 years on average.
Position of bishop for those who cannot accept women priests scrapped
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/09/17/position-of-bishop-for-those-who-cannot-accept-women-priests-scrapped-91466-21842793/
[Wales Online] 18 Sep 2008--The Church in Wales has scrapped the position of a bishop for people who cannot accept the ordination of women.
The Rev David Thomas served as Provincial Assistant Bishop from 1996 – when women were admitted to the priesthood – until his retirement in June.
The bishops yesterday said there would be no replacement bishop but pledged to provide pastoral care to those who remain opposed to women priests.
[Wales Online] 18 Sep 2008--The Church in Wales has scrapped the position of a bishop for people who cannot accept the ordination of women.
The Rev David Thomas served as Provincial Assistant Bishop from 1996 – when women were admitted to the priesthood – until his retirement in June.
The bishops yesterday said there would be no replacement bishop but pledged to provide pastoral care to those who remain opposed to women priests.
Divisive Bishops: Scoring the Bishops’ Actions at this HOB Meeting
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16228/
[Stand Firm] 18 Sep 2008--Judging from past non-actions at the last House of Bishops meeting, and the one before that, and the one before that, and then the New Orleans House of Bishops meeting, when some had the audacity to blame the early-departing four Common Cause Bishops for their "not being able to do anything," it seems highly likely that our "Windsor Bishops," or "Camp Allen Bishops," or "Communion Partners Bishops" will, at the various crucial points of the meeting, all need to go get a drink from the water fountain, or get a little air outside, or take an important call that takes them away. . . . But let us not speak of the past. It is always possible for a bishop or two to be visited by God in the night watches, be infused with a dose of courage and cleverness, consult prior to the gathering, and actually say or do something important at the House of Bishops meeting. But what could a bishop do that would publicly point out his differences with the Presiding Bishop and her followers? In other words, what would it take to be labelled "divisive".
[Stand Firm] 18 Sep 2008--Judging from past non-actions at the last House of Bishops meeting, and the one before that, and the one before that, and then the New Orleans House of Bishops meeting, when some had the audacity to blame the early-departing four Common Cause Bishops for their "not being able to do anything," it seems highly likely that our "Windsor Bishops," or "Camp Allen Bishops," or "Communion Partners Bishops" will, at the various crucial points of the meeting, all need to go get a drink from the water fountain, or get a little air outside, or take an important call that takes them away. . . . But let us not speak of the past. It is always possible for a bishop or two to be visited by God in the night watches, be infused with a dose of courage and cleverness, consult prior to the gathering, and actually say or do something important at the House of Bishops meeting. But what could a bishop do that would publicly point out his differences with the Presiding Bishop and her followers? In other words, what would it take to be labelled "divisive".
Anglican Covenant Could Be Operative By May 2009
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/17/anglican-covenant-could-be-operative-by-next-may
[The Living Church] 18 Sep 2008--Adoption of the proposed Anglican Covenant could be completed much sooner than the 10-year time frame mentioned frequently during the Lambeth Conference, according to one of the two Covenant Design Group members from The Episcopal Church.
Basing on submissions received from bishops attending the Lambeth Conference, the Rev. Ephraim Radner predicted that only a small minority of provinces would fail to approve the Covenant. Prof. Radner, who teaches historical theology at Wycliffe College in Toronto, said the Covenant Design Group is scheduled to disband after holding a second meeting sometime after the first of the year. From there, the Covenant is scheduled to be considered by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), which meets next May in Jamaica.
Prof. Radner told The Living Church it is not clear whether the ACC would be asked to hold an up-or-down vote on the final language drafted by the Covenant Design Group or whether they would be encouraged to propose amendments before a vote.
With the situation in the Anglican Communion so fragile at present, Prof. Radner said if the ACC were to approve the language proposed by the design group, it could be operative as an official document of the Anglican Communion as soon as the ACC meeting adjourns.
[The Living Church] 18 Sep 2008--Adoption of the proposed Anglican Covenant could be completed much sooner than the 10-year time frame mentioned frequently during the Lambeth Conference, according to one of the two Covenant Design Group members from The Episcopal Church.
Basing on submissions received from bishops attending the Lambeth Conference, the Rev. Ephraim Radner predicted that only a small minority of provinces would fail to approve the Covenant. Prof. Radner, who teaches historical theology at Wycliffe College in Toronto, said the Covenant Design Group is scheduled to disband after holding a second meeting sometime after the first of the year. From there, the Covenant is scheduled to be considered by the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), which meets next May in Jamaica.
Prof. Radner told The Living Church it is not clear whether the ACC would be asked to hold an up-or-down vote on the final language drafted by the Covenant Design Group or whether they would be encouraged to propose amendments before a vote.
With the situation in the Anglican Communion so fragile at present, Prof. Radner said if the ACC were to approve the language proposed by the design group, it could be operative as an official document of the Anglican Communion as soon as the ACC meeting adjourns.
4TH ALL ANGLICAN CLERGY CONFERENCE:Communique
http://www.anglican-nig.org/main.php?k_j=12&d=235&p_t=index.php?
[Church of Nigeria] 18 Sep 2008--The Opening Ceremony was held on Tuesday, 9th September, 2008 and was addressed by the Primate the Most Revd. Dr. Peter Jasper Akinola, CON, the Dean, the Most Revd. Maxwell Anikwenwa the Governor of Enugu State, H.E. Barrister Sullivan I. Chime, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, The Ven. (Prof.) Chinedu Nebo.
While the Primate and the Dean canvassed a critical review and appropriate use of the Liturgy to enable our congregations have personal experience and knowledge of Christ, the Governor welcomed all and called for prayers for Enugu State. He also urged all to jettison parochialism in religious and political affairs.
Papers were delivered by an eminent clergymen drawn from the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) on “Our Identity and Heritage”, “Biblical Basis of Anglican Liturgy”, “The Ministry of the Church”, “Human Sexuality”: Our position”; “Anglican Liturgy and Challenges of Pentecostalism/Charismatism”; “Liturgy Alive”; “Role of Prayer in Liturgy”; “Our Liturgy and Occasional Services”, “The place of the Holy Spirit in our Liturgy”, “The place of the 39 Articles of Religion in our Liturgy”, “The Minister’s Personal Life”, “The Clergy and His Family”, and “Overview of the Liturgy of the Church of Nigeria”.
[Church of Nigeria] 18 Sep 2008--The Opening Ceremony was held on Tuesday, 9th September, 2008 and was addressed by the Primate the Most Revd. Dr. Peter Jasper Akinola, CON, the Dean, the Most Revd. Maxwell Anikwenwa the Governor of Enugu State, H.E. Barrister Sullivan I. Chime, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, The Ven. (Prof.) Chinedu Nebo.
While the Primate and the Dean canvassed a critical review and appropriate use of the Liturgy to enable our congregations have personal experience and knowledge of Christ, the Governor welcomed all and called for prayers for Enugu State. He also urged all to jettison parochialism in religious and political affairs.
Papers were delivered by an eminent clergymen drawn from the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) on “Our Identity and Heritage”, “Biblical Basis of Anglican Liturgy”, “The Ministry of the Church”, “Human Sexuality”: Our position”; “Anglican Liturgy and Challenges of Pentecostalism/Charismatism”; “Liturgy Alive”; “Role of Prayer in Liturgy”; “Our Liturgy and Occasional Services”, “The place of the Holy Spirit in our Liturgy”, “The place of the 39 Articles of Religion in our Liturgy”, “The Minister’s Personal Life”, “The Clergy and His Family”, and “Overview of the Liturgy of the Church of Nigeria”.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Open letter to Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh from Bishop John Rodgers
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/09/16/open-letter-to-bishop-bob-duncan-of-pittsburgh-from-bishop-john-rodgers/
[Anglican Mainstream] 17 Sep 2008--As rumors and threats of your being deposed circulate, I write this letter.
For many others and for myself, to express our thanksgiving for your sustained, wise and patient leadership in a time of great difficulty in the Church.
First, we want to thank you for your leadership on the Board of Trustees of the Trinity School for Ministry. Your presence at the Board Meetings has been constant and your wisdom has often helped guide us down good and godly paths. I know something of the schedule you keep, and I want you to know how greatly we, particularly your fellow Board members, appreciate your willingness, faithfulness and thoughtful leadership.
[Anglican Mainstream] 17 Sep 2008--As rumors and threats of your being deposed circulate, I write this letter.
For many others and for myself, to express our thanksgiving for your sustained, wise and patient leadership in a time of great difficulty in the Church.
First, we want to thank you for your leadership on the Board of Trustees of the Trinity School for Ministry. Your presence at the Board Meetings has been constant and your wisdom has often helped guide us down good and godly paths. I know something of the schedule you keep, and I want you to know how greatly we, particularly your fellow Board members, appreciate your willingness, faithfulness and thoughtful leadership.
Pictures of Church of South India Church attacked on September 14th
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/09/17/pictures-of-church-of-south-india-church-attacked-on-september-14th/
[Anglican Mainstream] 17 Sep 2008--These photos are of the CSI Church that was attacked by the Bajrangdal activists on the 14th of September. These are the same Hindu fundamentalist group which is carrying out attacks in Orissa.
A group of 25-30 activists entered the church on Sunday morning and damaged the church. This is a small Tamil congregation that was established a few years back. The church is been damaged very badly as you see and no media, state, central or other leaders have bothered to visit the place till now.
Today some of the Pastors along with the Bishop CSI-KSD visited the church.
These are the same Hindu fundamentalist groups which are carrying out attacks in Orissa. They are reported today to have used guns to attack a police station, killed four policeman and driven 20 into the jungle. This is said to be in retaliation for police protecting Christians against one of their mobs.
[Anglican Mainstream] 17 Sep 2008--These photos are of the CSI Church that was attacked by the Bajrangdal activists on the 14th of September. These are the same Hindu fundamentalist group which is carrying out attacks in Orissa.
A group of 25-30 activists entered the church on Sunday morning and damaged the church. This is a small Tamil congregation that was established a few years back. The church is been damaged very badly as you see and no media, state, central or other leaders have bothered to visit the place till now.
Today some of the Pastors along with the Bishop CSI-KSD visited the church.
These are the same Hindu fundamentalist groups which are carrying out attacks in Orissa. They are reported today to have used guns to attack a police station, killed four policeman and driven 20 into the jungle. This is said to be in retaliation for police protecting Christians against one of their mobs.
All You Need to Know About the Assemblies of God
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/septemberweb-only/138-21.0.html
[Christianity Today] 17 Sep 2008--A primer for Palin watchers and others.
[Christianity Today] 17 Sep 2008--A primer for Palin watchers and others.
Reveal: Churches Aim for Disciples, Not Casual Christians
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080917/reveal-churches-aim-for-disciples-not-casual-christians.htm
[The Christian Post] 17 Sep 2008--Pastor Bill Hybels didn't give his life to the development of the local church just to gather a bunch of casual Christians, he says. He gave it to see people far from God find the love of Christ and fully devote themselves to God and what He is doing.
Expressing similar sentiments, Pastor Tim Gray of Bridge Community Church, a congregation of 400 in Leadington, Mo., says, "We're called to make disciples ... not members, not pew-sitters."
Many pastors would agree. But since the early Christian church, pastors have only had three ways to measure the spiritual growth of churchgoers and assess how effective churches were in developing Christ followers and not pew-sitters.
Those three methods were attendance, baptisms (or conversions), and resources (i.e. tithing), at least according to Cally Parkinson of Willow Creek Association.
"Those were your three ways of measuring because you really had no other way to figure out whether or not what you were doing was really helping people become increasingly intimate with Christ and increase their love for God and of others," said Parkinson, one of the leaders of WCA's Reveal research.
That is, until now.
[The Christian Post] 17 Sep 2008--Pastor Bill Hybels didn't give his life to the development of the local church just to gather a bunch of casual Christians, he says. He gave it to see people far from God find the love of Christ and fully devote themselves to God and what He is doing.
Expressing similar sentiments, Pastor Tim Gray of Bridge Community Church, a congregation of 400 in Leadington, Mo., says, "We're called to make disciples ... not members, not pew-sitters."
Many pastors would agree. But since the early Christian church, pastors have only had three ways to measure the spiritual growth of churchgoers and assess how effective churches were in developing Christ followers and not pew-sitters.
Those three methods were attendance, baptisms (or conversions), and resources (i.e. tithing), at least according to Cally Parkinson of Willow Creek Association.
"Those were your three ways of measuring because you really had no other way to figure out whether or not what you were doing was really helping people become increasingly intimate with Christ and increase their love for God and of others," said Parkinson, one of the leaders of WCA's Reveal research.
That is, until now.
Google backs down on Christian abortion ad
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/google.backs.down.on.christian.abortion.ad/21439.htm
[Christianity Today UK] 17 Sep 2006--The Christian Institute has welcomed the decision by Google to allow religious groups to place adverts on the issue of abortion after legal proceedings against the world's biggest search engine were settled "on amicable terms".
The group took legal action against Google after it rejected an advert in March with its search related advertising system, AdWords, which read: “UK abortion law: Key views and news on abortion law from The Christian Institute. www.christian.org.uk.”
Google rejected the advert on the grounds that it constituted “inappropriate content”. Although Google allowed non-religious websites to place adverts on the issue of abortion, it had at the time of the court proceedings a policy of not advertising sites which combined “abortion and religion-related content”.
[Christianity Today UK] 17 Sep 2006--The Christian Institute has welcomed the decision by Google to allow religious groups to place adverts on the issue of abortion after legal proceedings against the world's biggest search engine were settled "on amicable terms".
The group took legal action against Google after it rejected an advert in March with its search related advertising system, AdWords, which read: “UK abortion law: Key views and news on abortion law from The Christian Institute. www.christian.org.uk.”
Google rejected the advert on the grounds that it constituted “inappropriate content”. Although Google allowed non-religious websites to place adverts on the issue of abortion, it had at the time of the court proceedings a policy of not advertising sites which combined “abortion and religion-related content”.
The Coming Perfect Snafu
http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/09/coming-perfect-snafu.html
[Anglican Curmudgeon] 17 Sep 2008--Though I am fortunate not to live anywhere in the paths of Hurricane Gustav or Hurricane Ike, I feel I can sympathize with those who do, because I foresee a storm of similar magnitude that is about to engulf The Episcopal Church. I feel the rise in temperature and humidity, the winds beginning to whistle, and the sudden silence of the innocent animals as they look to their masters for protection against the coming fury of the gale. I see lowering storm clouds not far off, billowing up to occupy the entire sky in one direction. One is left with a sense of frustration and hopelessness in the face of forces that have gathered at this point in space and time, as they seem unstoppable on their path to calamity and destruction.
On the one hand, the Bishops of the Church are already on the move from the four corners of the country, assembling to meet in Salt Lake City starting tomorrow. Despite an early announcement to the contrary, and despite the issuance on August 20 of a call for the meeting that made no mention of the fact, the agenda for the meeting is now clear: the powers that be have decreed that the assembled episkopoi (ironically, from the Greek word for "overseer") will be asked to consent to the immediate deposition of one of their own, without a trial.
On the other hand, at least one Bishop is staying right where he is, in Pittsburgh, and will not attend the meeting, because he deems the outcome of the vote is a foregone conclusion. He has appealed to his colleagues' sense of justice, and asks that at the very least, they do him the courtesy of a roll-call vote.
[Anglican Curmudgeon] 17 Sep 2008--Though I am fortunate not to live anywhere in the paths of Hurricane Gustav or Hurricane Ike, I feel I can sympathize with those who do, because I foresee a storm of similar magnitude that is about to engulf The Episcopal Church. I feel the rise in temperature and humidity, the winds beginning to whistle, and the sudden silence of the innocent animals as they look to their masters for protection against the coming fury of the gale. I see lowering storm clouds not far off, billowing up to occupy the entire sky in one direction. One is left with a sense of frustration and hopelessness in the face of forces that have gathered at this point in space and time, as they seem unstoppable on their path to calamity and destruction.
On the one hand, the Bishops of the Church are already on the move from the four corners of the country, assembling to meet in Salt Lake City starting tomorrow. Despite an early announcement to the contrary, and despite the issuance on August 20 of a call for the meeting that made no mention of the fact, the agenda for the meeting is now clear: the powers that be have decreed that the assembled episkopoi (ironically, from the Greek word for "overseer") will be asked to consent to the immediate deposition of one of their own, without a trial.
On the other hand, at least one Bishop is staying right where he is, in Pittsburgh, and will not attend the meeting, because he deems the outcome of the vote is a foregone conclusion. He has appealed to his colleagues' sense of justice, and asks that at the very least, they do him the courtesy of a roll-call vote.
Bishop Don requests special prayer for Bishop Bob Duncan
http://www.anglicanessentials.ca/wordpress/index.php/2008/09/15/bishop-don-requests-special-prayer-for-bishop-bob-duncan/
[Anglican Essentials Canada] 17 Sep 2008--Bishop Don is asking for special prayer this week – and particularly on Thursday – for Bishop Bob Duncan, bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and leader of the Common Cause Partnership, for his diocese and for the Episcopal Church (TEC) house of bishops.
[Anglican Essentials Canada] 17 Sep 2008--Bishop Don is asking for special prayer this week – and particularly on Thursday – for Bishop Bob Duncan, bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and leader of the Common Cause Partnership, for his diocese and for the Episcopal Church (TEC) house of bishops.
Abortion Survivor Takes Obama to Task Over Born Alive Infants Protection Act in New Ad
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091607.html
[LifeSiteNews] 17 Sep 2008--BornAliveTruth.org has produced a video ad in which abortion survivor Gianna Jessen questions Barack Obama for his active opposition as state senator to the Illinois Born Alive Infants Protection Act.
"Can you imagine not giving babies their basic human rights, no matter how they entered our world?" begins the ad. "My name is Gianna Jessen, born 31 years ago after a failed abortion. I'm a survivor, as are many others…but if Barack Obama had his way, I wouldn't be here."
[LifeSiteNews] 17 Sep 2008--BornAliveTruth.org has produced a video ad in which abortion survivor Gianna Jessen questions Barack Obama for his active opposition as state senator to the Illinois Born Alive Infants Protection Act.
"Can you imagine not giving babies their basic human rights, no matter how they entered our world?" begins the ad. "My name is Gianna Jessen, born 31 years ago after a failed abortion. I'm a survivor, as are many others…but if Barack Obama had his way, I wouldn't be here."
Apologize to Charles Darwin?
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2459
[Albert Mohler] 17 Sep 2008--A senior cleric of the Church of England wants his church to apologize to Charles Darwin in time for the observance of the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth next year. The Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brown, Director of Mission and Public Affairs for the church, made his case in an article entitled, "Good Religion Needs Good Science," published in a special new section of the Church of England's official Web site.
"Charles Darwin: 200 years from your birth, the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still," Brown wrote. "We try to practice the old virtues of 'faith seeking understanding' and hope that makes some amends."
Apologize to Charles Darwin? The Church of England may well need to apologize, but not to Charles Darwin. If anything, the church needs to apologize for its rightful embarrassment in considering an apology to Darwin. But, it seems, this church is not embarrassed.
[Albert Mohler] 17 Sep 2008--A senior cleric of the Church of England wants his church to apologize to Charles Darwin in time for the observance of the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth next year. The Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brown, Director of Mission and Public Affairs for the church, made his case in an article entitled, "Good Religion Needs Good Science," published in a special new section of the Church of England's official Web site.
"Charles Darwin: 200 years from your birth, the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still," Brown wrote. "We try to practice the old virtues of 'faith seeking understanding' and hope that makes some amends."
Apologize to Charles Darwin? The Church of England may well need to apologize, but not to Charles Darwin. If anything, the church needs to apologize for its rightful embarrassment in considering an apology to Darwin. But, it seems, this church is not embarrassed.
ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ: Need For Covenant Grows More Urgent
http://www.globalsouthanglican.org/index.php/comments/archbishop_gomez_need_for_covenant_grows_more_urgent/
[Global South Anglican] 17 Sep 2008--The process of finalizing an Anglican covenant needs to move forward more quickly if the Anglican Communion is to be preserved.
That was the message delivered Saturday (September 13) by West Indies Archbishop Drexel Gomez, the chairman of the group charged with formulating the pact intended to help ensure unity in basic beliefs, settle disputes, and administer discipline among historically autonomous Anglican provinces.
“I believe Anglicanism has much to offer the world and has made a tremendous contribution to Christianity. But we are at a dangerous point in our history,” Gomez told more than 100 people attending the Festival of Faith at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Bladensburg, Maryland.
“There is nothing on the immediate horizon that offers any kind of hope to holding the Communion together other than the covenant,” Gomez contended. “Nothing else is on the table. If that fails, we will see only further fragmentation and disintegration. That is not theory but reality,” he said.
[Global South Anglican] 17 Sep 2008--The process of finalizing an Anglican covenant needs to move forward more quickly if the Anglican Communion is to be preserved.
That was the message delivered Saturday (September 13) by West Indies Archbishop Drexel Gomez, the chairman of the group charged with formulating the pact intended to help ensure unity in basic beliefs, settle disputes, and administer discipline among historically autonomous Anglican provinces.
“I believe Anglicanism has much to offer the world and has made a tremendous contribution to Christianity. But we are at a dangerous point in our history,” Gomez told more than 100 people attending the Festival of Faith at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Bladensburg, Maryland.
“There is nothing on the immediate horizon that offers any kind of hope to holding the Communion together other than the covenant,” Gomez contended. “Nothing else is on the table. If that fails, we will see only further fragmentation and disintegration. That is not theory but reality,” he said.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Do Bishops Deserve Due Process?
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/09/15/do-bishops-deserve-due-process/
[Anglican Mainstream] 16 Sep 2008--ACI has consistently sought to secure the mission and identity of The Episcopal Church within the larger Anglican Communion. Events such as the published proceeding against Bishop Duncan clearly belong to a larger effort to create an office of Presiding Bishop, and a way of proceeding in the present season, at odds with the constitution and canons of this church. We are for this reason concerned to publish the timely statement of Mark McCall.
[Anglican Mainstream] 16 Sep 2008--ACI has consistently sought to secure the mission and identity of The Episcopal Church within the larger Anglican Communion. Events such as the published proceeding against Bishop Duncan clearly belong to a larger effort to create an office of Presiding Bishop, and a way of proceeding in the present season, at odds with the constitution and canons of this church. We are for this reason concerned to publish the timely statement of Mark McCall.
Teach 'the pleasure of gay sex' to children as young as five, say researchers
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1056415/Teach-pleasure-gay-sex-children-young-say-researchers.html
[Mail Online] 16 Sep 2008--Children as young as five should be taught to understand the pleasures of gay sex, according to leaders of a taxpayer-funded education project.
Heads of the project have set themselves a goal of 'creating primary classrooms where queer sexualities are affirmed and celebrated'.
The ambition was revealed in documents prepared for the No Outsiders project run by researchers from universities and backed with £600,000 of public money provided by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Related article:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24336376-952,00.html
School sex club run by small boys, says Brisbane dad - Courier Mail
[Mail Online] 16 Sep 2008--Children as young as five should be taught to understand the pleasures of gay sex, according to leaders of a taxpayer-funded education project.
Heads of the project have set themselves a goal of 'creating primary classrooms where queer sexualities are affirmed and celebrated'.
The ambition was revealed in documents prepared for the No Outsiders project run by researchers from universities and backed with £600,000 of public money provided by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Related article:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24336376-952,00.html
School sex club run by small boys, says Brisbane dad - Courier Mail
Episcopal Bishop Faces Removal for Fidelity
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=29334
[Catholic Online] 16 Sep 2008--Bishop Robert Duncan has fought for orthodoxy within the Episcopal Church for years. The battle has cost him a lot. This Thursday it may cost him his episcopate in the Episcopal Church.
[Catholic Online] 16 Sep 2008--Bishop Robert Duncan has fought for orthodoxy within the Episcopal Church for years. The battle has cost him a lot. This Thursday it may cost him his episcopate in the Episcopal Church.
Are You Deceived?
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16185/
[Stand Firm] 16 Sep 2008--God said that child sacrifice is an abomination to him and He hates it. The Israelites were sacrificing their babies to false gods and God hated this practice. We, too, are sacrificing our babies, but not to the false god Moloch. Today we sacrifice our babies on the altar of convenience, to the false god of convenience (93% of all abortions are for convenience).
Saying that the timing is not right, we don’t have the money, it’s not the right sex, I’m too young, I’m too old, are all excuses laid not at the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ but on the altar of convenience. It’s not just the pregnant women that worship at this altar, 64% of those who abort feel pressured to do so and sometimes with violence. Abortion is an act of replacing trust in God with trust in ourselves. It’s doing what we think is right based on our emotions and bad advice and not on God’s Word. The world tells us to abort our babies for a quick fix. Do you really want to follow the world? Then you’re following the ruler of this world, Satan.
Did God really say? Yes, God really said we should not commit murder. He really said child sacrifice is an abomination. He really said we have two choices before us: blessings or curses, life or death. He really said to Choose Life so that we may live. He really said that he knit every baby by hand. He really said He ordained for us a purpose before we were even in the womb. He really said He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He really said we should not shed innocent blood.
Anything contrary to God’s will is from Satan. Abortion is evil and from Satan. It causes death for the baby and pain and suffering for the women and men who are deceived into having an abortion. Plainly, judging by its fruit, it is evil.
[Stand Firm] 16 Sep 2008--God said that child sacrifice is an abomination to him and He hates it. The Israelites were sacrificing their babies to false gods and God hated this practice. We, too, are sacrificing our babies, but not to the false god Moloch. Today we sacrifice our babies on the altar of convenience, to the false god of convenience (93% of all abortions are for convenience).
Saying that the timing is not right, we don’t have the money, it’s not the right sex, I’m too young, I’m too old, are all excuses laid not at the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ but on the altar of convenience. It’s not just the pregnant women that worship at this altar, 64% of those who abort feel pressured to do so and sometimes with violence. Abortion is an act of replacing trust in God with trust in ourselves. It’s doing what we think is right based on our emotions and bad advice and not on God’s Word. The world tells us to abort our babies for a quick fix. Do you really want to follow the world? Then you’re following the ruler of this world, Satan.
Did God really say? Yes, God really said we should not commit murder. He really said child sacrifice is an abomination. He really said we have two choices before us: blessings or curses, life or death. He really said to Choose Life so that we may live. He really said that he knit every baby by hand. He really said He ordained for us a purpose before we were even in the womb. He really said He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He really said we should not shed innocent blood.
Anything contrary to God’s will is from Satan. Abortion is evil and from Satan. It causes death for the baby and pain and suffering for the women and men who are deceived into having an abortion. Plainly, judging by its fruit, it is evil.
Canberra could choose Australia’s first female diocesan
http://geoconger.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/canberra-could-choose-australias-first-female-diocesan-cen-91208-p-6/#comment-4761
[CEN - Conger] 16 Sep 2008--Canberra may be the first Australian diocese to elect a woman as diocesan bishop. The Archdeacon of Canberra, the Ven. Sarah Macneil is one of five nominees to succeed the Rt. Rev. George Browning, and if elected, would become the first female Australian diocesan bishop.
Last September the Australian Church’s appellate tribunal, ruling on a point of grammar, held that women clergy could be consecrated as diocesan bishops. In May Barbara Darling and Kay Goldsworthy were consecrated as suffragan bishops of Melbourne and Perth, however the Oct 31 election for a diocesan bishop of Canberra will be the first time a woman priest has stood for election in Australia.
Archdeacon Macneil has served as rector of All Saints Ainslie in the diocese since 2004. She first moved to Canberra from Tasmania in 1976 to join Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, and served in the country’s diplomatic corps before entering the ministry.
[CEN - Conger] 16 Sep 2008--Canberra may be the first Australian diocese to elect a woman as diocesan bishop. The Archdeacon of Canberra, the Ven. Sarah Macneil is one of five nominees to succeed the Rt. Rev. George Browning, and if elected, would become the first female Australian diocesan bishop.
Last September the Australian Church’s appellate tribunal, ruling on a point of grammar, held that women clergy could be consecrated as diocesan bishops. In May Barbara Darling and Kay Goldsworthy were consecrated as suffragan bishops of Melbourne and Perth, however the Oct 31 election for a diocesan bishop of Canberra will be the first time a woman priest has stood for election in Australia.
Archdeacon Macneil has served as rector of All Saints Ainslie in the diocese since 2004. She first moved to Canberra from Tasmania in 1976 to join Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, and served in the country’s diplomatic corps before entering the ministry.
Former New Westminster clergy and lay leaders sue diocese
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/100/article/former-new-westminster-clergy-and-lay-leaders-sue-diocese/
[Anglican Journal] 16 Sep 2008--Seventeen former clergy and former lay leaders of three parishes on Sept. 9 filed a lawsuit against the diocese of New Westminster and its bishop, Michael Ingham, over the diocese’s decision to evict breakaway priests who continue to use diocesan properties and to dismiss trustees believed to be supportive of them.
The plaintiffs have asked the B.C. Supreme Court to declare that the dismissal of the trustees is “of no force and effect,” and that the parish corporations “or, in the alternative, the trustees” and not the diocese hold the property of the parishes in trust. It also asked the court to declare that the bishop “has no jurisdiction or authority to dismiss or appoint trustees to parish corporations.” It also asked the court to issue a “permanent injunction concerning the use of the property of the parishes.”
The lawsuit was filed in response to a diocesan decision on Aug. 26 asking clergy who had left the diocese and the Anglican Church of Canada because of bitter disputes over the issue of homosexuality to vacate their former parishes. The diocese also said that under a provision in its canons (church law) it was returning control of the parishes to the diocese.
[Anglican Journal] 16 Sep 2008--Seventeen former clergy and former lay leaders of three parishes on Sept. 9 filed a lawsuit against the diocese of New Westminster and its bishop, Michael Ingham, over the diocese’s decision to evict breakaway priests who continue to use diocesan properties and to dismiss trustees believed to be supportive of them.
The plaintiffs have asked the B.C. Supreme Court to declare that the dismissal of the trustees is “of no force and effect,” and that the parish corporations “or, in the alternative, the trustees” and not the diocese hold the property of the parishes in trust. It also asked the court to declare that the bishop “has no jurisdiction or authority to dismiss or appoint trustees to parish corporations.” It also asked the court to issue a “permanent injunction concerning the use of the property of the parishes.”
The lawsuit was filed in response to a diocesan decision on Aug. 26 asking clergy who had left the diocese and the Anglican Church of Canada because of bitter disputes over the issue of homosexuality to vacate their former parishes. The diocese also said that under a provision in its canons (church law) it was returning control of the parishes to the diocese.
Episcopal blood-letting
http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/belief-blog/2008/Sep/15/episcopal-blood-letting/
[The Washington Times] 16 Sep 2008--When Robert Duncan was elected Episcopal bishop of Pittsburgh in 1997, he was the dark horse local candidate who defeated the out-of-town contenders for a job in what used to be a quiet diocese. At the time, he was thought of as more an administrator kind of guy; far less flashy than his revered predecessor, the silver-haired Alden Hathaway.
Then in 2003, the Episcopalians OK'd the consecration of the world's first openly gay bishop: Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and Bishop Duncan became a leader in the Network, a group of conservatives fighting to stay in the Episcopal Church but disheartened by its increasingly liberal tendencies. As those tendencies got more and more onerous, various dioceses, including Pittsburgh, announced they were considering leaving the Episcopal Church, which in Pittsburgh's case would mean a flight of millions of dollars - $43 million is one figure being bandied about - in church assets.
Pittsburgh Episcopalians will vote Oct. 4 whether or not to leave the denomination. They are not alone. The Diocese of San Joaquin, Calif., has already left although the Episcopal Church has instituted another bishop to try to rebuild. Being that senior Episcopal bishops in California have endorsed the California's Supreme Court's May ruling giving civil marriage status to gay unions, the San Joaquinians probably saw what was coming and decided to flee.
[The Washington Times] 16 Sep 2008--When Robert Duncan was elected Episcopal bishop of Pittsburgh in 1997, he was the dark horse local candidate who defeated the out-of-town contenders for a job in what used to be a quiet diocese. At the time, he was thought of as more an administrator kind of guy; far less flashy than his revered predecessor, the silver-haired Alden Hathaway.
Then in 2003, the Episcopalians OK'd the consecration of the world's first openly gay bishop: Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and Bishop Duncan became a leader in the Network, a group of conservatives fighting to stay in the Episcopal Church but disheartened by its increasingly liberal tendencies. As those tendencies got more and more onerous, various dioceses, including Pittsburgh, announced they were considering leaving the Episcopal Church, which in Pittsburgh's case would mean a flight of millions of dollars - $43 million is one figure being bandied about - in church assets.
Pittsburgh Episcopalians will vote Oct. 4 whether or not to leave the denomination. They are not alone. The Diocese of San Joaquin, Calif., has already left although the Episcopal Church has instituted another bishop to try to rebuild. Being that senior Episcopal bishops in California have endorsed the California's Supreme Court's May ruling giving civil marriage status to gay unions, the San Joaquinians probably saw what was coming and decided to flee.
Is The Episcopal Church Hierarchical?
http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/09/is-episcopal-church-hierarchical.html
[Anglican Curmudgeon] 16 Sep 2008--The Anglican Communion Institute has published a major new legal opinion with the title: "Is the Episcopal Church Hierarchical?" Extensively researched, and backed by exhaustive citations to authority, the opinion will cause many in the TEC establishment to have to reconsider their views about the hierarchical nature of The Episcopal Church. It makes the following points....
[Anglican Curmudgeon] 16 Sep 2008--The Anglican Communion Institute has published a major new legal opinion with the title: "Is the Episcopal Church Hierarchical?" Extensively researched, and backed by exhaustive citations to authority, the opinion will cause many in the TEC establishment to have to reconsider their views about the hierarchical nature of The Episcopal Church. It makes the following points....
Workshop Trains 'Inclusion Activists'
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/15/workshop-trains-inclusion-activists
[The Living Church] 16 Sep 2008--A mission and message are unlikely to be effective without a way to ensure that they are recognized and acted upon. This theme was explored by participants in an “Inclusion Activism” workshop Sept. 12-13 at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Minneapolis.
Subtitled “Advancing Equality for LGBT Episcopalians at the Diocesan Level,” it was the last of a series of five inclusion activism workshops held around the country and co-sponsored by Claiming the Blessing and Integrity USA. The workshops were designed to provide Episcopalians with the tools they need to bring LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues to the forefront of diocesan conventions and diocesan decision makers. All five workshops attracted people from wide geographic areas. Organizer Jan Adams told of one previous workshop at which a woman drove for 10 hours in order to attend.
[The Living Church] 16 Sep 2008--A mission and message are unlikely to be effective without a way to ensure that they are recognized and acted upon. This theme was explored by participants in an “Inclusion Activism” workshop Sept. 12-13 at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Minneapolis.
Subtitled “Advancing Equality for LGBT Episcopalians at the Diocesan Level,” it was the last of a series of five inclusion activism workshops held around the country and co-sponsored by Claiming the Blessing and Integrity USA. The workshops were designed to provide Episcopalians with the tools they need to bring LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues to the forefront of diocesan conventions and diocesan decision makers. All five workshops attracted people from wide geographic areas. Organizer Jan Adams told of one previous workshop at which a woman drove for 10 hours in order to attend.
Arrests over India church attacks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7616314.stm
[BBC News] 16 Sep 2008--Police in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have arrested over 60 people in connection with attacks on churches and clergymen over the weekend.
More than a dozen churches were ransacked by alleged activists of the radical Hindu group Bajrang Dal.
The Bajrang Dal claims that Hindus are being illegally converted to Christianity in the area.
Last month, anti-Christian violence in the eastern Orissa state led to the deaths of at least 20 people.
[BBC News] 16 Sep 2008--Police in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have arrested over 60 people in connection with attacks on churches and clergymen over the weekend.
More than a dozen churches were ransacked by alleged activists of the radical Hindu group Bajrang Dal.
The Bajrang Dal claims that Hindus are being illegally converted to Christianity in the area.
Last month, anti-Christian violence in the eastern Orissa state led to the deaths of at least 20 people.
Christians Face Hindus' Wrath
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/14/AR2008091402209.html
[Washington Post] 16 Sep 2008--Babita Nayak was cooking lunch for her pregnant sister when a mob of Hindu extremists wielding swords, hammers and long sticks rampaged through their village, chanting "India is for Hindus! Convert or leave!"
The men, wearing saffron headbands, ransacked dozens of huts, searching for cash and looting bicycles and livestock. They torched the village church, leaving behind burned Bibles in the local Kui language and torn-down posters of Jesus. "Christianity is a foreign religion," they shouted over bullhorns, according to eyewitness and police reports.
Hearing that such attacks were spreading in the mist-shrouded hills of this destitute part of Orissa state, the sisters fled with hundreds of neighbors, trekking through forest land. After two days, they reached this crowded makeshift relief camp, set up on the campus of a dank high school, 15 miles from their village.
[Washington Post] 16 Sep 2008--Babita Nayak was cooking lunch for her pregnant sister when a mob of Hindu extremists wielding swords, hammers and long sticks rampaged through their village, chanting "India is for Hindus! Convert or leave!"
The men, wearing saffron headbands, ransacked dozens of huts, searching for cash and looting bicycles and livestock. They torched the village church, leaving behind burned Bibles in the local Kui language and torn-down posters of Jesus. "Christianity is a foreign religion," they shouted over bullhorns, according to eyewitness and police reports.
Hearing that such attacks were spreading in the mist-shrouded hills of this destitute part of Orissa state, the sisters fled with hundreds of neighbors, trekking through forest land. After two days, they reached this crowded makeshift relief camp, set up on the campus of a dank high school, 15 miles from their village.
Online ministry training - mission impossible?
http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/indepth/articles/online_ministry_training_mission_impossible/
[sydneyanglicans.net] 16 Sep 2008--Most people would realise that there are no theological colleges in the Bible. So where on earth did the first Christians get their church leaders from? The answer, of course, is the church. Which is a good reminder for those Christians (like this author) who are working in Bible colleges that the centre of ministry formation is the local church.
We must keep this in mind when it comes to distance education for ministry training. The education world has taken to cyberspace with great enthusiasm – there’s no end to the number of courses that you can study online. But training for ministry is more than just studying a body of knowledge. There are so many more things that go into developing a leader for Christian ministry.
[sydneyanglicans.net] 16 Sep 2008--Most people would realise that there are no theological colleges in the Bible. So where on earth did the first Christians get their church leaders from? The answer, of course, is the church. Which is a good reminder for those Christians (like this author) who are working in Bible colleges that the centre of ministry formation is the local church.
We must keep this in mind when it comes to distance education for ministry training. The education world has taken to cyberspace with great enthusiasm – there’s no end to the number of courses that you can study online. But training for ministry is more than just studying a body of knowledge. There are so many more things that go into developing a leader for Christian ministry.
Conference Examines Future of Anglican Orthodoxy
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/15/conference-examines-future-of-anglican-orthodoxy
[The Living Church] 16 Sep 2008--Two leading Anglo-Catholic bishops presented differing visions for regaining Anglican unity at “The Hope and Future of Orthodoxy in the Anglican Communion: A Festival of Faith Conference,” held Sept. 13 at St. Luke’s Church, Bladensburg, Md.
The Most Rev. Drexel Gomez, Archbishop of the West Indies, and the Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy, were the featured speakers at St. Luke’s, an Anglo-Catholic parish in the Diocese of Washington.
The bishops agreed that Anglican unity remains torn, just as the primates said it would be, by the consecration of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire—and by the deeper theological divisions evident in The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
Archbishop Gomez stressed the importance of a Communion-wide covenant being drafted by an international panel that he leads. “There is nothing on the horizon that offers reasonable hope of holding the Communion together, other than the covenant,” he said.
Bishop Ackerman referred to building unity not only with Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians, but also with churches that have Anglican roots but are not in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury
[The Living Church] 16 Sep 2008--Two leading Anglo-Catholic bishops presented differing visions for regaining Anglican unity at “The Hope and Future of Orthodoxy in the Anglican Communion: A Festival of Faith Conference,” held Sept. 13 at St. Luke’s Church, Bladensburg, Md.
The Most Rev. Drexel Gomez, Archbishop of the West Indies, and the Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy, were the featured speakers at St. Luke’s, an Anglo-Catholic parish in the Diocese of Washington.
The bishops agreed that Anglican unity remains torn, just as the primates said it would be, by the consecration of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire—and by the deeper theological divisions evident in The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
Archbishop Gomez stressed the importance of a Communion-wide covenant being drafted by an international panel that he leads. “There is nothing on the horizon that offers reasonable hope of holding the Communion together, other than the covenant,” he said.
Bishop Ackerman referred to building unity not only with Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians, but also with churches that have Anglican roots but are not in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury
'Generation Hex' Authors to Expose Dangers of Wicca Online
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080914/-generation-hex-authors-to-expose-dangers-of-wicca-online.htm
[The Christian Post] 16 Sep 2008--The co-authors of an eye-opening book that informs and equips Christians – especially parents – about Wiccan and New Age teachings will be joining a public online chatroom to discuss their findings and answer questions about the growing religious movement.
Marla Alupoaicei and Dillon Burroughs, who wrote "Generation Hex: Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca," are set to be the next guests on Abunga.com’s bi-weekly “Authors at Abunga” chat, which connects avid book readers with their favorite authors.
[The Christian Post] 16 Sep 2008--The co-authors of an eye-opening book that informs and equips Christians – especially parents – about Wiccan and New Age teachings will be joining a public online chatroom to discuss their findings and answer questions about the growing religious movement.
Marla Alupoaicei and Dillon Burroughs, who wrote "Generation Hex: Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca," are set to be the next guests on Abunga.com’s bi-weekly “Authors at Abunga” chat, which connects avid book readers with their favorite authors.
Atheists 'Evangelize' on College Campuses
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080915/atheists-evangelize-on-college-campuses.htm
[The Christian Post] 16 Sep 2008--At least one Christian club or group can be found on most public college and university campuses today.
One prominent Christian campus ministry, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, has staff working on 580 U.S. college campuses alone. InterVarsity President Alec Hill calls the college campus "the strategic point where you can impact the world by connecting with students, because of who the students will become."
It seems now that militant atheists are catching on. Atheists can now be found nearby Christians on college campuses "evangelizing" new adherents.
This new generation of atheists - typically more aggressive and outspoken than their predecessors - includes bestselling authors Richard Dawkins and also ex-Christians.
[The Christian Post] 16 Sep 2008--At least one Christian club or group can be found on most public college and university campuses today.
One prominent Christian campus ministry, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, has staff working on 580 U.S. college campuses alone. InterVarsity President Alec Hill calls the college campus "the strategic point where you can impact the world by connecting with students, because of who the students will become."
It seems now that militant atheists are catching on. Atheists can now be found nearby Christians on college campuses "evangelizing" new adherents.
This new generation of atheists - typically more aggressive and outspoken than their predecessors - includes bestselling authors Richard Dawkins and also ex-Christians.
Change Depends on Church, Not Political Messiah, Says Evangelical Pastor
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080915/change-depends-on-church-not-political-messiah-says-evangelical-pastor.htm
[The Christian Post] 16 Sep 2008--Don’t look to a political leader to deliver needed change in America, but look at yourself as part of the Church to transform society, said an evangelical pastor Saturday at the Values Voter Summit.
Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of the 3,000-member Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C area and founder and chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, told the crowd of social conservative voters that he believes America is at a very important moment in its history with both major presidential candidates vowing change if elected.
[The Christian Post] 16 Sep 2008--Don’t look to a political leader to deliver needed change in America, but look at yourself as part of the Church to transform society, said an evangelical pastor Saturday at the Values Voter Summit.
Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of the 3,000-member Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C area and founder and chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, told the crowd of social conservative voters that he believes America is at a very important moment in its history with both major presidential candidates vowing change if elected.
Why Anglican England is better than secular France
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/urmeekhan/blog/2008/09/15/why_anglican_england_is_better_than_secular_france
[Telegraph] 16 Sep 2008--It looks like Europe's most proudly secular country is about to become less secular.
The French Republic, belligerently secular since the Revolution, and whose separation of church and state is encoded in a 1905 law, may start according a special role to the Catholic Church; that at least is one interpretation of comments by President Nicolas Sarkozy that a new, "positive secularity" should recognise the central place of religion in the country. "It would be crazy to deprive ourselves of religion" he said - "[it would be] a failing against culture and against thought".
His remarks came on Friday as he welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to France, who is visiting to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the supposed appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes. Opposition figures united in condemnation of the President - to such an extent that on Sunday the Pope had to reassure nervous anti-clericalists that the Church does not seek to usurp the state.
[Telegraph] 16 Sep 2008--It looks like Europe's most proudly secular country is about to become less secular.
The French Republic, belligerently secular since the Revolution, and whose separation of church and state is encoded in a 1905 law, may start according a special role to the Catholic Church; that at least is one interpretation of comments by President Nicolas Sarkozy that a new, "positive secularity" should recognise the central place of religion in the country. "It would be crazy to deprive ourselves of religion" he said - "[it would be] a failing against culture and against thought".
His remarks came on Friday as he welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to France, who is visiting to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the supposed appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes. Opposition figures united in condemnation of the President - to such an extent that on Sunday the Pope had to reassure nervous anti-clericalists that the Church does not seek to usurp the state.
14 Bishops and Counting Correct Senator Biden
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091502.html
[LifeSiteNews] 16 Sep 2008--Catholic bishops across the nation have rebuked Senator Joe Biden for claiming, during a September 7 appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, that his support for abortion is in keeping with his Catholic faith.
To date at least 14 bishops have responded to Biden's erroneous statement about Catholic teaching and abortion.
[LifeSiteNews] 16 Sep 2008--Catholic bishops across the nation have rebuked Senator Joe Biden for claiming, during a September 7 appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, that his support for abortion is in keeping with his Catholic faith.
To date at least 14 bishops have responded to Biden's erroneous statement about Catholic teaching and abortion.
McCain on "The View": "The Belief that God Has a Plan Will Guide This World to a Better Existence"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091507.html
[LifeSiteNews] 16 Sep 2008--Despite a great deal of criticism from his hostesses, Sen. McCain unapologetically professed and stood by his Christian beliefs when he appeared on the September 12th edition of "The View."
Whoopi Goldberg opened the discussion of faith when she cited McCain's VP choice of Sarah Palin, an ardent Evangelical Christian, as a possible threat to "the separation of church and state."
Sen. McCain, however, disagreed that Palin's beliefs pose any such threat. He explained that, despite the fact that Palin has been much criticized for her Christian faith in the media, in particular for an out-of-context quotation in which she appeared to say that the war in Iraq is a "task from God", the Alaskan governor was simply echoing the words of Abraham Lincoln.
In an appearance before her church in Alaska Palin had - rather than declaring that the war in Iraq was indeed a task from God, as has been widely reported - asked members of the congregation to pray that the military should do God's will.
[LifeSiteNews] 16 Sep 2008--Despite a great deal of criticism from his hostesses, Sen. McCain unapologetically professed and stood by his Christian beliefs when he appeared on the September 12th edition of "The View."
Whoopi Goldberg opened the discussion of faith when she cited McCain's VP choice of Sarah Palin, an ardent Evangelical Christian, as a possible threat to "the separation of church and state."
Sen. McCain, however, disagreed that Palin's beliefs pose any such threat. He explained that, despite the fact that Palin has been much criticized for her Christian faith in the media, in particular for an out-of-context quotation in which she appeared to say that the war in Iraq is a "task from God", the Alaskan governor was simply echoing the words of Abraham Lincoln.
In an appearance before her church in Alaska Palin had - rather than declaring that the war in Iraq was indeed a task from God, as has been widely reported - asked members of the congregation to pray that the military should do God's will.
Comments on September 15 News - ABC camera trickery - The "Lying King" and bloodthirsty attacks gainst Palin
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091513.html
[LifeSiteNews] 16 Sep 2008--I understood immediately what Palin was saying when I saw the video of her making those comments about praying that God's will be done regarding the US troops in Iraq. She was NOT expressing a view for or against the US military agenda. It was an authentic Christian expression of desire that God's will be done, whatever it should be. Still, my dear friend was completely bamboozled by the media spin making Palin appear to be a war monger and Obama to be a good choice for people of faith. It has to make you wonder how many other good folks are being taken in by all this.
I strongly suggest you take a look at two items posted recently on Newsbusters. One is a European video takeoff on the Lion King renamed Lying King. Newsbusters says "it marvelously uses a song from the hit Disney film "The Lion King" to expose what's behind the media's bloodthirsty attacks on Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin." Let me tell you, it does do that, and although it is only a cartoon, it seems frighteningly on target. See http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/09/14/sunday...
[LifeSiteNews] 16 Sep 2008--I understood immediately what Palin was saying when I saw the video of her making those comments about praying that God's will be done regarding the US troops in Iraq. She was NOT expressing a view for or against the US military agenda. It was an authentic Christian expression of desire that God's will be done, whatever it should be. Still, my dear friend was completely bamboozled by the media spin making Palin appear to be a war monger and Obama to be a good choice for people of faith. It has to make you wonder how many other good folks are being taken in by all this.
I strongly suggest you take a look at two items posted recently on Newsbusters. One is a European video takeoff on the Lion King renamed Lying King. Newsbusters says "it marvelously uses a song from the hit Disney film "The Lion King" to expose what's behind the media's bloodthirsty attacks on Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin." Let me tell you, it does do that, and although it is only a cartoon, it seems frighteningly on target. See http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/09/14/sunday...
The Lesser of Evils: False Teaching or Schism?
http://3riversepiscopal.blogspot.com/2008/09/jeff-murph-lesser-of-evils-false.html
[Three Rivers Episcopal] 16 Sep 2008--Peter Lee of Virginia elicited howls of protest and outrage a few years ago when he observed that heresy was better than schism. In fact, though I have known and loved and respected Peter for decades, I was pretty sympathetic to his critics, mostly because I believed that he was being rather self-justifying (to defend his decision to give consent to the consecration of Gene Robinson—which the ensuing years have clearly revealed to be a schismatic action) as well as my concern that he was awfully quick to accept that the “lesser evil” of false teaching was necessary (since the lives of the ordained are supposed to be an example to the faithful then living in a sexual relationship outside of marriage constitutes an implicit false teaching).
[Three Rivers Episcopal] 16 Sep 2008--Peter Lee of Virginia elicited howls of protest and outrage a few years ago when he observed that heresy was better than schism. In fact, though I have known and loved and respected Peter for decades, I was pretty sympathetic to his critics, mostly because I believed that he was being rather self-justifying (to defend his decision to give consent to the consecration of Gene Robinson—which the ensuing years have clearly revealed to be a schismatic action) as well as my concern that he was awfully quick to accept that the “lesser evil” of false teaching was necessary (since the lives of the ordained are supposed to be an example to the faithful then living in a sexual relationship outside of marriage constitutes an implicit false teaching).
Anglican Apology "Pointless" says Darwin Descendant
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091504.html
[LifeSiteNews] 16 Sep 2008--The great grandson of 19th century naturalist Charles Darwin, told media that he was "bemused" at an apology offered by a prominent Anglican cleric to his long-dead ancestor. Andrew Darwin, called "pointless" an article written by a prominent Anglican cleric that apologised for the 19th century Church's response to the publication of the Origin of Species, the book that began the debate over evolution.
"Why bother?" Darwin said, "When an apology is made after 200 years, it's not so much to right a wrong, but to make the person or organisation making the apology feel better."
Related articles:
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5PQ3Ew_8N4rgQ5BbKMi9WzqUQTQ
Anglican official says Church of England owes Darwin an apology - The Canadian Press
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/232170,vatican-official-catholic-church-doesnt-owe-darwin-an-apology.html
Vatican official: Catholic Church doesn't owe Darwin an apology - The Earth Times
[LifeSiteNews] 16 Sep 2008--The great grandson of 19th century naturalist Charles Darwin, told media that he was "bemused" at an apology offered by a prominent Anglican cleric to his long-dead ancestor. Andrew Darwin, called "pointless" an article written by a prominent Anglican cleric that apologised for the 19th century Church's response to the publication of the Origin of Species, the book that began the debate over evolution.
"Why bother?" Darwin said, "When an apology is made after 200 years, it's not so much to right a wrong, but to make the person or organisation making the apology feel better."
Related articles:
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5PQ3Ew_8N4rgQ5BbKMi9WzqUQTQ
Anglican official says Church of England owes Darwin an apology - The Canadian Press
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/232170,vatican-official-catholic-church-doesnt-owe-darwin-an-apology.html
Vatican official: Catholic Church doesn't owe Darwin an apology - The Earth Times
Monday, September 15, 2008
Shadowmancer author: BBC banned me because I'm Christian
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/2910437/Shadowmancer-author-BBC-banned-me-because-Im-Christian.html
[Telegraph] 15 Sep 2008--The Rev G P Taylor, who has sold millions of books worldwide, claims that a producer at the corporation told him they couldn't be "seen to be promoting Jesus".
The author of Shadowmancer, which spent 15 weeks at the top of the British book sales charts in 2003, says that he has been the victim of political correctness that favours minority religions at the expense of Christianity, a claim the BBC denies.
He says that once his present series of books is complete, he will write under another name and employ an actor to do any public appearances, in an attempt to stop his work being "discriminated" against. Taylor, who gave up life as a parish priest after signing a £3.5 million publishing deal with Faber in 2004, believes the BBC began to shun him after he was described as the new C S Lewis – the Christian author who wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. "I had good relations with them until they realised that there were religious allegories in my stories," he said.
"Once they had decided that I was promoting Christianity in my books I found the door firmly shut."
[Telegraph] 15 Sep 2008--The Rev G P Taylor, who has sold millions of books worldwide, claims that a producer at the corporation told him they couldn't be "seen to be promoting Jesus".
The author of Shadowmancer, which spent 15 weeks at the top of the British book sales charts in 2003, says that he has been the victim of political correctness that favours minority religions at the expense of Christianity, a claim the BBC denies.
He says that once his present series of books is complete, he will write under another name and employ an actor to do any public appearances, in an attempt to stop his work being "discriminated" against. Taylor, who gave up life as a parish priest after signing a £3.5 million publishing deal with Faber in 2004, believes the BBC began to shun him after he was described as the new C S Lewis – the Christian author who wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. "I had good relations with them until they realised that there were religious allegories in my stories," he said.
"Once they had decided that I was promoting Christianity in my books I found the door firmly shut."
Uganda: New Global Anglican Fellowship Formed
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809150040.html
[allAfrica.com] 15 Sep 2008--The split between conservative and the liberal Anglican provinces torn over the place of homosexuality in the church appears to be official.
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) has been formed, following the first meeting of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Primates Council in London. A secretariat was also created by the conservative primates who met from August 20-22.
According to a press release issued on August 29, 2008, the council will be assisted by an advisory board to 'authenticate and recognise confessing Anglican jurisdictions, clergy and congregations and to encourage all Anglicans to promote the gospel and defend the faith'.
"We believe that the Jerusalem Declaration provides for a viable way of helping to deal with the crisis in the Anglican Communion brought about through the disobedience to Scripture by some in North America and elsewhere," said the statement.
[allAfrica.com] 15 Sep 2008--The split between conservative and the liberal Anglican provinces torn over the place of homosexuality in the church appears to be official.
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) has been formed, following the first meeting of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Primates Council in London. A secretariat was also created by the conservative primates who met from August 20-22.
According to a press release issued on August 29, 2008, the council will be assisted by an advisory board to 'authenticate and recognise confessing Anglican jurisdictions, clergy and congregations and to encourage all Anglicans to promote the gospel and defend the faith'.
"We believe that the Jerusalem Declaration provides for a viable way of helping to deal with the crisis in the Anglican Communion brought about through the disobedience to Scripture by some in North America and elsewhere," said the statement.
Schori Excommunicates the Episcopal Church
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=9001
[VirtueOnline] 15 Sep 2008--Here's a cartoon I either culled from memory or else fabricated out of borrowed images and stored as memory. I'm picturing Road Runner, Warner Brothers cartoon superhero, sitting alone on the branch of a great oak tree. Up climbs the stealthy Wylie Coyote with a carpenter's saw. Crouched against the trunk of the tree he proceeds to cut through the limb upon which sits Road Runner, unperturbed and aloof. Finally Wylie Coyote cuts the branch through.
Here logic takes the usual Road Runner shift. Rather than the branch dropping to the ground in obedience to the laws of gravity, it remains perfectly stationary. Meanwhile the huge trunk gradually tips to one side and plunges to the ground. As always, the haughty Road Runner gets away unscathed, while the bungling Coyote is foiled again.
I don't expect this Thursday's deposition of Bishop Robert Duncan will be anything to laugh about. I don't expect that there will be an eleventh hour reprieve or any cavalry riding to the rescue. No heroics, real or imagined, and certainly nothing funny. Still, I sense a similar irony to be at play.
Katharine Jefferts Schori is emerging as a tragic-comic character, though perhaps a bit more like Darth Vader than Wylie Coyote. Remember the menacing ridicule by Princess Leia: "The more you tighten your grip, Darth, the more star systems will slip through your fingers!"
[VirtueOnline] 15 Sep 2008--Here's a cartoon I either culled from memory or else fabricated out of borrowed images and stored as memory. I'm picturing Road Runner, Warner Brothers cartoon superhero, sitting alone on the branch of a great oak tree. Up climbs the stealthy Wylie Coyote with a carpenter's saw. Crouched against the trunk of the tree he proceeds to cut through the limb upon which sits Road Runner, unperturbed and aloof. Finally Wylie Coyote cuts the branch through.
Here logic takes the usual Road Runner shift. Rather than the branch dropping to the ground in obedience to the laws of gravity, it remains perfectly stationary. Meanwhile the huge trunk gradually tips to one side and plunges to the ground. As always, the haughty Road Runner gets away unscathed, while the bungling Coyote is foiled again.
I don't expect this Thursday's deposition of Bishop Robert Duncan will be anything to laugh about. I don't expect that there will be an eleventh hour reprieve or any cavalry riding to the rescue. No heroics, real or imagined, and certainly nothing funny. Still, I sense a similar irony to be at play.
Katharine Jefferts Schori is emerging as a tragic-comic character, though perhaps a bit more like Darth Vader than Wylie Coyote. Remember the menacing ridicule by Princess Leia: "The more you tighten your grip, Darth, the more star systems will slip through your fingers!"
Future of Anglican Communion Resides with Global South Bishops and Christian Orthodoxy: GAFCON
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091215.html
[LifeSiteNews] 15 Sep 2008--There is no turning back from "Anglican Realignment" and the future of the Anglican Church lies with Christian orthodoxy, say leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), the group that formed in response to the growing pro-homosexualist dissent in the Anglican Communion. GAFCON has issued a statement following a meeting in London where they examined the results of this summer's Lambeth Conference.
The GAFCON leadership have made it clear that the breakup of the Anglican Communion happened in 2003 with the consecration of Gene Robinson, an unrepentant active homosexual man, as bishop of New Hampshire. There is now only one way forward, they said: the return of the Anglican Church to orthodox Christianity.
The statement from the GAFCON leadership outlined three "new facts", made clear at the Lambeth Conference, that no new agreements are likely to resolve.
[LifeSiteNews] 15 Sep 2008--There is no turning back from "Anglican Realignment" and the future of the Anglican Church lies with Christian orthodoxy, say leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), the group that formed in response to the growing pro-homosexualist dissent in the Anglican Communion. GAFCON has issued a statement following a meeting in London where they examined the results of this summer's Lambeth Conference.
The GAFCON leadership have made it clear that the breakup of the Anglican Communion happened in 2003 with the consecration of Gene Robinson, an unrepentant active homosexual man, as bishop of New Hampshire. There is now only one way forward, they said: the return of the Anglican Church to orthodox Christianity.
The statement from the GAFCON leadership outlined three "new facts", made clear at the Lambeth Conference, that no new agreements are likely to resolve.
Shock: Prominent Feminist Admits "Abortion is Murder" but "I Am a Firm Supporter"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091204.html
[LifeSiteNews] 15 Sep 2008--In an article focusing on newly appointed vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, prominent feminist Camille Paglia admits that, much like Gov. Palin, she also believes abortion involves the murder of an innocent life - but unlike Palin, Paglia says she is a "firm supporter" of abortion.
Paglia's piece, which appears on Salon.com, is the latest indication that "utilitarian" philosophies that no longer recognize the "right to life" as being the most foundational human right are gaining ground in some liberal circles. Under these philosophies even murder can be advocated as long as it protects what is deemed to be an even more important "right" - in Paglia's case the sacrosanct "right to abortion."
Paglia, the University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, is well-known for her non-conformist approach as a lesbian social critic and as a popular journalist and author. Her latest article, "Fresh blood for the vampire", largely addresses the Republican's surge in the polls after choosing Palin as VP-nominee, but also touches on abortion.
[LifeSiteNews] 15 Sep 2008--In an article focusing on newly appointed vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, prominent feminist Camille Paglia admits that, much like Gov. Palin, she also believes abortion involves the murder of an innocent life - but unlike Palin, Paglia says she is a "firm supporter" of abortion.
Paglia's piece, which appears on Salon.com, is the latest indication that "utilitarian" philosophies that no longer recognize the "right to life" as being the most foundational human right are gaining ground in some liberal circles. Under these philosophies even murder can be advocated as long as it protects what is deemed to be an even more important "right" - in Paglia's case the sacrosanct "right to abortion."
Paglia, the University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, is well-known for her non-conformist approach as a lesbian social critic and as a popular journalist and author. Her latest article, "Fresh blood for the vampire", largely addresses the Republican's surge in the polls after choosing Palin as VP-nominee, but also touches on abortion.
"Not to Destruction, but to Salvation"
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2447
[Albert Mohler] 15 Sep 2008--The most senior California bishops of the Episcopal Church came out in favor of same-sex marriage in the state on Wednesday. The bishops then called on voters to defeat Proposition 8 -- the constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
[Albert Mohler] 15 Sep 2008--The most senior California bishops of the Episcopal Church came out in favor of same-sex marriage in the state on Wednesday. The bishops then called on voters to defeat Proposition 8 -- the constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Revealed: UK’s first official sharia courts
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4749183.ece
[Times Online] 15 Sep 2008--Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.
The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.
Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High Court.
Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims
[Times Online] 15 Sep 2008--Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.
The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.
Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High Court.
Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims
Church spat might head to Supreme Court
http://www.mpnnow.com/news/x2090106681/Church-spat-might-head-to-Supreme-Court
[MPN Now.com] 15 Sep 2008--n a property dispute stemming from a rift with the Episcopal Church of America, the attorney for All Saints Anglican Church urged New York’s Court of Appeals Tuesday to set aside a previous decision from a lower court that essentially allowed the removal of the congregation from its longtime church building at 759 Winona Blvd. in Irondequoit.
It’s a case that might not be settled until it gets to the U.S. Supreme Court.
[MPN Now.com] 15 Sep 2008--n a property dispute stemming from a rift with the Episcopal Church of America, the attorney for All Saints Anglican Church urged New York’s Court of Appeals Tuesday to set aside a previous decision from a lower court that essentially allowed the removal of the congregation from its longtime church building at 759 Winona Blvd. in Irondequoit.
It’s a case that might not be settled until it gets to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jesus and the elephant in the room
http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/mission/missionthinking/jesus_and_the_elephant_in_the_room/
[sydneyanglicans.net] 15 Sep 2008--I pulled up at a service station behind a kombi van a while ago. There was a young guy, (a bit of a hippy really) filling the car and on the back of the kombi was a sticker with the words “Jesus” clearly printed. As I walked a little closer the sticker said “Jesus save us from your followers”.
In Australia today most people are still positive about Jesus. In fact many young people will say Jesus was “way cool”.
[sydneyanglicans.net] 15 Sep 2008--I pulled up at a service station behind a kombi van a while ago. There was a young guy, (a bit of a hippy really) filling the car and on the back of the kombi was a sticker with the words “Jesus” clearly printed. As I walked a little closer the sticker said “Jesus save us from your followers”.
In Australia today most people are still positive about Jesus. In fact many young people will say Jesus was “way cool”.
Confounding expectations
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24319889-5003900,00.html
[The Australian] 15 Sep 2008--His reputation among many secular Australians -- those who have heard of him at all -- is of a stuffy, hidebound old churchman. Among self-styled progressives, including some from our more liberal churches, his name is synonymous with reactionary religious cant.
These lazy and unfair misconceptions say much more about 21st-century Australia than about Jensen. But for public figures, image is important. I must confess that in 2005 I paid insufficient attention to Jensen's Boyer Lectures, which have been republished here with "minor updates and adaptations".
The Future of Jesus is not the book I expected it to be. There are only glancing references to the issues of sexuality and sanctity of life that so bitterly divide conscientious people. And Jensen puts aside the ugly doctrinal disputes that, in recent years, have distracted so many in the Anglican Church hierarchy (including him).
It is well known that Jensen's views on these matters are deeply conservative. But he recognises that labouring them would not advance what he calls his chief aim: "to inspire widespread, adult reading of the New Testament Gospels". The Gospels attest that the two prime concerns of Jesus of Nazareth were personal faith in God (repentance) and social justice on earth, in that order of importance.
Jensen sticks to these basics and in the process delivers a measured and incisive indictment of neo-liberal Western society.
[The Australian] 15 Sep 2008--His reputation among many secular Australians -- those who have heard of him at all -- is of a stuffy, hidebound old churchman. Among self-styled progressives, including some from our more liberal churches, his name is synonymous with reactionary religious cant.
These lazy and unfair misconceptions say much more about 21st-century Australia than about Jensen. But for public figures, image is important. I must confess that in 2005 I paid insufficient attention to Jensen's Boyer Lectures, which have been republished here with "minor updates and adaptations".
The Future of Jesus is not the book I expected it to be. There are only glancing references to the issues of sexuality and sanctity of life that so bitterly divide conscientious people. And Jensen puts aside the ugly doctrinal disputes that, in recent years, have distracted so many in the Anglican Church hierarchy (including him).
It is well known that Jensen's views on these matters are deeply conservative. But he recognises that labouring them would not advance what he calls his chief aim: "to inspire widespread, adult reading of the New Testament Gospels". The Gospels attest that the two prime concerns of Jesus of Nazareth were personal faith in God (repentance) and social justice on earth, in that order of importance.
Jensen sticks to these basics and in the process delivers a measured and incisive indictment of neo-liberal Western society.
Bishop Venables: Canadian Primate’s Proposal a ‘Publicity Stunt’
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/12/bishop-venables-canadian-primates-proposal-a-publicity-stunt
[The Living Church] 15 Sep 2008--Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables, primate of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, expressed dismay and suspicion after Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of Canada, went public with his request for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to convene a meeting to discuss cross-border incursions.
In an interview published Sept. 10 by the Anglican Journal of Canada, Archbishop Hiltz said he had requested that Archbishop Williams convene a meeting with Bishop Venables, himself, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Archbishop Mauricio de Andrade, primate of Brazil.
“I talked to Fred about this at Lambeth, but it never occurred to me that a private discussion would become public without us both agreeing first,” Bishop Venables told The Living Church. “It looks more like a publicity stunt than a serious desire for dialogue.
“What more is there to discuss? I told him why I was doing this and he told me how he felt about it,” Bishop Venables said. “Boundary crossing is not the primary issue. It is a secondary issue resulting from the communion-splitting action of blessing sexual sin by the U.S. and Canadian churches.”
[The Living Church] 15 Sep 2008--Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables, primate of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, expressed dismay and suspicion after Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of Canada, went public with his request for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to convene a meeting to discuss cross-border incursions.
In an interview published Sept. 10 by the Anglican Journal of Canada, Archbishop Hiltz said he had requested that Archbishop Williams convene a meeting with Bishop Venables, himself, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Archbishop Mauricio de Andrade, primate of Brazil.
“I talked to Fred about this at Lambeth, but it never occurred to me that a private discussion would become public without us both agreeing first,” Bishop Venables told The Living Church. “It looks more like a publicity stunt than a serious desire for dialogue.
“What more is there to discuss? I told him why I was doing this and he told me how he felt about it,” Bishop Venables said. “Boundary crossing is not the primary issue. It is a secondary issue resulting from the communion-splitting action of blessing sexual sin by the U.S. and Canadian churches.”
Pastoral Letter from Bishop Robert Duncan
http://www.pitanglican.org/news/local/duncanpastoral091308
[The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh] 15 Sep 2008--In a letter to the House of Bishops yesterday, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori made it clear that there will be a vote this coming Thursday on whether to depose me from the ministry of the Episcopal Church. The charge is abandonment of the Communion of the Church, a charge initiated by five priests and sixteen laypeople of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Much of the “evidence” in the case is put forward by the House of Bishops Property Task Force, drawn directly from the Calvary litigation. We have long suspected that a principal purpose in the Calvary litigation was to have me removed, by whatever means, before the realignment vote. Whatever the purported evidence, I continue to maintain that the House of Bishops “vote” will be a gross violation of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church.
There are two things I would say, and one thing I would ask.
Related articles:
http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/09/chief-kaitiff-plans-purge.html
The Chief Kaitiff Plans a Purge - Anglican Curmudgeon
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/15/hob-will-hold-hearings-to-remove-bishop-duncan
HOB Will Hold Hearings to Remove Bishop Duncan - The Living Church
http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=2763
Legal doubt over Presiding Bishop's move to depose Duncan - Religious Intelligence
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16126/
Presiding Bishop’s Memo Outlining Duncan Deposition - Stand Firm
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/media/Duncan_Task_Force_Memo_9.5.08.pdf
Lawyer Bishops Memo on +Duncan - Stand Firm
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08257/912054-100.stm
Pittsburgh bishop could be ousted - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/12/bishop-duncan-to-skip-hob-meeting
Bishop Duncan to Skip HOB Meeting - The Living Church
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_588172.html
Episcopal Diocese to vote on removing bishop - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
[The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh] 15 Sep 2008--In a letter to the House of Bishops yesterday, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori made it clear that there will be a vote this coming Thursday on whether to depose me from the ministry of the Episcopal Church. The charge is abandonment of the Communion of the Church, a charge initiated by five priests and sixteen laypeople of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Much of the “evidence” in the case is put forward by the House of Bishops Property Task Force, drawn directly from the Calvary litigation. We have long suspected that a principal purpose in the Calvary litigation was to have me removed, by whatever means, before the realignment vote. Whatever the purported evidence, I continue to maintain that the House of Bishops “vote” will be a gross violation of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church.
There are two things I would say, and one thing I would ask.
Related articles:
http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/09/chief-kaitiff-plans-purge.html
The Chief Kaitiff Plans a Purge - Anglican Curmudgeon
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/15/hob-will-hold-hearings-to-remove-bishop-duncan
HOB Will Hold Hearings to Remove Bishop Duncan - The Living Church
http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=2763
Legal doubt over Presiding Bishop's move to depose Duncan - Religious Intelligence
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16126/
Presiding Bishop’s Memo Outlining Duncan Deposition - Stand Firm
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/media/Duncan_Task_Force_Memo_9.5.08.pdf
Lawyer Bishops Memo on +Duncan - Stand Firm
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08257/912054-100.stm
Pittsburgh bishop could be ousted - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/12/bishop-duncan-to-skip-hob-meeting
Bishop Duncan to Skip HOB Meeting - The Living Church
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_588172.html
Episcopal Diocese to vote on removing bishop - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Report Tracks Megachurch Growth, Changes
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080913/report-tracks-megachurch-growth-changes.htm
[The Christian Post] 15 Sep 2008--Attendance numbers at America's megachurches continue to grow, and at very fast rates, according to the latest research on the country's largest churches.
Protestant congregations that already have at least 2,000 people in a typical weekend had an average rate of growth for five years of around 50 percent. And over 20 percent of megachurches experienced an increase of 100 percent. Slightly more than 10 percent of the churches showed stagnation or decline.
The findings come from a study entitled "Changes in American Megachurches: Tracing Eight Years of Growth and Innovation in the Nation's largest-Attendance Congregations," which was released Friday.
The continuous growth in the size of megachurches comes as no surprise as they have shown increasing numbers over the last eight years.
But despite the bigger congregations, megachurches have not expanded their sanctuaries to accommodate the larger flocks.
Megachurches are "getting bigger without getting bigger," commented Warren Bird, co-author of the study.
[The Christian Post] 15 Sep 2008--Attendance numbers at America's megachurches continue to grow, and at very fast rates, according to the latest research on the country's largest churches.
Protestant congregations that already have at least 2,000 people in a typical weekend had an average rate of growth for five years of around 50 percent. And over 20 percent of megachurches experienced an increase of 100 percent. Slightly more than 10 percent of the churches showed stagnation or decline.
The findings come from a study entitled "Changes in American Megachurches: Tracing Eight Years of Growth and Innovation in the Nation's largest-Attendance Congregations," which was released Friday.
The continuous growth in the size of megachurches comes as no surprise as they have shown increasing numbers over the last eight years.
But despite the bigger congregations, megachurches have not expanded their sanctuaries to accommodate the larger flocks.
Megachurches are "getting bigger without getting bigger," commented Warren Bird, co-author of the study.
A Future for Traditional Values within the Anglican Communion
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2008/09/a_future_for_traditional_value.html
[Washington Post] 15 Sep 2008--At this juncture in our nation's history, it is vitally important that we separate the values that are worth fighting for from those that are simply matters of cultural preference. There are values that are universal and non-negotiable. I find them in the Bible and they have shaped my life.
It is in the Bible where you will discover the truth that every human life is of inestimable worth. You will find that God created marriage - one man and one woman for life. This is not some social arrangement that we can redesign at will; it is part of God's design for humanity.
However, for about the past forty years I belonged to a church that no longer advocates these values. In fact, it is attempting to deliberately replace our core values with some of the latest cultural whims.
That church is The Episcopal Church. It still has remnants of its rapidly fading prestige, but its current leadership seems to have lost its way and it has caused a major rift in the Anglican Communion.
[Washington Post] 15 Sep 2008--At this juncture in our nation's history, it is vitally important that we separate the values that are worth fighting for from those that are simply matters of cultural preference. There are values that are universal and non-negotiable. I find them in the Bible and they have shaped my life.
It is in the Bible where you will discover the truth that every human life is of inestimable worth. You will find that God created marriage - one man and one woman for life. This is not some social arrangement that we can redesign at will; it is part of God's design for humanity.
However, for about the past forty years I belonged to a church that no longer advocates these values. In fact, it is attempting to deliberately replace our core values with some of the latest cultural whims.
That church is The Episcopal Church. It still has remnants of its rapidly fading prestige, but its current leadership seems to have lost its way and it has caused a major rift in the Anglican Communion.
Conversion fire engulfs Karnataka, seven churches vandalized
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Conversion_fire_engulfs_Karnataka_seven_churches_vandalized/articleshow/3483344.cms
[The Times of India] 15 Sep 2008--After Kandhmal, it is the turn of Christians in Karnataka to face the ire of right-wing Hindu mobs. ( Watch )
Suspected Bajrang Dal activists vandalized seven churches and a house in Mangalore, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts on Sunday, protesting alleged conversions of Hindus to Christianity.
Some preachers and parishioners were assaulted and church property damaged in the attacks. The police in the three districts are yet to arrest anyone.
[The Times of India] 15 Sep 2008--After Kandhmal, it is the turn of Christians in Karnataka to face the ire of right-wing Hindu mobs. ( Watch )
Suspected Bajrang Dal activists vandalized seven churches and a house in Mangalore, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts on Sunday, protesting alleged conversions of Hindus to Christianity.
Some preachers and parishioners were assaulted and church property damaged in the attacks. The police in the three districts are yet to arrest anyone.
Akinola criticises West for cultural laxity and timidity
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=63194
[Church Times] 15 Sep 2008--England has let Christ go, says the Archbishop of Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter Akinola. Consequently, the “huge religious vacuum” created in the name of multiculturalism is being filled by Islam.
In an interview with Third Way, the Archbishop says he now leads 20 million Anglicans — “not on paper: in the pews on Sundays”. He describes himself to Joel Edwards, director of the Evangelical Alliance, as a nobody; someone with no claim to glamour or “superstar syndrome”; a “tool in the hand of God”, with no choice but to be humble.
[Church Times] 15 Sep 2008--England has let Christ go, says the Archbishop of Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter Akinola. Consequently, the “huge religious vacuum” created in the name of multiculturalism is being filled by Islam.
In an interview with Third Way, the Archbishop says he now leads 20 million Anglicans — “not on paper: in the pews on Sundays”. He describes himself to Joel Edwards, director of the Evangelical Alliance, as a nobody; someone with no claim to glamour or “superstar syndrome”; a “tool in the hand of God”, with no choice but to be humble.
Christian Aid Groups Provide Physical, Spiritual Care to Ike Victims
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080914/christian-aid-groups-provide-physical-spiritual-care-to-ike-victims.htm
[The Christian Post] 15 Sep 2008--Major Christian relief organizations deployed response groups – armed with meals, water, ice and prayers – Saturday morning to the storm-affected areas of Southwest Texas in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
The hurricane roared ashore Galveston early Saturday morning just shy of a Category 3 with winds reaching as high as 110 mph.
As of late Saturday, officials confirmed two deaths, one in Texas and the other in Louisiana , as a result of Hurricane Ike. Around 4.5 million are without power in Texas.
[The Christian Post] 15 Sep 2008--Major Christian relief organizations deployed response groups – armed with meals, water, ice and prayers – Saturday morning to the storm-affected areas of Southwest Texas in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
The hurricane roared ashore Galveston early Saturday morning just shy of a Category 3 with winds reaching as high as 110 mph.
As of late Saturday, officials confirmed two deaths, one in Texas and the other in Louisiana , as a result of Hurricane Ike. Around 4.5 million are without power in Texas.
Two dead in India anti-Christian riots: police
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gy3rs5jzLETcnidLdVCJsEbItqCQ
[AFP] 15 Sep 2008--Security forces killed two Hindu rioters in eastern India where violence between Hindus and Christians claimed 18 lives last month, police said Sunday.
Tensions between the two communities in Orissa state have simmered for weeks over alleged forced conversions of Hindus by the minority Christian community.
Late Saturday, paramilitary troops in the troubled Kandhamal district -- the focus of the recent religious violence -- clashed with about 50 Hindus.
The Hindus, who were trying to attack a church and the nearby house of a Christian villager, fired on the troops, injuring one of them, police said.
Two rioters were killed and 11 injured when the troops retaliated, Orissa police chief Gopal Nanda said Sunday.
[AFP] 15 Sep 2008--Security forces killed two Hindu rioters in eastern India where violence between Hindus and Christians claimed 18 lives last month, police said Sunday.
Tensions between the two communities in Orissa state have simmered for weeks over alleged forced conversions of Hindus by the minority Christian community.
Late Saturday, paramilitary troops in the troubled Kandhamal district -- the focus of the recent religious violence -- clashed with about 50 Hindus.
The Hindus, who were trying to attack a church and the nearby house of a Christian villager, fired on the troops, injuring one of them, police said.
Two rioters were killed and 11 injured when the troops retaliated, Orissa police chief Gopal Nanda said Sunday.
E-learning educates at a distance
http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/e_learning_educates_at_a_distance/
[sydneyanglicans.net] 15 Sep 2008--Gary Nelson had his vision altered at GAFCON in Jerusalem in June. Partly, that was a detached retina he suffered while travelling, which led to an urgent eye operation. But it was also the fact that his vision for the Moore College External Studies department is now bigger than ever.
“I spoke to many, many people during the conference, especially from the developing world, Africa and elsewhere, and their greatest need is to train pastors and leaders.”
Mr Nelson already knew that Sydney Diocese had something to share with the rest of the world. After all, the Moore College program is now running in many countries, including the latest expansion in Spanish into Cuba. But the eye-opener at GAFCON was the scale of the need.
[sydneyanglicans.net] 15 Sep 2008--Gary Nelson had his vision altered at GAFCON in Jerusalem in June. Partly, that was a detached retina he suffered while travelling, which led to an urgent eye operation. But it was also the fact that his vision for the Moore College External Studies department is now bigger than ever.
“I spoke to many, many people during the conference, especially from the developing world, Africa and elsewhere, and their greatest need is to train pastors and leaders.”
Mr Nelson already knew that Sydney Diocese had something to share with the rest of the world. After all, the Moore College program is now running in many countries, including the latest expansion in Spanish into Cuba. But the eye-opener at GAFCON was the scale of the need.
Church Society Council endorses the Jerusalem Declaration
http://www.evangelicals.org/news.asp?id=914
[EV News] 15 Sep 2008--At its recent meeting the Council of Church Society endorsed the fourteen point Jerusalem Declaration produced at the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) in June.
The Council welcomed the attempt by GAFCON to respond to the false teaching that has engulfed parts of the Anglican Communion. They were also pleased that the Declaration upholds the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion “as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today”.
The Articles are a clear statement of Reformed Protestant doctrine and a standard for the teaching of clergy and for discipline. They must be understood in their plain historical sense. As such they affirm, and we affirm, that salvation is only to be found through faith in Christ Jesus, and that the Church has no authority to teach or establish anything that is contrary to Scripture. The Articles likewise deny unbiblical inventions such as transubstantiation and that Christian ministers are priests who may ‘offer Christ’ for the living and the dead.
Our hope and our prayer is that with a clear commitment to the doctrinal standard of Anglicanism the partners in GAFCON will help provinces to resist the doctrinal corruption that has infected many western churches and bring fresh impetus to the attempts to reform such churches under the Word of God.
[EV News] 15 Sep 2008--At its recent meeting the Council of Church Society endorsed the fourteen point Jerusalem Declaration produced at the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) in June.
The Council welcomed the attempt by GAFCON to respond to the false teaching that has engulfed parts of the Anglican Communion. They were also pleased that the Declaration upholds the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion “as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today”.
The Articles are a clear statement of Reformed Protestant doctrine and a standard for the teaching of clergy and for discipline. They must be understood in their plain historical sense. As such they affirm, and we affirm, that salvation is only to be found through faith in Christ Jesus, and that the Church has no authority to teach or establish anything that is contrary to Scripture. The Articles likewise deny unbiblical inventions such as transubstantiation and that Christian ministers are priests who may ‘offer Christ’ for the living and the dead.
Our hope and our prayer is that with a clear commitment to the doctrinal standard of Anglicanism the partners in GAFCON will help provinces to resist the doctrinal corruption that has infected many western churches and bring fresh impetus to the attempts to reform such churches under the Word of God.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Methodist Church urges prayer for India's Christians
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/methodist.church.urges.prayer.for.indias.christians/21410.htm
[Christianity Today UK] 12 Sep 2008--The Methodist Church is calling for urgent prayer for thousands of persecuted Christians in India as violence flares across the state of Orissa.
The British Methodist Church offered its support to The Church of North India (CNI) this week as more than 50,000 people were left homeless and many killed in attacks following the worst anti-Christian violence India has seen since independence 60 years ago.
Rev Dr Enos Das Pradhan from CNI made contact with the World Church Relationships Office, asking Methodists to uphold their brothers and sisters in Orissa in prayers for peace.
“Fear of attack has taken every Christian into its grip and our people are living in the most persecuting time of their lives,” he said.
“Will you join us in prayer for our brethren in Orissa? Kindly uphold the people of Orissa in your prayers, that God grants them strength to bear the losses and also to be witness of His love in these trying times.”
[Christianity Today UK] 12 Sep 2008--The Methodist Church is calling for urgent prayer for thousands of persecuted Christians in India as violence flares across the state of Orissa.
The British Methodist Church offered its support to The Church of North India (CNI) this week as more than 50,000 people were left homeless and many killed in attacks following the worst anti-Christian violence India has seen since independence 60 years ago.
Rev Dr Enos Das Pradhan from CNI made contact with the World Church Relationships Office, asking Methodists to uphold their brothers and sisters in Orissa in prayers for peace.
“Fear of attack has taken every Christian into its grip and our people are living in the most persecuting time of their lives,” he said.
“Will you join us in prayer for our brethren in Orissa? Kindly uphold the people of Orissa in your prayers, that God grants them strength to bear the losses and also to be witness of His love in these trying times.”
McCain Campaign Says "Wolves Are Out" against Sarah Palin
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091107.html
[LifeSiteNews] 12 Sep 2008--Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin continues to make waves in the media, drawing the attention of Democrats and Republicans alike, following her eruption onto the presidential election scene. Now the GOP is warning voters via a TV ad that the Democrats are in attack mode against McCain's popular VP pick.
The McCain campaign has sponsored a new TV advertisement calling into question the Democrats' motives for attacking Palin, saying that "as Obama drops in the polls, he'll try to destroy her." The ad recalls a recent Wall Street Journal article that said the Democratic Party has "airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into" Alaska to dig into Palin's public record, a claim that the Obama campaign has hotly denied.
[LifeSiteNews] 12 Sep 2008--Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin continues to make waves in the media, drawing the attention of Democrats and Republicans alike, following her eruption onto the presidential election scene. Now the GOP is warning voters via a TV ad that the Democrats are in attack mode against McCain's popular VP pick.
The McCain campaign has sponsored a new TV advertisement calling into question the Democrats' motives for attacking Palin, saying that "as Obama drops in the polls, he'll try to destroy her." The ad recalls a recent Wall Street Journal article that said the Democratic Party has "airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into" Alaska to dig into Palin's public record, a claim that the Obama campaign has hotly denied.
Fort Worth: Third Report concerning the Province of the Southern Cone
http://www.fwepiscopal.org/diocesanconvention/07convention/report3onres2.html
[The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth] 12 Sep 2008--A resolution adopted by the 25th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth requested “that the Bishop and Standing Committee prepare a report for this diocese on the constitutional and canonical implications and means” of becoming a member diocese of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. Two preliminary reports* have been made – one on January 9, 2008, and another on February 12, 2008 – and both should be reviewed at this time, for they are an integral part of the recommendation we are making to the 26th Annual Diocesan Convention.
After months of prayerful discernment and extensive consultation with others, both within our own diocese and beyond, we have come to the following conclusion. We recommend that this Diocese affiliate with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone as a member diocese, on a temporary, pastoral basis, until such time as an orthodox Province of the Anglican Communion can be established in North Americsa.
[The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth] 12 Sep 2008--A resolution adopted by the 25th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth requested “that the Bishop and Standing Committee prepare a report for this diocese on the constitutional and canonical implications and means” of becoming a member diocese of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. Two preliminary reports* have been made – one on January 9, 2008, and another on February 12, 2008 – and both should be reviewed at this time, for they are an integral part of the recommendation we are making to the 26th Annual Diocesan Convention.
After months of prayerful discernment and extensive consultation with others, both within our own diocese and beyond, we have come to the following conclusion. We recommend that this Diocese affiliate with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone as a member diocese, on a temporary, pastoral basis, until such time as an orthodox Province of the Anglican Communion can be established in North Americsa.
Iran Parliament Approves Death Penalty for Apostasy Bill
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080911/iran-parliament-approves-death-penalty-for-apostasy-bill.htm
[The Christian Post] 12 Sep 2008--The Iranian Parliament voted in favor of a bill Tuesday that would punish apostasy with the death penalty, a human rights group reported.
Lawmakers approved the bill with 196 votes in favor, seven against, and two abstentions, according to U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The draft bill seeks to add several crimes to the list of acts that would result in execution, including “establishing weblogs and sites promoting corruption, prostitution, and apostasy.”
CSW advocacy director Alexa Papadouris commented, “It is deeply worrying to hear that just days after Matin-Azad and Basirat have been charged with apostasy at a court in Shiraz, the Iranian Parliament is debating a bill that could codify the death penalty for someone choosing their own religion.”
Mahmoud Mohammad Matin-Azad, 53, and Arash Ahmad-Ali Basirat, 40, are Christian-converts from Islam who were charged with apostasy last week at the Public and Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, Iran. They are currently awaiting the court’s verdict and have been detained since May 15.
[The Christian Post] 12 Sep 2008--The Iranian Parliament voted in favor of a bill Tuesday that would punish apostasy with the death penalty, a human rights group reported.
Lawmakers approved the bill with 196 votes in favor, seven against, and two abstentions, according to U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The draft bill seeks to add several crimes to the list of acts that would result in execution, including “establishing weblogs and sites promoting corruption, prostitution, and apostasy.”
CSW advocacy director Alexa Papadouris commented, “It is deeply worrying to hear that just days after Matin-Azad and Basirat have been charged with apostasy at a court in Shiraz, the Iranian Parliament is debating a bill that could codify the death penalty for someone choosing their own religion.”
Mahmoud Mohammad Matin-Azad, 53, and Arash Ahmad-Ali Basirat, 40, are Christian-converts from Islam who were charged with apostasy last week at the Public and Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, Iran. They are currently awaiting the court’s verdict and have been detained since May 15.
Wales ‘will respect Lambeth Moratorium’
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/09/11/wales-will-respect-lambeth-moratorium/
[Anglican Mainstream] 12 Sep 2008--Support for the election of Dean Jeffrey John to be Bishop of Bangor in the Church in Wales appears to be drying up in the face of conservative activism and the desire of the Welsh hierarchy not to provoke a conflict with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Liberal activists charge that the furore over Dr John’s possible election was a false controversy, stage-managed by those seeking to embarrass Archbishop Barry Morgan and the Church in Wales. The present rekindling of the [Jeffrey John] saga is mischievous and a deliberate attempt to stir trouble,the Rev Martin Reynolds of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement told The Church of England Newspaper. He added that as a Welsh priest, he was unaware of any elector who was keen to advocate Dr John’s candidacy.
Last week the Rev Peter Jones, canon treasurer of Bangor Cathedral and vicar of Conwy, told the Western Mail he would resign if Dr John were elected bishop, saying he would be strongly opposed to the appointment. Jeffrey John is a strong advocate of changing the Church’s traditional teaching on homosexuality and I accept the teaching of Holy Scripture that homosexual acts are wrong. Therefore to have someone deliberately seek to undermine that teaching - that is clearly not someone who is suitable to hold office as a bishop in the Church of God, Canon Jones said.
[Anglican Mainstream] 12 Sep 2008--Support for the election of Dean Jeffrey John to be Bishop of Bangor in the Church in Wales appears to be drying up in the face of conservative activism and the desire of the Welsh hierarchy not to provoke a conflict with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Liberal activists charge that the furore over Dr John’s possible election was a false controversy, stage-managed by those seeking to embarrass Archbishop Barry Morgan and the Church in Wales. The present rekindling of the [Jeffrey John] saga is mischievous and a deliberate attempt to stir trouble,the Rev Martin Reynolds of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement told The Church of England Newspaper. He added that as a Welsh priest, he was unaware of any elector who was keen to advocate Dr John’s candidacy.
Last week the Rev Peter Jones, canon treasurer of Bangor Cathedral and vicar of Conwy, told the Western Mail he would resign if Dr John were elected bishop, saying he would be strongly opposed to the appointment. Jeffrey John is a strong advocate of changing the Church’s traditional teaching on homosexuality and I accept the teaching of Holy Scripture that homosexual acts are wrong. Therefore to have someone deliberately seek to undermine that teaching - that is clearly not someone who is suitable to hold office as a bishop in the Church of God, Canon Jones said.
Bishop MacBurney Issues an Apology
http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/9/11/bishop-macburney-issues-an-apology
[The Living Church] 12 Sep 2008--The Rt. Rev. Edward H. MacBurney, retired Bishop of Quincy, and Wicks Stephens, his lawyer, have reached an agreement under which Bishop MacBurney voluntarily submitted to discipline.
Last January, the Title IV [disciplinary] Review Committee issued a presentment against Bishop MacBurney for allegedly leading a service of confirmation at a congregation which had left the Diocese of San Diego in order to join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone in South America. Bishop MacBurney was subsequently inhibited, or prohibited, from functioning in any way as a priest or bishop, pending an ecclesiastical trial which had been scheduled to be held in November.
In her “Sentence Upon Voluntary Submission to Discipline” dated Sept. 9, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori removed the inhibition against Bishop MacBurney and admonished him “not to repeat the actions which caused the presentment to be brought against him.” She also directed him to apologize “in writing to the Bishop of San Diego for not respecting his authority as the bishop of that diocese.”
[The Living Church] 12 Sep 2008--The Rt. Rev. Edward H. MacBurney, retired Bishop of Quincy, and Wicks Stephens, his lawyer, have reached an agreement under which Bishop MacBurney voluntarily submitted to discipline.
Last January, the Title IV [disciplinary] Review Committee issued a presentment against Bishop MacBurney for allegedly leading a service of confirmation at a congregation which had left the Diocese of San Diego in order to join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone in South America. Bishop MacBurney was subsequently inhibited, or prohibited, from functioning in any way as a priest or bishop, pending an ecclesiastical trial which had been scheduled to be held in November.
In her “Sentence Upon Voluntary Submission to Discipline” dated Sept. 9, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori removed the inhibition against Bishop MacBurney and admonished him “not to repeat the actions which caused the presentment to be brought against him.” She also directed him to apologize “in writing to the Bishop of San Diego for not respecting his authority as the bishop of that diocese.”
Thursday, September 11, 2008
FT. WORTH: Executive Council Urges Bishop to Seek Affiliation with Province of Southern Cone
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8971
[VirtueOnline] 11 Sep 2008--The Executive Council of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth has recommended that Bishop Jack Leo Iker and Standing Committee affiliate with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone as a member diocese, on a temporary, pastoral basis, until such time as an orthodox Province of the Anglican Communion can be established in North America.
A news announcement from the diocese states the recommendation (with only one dissenting vote) will be presented to clergy and delegates at the upcoming 26th Annual Convention for consideration on Nov. 14 & 15, 2008.
This action constitutes the third report made in response to Resolution 2 of the 25th Annual Convention of the diocese which requested "that the Bishop and Standing Committee prepare a report for this diocese on the constitutional and canonical implications and means" of becoming a member diocese of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. Two preliminary reports were made - one on January 9, 2008, and another on February 12, 2008 -- as an integral part of the recommendation for the 26th Annual Diocesan Convention.
[VirtueOnline] 11 Sep 2008--The Executive Council of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth has recommended that Bishop Jack Leo Iker and Standing Committee affiliate with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone as a member diocese, on a temporary, pastoral basis, until such time as an orthodox Province of the Anglican Communion can be established in North America.
A news announcement from the diocese states the recommendation (with only one dissenting vote) will be presented to clergy and delegates at the upcoming 26th Annual Convention for consideration on Nov. 14 & 15, 2008.
This action constitutes the third report made in response to Resolution 2 of the 25th Annual Convention of the diocese which requested "that the Bishop and Standing Committee prepare a report for this diocese on the constitutional and canonical implications and means" of becoming a member diocese of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. Two preliminary reports were made - one on January 9, 2008, and another on February 12, 2008 -- as an integral part of the recommendation for the 26th Annual Diocesan Convention.
Letter from the Trustees of ANiC Parishes to Their Congregations
http://www.stjohnsvancouver.org/commentary.php
[St John's Shaughnessy] 11 Sep 2008--We greet you in the name of the risen Christ, the first and the last and the living one.On July 10, 2008, the bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster invoked Diocesan Canon 15 against the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) parishes of St. Matthew’s Abbotsford (SMA) and St. Matthias and St. Luke’s in Vancouver (SMSL), effective August 25, 2008. Notice of this action was only served on the parishes on August 26, 2008. The bishop has purported to dismiss all the Wardens, Trustees and Parish Council members of both parishes and has ordered the Clergy to leave the buildings by mid-September. Earlier letters from the diocese demanding the clergy leave thechurch buildings, suggested that Parishioners who support their clergy should leave with them. The bank accounts of both parishes have been frozen and cheques for staff salaries and payments to missions (among other expenses) cannot be cashed.
While we dispute the validity of the Canon 15 notice, the bishop took these steps in order to gain control of the church buildings and take over the assets of the parish. In a memo to New Westminster clergy dated August 26, the Rev. Peter Elliott, Commissary for the bishop, indicated that they had taken steps against only two parishes “at this time”. We know that the two remaining ANiC parishes in Vancouver – Good Shepherd and St. John’s (Shaughnessy) – will be next. In fact, St. John’s has already received a letter demanding the clergy leave the premises, although no date was given. Good Shepherd is not currently in their church building, so a similar demand letter has not been received. However, the congregation has taken the same vote to join ANiC and their rector, Rev. Stephen Leung, has relinquished his licence for ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada along with the clergy of the other three parishes.
[St John's Shaughnessy] 11 Sep 2008--We greet you in the name of the risen Christ, the first and the last and the living one.On July 10, 2008, the bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster invoked Diocesan Canon 15 against the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) parishes of St. Matthew’s Abbotsford (SMA) and St. Matthias and St. Luke’s in Vancouver (SMSL), effective August 25, 2008. Notice of this action was only served on the parishes on August 26, 2008. The bishop has purported to dismiss all the Wardens, Trustees and Parish Council members of both parishes and has ordered the Clergy to leave the buildings by mid-September. Earlier letters from the diocese demanding the clergy leave thechurch buildings, suggested that Parishioners who support their clergy should leave with them. The bank accounts of both parishes have been frozen and cheques for staff salaries and payments to missions (among other expenses) cannot be cashed.
While we dispute the validity of the Canon 15 notice, the bishop took these steps in order to gain control of the church buildings and take over the assets of the parish. In a memo to New Westminster clergy dated August 26, the Rev. Peter Elliott, Commissary for the bishop, indicated that they had taken steps against only two parishes “at this time”. We know that the two remaining ANiC parishes in Vancouver – Good Shepherd and St. John’s (Shaughnessy) – will be next. In fact, St. John’s has already received a letter demanding the clergy leave the premises, although no date was given. Good Shepherd is not currently in their church building, so a similar demand letter has not been received. However, the congregation has taken the same vote to join ANiC and their rector, Rev. Stephen Leung, has relinquished his licence for ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada along with the clergy of the other three parishes.
Christians in India face prospect of more attacks by extremists
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4727215.ece
[TimesOnline] 11 Sep 2008--Attacks on nuns, churches and Christian refugees across India are stoking fears that Hindu extremists are planning to target minority communities as the country prepares for a general election.
The worst anti-Christian violence in India since independence 60 years ago came in Kandhamal district, in the state of Orissa, in recent weeks. Hindu fanatics attempted to poison water sources at relief camps holding at least 15,000 people displaced by mob violence, local activists alleged. Hundreds of Christian refugees in the region were told not to return to their homes unless they converted to Hinduism.
Related article:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=a074d5fe-77bc-41a1-92af-087cfc0f1ff3&ParentID=149eb7ec-2766-496a-b5a2-b95f42c3ed5a&&Headline=%27Anti-Christian%27+violence+in+India+flayed
'Anti-Christian' violence in India flayed - Hindustan Times
[TimesOnline] 11 Sep 2008--Attacks on nuns, churches and Christian refugees across India are stoking fears that Hindu extremists are planning to target minority communities as the country prepares for a general election.
The worst anti-Christian violence in India since independence 60 years ago came in Kandhamal district, in the state of Orissa, in recent weeks. Hindu fanatics attempted to poison water sources at relief camps holding at least 15,000 people displaced by mob violence, local activists alleged. Hundreds of Christian refugees in the region were told not to return to their homes unless they converted to Hinduism.
Related article:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=a074d5fe-77bc-41a1-92af-087cfc0f1ff3&ParentID=149eb7ec-2766-496a-b5a2-b95f42c3ed5a&&Headline=%27Anti-Christian%27+violence+in+India+flayed
'Anti-Christian' violence in India flayed - Hindustan Times
Homosexual U.K. Documentarian Says Gay Lifestyle a "Sewer" of Casual Degrading Sex, Drug Abuse and Misery
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091011.html
[LifeSiteNews] 11 Sep 2008--A British homosexual journalist admits that his documentary on the London gay scene is likely to "burn every bridge in the gay world I've got."
Simon Fanshawe is a writer and broadcaster who created the documentary "The Trouble With Gay Men" after becoming increasingly alarmed at the shallowness and destructiveness of the "gay lifestyle." The film, made for BBC 3 television, questions the emotional and psychological immaturity, narcissism, nihilism and self-destructive tendencies of many in the homosexual community. Fanshawe says he wants homosexual men to "grow up" and get beyond their state of "extended adolescence."
Fanshawe, who was involved in the early homosexualist political movement, says, "We've fought discrimination and prejudice, only to wreck ourselves with drugs and wild sex."
[LifeSiteNews] 11 Sep 2008--A British homosexual journalist admits that his documentary on the London gay scene is likely to "burn every bridge in the gay world I've got."
Simon Fanshawe is a writer and broadcaster who created the documentary "The Trouble With Gay Men" after becoming increasingly alarmed at the shallowness and destructiveness of the "gay lifestyle." The film, made for BBC 3 television, questions the emotional and psychological immaturity, narcissism, nihilism and self-destructive tendencies of many in the homosexual community. Fanshawe says he wants homosexual men to "grow up" and get beyond their state of "extended adolescence."
Fanshawe, who was involved in the early homosexualist political movement, says, "We've fought discrimination and prejudice, only to wreck ourselves with drugs and wild sex."
Biden Blasted for Questioning Palin's Commitment to Disabled Children over Embryo Research
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091009.html
[LifeSiteNews] 11 Sep 2008--Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden has been accused of "sinking to a new low" by suggesting that critics of embryonic stem-cell (ESC) research have less compassion for developmentally disabled children.
During a campaign event in Columbia, Missouri, when asked what the Obama/Biden administration would do for disabled American children, Biden said, "I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have...the joy and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect. Well guess what folks? If you care about it, why don't you support stem cell research?"
Since McCain has often spoken in favor of ESC research, many immediately perceived Biden's comment as an attack against his Republican counterpart Sarah Palin. Palin, a mother of five, including a child with Down Syndrome, expressed her solidarity with the disabled community during her acceptance speech at the recent GOP Convention, and openly opposes ESC research.
The Democratic campaign, however, has denied that Biden was referring to Palin. But the attack, says the Republican camp, was unduly personal no matter whom it was directed at. "Barack Obama's running mate sunk to a new low today launching an offensive debate over who cares more about special needs children," said Ben Porritt, spokesman for McCain/Palin. "Playing politics with this issue is disturbing and indicative of a desperate campaign."
[LifeSiteNews] 11 Sep 2008--Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden has been accused of "sinking to a new low" by suggesting that critics of embryonic stem-cell (ESC) research have less compassion for developmentally disabled children.
During a campaign event in Columbia, Missouri, when asked what the Obama/Biden administration would do for disabled American children, Biden said, "I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have...the joy and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect. Well guess what folks? If you care about it, why don't you support stem cell research?"
Since McCain has often spoken in favor of ESC research, many immediately perceived Biden's comment as an attack against his Republican counterpart Sarah Palin. Palin, a mother of five, including a child with Down Syndrome, expressed her solidarity with the disabled community during her acceptance speech at the recent GOP Convention, and openly opposes ESC research.
The Democratic campaign, however, has denied that Biden was referring to Palin. But the attack, says the Republican camp, was unduly personal no matter whom it was directed at. "Barack Obama's running mate sunk to a new low today launching an offensive debate over who cares more about special needs children," said Ben Porritt, spokesman for McCain/Palin. "Playing politics with this issue is disturbing and indicative of a desperate campaign."
Alert the Media -- A Pastor Believes in Hell
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2431
[Albert Mohler] 11 Sep 2008--Hell just emerged as an issue in Election 2008, and the campaign now enters a zone where politics and theology collide.
The catalyst for this emergence of eternal punishment as an issue is a "Belief Watch" column in this week's edition of Newsweek magazine. In "A Religious-Right Revival," Lisa Miller suggests that the nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee for Vice President represents a resurgence of the so-called "Religious Right."
There is something to this argument, of course, given Gov. Palin's record and positions on key controversial issues. Her pro-life credentials, even taken alone, would be enough to encourage many evangelical Christians, as the response to her nomination now demonstrates.
But what makes Lisa Miller's article most interesting has nothing directly to do with abortion, marriage, or any social issue. The most interesting (and revealing) part of her article is a sentence that does not refer to her campaign, nor to her role as Governor, but to her church:
The senior pastor of that church, in sermons that circulated online before they were taken down last week, preaches hell for anyone who isn't saved by Jesus.
Related article:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24325590-26397,00.html
Governor may have her own pastor disaster - The Australian
[Albert Mohler] 11 Sep 2008--Hell just emerged as an issue in Election 2008, and the campaign now enters a zone where politics and theology collide.
The catalyst for this emergence of eternal punishment as an issue is a "Belief Watch" column in this week's edition of Newsweek magazine. In "A Religious-Right Revival," Lisa Miller suggests that the nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee for Vice President represents a resurgence of the so-called "Religious Right."
There is something to this argument, of course, given Gov. Palin's record and positions on key controversial issues. Her pro-life credentials, even taken alone, would be enough to encourage many evangelical Christians, as the response to her nomination now demonstrates.
But what makes Lisa Miller's article most interesting has nothing directly to do with abortion, marriage, or any social issue. The most interesting (and revealing) part of her article is a sentence that does not refer to her campaign, nor to her role as Governor, but to her church:
The senior pastor of that church, in sermons that circulated online before they were taken down last week, preaches hell for anyone who isn't saved by Jesus.
Related article:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24325590-26397,00.html
Governor may have her own pastor disaster - The Australian
Canadian primate asks Archbishop of Canterbury to convene interventions meeting
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_100561_ENG_HTM.htm
[Episcopal Life Online] 11 Sep 2008--Canadian Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has asked Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to facilitate a meeting between him, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil Archbishop Mauricio de Andrade and Anglican Province of the Southern Cone Archbishop Gregory Venables to discuss cross-border interventions.
The Anglican Journal of Canada reported Hiltz's request on September 10.
Hiltz, Andrade and Jefferts Schori have repeatedly asked Venables to stop intervening in the internal affairs of their provinces. Venables has, on his own accord, been providing episcopal oversight to churches that are in serious theological dispute with their respective provinces over the issue of sexuality.
The Southern Cone has about 22,000 members and encompasses Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Its provincial synod, meeting in Valpariso, Chile, November 5-7, 2007, agreed to welcome into the province "on an emergency and pastoral basis" Episcopal Church dioceses "taking appropriate action to separate from The Episcopal Church."
[Episcopal Life Online] 11 Sep 2008--Canadian Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has asked Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to facilitate a meeting between him, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil Archbishop Mauricio de Andrade and Anglican Province of the Southern Cone Archbishop Gregory Venables to discuss cross-border interventions.
The Anglican Journal of Canada reported Hiltz's request on September 10.
Hiltz, Andrade and Jefferts Schori have repeatedly asked Venables to stop intervening in the internal affairs of their provinces. Venables has, on his own accord, been providing episcopal oversight to churches that are in serious theological dispute with their respective provinces over the issue of sexuality.
The Southern Cone has about 22,000 members and encompasses Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Its provincial synod, meeting in Valpariso, Chile, November 5-7, 2007, agreed to welcome into the province "on an emergency and pastoral basis" Episcopal Church dioceses "taking appropriate action to separate from The Episcopal Church."
Common Cause Parters to Hold 3rd Gathering in Fort Worth
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16070/
[Stand Firm] 11 Sep 2008--The third Common Cause Partners-North Texas gathering for North Texas is scheduled for Sunday, September 21 beginning at 5:00 p.m. at St. Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford, Texas.
The evening will begin with Evensong at 5:00 p.m., to be followed by fellowship and a potluck supper in the school gymnasium.
[Stand Firm] 11 Sep 2008--The third Common Cause Partners-North Texas gathering for North Texas is scheduled for Sunday, September 21 beginning at 5:00 p.m. at St. Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford, Texas.
The evening will begin with Evensong at 5:00 p.m., to be followed by fellowship and a potluck supper in the school gymnasium.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Diocese of South Dakota To Close Nine Reservation Parishes
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8966
[VirtueOnline] 10 Sep 2008--In an unprecedented move, on Nov. 30, the Diocese of South Dakota will close nine parishes on the Pine Ridge Reservation, causing anger and frustration among some Native Americans who argue that the National Church is spending millions on lawsuits while neglecting poor parishes.
The churches in question are: The Church of Christ, Red Shirt Table; St. John's, Oglala; Epiphany, Wolf Creek; St. Andrew's, Wakpamni Lake; St. Thomas, Manderson; St. Barnabas, Kyle; St. Timothy's, Potato Creek; St. Alban's, Porcupine; and Inestimable Gift, Allen.
They will be closed and the property disposed of according to Diocesan Policy, said a Diocesan spokesman. Poor attendance has been blamed for the closures.
[VirtueOnline] 10 Sep 2008--In an unprecedented move, on Nov. 30, the Diocese of South Dakota will close nine parishes on the Pine Ridge Reservation, causing anger and frustration among some Native Americans who argue that the National Church is spending millions on lawsuits while neglecting poor parishes.
The churches in question are: The Church of Christ, Red Shirt Table; St. John's, Oglala; Epiphany, Wolf Creek; St. Andrew's, Wakpamni Lake; St. Thomas, Manderson; St. Barnabas, Kyle; St. Timothy's, Potato Creek; St. Alban's, Porcupine; and Inestimable Gift, Allen.
They will be closed and the property disposed of according to Diocesan Policy, said a Diocesan spokesman. Poor attendance has been blamed for the closures.
Irondequoit church, Episcopal diocese clash in state court over property
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20080910/NEWS01/809100334/1002/NEWS
[Rochester Democrat and Chronicle] 10 Sep 2008--Lawyers for an Anglican church in Irondequoit and for the Episcopal diocese of Rochester differed before the state's highest court Tuesday on whether an agreement made between the two parties carries the force of law in New York.
[Rochester Democrat and Chronicle] 10 Sep 2008--Lawyers for an Anglican church in Irondequoit and for the Episcopal diocese of Rochester differed before the state's highest court Tuesday on whether an agreement made between the two parties carries the force of law in New York.
Lambeth, from a distance
http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/09/09/lambeth-from-a-distance/#more-4881
[Anglican Mainstream] 10 Sep 2008--I suppose I have long now been embarrassed to be an Anglican, or, more pointedly, when I have travelled overseas and engaged in missionary work with churches, been embarrassed to be a member of the Anglican Church of Canada, seeking to explain and justify myself against charges of my church’s infidelity, abandonment and desertion. From Plato to Marx, intellectuals have suggested the inevitability of stagist evolution,that societies move unstoppably from democracy to tyranny (Plato) from capitalism to communism (Marx). I fear that the next stage of my Anglican evolutionary journey might be from embarrassment to shame.
[Anglican Mainstream] 10 Sep 2008--I suppose I have long now been embarrassed to be an Anglican, or, more pointedly, when I have travelled overseas and engaged in missionary work with churches, been embarrassed to be a member of the Anglican Church of Canada, seeking to explain and justify myself against charges of my church’s infidelity, abandonment and desertion. From Plato to Marx, intellectuals have suggested the inevitability of stagist evolution,that societies move unstoppably from democracy to tyranny (Plato) from capitalism to communism (Marx). I fear that the next stage of my Anglican evolutionary journey might be from embarrassment to shame.
Truthful Language and Orderly Separation
http://www.anglicancommunioninstitute.com/?p=262
[The Anglican Communion Institute] 10 Sep 2008--The Anglican Communion is currently pursuing a number of activities in response to the acrimonious struggle over sexual teaching and discipline within our churches. These activities have been encouraged by the Communion’s leadership, including at the recent Lambeth Conference. I have, to various degrees, been a supporter of these activities, not least because I have trusted those who have promoted these means towards ecclesial healing. I am increasingly skeptical, however, that the way these activities have been framed – descriptively and practically – represents the true nature of our disputes.
[The Anglican Communion Institute] 10 Sep 2008--The Anglican Communion is currently pursuing a number of activities in response to the acrimonious struggle over sexual teaching and discipline within our churches. These activities have been encouraged by the Communion’s leadership, including at the recent Lambeth Conference. I have, to various degrees, been a supporter of these activities, not least because I have trusted those who have promoted these means towards ecclesial healing. I am increasingly skeptical, however, that the way these activities have been framed – descriptively and practically – represents the true nature of our disputes.
Diocese of Fort Worth “Steadfast Episcopalians” Receives Response From Standing Committee President
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16037/
[Stand Firm] 10 Sep 2008--Things in Fort Worth are getting interesting, thanks to the fact that a very small minority of Episcopalians unhappy with the diocese's direction are holding meetings and, now, writing letters. This letter arrived in the mailboxes of many members of the diocese last week....
Standing Committee President and Cathedral Dean The Very Rev. Ryan Reed promptly issued this response....
[Stand Firm] 10 Sep 2008--Things in Fort Worth are getting interesting, thanks to the fact that a very small minority of Episcopalians unhappy with the diocese's direction are holding meetings and, now, writing letters. This letter arrived in the mailboxes of many members of the diocese last week....
Standing Committee President and Cathedral Dean The Very Rev. Ryan Reed promptly issued this response....
One Parishioner Blogs About Why He Is Leaving TEC
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/15974/
[Stand Firm] 10 Sep 2008--No matter how much traditional or moderate or institutional bishops want to deny this -- and no matter how orthodox or traditional or conservative a bishop believes himself to be -- unless a diocese is clearly differentiated from the madness that is the leadership of the Episcopal Church at the national level, faithful, hard-working, leading laypeople will continue to leave, parishes will continue to slowly decline -- and in the rural areas of the dioceses, parishes will become missions or defunct due to the losses.
[Stand Firm] 10 Sep 2008--No matter how much traditional or moderate or institutional bishops want to deny this -- and no matter how orthodox or traditional or conservative a bishop believes himself to be -- unless a diocese is clearly differentiated from the madness that is the leadership of the Episcopal Church at the national level, faithful, hard-working, leading laypeople will continue to leave, parishes will continue to slowly decline -- and in the rural areas of the dioceses, parishes will become missions or defunct due to the losses.
Mark Driscoll talks about some emergent errors and errant teachers: Brian McClaren and Rob Bell
http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/16032/
[Stand Firm] 10 Sep 2008--In this interview with Hank Hannegraff, Mark Driscoll describes the four streams of the Emergent church movement and he exposes some of the...
Brian Mclaren, who was invited by the ABC to speak to the Anglican bishops at Lambeth, denies substitutionary atonement, the reality of Hell, and recommends John Crossan and Marcus Borg to his followers. Rob Bell prays with the Dali Lama and suggests the incarnation and resurrection are inconsequential to the Christian Faith.
[Stand Firm] 10 Sep 2008--In this interview with Hank Hannegraff, Mark Driscoll describes the four streams of the Emergent church movement and he exposes some of the...
Brian Mclaren, who was invited by the ABC to speak to the Anglican bishops at Lambeth, denies substitutionary atonement, the reality of Hell, and recommends John Crossan and Marcus Borg to his followers. Rob Bell prays with the Dali Lama and suggests the incarnation and resurrection are inconsequential to the Christian Faith.
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