My story here looks at how churches are coping with a half-century of revolutionary change in Americans' family structures and sex lives. Nearly half of adults are now single, and the never-married and divorced as groups are less likely to attend church than married people. Many are divorced, cohabiting and/or unwed parents, their very presence posing a challenge to traditional church morals. Every church leader I spoke with said they'd rather bring out the welcome mats than the scarlet letters. (Click here for more)
When a U.S. District Judge suggested that reducing the Ten Commandments to six would help solve a dispute between the ACLU and The Giles County, Virginia School District, he was wading into deep theological territory...perhaps unknowingly. To reduce the Decalogue to the last six is ignoring its comprehensive structure. In research for the book I'm working on, "The Lighthouse: God as a Living Reality," I look at the world through the prism of the First Commandment. It's a pretty easy claim to make that all the law, in fact the world, basically hinges on the first edict. (Click here for more)
A Colorado court has ruled the state’s proclamation for a Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. The state appeals court made the ruling Thursday on the proclamations by former Govs. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, and Bill Owens, a Republican, saying they violate the Constitution's provisions for religious liberty. The three-judge panel ruled unanimously that such a state-sponsored proclamation sends a message that those who pray are favored members of Colorado's political community, according to the Denver Post. (Click here for more)
A. S. Haley The Rt. Rev. John C. Bauerschmidt, Bishop of Tennessee, walks a fine line. He is a co-plaintiff, with his Diocese, in a lawsuit he brought against St. Andrew’s parish in Nashville, which in 2006 voted to leave the Diocese of Tennessee and join the Diocese of Quincy. And in that capacity, he recently received a favorable decision from the Court of Appeals, holding that because ECUSA is “hierarchical” at all three levels, the General Convention’s Dennis Canon, enacted in 1979, overrode the parish’s attempt a year before, in 1978, to remove from its Articles all references to the national Church and its canons. (Click here for more)
Rector's Note: St. Andrew's in the article below is the parish our daughter Melissa attends in Nashville. The Article is from A.S. Haley's Blog: http://accurmudgeon.blogspot.com/.
He wrote a similar argument three years ago refuting the judge's ruling in our case, which said that even though the 1973 Vestry all testified they incorporated specifically not to be under the authority of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, and that their filings supported that testimony, they actually, according to the judge, didn't mean what they said and simply had used the wrong forms that gave this mistaken impression. So here is a similar case:
“I certainly can’t claim to know the details of this emerging church – no one can, yet – but it will need to be more flexible and open to varied expressions of church community.” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.
by Timothy Fountain
It is difficult to write rationally and charitably about this statement.
First, I want to avoid the temptation (strong though it is) to rip just the Presiding Bishop for words so manifestly untrue to her actions. That this statement even shows up on our denominational website is the ugly evidence of sin and death “emerging” all over our church. (Click here for more)
The Rev. Theodore L. Lewis Special to Virtueonline www.virtueonline.org May 4, 2012
For maybe the past year there have seemed to be no decisive developments in the Anglican Communion-decisive in the sense of changing the course, or courses, on which it has been set. But with the conference of the GAFCON Primates together with the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in London from April 19 to 26, the situation has changed. The keynote address of the Primate of Kenya, Archbishop Eliud Wakubala, asserted the vital importance of the Global South in the Communion and the need for returning it to Scriptural obedience, doing this virtually in the Archbishop of Canterbury's back yard. No less significantly, the conference issued a call for a governance change which could retrieve the Communion's three Instruments of Unity (other than Canterbury) from the futility to which Lambeth maneuverings have relegated them. These Instruments as they developed over several decades constituted the conciliar movement of the Anglican Communion. In this raising up again of conciliarism lies even at this late date the possibility of overcoming the Communion's present deep crisis. (Click here for more)
A local congregation that left the Episcopal Church six years ago may be leaving its church building as well.
An appeals court ruled last week that the property at 3700 Woodmont Blvd. In Nashville, currently home to St. Andrew's Parish, belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee.
Leaders of St. Andrew's say the congregation bought the property from the diocese in the 1960s and should be able to keep it after becoming part of the Anglican Church in North America, a conservative rival to the Episcopal Church.
But an Episcopal Church denominational rule, known as the Dennis Canon, says that all church property is held in trust for the denomination. So even if church members vote to leave the denomination, they can't take the property with them. (Click here for more)
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Clarity of Focus I have just returned from the Worldwide Leaders Meeting of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans held in London. It was a marvelous experience and a broad expression of biblical Anglicanism. I am grateful that I could attend as an ACNA Delegate, and to represent CANA West among the Fellowship. It was also an honor for me to be one of the seminar teachers while there.I am also thankful that our good Lord has blessed me with a safe journey, and delivered me back on terra firma in the United States--"the land of the free!" (Click here for more)
“And Peter answered him, 'Lord if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat...” Matthew 14:28-29
Living as a Christian requires courage in every situation of our lives. God intends us to stand out like lights in the dark world of sin. He has called us to be holy, and has put His Gospel into our mouths. He has sent His Spirit to live within us, and that Spirit leads us into the hope of glory which makes all things new in our lives. If we’re focusing on the promises of God, living obediently in the power of His Spirit, and bearing witness in all our words and deeds, we’re going to stand out from the rest of the world. And we’ll need real Christian courage, every day, to live like this for the Lord. (Click here for more)
The language of GAFCON was that it was a movement, not a moment. The movement has two big goals. -To preach the biblical gospel so that all over the world people will have the transforming experience of coming to know Christ through repentance and faith by the power of the Spirit. It is this which the ‘inclusivist’ gospel has lost. We therefore also need to defend the gospel and the people of God against their spiritual adversaries, notably the revisionist the- ology which has become so prevalent in the West. (Click here for more)
Media Release Leaders Conference, London 23 to 27 April 2012
The Primates Council of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans met over three days, April 19th- 21st in London.
With great anticipation we greet the delegates to the first FCA Leaders Conference as they gather in London.
Over two hundred leaders from thirty countries will hear God’s word and commit to one another for the preaching and defence of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in and through the Anglican Communion. From this meeting will emerge key networks and commission capable of strengthening the worldwide churches and delivering the Christian message to the world. (Click here for more)
It is a great joy to greet all of you in my capacity as the Chairman of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in the precious name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, through whom we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. I believe that our time together here is a key moment in the unfolding purpose of God for our beloved Anglican Communion and its great encouragement to have leaders drawn from some thirty [30] different nations as we gather here this evening. We are indeed a global communion for the twenty-first century. We have come together because of the Lord’s leading as we follow His guidance towards overcoming challenges of our times and the continuing crisis which afflicts our Communion. I want to frame my address with some words of scripture in Micah which I believe are a particular word from the Lord for us right now. (Click here for more)
If you could ask a dozen New Testament scholars to list the five most difficult passages in the New Testament, most would include Romans 7:14-25 on their list. That same group would likely disagree with one another on what interpretive framework is most helpful for interpreting that passage. (Even among those who blog at the Good Book Blog, I know for a fact that there is a diversity of opinion on how best to address this passage). Does Romans 7:14-25 describe Paul's own struggle with sin as a believer? Does it describe the struggle with sin of someone who has not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, that is, an unbeliever? Perhaps it is the struggle of a pious old covenant Jew who loves the law of God but struggles to fulfill it? Or maybe it isn't personal at all; maybe it is a grand analogy of the change from the old covenant to the new covenant? (Click here for more)
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty
We are Catholics. We are Americans. We are proud to be both, grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples, and grateful for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens. To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory, and should instead be complementary. That is the teaching of our Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the common good of all who live in this land. That is the vision of our founding and our Constitution, which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths the right to contribute to our common life together. (Click here for more)
A new report finds that the United States' education system is putting the country's national security at risk. The independent study, sponsored by The Council on Foreign Relations, finds K-12 school systems across the country are failing to adequately prepare kids to grow up and protect the U.S. "For starters, we don't have nearly enough people who are capable in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math," said former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, a member of the council's task force that wrote the report, titled "U.S. Education Reform and National Security." (Click here for more)
I like being reminded that Summit County has a greenhouse gas reduction goal of 20 percent (it makes me proud) but my brother, who is very conservative, keeps asking me what it will cost our economy to fix climate change. So, how much will it cost? (Click here for more)
Christians must keep their nerve: the Resurrection isn’t a metaphor, it’s a physical fact
Tom Wright
Private Eye ran a cartoon some years ago of St Peter standing in front of Jesus's Cross and saying to the other Disciples: “It's time to put this behind us now and move on.” It was a satire not on Christian belief, but on politicians and counsellors, and their trivialising mantras. It depended on Jesus's death being not just an odd, forgettable event - and that it was His Resurrection, rather than a shoulder- shrugging desire to “move on”, that got the early Christians going. (Click here for more)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI, carrying a tall, lit candle, ushered in Christianity's most joyous celebration with an Easter vigil service Saturday night, but voiced fears that mankind is groping in darkness, unable to distinguish good from evil.
Easter for Christians commemorates Christ's triumph over death with his resurrection following his crucifixion. (Click here for more)
Cardinal Dolan thought he heard Barack Obama pledge respect for the Catholic Church's rights of conscience. Then came the contraception issue
By James Taranto
The president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops is careful to show due respect for the president of the United States. "I was deeply honored that he would call me and discuss these things with me," says the newly elevated Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York. But when Archbishop Dolan tells me his account of their discussions of the ObamaCare birth-control mandate, Barack Obama sounds imperious and deceitful to me. (Click here for more)
"Free Market Fairness" argues that we needn't choose between laissez-faire and social justice. The choice is not so simple, or so stark. By ADAM WOLFSON
Today's political debate seems frozen in time, pitting the party of social justice against the party of economic liberty. The contours of the debate were set as early as the first half of the 20th century, with the Progressive and New Deal challenges to laissez-faire economics, though some people might locate the roots of the debate much earlier—say, in Karl Marx's critique of commercial society, or even Rousseau's. To discover when this debate took its modern form, we need look no further back than the 1970s. (Click here for more)
It is now clear that less than half the dioceses of the Church of England will agree, in both their house of clergy and house of laity, to “approve the draft Act of Synod adopting the Anglican Communion Covenant”. This article attempts to map out some of the ramifications of this development. (Click here for more)
'Here to introduce Bach’s St Matthew Passion,’ said the radio announcer, ‘is the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.’ My companion and I listened eagerly to a lucid account of St Matthew’s theology, and of how Bach’s music involves every hearer in the events of Jesus’ death. But at one moment the speaker paused, as though searching for a word. Didn’t he have a script? Next time I saw the Archbishop, I asked him. The BBC, he explained, sat him in a studio and asked him to talk about his favourite music. How many Archbishops could have done that, I wondered – at the same time as writing a book on Dostoevsky, debating with Philip Pullman, and plotting a visit to Robert Mugabe? Not to mention the thousand shocks that episcopal flesh is heir to. (Click here for more)
TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it. (Click here for more)
"I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer"(BCP, page 265). (Click here to read more)
I am grieved that New York City is planning to take the unwise step of removing 68 churches from the spaces that they rent in public schools. It is my conviction that those churches housed in schools are invaluable assets to the neighborhoods that they serve. Churches have long been seen as positive additions to communities. Family stability, resources for those in need, and compassion for the marginalized are all positive influences that neighborhood churches provide. There are many with first-hand experience who will claim that the presence of churches in a neighborhood can lead to a drop in crime. (Click here to read more)
George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned there are 'deep forces at work in Western society' that are degrading the values of Christianity after a High Court ruling banned public prayers from council meetings.
This new George Carey has rather abandoned the careful diplomatic language he used as an archbishop to keep different church factions in the same pews, in favour of something more earthy and apocalyptic, reflecting his own evangelical backgroundPhoto: ANDREW CROWLEY
By Peter Stanford
7:30AM GMT 11 Feb 2012
George Carey was not regarded as an outspoken Archbishop of Canterbury by the standards of both his predecessor and his successor.
While Robert Runcie and Rowan Williams generated and still generate headlines and ruffle politicians’ feathers, George Carey was largely overshadowed during his 11 years as head of the Anglican communion by internal church battles, notably over the ordination of women. Some even came to regard him as a wee bit dull and mealy-mouthed. If so, then he has more than made up for it since he stepped down in 2002. (Click here to read more)
Posted On : February 8, 2012 10:38 AM | Posted By : Admin ACO ACNS: ACNS5030 Related Categories: Africa
By ACNS staff
The Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa has challenged itself to harness untapped resources and strengthen intra-continental relationships to benefit God's mission.
In a Communiqué issued at the end of the 11th CAPA Council meeting in Burundi, the regional body stated that: "We are convinced that working together in mutual trust and love strengthens our capacity to bring in a transformative energy that will unlock our potential from which hope and new possibilities will emerge. (Click here to read more)
Army chaplains have been told not to read a letter in Masses on Sunday that expresses disapproval of a new regulation in the Obama administration's health care law because the language in the letter speaks too strongly against the commander in chief.
According to a senior Army official, Chief of Chaplains Donald Rutherford was asked not to let chaplains read the Jan. 26 letter sent by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio because of the sentence that states: "We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law." (Click here to read more)
RELIGION | Eric Metaxas brings down the house with an aggressive attack on ‘phony religiosity’ at the annual National Prayer Breakfast | Emily Belz
WASHINGTON—Speakers at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in the nation’s capital usually keep their talks diplomatic. After all, the room is filled with ambassadors, lawmakers from both parties, Cabinet members, and people of various faiths from around the world. (Click here to read more)
RELIGION | Pastors and lay people arrested for praying in protest of New York’s ban on churches meeting in public schools | Tiffany Owens
ASSOCIATED PRESS/PHOTO BY MARY ALTAFFER
NEW YORK—Police Thursday arrested 43 New York City pastors and lay people who were protesting the city’s ban on church use of public schools for worship services. The ban is scheduled to go into effect Feb. 12. (Click here to read more)
Medieval luxury came in various materials and forms, alabaster carvings among them, and a new show at the Princeton University Art Museum reveals the intimate beauty and expressiveness of this art. "Object of Devotion" highlights a selection of 60 Medieval English alabaster panels and freestanding sculptures from the vast collection of London's Victoria & Albert Museum. Touring for the first time in North America, these carvings of holy figures and narrative scenes were produced for churches, royal chapels and domestic altars in England and exported to the Continent. And they represent an English industry that thrived from about 1350 to 1530, after which the Protestant Reformation's ban on religious imagery, combined with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England by King Henry VIII, not only ended the demand for such works but also led to their outright destruction. (Click here to read more)
You might think you know what this article is about, but it’s not what you think. Near the end of the year everyone brings up financial giving, but that’s not what I want to talk about, primarily.
The Bible says that God has poured out his mercy and Holy Spirit generously through Jesus Christ so we can be justified by grace (Titus 3:6). Why is mercy and forgiveness described in terms of ‘generosity’? Because God is under no obligation to give us any good gift. In fact, our sin has forfeited any favor or blessing we might have had. Yet, instead of giving us the punishment we deserve, he took that himself and gave us the riches of mercy and grace. He forgave, he was generous with us sinners. (click here to read more)
In many parts of the world, today is a day of remembrance for the victims and the veterans of war. (Today is also Martinmas incidentally.) I thought it might be fitting to gather together a variety of historical photos showing Masses offered during wartime, taken from various places and locations.(Click here to see pictures)
The following article was submitted by the Rt. Rev. C. FitzSimons Allison, XII Bishop of South Carolina, Retired
What caused the crisis now being faced not only by the Diocese of South Carolina but by the entire western Christian Church? It’s more than an issue of sexuality. It’s one of pandering to the secular culture, of shrinking Jesus and betraying the faith. (Click here to read more)
The following is taken from an email from a parishioner to the clergy of St. George's:
The clergy of St. George’s offer more than a place to worship and pastoral care. For me, they have given me quite an education….I’m figuring out how valuable that is at CCU. (Click here to read more)
When the Church of the Good Shepherd in Binghamton, N.Y., left the Episcopal Church over disagreements about what the Bible says about sexuality, the congregation offered to pay for the building in which it worshiped. In return the Episcopal Church sued to seize the building, then sold it for a fraction of the price to someone who turned it into a mosque. (click here to read more)
A retired Army colonel’s donation of office space will enable the Colorado Springs Disabled American Veterans Service Center to reopen Nov. 1, three months after it closed because of funding problems. (click here to read more)
The Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs and the Rt. Rev. Felix Orji have been made bishops of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and will serve in North America. Dobbs and Orji were consecrated for their new leadership roles at a four-hour worship celebration on Sunday, September 25, 2011 in Lagos, Nigeria. Four additional bishops were also consecrated at the service for ministry based in Nigeria. (click here to read more)
1. At the kind invitation of His Excellency Mr. Wang Zuoan, Minister for the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) of the People’s Republic of China, following his visit to some African provinces earlier this year, we, the Primates of the Global South of the Anglican Communion, visited China from 30 August to 10 September 2011. It is with regret that a few other Primates were unable to be with us due to urgent matters that require their attention. (Click here to read more)
A weekend of religious-themed observances at Washington National Cathedral marking the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks will include a Buddhist nun and an Imam, but not an evangelical Christian, leading the head of the Southern Baptist Convention to ask President Obama to reconsider attending the event. (Click here to read more)
It was the same city but it might have been a different planet. At the end of April, the eyes of the world were on London as a dashing prince and a radiant princess, William and Kate, rode in a horse-drawn carriage through streets lined with cheering crowds sharing a mood of joyous celebration. Less than four months later, the world was watching London again as hooded youths ran riot down high streets, smashing windows, looting shops, setting fire to cars, attacking passersby and throwing rocks at the police. (click here to read more)
This booklet is the work of many minds and hearts. Each author was asked to write on the topic, “What is Anglicanism?” Just what is an Anglican? Often as I fly here and there, someone will ask, “What kind of bishop are you?” After jokingly saying, “A good one, I hope,” I then say that I am Anglican. Silence follows. Not many people in the United States know that term. I often then explain that an Anglican in America is kind of like a biblically conservative Episcopalian. What is Anglicanism to you? These essays will be of assistance to you and to me as we wrestle with just who we are as Anglicans. Together, the essays make up a beautiful tapestry of Anglicanism. May you be blessed as you read and reflect on the words of faith poured into the following pages.
The Rt. Rev. David Bena Retired Contact Bishop Anglican District of Virginia
A local congregation that left the Episcopal Church six years ago may be leaving its church building as well.
14 September 2011 - Print Version
News & Views, Statements, Global South, GS Primates/GSPSC