To provide up-to-date news on the Anglican Communion
To further biblical orthodoxy in the Anglican Church
To support biblically orthodox parishes and individuals
To facilitate parishes in making staff appointments
To gather research on church life and mission
29/7/10,
What kind of warped world do we live in when girls who don?t sleep... »»
By Rosie Boycott, Mailonline
The very fact it was deemed newsworthy at all is a damning indictment of the changes within our society over the past few decades.
When Girls Aloud's Kimberley Walsh admitted to only having had two lovers, the response was one of incredulity.
Among the many comments on internet forums discussing this 'shocking news' were those who deemed her serial monogamy 'unhealthy' or declared 'the more boyfriends the better'.
Contrast her admission with the one from the writer Lynn Barber, who admitted this week that as a young student at Oxford she had taken 50 lovers in the space of just two terms. The response to this? One newspaper columnist described it as 'the norm for women today'.
Is it? has promiscuity really infected our society to such an extent that it is now considered commonplace, while fidelity is seen as freakish?
29/7/10,
Marriage equality for LGBT people is now firmly on the agenda,... »»
By Colin Coward, Changing Attitude
Reports of the meeting held on Tuesday afternoon in a House of Commons Committee room with Lynne Featherstone MP, Equalities Minister, and five civil servants have been issued by Peter Tachell and Pink News. Also present were Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, the Rev Sharon Ferguson of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, Paul Martin of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation Manchester, and myself.
The meeting was the first of a series of private meetings being held this week by the government's equalities office with interested parties to to look at possible next steps for civil partnerships including the possibility of holding civil partnerships for gay couples in church and the option of extending civil marriage to same-sex couples. I don’t know whether the government’s consultation extends to meeting with Christian leaders opposed to marriage equality in church for LGBT people though Lynne Featherstone is reported as acknowledging that any consultation would take into account the views of those who are vehemently opposed to equal marriage.
29/7/10,
Luis Palau to mark 100 years of evangelical Christianity in Vietnam... »»
Luis Palau will lead a major new mission in Vietnam next year as part of the churches celebrations marking 100 years of evangelical Christianity in that nation
29/7/10,
Lebanons ruling party asks Muslims to protect Christians... »»
The head of a Sunni political movement in Lebanon has expressed concern over the decline of Christians in the region allegedly due to growing Shiite influence
29/7/10,
Atheists ?could set up free schools?... »»
By Graeme Paton, Telegraph
The Education Secretary said he would be "interested" to look at proposals for non-religious schools from figures such Professor Richard Dawkins.
Prof Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, said last month that he approved of the idea of setting up a "free-thinking” school.
The comments follow the publication of Coalition plans to give parents' groups, teachers and charities powers to open their own schools at taxpayers' expense.
Addressing the Commons education select committee, Mr Gove said parents opposed to faith-based schools should be properly catered for in the state education system.
"One of the most striking things that I read recently was a thought from Richard Dawkins that he might want to take advantage of our education legislation to open a new school which was set up on an explicitly atheist basis,” he said.
"It wouldn't be my choice of school, but the whole point about our education reforms is that they are, in the broad sense of the word, small "l", liberal. That they exist to provide that greater degree of choice."
29/7/10,
London protest march for Pakistan as minorities pressure increases... »»
From Inspire Magazine
Pakistani Christians in the UK are leading a multi-faith peace rally to call attention to increasing pressure on minorities in Pakistan, following recent killings and threats of violence.
The peaceful rally, organised by the British Pakistani Christian Association and supported by the South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance, is planned for Saturday 31 July, beginning at the Pakistan High Commission at 11 am and progressing towards 10 Downing Street for 1.30 pm.
Petitions will be submitted at both the High Commission and at Downing Street and there will be speakers from a range of faith and ethnic backgrounds, led by the former Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir Ali.
On 12 July, a Christian Pastor and his brother, Rashid and Sajid Emmanuel, were falsely accused of blasphemy in Faisalabad, Pakistan. On 22 July, they were assassinated by a young unknown gunman outside the court in which they were to be tried. There has also been mob violence in the area, with shootings and looting.
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, came under violent threats from an extremist Islamic organisation, following a hard-hitting press conference held by Mr Bhatti in response to the murders in Faisalabad, and the alleged misuse of the Blasphemy Law.
The rally takes place exactly 12 months after the Christian village of Gojra, a small town north of Lahore, was razed to the ground after reports of blasphemy. The Government promised at the time to rebuild the 120 homes and two churches that were destroyed but this has not been done. No one was arrested or brought to trial despite the police confirming that no blasphemy had occurred.
29/7/10,
Vicar of Rome to Gay Priests: Come Out and Get Out... »»
By Peter J Smith, LifeSite News
With the Vatican reeling from another sex scandal, this time in the heart of the Eternal City, the Vicar of Rome is sending an unequivocal message to homosexual priests: come out of the closet, and get out of the priesthood.
Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the prelate in charge of administering the Rome diocese, the episcopal see of Pope Benedict XVI, made the statements in response to an exposé by Panorama. In an undercover investigation the journal alleged that it had followed a handful of Catholic priests who were part of a gay-subculture: saying Mass by day, and frequenting gay bars by night.
"No one is forcing them to stay priests, only getting the benefits," said Vallini, who rebuked the priests for leading a "double life."
"Coherence demands they should come out into the open," he added. "They never should have become priests."
But Vallini also had choice words for Panorama, which belongs to the media empire of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, accusing the journal of sensationalism and “trying to defame all priests.”
He asserted that the "vast majority" of priests in the diocese of Rome "represent a model of morality for everyone."
However, Panorama’s editor Giorgio Mule, disputed the notion that the journal was simply scandal-mongering or seeking to defame the Catholic Church.
“This was a two week investigation and was not aimed at creating a scandal but showing that a certain section of the clergy behaves very differently,” Mule stated, according to the UK Daily Mail.
The Italian homosexual movement is not too happy with the Panorama exposé either. The revelations of priests engaging in casual anonymous sex on Rome’s gay scene tend to undermine the family-friendly portrait of homosexual relationships that the homosexualist movement has striven to implant in the public imagination for years.
29/7/10,
Anglican Communion Standing Committee tightens control over... »»
From BabyBlue Online
With Ian Douglas proclaiming that the credibility-challenged new group called the Anglican Communion Standing Committee "has pursued a course of transparency and open communication," at the same time 815 is happily reporting that "Throughout the five days of closed sessions, the 14 committee members heard about efforts to improve communication across the Anglican Communion's officially sanctioned networks. With its networks, the ACC recognizes groups of Anglicans who want to organize formally around a ministry or issue and monitors their efforts."
In five days there have been only two "official" daily reports and those "reports" raised more questions than answers (there's been no disclosure to the finances for example). In this happy report from The Episcopal Church (while there is no report from the Anglican Communion Office yet of yesterday's activities), 815 says that while there was a "course of transparency and open communication," the meetings themselves were "five days of closed sessions."
29/7/10,
Contrasting Futures for the Anglican Communion: A Transformed ACC and... »»
From ACI
The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz
The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner
The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.
Michael Watson, Esq.
The crises in the Anglican Communion in recent years have revealed two distinct problems confronting the Communion, one theological and one structural. The two halves of faith and order. The theological problem is whether the Communion has theological coherence on major questions of faith and practice. Slowly over the last decade and a half an affirmative answer to this question has been evolving. In particular, on the presenting crisis of human sexuality the Communion does have a common mind that has been expressed repeatedly by all four Instruments. The extent to which this has happened is reflected in the report of the Joint Standing Committee in late 2007 after the meeting of TEC’s House of Bishops in New Orleans:
The Communion seems to be converging around a position which says that while it is inappropriate to proceed to public Rites of Blessing of same-sex unions and to the consecration of bishops who are living in sexual relationships outside of Christian marriage, we need to take seriously our ministry to gay and lesbian people inside the Church and the ending of discrimination, persecution and violence against them. Here, The Episcopal Church and the Instruments of Communion speak with one voice.
TEC’s Presiding Bishop concurred in that report, but she has since served as the chief consecrator of Mary Glasspool and TEC’s General Convention has authorized the development of liturgies for public rites of blessing.
Planned Parenthood's annual conference held in Des Moines, Iowa, last week targeted "sexual health educators, trainers, directors and managers of youth-serving organizations, Planned Parenthood affiliates, and other family planning professionals."
The session titles included things like "Thinking outside the binary: genderqueer, intersex, pansexual and multiple partners"; "Say it with a smile: bringing youth sexually positive messages"; "Fast and focused: the art of the quicky – presentation"; "Influences of vampire obsession on sexuality"; and "Using humor in sexuality education".
Once again targeting the most vulnerable among us, PP presented a session on "sexuality for persons with developmental disabilities." According to the CDC, "People with developmental disabilities have problems with major life activities such as language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living."
28/7/10,
The Standing Committee Daily Bulletin - Day 4... »»
On tuesday's agenda: the second part of the Unity, Faith and Order report; the report on the Bible in the Life of the Church project and theological education in the Anglican Communion; a report on Anglican Communion communications; a report on Continuing Indaba.
28/7/10,
The Standing Committee Daily Bulletin - Day 3... »»
Building on the report to the Standing Committee, ACO staff Stuart Buchanan and Revd John Kafwanka presented on the ACC and Lambeth Conference-mandated project the Evangelism and Church Growth Initiative (ECGI).
At last week's International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, the Obama administration pledged the support of the U.S. in the global fight against AIDS. But one pro-family activist points out that an important aspect is missing from the undertaking.
Both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made prerecorded speeches at the close of the conference, committing the nation's dedication to fight the disease. However, one key factor seemed to be absent from the rhetoric, says a prominent pro-family activist.
"It's not a big mystery about what helps cause AIDS, and yet one key portion — homosexual practice, homosexual sex — is just off the table," notes Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH). "And then we wonder why we can't keep this disease in check."
He compares this issue to the Wizard of Oz or the emperor who has no clothes. "There's a lot of talk about fighting AIDS, but they're not really serious about one of the key causes, which is homosexual behavior," he laments.
Last year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to change its doctrine to allow gay clergy in committed sexual relationships. The Associated Press ran a story about one of the consequences of that vote:
Seven pastors who work in the San Francisco Bay area and were barred from serving in the nation’s largest Lutheran group because of a policy that required gay clergy to be celibate are being welcomed into the denomination.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will add six of the pastors to its clergy roster at a service at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco on Sunday. Another pastor who was expelled from the church, but was later reinstated, will participate in the service.
The group is among the first gay, bisexual or transgender Lutheran pastors to be reinstated or added to the rolls of the ELCA since the organization voted last year to lift the policy requiring celibacy.
Although I’m not a member of the ELCA, I am Lutheran and I keep a Google News alert out for the term “Lutheran.” This means I get tons of news about the ELCA. And far and away the biggest story I’ve seen over the last ten months has been case after case of Lutheran congregations leaving the ELCA following this vote.
It’s only been 10-plus months since the vote was taken but I’d estimate that I’ve seen reports of hundreds of churches voting to leave the ELCA since then.
28/7/10,
New summit to reimagine future of youth work... »»
A new Youthwork event is promising to break the mould of traditional Christian events by offering short specialist sessions followed by open conversations with grassroots speakers
Despite a proposal from orthodox Anglican leader Dato Stanley Isaacs from the Province of South East Asia that the American Episcopal Church be separated from the rest of the Anglican Communion over sexuality issues, Committee members of the Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council (aka the Anglican Communion Office) rejected the plea, arguing it "would inhibit dialogue and … would therefore be unhelpful."
While rejecting the proposal, Standing Committee members agreed to defer further discussion on the matter until progress on a listening project had been considered. Currently, Anglicans worldwide are participating in "The Continuing Indaba and Mutual Listening Project," which is intended to open the ears of Anglicans to the experiences of homosexual persons, according to a July 26 bulletin from the Anglican Communion Office.
The committee, which included the Archbishop of Canterbury, met in closed sessions July 23-27 at the Anglican Communion Office in London.
Once more no one is prepared to exercise godly discipline on the Episcopal Church for its blatant defiance of the Windsor Report and a Covenant in the process of being ratified by all the provinces of the Anglican Communion over sexuality issues which has seen TEC defy the communion not once, but twice by electing an avowed homosexual and lesbian to the episcopacy. The open defiance of the communion's requested Moratorium is met with muted outrage as no one is prepared to put their foot down and lay down the law, largely because the communion's Instruments of Unity are stacked with liberals and token orthodox believers who get shot down if they should so much as raise their voices. Witness what happened to Isaacs.
Groaned one English cleric, "Why, oh why, oh why is TEC permitted to retain such influence in a Communion in which it is an insignificant flea on the rump of the orthodox majority?"
28/7/10,
Spring Harvest helps kids celebrate God... »»
Here we have something great from Spring Harvest They have decided to release a bundle of songs put together for children to enjoy together with Spring Harvest kids resources
28/7/10,
Anglican committee rejects proposal to separate US Episcopal Church... »»
A 15member committee that included the Archbishop of Canterbury has rejected a proposal to separate The Episcopal Church in the US from the rest of the global Anglican Communion
Creative, enthusiastic Church involvement in The ‘Big Society’, as spoken of today by Premier David Cameron, will only take place if Government respects the Church’s unique character and moral basis, and resists the temptation to try to mould the Church into an ‘arm of the state’.
So says Christian Concern For Our Nation, commenting on the “potentially exciting opportunities for churches and other Christian groups to build on their existing work in serving society and building community.”
The Church is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, potential partners in building the ‘Big Society’ – especially where the elderly and children are concerned, and is already very active, with considerable expertise, experience, resources and good-will to offer. However, such vital resources will only be utilised to full potential if Government departments, both central and local, takes positive action to ensure that Church-based community groups can remain true to their distinctive Christian ethos as they participate.
MELBOURNE (AFP) – The Australian Sex Party on Tuesday promised to spice up campaigning for next month's elections with a manifesto "unlike Australia had ever seen before".
Party chief Fiona Patten launched a risque national campaign at a Melbourne bar, saying her policies "would make (opposition Leader) Tony Abbott's hair stand on end and would turn (Prime Minister) Julia Gillard's hair grey". prospective
"We've always been forward and we actually enjoy real action," Patten said, mocking Gillard and Abbott's "Moving Australia Forward" and "Stand Up For Real Action" slogans.
The party's policies include legalising euthanasia, decriminalising all drugs for personal use, and watering down strict anti-pornography laws.
Dr Raj Patel, who still works in Hyde, believes that a malicious doctor could still exploit weaknesses in GP systems – 10 years after Shipman was jailed.
Dame Janet Smith, who chaired the Shipman inquiry, also said more still needed to be done to protect patients.
Shipman was jailed in January 2000 for murdering 15 of his patients.
A subsequent inquiry decided he had killed at least 215 people over a period of more than 20 years, making him the UK's most prolific serial killer.
Parents are “rarely” consulted about their children’s lessons involving sex education, a new Ofsted report has said.
The study, by the Government’s schools inspectorate, found that some schools were failing to help children to ‘say no’ to sex, in their Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education lessons.
However, other conclusions of the report are likely to be seized upon by the sex education lobby, which is building up a head of steam to push for compulsory sex ed for all school children.
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Over half of U.S. adults say they would favor some form of abortion restrictions, according to a new poll by Angus-Reid Public Opinion.
Forty-six percent of respondents said they believe abortion should be legal “only under certain circumstances,” while an additional 15% said that abortion should be illegal regardless of the circumstances.
The Church of England must be “more up-front” about the dangers of alcohol abuse, a leading Anglican Bishop has argued.
Bishop of Manchester Nigel McCulloch said: “The Church of England continues to encourage the biblical principle of moderation. But the Church must be more up-front about alcohol’s insidious and evil effects.”
“This is an important moral issue and a matter of social conscience”, he added.
Our guest blogger today is The Rev’d Canon David Roseberry, Rector of Christ Church, Plano, Texas and Chair of Anglican 1000. He writes today of the Anglican 1000 initiative:
“THE 5 MOST EXCITING THINGS ABOUT ANGLICAN 1000″
Anglican 1000 is an initiative of the Anglican Church in North America to raise up 1,000 new congregations and communities of faith across the United States and Canada. It began with an astonishing call from Archbishop Duncan at his installation. Now, it is firing on all cylinders!
Here are 5 of the most exciting things that are happening by God’s grace:
1) Churches are being planted! Tim Keller says, “The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical growth of the Body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city.” It is so exciting to see Anglicans planting churches! Check out a few of the latest plants on our website.
4:00AM Saturday Apr 25, 2009 - NZ Herald
Jacqueline Smith
The Anglican Church has weighed into the fight to save a private girls' school in Auckland.
The Bishop of Auckland, John Paterson, said the church was "alarmed" by the decision of the Corran School board to merge with St Kentigern and is considering alternative proposals to maintain its connection with the school.
Bishop Paterson said the diocese was not warned of the proposal before it was made public, and had been trying to meet the Corran trust board to discuss the matter. A meeting is scheduled for next week.
Corran has been aligned to the Anglican Church for more than 50 years.
Bishop Paterson said the diocese had a good relationship with the school, and Corran girls have a weekly chapel service in St Aidan's Church on Remuera Rd.
"Corran has an established identity as an Anglican school and the diocese would want to maintain that connection should that opportunity still be available."
The diocese had been "considering what alternative proposals might be available" since the board announced the merger, he said.
Parents, teachers and the public learned of the Corran board's decision to merge with St Kentigern via emails and press releases sent out by the school on April 6.
This week, parents employed Deborah Collings, QC, to examine the school's trust deed and find out whether there was a case to take out a court injunction.
(1) the deposition of Bishop Bob Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh in The Episcopal Church, by the assembled bishops of that church, on 18 September 2008;
(2) the good standing and high reputation Bishop Bob Duncan has as an orthodox Anglican bishop, as represented by statements of support being expressed in recent days by the Archbishops of Sydney, Nigeria, Rwanda, Southern Cone, West Indies, Kenya, Jerusalem and the Middle East, Singapore, numerous bishops within The Episcopal Church itself, and the Bishops of Winchester, Rochester, Chester, Exeter, Blackburn and Chichester;
(3) various developments in The Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Church of Canada in recent years which place increasing pressure on faithful orthodox Anglicans to conform to changes in theology, liturgy and ethics rather than to uphold and maintain the 2000 year old teaching of the church;
offers its support to Bishop Bob Duncan, to the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and to all bishops and dioceses in The Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Church of Canada as they seek to find a way forward which embodies the true spirit of orthodox Anglicanism.
That this Synod,
noting the holding of the decennial Lambeth Conference in July/August 2008 and the presence of Bishop Richard and Hilary Ellena at the Conference:
(a) welcomes Bishop Richard and Hilary back to the Diocese, and expresses its gratitude for their participation in the conference
(b) encourages Bishop Richard and Hilary to report on the conference in a variety of ways to the parishes of the Diocese
(c) receives the following statement made by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the course of his Final Presidential Address to the Lambeth Conference:
“The Resolution of Lambeth '98 was an attempt to say both 'We need understanding and shared discernment on a hugely complex topic,' and 'We as the bishops in council together are not persuaded that the new thoughts offered to us can be reconciled with our shared loyalty to Scripture.' Perhaps we should read that Resolution — forgetting for a moment the bitterness and confusion around the debate and acknowledging that it remains where our Communion as a global community stands — as an attempt to define what a healthy Church might need — space for study and free discussion without pressure, pastoral patience and respect, unwillingness to change what has been received in faith from Scripture and tradition. And this is not by any means to say that a traditional understanding and a new one are just two equal options, like items on the supermarket shelf: the practice and public language of the Church act always as a reminder that the onus of proof is on those who seek a new understanding.”
That this Synod,
acknowledging continuing developments in the Anglican Communion in response to issues on biblical orthodoxy:
(a) notes the holding of the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem in June 2008
(b) receives the final statement of the conference which includes within it the Jerusalem Declaration (appended to the motion)
(c) commends the statement to the Diocese for general study and reflection
(d) confirms the Diocese of Nelson upholds the orthodox faith and practice of the Anglican Church as represented in the Jerusalem Declaration and continues to look for ways to be in relationship with those represented at GAFCON
VOLUNTEERS from churches and the community in Manukau are waiting to see if their attempts to cook the largest bowl of soup in the world have been successful. Some 25,200 litres of vegetable soup were cooked, starting on the night of August 22 and ending on the morning of the 23rd, in a tank at Lion Nathan Breweries.
However, it won’t be for another four months that the organisers will know for sure whether the world record for the largest bowl of soup ever cooked belongs to Manukau. The idea for the marathon cook-up came from 34-year-old Guinness Book record-breaker and Aucklander Alastair Galpin, whose most recent record was for sticking the most rhinestones on his body.
Mr Galpin partnered with St Elisabeth’s Anglican Church vicar, The Rev Mark Beale, for the project. Mr Galpin said he joined with the church to organise the event to help lift the spirits of the people living in Manukau City. “There’s been a lot of negative press about Manukau lately so we want to give our community something to smile about,” said Mr Beale. And smile they did.
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By Colin Coward, Changing Attitude
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From Inspire Magazine
From BabyBlue Online
From ACI
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By Bill Bumpas, OneNewsNow.jpg)
By Mollie, Get Religion
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By David W. Virtue, 
