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
8/3/10,
Sectarian violence leaves 500 dead in Nigeria ... »»
As many as 500 people may have been killed in attacks on two predominantly Christian villages near the Nigerian city of Jos Read more...
7/3/10,
Judge orders release of one Haiti volunteer... »»
A Haitian judge signed an order for release of one of two American volunteers in jail on child kidnapping charges But an administrative problem has delayed her release Read more...
5/3/10,
Harriet Harman could kill off ?gay marriages in church? plan... »»
Harriet Harman could scupper the plan to allow “gay weddings” in church over fears that it would throw the marriage system into disarray.
The Equality Minister will decide with Cabinet colleagues whether to allow the controversial amendment to her flagship anti-discrimination bill to stand when it reaches the Commons next week.
If the move to allow civil partnerships to take place on religious premises becomes law, having been agreed to by peers, it will raise "a number of problems" for faith groups, priests, registrars and civil marriages for men and women. Read here
Hundreds of Iraqi Christians on Sunday protested against the recent flare up of violence against them in northern Iraq.
The largest demonstration was in the town of Hamdaniyah, about 25 miles east of Mosul. Protesters at the Hamdaniyah rally carried olive branches and were led by priests, including the second most senior Chaldean bishop, Shlemon Warduni, according to BBC.
Another protest took place in the capital, Baghdad, where demonstrators carried Iraqi flags and chanted, “Stop the killing of Christians.”
A ten-year-old boy has been placed on a hate register for calling a fellow pupil a ‘gay boy.’
It is one of the first publicised examples of how the government’s required hate registers are being used in schools. From this September, children as young as five risk being placed on a hate register if they make homophobic playground taunts.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged Christians to approach inter-faith dialogue with confidence in their own beliefs about the uniqueness of Christ whilst retaining a desire to learn from others.
In an address exploring the finality of Christ in a pluralist world on Tuesday, Dr Rowan Williams said people who believed in absolute truth were liable to be branded bigots or intolerant by those who felt that what was right for some was not necessarily right for others.
5/3/10,
Traditional Anglican community requests to join Catholic Church... »»
Hat-tip: Kendall Harmon Orlando, 4 March 2010 (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday, leaders of the U.S. branch of the Traditional Anglican Communion formally requested to enter into communion with the Catholic Church.
In a statement released yesterday from a meeting of the House of Bishops in Orlando, the Church announced, “We, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America of the Traditional Anglican Communion have met in Orlando, Florida, together with our Primate and the Reverend Christopher Phillips of the 'Anglican Use' Parish of Our Lady of the Atonement (San Antonio, Texas) and others.”
“At this meeting, the decision was made formally to request the implementation of the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus in the United States of America by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” the statement said.
The decision follows Pope Benedict XVI's publication of “Anglicanorum coetibus,” which was released last year and addressed measures planned by the Vatican to allow Anglican communities to enter into communion with the Catholic Church. Read here
5/3/10,
+ Mark Lawrence: ?This man Hath Done Nothing Amiss??... »»
The Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence, the orthodox Bishop of South Carolina, might yet become the poster boy for Episcopal victimhood. His "sins"? He has actually refused to behave like a bully and go after parishes that secede from The Episcopal Church, even though to date only one parish has announced it is leaving TEC for the Anglican Church of North America.
The "inclusive" all embracive, richly diverse, post-modern Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori wants to lop his ecclesiastical head off because he insists on behaving like a Christian gentleman instead of a typical revisionist bully Episcopal bishop like LA Bishop Jon Bruno or Rob O'Neill, Bishop of Colorado. Read here
When it comes to suffering I think we tend to focus on cause instead of effect. We want to know why. And that is normal and natural. Nothing wrong with wanting to know why bad things happen, but that isn't the primary issue. The primary issue is effect. Why it happened is less important than who you are becoming as a result? You can get bitter or better. It can make you stronger or weaker. And that is up to you. Read here
5/3/10,
St Luke?s Anglican of La Crescenta, CA: Petition to United States... »»
AAC St. Luke's had hoped that the United States Supreme Court would hear its case not just for the sake of its own members, but also for the sake of other congregations across the country, regardless of denomination or faith, who own their property. St. Luke's legal representatives maintain that under longstanding law, no one can unilaterally impose a trust over someone else's property without their permission. But California courts have now ruled that certain denominations – those that claim to be a "superior religious body or general church" – can unilaterally impose a trust on the property of spiritually affiliated but separately incorporated local churches, resulting in the local church forfeiting its property if it ever chooses to leave the denomination. These rulings in California conflict with similar rulings in other states and St. Luke's lawyers intended to argue that California violated St. Luke's first amendment rights by giving preferences to certain kinds of churches that claim to be hierarchical; rights that other churches and non-religious associations are not entitled.
The congregation of St. Luke's – now re-incorporated under the name "St. Luke's Anglican" and continuing vibrant and faithful worship in rented facilities – is grateful that its long legal battle is now over and offers its thanks to all who have prayed for its continued success. St. Luke's remains supportive of sister congregations here in California and in other parts of the country who are facing similar trials and prays that God's will be done. Read here
Friday March 5 am: 69 pm: 73 Gen 43:1-15 1 Cor 7:1-9 Mark 4:35-41
LENT IV: Blessed Nicholas Bunlert Kitbamrung, 1944 , Martyr in Asia
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Nicholas studied at Bang Xang Seminary (1908-1916) and later served as a catechist between the years 1916-1920. Thereafter he was admitted to College General, the Major Seminary in Penang in 1920 and remained there until 1925. He was ordained priest on January 24, 1926, at the Assumption Cathedral, Bangkok by Bishop Rene Perrros. He then worked in various parishes in Thailand until his arrest in 1941. Religious persecution in Thailand began in 1940 and ended in 1944. Persecution against Christians led to a robust hatred of the Faith that led to Fr. Nicholas was falsely accused, arrested, convicted and sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment.
During his detention he continued his active priestly ministry, teaching catechism to prisoners and was responsible for baptizing 68 people in prison, so that the prison authorities were extremely displeased with him. His life manifested to fellow prisoners the virtues of love, endurance and perseverance. Due to great suffering, which he endured in, he died in prison, while he was the Thai Church's first martyr as a priest, countless laity suffered mightily for the faith.
MEDITATION OF THE DAY: In the Gospel today we are reminded how in a jam our first instinct is often to try to resolve or cope using our own resources. But soon we panic and realize that we need the Lord. Who may not be asleep in our lives but perhaps we have put him to sleep for our own purposes? We desire for him to be with us and
restore peace to our lives and to our surroundings. Desire however is not enough, there 7 must be constancy to our spirits that we keep in the presence of Jesus for his is a silent presence to that presence but one that is most essential to our life.
Many hear this account and suggest that such a God may have once cared in a boat with friends but he doesn’t care any more. Take a look at the island nation of Haiti they will point to. Make no mistake global tragedy is hard to make sense of. However, every global or personal tragedy has surfaced thousands of individual cases of awakening through tragedy. Countless throngs have been “alter christus”- another Christ – awakening in the danger to help. IT is not an either or proposition. God is present in both!
PRAYER OF THE DAY: Father we face many storms in life and some of them threaten to throw us of course of even sink us . But Lord with you we can trust you to bring us to safety. Give us the faith and the confidence to remember this when things get difficult. Amen
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE - It is certain that the love of God does not consist in this sweetness and tenderness which we for the most part desire; but rather in serving Him in justice, fortitude, and humility. His Majesty seeks and loves courageous souls. – St. Teresa of Avila
LENTEN DISCIPLINE – During this 2nd week of Lent, can you think of and help someone in your life that has found themselves in a terrible storm tossed about by the changes and chances of life . Reach out and help this person. It may be uncomfortable and challenging, but it will change you in ways you can never imagine. If you need inspiration go see the film THE BLIND SIDE http://www.theblindsidemovie.com/dvd/index.html
5/3/10,
Bill Muehlenberg: Are you causing a bit of trouble?... »»
A simple study of church history reveals that whenever committed Christians sought to make a difference for Christ and the Kingdom, they usually got into some sort of trouble. Radical discipleship for Jesus usually results in severe opposition from the surrounding culture.
Simply seeking to be faithful to the commands of Christ can often result in an uproar. A cursory look at the early church as recorded in the book of Acts certainly makes this clear. Wherever the early disciples of Christ went they seemed to find themselves getting into trouble and causing an uproar.
Now making a stink for Jesus can be seen in two ways. Sometimes we get into grief and strong opposition simply because we are not being very wise, very diplomatic, very tactful or very loving. We can often provoke a negative reaction for all sorts of reasons that have little to do with faithfully representing our Lord. Read here
5/3/10,
Iranian pastor has visible marks of torture says wife... »»
An Iranian evangelical pastor who was suddenly arrested and then imprisoned has visible marks of torture his wife said after she visited him Read more...
4/3/10,
Parents drop discipline to avoid upsetting kids... »»
Plans for an Islamic finance school in Birmingham have been boosted by a £1.5m cash injection.
Dubai-based trading firm Surgi-Tech has pledged the funding as part of a drive to improve knowledge and understanding of Islamic financial principles across the UK.
SILIVRI, Turkey (Compass Direct News) – Barely five minutes into the latest hearing of a more than three-year-old case against two Christians accused of "insulting Turkishness and Islam," the session was over.
The prosecution had failed to produce their three final witnesses to testify against Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal for alleged crimes committed under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code. The same three witnesses had failed to heed a previous court summons to testify at the last hearing, held on Oct. 15, 2009.
The leader of the Conservative Party has called for an end to the ‘inappropriate sexualisation’ of children.
Speaking to GMTV, Mr Cameron has unveiled a range of party policies aimed at giving children back their childhood.
‘We all know as parents, I have got two young children and there will be many watching this programme, that you do your best as parents but there is a lot of pester power going on.
Officials will reveal that they have analysed popular TV shows and concluded that not enough sex scenes feature the characters discussing contraception.
They will say that "careful" analysis of 350 episodes of soap operas and comedies show that only seven per cent of sex scenes include a discussion between the characters about safe sex.
A report, called Mis-selling Sex, to be launched by the Department of Health, will call on television writers to include more dialogue about condoms and plot lines featuring the consequences of unsafe sex such as unwanted pregnancies and disease. Read more
Strasbourg, France, Feb 22, 2010 / 12:20 pm (CNA).- During meetings last week in Switzerland, 47 countries represented in the Council of Europe adopted a declaration regarding the scope of jurisdiction of the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg, France. The new policy limits the court's decisions concerning traditions and national culture in member countries, which extends to the prohibition of crucifixes in Italian public institutions.
Education authorities would then have to bring in an accredited provider with a track record of successfully operating schools elsewhere.
Gordon Brown and Schools Secretary Ed Balls announced the first wave of providers to be given an Accredited School kitemark, enabling them to run chains of secondaries.
A Labour cabinet minister has said that the Labour Party must take on board the concerns of religious voters if the party is to win a fourth term in power.
Jim Murphy, MP for East Renfrewshire and Secretary of State for Scotland, said in his keynote speech at the Commons to Progress, a Labour think tank, that more than five million people have visited a place of worship in the last month, making them one of the largest demographic groups in the 2010 general election battle. Mr Murphy is facing tough competition from the Conservatives for every vote.
A new Angus Reid poll shows that 42 percent of American adults favor legalizing euthanasia, but that statistic may not be true.
Fifty-two percent believe legalizing euthanasia would leave vulnerable people without sufficient protection, but Rita Marker, director of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide (ITF), is not surprised by the results because most people do not fully understand the term.
4/3/10,
Atheist group tells students to trade their Bibles for porn... »»
A US campus atheist group began its attentionseeking holy bookforporn programme on Monday at the University of Texas in San Antonio Read more...
3/3/10,
Luis Palau to preach to 20000 at Chinese megachurch... »»
American evangelist Luis Palau will preach to an overflow crowd of up to 20000 people at a megachurch in mainland China this month Read more...
3/3/10,
Haitis rural communities face chronic food and water shortages... »»
World Vision has warned that Haitis rural communities are at risk of chronic food and water shortages as the huge number of displaced people continues to strain resources Read more...
Hundreds of Iraqi Christians on Sunday protested against the recent flare up of violence against them in northern Iraq Read more...
1/3/10,
Tearfund brings aid to remote families in Haiti ... »»
Tearfund is bringing aid to families in remote regions of Haiti including a coastal mountainous area which up until last week was still unreached by relief agencies Read more...
1/3/10,
Anglican women gather in New York for 54th annual UNCSW... »»
Thousands of women from around the world, including more than 90 representing the Anglican Communion, will gather in New York March 1-12 for the 54th session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women to undertake a 15-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
1/3/10,
TD Jakes restores hope of exoffenders... »»
Former inmates were applauded Sunday morning at TD Jakes renowned Dallas megachurch as they graduated from a programme designed to help them succeed and keep them out of jail Read more...
Anglican Mainstream New Zealand
Anglican Mainstream NZ
Anglicans fight to keep Corran
Written by Super Administrator
Saturday, 25 April 2009 12:06
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.