..We know that many in our church will be rejoicing in this new direction. There are many others who are in deep pain, including those in our churches who are attracted to the same-sex but who hold an orthodox view of marriage. Some of us will need to consider what future can be had in a church which is abandoning its claim to being part of the one holy Catholic and apostolic church.

We are grateful for the theological, practical and prayer support which we have received from within Scotland and around the world. We now ask for the orthodox leaders of the Anglican Communion to stand with us and pray for us as we discern what the next steps should be..

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The Erebus Ensemble live at St John’s, Smith Square, London

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Amen.

“At the Primates’ meeting and gathering in Canterbury this past January, all of us who were there were deeply aware of the prayers for our work not only from Anglicans around the world, but also from our ecumenical friends. The many messages and gestures of prayerful support received from leaders and other Christians was one of the many graces of that time in Canterbury.

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“Papa is going to Pittsburgh to be the new Rook,” announced one of Jim Hobby’s young grandsons recently.

Hobby, rector (pastor) of Trinity Anglican Church in Thomasville, was recently elected by the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh to fill the office of retiring Bishop Robert Duncan, former ”” and founding ”” archbishop and primate of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).

Although he clearly got his game pieces mixed up, it’s no surprise the 4-year old budding chess player would assign his grandfather a position just behind the rank and file of the game: it’s where Hobby has faithfully served the last 30 years as an ordained member of the Anglican priesthood. But how does the rector of a relatively new congregation from a small town in south Georgia become the bishop-elect of one of the country’s biggest ”” some would say its flagship ”” diocese?

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After Nuer refugee children were killed in a road accident mobs of ”˜highlanders’ [the Gambellan term for those from central Ethiopia] bent on revenge against Nuer refugees for the murder of numerous highlanders were turned back by the Ethiopia army ”“ this is significant because the vast majority of soldiers are themselves highlanders..

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..Christians in Sport has launched a sports mission pack to give churches the chance to share Jesus during the upcoming summer of sport.

With the tennis and cricket underway, the European championships around the corner, and the Olympics in Rio a few months away, the pack has everything that churches need to make the most of the sporting spirit.

The pack includes a short talk, a sports quiz and a short gospel film to share at events.

Jonny Reid, communications team leader at Christians in Sport says: “The Olympics and Paralympics, Euro 2016 and The Ryder Cup are just a few of the major sporting events taking place this summer that many in your local area will be excited about.

“We know that these major sporting events present great opportunities to reach sportspeople with the gospel…

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Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, is to give a keynote address at a gathering of academics and social activists at a conference taking place in the Cayman Islands, sponsored and hosted by the “Queering Paradigms Network” of Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.

The organisation’s website states:

The Queering Paradigms network is dedicated to examining the current state and future challenges of queer studies from a broad trans-disciplinary and polythetic perspective, and by interrogating numerous social, political, cultural and academic agendas.

The programme of the conference, which can be seen here, describes a very comfortable venue in one of the most expensive locations in the world. It is not apparent who is funding the meeting, or the budget of the department of Comparative Religion, Gender and Sexuality at Canterbury Christ Church University. Many of the nearby Caribbean nations are trying to resist the imposition of the new sexual ethics of the wealthy nations, and this attempt to retain traditional family values will be strongly criticised during the conference…

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Doctors are a step closer to creating babies with DNA from three people after research on healthy embryos found the procedure was likely to produce normal pregnancies.

Studies on embryos made with extra DNA showed that the majority were indistinguishable from standard IVF embryos, although further tests hinted that the procedure still carried risks.

The work will be reviewed by the UK government’s fertility regulator, which is expected to make a recommendation on whether or not to approve the treatment under licence before the end of the year.

The experimental technique, known as mitochondrial donation, has been developed by researchers in Newcastle to prevent women from passing on devastating and often fatal genetic diseases to their children.

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The conference, which is now in its seventh year, was founded by Professor Bee Scherer, director of the INCISE research centre at Canterbury Christ Church University. He said, “Local activists approached us last year at the QP6 conference in Canterbury with the view of bringing QP to the Caribbean region; after the success of QP in South America (Rio 2012, Quito 2014) we agreed to support them.”

The conference has attracted criticism from conservative political and religious groups who are opposing LGBTIQ rights and equality, the organisers stated this weekend in a press release.

Although one of the key note speakers is an Anglican bishop, activists said it was sad to see how some churches have tried to boycott the conference rather than engage in a democratic dialogue with experts from all over the world who are coming to the Cayman Islands to share their knowledge and expertise with the public.

“I hope that we will see a fruitful dialogue and not just picketing and shouting,” said Scherer. “We have invited the Rt Hon Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, as one of the keynote speakers…

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When I first started traveling to poor countries as a young journalist I was most shocked by the slums.

Tarp cities and shantytowns in Asia, Africa and Latin America ”” often butted up against wealthy neighborhoods and sleek high-rises ”” stood out to me as symbols of the distance between the United States and the “developing world.”

But that distance has shrunk in Seattle.

Yes, we’ve had a large homeless population here for as long as I can remember. But the now-ubiquitous knots of tents on traffic medians, the appearance of homeless encampments in neighborhoods and the growth of “The Jungle” alongside I-5 have shown me our city is not immune to extreme poverty ”” or outrageous disparity of wealth.

And nothing brought that point home quite like visiting “The Jungle” alongside an Anglican Bishop from South Sudan..

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..The most important thing for us is not what happens but how we respond to what happens. If our legal case is not heard, do we respond with righteous indignation or like our Lord from the cross? Forgive them for they know not what they do. And if they get the property, what will come of it? I sometimes smile when I think about what happened when the Philistines captured the Ark Of The Covenant. The property has been a blessing to us like the Ark was a blessing to Israel. Like the Ark, the property could become a curse to those who may capture it.

The author of the spirit of the ages is Satan who is the ruler of this world and this age. As a church our marching orders remain the same against the spirit of this age. Preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. “O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them”. Lord, with Your inspiration, may we help others come into the light of Your Truth. Amen

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..Anglican Ink has learned the ACK has declined to invite Archbishop Welby to give the sermon at the July consecration of archbishop-elect of Kenya, the Most Rev. Jackson ole Sapit. It has extended the invitation instead to the newest member of the GAFCON primates council, the Archbishop of Tanzania, the Most Rev. Jacob Chimeledya (pictured). The Kenyan snub follows the Lambeth snub of the GAFCON primates over the Task Force authorized by the January primates gathering in Canterbury. Leaders of the Churches of Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya tell AI they were not consulted by Lambeth Palace or the Anglican Consultative Council on the composition of the task force, and learned of its membership from press reports. The appointment of a Kenyan to the task force, without speaking with the leaders of the Kenyan church, AI was told, telegraphed to the GAFCON leaders they should not expect anything from this latest Lambeth commission, one leader explained. Queries to the Lambeth Palace press office asking why the GAFCON leaders were not consulted have gone unanswered.

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..Highbury Corner magistrates heard the Anglican priest kicked a paramedic twice in the leg before punching him and trying to bite him, on Charing Cross Road, in Covent Garden.

As police intervened, the priest from St Mary’s Church in Ilford, east London, kicked an officer in the face, the court was told.

When asked which embassy would grant him diplomatic immunity, the priest said “the Vatican” and swore at officers.

Jones, who has previous convictions for a bomb hoax, affray, possession of cannabis, fraud, and criminal damage, now faces formal church disciplinary proceedings..

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A deal to avert the break-up of the worldwide Anglican Communion risks collapse amid signals that African churches are reassessing ties with the Church of England over the issue of same-sex marriage.

The new leader of a powerful bloc of traditionalist bishops and archbishops – seen as representing the majority of the world’s estimated 80 million Anglicans – said the Church of England had recently crossed a “line” with a series of decisions seen as endorsing a more liberal stance on homosexuality.

The Most Rev Nicholas Okoh, the Archbishop of Nigeria, said many traditionalists now view the British branches of Anglicanism in a similar light to The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the US which has been accused of “heresy” for ordaining openly gay bishops and endorsing same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Okoh ”“ recently elected as chairman of the influential “Gafcon” (Global Anglican Future Conference) group of clerics ”“ also pointedly gave his backing to a new breakaway network of churches in England, set up outside the control of the Church of England.

His intervention is the clearest sign yet of a renewed threat of schism within Anglicanism.

It follows the decision by one Nigerian diocese last week to break off ties with the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool because of the appointment of an American bishop who supports same-sex marriage to a special role in the area.

Last month there was also anger among traditionalists after a cleric from the Church of England’s Oxford diocese took part in a celebration of Desmond Tutu’s daughter’s same-sex wedding in South Africa.

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On Wednesday, May 25, the Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston will join other bishops and primates from across the Anglican Communion in Accra, Ghana, for the 7th Consultation of Anglican Bishops in Dialogue. The Diocese of Virginia hosted the 6th Consultation in Richmond last year, and Bishop Shannon has attended previous meetings in Africa and England. The dialogue group was formed in 2008 at the Lambeth Conference when the Anglican Communion was split over issues of same-sex unions and larger questions of Scriptural interpretation. Membership has grown and shifted over time, and includes bishops from The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church of England, and from dioceses and provinces from all over the continent of Africa. There are 25 bishops expected to attend this year, including Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry.

The bishops meet to listen, to understand each other’s context of shared ministry in the Gospel, and to facilitate healing and reconciliation. Bishop Shannon describes the consultation as a unique group that does very important work for the Anglican Communion. The testimonies published from each meeting are widely read, discussed, and referenced across the Communion. Bishop Shannon states that, “Over the years, since the second consultation meeting that I attended in Dar-es-Salaam, it has been most gratifying to see the growth in commitment to each other’s place and role in the Communion. Whether or not we come to agreement is not the point..

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Bishop Shannon called for a gathering of representatives from our Church Schools to discuss the reality of transgendered students in our schools. At that time we were not aware of any transgender students in our schools and believed our conversations would put us a step ahead of a quickly coming change. By the time Bishop Susan [Goff] convened a gathering of 42 representatives of our six schools and our summer camps on April 27, 2016, some of our schools were already in conversation with students who are transitioning and with their parents…

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..I received a message from our Primate in Nigeria, who is currently the Chairman of GAFCON today about a partnership that is in the Western news. That there is a three way Diocesan partnership between the Diocese of Liverpool, England, the Diocese of Akure, Nigeria and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in the United States.

Also, that recently, the Diocese of Liverpool made the assisting Bishop of Virginia, Susan Goff, an assisting Bishop in Liverpool. Susan Goff is in favour of blessing same sex unions and this has been a part of the litigation against the orthodox in Virginia.

Therefore, in view of the above and being aware of the fact that Nigeria does not support same sex marriage, we in Akure Diocese cannot have any link with Liverpool Diocese.

We pray that Jesus Christ, The Owner of His Church will reveal Himself to us anew in Jesus name.

Yours in His Service,

Simeon Borokini,
Bishop of Akure Diocese.

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The world lost the greatest theological mind whom most contemporaries have yet to discover when John Webster went to his eternal reward last week.
…………..
It has long been my contention, asserted in several posts on this blog over the years, that there are two ways to do systematic theology: Either you approach it as a speculative discipline grounded in philosophy, or else you view it as a dogmatic discipline grounded in Scripture. Which of these approaches you take makes all the difference.

Most academic theologians over the past two centuries have taken the former course. I, along with theologians such as John Webster, chose the road less traveled. Choosing the latter course doesn’t mean that you ignore philosophy. Webster’s dissertation was on Eberhart Jungle, a philosophical theologian. My own dissertation was an orthodox critique of Process Theology–itself grounded in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead–and you don’t get any more philosophical than that.

But the difference comes in where you see theology as being grounded and what you see as its source of authority. It makes all the difference in your methodology and the conclusions to which you come.

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We were twinned with The Diocese of Akure in Ondo Sate of Nigeria.They have broken their ties with our diocese over the appointment of the Rt Revd Susan Goff as a Hon. Assisting Bishop in our diocese. We remain open to resume this link as we seek to walk together with all parts of the communion.

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‘Want to know why GAFCON exists and what it’s relevance is within the Anglican Communion? Listen to Dominic Steele interview Peter Jensen on these areas’

Watch it all. The videos of the Nexus 16 conference are available to be watched here

Reports that the Acting Bishop of Oxford, Rt Rev Colin Fletcher, gave his permission for Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker to lead a celebration of a same-sex wedding raise a number of questions to which answers are not forthcoming. A photograph showing Revd Charlotte Bannister Parker officiating, as the couple exchanged rings and made vows, was published in a South African newspaper more than two weeks ago, yet Reform have been told that Bishop Colin is having to take advice before commenting on the following:

Was the Acting Bishop of Oxford aware of the nature of the ‘celebration’ when he gave permission to Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker to lead it?

Has the Acting Bishop of Oxford seen the liturgy/ order of service used?

Does the Acting Bishop of Oxford believe that a ‘celebration’ of a marriage that re-enacts the giving and receiving of rings and the making of promises to one another and according to the report the ‘pronouncement that we now ‘recognise you as wife and wife’ falls within the terms of the Bishops’ Pastoral Guidance on Same-Sex Marriage?

Does the Acting Bishop of Oxford believe that a ‘celebration’ of a marriage that re-enacts the giving and receiving of rings and the making of promises to one another and according to the report the ‘pronouncement that we now ‘recognise you as wife and wife’ is consistent with the express terms of Lambeth 1:10?

If so, what would else would need to happen for this to be considered a ‘blessing’?

Meanwhile, the House of Bishops have been discussing plans for the forthcoming ‘shared conversations’ at General Synod.

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It has come to the attention of Reform, that the Bishop of Liverpool, The Right Reverend Paul Bayes, has appointed Bishop Susan Goff as an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Liverpool. Susan Goff is a Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Virginia in The Episcopal Church. In July 2016, she voted in favour of changing the definition and purpose of marriage according to in Canons of The Episcopal Church. This alteration to the Canons was the action that led the Primates of the Anglican Communion, gathered in Canterbury earlier this year, to require The Episcopal Church to step down from representing the Communion or being involved in decision making on matters pertaining to doctrine or polity.

Susie Leafe, Director of Reform said, “The Bishop of Liverpool has chosen to bring the conflicts that have torn the fabric of the Anglican Communion in to the heart of this diocese. The long standing link with Akure Diocese, in Nigeria, has been severed for the sake of closer ties with The Episcopal Church. The decision to appoint Susan Goff as an Honorary Assistant Bishop is a provocative and divisive step which is obviously unacceptable from someone who holds themselves out as a focus of unity. Members of the Dioceses of Liverpool are entitled to expect that their bishop should respect and not simply ignore the settled will of the Communion.”

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An historic moment in the lives of the dioceses of Virginia and Liverpool occurred Monday, May 2, 2016 at Shrine Mont Retreat Center when the Rt. Rev Susan Goff was commissioned by Shannon S. Johnston, bishop of Virginia, and Paul Bayes, bishop of Liverpool, as Assisting Bishop of Liverpool.

Bishop Bayes presented the letters commissary to Bishop Goff and both Bishop Bayes and Bishop Johnston prayed over her while the room spontaneously rose to its feet with applause, love and affection.

The dioceses of Liverpool and Virginia are companion dioceses, focusing on Jesus and Justice, that together, a bigger church might make a bigger difference in the world. This exciting appointment is more than just in title. As part of the link, Bishop Goff has visited Liverpool and her ministry of teaching and support has been very much welcomed not just by women in the diocese but by all.

“The link with the Diocese of Virginia has been important to us in Liverpool for many years,” said Bayes. “At my installation eighteen months ago it was a privilege to welcome Bishop Shannon Johnston as a guest of honour. Now, with Bishop Susan Goff’s appointment as one of our assisting bishops, we are able to strengthen our bond still further. Bishop Susan is no stranger to Liverpool and we look forward to being enriched by her wisdom as a teacher and pastor of pastors whenever she visits us.”

Among Bishop Goff’s first responsibilities in Liverpool, she will be leading the retreat and preach at the ordination of priests with Bishop Bayes in June and speaking at the clergy conference in July.

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10 May 2016 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Charles Ryle, the 1st Bishop of Liverpool.

Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the day, invited John Ryle to become Bishop of Liverpool in 1880.

The new Bishop was from the Evangelical wing of the Church of England. He was surprised to receive the invitation and was concerned that he was too old for the task. Disraeli assured him that he would live for a few years yet and was proved correct.

He began his ministry on July 1st 1880 and came to live at the Bishop’s Palace in Abercromby Square, Liverpool with his wife and daughter Jessie.

Every third year he delivered his Episcopal Charge to the clergy of the Diocese and held a Diocesan conference annually. The charge in 1881 set the tone for his future ministry; throughout his episcopate – he made it a priority to recruit more clergy and lay ministers and built many more churches. Before clergy were ordained they attended a retreat at Bishop’s Palace and the Bishop gave a series of addresses. Diocesan clergy could call on their Bishop on any Tuesday morning.

The Bishop valued the work of the Scripture Readers who were paid lay workers. There were about 50 licensed Readers in the Diocese.

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(Diocese of Egypt)

Bishop Mouneer wrote :

I am now in a pastoral visit to our churches in Iran. Yesterday was the first service in St Paul Church in Tehran. The people in this church reminded me with the ” Faithful Remnants ” who waiting for the Lord. I rejoiced and prayed so that the Lord may bless them and send servants to encourage them.

+Mouneer

Read it all and please consider joining Bishop Mouneer in his prayers. There are some more prayers here.

The Columba Declaration has been discussed for the past 15 years and officially ties the two churches, which have been seperate since the 16th century Reformation. It was passed at the Scottish Church’s general assembly on Wednesday. The CoE’s general synod passed the measure in February.

The Archbishop of Canterbury became the first CoE leader to join a debate at the general assembly and urged support for the report. Justin Welby acknowledged significant differences in the doctrines of the two churches but said the Columba Declaration provided a framework to affirm common ground.

Earlier in the assembly’s five day meeting the CoS agreed to accept ministers who are in same-sex marriages, something the CoE has not done.

“We won’t always necessarily find ourselves walking in step with one another, something I’ve been particularly conscious of, as, like you, we have been considering the issues around same-sex marriages, and following your earlier debate on ministers in same-sex marriages,” Welby said in his address.

“But what we believe we are providing in this report is a sound framework for us to affirm and build on the agreement we have, for the sake of our common witness to Christ.”

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..in the local Christian community, the parting of ways between the Anglican Church and Chung Chi College, the divinity college of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is seen as a profound political development.

Its roots can be traced to efforts by Beijing to penetrate Hong Kong churches to persuade them to focus on spiritual matters and support the administration in the fields of education and social welfare.
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..the leadership of the Anglican Church appears to have lost its voice amid the political turmoil in society, shirking from its duty to speak up on sensitive political issues for fear of offending the powers that be.

Beijing has appointed [Archbishop] Paul Kwong, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, into the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, making the church a subject of the Communist Party’s rule.

In fact, the appointment implies that the Anglican Church is no longer an independent Christian church but a part of the Communist Party.

Many Hong Kong people lament that Sheng Kung Hui now belongs to the pro-Beijing camp, with its leader telling his congregation to “stay silent just like Jesus did on the cross” while the debate on the government’s political reform proposal was raging two years ago.

His position on the issue is that Hong Kong people should not go against the central government when it comes to its policies for the city.

Kwong also criticized those who joined the Occupy protests for trying to “force” central authorities to meet their demand for an election without Beijing intervention, adding that people should also try to look at the issue from the central government’s perspective.

He kept quiet when the authorities started condemning the Occupy protesters for “thinking only about their own interests and not considering the good of the public”.

It is somewhat unnerving that just weeks before the Anglican Church announced its decision on the breakup with Chung Chi College, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the latest round of restrictions on religions including Christianity..

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By Elizabeth Kendal at Lapidomedia
At 6 pm on 1 May, two Sudanese Air Force MiG fighter jets attacked residential areas within Heiban town in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, killing six children, three from one family.

The dead children were named as: Nidal Abdolrahman Ibrahim (12), Ibrahim Abdolrahman Ibrahim (10), Jihan Abdolrahman Ibrahim (5), Hafez Mahmud (10) Kuku Dawli (4), and Yusif Yagoub (4).

Despite an almost complete news blackout, the ”˜Heiban Massacre’ is not an isolated incident.

The Government of Sudan’s genocidal jihad against the non-Arab and mostly non-Muslim peoples of Sudan’s ”˜New South’ ”“ Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile ”“ continues a campaign that has just entered its sixth year.

For the Christians of the Nuba Mountains, it is the second ‘genocide’ in a generation.

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I first met John Webster in 1996 when he began as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford. He was, as a friend of mine and I observed at the time, ‘quite frankly the most impressive theological voice in Oxford today’. We went together to every one of his lectures that was advertised. His very first lecture series on Christology was full of insights that have served me well ever since. It was from John that I first heard the common sense observation ‘we can never talk about God behind his back: our thinking and speaking of God is always done in his presence’. Theology suddenly becomes an intensely serious matter when that simple truth is remembered. It must never be a guise for intellectual self-assertion or ecclesiastical control.

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