A Church attuned to the Spirit of surprise:

In human terms, Philip took the wrong road – and there he was met by the Spirit of God, who showed him why he was in the middle of the desert. And he found himself speaking to someone who was the wrong person, in human eyes. It was the wrong recipient of God’s message; Luke always points us to the Gospel for the excluded. The Ethiopian was a foreigner so could not enter the temple, a eunuch so wrongly considered by the people of his time to be outside God’s purpose. He was doubly outside

Luke’s stories in Gospel and Acts are of refugees, the poor, those of no honour. Seen in hospitals, schools, prisons, rubbish dumps and food centres. Seen here in the past and now.

Yet in God’s eyes there was nothing wrong. This was the right time, right road, right scripture, right person, right opportunity for baptism.

The Bible tells us to be where the Spirit sends us, not by human wisdom, and the Gospel reading shows us the foundation of what Philip was doing.

Read it all.

Great joy to celebrate the new Anglican Province of Alexandria at All Saints’ Cathedral in Cairo this evening. May it draw on the history of the saints and their inspiration; and may it proclaim the Gospel afresh in this generation! pic.twitter.com/vV9b6eQQOH

— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) October 8, 2021

number of clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Albany are preparing to join the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) according to officials with the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (ADLW).

The announcement made February 21 is in response to clergy requests for canonical residency under ADLW Bishop Julian Dobbs. It would be the first public movement of clergy in New York’s Capital District since the resignation of Bishop William H. Love earlier this winter.

According to officials with the ACNA diocese, the Albany clergy “have formally applied and are being licensed to minister within the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word.” They are to comprise a regional ministry network that will “place a strong emphasis on church planting and ministries in the [Capital] Region and surrounding areas of New York.”

“We are confident that as these men and women boldly proclaim the authentic Gospel of Christ, many souls will be saved, and new disciples will be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ,” the ADLW statement reads. “We ask that you join us in praying for these clergy and the congregations committed to their care.”

Read it all.

This should come as no surprise following the resignation of Bishop Bill Love, but clergy in the #Episcopal Diocese of Albany are applying for canonical residency in at least one ACNA diocese – likely the first of many. #anglican https://t.co/nCOzx7dY1T

— Jeff Walton (@jeffreyhwalton) March 2, 2021

Before the lockdown, the Rev. Matthew Rivers wasn’t a fan of Facebook. But last spring when COVID-19 shut the doors of St. John’s Chapel, he reluctantly ventured into preaching via social media. To his surprise, the sermon and worship videos allowed the church to grow during the pandemic and expand the ministry far beyond its Eastside setting.

“God used the thing I wasn’t really enamored with, to enlarge the church,” Rivers said with a laugh.

In recent months, 22 new members have joined St. John’s Chapel, with about 30 percent discovering the church through its Facebook postings. In addition, more than 60,000 people around the world are following its Facebook services, which also feature the First Lady of the church, Chaplain Henrietta Rivers.

“The online ministry has been pivotal; St. John’s has been exposed,” Henrietta says. “We know God’s vision is larger than our small building.”

Read it all.

Sudan is rejoining the community of nations.

After 30 years of pariah status under former dictator Omar al-Bashir, the nation has established relations with Israel, taken steps to improve religious freedom, and ensured removal of its US designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo of Sudan has witnessed the entire history.

Born in 1957 in the Nuba Mountains region, he was ordained an Anglican priest at the age of 31. In 2003, he became bishop of the diocese of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city.

In 2014, Kondo became archbishop of Sudan within overall administrative unity with South Sudan. And in 2017, he was enthroned as primate of the newly created Anglican Province of Sudan.

Read it all.

Have you noticed that there is a radical difference between Philippians 1 and Galatians 1? In Philippians 1, the Apostle Paul both laments and celebrates the competitive and rivalrous forms of preaching the Gospel to unbelievers. He says, “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:15-18).

In contrast in Galatians 1, Paul is confronting false teaching about the Gospel by those who say they believe it. He says, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”

Paul’s litmus test for the faith wasn’t good disagreement or getting along, but rather truth. Even when that truth was preached out of mixed motives, the truth is what mattered. Speak the truth in love, (Ephesians 4:15). But preaching the truth is preaching it without compromise. A different Gospel is no gospel at all. Again, the Scriptures are very clear: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 3-4).

The witness we see in the Scriptures and in church history is that truth produces unity and freedom to love. The clarity of truth is powerful. That truth was revealed in the person and teaching of Jesus Christ.

Read it all.

Archbishop Foley Beach: "the most important part of church planting is prayer" Preach it! #Anglican church planting pic.twitter.com/HCzf9f3pQC

— Tom Herrick (@canontomherrick) August 26, 2016

The Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) voted on its second day to accept full membership in the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches and to embrace a life of full communion as envisioned in the Cairo Covenant. The resolution, presented by Archbishop Bob Duncan and Bishop Bill Atwood, summarized the declarations of the Seventh Conference of Global South Anglicans, which met in Cairo, Egypt, on October 11, 2019. It also outlined the four objectives of the newly proposed covenantal structure: to guard the faith once delivered to the saints; to be effective in fulfilling God’s mission to the world; to strengthen the Global South’s identity, governance, relational life, and discipleship; and to work for the well-being of the global Anglican Communion.

Archbishop Duncan was honored to present this historical resolution on the anniversary of his consecration as the first archbishop of the ACNA. He commented: “As this Covenant becomes the basis of the accountability for orthodoxy, partnership, and mission in the Provinces of the Global South, it will be the most significant development in the history and ecclesiology of Anglicanism since the emergence of the Lambeth Conference in 1867.”

The ACNA has been a partner member of the Global South since 2015, and the fundamental declarations, mission objectives, relational commitments, and inter-provincial structures of the Global South are completely consistent with the provisions of the ACNA’s Constitution and Canons, Fundamental Declarations, and the GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration. The ACNA continues to be committed to mutual accountability and biblical mission among Anglican provinces as remedies for both the ecclesial deficit and the gospel deficit plaguing the global Anglican Communion.

Read it all.

@The_ACNA Provincial Council Council Votes to Accept Terms of the Cairo Covenant https://t.co/NQXjFsSsvi @gafconference

— American Anglican (@AnglicanCouncil) June 26, 2020

The Anglican church in Venice, like the other churches in the city, was not able to hold services on Ash Wednesday by order of the regional authorities, nor on the first Sunday of Lent. Nevertheless, the doors of the church were open during the times set for services so that people could use the building for private prayer. Bishop David Hamid, the lead bishop for Venice, has been in regular contact with the diocese and advice has come from it on how to administer Holy Communion, with no shaking of hands for the “peace.” Fortunately, as yet no information has emerged of a member of the church having contracted the virus, nor of anyone within the wider Anglophone community living in Venice, nor on the neighbouring mainland. At present we are in a “state of limbo” not knowing when we might be able to return to a more normal routine or what might be possible in the future. Each day carries the fear of succumbing to the virus. We are grateful for the emails of support and the offer of prayer that we have received.

What seems somewhat paradoxical is that the two churches which form part of the great panoramic view of Venice—Santa Maria della Salute, and Il Redentore—were built as acts of thanksgiving for the ending of successive plagues. On particular days each year for 400 years, and even today, Masses of thanksgiving are celebrated in these churches and popular traditions associated with those historical events observed. However, when a contemporary “plague” hits the city, a ban is issued preventing them from offering public worship. Hopefully, however, the day will quickly come when, within these same churches, a public thanksgiving will be offered for the speedy demise of the coronavirus and all who helped to combat it.

On March 2, Sims sent the following update:

The restrictive measures are in place through Sunday 8th March, with some slight variations from region to region. Religious services can be held provided people do not group together and a distance of at least a metre is kept between persons. This is a difficult criterion to meet. We have suspended all midweek activities and worship as have the Catholic and Protestant churches. We are evaluating if the criteria can be met on Sunday.

Read it all.

OUR WITNESS IN A TIME OF ADVERSITY

Together with our nation, we are facing a time of adversity because of the coronavirus. How should Christians respond?

I. Firstly, we are to PROCLAIM CHRIST’S LORDSHIP
1. We are to find strength in God’s word and in the fellowship of God’s people to believe that the Lord our God is on the throne.

2. The good times and the hard times are all in His hands.

3. God is not the source of the coronavirus but He can harness it to serve His saving purposes. God weeps with those who suffer because of the outbreak. But He is also sovereign over the pestilence and He can use it to reveal who He is – that He is a God who protects, heals and delivers. Because God is love.

4. He is our Covenant-keeping God who promises to take His people through every crisis and accomplish His purpose. Our lives are in His hands.

5. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has made Him the Lord of the nations. Jesus Christ is Lord over Singapore. He is Lord over our Deanery countries. We must proclaim it in our prayers and in our times of worshipping together. Christ is sovereign over this outbreak. He is turning the nation God-ward, and He is building the values and social cohesion of the nation.

6. Let us therefore proclaim Christ’s Lordship over our nation and let us trust Him to work out His good and saving purposes.

II. Secondly, we are to PRAY FOR GOD’S MERCY…

Read it all.

“The approval of others counts for nothing and the approval of Jesus counts for everything.” – Bishop Rennis Ponniah #gafcon2018 pic.twitter.com/nPOt4Aioh6

— GAFCON (@gafconference) July 9, 2018

Gavin Ashenden, a former Honorary Chaplain to the Queen in the Church of England who was consecrated a bishop in a Continuing Anglican ecclesial community, will be received into the Catholic Church on Sunday.

He will receive confirmation Dec. 22 during a Mass at Shrewsbury Cathedral from Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury.

His wife, Helen, became a Catholic about two years ago in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.

“Having come to believe that the claims and expression of the Catholic faith are the most profound and potent expression of apostolic and patristic belief, and to accept the primacy of the Petrine tradition, I am grateful to the Bishop of Shrewsbury and the Catholic community in his diocese for the opportunity to mend 500 years of fractured history and be reconciled to the Church that gave birth to my earlier tradition,” Ashenden has said.

Read it all.

The Anglican bishops in Hong Kong have renewed their appeal for calm after a siege and clashes between protesters and police in one of the city’s universities.

Violence escalated this week, as the protests — which have now lasted five months — continued (News, 14 June). Initially sparked by a Bill to allow the extradition of sus­pected criminals in Hong Kong to mainland China, the protests have widened to include police brutality and the way in which Hong Kong is administered by Beijing.

A small hard core of anti-government protesters were thought to be trapped still in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on Wednes­day: supplies of food and water are running low. Protesters have been there since last week and were lighting fires and throwing petrol bombs at the circling police. Some escaped by abseiling down from the building on to waiting motorbikes; many other have surrendered and been arrested.

Read it all.

The three bishops, led by the Archbishop of Hong Kong, Dr Paul Kwong, this week expressed their “deep concern” at the violence and appealed again for calmhttps://t.co/wpuSRAEUiA

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) November 24, 2019

Anglican Archbishop of North America Reverend Foley Beach on Tuesday emphasised the importance of love and tolerance to overcome the challenges of extremism and discrimination that plague the world.

He was speaking at a reception hosted in his honour by National Council of Churches President Azad Marshall here. At the start of the event, moderator Pastor Emmanuel Khokhar welcomed the archbishop to Pakistan and hoped that his stay would be a pleasant one and full of love.

The event was attended by Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, Badshahi Masjid Khateeb Dr Abdul Khabeer Azad, Jamia Naeemia patron Dr Ragheb Naeemi, Pir Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi Qadri, Maulana Asim Makhdoom and Bishop of Multan Leo Roderick Paul among others.

Addressing the gathering, Bishop Dr Azad called for peaceful coexistence of all religious and ethnic groups living in Pakistan. He said both Christianity and Islam preached peace and brotherhood and called for promoting tolerance in Pakistani society.

Read it all.

The Ecumenical Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr William Adam, is to be the new Director of Unity, Faith and Order for the Anglican Communion. His new role, which he takes on with immediate effect, will be held alongside his role at Lambeth Palace, which he has held since 2017. He succeeds the Revd Canon Dr John Gibaut, who was appointed to the post in 2014 and held it until earlier this year, when he became President, Provost and Vice-Chancellor of Canada’s Thorneloe University.

Will Adam was ordained in the Church of England in 1994 and held parish appointments until taking up his post advising the Archbishop of Canterbury. From 2017 until now he has also served as Ecumenical Officer in the Church of England’s Council for Christian Unity. He has experience of ecumenical dialogue at national and international level.

As Director of Unity, Faith and Order, Dr Adam will have overall staff responsibility for the ecumenical dialogues in which the global Anglican Communion is engaged, including with the Baptist World Alliance, Lutheran World Federation, the World Methodist Council, the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, and the Roman Catholic Church. He will also serve as secretary of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO).

Read it all.

The Ecumenical Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Will Adam, is to be the new Director of Unity, Faith and Order for the Anglican Communion.#AnglicanNews #Anglican #Anglicanshttps://t.co/vlgmmC6vmx

— Anglican Communion News Service (@AnglicanNews) September 3, 2019

Read it all.

The Latest Edition of the Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter https://t.co/zVzdA1XCmi #parishministry #lowcountrylife #anglican #churchgrowth #theology #lowcountrylife #anglican #media #religion pic.twitter.com/Xz9vFPHfNx

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 10, 2019

The call to renew its commitment to the Great Commission brought together clergy and laity from around the Anglican Church in North America and the Global Anglican Communion.

From Monday, June 17 to Wednesday, June 19, the Anglican Church in North America held its Provincial Assembly on the heels of Provincial Council. Assembly, which meets at least once every five years, is the largest governing body of the province. With it comes a conference that brings the Church together for prayer, praise, fellowship, and teaching. At this Assembly, the province celebrated its ten-year anniversary, providing its people an opportunity to look back and see from where the church had come and to look forward to see where she is going. This occasion was marked with the special release of the province’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer, a copy of which all conference attendees received.

The Opening Eucharist was hosted by Christ Church, Plano on Monday night and marked the beginning of the conference. In his opening address during that service, the Most Rev. Foley Beach, Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, reflected on the journey as a province over the last ten years, remembering all that God has done for her in both her successes and trials. He preached on the ministry of John the Baptist, a call to repentance and reform based on the Word of God. St. John’s ministry reflects the province’s work as part of the Church in today’s culture, which includes bringing people to repentance and engaging in the ongoing work of discipleship. “Our calling as believers is not to plant churches,” Beach said, “as good as that is . . . . Our calling from Jesus is to go and make disciples. Jesus calls each of his followers to be about this business of disciple-making, helping others follow Jesus as he leads them in their lives.” He encouraged the Anglican Church in North America to take up this call and remember what is most important in the life of the Church: our commission from Jesus Christ to grow disciples for the Kingdom of God.

Read it all.

This year’s Provincial Assembly and 10-year anniversary celebration, held June 17-19, saw 1,175 attendees, representing 23 countries with 10 Primates in attendance.

Read the recap here: https://t.co/4f6Kje4muA #Anglican #Disciple2019 pic.twitter.com/nziOd2NDVS

— ACNA (@The_ACNA) June 24, 2019

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has honoured 27 people, including peacemakers, nuns, academics and gardeners in the 2019 Lambeth Awards. Archbishop Justin launched the non-academic awards in 2016, and each year presentations have been made to “people who have made an extraordinary contribution to the Church and wider society”, Lambeth Palace said in a statement. This year’s recipients included Bishop Graham Kings, who was award the Cross of St Augustine for Services to the Anglican Communion. His award recognised “his outstanding work in mission and theology for the global South.”

Bishop Graham “has long experience of working in the Anglican Communion, a passion that began early in his career when he spent seven years working as a Mission Partner for the Church Mission Society in Kabare in Kenya”, the citation for his award reads. “On his return to the UK, Bishop Graham was appointed as the first ever Lecturer in Mission Studies at the Cambridge Theological Federation. He then went on to found and direct the Henry Martyn Centre for the Study of Mission and World Christianity. Following stints in more domestic dioceses, including Area Bishop of Sherborne and a Canon and Prebendary of Sarum [Salisbury] Cathedral, Bishop Graham returned to his love of the Anglican Communion, being appointed Mission Theologian in the Anglican Communion.

“The purpose of this innovative project was to raise up new ‘Doctors of the Church’ in the global South to write, network, publish and engage with theologians in the global North, to renew the worldwide Church and to influence wider society.

“Bishop Graham worked tirelessly to achieve this, organising conferences around the world (in Egypt, India, Fiji, Jerusalem and Brazil), arranging regular seminars in Durham and London and creating a website with a wealth of papers and resources.

“After making a unique contribution to the Anglican Communion, Bishop Graham stepped back from the project in 2007 as it merged into a new phase of its development.”

Read it all.

Peacemakers, nuns, academics and gardeners are amongst 27 people honoured by Archbishop Justin Welby in the 2019 Lambeth Awards.#AnglicanNews #Anglican #Anglicans #Ecumenical #Interfaithhttps://t.co/mQB9IgQUCH

— Anglican Communion News Service (@AnglicanNews) April 5, 2019

Read it all.

I need to clarify a misunderstanding that has arisen. Invitations have been sent to every active bishop. That is how it should be – we are recognising that all those consecrated into the office of bishop should be able to attend. But the invitation process has also needed to take account of the Anglican Communion’s position on marriage which is that it is the lifelong union of a man and a woman. That is the position as set out in Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. Given this, it would be inappropriate for same-sex spouses to be invited to the conference. The Archbishop of Canterbury has had a series of private conversations by phone or by exchanges of letter with the few individuals to whom this applies.

The Design Group, which comprises members from all of the regions of the Communion, is continuing its work on the programme under the wise chairmanship of Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. In his video he has spoken of creating a “beautiful rhythm” of gathering together to pray, worship, walk and talk, wrestle with issues, break bread and reflect. He also makes an important point about difference. The Communion has always had what he calls “push and pull” on issues and this should not be a distraction – it is something to be celebrated. The Conference is not a meeting of like-minded people; it is space in which we can gather to express difference. And so everyone who is invited should come.

The Design Group’s task is not easy: there are so many issues competing for space in the programme. A number of important subjects will be discussed including mission and evangelism; reconciliation; economic justice. Human sexuality will also be one of them.

Read it all.

The Diocese of Chile in the Anglican Church of South America could become its own autonomous province of the Anglican Communion by the end of the year. An extraordinary Synod of the diocese will be held later this month to confirm a resolution that was ratified by the Synod when it met in Temuco in 2015. Nearly 100 representatives from across Chile will gather in Santiago on 12 May to agree proposals for the creation of what will become new dioceses in the independent province, and elect the people who will become its first bishops and primate.

“This meeting is vital in our journey towards being an Anglican Province; and this fact is undoubtedly important for the missionary growth that we long to experience as a Church in future years,” the Bishop of Chile, Héctor Zavala, said. “Being a Province means in part that we will have an independent and autonomous Church in direct relation with the Anglican Communion and its different instruments of communion.

Read it all.

A new province within the #Anglican Communion : Chile 🇨🇱✝️📖⛪️🕊. https://t.co/ppPPYFDNqO

— Nicolas Boisson ✞ن (@BNicolas9) May 3, 2018

Sunday the 22nd of April, 2018 was a joyous day in the south Sudanese capital of Juba, as thousands of Christians gathered at All Saints Cathedral to witness the enthronement of the fifth archbishop and primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan.

The Rt Rev Justin Badi Arama, who was previously the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Maridi in the western part of the country, won the election after a tight victory over the Rt. Rev. Abraham Yel Bishop of Aweil, a diocese in the northern part of the country. Bishop Justin won the election on 20 Jan 2018 by only a vote over his challenger and was pronounced the fifth archbishop of the province.

The Rt Rev Tim Thornton, Bishop of Lambeth, represented the Archbishop of Canterbury at the enthronement, noting Archbishop Welby regretted he was not able to attend due to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in London. Bishop Thornton read out a letter written by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the new archbishop expressing have his greetings to the people of south Sudan. Archbishop Welby wrote that though he was not present at the occasion of the enthronement he will be coming with Pope Francis to South Sudan once they have fix a date for their joint visit. He have assured the people of South Sudan that Christians worldwide were praying for South Sudan so that they may see peace once again.

The six-hour service included a sermon on the topic of forgiveness by the Rt Rev Dr Josiah Atkins Idowu secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council. He started by encouraging South Sudanese to love themselves regardless of tribes, saying “I came from a country where there are more than 250 tribes. Tribalism cannot take you ahead “and for you to realise peace it must start from you to love each other dearly.

He further said “this constant division on basis of tribes and in the church must not take our hearts out of the love of Christ. The constant disagreement in the present church on the issue of women’s ordination or baptism (sprinkling water or immersion) should not be issues that Christians should break fellowship. Our unity is not about women’s ordination or any other doctrine but our unity remains in Jesus Christ and we must all be united in the name of Jesus whether you are from the tribe of Dinka, Nuer, Azande or Bari. We are all one in Jesus.”

Read it all.

Anglican primates in the Oceania region have committed themselves “to take concrete action, to be champions and advocates, and to support each other” in the fight against climate change and gender-based violence. The Primates and General Secretaries of the Anglican Church in Australia, the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea, the Anglican Church of Melanesia, and the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia made the commitments in a communiqué following their recent regional meeting, or Fono, in Fiji.

As part of its commitment to tackle climate change, the church leaders are encouraging investment into sustainable energy as a valid option for investment funds. They are also encouraging their various trust boards “to consider restructuring their investments to maximise returns from such innovative ideas.” And they want Anglican schools in the region’s four provinces to integrate “climate change topics into the current curricula.”

On gender-based violence, the primates and general secretaries welcomed the work of The House of Sarah – an initiative of the Diocese of Polynesia, which works to end violence against women and children. They say that they encourage and support “the zero tolerance for violence policy as promoted by the House of Sarah” and will look at ways that they can share their work in other Provinces. The also encouraged all provinces to adopt and implement the Anglican Consultative Council’s (ACC) “Safe Church charter”, and committed themselves to review and respond to the guidelines coming from the International Safe Church Commission – an inter-provincial body established at the last ACC meeting to develop Communion-wide approaches to protecting children and vulnerable adults.

Read it all.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, Bishop Yel said he accepted the results of what he termed as a tight race in which he lost by one vote to preserve unity and strengthen harmony within the Anglican Church and the whole country.

“The election was conducted in a harmonious atmosphere although there were election fevers during campaign but at the end of the day Bishop Badi was declared the successful candidate. He won by 1 vote. He got 80 votes and I got 79 votes. Immediately after the announcement was made, I stood up and congratulated him. I did it so to preserve the unity of the church and to strengthen harmony of our believers and the faithful,” he said.

Read it all and you may find more there.

Read it all.

Catch up with the latest news from the Diocese of South Carolina. https://t.co/JXKW7RstZu

— Diocese of SC (@dioceseofsc) October 27, 2017

The papers presented were:

1. Ecology: An Orthodox Approach
   by the Very Revd Dr Valentin Vassechko
   Anglican Response : The Revd Canon Dr John Gibaut
   Orthodox Response : Metropolitan Seraphim of Zimbabwe
2. “And it was good”: The Love of God and the Fragility of Creation
   by Bishop Humberto Maiztegui Gonçalves
   Anglican Response : Bishop Graham Usher
   Orthodox Response : Prof. Dr. Miltiadis Konstantinou
3. Anglican Approaches to Death and Dying
   by the Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke and the Revd Canon Dr Sarah Rowland Jones
   Anglican Response : The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce
   Orthodox Response : The Revd. Fr. Jonathan A. Hemmings
4. Euthanasia and the Orthodox Approach
   by the Revd Dr George Dragas
   Anglican Response : The Revd Canon Philip Hobson OGS
   Orthodox Response : Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Kition

In the context of environmental issues and the ecological crisis facing our common home the Commission extended its gratitude to both the Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion for their committment in recent years through their leaders and synods to offering substantial leadership to the movement for environmental justice and sustainability.

Read it all.

Maridi Town and the surrounding countryside within a 2–mile radius are currently relatively safe but the area and the church face enormous problems:
Insecurity, as government and rebel forces engage in violent skirmishes;
Stretched resources. Since fighting began, 12–14 thousand displaced people have descended on the area – Bishop Justin’s home in the cathedral compound is full of refugees. many of those who were successfully cultivating food outside the town cannot return to their fields and hunger is rife.
Travel by vehicle is almost impossible. Sporadic and unpredictable violence and the scarcity and high cost of fuel mean most have to walk or travel by bicycle. Some estimates put inflation at 800%;
For many of the displaced children, education has ceased.
As you can imagine, ministry is both difficult and dangerous. Bishop Tandema of neighbouring Olo Diocese recently had to abandon his sermon as gunfire erupted and he and his congregation had to flee for their lives.

Read it all.

Bishop Justin Badi updates his Irish friends on the situation in #SouthSudan https://t.co/10LqPZEIOz 2/2 #anglican #violence #insecurity pic.twitter.com/FTHf1nL65A

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) October 25, 2017

The Island of Anguilla in the Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba featured in the most recent BBC 2 series, An Island Parish. It was badly affected by Hurricane Irma.

Speaking to The Church of England Newspaper on 27 September, Bishop Errol Brooks, whom the TV programme described as a ‘rock’, said the western half of Anguilla had suffered the worst. This is the Methodist area and two of their churches had been “really messed up”.

Of the three Anglican Churches the roof of St Andrew’s Island Harbour had been badly damaged. The winds that blew throughout the day had lifted a sheet or two of the roof in the main church St Mary’s in the Valley, and water had got inside.

While the worship area of the new section of St Augustine’s remained intact the 200-year-old section of the church had been badly damaged. “I do not know where to start,” said the assessor.

Damage was worse on the island of Dominica, where one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films was shot. The roof of St George’s Church has gone and the rectory, where this writer stayed when doing a locum on the island, is badly damaged. Barbuda, a small island off Antigua, had now been evacuated. The island of St Kitts however escaped without any damage.

Read it all (may require subscription).

Saturday, October 21 at 11.00am – St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Paget: Inspired Souls- Reflections on Saints and Holy People from Around the World

“Modern celebrity has become an increasing feature of our media obsessed society. From The Rolling Stones to Rhianna, the phenomena reflects something of a human need for heroes who exhibit an unusual quality. In the history of the Christian faith, can the same human tendency be applied to the veneration of saints?

“What is it about their lives and experiences that attracts interest throughout the ages? The lecture focuses on the stories of saints and holy people from diverse backgrounds and their relevance to modern life.”

Saturday, October 21 at 2.00pm – St Paul’s Anglican Church, Paget: Come as we are: Representation and the Church

“Europe is experiencing a resurgence in a political narrative around nationalism as a reaction to mass migration, terrorism and growing social and economic inequality. In the face of such challenges, how does the Church live out the reality of the Gospel and the kingdom of heaven where an emphasis is on loving others and the stranger is preeminent?”

Read it all.

The Anglican Oriental–Orthodox International Commission will meet in Dublin from October 23 to 28 for the first time since its foundation. Hosted by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, who is one of the founding members, the Commission will consider two main items. The first is the completion of an agreed text on the Holy Spirit that will be linked with the mission of the Church. It is hoped that the agreed statement will be completed and signed by the two co–chairs in the course of the meeting. The second agenda item is an initial exploration of areas around “authority in the Church”.

This will be the sixth meeting of the Commission since its foundation in 2001. While in Dublin, members will attend St Maximous and St Domatius Coptic Orthodox Church in Drumcondra for prayers in the Coptic tradition.

They will also visit the Chester Beatty Library, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Marsh’s Library, the Book of Kells in Trinity College. They will attend Choral Evensong and a reception in Christ Church Cathedral hosted by Dean Dermot Dunne and a reception in the Mansion House to meet the Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath/Lord Mayor of Dublin Mícheál Mac Donncha and leaders of other faiths in Ireland and members of inter faith groups.

“We look forward to welcoming the Anglican Oriental–Orthodox International Commission to Dublin and our hopes for this consultation are that the Commission might see that there is a spiritual core and a religious dynamic to Dublin historically and in lived actuality,” said Archbishop Michael Jackson.

Read it all.

The Bishop of Jabalpur, Dr Prem Singh, has been elected as the new Moderator of the united Church of North India. As such, he becomes the new primate of the Church’s Anglican province. The Church’s recent Synod also elected a new deputy moderator: Bishop Probal Kanto Dutta of the Diocese of Durgapur. A new treasurer, Mr Jayant Agarwal was also elected. Mr Alwan Masih will continue in his role as general secretary.

Read it all.

New primate and leadership team for Church of North India#AnglicanNewshttps://t.co/ysjfDaYNCt

— Anglican Communion (@ACOffice) October 18, 2017

Gavin Ashenden, the former chaplain to the Queen who earlier this year resigned from the Church of England over its ‘liberalising’ trend, has been consecrated a bishop.

Ashenden has been consecrated as a missionary bishop to the UK in the Christian Episcopal Church, one of the continuing Anglican churches that emerged in the United States in the ongoing disputes in The Episcopal Church over the ordination of homosexuals and women.

In the UK, he will work closely with Bishop Andy Lines, also recently consecrated a missionary bishop to work with conservative evangelical churches.

Ashenden told Christian Today that he believed the Philip North affair, where North withdrew as Bishop of Sheffield after a row over his opposition to women bishops, showed how difficult it will be for traditonalist Anglo-Catholics and orthodox evangelicals to ‘flourish’ in the Church of England.

‘You can only function as an Anglican if you have bishops you can trust,’ he said. He said the Church of England had ‘not been very generous’ in providing conservative or traditionalist bishops.

Read it all.

The Secretary General, Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has stressed that the Anglican Church of North America is not a province of the Anglican Communion. Speaking to ACNS as he delivered his report to the Standing Committee, Archbishop Josiah said he wanted to correct any suggestion that ACNA was the 39th province of the Communion rather than Sudan, which was inaugurated in July.

“It is simply not true to say that ACNA is part of the Anglican Communion,” he said. “To be part of the Communion a province needs to be in communion with the See of Canterbury and to be a member of the Instruments of the Communion. ACNA is not in communion with the See of Canterbury – and has not sought membership of the Instruments.

“There is a long-standing process by which a province is adopted as a province of the Communion. It was a great joy for me to see Sudan go through this process and it was a privilege to be in Khartoum in July to see it become the 39th member of the Communion. ACNA has not gone through this process.

“ACNA is a church in ecumenical relationship with many of our provinces,” he went on. “But that is also true of many churches, including the Methodist, Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.”

Read it all.