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Archbishop Glenn Davies has announced a new bishop for the Georges River region, a new director of ministry training and proposed a new Diocesan Mission in a packed Presidential Address to Synod.

Synod gathered in the Wesley Theatre in Pitt Street after an opening service in St Andrew’s Cathedral, to hear the Archbishop outline a vision which includes boosting the number of newcomers at Sydney Anglican churches…

“Our vision for the next five years is to see Christ honoured as Lord in every community. That is, we want to penetrate every part of our society, every ethnic group, every tribe and tongue with the gospel of Jesus so that more and more from every part of our diocese come to put their trust in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. We have a mission, which is a matter of life and death.”

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When asked how important it is to maintain the parish system 83% say it is important, 12% not important, and 5% have no strong feelings either way. There is no other topic in the survey (which asked 29 questions in total) on which there is such uniformity of opinion ”“ except the belief that there is a ”˜personal God’ (83%)….

One reason for the high level of support for the parish system may be clergy’s belief that the CofE exists to serve the whole nation. When asked who the Church should prioritise 2/3 say ”˜England as a whole’ and only 5% say regular churchgoers.

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The flag fluttered at half-mast over Winchester, the bells pealed and the people of Hampshire gathered to say goodbye to a long-serving former bishop.

The Right Rev Michael Scott-Joynt died on September 27, aged 71, three years after his retirement as Bishop, a position he held for 16 years.

Around 800 people gathered at the cathedral yesterday to pay their final respects at the two-hour ceremony.

Guests included Dame Mary Fagan, who recently retired as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Mayor of Winchester, Eileen Berry, and city council leader Rob Humby.

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“If there’s one thing that is essential in ministry it’s knowing that you are in the hands of, and that you belong to, God Himself. That He’s chosen you, that He’s called you, that you are precious to God.”

With these powerful words the Archbishop of Canterbury began his address to the Trinity College community at the start of their new term, speaking to a packed chapel of women and men heading towards leadership in the Church of England.

His message followed the theme of Isaiah 44, where God reaffirms Israel’s chosen status and reminds them that the One they belong to is more powerful than the mess they’re in, and so commands them not to be afraid.

Read it all and you can watch the whole Youtube video (about 12 1/2 minutes).

The Revd Canon Dr John Gibaut has been appointed to succeed the Revd Canon Dr Alyson Barnett-Cowan in March as Director for Unity, Faith and Order of the Anglican Communion.

Canon Gibaut is currently the Director of the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order based in Geneva Switzerland. Faith and Order is the theological commission that resolves issues of Christian disunity, and promotes a vision of the Church as a communion of unity in diversty.

Read it all from ACNS.

Church of England clergy are overwhelmingly committed to the parish system, despite the challenges it poses, a new survey by YouGov suggests.

This is one of the clearest findings to come out of new research devised by the team behind last year’s Westminster Faith Debates.

The survey asked 1500 Anglican clergy, chosen at random…how important the parish system was to them: 83 per cent said important, 12 per cent said not important, and five per cent held no strong view.

The only other of the 29 questions asked that generated such unanimity, regardless of church tradition, concerned the nature of God: 83 per cent believed in a personal God; nine per cent answered: “No one can know what God is like.”

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The Church of England is on its “last chance” and must make some hard decisions about clergy and parishes if it is to have a future, according to a leading academic.

Linda Woodhead, professor in sociology of religion at Lancaster University, said: “What my and other people’s research shows is that people of my age are the last generation who in large numbers care about the Church of England.”

Prof Woodhead, aged 50, told Christian Today: “I am of the very last generation that has any interest in investing in the Church and to think about its future.” She doubted that the Church would die out completely, but warned it was in danger of shrinking into small enclaves dominated by the white middle classes.

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I doubt anyone in the Church of England who knows Rev. Stephen Sizer was surprised that he would attend a conference critical of Israel. Sizer, the Vicar of Christ Church in Virginia Water, Surrey, is an outspoken critic of what he calls Christian Zionism, that is, Christian support for the nation-state of Israel on theological grounds.

What is surprising is that a vicar of the Church of England would attend a conference in Iran to speak to a group of anti-Semites on the subject of the Zionist lobby in England. Other attendees of the New Horizon conference in Tehran include a long list of Holocaust deniers and 9/11 truthers. The conference included a panel discussion called “Mossad’s Role in the 9/11 Coup d’Etat” with the subheading “9/11 and the Holocaust as pro-Zionist ”˜Public Myths.’”

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Around 30 cities and counties internationally have made similar commitments, including Seattle, Dunedin, and Oxford. The announcement also comes hot on the heels of similar divestment commitments made by Local Government Super and the Anglican Diocese of Perth.

The decision affects millions of dollars in council investments – a May report showed the council had cash and investments of 36 million dollars. Moreland’s principal bank is the Commonwealth Bank, which like each of the ‘Big 4’ is a major lender to fossil fuel projects around the country, including controversial coal projects on the east coast.

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Having spent most of his career writing original music for TV and film scores, as well as orchestral-choral / filmic music for commercial release and live performance, Steven wanted to do some composing that would bring together his two vocations: composing music for media and being an ordained minister in the Anglican Church.

The result was the Psalms Project, a contemporary journey through the vivid landscape of the Psalms, told in the musical language of feature films.

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The Archbishop of York has been challenged over “discrimination” against a gay clergyman who married his same-sex partner.

Jeremy Pemberton can no longer work as a priest in Nottinghamshire and has been blocked from taking a job as a hospital chaplain in the county.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell challenged the archbishop over the case as he arrived at Southwell Minster.

However, Dr John Sentamu said he could not comment due to legal reasons.

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When I was 8 I decided I didn’t want to go to church anymore and I refused to go every Sunday. As far as I was concerned, church was a venue for weddings and funerals, nothing else.

I didn’t give my faith any more thought until I was in my 30s.

To my horror, my wife had started going to church and had decided to become a Christian. I refused to talk to her about church or her faith because I thought she had been taken in by the “cult” and did my best to talk her out of it.

I thought we had been happy together, both believing in God, but not Jesus. Now she was even happier, talking about her faith in Christ, going to church and reading the bible through choice.

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He urged the Catholic Church not to “capitulate to culture” nor to succumb to a weakening of discipline that he said had “caused havoc” within the Anglican Church. He said that he had watched the growth of the ordinariate with close interest.

“Allowing Anglican patrimony to flourish should not just be taken as an exception, but it could be a charter for the future,” he said.

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9 What does good disagreement look like?
This is a fundamental question which underlies our conversations. It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be brought to a single position on same-sex relationships. What we can look for, however, is a way of living with disagreement that honours and respects views we don’t agree with, believing that those who hold such views are not just perverse, ignorant or immoral, but rather are bearing witness to different aspects of the truth that lies in Christ alone. Not only is all truth God’s truth, but God’s truth is ultimately bound to be beyond our grasp because our minds are but miniscule receptors before the great and beautiful Mystery of God.

10 Time is not on our side
Some of our ethical/doctrinal discussions have taken decades, if not centuries, to work through ”“ contraception, remarriage after divorce, the ordination of women. It’s important not to rush debates on profound issues, and it’s also important to keep such Godly conversations in the liquid solution of grace. However, the speed of social exchange in today’s world and the seriousness of our dis-connect with large sections of society on the issue of same-sex relationships mean that we haven’t got the luxury of endless internal debate. We are in real need of faithful, hopeful and pastoral ways forward.

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The Anglican Primate of the Church of West Africa, the Most Reverend Professor Daniel Yinkah Sarfo, has said there is the need for churches to preach messages that will convince wayward persons to have a heart for true repentance. He observed that while it was desirable to get armed robbers, prostitutes, corrupt politicians and greedy professionals to decide to go to church, the messages from the pulpit these days were not convincing enough to get them have a change of heart.

“They are comfortable being in church and going through all the motions of Christianity, yet their hearts are far away from God. This is because the messages they hear are philosophies on how to be successful in the world,” he said.

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The prominent Anglican Bishop, Michael Nazir-Ali, formerly the Bishop of Rochester, has spoken of the overriding importance of the Catholic Church’s global voice for the future of Christianity in a world threatened by Islamic militancy and secularism. He said the Catholic Church potentially had “a great future and a huge opportunity” in the emerging world order and that it now had allies in upholding orthodoxy, even in unexpected quarters. However, he said that how effective it would be depended on how Rome viewed its own position and on its willingness to address its approach to certain issues. He identified these as culture and language and discipline.

Bishop Nazir Ali, who has both a Christian and a Muslim family background and is now President of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue (OXTRAD), made his remarks to the clergy of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham – the structure set up by Pope Benedict to allow Anglicans to enter the full communion of the Catholic Church, bringing with them elements of their Anglican patrimony. He was speaking on the subject: “A Global Christianity in the Making” to the Ordinariate clergy’s plenary session at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Soho Square, London

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More than 300 Anglican priests, parishioners and other Christians have signed an open “love letter” to bishops in the Church of England who are secretly gay urging them to “come out” about their sexuality.

In one of the most unusual petitions ever addressed to the leadership of the established church, they have issued a direct plea to members of the episcopate who are gay or bisexual to have the “courage and conviction” to acknowledge it publicly.

The signatories, who include at least 160 priests and several members of the Church’s governing General Synod, pledge to “welcome and embrace” those bishops who decide to go public but strongly object to any attempt to involuntarily “out” anyone.

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His widow Barbara sat at the front and was joined by family and friends at the service of ”reflection and solidarity” at Eccles Parish Church in Salford, Greater Manchester.

People of all religions were invited to the service where music was played and candles were lit.

The Church of England Diocese of Manchester said: ”You are welcome to attend this service, whatever faith you have, or if you have no faith.

”It will be an opportunity for reflection and to show support for the Henning family at this tragic time.”

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When Nyasaland became independent in 1964, Arden became Bishop of Malawi. He worked hard to encourage an indigenous ministry, consecrating the first Malawian suffragan bishop and increasing the number of ordained clergy from 23 to 100. He was keen on training the laity: “If the clergy are the lungs breathing in the fresh air of the Spirit, you laymen and laywomen are the hands and the feet and the mouth of the body of Christ,” he wrote. He was also instrumental in persuading the different Christian churches to establish a health association ”” it still provides 45 per cent of healthcare in Malawi.

Arden was particularly concerned about polio; at many confirmation services, polio sufferers would crawl to the front of the church or were carried there. He organised a survey of the area, discovering 500 cases. As a result he convinced a leading government surgeon to help to procure funds for a vaccination programme. Within a few years Malawi was the first developing country to be declared free of polio.

On the theological front, meanwhile, attempts were being made to revise the Book of Common Prayer, and Arden was a key figure in producing a new, 380-page prayer/hymnbook in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi.

He became Archbishop of Central Africa in 1971, and it was a matter of pride that he was the last white Archbishop of Central Africa.

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St Mary le Strand, which is located in the middle of the Strand, has a long and interesting history. The original medieval church was pulled down in 1549 by Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, to make way for Somerset House. The current church was then rebuilt between 1714 and 1724, by the celebrated architect James Gibbs and St Mary le Strand has since been remembered as his Baroque Masterpiece.

The current St Mary le Strand was one of fifty new churches built in London under the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches, an Act of Parliament in England in 1710, with the purpose of building fifty new churches for the rapidly growing conurbation of London. Despite this ambitious plan, only twelve of these churches were ever built, with St Mary le Strand being the first.

Unlike many London churches, St Mary le Stand managed to escape severe damage during the Second World War, as the inspecting architect would sit in the church’s muniment room during the bombings, to push incendiary bombs off the roof.

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Anyone hoping for ecclesiastical preferment in London should have been at the launch last night of London Witness at the Bishop of London’s home, where the bishop, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, revealed his approach to making appointments ”” never choose anyone who puts himself forward.

London Witness is a group of Anglicans committed to bringing a Christian perspective to London, and the bishop revealed that none of those present had volunteered their services. “You all had to be asked,” he said approvingly. “By definition, anyone who puts themselves forward would have been unsuitable. That’s my own philosophy when I’m making appointments.”

The bishop observed with relief that, unlike him, all the members of London Witness were spreading news of the CofE’s good work on social media. “I never read anything after 1649,” he confessed. “In many ways it makes you very avant garde”. Peculiar, because we were just thinking how similar Chartres’ philosophy was to Douglas Adams’s argument that it’s “a well-known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it” ”” and we could have sworn Adams started writing the Hitchhiker’s Guide series later than 1648.

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(Blog readers are asked to note that “the newspaper is editorially independent of the Church of Ireland, the views expressed in the newspaper, including editorial comment, not necessarily reflecting official Church of Ireland policy.”)–KSH.

ORDER & TIMING OF TOPICS

The Anglican Communion, 00:00-02:22;

Anglicans/Episcopalians in North America, 02:22-04.45;

The Lambeth Conference, 04:45-05:40;

Payday lenders & Wonga, 05:40-08:33;

The Media, 08:33-10:00;

European Court of Human Rights & Human Rights issues, 10:00-13:07;

ISIL & Iraq situation, 13:07-17:10;

Northern Ireland political situation, 17:10-18:47;

Doubt in the Christian life, 18:47-end.

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The Diocese of NW Australia, meeting in synod this weekend, passed the following motion,

That this synod:

welcomes the impending investiture of the Most Reverend Dr Foley Beach, the Archbishop of The Anglican Church in North America;

recognizes the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) as a member church of the Anglican Communion, in full communion with Diocese of North West Australia; rejoices that the orthodox faith is proclaimed in word and deed through ACNA and its member churches…

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…I want to pick two challenges in our environment in these islands, but generally across Europe and North America. Two challenges which undermine the presuppositions on which we depend as Christians to give us a common language to address the challenges of our society. The first is the challenge of economic idolatry. It has always existed, but the potential of global markets and the impact of technology has reached a level which, as you in this island know better than most, can hide the contingency of life, so that everyone thinks that everything will always get better, and then, as all idols do, topple and betray its worshippers more quickly and severely than at any time in history.

The second challenge, made far more dangerous by the impact of the first, is an incapacity to cope with difference, with diversity, a sense that you win or you lose, but you cannot co-exist. That, again, is something that is made worse by technology because our differences are brought face to face with us in a way that they never have been before in our history. . . And here, in Northern Ireland, that, too, that challenge of the incapacity to live with one another, is something which you have learned, that you go on learning, and in your resolution of it have much to teach the world, because in so many provinces of the Anglican Communion which we have visited around the world over the last 18 months, 32 others, in the places where there is war and struggle, Northern Ireland is seen as a beacon of light and hope, a place which can face deep-set historic division and turn from it. And it is symbolic and significant that Canon David Porter, Director of Reconciliation at Lambeth, and known to many of you, who is here this evening, is from Northern Ireland.

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Air strikes ordered against Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Iraq have the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Several Free Church leaders have expressed their doubts, however.

Recalled to Parliament last Friday, MPs voted in favour of Britain’s third intervention in Iraq in 24 years. Since then, RAF Tornado jets have flown a number of sorties into Iraq. It was revealed on Tuesday that British planes had bombed vehicles and fighters in Iraq for the first time, aiding Kurdish forces who are battling IS in north-western Iraq.

Speaking in Friday’s debate in the House of Lords, Archbishop Welby said that this was a just cause. But he warned that the world would not be able to defeat Islamist extremism by force of arms alone.

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To Jewish friends and colleagues on the occasion of Yamim Nora’im, the Days of Awe 2014/5775,

I wish to express my most earnest and prayerful good wishes to Jewish colleagues and communities in this country and beyond, as you live through the spiritual intensity of the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentance, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I know this to be a time not of frivolity, but of candid introspection – of repentance, prayer, and acts of charity and justice. Christians and others have much to learn from the seriousness and solemnity of this time, always set in a context confident of divine mercy and forgiveness.

This last year has been hard for both of our communities. I spoke earlier in the year of how unacceptable is the spike in violence and abuse against Jewish communities here in the UK.

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“By his Christian conviction, character, conduct, confession and competence, he has exhibited commendable Christian stewardship and now today, the Primate, on behalf of All Anglican faithful nationwide and in conformity with cherished biblical counsel and Christian heritage, has rolled that our beloved Servant leader be conferred with the PRIMATIAL Award of Excellence in Christian Stewardship to the glory of God and in praise and thanksgiving to God for His gift to us in the Church of Nigeria.”

With the above statement, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) led by the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of the Anglican, the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh yesterday presented its highest award to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The award is the highest be conferred on an individual for service to humanity and to God.

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Last week, the church gathered for the Provincial Synod including the Finance Meeting, the Standing Committee, and the House of Bishops. There were a host of issues, both national and international. Though I’ll describe some of the findings, they are not the only things of importance. What was most remarkable was the atmosphere of the conversation among the Bishops. Kenya, like every other nation, has many divisive problems.
…….
“GAFCON is the future and it’s life. The ACC is dominated by Western liberals and doesn’t have any life to offer,” offered one of the senior bishops. There were many voices of agreement and no dissent.

When the “continuing Indaba” process came up, there was an energetic and vociferous rejection of it as a fundamentally flawed and corrupt process. There was agreement to stop participating in it, though some of the younger guys wanted to try “taking over” and rejecting the liberal agenda. That happened just before a break where there was lots of conversation with them about the lies and corruption at ACC and Primates meetings.

On the positive side, the enthusiasm for GAFCON was reflected with a resolution formally partnering with GAFCON/GFCA that established a budget line-item toward financial support of GAFCON. That was approved both by the House of Bishops and then later by the Provincial Synod without dissent!

When Archbishop Eliud introduced the topic of Women as Bishops, many bishops were expecting a contentious debate. What actually happened though was a reflection of years of relationship building that Archbishop Eliud has emphasized. There have been ministry times and wonderful meetings with SOMA teams. Last year, Archbishop Foley Beach was on a SOMA team with Bishop John Guernsey where prayer and relational healing took place that caused the Bishops to emerge more unified than ever.

As the House of Bishops met to consider the topic, the conversation was spirited but all the conversation remained collegial and respectful. As the conversation proceeded, many points were brought out including the fact that this was not just something impacting Kenya, but that relationships with other Provinces would be impacted as well. Different bishops warned of taking action that would be in opposition to Nigeria’s position. Others said that a decision to include women as bishops at this time would also be damaging to the Anglican Church in North America because it is such a high priority for a significant number of leaders. I didn’t have to bring that up, others thought of it, too.

It is interesting that not one province that has women bishops has remained orthodox. While it may not be a cause and effect relationship, the situation is so unsettling that it begs inquiry to try and figure out what is going on before proceeding.

As problem solving, prayer, and conversation proceeded, a proposal was suggested to engage in a prayerful theological study and conversation with GAFCON partners to seek a theologically sound consensus. While the discussions proceed, a five year moratorium on women candidates as bishop was proposed.

In the end, that is what passed: a five year moratorium on considering women as candidates for bishop while prayerful, theological study is done in conversation with other GAFCON Provinces (and a few other provinces who are committed to orthodoxy). Also mentioned was the need to address the cultural pressures that are at play. In general, voices outside the church are pushing for removing gender from any role and trying to advance same-sex relationships….

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1 Peter 2:15 ”“ 17 “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God and honor the emperor” (ESV)
Preamble
The Standing Committee of Provincial Synod consisting of the Bishops, Clergy and Laity of the Anglican Church of Kenya meeting at the All Saints Cathedral Nairobi have reflected and deliberated on various issues affecting the Church and the Nation.

The Church has the moral authority to interrogate and guide those privileged to occupy leadership positions and to guide them to exercise their God given mandate for the benefit of all. Within this context, the Anglican Church has no choice but to remain vigilant, to promote the human dignity as enshrined in the Kenya Constitution. It is our divine duty to ensure that the systems of governance are responsive to the interests of the taxpayers, who sustain Government and society generally. Additionally, the Church must ensure that the sovereignty of the people of Kenya and the rule of law must be respected and protected by all, irrespective of their economic, political or social status.

We therefore seek to draw attention to the following national issues that need to be addressed with due urgency:….
……….
Conclusion
The Church has been the objective voice of the nation offering a platform for negotiation and raising a voice of hope in bleak times. Yet again, the Anglican church of Kenya will avail to be a neutral arbitrator in reconciling any conflicting factors to promote national cohesion and integration.

The Church has a great role to play in public affair management and accountability, national healing, cohesion and integration. Kenyans must coexist regardless on which side of persuasion they are. We as Church leaders therefore do call upon the government, opposition and Kenyans to reason together.
God bless Kenya.

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