The controversial part of the commitment is the recognition that there will be times when pioneering new congregations will on occasion mean operating without Diocesan approval, and the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) is the mechanism to enable this. As we heard in various case studies during the day and a half together, there are various scenarios where new congregations have emerged wanting to be Anglican, or where growing parishes have felt the need to establish another presence, a daughter congregation, in a large area of population where the existing parish church is of a totally different churchmanship and is making little impression. Rather than welcome such fresh expressions of Christian life and growth, and eagerly own it as part of the Diocese, many in the official leadership structures block such moves, often through prejudice against conservative evangelical theology. It was emphasised at the conference that in such cases, the aim is not to be “gung-ho” and deliberately rebellious, but rather, after respectful negotiation sometimes over many months, if it becomes impossible to reach agreement, the furtherance of the Gospel must take precedence over niceties of protocol. Such new congregations wanting to maintain an Anglican identity can do so with oversight from AMiE, their panel of Bishops, and their oversight from the GAFCON Primates.

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Sep 28, 2014
There have been several most interesting developments in the past few days.The first is a tidbit of information buried within the final report from the TEC House of Bishops meeting in Taiwan. Bp. Prince Singh of Rochester had asked a question about budget funding for the next Lambeth and PB Jefferts Schori replied that there would very probably be no Lambeth Conference in 2018. No planning or fundraising is currently taking place and ++Welby has said that it would have “to be preceded by a primates meeting at which a vast majority of primates are present.” An overwhelming majority of Global South primates chose not to attend from the last primates meeting and ++Welby will not call another one until well after he has finished his 18-month global visit to all 37 primates in their home provinces. If there is to be another Lambeth Conference (and that appears to be a rather big “if” at this point), it would not be held until 2020.

On the very same day, September 23, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council, issued his September pastoral letter and dropped a bombshell on Lambeth Palace…

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[Dean of Brisbane] Dr [Peter] Catt, the chair of the church social responsibilities committee, launched a stinging attack on the Government.

He said: “A business model that depends to a large extent on losses from problem gamblers and the subsequent harm to individuals and families is unethical.

“Even proceeding on the erroneous assumption that harm is in fact limited to a small percentage of the population, this approach effectively validates the great harm done to a few, for the mild pleasure, financial benefit and convenience of the majority.’’

Dr Catt said the Government policy was exposed as “deeply destructive” to both gamblers and their families.

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His tenure in Winchester was more than 15 years, during which he not only served that See with distinction, but made a vital contribution to the House of Bishops and to the work of the Church in the House of Lords. With his ability to grasp detail and a remarkable stamina, he fulfilled all the demands made of him with a willingness that made him highly respected not only in the church, but far beyond. In addition Michael served as Prelate to the Order of the Garter, a privilege which he was honoured to fulfill with loyalty and care in service of his Sovereign.

In the wider communion there will be many mourning his passing, as he both cared about and championed many of the dioceses with which Winchester was linked, who suffered not only from lack of resources, but the scourges of war and famine.

He was a person not afraid to say what he believed, even when he knew those views might not be popular. But all this he did from his deep faith, and after much careful prayer.

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The former Anglican Bishop of Winchester, the Right Reverend Michael Scott-Joynt, has died aged 71.

He served as bishop from 1995 until his retirement in 2011.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said the Church of England had “lost a faithful, hard working and distinguished servant”.

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St Barnabas Church in Swanmore will launch Barnaby’s Coffee Shop on October 11 after a £20,000 project to create a relaxed space for coffee, cake and chat.

Members of the congregation have worked hard to transform their old Victorian school room into a modern coffee shop. Volunteers ”“ including the vicar the Rev Claire Towns ”“ have been training as baristas so they can serve everything from expressos to macchiatos.

The church has bought proper coffee machines, comfy seating, atmospheric lighting and real Columbian coffee to ensure a quality experience.

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330 clergy and senior lay leaders gathered at the Chesford Grange conference centre near Warwick for the 2014 ReNew conference.

ReNew is organised jointly by Church Society, Reform and the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE). In 2013 these three organisations were tasked by that year’s ReNew conference with planning a way forward for Anglican evangelicals. The planning was undertaken over a nine month period, and the Basis of Faith and ReNew Commitment were agreed by their Councils and Steering Groups and by other Anglican evangelical leaders.

The majority of delegates at ReNew 2014 were incumbents of local churches, with a large number of curates and churchwardens.

The ReNew Commitment has at its heart the evangelisation of England, and the establishment of healthy, biblical local churches. Delegates committed to working both regionally and nationally towards a ”˜nation of healthy Anglican churches’. Local Anglican evangelical churches are to be established by working both within and, where necessary, outside Church of England structures, and both with and, where necessary, without Diocesan approval.

The Revd Dr Mike Ovey, Principal of Oak Hill Theological College, addressed the conference on the subject of Christology. His masterful addresses exalted Christ for His person and work, and uncovered the errors (biblical, theological and historical) of those who accuse complementarians of being Arian. Bible readings from 1 Timothy provided strong encouragement for delegates to be church leaders intent on establishing churches that are ”˜fit for purpose’ and themselves to be good servants of Christ Jesus.

ReNew 2015 is already planned for 21-­”22 September at the Chesford Grange conference centre. The ReNew planning group has been tasked with creating a means by which Church Society, AMiE and Reform churches will support one another and act together nationally.

Revd William Taylor
Chairman, ReNew Planning Committee
& Rector, St Helen Bishopsgate

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A. As individuals and churches we commit, by God’s grace and in God’s strength, to pray and to work for a nation of healthy, local Anglican churches throughout England.

B. In particular from October 2014 ”“ September 2015, we commit to use our best endeavours:

1. Locally to
a. Investigate the opportunities to revitalise an existing Church of England church and/or plant with or without diocesan approval;
b. Devise a strategy to establish my/our local Anglican church in good health, and/or to secure my/our local Anglican church for the next generation.

AND

2. Regionally to work with other Anglican Evangelicals
a. to take responsibility for our region to pioneer, establish and secure healthy Anglican churches. To this end we will work to recruit, train and deploy men and women for Anglican ministry in local churches, and
b. to contend together for the faith once delivered to the saints by developing a joint approach to working within our diocese /region given the theological convictions and teaching of the diocesan leadership.

AND

3. Nationally to support Reform, AMiE, and Church Society so they can work together to:
a. create a national database of Anglican Evangelical churches, clergy and laity
b. train men and women for gospel ministry (selection & funding)
c. provide advice on appointing a vicar: patronage, parish profiles etc
d. provide a national leadership conference: ReNew
e. encourage the provision of training for church planting
f. provide advice and training on political and legal issues
g. provide advice to help churches and regions contend
h. engage and contend at a national level ”“ with the Church of England, state and media
i. publish accessible theological studies, and
j. ensure the provision of authorised episcopal oversight.

4. To come together again at ReNew 2015 from 21-22 September 2015.

C. We are committed to support one another and stand together, nationally. Therefore we request a representative group from Reform, AMiE, and Church Society to meet, plan, and bring a proposal in 2015 for our mutual support and united stance.

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“Every member of the ReNew Planning Committee and all those the Committee invite to
address the ReNew Conference will be asked to confirm that what they believe and teach is
faithful to this ReNew Basis of Faith.”
Knowing that unity is a work of the Holy Spirit which can only be established through the
atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we rejoice in the fellowship of all those who subscribe to
the 2008 Jerusalem Declaration.

We accept the definition of the doctrine of the Church of England as set out in Canon A5:
The doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings
of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In
particular such doctrine is to be found in the 39 Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer,
and the Ordinal.

In particular:

We receive the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments in their intended literal sense
as the inspired and unerring Word of God, the sole sufficient and perspicuous rule of Christian
faith and practice and the final court of appeal in all controversies relating thereto. The Old
Testament is to be interpreted in the light of the New, and all parts of the New Testament are of
equal and apostolic authority. No part of Scripture is to be interpreted in a way which
contradicts or excludes any other part.

We acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Priest and Mediator who took our place on
the cross and by his sacrificial death paid the price for all our sins, thereby fully satisfying the
demands of the Father’s justice and reconciling both us to God and God to us. Through his
death alone, we gain full access to God and, therefore confident of God’s mercy and by an act
of his free grace, we are accepted as righteous by faith alone for Christ’s sake alone, apart
from our good works. Nevertheless, a true and living faith in Christ brings forth good works and
a loving heart to obey his commandments.

We affirm that men and women are equal as human beings created in the image and likeness
of God. We also affirm that God created male and female differently, in order for them to be
complementary to each other. This complementarity is specially to be seen in the marriage
relationship and in the roles given to men and women in the family of the church. Thus
matrimony is the lifelong union between one man and one woman, and sexual relations outside
that context are sinful in God’s eyes. Furthermore, within the church there is a divinely
appointed order in which eldership/oversight roles are given to men only, not for the purpose of
domination, but in order to protect and nourish the entire body of Christ. The ministry of men
and women is equally valid, valuable and necessary in God’s eyes, but the Church must take
care to study and to obey Scripture with regard to preserving the complementarity of roles.

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From the Diocese of Winchester

29 September 2014

We are sorry to announce the death of the former Bishop of Winchester, the Right Reverend Michael Scott-Joynt. The Right Reverend Tim Dakin has said:
Dear Friends,

You may already have heard the news that Bishop Michael Scott-Joynt died on Saturday afternoon. His family were with him and he had been anointed; two bishop colleagues had prayed with him.

Michael led this Diocese with great integrity, both through his ministry and his strength of personality. I had the joy of working with him on a number of occasions before his retirement and then it was an honour to follow in his footsteps as Bishop of Winchester. Michael was a true servant for the Church of England at home and for the wider Anglican Communion abroad, particularly in Africa. He will long be remembered in our parishes and his presence sorely missed.

Our prayers at this difficult time are with Lou and the family.

+Tim

The Right Reverend Tim Dakin, Bishop of Winchester

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Church officials were “stupid” and their conduct “dismal” when they sold a painting at auction for £20,000 without diocesan permission, an investigation has found.

The Gloucester Diocese church court report accepted that the vicar and wardens had not acted dishonestly.

The 19th Century Madonna and Child by Franz Ittenbach was sold by Emmanuel Church in Cheltenham last October.

A parish spokesman stressed that officials had acted properly.

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The Bishop of Coventry has spoken about the importance of a wider strategy to combat the “swinging axe of cruelty” wielded by Isis extremists.

Introducing his speech in the House of Lords, the Rt Rev Christopher Cocksworth quoted German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who said that when a madman “comes down the street” swinging an axe, it is our duty not just to apply plasters to the injured but to stop the madman with whatever means are expedient.

“The Government is seeking to join with others to stop the madman swinging the axe of cruelty, and stopped we are agreed he must be. The question is what are the expedient means for doing so?” Bishop Christopher said.

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The Queen has given her approval for Rt Revd Andrew Watson to become the Bishop of Guildford.

The 53 year old will move from his current position as Bishop of Aston in the Diocese of Birmingham.

Speaking about the move he said: “There will be future opportunities to thank everyone – but our six years in Birmingham have been wonderful.

“We’ve hugely appreciated the warmth and generosity of so many people across the Diocese, the rich multi-cultural nature of so many of our congregations (a real taste of heaven on earth on occasions), the quality of so much of the discipleship we’ve encountered, and the privilege of working with such able and supportive colleagues.”

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Attendance in the Church in Wales has fallen in each of the measured categories in 2013, the Bishop of Bangor, the Rt Revd Andrew John, reported.

Average Sunday attendance had fallen to 37,235 in the Province – a fall of four per cent for the over-18s, and three per cent for the under-18s. Easter communicants were down ten per cent to 50,639 and Christmas communicants had fallen six per cent to 52,387. The biggest fall was in the number of confirmations: down 18 per cent to 1201.

“The trend is down across the board. There is no set of figures here that indicates a rise in physical numbers in any single category,” Bishop John said. “The report puts it bleakly. . . There are no positive indicators. Every single field shows decline compared with the previous year, and in some cases that decline is significant.”

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This sure is matter of love; but came there any good to us by it? There did. For our conception being the root as it were, the very groundsill of our nature; that He might go to the root and repair of our nature from the very foundation, thither He went; that what had been there defiled and decayed by the first Adam, might by the Second be cleansed and set right again. That had our conception been stained, by Him therefore, primum ante omnia,to be restored again. He was not idle all the time He was an embyro all the nine months He was in the womb; but then and there He even ate out the core of corruption that cleft to our nature and us, and made both us and it an unpleasing object in the sight of God.

And what came of this? We who were abhorred by God, filii irae was our title, were by this means made beloved in Him. He cannot, we may be sure, account evil of that nature, that is now become the nature of His own SonNHis now no less than ours. Nay farther, given this privilege to the children of such as are in Him, though but of one parent believing, that they are not as the seed of two infidels, but are in a degree holy, eo ipso; and have a farther right to the laver of regeneration, to sanctify them throughout by the renewing of the Holy Ghost. This honour is to us by the dishonour of Him; this the good by Christ an embyro.

–From a sermon preached before King James, at Whitehall, on Sunday, the Twenty-fifth of December, 1614

Almighty God, who gavest thy servant Lancelot Andrewes the gift of thy holy Spirit and made him a man of prayer and a faithful pastor of thy people: Perfect in us what is lacking of thy gifts, of faith, to increase it, of hope, to establish it, of love, to kindle it, that we may live in the life of thy grace and glory; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Archbishop Justin had the privilege of getting to know Bishop Stephen in his retirement in the diocese of Durham.

The Archbishop said: “Bishop Stephen’s whole life was dedicated to serving God and his Church. The Church of England is deeply indebted to his ministry of thoughtful scholarship and servant leadership. I am deeply saddened to hear of his death ”“ not least because it is so sudden for his dear wife Joy, his children and grandchildren ”“ yet I rejoice at a life lived so well and so wholly in the service of Christ, through many trials and difficulties.”

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The first woman bishop in the Church of England could be in the Gloucester diocese, a senior clergyman has said.

The archdeacon of Cheltenham’s comments came during an open meeting where some 70 people shared their views on what qualities the new bishop should have.

The Venerable Robert Springett said he felt the likelihood was “really pretty high” as the diocese could now pick the best person regardless of gender.

The Right Reverend Michael Perham, stepped back as bishop in August.

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Over a year after seeking refuge in a Montreal church, an ailing Pakistani woman threatened with deportation has been able to exchange her sanctuary in the church for what freedom her health permits under a $5,000 bond posted by Bishop Barry Clarke of Montreal.

Supporters and a daughter said at a Montreal press conference held Sept 22. in the dioceses’s Fulford Hall that Khurshid Begum Awan, 58, has been living with her daughter, between hospitalizations for her heart condition and other problems, since she left St. Peter’s TMR Church in the Town of Mount Royal in early August. She was not at the press conference for health reasons.

In August, she presented herself to Citizenship and Immigration Canada and applied for what is known as a Pre-Removal Risk-Assessment. She is entitled to remain in Canada, subject to the $5,000 bond, pending results of the assessment and of an earlier application for permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

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The centenary celebration Sept. 24 of what is now known as the Montreal School of Theology will probably pass almost unnoticed, at a time when religion is often a topic of strife. But in its quiet way, the anniversary is also a reminder that religious strife and debate in Montreal, Quebec and the rest of Canada have been around for a while.

The three theological seminaries on the McGill University campus ”” Presbyterian, United Church and Anglican ”” will be celebrating 100 years of what is now known as ecumenism, a word hardly anyone used in that sense a century ago.

The celebration will be a modest affair….

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Although a quasi-legislative fix (i.e. guidelines for the clergy) could be introduced relatively quickly by means of a House of Bishops Statement, as we have seen with the Statement on Same Sex Marriage, this would cause difficulties in its implementation and problems for its enforcement were a challenge to be made. (It is estimated that about a quarter of CofE clergy administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation, i.e. Confession.) However, a change to the Proviso to Canon 113 would require full synodical consideration and could take considerably longer.

Thus in answer to the question “Is the CofE to axe seal of confessional?”, it seems inevitable that some changes will need to be introduced but: these may take some time; and will certainly put pressure on the Roman Catholic church, as in Australia, the US and elsewhere.

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Bishop John said he will walk “at three miles an hour, it is the speed of the love of God, it is not rushing”.

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The Church of England is one of 12 global institutional investors backing a new project to study how climate change will impact the investment landscape.

The Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group and the three national investing bodies are supporting the project as part of a group concerned about climate change and its investment implications.

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“Much religion is really dangerous and I would say lethal,” he told the blog Philosophy for Life. “We project parts of ourselves ”“ our anger, all kinds of personal psychic material ”“ into the middle distance, deifying it.”

Bishop Chartres ”“ who previously caused controversy by saying that flying to go on holiday was “a symptom of sin” ”“ says religion in the West “has become ideas in the mind”, a development he describes as “a very modern tragedy”.

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[Linda] Woodhead sees Fresh Expressions and other forms of missionary outreach as attempts to boost the God-fearers. She puts her faith in both the churchgoing and non-churchgoing mainstream. There are several problems with this strategy. With admitted exceptions, clergy tend to be recruited from the committed. As numbers shrink, it becomes more difficult to recruit able candidates, especially able young candidates. Studying American evangelicals, Christian Smith has suggested, teaches us that churches thrive when they have a distinctive message but remain in dialogue with the secular society. What is crucial is that Christians choose the right issues on which to make a stand. Woodhead ignores signs that the number of those who claim church affiliation but are not active members or believers is in decline as more claim to be ”˜spiritual’ but not ”˜religious’. Woodhead herself has studied this pattern in Kendal. One move would be to make the Church more welcoming of spiritual seekers and turn clergy into what the NHS already terms ”˜spiritual care givers’. Questions need to be asked about how far the Church can go in this direction and still be Christian.

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The gravity of the financial situation facing the Bathurst Diocese of the Anglican Church hit home this weekend for members of the 47th Synod.

Bishop of Bathurst Ian Palmer implored representatives of parishes from Bourke to Bathurst to accept the need for fresh approaches to ministry across the Central West.

He said the Diocese needs to look at where its resources are spent and ask itself if there are resources that are no longer needed.

Bishop Palmer said the mood of the Synod was one of grappling with, or coming to terms with, the enormity of the financial problems currently facing the Diocese.

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Like prayer according to George Herbert, this is ”˜something understood.’ His writing is eminently sensible, with light touches of humour and irony, and only hints of a vast hinterland of learning.

There are four chapters: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist and Prayer. Neatly alternating sacrament and word, the heart of the Christian faith is circulated. The questions for reflection or discussion at the end of each chapter, and the notes for further reading, are enticing and challenging.

He suggests, ”˜Perhaps baptism really ought to have some health warnings attached to it: “If you take this step, if you go into the depths, it will be transfiguring, exhilarating, life-giving and very, very dangerous.”’

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For centuries the secrecy of the confessional has been sacrosanct, but the Church of England may relax the rules to allow clergy to reveal serious crimes such as child abuse.

Former Bishop of Chelmsford John Gladwin ”“ who last year led an inquiry into clerical sex abuse in the Church of England ”“ is pressing for the changes, along with members of the Church’s ”˜parliament’, the General Synod.

But any change will be fiercely resisted by traditionalists who think clergy should retain the trust of worshippers. It will also cause tensions with Roman Catholics, who believe the seal of the confessional should remain inviolable.

Bishop Gladwin’s moves follow a decision by the Anglican Church of Australia to allow its priests to report crimes they hear during confession to the police.

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The church was built in 1873 and classified as a historical site in 1991. The building was still used as a church, but was empty at the time of the fire. The former church hall, destroyed by fire earlier this month was a centre for Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

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The Anglican Bishop of the diocese on the Niger, Rt. Rev. Dr. Owen Nwokolo, has predicted that if the activities of rampaging Boko Haram insurgents continues unchecked, it would result into the break-up of Nigeria.

Although, he would not want Nigeria’s disintegration, Bishop Nwokolo stressed that it might be inevitable if it becomes too difficult for all the citizens to live together, “as we are now trying to observe with the ongoing slaughtering of innocent Nigerians in the name of religion.”

The Bishop made this known at the St. Mark’s Anglican Church, Omagba Phase 1, Onitsha, Anambra State, during the confirmation and induction into the Girls Guide and Mothers Union. He regretted that a lot would go wrong if Nigeria breaks up.

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