A selfish “love of need” has contributed to the decline of marriage since the 1960s, according to a senior bishop in the Church of England.
The Bishop of Bradford, the Right Rev Nick Baines, echoed the concerns of the outgoing Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, who earlier this month said institutions such as marriage broke down “when you begin to lose faith and society becomes very, very secularised”.
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Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
The past week has been traumatic for Egyptians. We witnessed bloodshed on our streets, vandalism and the deliberate destruction of churches and government buildings in lawless acts of revenge. One of our Anglican Churches was attacked, and other ministries received threats. We praise God that our churches and congregations are safe, but we grieve for the loss of life and for the churches which were burnt over the past week in Egypt.
The Anglican Church in Egypt serves all Egyptians, especially the disadvantaged and marginalized, through our educational, medical and community development ministries. We seek to be a light in our society, and we continue to serve our neighbours in the difficult situation which surrounds us. Unemployment is at a record high, there is a lack of security on the streets, the economy is in decline, and poverty is crushing for many people in Egypt.
Archbishop Stanley rightly speaks of a spiritual cancer in the Communion, but we need to see that the overthrow by some Churches of the creation order of male and female is just one symptom of the disease. The cause is spiritual, the overthrow of God’s Word as revealed and authoritative truth. So it is very appropriate that Archbishop Stanley also speaks of the need for confessing Anglicans to see themselves as a movement of revival, taking inspiration from the East African Revival. We need to learn from our history. Divisions about the Bible had spread to some missionary organisations in East Africa after the First World War, but the leaders of the East African Revival knew that there could be no true evangelism and no true revival unless the Scriptures are allowed to speak as what they really are, the inspired Word of God.
So we can see why our affirmation in 2008 of the Jerusalem Declaration was so very important. We described it as ”˜a contemporary rule”¦ to guide the movement for the future’. Anything less would have ”˜healed the wound of my people lightly’ (Jeremiah 8:11) given the widespread confusion about the gospel and Christian discipleship which we sought to address. Let me remind you of the commitment we made in the Jerusalem Statement to restore Scripture to its rightful place in the life of the Communion:
”˜We, together with many other faithful Anglicans throughout the world, believe the doctrinal foundation of Anglicanism, which defines our core identity as Anglicans, is expressed in these words: The doctrine of the Church 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 Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal.’
[Speaking earlier this month David Cameron]… said: ”˜I’m a Christian and I’m an active member of the Church of England, and like all Christians I think I sometimes struggle with some of the sayings and some of the instructions.
”˜But what I think is so good about Jesus’s teachings is there are lots of things that he said that you can still apply very directly to daily life and to bringing up your children.
Fracking may not yet have tested the thickness of his rectory walls, as suggested by the “light-hearted” Energy Minister Michael Fallon, but it has already caused emotional tremors in the parish of the Priest-in-Charge of Balcombe, the Revd Desmond Burton.
On Monday, he described how the drilling of an oil exploration well in the West Sussex village had divided parishioners. Protesters, who have arrived in their hundreds, fear that the drilling by Cuadrilla, an oil and gas company, is the precursor to hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), whereby water mixed with sand and chemicals is injected at high pressure into rock deep beneath the earth’s surface, to release gas.
“People in the village who have been good friends, because of fracking issues have fallen out quite strongly,” Mr Burton said. ”
Restraint on all sides is a necessary prelude to the beginning of political processes, which will have to include all sides and which must take place sooner or later. The future must lie in a peaceful and negotiated transition to an Egypt that is not simply “majoritarian”, but where democracy also means the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms, including those of expression, belief, and movement, regardless of gender or religion.
I have, for long, argued that if the gains of the authentic Nahda, or Renaissance, over a century ago, are not to be lost, Egypt needs a bill of rights. It is, perhaps, inevitable that, in a country like Egypt, Sharia will play a role in framing the law of the land, but how much of a role, and what understanding of Sharia, are the crucial questions here. There should be no compromise on the basic principle of one law for all, the equality of all before the law and respect for the common citizenship of all Egyptians.
In his most stark comments yet about divisions over issues such as homosexuality, the Most Rev Justin Welby said the Church is coming perilously close to plunging into a “ravine of intolerance”.
He even drew parallels between the crisis afflicting the 77 million-strong network of Anglican churches and the atmosphere during the English Civil War.
And he likened the collective behaviour of the church to a “drunk man” staggering ever closer to edge of a cliff.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its Fourth Synod Meeting held in Mangochi, the Anglican Diocese of Upper Shire regrets such conducts saying instead of benefiting the nation make it lose out.
“Political parties and individual politicians are asked to desist from the use of derogatory remarks, abusive language, personal insults and actions that would provoke anger and violence during campaign rallies, on polling day itself as well as after release of the elections results,” reads the communiqué signed by the Right Rev Brighton Vitta Malasa, Bishop of Upper Shire Diocese and President of the Synod of the Diocese of Upper Shire.
Bishop Ande Georges from the Diocese of Aru, in the Oriental Province of the DRC, is calling for support from fellow Anglicans to expand their work with communities affected by ongoing attacks from rebel groups and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
Already doing everything they can to attend to the needs of their communities, churches are desperate to provide more support and show God’s strength and victory to those facing this humanitarian emergency.
This detailed explanation from the Bishop explains how two areas in his diocese have been particularly affected by the violence….
First it was payday lending; now fracking.
Last month, the Church of England acknowledged and regretted investing millions of pounds in a company that financially backs England’s leading payday lending company, Wonga. The company charges exorbitantly high percentage rates for loans that usually target the poor.
Now the church is under fire for taking an interest in fracking.
Alastair McCollum loves Harleys, slings beers and likes to listen to Ozzy Osbourne after a long day at work.
He’s also the newest rector at St. John the Divine Anglican Church on Quadra Street.
For the 44-year-old transplant from Devon, England, breaking stereotypes is an important part of connecting with his Anglican community.
“Dude, I preached from an iPad the week the first iPad came out,” [Quigg] Lawrence said. “I wasn’t trying to be showy with it, but a lot of times my printer is down or I don’t have ink. So it’s just easier to put it on the iPad.”
Church of the Holy Spirit, the Anglican ministry in southwest Roanoke County where Lawrence preaches, is one of the only churches in the area with its own smartphone app designed to serve its members.
The app has been downloaded 880 times in the year it has been available ”” not bad considering the congregation consists of less than 1,500 members.
Read it all and the church website is there.
Some have concluded that making our voice heard in the public square about sex and family life, or about anything controversial, is counter-productive to mission. But the opposite is the case. I worked in South Africa for more than 12 years, mostly in poor communities. I saw how some evangelical and charismatic Christians happily did church in their affluent homogenous groups, and refused to address publicly the iniquities of apartheid. Other churches were bravely confronting injustice and involved in compassionate social action, but were unable to promote loudly the life-saving message of sexual self control in the context of the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic, often because their pastors were compromised in that area. In both cases fear of unpopularity prevented prophetic Gospel-driven action to save lives.
Anglican Mainstream remains committed to the local church’s vital role in pastoral care, evangelism and mission in our own nation and worldwide in contexts of genuine poverty and oppression. These will be main themes at GAFCON 2 in Nairobi in late October. But listening to the revolution in our culture will also involve discerning what is wrong as well as affirming what is good. The gospel of the Kingdom is good news, but inclusion depends on repentance, and faith in the one who has not changed.
The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu has today announced that there will be an independent review of all files relating to deceased clergy who served in the Diocese of York from before 1950 to the present.
On July 22nd 2013 the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, announced the launch of an Independent Inquiry, led by HH Judge Sally Cahill QC, into the Church’s handling of reports of alleged child abuse by the late Robert Waddington, a former Dean of Manchester.
At the height of the controversy over same-sex blessings, which led to the departure of some clergy and laypeople ”“ including the former bishop ”“ the quiet and soft-spoken Pitman surprised many when he asked clergy in his diocese to declare their loyalty to the Anglican Church of Canada as they renewed their ordination vows and renewed their licences.
“Today, my friends, is a fresh start,” he had said in his sermon at a mandatory gathering held Jan. 21, 2008 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s, Nfld. “It’s not a power grab as has been suggested by some. Whether someone is of a conservative bent or a liberal bent or some other bent, whatever these labels mean, I will support you”¦ But let’s not make any mistake about it. There are boundaries.”
The Church of England has set itself on a collision course with opponents of hydraulic fracturing ”“ fracking ”“ by signalling support for exploration of Britain’s shale gas reserves.
Philip Fletcher, who chairs the Church’s group on mission and public affairs, compared condemnation of fracking to the mistaken belief that the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine was not safe.
“The evidence for that was totally unsound, yet the damage caused by denying children the benefits of immunisation was huge,” he told the Financial Times.
Read it all (if necessary another link may be found there).
The Chair of the Church of England’s group on Mission and Public Affairs Philip Fletcher has today (16th August 2013) issued the following statement placing recent media reports in context:
“The Church of England has no official policy either for or against hydraulic fracturing (known as ‘fracking’). However there is a danger of viewing fracking through a single issue lens and ignoring the wider considerations.
“There are a number of balancing considerations which need to be taken into account when coming to a view. Fuel poverty is an increasingly urgent issue for many in society – the impact on energy bills is felt most by the least well off. Blanket opposition to further exploration for new sources of fuel fails to take into account those who suffer most when resources are scarce.
Lord Williams said religious believers should be wary of complaining about their treatment in the Western world, with those claiming they are “persecuted” making him “very uneasy”.
He added the level of “not being taken very seriously” or “being made fun of” in Britain and the United States is not comparable to the “murderous hostility” faced by others in different parts of the world.
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, he urged those who complain of ill-treatment for their beliefs in Britain to “grow up”.
The nature of the debate on women bishops at the General Synod meeting last November has “finally shocked most bishops into the realisation that conservative demands can never be met”, a report of “a series of confidential conversations” with bishops by the gay-rights group Changing Attitude (CA) suggests.
The group has already met nine bishops that are “affirming” of their stance, and will meet another eight shortly.
“The absolute confidentiality we guarantee means that bishops have been very open and trusting,” the director of CA, the Revd Colin Coward, said, in an interim report of the conversations, A Vision of the Future, that was distributed to supporters this week. “We have learnt much from the conversations. With each new encounter the narrative has evolved.”
“The state of emergency in Egypt following the carnage and increasing death toll of recent days is a matter of grave concern for those within and outside the region. The heavy loss of life is deeply disturbing and points to the urgent need for resolution and restraint from Government forces.
Of equal concern are the reports that several Churches across Egypt were attacked, including St Saviours Anglican Church in Suez. These unprovoked attacks are part of an all too familiar pattern that we see repeated across the region where Christian and other minority communities find themselves as collateral casualties in a wider struggle between two increasingly illiberal and repressive forces….
Representatives from throughout the Anglican Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki will meet from tomorrow, Friday August 16th to elect the 7th Bishop of Waikato.
Ten names have been proposed to the Electoral College, five men and five women. The majority of the candidates are from within the Diocese. The gathering is a significant step in the life of the church as it is 20 years since the last Bishop of Waikato was appointed.
Known as an Electoral College, the gathering of approximately 200 laity and clergy meets until a decision is made. The successful nominee must achieve a majority of the votes of both laity and clergy. The gathering at Southwell School is only the first part of a three stage process, during which time the name of the nominee remains confidential.
After countless earthquakes and a two year rebuild, a new symbol of Canterbury has finally opened this evening.
It is the only cathedral in the world made substantially of cardboard.
A friend of mine was recently preparing to leave the army, and began a training course for a debt recovery agency. He was horrified that the trainees were taught not to waste too much time on people who could stick up for themselves, but to concentrate on the vulnerable who could easily be intimidated, such as the elderly or single mums, from whom far more money could easily be found. He left the course, disgusted.
But the gap which the payday lenders exploit isn’t just a gap in the market. It’s a gap in our collective self discipline. We’re still a society hopelessly hooked on a spendthrift lifestyle. We see something glitzy, we want it, and we want it now, really not paying close enough attention to how on earth we’re going to pay the borrowed money back. The financial crisis that is crushing us at the moment wasn’t simply caused by the banks being feckless lenders: we were all too happy to be feckless borrowers. The banks are now being more careful ”“ perhaps overly so with business ventures ”“ but payday lending still lets people get stuff they can’t afford. Even if one has paid back a loan, there remains the constant text pestering for another: “There is £££ ready for you, just call 0800 XXX XXX and it will be in your account in 15 minutes.” As another friend told me, if you’re struggling, it can be just too hard to resist.
So, Justin Welby, the recently appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, has decided to do something about it….
To the stewards who volunteer at Durham Cathedral, it is more than just a storm in a teacup.
First they were denied the scones they got as a perk in return for unpaid work. Now they have been told that if they want a free cup of tea or coffee, they must take it into another room ”” described by one of them as “smelly” ”” away from the cathedral’s restaurant.
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In an area of much killing where I was supporting reconciliation some years ago, I spent time with a group of Anglican priests. Several thousand people had been killed in heavy fighting during the previous week. It was the second outburst of fighting in less than ten years. The priests were bitter, mourning families, friends and church members. One gave up preaching and used the time for the sermon explaining how to strip, clean and reassemble an automatic rifle. Over a few months we worked together, thinking and praying about the situation, about the very real threats they faced, about the history of battle, and about the teaching of scripture, especially in Jonah. Slowly they learned afresh that they were loved, and learned to love and began to reach out to their enemies. The reconciliation remains fragile, but continues to this day.
We change our conflicted communities when we rediscover reconciliation in Christ for ourselves. Paul reminds the divided Ephesians that God breaks down all barriers. They are reconciled through the cross to God and are to be reconciled to others. It is costly. Reconciliation is cross-shaped. Justice is cross shaped. Churches that seek justice will find a cross, and will need to bear it. So many of you have done that. So many not only here in Guatemala, but elsewhere in the Province, know the pain of conflict. And yet we have the answer ”“ and that answer is us, says Paul. It is extraordinary, because again he was speaking to a small church in a very pagan society, and yet he was right, and history proved it over the centuries.
The Anglican Diocese of Blackburn has released a pamphlet warning their Lancaster flock of the potential dangers of hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking.
“The time we spend thinking, praying and acting now to protect our drinking water and the rest of God’s glorious Creation cannot compare with the time succeeding generations could potentially spend trying to make good what will likely happen if we in the church remain uninformed and silent,” reads the pamphlet.
Former Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), The Most Reverend (Dr) Peter Akinola, has raised the alarm that the nation is under siege and its future remains bleak, unless conscious effort is made to wage war against corruption, which has remained the greatest challenge to its development.
The cleric stated this while addressing newsmen at a Media Roundtable on “Breaking the Corruption Jinx in Nigeria,” at his Abeokuta home on Tuesday.
Two historic churches in Wales will be able to carry out urgent repair work following Lottery funding announced [on Aug 12]….
St David’s Church in Neath and St Barrwg’s Church in Bedwas are among the first of 35 churches across the UK to be awarded a grant through Heritage Lottery Fund’s new Grants for Places of Worship programme.
St David’s Church will receive £199,300, which will go towards its half-a-million pound appeal to renovate its tower and other work. St Barrwg’s will receive £180,300 which will enable its roof to be repaired and facilities updated so that it can be reopened and used more widely.