Following yesterday’s launch of the Government’s Trident Alternatives Review the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten, lead bishop on defence and security issues, issued the following statement:

“The Government should be congratulated for undertaking such a far reaching and thorough review of the alternatives available to Trident and for making its analysis available to the wider public for the first time. Such transparency is vital if we are to have a more informed public debate about what our nuclear weapons are for and how they should be deployed.

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The Right Reverend Alan Hopes, 69, was welcomed at the West Door of the Catholic cathedral in Norwich before the two-hour Mass of Installation.

Bishop Alan will lead Roman Catholics in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

He succeeds the Right Reverend Michael Evans, who died of cancer in 2011.

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The inference to be drawn from [Bill ] Lawton’s argument is that an emphasis on discontinuous and futurist eschatology has had an impact on the way in which Anglicans from Sydney have responded to the rising tide of secularism since the 1960s. What I would like to show is that, while Sydney’s Anglicans have not always responded well to the challenges of the new secularism, they were not in fact given to the kind of world-abandonment supposedly characteristic of them in the late nineteenth century.

The period of secularization following the 1960s does indeed have some strong echoes of the late nineteenth century. In between these two eras was the high-water mark of church influence in Australian life, and in Sydney especially. In the midst of the Great Depression, Sydney Anglicans like the extraordinary R.B.S. Hammond (1870-1946) at St Barnabas’ Broadway distinguished themselves in remarkable service of the poor. The 1950s in particular was a time in which Australian society seemed more congenial to the influence of the church than it had been previously.

This was demonstrated by the dramatic impact of the Billy Graham crusade of 1959 – an event which had all the appearance of the dawn of a new glorious age of Christian social influence through the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the thousands of people who went forward in Sydney and Melbourne. More than 130,000 people made a commitment to Christ, a figure which represents nearly 2% of the Australian population at the time.

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A Terwillegar church at the centre of a debate over plans for a supportive housing complex in the neighbourhood has been vandalized.

The words “No Homeless” were spray painted in three spots on the exterior walls of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, at 1428 156 Street in Terwillegar Towne.

[The] Rev. Nick Trussell said he was informed of the vandalism Wednesday evening when he got a call from the instructor of a Highlands dance group that uses the church for its practices.

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Reports of fresh fighting around Goma and attacks on women in the conflict zone have been sent to the Anglican Alliance from the Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It has increased pressure on the project run by the Anglican church in Goma, in the Diocese of Bukavu, to support women and girls rejected by their families after being subjected to sexual assaults and rape – which is being used as a weapon of war.

The Anglican clergyman who is organising the programme, sent the following report of renewed fighting: “Yesterday, Sunday afternoon after Church morning services, there were lots of chaos, due to bombs that were booming around Goma. The media said that it was a fighting between M23 and DRC government army.

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A UK scholar and expert on Gothic Imperial architecture has slated the Anglican Church decision to demolish quake-crippled ChristChurch Cathedral.

Academic Alex Bremner wrote extensively about the cathedral, built by famed English architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, in his book Imperial Gothic.

The senior lecturer in architectural history at the University of Edinburgh, and Gates Cambridge alumnus, has criticised Anglican Diocese of Christchurch plans to create a new cathedral after the original’s spire was snapped in the February 2011 quake.

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After months without a Sanctuary for worship, members of the Christchurch Anglican Church have been blessed with a newly-renovated building.

At a ceremony held at the Sanctuary yesterday (Jul. 14), members of the Anglican community joined with worshippers at Christchurch in rededicating their new building.

Standing at the door of the building, Bishop of the Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, Bishop Errol Brooks made a dramatic entrance when he knocked three times at the door and said, “Let the doors be opened”.

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The trouble is, the Church may talk about transforming communities, but it often ignores some of the most serious social injustices in this country.

This failing was obvious in a briefing that was given on welfare reform and the Church for this week’s Synod meeting. Prepared by Philip Fletcher, chairman of mission and public affairs, it stated that the Church has “a prophetic duty to point out that God’s priority for the poor and vulnerable is not being adequately reflected in the life of the nation”. A fair enough observation, but Mr Fletcher only focused on benefit cuts in his paper, which described the “state’s withdrawal from its obligations to the poorest”. He didn’t point out that other government policies ”“ such as taxes and planning laws ”“ can have just as much of a crushing effect on the vulnerable.

Anglican bishops may have written angry letters about the benefit cuts. But they haven’t complained about the political laziness driving up the benefit bills ”“ the laziness of those politicians who are lacking the will or wit to build enough homes, thereby leaving poor families in dire straits as rents continue to rise. Government research has also revealed that carbon taxes and other well-meaning but damaging policies are adding £172 to average annual energy bills. Benefits are often a cover for political failure as they pay for higher bills caused by bad policy.

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Archbishop Fred Hiltz described the recently concluded Joint Assembly as a “spirit-filled, spirit-led” gathering that can only strengthen the full communion relationship of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC).

“The very fact that these two churches, who have all kinds of challenges in front of them, were prepared to make this step to meet is really quite incredible,” said Hiltz, primate of the Anglican church. “What I saw through the Joint Assembly was a very positive, upbeat spirit.” The assembly was held July 3 to 7, at the Ottawa Convention Centre.

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The crown jewels of the Church of England are its parishes. Priests have the cure of souls””not just the churchgoers but of every resident of the neighborhood, where every blade of grass in the entire country has a church that seeks to make itself in some way a blessing to all, where the clergy know that “I can’t know everyone, but everyone can know me.” But this inheritance is under pressure. In the corners of clergy gatherings there are mutterings. Stories are told of spouses or friends in health care and education who see very few patients or students any more, but instead sit behind computers filling in forms about targets and thresholds. The same is said about priests””that a Prussian-style bureaucracy is infesting the poetry of the priest’s relationship to the parish.

In the Church of England, parish clergy are all paid the same; there are no “rich rectors” with well-endowed churches and sprawling expense accounts, so the conventional commercial appraisal””balance sheet healthy, 2 percent pay increase, MBA completed, another 2 percent increase””doesn’t apply. But now appraisal schemes for ministry review have been introduced by some dioceses, and this is the bureaucracy that is resented by clergy who see it, with its target goals, assessments, statistics and accountability, as another layer of control.

When I overhear the clergy grumbling, the elderly Welsh millworker comes to mind, and I find myself asking, “Shouldn’t we pause for a moment and ask ourselves why all these systems and controls have been introduced? Isn’t it because the glorious parish system puts the parish priest in a position of extraordinary trust, and because that trust has gone without honor rather more times than we’d care to admit?”

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The Very Rev. Dr. Samy Fawzy Shehata, dean of St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral in Alexandria, Egypt, will speak about the Anglican Church in Egypt and its role during the current unrest, a critical time in the life of Egypt, during a Thursday luncheon at the Church of the Holy Comforter. The public is invited to the noon luncheon in the church’s parish hall.

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A Church of England court has ruled that Benjamin West’s altarpiece, Devout Men Taking Away the Body of St Stephen, 1776, which was made for one of the most important churches in the City of London can be sold for display in the US. The $2.85m painting is being bought by an anonymous foundation, which is due to lend it to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (The Art Newspaper, April 2013, pp6-7 and June 2013, p3). West was born in America, but worked in England.

In his judgment, delivered on 10 July, Judge Nigel Seed, chancellor of the consistory court of the Diocese of London, ruled that St Stephen Walbrook should be allowed to sell the masterpiece. The painting had been removed from the church in around 1987, in what he described as “perceived illegal actions”, and has since been kept in storage.

Judge Seed was critical of “unlawful actions” taken by two priests at St Stephen Walbrook: one who had originally hung the picture in 1776 without “faculty” approval from the Church of England and the second who had removed it in around 1987, again without the necessary permission. He said: “This case, if nothing else, is an object lesson of the consequences of incumbents behaving as though the church building is a sort of personal doll’s house for them to play with, without reference to the parishioners.”

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Baptized Catholics can now join Anglican ordinariates, according to a modification to the norms made by Pope Francis.

“This confirms the place of the personal ordinariates within the mission of the wider Catholic Church, not simply as a jurisdiction for those from the Anglican tradition, but as a contributor to the urgent work of the New Evangelization,” the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham announced July 9.

A term coined by Blessed Pope John Paul II, the New Evangelization is the common term for bringing the Gospel to formerly Christian nations, and it can be seen in the new outreach to people who were baptized as Catholics but who never completed the process of Christian initiation.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-modifies-norms-for-catholics-seeking-to-join-an-anglican-ordinariate/#ixzz2YzTVcgvK

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From here:Our Mission is Jesus Christ

St. John’s Shaughnessy is a small but flourishing congregation,
living our calling as Christians by faithfully walking the Anglican path.
Our road is less travelled.

We do not claim absolute knowledge of the Divine.

We really welcome everyone and are enriched by the dynamic tension of differing beliefs.
We embrace doubt. Pray hopefully. And celebrate diversity.
We practise our faith in our every day lives. Are strongly committed to social justice.
And believe in the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to transform lives.

Come as you are. Leave uplifted.

I do remember how many folk on the other side of the argument about 10 or so years ago were at pains to point out this was about blessings, not marriage ”“ marriage was not going to be touched. We were not fooled by that, even then.

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The General Synod has asked for new legislation to be drafted to enable women to be bishops. After a long debate on Monday morning and afternoon, it carried a motion from the House of Bishops embodying Option One, which was amended so as to specify the addition of a mandatory grievance procedure for parishes, and to urge that “facilitated conversations” continue to be used during the legislative process.

Amendments seeking to make provision for opponents by Measure or regulations made under Canon, “for co-provincial provision for alternative episcopal oversight”, and to retain Resolutions A and B for parish churches combined with a new Act of Synod all fell.

WATCH welcomed the passing of Option One, and said that facilitated small-group discussions, carried out behind closed doors on Saturday, had contributed to a better “tone” of debate. Traditionalists were heartened that the Synod had shown a commitment to providing for opponents. All sides welcomed the continuation of “facilitated discussions”, under the guidance of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s director of reconciliation, David Porter.

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Following fresh turmoil in Egypt, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have sent a message of ‘committed solidarity’ to Pope Tawadros II and Bishop Mouneer in Cairo.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have joined the call for prayers for unity, reconciliation and an end to violence in Egypt.

Archbishop Justin Welby and Archbishop Dr John Sentamu wrote to the Coptic and Anglican leaders in Cairo today, pledging their ‘committed solidarity’ amid the recent turmoil in the country.

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Since the beginning of the year various national bodies, including the House of Bishops, have used facilitated conversations, an approach to which Welby brings considerable experience and expertise. The small-group sessions included a drama in which all members played a part. Reports from the groups are being circulated to the House of Bishops but for now the documents remain under wraps.

Will it lead to Synod members changing their minds? Probably not. There are already signs that some opponents are digging in for a long battle. The conservative evangelical group Reform announced in June that it had appointed its first full-time officer with the job title of director. The new director is Mrs. Susie Leafe, who was a notable speaker against the Measure voted down in November.

The sticking point is not the principle of women in the episcopate but of safeguards for those opposed.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is in talks with Pope Francis about a new initiative that would link the Anglican Communion with the Vatican in the fight against poverty.

It is understood that the plan, which emerged from meetings between Archbishop Welby and the Pope in June, will focus on how both Churches can work together to help those in poverty around the world.

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General Synod met in York over the weekend, running through to Tuesday with strong representation from this diocese.

While a lot of media coverage centred on the on-going issue of finding acceptable legislation for those who oppose women bishops, there were a number of other important issues discussed.

A very serious and shocking statement from the sex abuse victim support groups led to a sincere apology from Justin Welby on behalf of the whole church and a removal of the twelve month rule within which complaints had to be raised. It also exposed the lack of pastoral care given to those in need.

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The Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh has condemned the emergence of the ‘get rich quick’ sermon that is the rave of most Pentecostal Churches in the country.

Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s programme View From The Top, Archbishop Okoh said this was not the foundation that was laid by the missionaries who introduce Christianity in Nigeria.

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320 Year 8 and Year 9 students from Archbishop Holgate’s School, a Church of England Academy, will be recognised for their remarkable volunteering projects at a Young Leaders’ Award Ceremony on Wednesday 10th July at 7pm.

The Young Leaders Award, developed by the Archbishop of York Youth Trust, has been delivered through the School’s Citizenship lessons.

School teacher Mrs Caroline Capper said: “The Award is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about people of faith such as Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Bono and Nelson Mandela….”

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Forward in Faith thanks the many members of the Catholic Group in General Synod, together with other supporters, for their excellent contributions to yesterday’s debate.

Naturally, we are very disappointed that none of the amendments which would have ensured secure provision for those unable to receive the ministry of women as bishops and priests was passed. However, we are encouraged by the significant minorities, especially in the House of Laity, which did vote for such provision. We are confident that these votes, and the commitment which they represent on the part of many to a genuinely inclusive Church of England, in which all may flourish, will not be overlooked as the process moves forward. The alternative, which we would deeply regret, would be to pursue unsatisfactory legislation, lacking the necessary breadth of support, with the strong risk of ultimate defeat.

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The Church of England’s ruling general synod has voted to restart work on allowing women to become bishops.

Delegates voted by 319 to 84 to move forward on a new draft law, although this isn’t expected to get final approval until July or November 2015.

Previous attempts at creating similar legislation have been thrown out because of internal disagreements.

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The statement we heard at the beginning of this debate was, I know, to all of us ”“ as has been said ”“ absolutely agonising. And what it says above all is that, for us, what we’re looking at today is far from enough. We are opening a process, continuing a process in many ways, that will go far further than we can imagine. The reality is that there will always be people who are dangerous who are part of the life of the church. They may be members of the congregation; we hope and pray that they will not be in positions of responsibility, but the odds are from time to time people will somehow conceal sufficiently well. And many here, as the Bishop of Herefordshire said, have been deeply affected, as well as the survivors who have so rightly brought us to this place. Many other people here have been deeply affected and badly treated. So we face a continual challenge and reality. This is not an issue we can deal with; it is something we will live with, and must live in the reality of ”“ day in day out, for as long as the church exists ”“ and seek to get it right.

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[The] Rev. Nick Trussell was humbled last year when members of his Terwillegar Towne church turned down a developer’s offer to buy the whole property in favour of leasing some unused land for a housing development catering to the formerly homeless.

“I walked into the meeting, selfishly hoping we would sell,” Trussell said Sunday, explaining he had great visions for expansion of the church at a new location.

“When they all spoke in favour of leasing I was humbled and then I realized; we are the only place where this could happen.”

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For some Canadian Anglicans, General Synod’s decision on July 6 to bring to its next meeting in 2016 a resolution changing the church’s law to allow same-sex marriage will bring new life; but others argue it will only serve to precipitate its decline.

Bishops, clergy and laity have expressed wide-ranging emotions about a resolution that will ask members””at the triennial meeting of the church’s governing body””to change Canon 21 on marriage, to allow the marriage of same-sex couples.

The Anglican Journal interviewed an equal number of representatives from each order and from opposite sides of the divide to gauge opinions about the controversial resolution.

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After a long and passionate debate, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada meeting in Ottawa has passed a resolution on the issue of peace and justice in Palestine and Israel.

The resolution reiterates the established positions of the church, which “recognize the legitimate aspirations, rights and needs of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace with dignity within sovereign and secure borders; condemns the use of all kinds of violence, especially against civilians; calls for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza); and calls upon Israel, as an occupying power, to recognize the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids the transfer and settlement of its citizen in occupied territories. ”

However, it also calls on Canadian Anglicans to take some new steps, including educating themselves more deeply.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury has used his first presidential address to the General Synod to call on the Church to recognise that the “cultural and political ground” in Britain is “changing”, and to “accept that there is a revolution in the area of sexuality, and we have not fully heard it”.

Speaking on the first day of the Synod meeting in York, on Friday evening, Archbishop Welby said that he was “not proposing new policy”, but spoke of the “notable hostility” to the Church’s current position.

“Anyone who listened, as I did, to much of the Same-sex Marriage Bill second reading debate in the House of Lords could not fail to be struck by the overwhelming change of cultural hinterland; predictable attitudes were no longer there,” he said.

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