Two Recent Reports on Archbishop Welby’s views, a Tweet and a Radio Interview:

1. Telegraph March 8th – ‘Archbishop of Canterbury opposed gay sex and adoption’:

The Archbishop of Canterbury voiced opposition to same-sex couples adopting children and insisted that the Bible is “clear” that gay couples should not have sex, previously unpublished writings show.

2. Bishop Nick Baines March 8th – ‘Growing up ‘

Now, I know anyone in public life is not allowed to have been a child or to have grown or changed. I realise that my own archive of parish magazine articles, etc. might be found to contain expressions that might embarrass me now. This is what happens to human beings as they grow up.

The bizarre thing is that anyone thinks this is anything other than story-creation. The Archbishop might or might not hold to views held or expressed in the past. I have no idea, and he can speak for himself. But, the notion that he should now be entirely consistent with what he said or thought or wrote twenty, ten or five years ago is utter nonsense. It simply suggests that he should never have grown up.

What matters is what he thinks now. The journey there might also be interesting. But, the fact that he might have said things or thought things in the past matters little”¦ except, of course, to those looking for contradictions

3. Tweet from Archbishop Welby on March 8th

Good blog (as ever) by Bishop of Bradford, unrequested by me.
http://wp.me/pnmhG-12d .

4. Iain Dale March 12th – ‘Archbishop Softens Line on Gay Marriage’

Iain Dale: You said once that you’re always averse to the language of exclusion and what we’re called to do is love in the same way as Jesus Christ loves us, how do you reconcile that with the church’s attitude on gay marriage?

Justin Welby: I think that the problem with the gay marriage proposals is that they don’t actually include people equally, it’s called equal marriage, but the proposals in the Bill don’t do that. I think that where there is”¦ I mean I know plenty of gay couples whose relationships are an example to plenty of other people and that’s something that’s very important, I’m not saying that gay relationships are in some way”¦ you know that the love that there is is less than the love there is between straight couples, that would be a completely absurd thing to say. And civil partnership is a pretty”¦ I understand why people want that to be strengthened and made more dignified, somehow more honourable in a good way. It’s not the same as marriage”¦

Iain Dale: But if it could be made to work in a way that’s acceptable to the church you would be open to discussions on that?

Justin Welby: We are always open to discussions, we’ve been open to discussion, we’re discussing at the moment. The historic teaching of the church around the world, and this is where I remember that I’ve got 80 million people round the world who are Anglicans, not just the one million in this country, has been that marriage in the traditional sense is between a man and woman for life. And it’s such a radical change to change that.

I think we need to find ways of affirming the value of the love that is in other relationships without taking away from the value of marriage as an institution.
[Audio by subscription here March 11th]

Confused?

See also the earlier item TEC Witness Intimidation Process Concluded to which this responds
The recent Conciliation “Accord” announced between several bishops and their accusers over charges they violated canons in filing an amicus brief in Texas is a minor event. But it does fit well into a larger and disturbing pattern of TEC’s current leadership. That complaints were filed and charges brought against the bishops in the first place, such as to make this conciliation process necessary, represents gross misconduct on the part of the complainants in Fort Worth and of the Presiding Bishop’s office. It is misconduct not only according the canons as they now stand, but according to generally accepted ethical standards. That other TEC bishops and leaders have failed to protest this misconduct is a matter of shame for our church and for them.
………
By and large, it seems that the bishops tried to fulfill their prudential obligations in this accord. But we also emphasize that, however construed, the pressures they were responding to were thrust upon them under duress, by the misconduct of the complainants and the PB’s office.

It is, furthermore, a strategy of intimidation on the latter’s part that cannot succeed. The arguments of the Amicus brief, and the constitutional reasoning behind it, are now well-publicized and available for all. They have also, to the present, not been refuted in any compelling way by the PB’s office. In fact, despite their paying literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to “expert” witnesses, that witness itself is concocted of misreadings and misquotations from the constitutional and historical record of our church.

Lastly it should be stated clearly: members of ACI will not be intimidated by the complainants or the PB’s office or those who collude with it. Currently, Turner and Radner of ACI have had formal complaints lodged against them in their respective dioceses (Texas and Colorado). Those dioceses have decided to leave these complaints open thus far, refusing to act on them for whatever reason, whether out of desire to leave the threats hanging in the air or out of ignorance regarding the canonical demands before them or simply out of a desire not to make waves in a difficult moment. In any case, the members of ACI are in the business simply and quite transparently of articulating and stating our understanding of the theology and polity of our church, to which we are committed. These are not matters over which to negotiate; nor are they matters about which to fear. They are duties of Christian honesty.

Read it all

There is every possible reason for optimism about the future of Christian faith in our world and in this country. Optimism does not come from us, but because to us and to all people Jesus comes and says “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”. We are called to step out of the comfort of our own traditions and places, and go into the waves, reaching for the hand of Christ. Let us provoke each other to heed the call of Christ, to be clear in our declaration of Christ, committed in prayer to Christ, and we will see a world transformed.

Read it all

Heaney was ordained a priest in the Church of Ireland in 2002, and has been active in Anglican parishes in Ireland, England, and Tanzania. He is married to Dr. Sharon Heaney and they have one son, Sam.

As director of the Center for Anglican Communion Studies, Heaney will ensure the Center’s continued support of theological education; the engagement of Anglican leaders and scholars in study, research and conversation; and interreligious dynamics across the Communion.

Read it all

This Broadcast is now over – there are some highlights here. In the UK only, the full service may be watched again using the BBC2 TV link here. If someone gets their act together and a recording which may be watched worldwide is made available, we will post it here.
Worldwide Live Streaming:

[1] Watch here on BBC News

[2] or according to ACNS, the BBC will be livestreaming the ceremony here [www.bbc.com] at 10:30 am Eastern Daylight Time 2.30 pm London Time [GMT] Time Converter.

BBC Radio 4 Longwave here [may be available worldwide]

In the UK BBC2 TV here [UK Only]

Order of Service here

Twitter: #ABC105

Let us know of other links you find below please.

Edward Stourton: the press release from Lambeth Palace says ”˜his [that is your] focus will be on supporting creative ways of renewing conversations in relationships around deeply held differences within the Church of England and the Anglican Communion’

Canon David Porter: Well I think we recognise that if the church is going to make any constructive contribution to the conflicts that are going on in our world then we need to look to ourselves and we need to be a people who are on a journey of Reconciliation who are modelling, not necessarily that we agree because it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are all going to agree, but that we hold our differences in a very Christian and constructive way

ES: Well, doesn’t this put a huge burden on your shoulders because the truth is that these tensions within the Anglican Communion and the Church of England have as you have just reflected in a way, have arisen because of very deeply held theological doctrinal disputes about questions like women bishops, like homosexuality, and it is difficult to see how one man by focussing on ”˜process’ can overcome those.

Porter: Well in one sense it isn’t my job to overcome those issues ”“ there are plenty of more intelligent more creative people who have lived and journeyed with these issues for quite a number of years. My job is actually to look at ”˜process’ ”“ it is to look at how we create the space for conversations to take place where people will still differ and they still will disagree but they will do so in a way that is able to say ”˜look this is how Christians disagree, this is how we hold tensions and differences together’

ES: Except that on some of these issues people will believe that the disagreements go to the very heart of what it means to be a Christian

Porter: that is true

ES: so how can, how can a better ”˜process’ overcome that?

Porter: well, in my background in Northern Ireland I used to say to people that if you are a fundamentalist protestant who believes that the catholic church are not Christian or if you are a strong catholic who believes there is no salvation outside the church and you’re in that conversation, the reality is that Jesus still tells you to love the people that you perceive as your enemies and that shows that you are holding what you hold on to in a Christian way and are able to disagree within that commitment of Jesus teling us how we disagree”
Listen to it all here on the Sunday Program starting at 26 mins in for 4 minutes and an unofficial transcript is below
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Edward Stourton: The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has made his first appointment. Canon David Porter from Coventry Cathedral will be the first Director of Reconciliation at Lambeth Palace. Good morning.

Canon David Porter: Good morning Ed

ES: and as I understand it your first target will be the home team ”“ your own church?

Porter: Well yes, the role is to help the Archbishop fulfil his commitment to making Reconciliation one of the key hallmarks of his service as Archbishop and he has invited Coventry Cathedral to take the lead in this. Of course he spent some time in Coventry Cathedral being on the Reconciliation team here so it is close to his heart and we are really privileged to be asked to do this.

ES: But so I am clear returning to my question, the press release from Lambeth Palace says ”˜his [that is your] focus will be on supporting creative ways of renewing conversations in relationships around deeply held differences within the Church of England and the Anglican Communion’

Porter: Well I think we recognise that if the church is going to make any constructive contribution to the conflicts that are going on in our world then we need to look to ourselves and we need to be a people who are on a journey of Reconciliation who are modelling, not necessarily that we agree because it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are all going to agree, but that we hold our differences in a very Christian and constructive way

ES: Well, doesn’t this put a huge burden on your shoulders because the truth is that these tensions within the Anglican Communion and the Church of England have as you have just reflected in a way, have arisen because of very deeply held theological doctrinal disputes about questions like women bishops, like homosexuality, and it is difficult to see how one man by focussing on ”˜process’ can overcome those.

Porter: Well in one sense it isn’t my job to overcome those issues ”“ there are plenty of more intelligent more creative people who have lived and journeyed with these issues for quite a number of years. My job is actually to look at ”˜process’ ”“ it is to look at how we create the space for conversations to take place where people will still differ and they still will disagree but they will do so in a way that is able to say ”˜look this is how Christians disagree, this is how we hold tensions and differences together’

ES: Except that on some of these issues people will believe that the disagreements go to the very heart of what it means to be a Christian

Porter: that is true

ES: so how can, how can a better ”˜process’ overcome that?

Porter: well, in my background in Northern Ireland I used to say to people that if you are a fundamentalist protestant who believes that the catholic church are not Christian or if you are a strong catholic who believes there is no salvation outside the church and you’re in that conversation, the reality is that Jesus still tells you to love the people that you perceive as your enemies and that shows that you are holding what you hold on to in a Christian way and are able to disagree within that commitment of Jesus teling us how we disagree

ES: Do you think that some senior members of the Anglican Communion have forgotten that basic fact in the way that they have conducted themselves in these debates?

Porter: I think all of us when we get caught up in conflicts that are deep to who we are and to the values that we hold on to ”“ we do forget that bigger voice from God that calls us to a different way of engaging with difference

Porter: and I am slightly pointing out something to you that you have already recognised but as you say unless you get this sorted out it is very difficult to see how the church can offer a model for reconciliation to other people isn’t it?

DP: There is truth in that, but equally the church is also – we are fallible human beings, and the fact is that wherever you find conflict, there are times that you get it right and there are times that you get it wrong, and I think what is needed actually is honesty on behalf of the church, not over pretending that we can always get it right but being honest where we are actually failing to live up to what Christ calls us to

“there is nothing in what Welby has written before being appointed to the chair of Canterbury, there is nothing that at least that I have read that Canon Porter has written that would indicate that for them that Reconciliation means anything more than learning to live with very difficult differences and maintain institutional unity despite that: Reconciliation means living with utter differences and finding ways to cooperate on various things that we can cooperate on.
……..
And to that, to that idea, how can any Christian who knows his or her Bible well, not say ”˜NO’? No, we can’t engage in common mission and walk across the rainbow bridge to share a common Gospel because we don’t share a common Gospel. The behaviours that men like Bishop [Shannon] Johnston are promoting, St Paul says will keep people out of the Kingdom of God, if they engage in them ”“ will keep people out of the Kingdom of God!
………
How can we join hands and go along in a common Christian mission if the things taught and promoted by one man, by the people we are holding hands with can and do lead people to the Pit? There is a different gospel at play here, a different understanding of Scripture, a different understanding of its authority, of its meaning ”“ a different jesus altogether. So the jesus that Bishop Johnston walks across the bridge to proclaim is not going to be the Jesus of the New Testament. It’s going to be a different jesus who cannot save. So we cannot engage in common mission, we cannot proclaim the same gospel, we can’t even ”“ we can’t do anything that will legitimise in the eyes of any onlooker, be it with a person within the church or a person outside of the church ”“ we can’t do anything to legitimise in any way a false teacher’s office or teaching.

And by holding hands, maintaining institutional unity, doing what we can to “reconcile” with those people, short of repentance, then what we are doing is we are saying ”˜this person is a Christian brother, this person is a leader and the issue over which we disagree is a small, inconsequential issue that is worth debating, and is worth disagreeing over, but is not worth dividing over, because we all share the same gospel. In other words, you reduce the issue of homosexual behaviour in the church to ”˜a diaphora’, a non-essential issue. And that, my friends, is a betrayal of the Gospel ”“ that’s a betrayal of the Gospel.
……..
if he means what he says, if reconciliation means what he has said reconciliation means, then it is not true reconciliation, it is surrender, it is compromise, it is collaboration, it is something that we cannot go along with.

Listen to it all with thanks to Stand Firm where there is more and an unofficial transcript is below:
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Fr. Matt Kennedy: Summing up the ++Justin Welby Debate

After the many debates on facebook and elsewhere regarding Justin Welby, his appointment of a Director of Reconciliation, and my friendly response to Kevin Kallsen and Fr. George Conger’s glowing review of his first few days, I thought I’d sum up my thoughts on Justin Welby:

I thought I would take a few minutes and talk about the Justin Welby situation. I know there has been a lot of discussion online, on my facebook page, on Stand Firm about his recent appointment of a Reconciliation Director, a Director of Reconciliation, I don’t know exactly how that title was said, but I do know that there is a lot of hope out there. A lot of people are hoping that Archbishop Welby will be our saviour, that he will deliver the Communion, that because he is an evangelical, he had a conversion experience at Nicky Gumbel’s church that he is therefore the one to look to to rescue the Communion. In fact I wrote an article this morning because I heard on Anglican TV a discussion of Welby, and my good friend Kevin, and my good friend George both gave him ”“ well George gave him an A for effort in his first few days, and Kevin gave him an A+ I think it was, based on the reasoning that, well, Archbishop Welby is an Evangelical, he had his conversion experience so when he appoints a Director of Reconciliation, then he must mean by that, that he is going to engage in a Reconciliation Process that is conducted in a manner that is consistent with the Evangelical understanding of reconciliation ”“ which would mean therefore that there is going to be a call for repentance, a call to Biblical faithfulness, and then on that basis we all agree to reconcile.

And if that is the case, oh and I hope it is [don’t get me wrong!], if that is the case, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, that’s wonderful. But ”“ there is nothing in what Welby has written before being appointed to the chair of Canterbury, there is nothing that at least that I have read that Canon Porter has written that would indicate that for them that Reconciliation means anything more than learning to live with very difficult differences and maintain institutional unity despite that: Reconciliation means living with utter differences and finding ways to cooperate on various things that we can cooperate on. So if you happen to read then Bishop Welby’s article that he wrote for the Centre Aisle, for the diocese of Virginia, he indicated very clearly in that article that one way to accomplish a form of reconciliation between people who promote same-sex blessings and want to ordain people who are living in same-sex relationships to the priesthood and to the episcopate ”“ one way reconciliation can be accomplished between those people and orthodox Christian leaders is by engaging together in common Christian mission because we can all walk together across the bridge to other peoples and give the Gospel.

And to that, to that idea, how can any Christian who knows his or her Bible well, not say ”˜NO’? No, we can’t engage in common mission and walk across the rainbow bridge to share a common Gospel because we don’t share a common Gospel. The behaviours that men like Bishop [Shannon] Johnston are promoting, St Paul says will keep people out of the Kingdom of God, if they engage in them ”“ will keep people out of the Kingdom of God!

How can we join hands and go along in a common Christian mission if the things taught and promoted by one man, by the people we are holding hands with can and do lead people to the Pit? There is a different gospel at play here, a different understanding of Scripture, a different understanding of its authority, of its meaning ”“ a different jesus altogether. So the jesus that Bishop Johnston walks across the bridge to proclaim is not going to be the Jesus of the New Testament. It’s going to be a different jesus who cannot save. So we cannot engage in common mission, we cannot proclaim the same gospel, we can’t even ”“ we can’t do anything that will legitimise in the eyes of any onlooker, be it with a person within the church or a person outside of the church ”“ we can’t do anything to legitimise in any way a false teacher’s office or teaching.

And by holding hands, maintaining institutional unity, doing what we can to “reconcile” with those people, short of repentance, then what we are doing is we are saying ”˜this person is a Christian brother, this person is a leader and the issue over which we disagree is a small, inconsequential issue that is worth debating, and is worth disagreeing over, but is not worth dividing over, because we all share the same gospel. In other words, you reduce the issue of homosexual behaviour in the church to ”˜a diaphora’, a non-essential issue. And that, my friends, is a betrayal of the Gospel ”“ that’s a betrayal of the Gospel.

So, if Bishop Welby means by reconciliation what he has written that he means by reconciliation, what he has said many times, not just in that article from the Centre Aisle, but you can read a sermon that he wrote, that we posted on Stand Firm, you can read his address before the Episcopal Church House of Bishops, if he means what he says, if reconciliation means what he has said reconciliation means, then it is not true reconciliation, it is surrender, it is compromise, it is collaboration, it is something that we cannot go along with.

So I just wanted to put this out there, today so that you can all hear it, and let me know what you think in the comments.

Here’s a link to the facebook discussion/debate that ultimately involved Kevin Kallsen and Peter Ould

And here’s a link to some of the documents I reference in the audio above:
Center Aisle article
Pentecost Sermon
Address to the TEC HOB
Article Quoting Canon Porter

“David Porter is an ”˜Evangelical’…and just as Justin Welby is an ”˜Evangelical’. When they talk about reconciliation it’s a multi-part process and the first part of that sort of reconciliation is not between man and man, but between man and God, and once you are reconciled with God, once you are basically looking at things through the prism of holiness and godliness, you then move on to reconciliation with the people around you.

… we need to come back to what is the first significant staff appointment the Archbishop of Canterbury has made, it’s this guy, David Porter, to work on the Godly reconciliation of warring factions within the Communion. That is the agenda that Justin Welby is setting down as his priority at Lambeth Palace. And to me ”“ if it works, that’s wonderful ”“ if it doesn’t work it may be very well because that’s God’s will for the church at this time. But in any event that’s the focus, not mosquito nets, not carbon fasts, not global warming, reconciliation under Christ ”“ that’s a wonderful thing.”

Watch it all – With thanks to Kevin and Fr George at Anglican TV here who talk about Archbishop Welby and Reconciliation from 10 mins 40 seconds in to 21 mins in – and there is an unofficial transcript of the section below
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ANGLICAN UNSCRIPTED EPISODE 65

Can Canterbury be relevant again:

Kevin: We’re going to talk about the new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Last week was his first week in office and he arrived at Lambeth Palace probably in a chariot, I don’t know how the first week works ”“ they open up the doors and the staff welcomes him, it’s probably right out of Downton Abbey. And he comes in and they show him around ”“ he probably knows what it looks like but they show him around anyway, it’s his first day and he gets to sit at his desk for the first time and they show him his nice leather chair and the little lamp on the desk he can turn on and off and he hears off in the background a squeak, squeak, squeak, as a dolly comes in bringing an appointment book. We call it a calendar, they call it over there a diary and they put it on his desk and they open up the book and dust comes off and they open up to the first page and there’s thirty-five items for his first day in office. George ”“ what does our new Archbishop say?

George: ”˜No ”“ I’m not going to be house-broken’. This could have been straight out of the TV show, ”˜Yes Minister’ where Jim Hacker comes in and brand new cabinet minister – and Sir Humphrey the head of the civil service in that department gives him his appointments diary, and for the next six months Jim Hacker is kept busy doing busy work, so that he is out of the hair, out of the power and authority that should be exercised by the staff. Well that’s what Lambeth Palace, the Church House tried to do to Justin Welby. They tried to neuter him, tried to house-train him so that he would be kept busy while they did the important stuff. Justin Welby would be allowed to choose what color wallpaper he had in his office, but he really wouldn’t be allowed to decide what the priorities of his job would be – and Justin Welby said no.

Kevin: And that’s the interesting reality here is a busy minion staff can keep their boss busy enough so nothing changes. And basically nothing has changed since Carey and Rowan Williams because the staff has kept the boss so busy. There’s been no classical change in Anglicanism since Lambeth 1:10 because the minions at Church House says ”˜we don’t need any more of those decision-making things from our Primates or from Lambeth. We just need to keep things going at an even flow, no conflict like there’s nothing happening here ”“ walk away ”“ those flames are nothing.’ Justin Welby has from his first day stopped that.

He’s also done something brand new. Yesterday he appointed a new Reconciliation Minister called Canon David Porter, who is from Ireland. Now a quick backdrop of Ireland ”“ Northern Ireland used to live in great conflict in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and there was basically a war in north Ireland between the IRA and the Ulster Union, and some would say it’s been between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. Whatever it was between, it was a mess of people who were so involved in hating each other they forgot why they hated each other. And it ended up in shootings, bombings, assassinations, grenades thrown into school yards, grenades thrown at funerals. Here, watching in America you just couldn’t understand what was really going on, to the point where the people in Ireland really didn’t know what was going on.

People like David Porter, and who was that famous Anglican that was over there?

George Conger: Robert Eames

Kevin: helped these people draw to a peace. Now the peace wasn’t between Christians ”“ the peace was a man-level peace: I will not annihilate you if you don’t annihilate me ”“ that is how man agrees at peace. We’ve done that with Russia and China and other places ”“ the natural ”˜we won’t self-destruct assurance. That isn’t God level reconciliation. We’ve brought this man, David Porter in to Lambeth Palace to help deal with what we call the war of the Anglicans. The Anglican Communion is currently shattered and scattered because of heresy within the church. David Porter is going to be brought in to be a Minister of Reconciliation. Can he do that job George?

George: Well in many ways the situation is just as bad verbally as it was in Northern Ireland. Last month Katherine Jefferts Schori went to Charleston and called Mark Lawrence and the conservatives in that diocese terrorists and murderers, authoritarian thugs who had taken over the church unlawfully. And you and I get emails and see comments all the time by conservatives calling Katherine Jefferts Schori a witch and a heretic. That level of vitriol seems next to impossible to reconcile and the way that the Anglican Communion has been trying to do it through the Indaba process, through a psychological approach with small groups and what not, it’s basically a waste of time; that’s what it’s shown to be ”“ the Panel of Reference, the Indaba, all these different groups have produced absolutely nothing.

Now what is different about this time around? Well, I am excited, I am encouraged because, it’s a dirty word Kevin for some people, but I am about to say it, so you may need to bleep this out, but David Porter is an ”˜Evangelical’

Kevin: Oh, my ears, George

George: and just as Justin Welby is an ”˜Evangelical’. When they talk about reconciliation it’s a multi-part process and the first part of that sort of reconciliation is not between man and man, but between man and God, and once you are reconciled with God, once you are basically looking at things through the prism of holiness and godliness, you then move on to reconciliation with the people around you. And that is what has been able to effect change in Northern Ireland. So in that way Martin McGuiness and Jerry Adams is part of the same government as Ian Paisley, and it’s working and they are happy, those are IRA leaders and the Ulster Unionist leaders. Is it possible that Katharine Jefferts Schori and Bob Duncan could be brought to the same table and work in peace and harmony like the IRA and the Democratic Ulster Unionist Party. If it worked in Northern Ireland it could very well work in South Carolina ”“ I don’t know.

Kevin Kallsen: It’s different. This isn’t Indaba ”“ this is taking a direct charge of a situation and putting a man in charge of ”“ this isn’t the Panel of Reference, this isn’t all the things that were tried before, this is something new. Now the destination may be the same, we may still have a fractured Communion at the end because they cannot reconcile, and this may reveal that there is no reconciliation possible, but we have a person who can help in identifying whether or not there is a possibility of reconciliation. If, you know, ten years from now the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada are no longer part of the Communion well this is something to help get us there

George: and Kevin when – we need to come back to what is the first significant staff appointment the Archbishop of Canterbury has made, it’s this guy, David Porter, to work on the Godly reconciliation of warring factions within the Communion. That is the agenda that Justin Welby is setting down as his priority at Lambeth Palace. And to me ”“ if it works, that’s wonderful ”“ if it doesn’t work it may be very well because that’s God’s will for the church at this time. But in any event that’s the focus, not mosquito nets, not carbon fasts, not global warming, reconciliation under Christ ”“ that’s a wonderful thing.

Kevin: Another thing an Archbishop usually does in first week in office is sit down with the BBC or ITV or somebody for his interview ”“ but they don’t sit down with Christian press, we don’t see that from archbishops of Canterbury very often

George: Not with the last one, the one before we did, Rowan Williams never

Kevin: And for whatever reason I didn’t get to interview him. You got to interview him once, right?

George: 2005 ”“ and never again after that

Kevin: ”˜they ask hard questions ”“ we are not going to have that’
Well this British interviewer for ITV sat down with Justin Welby. He thought he had the perfect candidate: a European liberal, business background, hates banks and financial institutions, obviously this was going to be a great conversation that will play forever in interviewdom and he sits down and says Justin Welby ”“ I am being ”“ this isn’t quite verbatim but ”“ sits down and says Archbishop Welby, you’re the new Archbishop of Canterbury and there has been conflict in the Communion over same-sex marriages and gay bishops and women clergy. Can you as the Archbishop of Canterbury in England, in Britain, help save us from those evil Anglicans around the world and let them know that, you know, that this is OK stuff? George, what does Justin say?

George: ”˜No, no, first off it’s not OK ”“ the Church of England, I Justin Welby do not agree with the government’s position on gay marriage and the changes it is making. ”˜And secondly’ you have to remember, Justin Welby said, ”˜that I am Primate of All England and Archbishop of Canterbury as Archbishop and Primus Inter Pares, first among equals, and I will not subordinate the Anglican Communion to British Politics. I’m not going to force everybody to be English’ ”“ which was what the Welshman, Rowan Williams wanted to do. This is a tremendous change. He is reasserting the independence of the Church, he is reasserting the authority of the Archbishop’s office as an archbishop for the Communion as opposed to a local chairman of the board.

Kevin: so for the first week in office, I’m going to give you know, Archbishop Justin Welby a Ten, you know, he did very well for the first week. I look forward to nothing but good things in the second week. The reality is we don’t know what it is going to look like when he finally resigns a decade down the line, whether he has had a real effect on the Anglican Communion or not. However based on what I’ve observed from the first week, I can’t complain. George, how about you?

George: A for effort

Kevin: A for effort

In the end, repentance, not love, has come to symbolise Cranmer himself, his life’s work being interpreted by his last days. In the eyes of his critics, Cranmer’s recantations prove that at best he was weak and vacillating. In the hearts of his admirers, however, Cranmer’s last-minute renunciation of his recantations proved his true commitment to the Protestant faith. But what of Cranmer himself, how did he interpret his last days and the meaning they gave to his life? According to a contemporary account, having previously been distraught, Cranmer came to the stake with a cheerful countenance and willing mind.

Fire being now put to him, he stretched out his right Hand, and thrust it into the Flame, and held it there a good space, before the Fire came to any other Part of his Body; where his Hand was seen of every Man sensibly burning, crying with a loud Voice, This Hand hath offended. As soon as the Fire got up, he was very soon Dead, never stirring or crying all the while.

His Catholic executioners surely thought Cranmer was making satisfaction to his Protestant God. Yet his doctrine of repentance would have taught him otherwise, for the God he served saved the unworthy.

Read it all.

Merciful God, who through the work of Thomas Cranmer didst renew the worship of thy Church by restoring the language of the people, and through whose death didst reveal thy power in human weakness: Grant that by thy grace we may always worship thee in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

O Lord God, keep ever in our remembrance the life and death of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Make the thought of his love powerful to win us from evil. As he toiled and sorrowed and suffered for us, in fighting against sin, so may we endure constantly and labour diligently, as his soldiers and servants, looking ever unto him and counting it all joy to be partakers with him in his conflict, his cross and his victory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoi”²akim the son of Josi”²ah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the evil which I intend to do to them because of their evil doings. You shall say to them, ”˜Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you, and to heed the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not heeded, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’”
The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ”˜This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. Then the priests and the prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will repent of the evil which he has pronounced against you. But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

–Jeremiah 26:1-16

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And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night

On Tuesday, March 19, 2013 (the Feast of Saint Joseph) over 85 clergy and guests from the Diocese of South Carolina gathered for the annual Clergy Renewal of Vows service. Bishop Lawrence, in his sermon, drew a parallel between Saint Joseph and the clergy illustrating how Joseph, though often overlooked and discounted in the eyes of the world, remained faithful to Jesus Christ and the call of God on his life. Lawrence said that “the priest’s life is a sign of God’s covenant love for the church.”

Read it all and please note the audio link to Bishop Lawrence’s sermon.

By Canon Chris Sugden
Welby himself reflected on lessons from treasury management for conflict resolution: synthesise a lot of information quickly and under pressure; flexibility in attitude, analytical models, planning and execution; and steely determination towards key goals.

His reconciliation ministry developed six “Rs” for work in conflict situations: Researching ”“ carefully listening to all sides and also identifying ”˜spoilers’ with a vested interest in continuation of the conflict and planning to deal with them; Relating ”“ to people not to an office and not because they are good but because they are there; Relieving ”“ alleviating the socio-economic roots of conflict; Risking ”“ and trusting the sovereignty of God; Reconciling ”“ to enable warring communities to continue to disagree without violence or mutual destruction, a process that cannot be contained simply within the Church; and Resourcing ”“ enabling communities to address their own conflicts without outside assistance. Christ’s shed blood was ”˜the fountain of reconciliation with God , from which all other reconciliation flows’.

From his study of Thiselton’s commentary on 1 Corinthians Welby noticed that although the Corinthians were in error on several major theological issues, the Apostle Paul continued to treat them “as fellow members of the family of God”.

In moving to Liverpool as Dean and then Durham as bishop he focused on risk-taking in decisive leadership interwoven with collegiality and consensus.

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This article ‘Making Space for Truth and Grace’ originally appeared on T19 here in 2008. Given the interest in the latest diocesan address by Bishop Jones it gives some background to events in the Diocese of Liverpool in that period
The 1998 Lambeth Conference asked us to be in dialogue with gay and lesbian people and as a result of that in 2001 I invited Professor Ian Markham then Professor of Public Theology at Liverpool Hope University and now Dean of Virginia Theological Seminary to chair a group exploring “A Theology of Friendship”. The group’s membership reflected the diversity of opinion, theological , ethical and ecclesiastical and was inclusive of gender. The group worked for two years with occasional residential consultations and needed all that time to build trust so that honest discussion could take place. Although I was not part of the group my own thinking has been informed by their findings. In particular I have continued to reflect on the biblical material. The quality of the group’s work has set the tone for the debate in the Diocese which is an important contribution to our common life and to the mission of God, for energy is not being sapped by internal strife.

“The Theology of Friendship” Report took me in particular to the relationship between David and Jonathan……
….
We have had two residential conferences within the tripartite conversation. In April 2005 Liverpool invited Akure and in November 2006 invited both Akure and Virginia. Agreed statements describe the process and the substance of our reflections to which I am not at liberty to add. In each case the conversation was facilitated by Stephen Lyon whose skills added indisputably to the quality of the conversation.

These encounters in England together with my own visits to America and Africa have enabled me to study the Scriptures with greater cultural awareness. I have a deeper and more affectionate understanding of both Africa and America. I can see how the Church of Nigeria’s response to the sexuality debate is contextualised…

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Archbishop Welby agrees there are many strengths of the Anglican parish system, but ‘we fish badly’: ‘The church is good at contact and presence but too often poor at bringing people to faith in Jesus. … We are excellent at building bridges into the community and into society and rather less good at getting the gospel across the bridge, and bringing people back. Or to put it another way our net holds many but we land few.’ His evangelistic passion is best encapsulated by a recent address to an Alpha Vision Day in Sheffield, attended by over 700 church leaders from across the north of Britain: ‘We are facing in this country the greatest opportunity that God has given us since the Second World War. … It is a moment of unique opportunity and the challenge that the Spirit is saying to the Church today is, “Will you take this moment and reverse the decline that we have seen for the last 70 or 80 years?”‘ With buoyant confidence in the grace and power of God, the new Archbishop believes that great things are possible in our generation. The task of the church, he insists, is ‘to go out and … to reconvert our land, to transform its society and all that goes with it.’

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Pope Francis today emphasized the importance of the promotion of friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions during a meeting with ecumenical and interfaith leaders who had attended his inauguration Mass.

This meeting was preceded by private encounters with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, and the Metropolitan Hilarion, the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations for the Patriarchate of Moscow.

Read it all and the full text of his address is here

Almighty God, who didst give to thy servant Thomas Ken grace and courage to bear witness to the truth before rulers and kings: Give us also thy strength that, following his example, we may constantly defend what is right, boldly reprove what is evil, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and ever.

Holy Father, who hast redeemed us with the precious blood of thy dear Son: Keep us, we beseech thee, steadfast in faith, and enable us no longer to live unto ourselves, but unto him who died for us and rose again, even the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

–Romans 10:14-21

Romans 8.17”“39
a sermon in celebration of the life and ministry of Canon Keith A. A. Weston
On Desert Island Discs you choose a book, but they tell you ”˜You’ve already got the Bible and Shakespeare’. I used to say to clergy, ”˜tell me your two Desert Island texts’ ”“ and I used to add, ”˜And you’ve already got John 20 and Romans 8.’

That sends me for a moment across to John, where we find a graphic personal outworking of Paul’s theme: those whom he justified, he also glorified. In John 21 Jesus meets Peter on the shore after Peter’s disastrous denial. Three times Jesus asks him, ”˜Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Three times Peter answers with a tentative Yes. The narrative then cries out for a word of forgiveness, but Jesus gives a word of commission. Feed my sheep. And then a word of warning: follow me, all the way to the cross. Those whom he justified, he also glorified: those to whom he gives the word of free forgiveness, to them he also gives the commission to join him in his costly work, to come when he calls, to go where he sends, to do what he tells you. The word of forgiveness and the word of call and commission regularly come together. We are not forgiven in order to sit back and do nothing. We are justified in order that we may also be glorified.

And equally every call and commission in the service of Jesus begins with that free, undeserved, by-grace-alone forgiveness. When I was in Durham a national committee proposed a new ordination service which included lots of creative and exciting things, and to make room they proposed some cuts, including the confession and absolution. My Durham colleagues and I agreed that this was nonsense. All Christian calling and ministry flows from the forgiving grace of God. That’s where Peter started; that’s where we all start. Start anywhere else and you’re building on sand. We thank God today for a life and ministry which was rooted in that forgiving and justifying grace and never grew weary in speaking of it. Those he glorified have already been justified.

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…One hundred or 150 years from today, the generations then may look back at ours and wonder about how unenlightened we were in some spheres of life.

Take Church leadership: they will wonder about how come a people who lived in the age of air travel, the Internet, and pinhole surgery, had for long been so blind to the obvious ”“ that the strength of the Church, across its main denominations ”“ Catholicism, Anglicanism, Pentecostalism (CAP) ”“ in the late 20th and through the 21st Centuries lay in the Global South, and that is where its leadership should come from…

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Lyrics:

1. Behold me here, in grief draw near, Pleading at Thy throne oh King.
To Thee each tear, each trembling fear, Jesus Son of Man I bring.
Let me find Thee, Let me find Thee.
Let me find Thee, Lord of mercy King of grace.

2. Look down in love, and from above, With Thy Spirit satisfy.
Thou hast sought me, Thou hast bought me, And thy purchase Lord am I.
Let me find Thee, Let me find Thee.
Let me find Thee, Here on earth and then on high.

3. Hear the broken, scarcely spoken, Longings of my heart to thee
All the crying, all the sighing, Of Thy child accepted be.
Let me find Thee, Let me find Thee.
Let me find Thee, Wounded healer, suffering Lord.

This was the offertory for worship where I was this past Sunday–listen to it all; KSH.

Grant, O Lord, that in thy wounds we may find our safety, in thy stripes our cure, in thy pain our peace, in thy cross our victory, in thy resurrection our triumph; and, at the last, a crown of righteousness in the glories of thy eternal kingdom.

A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.

–Psalm 121

Coverage of the service which took place this morning:

Multilingual Order of Service here

Articles:
+ Video – Vatican Radio Discussion: Everyone’s Pope NEW
+ Vatican News – Pope: Homily for inaugural Mass of Petrine Ministry [full text]
+ Vatican Radio – Pope Francis: Holy Mass for inauguration of Petrine Ministry
+ Vatican News – Tomorrow, Mass of Inauguration of Bishop of Rome’s Petrine Ministry
+ Archbishop of York to Attend Inauguration Mass of Pope Francis
+ ACNS – Communion delegation for inauguration of Pope Francis
+ CofE – Statement from the Bishop of Guildford

Other Information:
+ Vatican Radio
+ Vatican Site

As you know over the years I have shared with you my thinking about how the Gospel of embrace might be felt by those who are gay. I am beginning to wonder how the church historians of the 22nd Century will view our current debate. I think it may seem then to them extraordinary that the litmus paper test of orthodoxy centred on whether or not one had a generous attitude to those who are gay. I believe that there is a difference between heterosexual union and same gender intimacy and that it is appropriate to maintain that difference in the language we use. But if the Church now recognises Civil Partnerships to be a just response to the needs of gay people then surely the Church now has to ask the question whether or not it can deny the blessing of God to that which is just.

Furthermore, if we take 1 Corinthians 7 seriously and acknowledge truthfully that there is a proportion within society and in the Church who are naturally gay in that they have not chosen this as a disposition but find it both a given and a genuine expression of their sexuality why should we deprive them the biblical discipline of being able to channel their sexuality into a committed relationship of mutual trust and love.

Read it all and there is a press release here

An historic first will grace the mass, March 19, that will inaugurate the pontificate of Pope Francis . After nearly 1,000 years, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople will attend the inauguration of the Pope of Rome.

Delegates from more than 20 Christian churches and ecumenical organizations announced their attendance. However, the presence of His Holiness Bartholomew I is of historic significance.

Considered “first among equals” in the Eastern Orthodox Communion, the Patriarch of Constantinople has not attended the installation of a Pope of Rome in more than 950 years, since Constantinople split from Rome in 1054.

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