From Interfax News Agency
“…The introduction of the institution of female bishops will lead to the elimination of even a theoretical possibility of the Moscow Patriarchate recognizing the church hierarchy of the Anglican Church, the communications service of the Department for External Church Relations reported on Saturday.

“I would like you to know about that and take our opinion into account when this issue arises again,” Metropolitan Hilarion said.

Metropolitan Hilarion also said he is hoping Justin Welby will firmly defend the traditional biblical understanding of marriage as a union between a man and a woman “to prevent secular society from forcing on the Church of England the recognition of some forms of cohabitation which were never considered marriage by Christian churches…”

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Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan were doing just fine as solo performers. Then one night, Ryan walked into a bar where Pattengale was playing.

“I heard Kenneth perform a song that he had written from the perspective of a dead dog, only very recently having been hit by a truck,” Ryan says, wryly. “And it was that sort of uplifting material that drew us together.”

Now, they’re a duo: The Milk Carton Kids. They have been compared to Simon & Garfunkel for their close-harmony vocals and songs that are precise, softly uttered poems. And when they banter, they sound a bit like a long-married couple.

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O God our heavenly Father, who to redeem the world didst deliver up thine only Son to be betrayed by one of his disciples and sold to his enemies: Take from us, we beseech thee, all covetousness and hypocrisy; and so strengthen us, that, loving thee above all things, we may remain steadfast in our faith unto the end; through him who gave his life for us, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

–Laurence Tuttiett (1825-1897)

Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? “I the LORD search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

–Jeremiah 17:5-10

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The pontiff’s choice is a consequence of his desire to adopt a “simple” living arrangement that allows him “to live in community” with other priests and bishops, Lombardi explained.

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Selects CNC member again for Primates – Anglican Alliance has no funds to give – Indaba outbreak spreads
During Monday’s meeting, the Standing Committee were also asked to elect one of the Anglican Communion primates to serve on the Church of England’s Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) were there a need to appointment a new Archbishop of Canterbury. Electing a primate to serve in this capacity will happen annually.

The committee elected an Archbishop from an African province, with a second African primate also elected in case the first is unable to serve when called upon. The names of those elected will be released after they have been informed.
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Sally Keeble presented on the work of Anglican Alliance, Development, Relief and Advocacy of which she is the director. She highlighted the importance of the regional consultations and local facilitators based in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. She explained how the Alliance works””via capacity building, sharing best practice, networking and developing best practice””and emphasised that it is not a funding body.
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Presenting on Continuing Indaba, the Revd Dr Phil Groves said it had been birthed out of disputes, but had now moved on to where people were genuinely considering the different cultures and different understanding of the scriptures that emerged. “What excites us is that these conversations of difference lead on to greater mission in the life of the church.”

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