Monthly Archives: October 2013

GAFCON II: Archbishop Welby addresses Gafcon in Nairobi in 2013

You may find the video here.

Watch it all and form your own conclusions and make your own prayerful evaluations (a little over 27 minutes).

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Culture-Watch, --Justin Welby, Anglican Church of Kenya, Anglican Provinces, Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England (CoE), GAFCON II 2013, Global South Churches & Primates, Globalization, Science & Technology, Theology

(Barna) How Technology is Changing Millennial Faith

The one-way communication from pulpit to pew is not how Millennials experience faith. By nature of digital connectedness, Millennial life is interactive. For many of them, faith is interactive as well””whether their churches are ready for it or not. It’s an ongoing conversation, and it’s all happening on their computers, tablets and smart phones. What’s more, many of them bring their devices with them to church. Now with the ability to fact-check at their fingertips, Millennials aren’t taking the teaching of faith leaders for granted. In fact, 14% of Millennials say they search to verify something a faith leader has said. A striking 38% of practicing Christian Millennials say the same.

Beyond the congregation, technology is also changing how Millennials learn about and discuss their faith. This generation is accustomed to foraging in multiple digital places at any given time””from texting to Twitter to Instagram, from news feeds to blogs and more. This digital deluge naturally includes matters of faith and spirituality. For example, more than four out of 10 practicing Christian Millennials say they participate in online conversations about faith, and the same number say they blog or post comments on blogs about spiritual matters.

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, Blogging & the Internet, Religion & Culture, Science & Technology, Young Adults

(Telegraph) Christopher Howse–Martyrs need not stoke up hatred

Among those beatified on Sunday were 24 brothers of the order of St John of God. This remarkable man had begun looking after the sick and poor in Granada in 1539, and that was the task of his followers 400 years later. One of those was Feliciano Martínez, who worked at a hospital in Valencia and was know for his big-heartedness and simplicity. He had fallen off a horse once, which left him with a limp, and he gained the nickname Cojito, “Hopalong”. On October 4 1936 he was taken to the shore and shot. He was 73.

Of those beatified, 74 were Brothers of Christian Schools, as they are known in Spain for their provision of education for the poor. In Britain they are called De la Salle Brothers, after their French founder (1651-1719).

Read it all.

Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, Church History, Death / Burial / Funerals, Parish Ministry

A Prayer to Begin the Day

O Lord and Father, to whom alone the debtors in ten thousand talents can come with hope of mercy: Have mercy upon us, O Lord, who have aught to repay; forgive us all the debt, forgive us all our sins, and make us merciful to others; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Bible Readings

Why am I in peril every hour? I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

But some one will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is alike, but there is one kind for men, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are celestial bodies and there are terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory

–1 Corinthians 15:30-41

Posted in Theology, Theology: Scripture

Guardian Nigeria: Archbishop Okoh leads 470 Anglicans to Nairobi conference

The Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, left Abuja Sunday as the head of Nigeria’s 470-man delegation to Kenya, to attend the second Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), opening today.

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, Anglican Provinces, Church of Nigeria, GAFCON II 2013, Global South Churches & Primates

Choral Evensong from King's College, Cambridge


Listen to Evensong from 13th October if you wish

Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, Liturgy, Music, Worship

(Anglican Ink) Archbishop Welby backs GAFCON vision for a renewed Church

The Archbishop of Canterbury offered his qualified personal endorsement to Gafcon today, telling the congregation of All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi his vision for the future of the Anglican Communion was of a Bible-based church dedicated to mission and evangelism ”“ goals shared by the Gafcon movement of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA).

While Archbishop Justin Welby stopped short of giving Gafcon his formal imprimatur, he conceded the existing instruments of communion were no longer fit for purpose in ordering the life of the Anglican world.

The archbishop also hinted the Communion may not be able to count upon the Church of England to hold the line on issues close to the heart of the Gafcon movement.

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, --Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, GAFCON II 2013, Global South Churches & Primates

Links to follow news from GAFCON 2013 in Nairobi

This post is sticky. Please look below for new entries. LAST UPDATED: 26 October 19:30 EDT / 23:30 GMT

The OFFICIAL GAFCON Website
GAFCON conference program

SOURCES FOR NEWS STORIES:
Anglican Ink – with live reporting from Fr. George Conger (Gafcon stories) [Anglican Ink homepage (some GAFCON stories are at this link, not the other)]
ACNA’s GAFCON page (click on the daily tabs for each day’s news & photos)
Anglican Mainstream GAFCON category Note: some Anglican Mainstream posts about GAFCON may be posted under the “news” category, so perhaps it is better to click on this link which provides search results for all entries with the word GAFCON
TitusOneNine GAFCON category

VIDEOS: Anglican TV:
Live Feed videocasts
Anglican TV – archived videos
*IMPORTANT*: There are several GAFCON videos on KevinKallsen’s YouTube page that are not yet archived at AnglicanTV.
GAFCON videos page (Vimeo)

TWITTER FEEDS:
#GAFCON2013 [Other variants: #GAFCON or #GAFCON13]
ACNA Twitter Feed page
Anglican Future @gafconference

PHOTOS:
GAFCON Facebook page
ACNA Facebook page
Photo album from the GAFCON site (with captions!)
[** NEW **] George Conger’s GAFCON II Photo Album at Flickr {see note on copyright here.)

BLOGS: (focusing on first-person blog entries by those attending the conference)
David Ould
Juicy Ecumenicism (IRD blog) – reporting by Jeff Walton & Faith McDonnell
21st Century Anglican
I am not the man (Nigel Fortescue, Australia)
Fr. George Conger’s blog (includes his stories for publications like the Church Times, etc.)
LRM (Laurel Moffatt, Sydney Australia) [*updated link*]
**Bishop Mark Lawrence’s blog
Restoration Anglican Church blog (Arlington, VA)
Does Anyone Read These Things? (St. Timothy’s Anglican, Burlington, VT)
Blog of St. John’s Working, UK
Jolly Monk blog
Rob Munro’s blog
The Beach Blog (Bishop Foley Beach)
[New]The Rev. Shari Hobby (Trinity Anglican, Thomasville Georgia) [Reports on church facebook page]
[New] Updates from John W Yates III (Holy Trinity Anglican, Raleigh NC)

PRAYER:
GAFCON Collect
Lent & Beyond GAFCON category
GAFCON Prayer Bulletins
GAFCON Prayer Points

***

GAFCON 2013 DAY by DAY: TRANSCRIPTS, VIDEOS, DAILY DIGESTS, BLOG ENTRIES, PHOTOS
**(signifies a featured entry)

Sunday Oct 20 – Opening Worship & Primates Meeting with ABC
** Video: Abp. Welby Addresses GAFCON (Oct. 20)
** Notes of Archbishop Justin’s sermon to GAFCON Primates in Nairobi
50 great pictures from Oct. 20th service at Cathedral (ACNA facebook page)
** TRANSCRIPT: Archbishop Jensen’s address to the archbishops’ luncheon with Justin Welby
** VIDEO: Archbishop Jensen’s address to the archbishops’ luncheon with Justin Welby [12:12]

DAY 1: Monday Oct 21:
Day 1 Press Release: Nairobi conference confirms major realignment in Anglican Communion
Monday Oct 21 Daily Digest (ACNA)
GAFCON 2: Monday 21st October (Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream)
October 21 photos – ACNA facebook page
** Video: Monday highlights (Gafcon)
** Video: Opening Press Conference (Oct 21) [There is also a short 3 minute compilation of excerpts from the Day 1 Press Conferencewatch it here.]
** David Ould: Gafcon Day 1- The Church Gathered and a Firm Word for Abp Welby
Laurel Moffatt: GAFCON Day One in Living Colour
Bishop Mark Lawrence: Jottings from GAFCONII
**GAFCON Feature Article: Legacy of East African Revival Frames GAFCON Opening Night
** Video: Abp. Wabukala welcomes delegates to Kenya [7:41]
** Video: Abp Jensen Opens the GAFCON Conference (including roll call of nations) [22 minutes]
GAFCON DAY 1: Seeds of Revival? (Rob Munro’s blog)
** TRANSCRIPT: Presentation on the East African Revival by the Rev. Dr. John Senyonyi, (Vice-Chancellor of Uganda Christian University)
Selected Tweets: GAFCON Day 1
** [NEW] Fr. George Conger’s Summary of Day 1 at GAFCON: Revival and the Anglican Way
** [NEW] VIDEO: Presentation on the East Africa Revival by the Rev. Dr. John Senyonyi (Vice-Chancellor of Uganda Christian University) [48 minutes]

DAY 2: Tuesday Oct 22:
**TRANSCRIPT: Chairman’s Address GAFCON 2013 Plenary 22nd October
Tuesday Oct 22 Photos (ACNA)
** David Ould: GAFCON Day 2 – A Clear Challenge to Welby and Much More
GAFCON Diary Day 2 (Anglican Mainstream)
GAfCON Day Two (Nigel Fortescue’s blog)
**GAFCON Feature Article: Churches tempted to ”˜change Christian faith’ for culture
ACNA Tuesday GAFCON Daily Digest
Tuesday Highlights Video [under 3 minutes]
Video: Apb, Jensen interviews Andrea Minichiello Williams on Christian Persecution in the UK [2:30] [this was part of the “You are not alone” series]
VIDEO: The Rev. Paul Perkin: What is happening in the Church of England [18 minutes]
VIDEO: The Lonely Church [13 minutes]
** Rob Munro: GAFCON Day 2: Who’s Changing Whom?
*** TRANSCRIPT: The Grace of God OR the world of the West? The Rev Dr Michael Ovey (President, Oak Hill College) [highly recommended!] [PDF File is here]
You Are Not Alone – brief summary of several of the testimonies from those persecuted for their faith (AAC website)
Selected Tweets: GAFCON Day 2
**[NEW] VIDEO: Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali: Global Challenge [12 minutes]
**[NEW] VIDEO: Dr. Mike Ovey’s presentation on The Grace of God or the World of the West [50 minutes]
**[NEW] TRANSCRIPT: The Rev. Paul Perkin: Battle for the Soul of Britain – what;s happening in the CoE
***[NEW] Fr. George Conger’s Summary of Day 2 at GAFCON – A Suffering and Lonely Church (VERY HELPFUL – includes embedded links to various videos)

DAY 3: Wednesday Oct. 23:
Archbishop Justin Welby’s video message to GAFCON
GAFCON Delegates Share Across Cultures as Mini-Conferences Begin
VIDEO: Participants reflect on the mini-conferences taking place at GAFCON [2:30]
David Ould: Day 3: Welby and Jensen – Ambiguity of Context and Clarity of Scripture
** Nigel Fortescue: GAFCON Day 3
** GAFCON Report Day 3 (Anglican Mainstream)
Rob Munro: GAFCON Day 3: What marks a movement of the Holy Spirit?
Photos: Day 3 (ACNA facebook page)
Selected Tweets from GAFCON II – Day 3 October 23, 2013
ACNA Daily Digest – Wednesday
** Laurel Moffatt: GAFCON Many Voices One Song
** Restoration Anglican: Nairobi #2

Day 4: Thursday Oct 24
We elves have not been slacking off, but today is a slow news day at GAFCON. Much of the afternoon and evening was free for a visit to a national park and a cultural evening, so there are likely to be few materials available for today.
** Summary GAFCON II Day 4 (Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream)
** Nigel Fortescue: GAFCON Day 4
** Rob Munro: GAFCON Day 4: Widening Horizons
** Bishop Foley Beach: The Suffering Church
Photos Day 4 (ACNA facebook page – mostly pictures from this afternoon’s trip to Nairobi National Park
** David Ould: GAFCON Day 4: Global Anglicanism in its Natural State
GAFCON Day 4 (St. John’s Working UK blog)
Shari Hobby: GAFCON Reoprt Day 4
VIDEO: GAFCON Thursday Highlights
ACNA GAFCON Daily Digest Thursday
Video on Women’s mini-conference [3:00]
*** [NEW] ** Bishop Mark Lawrence: Jottings from GAFCON II – Take 2 (summarizes Days 2 – 4)

GAFCON Day 5: Friday Oct 25
**VIDEO: GAFCON Friday Press Conference
David Ould: BREAKING: GAFCON Movement Bishops Vote to Expand – Across Boundaries
** Friday October 25 Press Release: GAFCON Votes to Expand
** Anglican Mainstream: GAFCON 2 Report Friday October 25
** Nigel Fortescue: GAFCON Day 5
** St. John’s Working UK blog: GAFCON Friday, Day 5
** Rob Munro: GAFCON Day 5 – Discerning the call of God for the Future
** Bishop Foley Beach: GAFCON the East Africa Revival (this is a bit of a general overview, not as specifically about Day 5, but it is very good)
Selected Tweets GAFCON Day 5
VIDEO: Canon Phil Ashey of AAC – Anglican Perspective Commentary on GAFCON as an Ecclesial movement [2 minutes]
ACNA Daily Digest – Friday
Friday Photos – ACNA facebook page
[NEW] Jeff Walton: GAFCON Leaders Point to “Strong Foundation of the Bible” at Second Press Gathering
[NEW] Friday Highlights Video
** [NEW] Snippets of African Worship “Afayo [He is Lord] via Instagram here and here

GAFCON DAY 6: Saturday October 26

** [NEW] ** FINAL Nairobi Communique and Commitment PDF Version is here
Feature Article: GAFCON ends with commitment in Nairobi
Chris Sugden (Christian Today): GAFCON offers itself as ‘important and effective instrument of Communion’
**[NEW] Laurel Moffatt: GAFCON – Strands of Loving Kindness
**[NEW] Rob Munro: GAFCON Day 6 – Discovering the Real Meaning of the Anglican Communion
[NEW] Some Final Tweets from GAFCON Day 6
**[NEW] Restoration Anglican: GAFCON Day 6
**[NEW] St John’s Working UK: GAFCON Day 6
**[NEW] Lent & Beyond: The Faces of GAFCON – Part 2 (30 awesome pictures)

***
We will update this list as we find more links. We would love to know of anyone blogging about the conference, or any other good links you find for following the conference. Please leave a comment with any links you recommend. – the elves.

Posted in * Admin, * Anglican - Episcopal, * Resources & Links, Featured (Sticky), GAFCON II 2013, Global South Churches & Primates

Gafcon Media Release: Nairobi Cathedral welcomes Primates for GAFCON 2013

Thousands packed multiple services at Nairobi’s All Saints Cathedral on the eve of the Global Anglican Future Conference (Sunday 20th October).

Leading the joyous congregants was the Primate of Kenya and chairman of GAFCON, Eliud Wabukala, along with members of the GAFCON Primates Council and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Archbishop Justin Welby joined Archbishop Robert Duncan, Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, Presiding Bishop Tito Zavala of the Southern Cone, Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul of Sudan, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria and Archbishop Henri Isingoma of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Archbishops Duncan and Bishop Zavala joined in celebrating communion while Archbishop Welby preached, in a truly international event.

Read it all and there is a link to pictures

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, GAFCON II 2013, Global South Churches & Primates

(NY Times On Religion) For Jewish School’s Football Team, It’s Thursday Night Lights

Early Thursday morning at a Jewish high school here, Elan Kainen donned the prayer shawl that had been a gift from his maternal grandfather and recited the prayers of the Shacharit service. Nine hours later, he went through another ritual, one involving pads, cleats and a helmet, as he suited up for what might be the final game of his high school football career.

The Hurricanes of Scheck Hillel Community School were going up against a conference rival, the Berean Christian School Bulldogs, with a spot in the postseason playoffs hanging in the balance. For Elan and his teammates, who attend one of the only Jewish religious schools in the nation to play varsity football, Friday evening is for Shabbat dinner. Their gridiron action takes place under Thursday night lights.

For Scheck Hillel’s team, the fall football schedule bends in deference to the string of holidays that run from Rosh Hashana to Simchat Torah. Before getting the usual locker-room exhortation from their coach, players hear a d’var Torah, a sermon about the week’s Torah portion, from a rabbi. At home games, the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah,” is played over the stadium loudspeaker.

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Religion News & Commentary, Education, Judaism, Other Faiths, Religion & Culture, Sports, Teens / Youth

(NPR) Technology Addiction–When Playing Video Games Means Sitting On Life's Sidelines

A facility outside Seattle, surrounded by pine trees, is a refuge for addicts ”” of technology.

There are chickens, a garden and a big tree house with a zipline. A few guys kick a soccer ball around between therapy appointments in the cottage’s grassy backyard.

The reSTART center was set up in 2009. It treats all sorts of technology addictions, but most of the young men who come through here ”” and they are all young men ”” have the biggest problem with video games.

Read os listen to it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, Anthropology, Blogging & the Internet, Health & Medicine, Pastoral Theology, Psychology, Science & Technology, Theology

(Julia Duin) Providing Online Religion for the Masses

In the past three years, a quintet of engaging religion news sites has cropped up across the country. Why? By the end of the past decade, it was clear that newspaper editors were cutting costs wherever they could and the religion beat was often the first to go. Numerous cities were without any non-sectarian religion coverage whatsoever as religion reporters were either laid off (which is what happened to me) or transferred to other beats (Jeffrey Weiss for the Dallas Morning News is a key example). One writer who was laid off from her Connecticut paper was Tracy Simmons. She dreamed up her own religion news web site for the Hartford area called creedible.com and did quite well, eventually winning an award in 2011 for best religion news section. She was a pioneer in independent religion news sites.

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, Blogging & the Internet, History, Media, Religion & Culture

Photo of a Card given this Morning for Pastor Appreciation Day

This was made by one of the children at Christ Saint Paul’s Yonges Island, South Carolina, and presented to rector Craige Borrett and myself this morning–KSH.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, * Culture-Watch, Art, Children, Ministry of the Ordained, Parish Ministry, Theology

(Sunday Mailonline) Archbishop damns energy price hikes in controversial attack

The Archbishop of Canterbury has criticised energy companies for imposing huge price rises that will hammer struggling families.

Justin Welby said power giants had a ”˜massive’ moral duty beyond squeezing customers for maximum profit, and challenged the firms to justify their huge increases in bills.

The Archbishop, himself a former oil executive, said he understood the anger over apparently ”˜inexplicable’ rises and called on the companies ”˜to behave with generosity and not merely to maximise opportunity’.

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Economics, Politics, * International News & Commentary, --Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Consumer/consumer spending, Corporations/Corporate Life, Economy, Energy, Natural Resources, England / UK

Matthew Gunter Elected as the Eighth Bishop of the TEC Diocese of Fond du Lac

Gunter, rector of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, was elected on the 2nd ballot out of a field of three candidates. To be elected, a candidate must have received a majority of the votes in both the lay order and the clergy order. On the second ballot, he received 73 of 99 votes cast in the lay order (50 required) and 43 of 69 votes cast in the clergy order (35 required).

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, Episcopal Church (TEC), TEC Bishops, TEC Diocesan Conventions/Diocesan Councils

GAFCON: Archbishop Eliud Wabukala interviewed by the BBC this morning

Listen to Archbishop Eliud Wabukala followed by the Rev George Conger being interviewed about GAFCON and the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury by William Crawley on the BBC’s Sunday Program this morning [lasts for the first nine minutes]

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, GAFCON II 2013, Global South Churches & Primates

(Pew Research) 5 facts about Social Security

2–At its root Social Security is, and always has been, an inter-generational transfer of wealth….

4–…since 2010 Social Security’s cash expenses have exceeded its cash receipts; negative cash flow last year was about $55 billion, according to the latest report from the system’s trustees. While credited interest is still more than enough to cover the deficit, that will only be true until 2020. After that, Social Security will begin redeeming its hoard of Treasuries for cash to continue paying benefits ”” as was the plan all along.

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, Budget, Economy, Ethics / Moral Theology, History, House of Representatives, Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market, Office of the President, Politics in General, President Barack Obama, Senate, Social Security, The National Deficit, The U.S. Government, Theology

(RNS) God in Gotham: 16 Christians making a difference in New York City

…according to Barna Research’s survey of more that 3,400 residents in the New York media market, New York City is more spiritually active today than in the late 1990s or even 2001 in the wake of 9/11. Barna reports that church attendance is increasing, the number of “unchurched” residents is decreasing, and the number of “born again” Christians is on the rise, surging from 20% in the late 1990s to 32% today.

According to Barna, born again Christians are “individuals who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in the life and who believe they will go to Heaven because they have accepted Christ and been forgiven of their sins.”

Possible explanations for New York’s Christian renaissance are numerous, but the city’s crop of increasingly influential Christian pastors, educators, and thought leaders is partially responsible. Here are at least 16 leaders”“in unranked order”“who are contributing to the city’s Christian revival….

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, America/U.S.A., Religion & Culture, Urban/City Life and Issues

A Prayer to Begin the Day

We pray thee, O God our Father, for all who profess and call themselves Christians, that their love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all discernment until the day of Christ; that they may be sincere and void of offence, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are through Jesus Christ unto thy praise and glory, now and for ever.

Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Bible Readings

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them for ever and ever; he fixed their bounds which cannot be passed. Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the LORD!

–Psalm 148

Posted in Theology, Theology: Scripture

Stephen Colbert on Pope Francis, Cardinal Dolan and (of course) Stephen Colbert

“Speaking of Pope Francis, obviously as an observant Catholic, I believe the pope is infallible. But he’s also wrong about a lot of things.”

“By the way, is the pope here? Pope Francis, are you here? Because if you were we probably wouldn’t know because His Humbleness would be out washing the feet of the coat check guy or something. We get it, you’re modest.”

“If Pope Francis were throwing tonight’s party we wouldn’t be in white tie at the Waldorf. We’d be in sweat pants crammed into a corner booth at the IHOP.”

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * General Interest, * International News & Commentary, * Religion News & Commentary, America/U.S.A., Humor / Trivia, Other Churches, Pope Francis, Religion & Culture, Roman Catholic

(Anglican Journal) Andrew Stephens-Rennie: Awakening to the gospel

When we step back and take a deep breath, we come to understand that there is much at which to wonder. The Rev. Bill Cliff, Huron University College’s chaplain, is fond of saying, “If the gospel isn’t astonishing, you’re not reading it right.”

If we’re going to engage in Christian youth ministry that matters, we need to reawaken our sense of awe, wonder and astonishment. If we are not captivated by the Christian story, how can we expect our children to find it relevant?

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, Anglican Church of Canada, Anglican Provinces, Parish Ministry, Youth Ministry

(Pew Research) Trust in Government Nears Record Low, But Most Federal Agencies Are Viewed Favorably

Public trust in the government, already quite low, has edged even lower in a survey conducted just before the Oct. 16 agreement to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling.

Trust in Government Again Near All-Time LowJust 19% say that they trust the government in Washington to do what is right just about always or most of the time, down seven points since January. The current measure matches the level reached in August 2011, following the last battle over the debt ceiling. Explore a Pew Research interactive on Public Trust in Government: 1958-2013.

The share of the public saying they are angry at the federal government, which equaled an all-time high in late September (26%), has ticked up to 30%. Another 55% say they are frustrated with the government. Just 12% say they are basically content with the federal government.

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, * International News & Commentary, America/U.S.A., Economy, Ethics / Moral Theology, History, House of Representatives, Office of the President, Politics in General, President Barack Obama, President George Bush, Psychology, Senate, The U.S. Government, Theology

(Living Church) George Sumner–Cape Town’s ”˜Yes’ and ”˜No’

What might Anglicans make of these conclusions? Cape Town is in the main consistent with a serious, plain-sense reading of The Catechism of the 1979 prayer book. Our evangelical neighbors show us not the face of “the Other” but rather that of our own forgotten selves. If to some readers Cape Town seems distant, it will be because of our own estrangement or amnesia. Traditional believers within Anglicanism, be they Catholic or evangelical, are not some outdated rump but rather the enfleshed memory of normative, ecumenical, global Christianity.

Here the question of what Cape Town is saying “No” to returns. What makes Cape Town appealing is its address of Christian practice as well as belief. It consciously compares itself to Pauline epistles, which move from proclamation (kerygma) to moral exhortation (paraenesis). Talking the talk must move on quickly to walking the walk. And on this score Cape Town does not let evangelicals off the hook. They have not always proclaimed the whole gospel, nor have they reined in their own leaders, nor consistently addressed the pressing social issues of their day. While the doctrinal part of Cape Town aims at the perennial, the ethical section seeks after pertinence to today’s context.

Here too is a message crucial for Anglicans to hear. Cape Town’s call to action asks: How are we addressing dramatic urbanization and constant migration on the global scene? How are we catechizing our young? How can be minister with honesty and charity to the postmodern era’s commodified and disordered sexuality? Has our theological education retained a heart for evangelism?

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, * Culture-Watch, * Religion News & Commentary, - Anglican: Analysis, Anthropology, Church History, Ethics / Moral Theology, Evangelicals, Other Churches, Religion & Culture, Soteriology, Theology, Theology: Evangelism & Mission, Theology: Scripture

GAFCON II prayer bulletins are available for the event that begins in two days

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, * International News & Commentary, Africa, GAFCON II 2013, Global South Churches & Primates, Kenya, Spirituality/Prayer

(Telegraph) The 10 most dramatic deaths in fiction

This is a fun list if you want to guess which you would pick and then check it out.

Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, * Culture-Watch, Death / Burial / Funerals, History, Parish Ministry, Poetry & Literature

Reformation Scholar Ashley Null's Lectures on Thomas Cranmer & Contemporary Worship are Available

Please read this carefully and follow the directions so as not to be confused. You can find the links to the lectures here, BUT, and this is a very important but, the top lecture is not yet available and so what you see when you go immediately to the page is a big black screen with white writing saying “Lost Signal.” DO NOT LET THIS DISCOURAGE YOU. Look at the black bar directly underneath the words “Thomas Cranmer and Contemporary Anglican Worship with Ashley Null.” On the lefthand side of this bar you will see the word “Livestream,” and on the right you will see “login” and then further right you will see the word “join.” Immediately to the right of the word “join” you will see an arrow up sign with a toggle bar underneath. If you move this togglebar down the page you will begin to see links to six of Dr. Null’s lectures which are available as of this time. Below this description I will also post a link to the first of his lectures–KSH.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, Anglican Provinces, Anthropology, Archbishop of Canterbury, Church History, Church of England (CoE), England / UK, Ethics / Moral Theology, Liturgy, Music, Worship, Religion & Culture, Sacramental Theology, Soteriology, Theology, Theology: Scripture

(BBC) 100 Women: How US mothers are the new breadwinners

Almost half of all American women (40%) with children under the age of 18 are the primary or sole source of income in their families, according to a major Pew survey released this year. Back in 1960, the share was just 11%. It is a huge social shift.

Once, American mothers were dubbed “soccer moms”. Then, after 9/11, we got to know the “security moms”. Today’s generation are the “breadwinner moms”.

But to lump all these millions of women together is simplistic. This story of financial revolution is really two stories.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, Anthropology, Children, Economy, Ethics / Moral Theology, Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market, Marriage & Family, Personal Finance, The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--, Theology, Women

(WSJ) Stanley Druckenmiller: How Washington Really Redistributes Income, robbing future generations

Stan Druckenmiller makes an unlikely class warrior. He’s a member of the 1%””make that the 0.001%””one of the most successful money managers of all time, and 60 years old to boot. But lately he has been touring college campuses promoting a message of income redistribution you don’t hear out of Washington. It’s how federal entitlements like Medicare and Social Security are letting Mr. Druckenmiller’s generation rip off all those doting Barack Obama voters in Generation X, Y and Z.

“I have been shocked at the reception. I had planned to only visit Bowdoin, ” his alma mater in Maine, he says. But he has since been invited to multiple campuses, and even the kids at Stanford and Berkeley have welcomed his theme of generational theft. Harlem Children’s Zone President Geoffrey Canada and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh have joined him at stops along the tour.

Mr. Druckenmiller describes the reaction of students: “The biggest question I got was, ‘How do we start a movement?’ And my answer was ‘I’m a 60-year-old washed-up money manager. I don’t know how to start a movement. That’s your job. But we did it in Vietnam without Twitter and without Facebook and without any social media. That’s your job.’ But the enthusiasm””they get it.”

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, Aging / the Elderly, Budget, Economy, Ethics / Moral Theology, House of Representatives, Medicare, Middle Age, Office of the President, Politics in General, President Barack Obama, Senate, Social Security, The National Deficit, The U.S. Government, Theology, Young Adults