O God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst move Teresa of Avila to manifest to thy Church the way of perfection: Grant us, we beseech thee, to be nourished by her excellent teaching, and enkindle within us a lively and unquenchable longing for true holiness; through Jesus Christ, the joy of loving hearts, who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

Let thy mighty outstretched arm, O Lord God, be our defence; thy mercy and lovingkindness in Jesus Christ, thy dear Son, our salvation; thy all true word our instruction; the grace of thy life-giving Spirit our comfort and consolation, unto the end and in the end; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

–Knox’s Book of Common Order

On their return the apostles told him what they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsa’ida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing.

–Luke 9:10-11

Listen to it all (the clip lasts just over 9 minutes).

The church has faced steep losses since the early 2000s with a perfect storm of changing demographics, low fertility and departures by traditionalists.

The 2013 reporting year saw a continuation of the downward trend, with a membership drop of 27,423 to 1,866,758 (1.4 percent) while attendance dropped 16,451 to 623,691 (2.6 percent). A net 45 parishes were closed, and the denomination has largely ceased to plant new congregations.

The new numbers do not factor in the departure of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, of which the church continues to report over 28,000 members and over 12,000 attendees, despite the majority of South Carolina congregations severing their relationship with the Episcopal Church at the end of 2012. If South Carolina departures were factored in, the membership loss would be closer to 50,000 persons.

Read it all.

The midterm report, presented by Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, was intended as a summary of the synod’s conversation to date, and has no standing as a statement of church teaching. It likely will be significantly modified before a final version is adopted by the bishops on Friday.

One cardinal taking part in the synod told reporters today that some media coverage distorted a proper understanding of the document, falsely suggesting that it contained firm conclusions of the whole body.

“We’re now working from a position that’s virtually irredeemable,” said Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier of South Africa.

“The message has gone out that this is what synod is saying, that this is what the Catholic Church is saying,” he said. “Whatever we say hereafter will seem like we’re doing damage control.”

Read it all.

Statement in pdf

9th October 2014
Mercy, grace, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We, the undersigned primates, were honored to participate in the joyful investiture of the Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach as Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, and to receive him as a fellow Primate of the Anglican Communion.

Though our contexts vary in our different parts of the globe, the heart of our calling is to share the transforming love of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We celebrate that the Anglican Church in North America shares in that same mission and purpose. We and our Provinces will continue to share in Gospel work together, and pledge our continued partnership with the Anglican Church in North America to pursue the work of Christ.

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis
Chairman of the Anglican Global South; Bishop of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa; President Bishop of the Anglican Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East

The Most Rev. Dr. Eliud Wabukala
Archbishop and Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

The Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh
Archbishop, Primate, and Metropolitan of All Nigeria, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and Vice-Chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali
Archbishop and Primate of Uganda; Bishop of Kampala

The Most Rev. Dr. Onesphore Rwaje
Archbishop and Primate of Rwanda; Bishop of the Diocese of Kigali

The Most Rev. Stephen an Myint Oo
Archbishop of Myanmar; Global Trustee of The Anglican Relief and Development Fund

The Most Rev. Hector (Tito) Zavala
Archbishop of the Southern Cone and Bishop of Chile

Read it all

Other recent related posts:
Archbishop Venables’ Message and Greetings from Pope Francis to Archbishop Foley [Transcript] – October 14, 2014
Prebendary Charles Marnham’s Greetings from the UK and Ireland to Archbishop Foley [Transcript] – October 13, 2014
Phil Ashey: Anglicanism at Its Best – October 10, 2014
WCC staff member appointed Unity, Faith and Order Director for the Anglican Communion – October 10, 2014
[Anglican Ink] ACNA is Anglican – October 10, 2014
(Anglican Ink) Papal greetings for newest ACNA Leader Foley Beach – October 10, 2014
A Local Paper article on ACNA, Anglicanism+Archbishop Justin Welby’s recent interview – October 10, 2014
The Investiture Sermon of new ACNA Leader Foley Beach – October 10, 2014
The Investiture of Foley Beach as new ACNA leader on Thursday Evening – October 9, 2014
Phil Ashey: Anglican Identity? Canterbury’s loss, not ours – October 8, 2014
Mark Thompson: Who or what defines the Anglican Communion? – October 8, 2014
All About Canterbury [Video] – October 8, 2014
(ACNS) Abp Welby: “Next Lambeth Conference a decision for the primates” – October 6, 2014
(Anglican Ink) Has Archbishop Welby buried the instruments of Anglican unity? – October 4, 2014
The Audio Link to the Full Interview of Justin Welby by Canon Ian Ellis of the C of I Gazette – October 4, 2014
(David Ould) Diocese of NW Australia Recognises ACNA as Anglicans – October 4, 2014
(Telegraph) Tim Walker””Archbishop Justin Welby snubs the Royal College of Organists – October 3, 2014
Archbishop Justin Welby sends good wishes for Yamim Nora’im – October 2, 2014
Archbp Justin Welby””Survivors of abuse are never the ones to blame – October 1, 2014

Some of the most interesting debates taking place in Catholicism these days on family and marriage issues revolve around the work of gay Catholics who are orthodox in their stance on church teachings, as articulated in the Catechism and elsewhere.

Yes, this is a complex crowd. There are important debates in these circles about the degree to which homosexual orientation itself should be seen as a unique gift from God and, by implication, a part of God’s plan for creation. There are also debates here about the degree to which sexual orientation should be openly celebrated as a key source of a person’s public identity. (Can orthodox Catholics use “gay” language in a way that is positive and helps the church?) I get all of that.

All I am saying is that the language used in these discussions is often very close to the language that news consumers are hearing from the Vatican ”“ filtered through the political, not doctrinal, lens of the press. The “tone” of the discussions in this niche in Catholic thought, and some content, is very similar to the current Vatican language that we are reading.

Read it all.

Can be watched here from to 2:37:12 to 2:43:44

[Note: On 25th May Archbishop Greg and Sylvia Venables surprised intruders in their house who savagely beat and kicked him. Pope Francis phoned to see how they were]
Can I just say – it’s a strange thing – two or people have come up to me in the short time I’ve been here in the United States this time in Atlanta and said, er: “We thought you were dead.” [laughter – adjusts stole ”“ more laughter]

Well I do want to assure you all, that I’m very much alive. [Applause]

And so is Sylvia, who is down at the ends of the earth where it’s been our privilege for many years to serve God and of course she sends her warm greetings to you Foley, and to your precious family this evening. She says to tell you, darling, (addressing Archbishop Foley’s wife, Allison) to follow the advice she was given when she began to walk with me many years ago. It was a hymn with two words: Go on go on go on go on ”“ Go on go on go on ”“ Go on go on ”“ Go on go on ”“ Go on go on go on, and there are I forget how many verses. [laughter] So darling, go on!

Can I say also that it is a wonderful privilege: when we began this whole process, many of you here will remember when this was, some of you didn’t have white hair in those days and I had some hair.

And today we are celebrating that not only am I still very much alive, but the Anglican Church is still very much alive! [Applause]

This is a celebration of true Anglicanism, and remember what Foley said earlier on this evening: this evening, meeting in this place is the majority of the Anglican Communion. This evening here the vast majority of the Anglican Communion is represented, because the vast majority of the Anglican Communion: believe that the word of God is true; believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God; and believe that he is our only hope as we move forward. Amen [Applause]

Now I am here also this evening as a messenger, and I will try and fulfil my responsibility as well as I can and as briefly as I can…
When I was nearly dead, in May, as some of you might have heard, and I was lying there wondering if I ever wanted to be alive again, the phone rang. And I picked the phone up and said [I’ll do this in English, it’ll be easier for most of you] ”“ I said: “Hello”

And a voice said: “Hello, Gregory, how are you?” ”“ not with that accent of course.

And I said: “Yeah, who is this,” and he said: “Francis”.

And I was thinking, Francis, Francis, Francis: “Francis who?” ”“ and he..[laughter]

And he said with a wonderful degree of humility and patience which marks him as many of you now know: “No, it’s Father Jorge” ”“ Father George.

Now many of you know that in Argentina up until last year we had a very, very, very wonderful personal and close working relationship with Cardinal Bergoglio. It was our joy and privilege to work with him and walk together with him in the Gospel, because our brother is a Bible-believing, born again, Christ-centered Christian.

And he has asked me this evening, in fact he wrote to me just a few days ago and said: when you go to the United States, please in my name give my personal congratulations and greetings to Archbishop Foley and assure him of my prayers and support at this moment and in the future as he leads the church in this very important moment of revival and mission.

So if you will come and stand here, I’ve got to do this the way we do it in Argentina: God bless you. [passes on greeting to Archbishop Foley]

Thank you very much

[Applause]

Archbishop Gregory Venables has served as Primate of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone and is Bishop of Argentina

They have health insurance, but still no peace of mind. Overall, 1 in 4 privately insured adults say they doubt they could pay for a major unexpected illness or injury.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research may help explain why President Barack Obama faces such strong headwinds in trying to persuade the public that his health care law is holding down costs.

The survey found the biggest financial worries among people with so-called high-deductible plans that require patients to pay a big chunk of their medical bills each year before insurance kicks in.

Read it all.

In late July, when it looked like Dr. Kent Brantly wasn’t going to make it, a small news item escaped Liberia. It spoke of Brantly’s treatment ”“ not of the Ebola vaccine, Zmapp, which Brantly later got. But of a blood transfusion. He had “received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of Dr. Brantly’s care,” the missive said.

Now months later, Brantly, who has since recovered from his battle with the virus, has passed on the favor. A 26-year-old Dallas nurse named Nina Pham, who contracted the illness while treating the United State’s first Ebola patient, has received Brantly’s blood. It’s not the first time it has been used to treat Ebola patients. Recovered Ebola victim Richard Sacra got it, as well as U.S. journalist Ashoka Mukpo, who last night said he’s on the mend.

Injecting the blood of a patient like Brantly who has recovered from Ebola and developed certain antibodies is a decades-old, but promising method of treatment that, academics and health officials agree, could be one of the best means to fight Ebola. Called a convalescent serum, it might also save Pham, an alum of Texas Christian University.

Read it all.

During the Parish Family Weekend, it was announced at home at St. Michael’s and to those at Kanuga that I will be leaving in October to enter an approximately four- to six-month season of ministry serving a parish in Bermuda. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve already heard “Well, it’s a tough gig, but somebody’s got to do it.” So I thought I’d tell you a bit of the story….

Read it all.

Check it out.

Anglican leaders have taken a neutral stance in the street demonstrations shaking Hong Kong. While the city’s churches have been opened to demonstrators for food and shelter, the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui has urged its members to obey the law.

Read it all.

The leader of the Church of England has spoken of his plan for Britain’s “ambitious” young bankers to give up work for a year and join a “quasi-monastic community” so they can learn about ethics ahead of entering the City.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called on some of the UK’s brightest and most ambitious young bankers to quit work temporarily so they can pray and serve the poor.

He said he believed their natural ambition would encourage them to join his Godly community.

Read it all.

For a Church that has historically linked the word “homosexual” with the word “sin,” the idea of welcoming gays in any capacity can appear to be a significant move. Headlines immediately spoke of a “dramatic shift” and a “more tolerant” stance from the church.

But before rushing to conclusions, everyone, on all sides, should calm down.

First, here’s what the document actually is:

The relatio is a mid-Synod snapshot of 200+ Catholic leaders’ conversations that happened in the Synod hall last week. It is a starting point for conversations as the Synod fathers start small group discussions this week.

Read it all.

This latest story from our brave new world may blow your mind, so I’ll read straight from the Chicago Tribune: “A white Ohio woman is suing a Downers Grove-based sperm bank, alleging that the company mistakenly gave her vials from an African-American donor, a fact that she said has made it difficult for her and her same-sex partner to raise their now 2-year-old daughter in an all-white community.”

Now, I don’t doubt the lesbian couple’s love for the child. But I find it troubling which challenges the couple was willing and isn’t willing to tolerate. They’re suing because of the difficulties of raising a black child in a white community, but they were perfectly willing to risk raising the child without a father””a situation that the best evidence suggests poses far greater consequences for the child. Make no mistake: this is one of those stories that’s a mirror of our culture’s view of sex and children.

There is no doubt that having a mom and a dad in the home is the best situation for healthy development of children. The evidence is overwhelming.

Read it all.

O God, who in thy providence didst call Joseph Schereschewsky from his home in Eastern Europe to the ministry of this Church, and didst send him as a missionary to China, upholding him in his infirmity, that he might translate the holy Scriptures into languages of that land: Lead us, we pray thee, to commit our lives and talents to thee, in the confidence that when thou givest thy servants any work to do, thou dost also supply the strength to do it; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

O Almighty God, eternal, righteous, and merciful, give us poor sinners to do for thy sake all that we know of thy will, and to will always what pleases thee; so that inwardly purified, enlightened, and kindled by the fire of thy Holy Spirit, we may follow in the steps of thy well-beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amit’tai, saying, “Arise, go to Nin’eveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

–Jonah 1:1-3

The Ebola epidemic threatens the “very survival” of societies and could lead to failed states, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

The outbreak, which has killed some 4,000 people in West Africa, has led to a “crisis for international peace and security”, WHO head Margaret Chan said.

She also warned of the cost of panic “spreading faster than the virus”.

Read it all.

When we began our quest for the 100 best Christian books, we knew that the material we were contemplating had already been through several refining fires. It had been worked on by its author, judged worthy to be published, and, over time, had impressed enough readers to be noticed ”” and, mostly, to be kept in print.

IT IS sometimes easy to forget it, given the variable quality of the books that come into the Church Times office for review, but works that get into print can be categorised, by and large, as quite good. Many that we review are not only good: some are very good. But “best”?

Best is, of course, a value judgement. We have kept it for this project because it is so obviously subjective. “Best” does not just cover a book’s intrinsic worth: it also prompts a consideration of what a book can achieve. Throughout our debate, we found ourselves balancing a title’s historical position with its place in our memories. A different set of judges on a different day ”” perhaps even the same set of judges ”” would certainly have come up with a different list.

But, perhaps, not that different.

Read it all and see what you make of their list.

Photographer Charlie Phillips talks to Dan Damon about the rituals and fashions of Afro-Caribbean funerals in London. Starting with the Windrush generation in the 1950s to today. Charlie’s work will be published in the book ‘How Great Thou Art’. The title for this book is borrowed from the popular hymn sung at funerals.

Watch the whole Youtube clip.

Read it all.

Waiting for your midlife crisis? Relax. It’s probably not coming.

According to a growing body of research, midlife upheavals are more fiction than fact.

“Despite its popularity in the popular culture, there isn’t much evidence for a midlife crisis,” says Susan Krauss Whitbourne, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is conducting a continuing study of more than 450 people who graduated from college between 1965 and 2006. The study’s latest installment is scheduled for publication in 2015.

Read it all.

Using strikingly open language, an interim report of a Vatican synod on modern family life says the church needs to welcome and appreciate gays, and offers a solution for divorced and remarried Catholics who want to receive Communion.

At a press conference to present the report, Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines said the most discussed topics at the Synod so far were the impact of poverty, war and immigration on families.

But one veteran Vatican journalist called the newly proposed language on gays and civil marriages a “pastoral earthquake.”

“Regarding homosexuals, it went so far as to pose the question whether the church could accept and value their sexual orientation without compromising Catholic doctrine,” said John Thavis, a former Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service.

Read it all.

Update: An AP article is here–read it all also.

Can be watched here from 2:22:54 to 2:28:56
Archbishop Foley ”“ I bring warm greetings, congratulations and good wishes to you at this very special moment, and our prayers and thoughts to your wife and family too:

Firstly from the Executive of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in the United Kingdom, that is Wales, Scotland and England ”“ and Ireland too. [laughter] They are not part of the United Kingdom – Northern Ireland is ”“ my wife is Northern Irish. The Primates of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans recognises this regional body as the expression of orthodox Anglicanism in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

I have been asked Secondly to bring the greetings and prayers of the Executive of the Church of England Evangelical Council, whose existence owed much to the late Dr John Stott.

And Thirdly the recent ReNew Conference of Anglican clergy and leaders, consisting of members of three organisations: the Anglican Mission in England, which is the mission society of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans UK and Ireland, Reform and Church Society. They also wanted me to convey their good wishes at this key moment in the life of the province. You and fellow members of this province of the Anglican Church of North America should be in no doubt that you have many friends in the Church of England who admire and respect your costly, courageous and principled stand in recent years.

You have taught us valuable lessons as we respond to the challenges of a collapsing culture in the United Kingdom both within and outside the Church…
Outside the Church the redefinition of marriage by a government without a manifesto commitment or mandate caused a great shock, not only within the Christian community, but wider nationally.

Within the Church of England the Pilling Report recently submitted to General Synod of which I am a member, recommended that the subject of sexuality be addressed through facilitated discussions. However it states that it has not found the arguments from Scripture, theology, science or social trends to be conclusive, either for or against the Church’s current teaching.

In his minority dissenting report, the Bishop of Birkenhead, Keith Sinclair who sends his personal greetings to you too today records that as far as the Report is concerned the jury is still out. But he wrote:

“that is a conclusion and a rationale and basis for further discussion which I do not share. No one who reads the signs of the times will be reassured that the foundations are secure as the tectonic plates are already shifting.”

We have learnt at least two valuable lessons from you:

In particular, ”˜united we stand, divided we fall’. We can spend a great deal of wasted effort focussing on where we disagree. It is Satan’s best weapon. You are here today because you have worked so hard on maintaining unity. I am encouraged that I have come with greetings from a number of bodies from the United Kingdom which demonstrates a greater understanding of our need for unity at this time.

The second lesson: ”˜make the main thing the main thing’. Guarding the Gospel is a priority, but its twin is Proclaiming the Gospel. We note how urgent you are in mission and discipleship, and recognise that we must follow your lead.

But this is a moment of celebration, and we rejoice with you and thank God that He has brought you safely thus far. Never think for a moment that you don’t have many friends and admirers in the Church of England who hugely respect your integrity in the face of provocation and persecution.

This year marks the Centenary of the beginning of the First World War and I am reminded of the remark by Marshall Foch to Marshall Joffre during the first battle of the Marne in September 1914:

“My center is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent ”“ I am attacking”

[laughter and applause]

Our attack, if it be so called, is the message of the transforming love of God in Jesus Christ, and nothing and no one can defeat it. Archbishop Foley, may that be your constant inspiration and we will pray for you but we also ask you to pray for us.

May God bless you all. [Applause]

The Reverend Prebendary Charles Marnham is Vicar of St Michael’s Chester Square in London, member of General Synod and the originator of the Alpha Course.

In a state where legal marijuana seemingly is everywhere, Colorado public health officials have taken an unusual approach to warning teenagers about the dangers of the drug: likening young pot smokers to laboratory animals.

Concerned about a potential jump in youth marijuana use now that the state has legalized the drug for adults, Colorado is displaying three human-size cages in various communities with signs that bear provocative messages about the drug’s pitfalls, as part of its “Don’t Be A Lab Rat” campaign.

“Does Marijuana really cause schizophrenia in teenagers? Smoke and find out,” one sign says. “Subjects needed. Must be a teenager. Must smoke weed. Must have 8 IQ points to spare,” reads another.

Read it all.

Read it all.

If Christians are to accept…so-called [same-sex] marriage, they must accept that our liturgies and our services, our pastors and priests, our forefathers and foremothers have been for centuries wrong about the meaning of marriage. What they heard, what the pastor read, what their grandparents knew to be true was wrong as rain. And not just a little wrong, but fundamentally mistaken about the most essential elements of marriage. If… [same-sex] marriage is right, then there is almost nothing in the old Book of Common Prayer that is right.

Read it all.