For more than thirty years now I have been an observer and sometime participant in what I will here call the conservative Episcopalian mess. The departure of more orthodox Episcopalians from an apostatizing mainstream headed by weak and clownish English archbishops and astoundingly aggressive heretics in North America, contained no real surprises, for this is the predictable fruit of religious liberalism hatched upon an ignorant, passive, and venal laity, that we have seen in other major Protestant churches, and from which modern Roman Catholicism, especially under a Nice Pope, is unlikely to be much of a refuge.

What I have found somewhat surprising, I suppose because my knowledge of the ecclesial geography was not very deep early on, was what a hard time conservative Anglicans have had getting their act (literally) together. Now to be sure, my “geographical” knowledge has increased over the years, so that I understand quite well that “conservative” applies to a number of incompatible or barely compatible attitudes….

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I will take comments on this submitted by email only to KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

The Rev. Canon Andrew White has been suspended with pay by the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East pending the findings of a Charity Commission Statutory Enquiry. The Foundation is cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities. It would be inappropriate to comment further on an active investigation other than to say that the Foundation believe at this stage that the alleged incident stemmed from a genuine desire by Canon White to help others.

Read it all and there is a statement from the Charity Commission here

The former ‘Vicar of Baghdad’ Canon Andrew White has been suspended as the president of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME).

In a statement on his Facebook page Canon White said it was because of “some inaccurate statements I made”.

The charity, that he founded, said he was suspended with pay after the Charity Commission launched an inquiry.

“The Foundation is cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities,” FRRME said in a statement.

It added: “It would be inappropriate to comment further on an active investigation other than to say that the Foundation believe at this stage that the alleged incident stemmed from a genuine desire by Canon White to help others.”

Canon White said his comments referred to the charity’s work with girls taken by Islamic State to work as slaves.

“What is clear is that at no time did we pay money to any terrorists,” the clergyman stressed.

He added: “Whilst I cannot work on behalf of the FRRME I continue to lead worship and support individuals that we are helping. Please pray for us at this very difficult time.”

The Charity Commission confirmed it had launched an inquiry but told Premier it cannot comment further because the investigation is live.

FRRME’s accounts for 2014 show it made £3,032,097 and spent £1,879,670. It has seven members of staff.

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… at the heart of the heart of the edifice, in the center of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, they will lift the slab where millions of pilgrims have knelt and prayed, where the salt of tears and the wet of sweat have smoothed and worried the hardest stone.

And for the first time in more than 200 years, they will look inside…

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All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.

–C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960), p.137

Retired military dogs that are being put up for adoption are getting a second life alongside the soldiers they served with ”” thanks to Molli Oliver. Watch it all.

Our engagement in the world in an anxious age is made possible by our confidence in the gospel in a pluralistic society where people have profoundly different beliefs. We won’t always be able to persuade those around us that our beliefs are right and theirs are wrong. Indeed, some of our most important beliefs stem from contested premises that others do not share. But recognizing the existence of these disagreements should not prevent us from holding to what is ultimately true. Our beliefs can be true, and we can hold these warranted beliefs confidently even though others reject them. For this reason, recognizing the social fact of difference should not be mistaken as relativism. To the contrary, a greater awareness of our distinctiveness that comes from confidence in the gospel can encourage us to work to strengthen the social fabric for the good of others.

This kind of posture is what one of us has called “confident pluralism.” As Christians, we can engage with the pluralism around us because our confidence lies elsewhere. We can acknowledge genuine differences in society without suppressing or minimizing our firmly held convictions. We can seek common ground even with those who may not share our view of the common good.

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We are told too, with the gun of moral blackmail held to our temples, that Europe’s strategic order will unravel if we pick at the EU thread, but this an evasion. The EU is unraveling already because the status quo is intolerable and a failed currency project is sapping its credibility. It is far from self-evident that this supranational venture should be saved in anything like its existing form.

There are certainly grave threats to the world economy, but none have anything to do with Brexit. China’s latest mini-boom is already topping, and nobody knows whether the Communist Party has reached the limits of its $28 trillion experiment with credit.

We are seven years into this global cycle and signs of ageing are too obvious to ignore, not least the collapse in US bond yields to depression levels. “More Economic Signs Point to a US Recession”, warned a front-page headline across the Wall Street Journal this week. The labour market has buckled. Car sales have slipped. Business investment and profits are both falling….But whether we vote Leave or Remain will not change any of this. All we can do when the next global recession hits is to fall back on Britain’s tested institutions and our own elected Parliament to protect us. The EU certainly can’t.

Read it all from the Telegraph.

Lift up our hearts, we beseech thee, O Christ, above the false show of things, above fear, above laziness, above selfishness and covetousness, above custom and fashion, up to the everlasting truth and order that thou art; that so we may live joyfully and freely, in faithful trust that thou art our Saviour, our example, and our friend, both now and for evermore.

O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him, tell of all his wonderful works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his presence continually!

–Psalm 105:1-4

Government ministers, campaigners and Anglican leaders are staying silent on the future of the Christ Church Cathedral, months after an announcement on the quake-damaged building was expected.

Once outspoken restoration campaigner Jim Anderton is sticking to an agreement not to make any public comments while a community campaign group is now agitating for information.

The Anglican cathedral has been sitting damaged in Christchurch’s city centre for more than five years, with no clear decision on its possible fate. The Government last year appointed mediator Miriam Dean, QC, in an attempt to break deadlock over the building.,,,

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The Bishop of Makamba, the Rt Revd Martin Blaise Nyaboho, has been elected as the fourth Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church of Burundi. Bishop Martin will succeed Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, who has led the church since 2005, when he is installed on 21 August.

The 61-year-old bishop, a former member of the Anglican Consultative Council (2005 to 2009) was baptized in 1965 and confirmed in July 1969. He was ordained a deacon in 1985 and a priest four years later. He was consecrated in 1997, becoming the first Bishop of Makamba

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