Daily Archives: March 15, 2023

(C of E) LLF Next Steps Group meeting on 3 March 2023

From here:

The meeting appraised and reviewed the outcomes of the Living in Love and Faith debate and motion passed at General Synod in February and considered the scope of work required between now and the next General Synod in July 2023.

The Next Steps Group then considered and refined the agenda of the forthcoming College of Bishops meeting at the end of March. They noted that it will be important for the bishops to listen to the feedback from General Synod, the response of the wider church to the decisions made, as well as to each other’s reflections before moving on to the consider how the work of drafting the Pastoral Guidance, providing pastoral reassurance, refining the Prayers of Love and Faith and establishing the Pastoral Consultative Group will be taken forward.

With the remit of the Next Steps group now having reached its conclusion, the bishops went on to discuss the necessary phases of work after the March College of Bishops and the composition of the working groups that will take forward the work that will need to be done for the July Synod.

The meeting ended in prayer.

Posted in --Civil Unions & Partnerships, Anthropology, Church of England (CoE), England / UK, Ethics / Moral Theology, Pastoral Theology, Religion & Culture, Same-sex blessings, Sexuality, Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion), Theology

(BBC) Coronation target for Alton village bells to ring again

A village’s church bells will be ready to ring out for King Charles III’s coronation in May, bell ringers say.

The eight bells at St Peter’s in Alton, Staffordshire, were removed in October under a £100,000 restoration project.

Work has begun to put them back along with two new bells, and tower captain Alan Walters says he hopes to have them ready for Easter.

“The main thing is the Coronation, we want to be able to ring for that,” he said.

“If we miss Easter then we will be fine for the Coronation.”

Read it all.

Posted in Church of England, England / UK, Liturgy, Music, Worship, Parish Ministry, Religion & Culture

(NYT) ‘I Live in Hell’: The Psychic Wounds of Ukraine’s Soldiers

Each war teaches us something new about trauma. In World War I, hospitals overflowed with soldiers who screamed or froze or wept, described in medical texts as “moral invalids.” By the end of World War II, a more sympathetic view had emerged, that even the hardiest soldier would suffer a psychological collapse after sufficient time in combat — somewhere, two experts from the surgeon general’s office concluded, between 200 and 240 days on average.

Russia’s war in Ukraine stands out among modern wars for its extreme violence. Its front lines are close together and barraged with heavy artillery, and rotations from the front line are infrequent. Ukraine’s forces are largely made up of men and women who, until a year ago, had no experience of combat.

“We are looking at a war that is basically a repetition of the First World War,” says Robert van Voren, who heads the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry, which provides mental-health support in Ukraine. “People just cannot fight anymore for psychological reasons. People are at the front line too long, and at a certain point, they crack. That’s the reality we have to deal with.”

Read it all.

Posted in Health & Medicine, Military / Armed Forces, Psychology, Russia, Ukraine

The War is Over: It’s Time to Plant, Revitalize, Rebuild Edgar Sets Diocesan Priorities in First Convention Address as Bishop

In his first convention address as Bishop of The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, Bishop Chip Edgar set priorities he hoped the Diocese would live into over the course of his Episcopacy. In the address, given March 10, 2023, in the Chapel at the Cross Schools, Bluffton, he highlighted church planting, church revitalization, the continuing education of our clergy, the updating of our constitution and canons and restoring our losses – noting, especially, the development of a new camp and conference center, Camp Jubilee.

He also offered a word of caution.

While acknowledging three of our churches are still awaiting a ruling by the SC Supreme Court, he said now that we’re at the end of the litigation with the Episcopal Church, we need not continue as “battlers.”

“We’ve come to the end of the lawsuit, and I am eager to walk with you into the future that God has for us in gospel ministry in the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina,” said Edgar. “The churches, the people, the clergy of this great diocese, are ready to put all of that behind us and to move on unfettered into gospel ministry.”

“We need to be a diocese now, not marked by our fighting ability, not hungry for the next enemy, but desiring to proclaim the gospel alone and to build those places where righteousness can take root, where the world, as we want it to be, begins to take hold.

“The war is over. It’s time to seek and save the lost. It’s time to plant and revitalize. It’s time to hone and consistently renew our minds, to answer the hard questions of the day. And it’s time to rebuild what is lost.  Read, listen to or view the full address.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * South Carolina

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Vincent de Paul & Louise de Marillac

Most Gracious God, who hast bidden us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before thee; Teach us, like thy servants Vincent and Louise, to see and to serve Christ by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Posted in Church History, Spirituality/Prayer

A Prayer to Begin the Day from Henry Alford

O God, who through thy Son has taught us that a house divided against itself must fall: Save us, we beseech thee, from the danger of a divided allegiance; unite our hearts to fear thy name; and grant that in all our course of life our eye may be single and our purpose one; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Posted in Lent, Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Bible Readings

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.

–Romans 5:1-11

Posted in Theology: Scripture