Dear People of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese, 

As I reflect on the last seven days, I rejoice in all the ways our Lord was glorified in our Synod last weekend. What a wonderful time in worship, fellowship, conversation and learning! The Gospel was preached and God’s people were built up, and for this I give great thanks. Even in the conversations around our disagreements about canonical changes, we were able to listen to one another and Christ’s Body was edified.

Although I wish to elaborate more on Synod, that will need to be saved for the next issue of the Communiqué. On Monday, October 20, the ACNA received a complaint alleging misconduct by Archbishop Steve Wood in his capacity as Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas and Rector of St. Andrew’s, Mount Pleasant, SC. There have also been several national news stories this week covering these allegations and other heartbreaking allegations of misconduct by leaders in the ACNA. My heart breaks for any child or adult that has been harmed or abused by those in leadership in our Church. Let me reassure you that the Diocesan staff and I remain deeply committed to safeguarding the people of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese. We do not and will not tolerate abuse. 

In light of all this news, I am writing to you directly today to express my love and care for you and, once again, my commitment to protect you as your Bishop, that the Church may continue its work to bring Glory to God as we reach out to a hurting world with the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Since the allegations against our Archbishop came to light, I have been working with the deans, key diocesan staff, and the chair of the Standing Committee to ensure the people of this diocese—each and every one precious in the sight of God—are adequately cared for by us and by our clergy. We will continue assessing the best ways to do that in the Gulf Atlantic Diocese.

Let me assure you, as I did at the Synod, that your diocesan leadership is committed to working to bring the ACNA as a whole to maturity as a Province. I am thankful for those from the Gulf Atlantic Diocese who are leading at the Province level, including the Executive Committee, the Governance Task Force, and provincial Safeguarding efforts. I am confident we are moving in the right direction with changes to our disciplinary canons. It is painful when we must hold accountable leaders we admire or respect, but we must ensure that clergy (especially bishops) “are above reproach” (1 Tim. 2:2). Even though discipline can be uncomfortable and at times painful, we must press on. Too much is at stake. St. Paul’s instructs us in his letter to the Ephesians that “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (4:15–16).

Lament and sadness over these issues is appropriate. We can bring this to the Lord. As Canon Sam Allberry shared last weekend, “God is not overwhelmed by the mess of our lives.” To that end, I am offering a Zoom meeting for clergy next week to express questions, comments, and concerns that you might share with them—and to pray. I would like to then offer a similar forum, perhaps by deanery, for any member of the Diocese to speak with me directly. Please join me in prayer and fasting for our Province as the Lord leads, always remembering, God’s mercy endures forever! (Psalm 136) 

O Almighty God, you pour out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and supplication; Deliver us, when we draw near to you, from coldness of heart and wandering of mind, that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections we may worship you in spirit and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Collect 5, BCP 2019) 

–The Rt. Rev Alex Farmer is Bishop of the Central Gulf Coast

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

~Psalm 46.1-3

To All the Faithful of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina:
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This past week news has broken about our Anglican Church—about many issues of alleged pastoral neglect by Bishop Ruch of the Upper Midwest Diocese; and, much closer to home, a piece regarding a Presentment (a legal charge) against Archbishop Steve Wood concerning allegations of pastoral abuse of former clergy, unwanted sexual advances towards a lay employee, and other issues, like plagiarism in sermons—in stories published by Ian Shapiro in The Washington Post.

It is important to say two things about the allegations against Archbishop Wood: first, the allegations come from credible sources. They must be taken seriously, and I am confident they will. Second, at
this stage they remain allegations. The Presentment (the charges) must be validated, and, when validated, a Board of Inquiry will be established. If the Board of Inquiry determines there is probable cause to put the accused to trial, two things will happen: the nature of the charges will be made public—with care given to protect anonymity where needed, and then the case will proceed, with discovery, potential motions, and, ultimately, presentation of evidence and argument before the Court for the Trial of a Bishop. The Canons require expeditious handling in accordance with due principles of fairness, due process, and justice. Due to the nature of these proceedings, there will be times that, from our perspective, look like nothing is happening. Please be patient. Finally, like in American civil law, our Canonical Law holds the accused as innocent until proven guilty. And guilt must be established to the standard of clear and convincing evidence.

With these charges, we have entered a season of storms. Storms that seem to threaten the very foundations of our church, and we ask, what in the world is going on? I want to try to give some perspective, to set these events in a context that, as I have prayed, with groaning in my soul too deep for words, through sleepless nights and challenging days, has helped me make some sense of it, and has been helpful to me in my prayers and in my work.

Years ago, I learned that organizations and institutions go through a series of steps as they grow.
Those steps were described as forming, norming, storming, and performing. I thought of that as I
prayed about the storms in which we find ourselves.

I recall being at Plano, Texas in 2009 when the ACNA was formed. I wish I had seen it then, but looking back I see clearly now. There was a troublesome spirit of pride at work as we Constituted the ACNA. Here was our sin: we were so focused on the evil outside of ourselves, that we couldn’t see the sin within us. I’m thinking of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s famous line from The Gulag Archipelago: “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

In our norming, then, we were set to make some serious mistakes. I remember laughing about how the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church ran to the hundreds and hundreds of pages; we didn’t need that, we were righteous, we were mission focused, we were on fire for the Lord! We failed to see that evil lurked within us, each and every one. Our disciplinary Canons were short, not too many details, lots of unanswered questions. Did we think we weren’t going to need expansive Canons to guide us carefully through difficult situations toward just outcomes? While I don’t believe anyone actually thought that consciously, I fear that was the effect of our formative pride: the bad guys were “out there,” not “in here.”

Those flaws in our forming and norming have resulted in the storming that we now face being much more intense than it might have been. I won’t go into details about these storms, I’ll only say that I think their magnitude serves as a judgment on all of us, especially those of us in leadership. In these storms, is God winnowing, sifting, purging? It’s hard for me not to think so; but I also remember that He chastens those He loves. He wants better from us, ultimately, he wants better for us. Those truths aren’t just for the ACNA, they are for all His people.

I hear bandied about that these storms mark the end of the ACNA, that they are a death blow. Are they? I can’t answer that with anymore certainty than anyone else possibly could. But here is what I do know—with certainty: God is calling us to repentance and reform. Not someone out there, us.

Another thing I do know with clear and certain conviction—we are not called to worry about our future. That is not for us, that is in God’s hands. We are not called to make decisions to try to preserve ourselves. We are called to do what is right in this situation, in this moment, in this storm.

I do think, however, that there are real goods in our common life that, focusing on doing what is right, point toward us coming through these storms and into, at long last, a season of performing, or,
in more biblical language, bearing fruit.

All around the ACNA—just like you all around our diocese—are strong, healthy, thriving parishes. Parishes served by good clergy. Our dioceses are led by bishops who love the Lord and are working hard to do what’s right. We’ve made serious missteps in the past, but much has been learned and many changes have been made. Even now, we are making significant changes to our Canons.

In my conversations with my fellow bishops, the need for repentance and change (change being the
mark of true repentance) is a shared commitment. We are working hard to weather these storms as
we remember that God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Brothers and sisters, in this storm season, pray. Pray for the victims. They have endured much up to
this point and will endure more as this process unfolds. Matters like this are fraught with difficulty.
Pray for the Archbishop. Pray for the Church. Pray for repentance and change, wisdom and courage,
and the fortitude to do what is right, no matter the cost.

Blessings,

–The Rt. Rev Chip Edgar is Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina

Chip Edgar Elected Bishop Coadjutor of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina https://t.co/gsHql69b1g #religion #lowcountrylife #parishministry #bishops pic.twitter.com/p7c6QBsfsM

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) October 16, 2021

Most Holy God, whose servant Tabitha thou didst raise from the dead to display thy power and confirm thy message that thy Son is Lord; grant unto us thy grace, that aided by her prayers and example, we may be given a new life in thy Spirit to do works pleasing in thy sight; Through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord; who livest and reignest with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today is the feast of Saint Tabitha, a widow “completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving” who was raised from the dead by Saint Peter, as accounted in the Acts of the Apostles. She is honoured by the Episcopal, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Catholic churches. pic.twitter.com/VJBSiEdtO8

— Chess Valley RC (@ChessValleyRC) October 25, 2025

David Cumbie of Church of the Apostles, Houston, called to be new rector of Holy Cross, Sullivan's Island #SouthCarolina https://t.co/0ylo4poNBE #parishministry #lowcountrylife #anglican #religion #faith #transition #leadership #marriage #family #children #texas #acna pic.twitter.com/oAsFYduwBZ

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) October 18, 2023

The allegations against both men have turned a spotlight on a denomination founded 16 years ago by conservatives who separated from the Episcopal Church over its confirmation of an openly gay bishop. Now, the Anglican Church in North America — which considers itself a “province” of a global network of orthodox Anglican churches — faces its own internal crisis over alleged misconduct by top leaders.

The charges against Ruch are outlined in two presentments, formal accusations that specify which church laws or “canons” he allegedly violated. The presentments accuse him of multiple transgressions, including “scandalous” conduct, habitual neglect of duties, disobedience to church canons, and violating the vows he made when he was ordained. Ultimately, the allegations illuminate a dilemma facing houses of worship: Should religious sanctuaries that cater to families exclude people with histories of violence and sexual misconduct or welcome anyone?

One presentment — submitted by a mix of more than 40 lay members and clergy — accuses Ruch of allowing multiple men with troubling incidents in their past to worship or hold staff or other roles, including leadership positions, in the denomination’s Upper Midwest Diocese. The men have been convicted or accused of violent or sexual misconduct, or forced out of a job for inappropriate behavior, the complaint said. Ruch, the presentment charges, “acted with negligence towards the sheep entrusted to his care, creating opportunities for wolves to devour and scatter Christ’s flock.”

Read it all.

Today, our second piece on the Anglican Church in North America. A secret church trial. A bishop, Stewart Ruch, accused of allowing a child sex offender, a man accused of attempted 2nd degree murder into his diocese. Gift link here: https://t.co/dY74zkFCmx

— Ian Shapira (@ianshapira) October 24, 2025

Though the complainants were numerous enough to meet the canonical threshold for making a formal complaint, their charges are in limbo. One complainant, the Rev. Rob Sturdy, told the Post that after the sworn complaint was submitted, the ACNA’s provincial office returned it, asking all 11 complainants to sign again with an additional statement of attestation to their allegations’ truth “under penalties of perjury.”

Sturdy said the complainant group refuses to comply, calling it a “noncanonical requirement” that “attempt[s] to intimidate our signatories with potential legal action.”

An ACNA spokesperson told TLC that Dr. Tiffany Butler, director of safeguarding and canonical affairs, made the demand, calling it “the typical standard for any ‘sworn statement’ and the standard applied to other presentments received under this administration.”

“However, Chancellor Bill Nelson, in consultation with the College of Bishops, has acknowledged that no rigid formulation of the oath is required and, in particular, that it does not need to include the phrase ‘under penalties of perjury.’ Our hope is to have resolution on this matter as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.

Read it all.

New for @Livng_Church: ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood is accused of making sexual advances toward a staff member at his South Carolina church, as well as financial impropriety, plagiarism, and bullying.https://t.co/TBBMcDfszU

— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) October 24, 2025

“Unfortunately, the problems at the highest levels of the ACNA are deeper, wider and more entrenched than many of its own parishioners realize,” said Andrew Gross, an Anglican priest who was the Anglican Church’s communications director from 2013 until early this year. “The ACNA has never before had to deal with serious allegations of misconduct by the archbishop. This is a crisis without precedent, and how these concerns are handled will determine the future trajectory of the denomination and its credibility.”

A denomination spokeswoman, Kate Harris, said the church could not comment on the accusations against Wood, but she noted that the alleged misconduct predates his tenure as archbishop. She added that once the complaint is “validated as a presentment,” a Board of Inquiry will determine whether it warrants an ecclesiastical trial.

Claire Buxton, 42, the former children’s ministry director at St. Andrew’s who accused Wood of trying to kiss her, said that the alleged advance came after numerous church employees remarked upon Wood’s “excessive praise and fondness” for her.

“I was in shock,” said Buxton, a divorced mother of three sons. Her issues with Wood, she added, are symptomatic of the denomination’s wider problems. “It’s just bizarre to me how far we — the Anglican Church in North America and its leadership — have gotten away from basic morals and principles.”

Read it all.

I’ve been working all year on a series of investigative stories about leaders in the Anglican Church in North America. This morning, the second piece was published —about accusations of alleged sexual misconduct, bullying by archbishop Stephen Wood. https://t.co/4IOYv8Yrvs

— Ian Shapira (@ianshapira) October 23, 2025

Hundreds of local churches across the UK could close within the next five years, according to a major new survey published by the National Churches Trust.

The 2025 National Churches Survey gathered responses from more than 3,500 churches across all major denominations.

It found rural churches were the least likely to have confidence that they will remain open, with up to 7 per cent (900 churches) saying they could close by 2030. Meanwhile, 2,000 churches said they will “definitely” or “probably” not be used as a place of worship in five years.

The report also revealed widespread issues with church buildings, with many in poor or dangerous condition due to years of underfunding and rising repair costs.

Read it all.

⛪ Almost one in three churches could be closed by end of the decadehttps://t.co/5DxIFZCwFI

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 21, 2025

Dear Friends,

Your Fall 2025 Jubilate Deo is here.  In this issue you’ll:

• Learn about the Bishop’s new Thrive Together campaign.
• Read the standing-ovation receiving sermon given by 11-year-old Daniel Booman at New Wineskins.
• Get an update on restoration projects at three of our historic properties.
• Discover what one of our rectors, Karl Burns, called “silly & sacred.” And more!…

Take the time to read through all the interesting pieces.

(The latest Jubilate Deo) Surprised, Challenged, Moved by New Wineskins for Global Mission Conference By Brett Kucera, Prince George Winyah Anglican Church, Georgetown https://t.co/laOqoXP1rP #anglican #southcarolina #parishminsitry #missions #newwineskins pic.twitter.com/zZiye16Pnm

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) October 21, 2025

Fyodor Dostoyevsky began to write what would become his last novel, “The Brothers Karamazov,” in 1878. It was published in serial installments in the magazine Russkiy Vestnik from January, 1879, to November, 1880. Dostoyevsky had a deadline to meet every month, and his wife, Anna, later complained about the pressure he was always working under. Unlike many other contemporary writers, such as Tolstoy or Turgenev, who were well off, Dostoyevsky lived by his writing and struggled throughout his life to earn enough money. If not for this, Anna wrote, in her memoirs, after his death, “He could have gone carefully through [his works], polishing them, before letting them appear in print; and one can imagine how much they would have gained in beauty. Indeed, until the very end of his life Fyodor Mikhailovich had not written a single novel with which he was satisfied himself; and the cause of this was our debts!”

No one could claim that “The Brothers Karamazov” is polished, or even beautifully written—it is characteristic of Dostoyevsky’s style that everything is desperately urgent and seems to burst forth, and that the details don’t much matter. Reckless and intense: we are headed straight to the point of the matter, and there is no time. This urgency, this wildness, the seeming unruliness of his style, which is echoed in the many abrupt twists and turns in the action toward the end of the chapters—the reader must be kept in a state of suspense until the next installment—runs against something else, something heavier and slower, a patiently insistent question that is related to everything that is happening: What are we living for?

On May 16, 1878, just months before Dostoyevsky began writing “The Brothers Karamazov” in earnest, his son Alyosha died following an epileptic fit that lasted for hours. He would have turned three that summer. Dostoyevsky “loved Lyosha somehow in a very special way, with an almost morbid love, as if sensing that he would not have him for long,” Anna wrote later. When his son stopped breathing, Dostoyevsky “kissed him, made the sign of the cross over him three times,” and broke down in tears. He was crushed with grief, Anna wrote, and with guilt—his son had inherited epilepsy from him. Outwardly, however, he was soon calm and collected; she was the one who wept and wept. Gradually, she grew worried that his suppression of grief would have a negative impact on his already fragile health, and she suggested that he visit the Optina Pustyn monastery with a young friend, the theological wunderkind Vladimir Solovyov. There they met the elder of the monastery—the starets—Ambrose. “Weep and be not consoled, but weep,” he said to Dostoyevsky.

All of this made its way into “The Brothers Karamazov.” The protagonist bears the name of Dostoyevsky’s son Alyosha and many of Solovyov’s traits. The monastery is central to the story, and its elder—named Zosima in the novel—comforts a woman who has lost her child, aged two years and nine months, with words that echo those uttered by Ambrose. But more important to the story than the autobiographical details, which in any case are swallowed up by the vortex of fiction, is the devastating loss of meaning that accompanies the death of a child. 

Read it all.

“The Brothers Karamazov” asks what we are living for, and it “seeks the answer in the little life, among the small people, in the frail, the fragile, the fallible, the failed,” Karl Ove Knausgaard writes. https://t.co/llTCBZ9rHR

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) October 21, 2025

The Church of England has halted its plans to introduce ‘wedding’ services for same-sex couples after the bishops finally accepted long-resisted legal advice that it is not possible to do so without the approval of two-thirds of General Synod. Plans to allow clergy to enter a same-sex civil marriage have also been scrapped owing to the legal complications, ongoing divisions on the issue and the confusion that bringing in the reform by itself would sow. The Times has more.

This is a victory of sorts for conservatives in the church, who will be relieved that further divisive changes will not be rammed through at this point. The forced departure of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury last year over safeguarding failures – Welby being the main driving force behind trying to get this question ‘solved’ before he retired – was key in the momentum collapsing, combined with the retirement of a number of stalwart liberal bishops.

While relieved, though, conservatives will also be frustrated that the reasons for dropping the plans now – essentially the legal situation and the voting calculus in Synod – are no different from what they were eight years ago, before huge amounts of church money, time and emotional energy were expended in divisive ‘conversations’ at every level of church life. A number of bishops and others in senior leadership, led by Welby, had chosen to ignore this reality and attempt to find a way, any way, to push through the changes they wanted. The consequence is a church more divided than ever, with pain on both sides, local churches reeling from acrimonious splits and further demoralisation and disengagement in the pews.

Will the church now be able to move on from this lost decade of division? There are signs liberals were already resigned to this outcome, so it’s possible an uneasy truce will now settle, with liberals going back to quietly ignoring the rules in practice while refraining from making big noises about trying to change them.

Read it all and follow the link to the other cited article from the Times.

BREAKING:

CofE bishops won’t give their green light for ‘standalone’ blessing services for gay couples, or for gay priests to have civil same-sex marriages, @TheTimes understands

Will say both would need formal rewrite of church law

Trial of blessing ceremonies can’t go ahead

— Kaya Burgess (@kayaburgess) October 15, 2025

The Alliance network has been encouraging incumbents who are unhappy with the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process to make known their church’s willingness to withdraw from Church of England structures.

Behind the scenes, the Alliance — a network of church organisations opposed to the changes brought by the LLF process — has been encouraging incumbents to persuade their PCCs to pass a resolution stating that, if the Church of England moves forward with either stand-alone services or clergy same-sex marriage, the parish will take at least one of a set of actions. Those include: seeking “alternative episcopal oversight”, a decision to “reroute their diocesan financial contributions”, and moves to “encourage ordinands to participate in an orthodox vocations programme”.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Bishops announced that full synodical approval would be required for either standalone services or clergy same-sex marriage, effectively stalling LLF (News, 15 October). The Bishops also announced that, as a result, they did not consider it necessary to develop any model of alternative episcopal oversight.

Read it all.

Exclusive from @PhrancisMartin: the Alliance network has been encouraging incumbents who are unhappy with the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process to make known their church’s willingness to withdraw from Church of England structures. https://t.co/EGumMC3ZNk pic.twitter.com/pHAEN3Ovwn

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) October 16, 2025

Keep us, O Lord, constant in faith and zealous in witness, after the examples of thy servants Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer; that we may live in thy fear, die in thy favor, and rest in thy peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

15 Oct 1555: Nicholas Ridley is degraded from the episcopate – bishop of #London – #otd. Burnt at the stake next day in #Oxford with Latimer. pic.twitter.com/ZzEi6ja12d

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) October 15, 2025

Harvest Festivals remain a mainstay of the Church of England calendar, but they are less commonly celebrated in denominations that have been expanding in recent years, research from the charity Green Christian suggests.

It held a representative survey of more than 600 regular churchgoers in Britain. This found that, while two-thirds of Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian churches continued to keep Harvest, just under one quarter of the respondents from New Churches, and fewer than half of those from Black Majority, Independent, and Pentecostal churches, normally held services.

Professor Tim Cooper, of Nottingham Trent University, who led the research, emphasised the importance of the festival to Christians. “Churchgoers of all backgrounds and traditions claim to care for God’s creation. But if we make choices in our food and farming practices that are not sustainable, we lack environmental integrity and dishonour the creation that God loves.”

This was also disrespectful to farmers, he suggested. “Harvest suppers are an ideal opportunity for churches to provide meals based on LOAF principles — using ingredients that are local, organic, animal-friendly and fairly traded — and thereby encourage Christians to put the principle of caring for God’s creation into daily practice.”

.

Harvest festival remains a mainstay in the Church of England calendar, but is less common in denominations that have been expanding in recent years, research from the charity @GreenChristian_ suggests#harvest #harvestfestival #cathedrals #churchnews https://t.co/x8Yp1vwaeb

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 15, 2025

Congregationalism is being “silently endorsed” in the Church of England, a new report warns, because the leaders of new worshipping communities (NWCs) are writing eucharistic texts for their communities without the theological support of the wider Church.

The Communion Dilemma: The challenges of leading eucharistic New Things draws on a survey of 63 NWCs across 20 dioceses. It reports that 39 per cent of them are using texts not authorised by the General Synod.

“The problem is not just [that] new things are breaking the rules, but they are seeking to exist outside of the ecology of the wider Church, in which all can be benefit and learn from one another,” the report says. One way forward would be to designate some New Things as “centres for liturgical experimentation”.

The report is by the Revd Dr Joshua Cockayne, director of the Bede Centre for Church Planting Theology at Cranmer Hall. The term “New Things” was used in an earlier report by the Centre, which found that dioceses had jettisoned the use of the word “church” in describing the various new worshipping communities being established in their parishes (News, 16 August 2024).

Read it all.

Congregationalism is being “silently endorsed” in the Church of England, a new report warns, because the leaders of new worshipping communities (NWCs) are writing eucharistic texts for their communities without the theological support of the wider Churchhttps://t.co/KXm27fBSKs

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 14, 2025

Trinity Anglican Seminary is offering an in-person and live-stream lecture at 7:00 p.m. on October 30 by Dr. Matthew Barrett, Research Professor of Theology. Part of the 2025 John Rodgers Lecture Series, this year’s lecture, “The Legacy of Nicaea & the Future of Anglicanism,” marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and explores the vital role of creedal Christianity in our time. Register here to receive the live-stream link.

Read it all.

The Latest Edition of the Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter https://t.co/NrndEYbzzv #parishministry #anglican #news #southcarolina #lowcountrylife pic.twitter.com/BvRsQ1TKc8

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) October 14, 2025

The announcement of the choice of the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mallally, to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury has been accompanied by frequent references to the Archbishop of Canterbury as the ‘head of the Church of England’ or the ‘head of the Anglican Communion.’  In this post I shall explain why both of these statements are misleading, what roles the Archbishop of Canterbury actually has in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, and the implications of the fact that these roles are very limited.

What do we mean by ‘head?’

When thinking about these topics, the first thing we need to be clear about is what we mean when we say that someone is the ‘head’ of something. When we use the word head in this connection we are using analogical language. An analogy is being drawn between the role of the head (and more specifically what is inside the head, the brain) in the human body and the role of an individual in a particular organisation.

The analogy is between the role of the brain in determining how a human body shall act and the role of an individual in determining what happens in an organisation. Calling some the head in this way (as in the terms ‘head of state,’ ‘head teacher’ and ‘head of the armed forces’ ) means that they are the person who has the authority and ability to govern the life of the state, the school, or the armed forces. They have the right to say what will happen.

By extension, when it is said that the Archbishop of Canterbury is head of the Church of England or the Anglican Communion, what is being claimed is that the Archbishop of Canterbury has a similar governing authority over these bodies. The problem with this claim is that it is untrue for three reasons.

Read it all.

Martin Davie–'The…problem with this statement is that the idea that the Church of England does not have a ‘straightforward statement of doctrine’ is simply untrue. The Church of England does have a straightforward statement of its doctrine, and this is found in the Thirty Nine… pic.twitter.com/8jtUCwrQDb

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) November 21, 2024

For a young adult coming to church for the first time, simply getting to and through the first service is a daunting prospect. Churches’ online presence, where it exists, describes their beliefs and practices in euphemisms that make sense only to those already familiar with the smorgasbord of Church of England options.

Jargon and out-of-date websites unite to confound the uninitiated. My local churches advertise everything from “Catholic Worship” through to “English Missal Eucharist” and “liturgy inspired by the Iona Community”, and detail membership of the Evangelical Alliance, The Society, or the Inclusive Church network, without explanation. For a generation used to finding information online, clear and accurate websites or social media make church significantly more accessible.

Once you are at church, the average service is an hour of the unknown: so much to follow, so many unwritten “rules”, and so (potentially) intellectually challenging or emotionally taxing. At better-resourced churches, you might be greeted at the door, have a well-produced service booklet handed to you, and have your moment to ask questions. Finessing the church “user experience” is difficult on a shoestring, but such small operational improvements could make coming to church for the first time infinitely less baffling.

Read it all.

How churches can adapt to the ‘quiet revival’@WinifEvans, a recent convert, suggests some ‘operational improvements’ that parishes can make #quietrevivalhttps://t.co/tvmo0NSdpS

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 3, 2025

A letter of legal claim has been sent to St Andrew the Great, Cambridge (formerly the Round Church), on behalf of seven Zimbabwean victims of John Smyth. It alleges that senior clergy and church officers “orchestrated a cover-up that enabled Smyth to continue abusing boys for decades”.

The letter, sent by Leigh Day Solicitors, argues that the failure to report Smyth’s abuse in the UK between 1982 and 1984 “directly led to his relocation to Zimbabwe, where he continued to prey on vulnerable boys”.

The claimants are six men who say that they were abused as teenagers at Christian holiday camps run by Smyth in Zimbabwe, and the mother of Guide Nyachuru, a 16-year-old boy whose body was found in a swimming pool at one of Smyth’s camps in 1992. The abuse included forced nudity, beatings with table tennis and jokari bats, indecent exposure, groping, and intrusive conversations about masturbation.

Smyth, described in a review by Keith Makin last year as “arguably, the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England” (News, 8 November 2024), moved to Zimbabwe in August 1984 and began to run holiday camps in the country. The move followed the completion in 1982 of a report by the Revd Mark Ruston, then Vicar of the Round Church, commissioned after a British Smyth victim grew so fearful of beatings that he tried to take his own life.

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Letter alleges that senior clergy and church officers ‘orchestrated a cover-up that enabled Smyth to continue abusing boys for decades’ https://t.co/yqWhzbyyjl

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 7, 2025

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

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“Prayer is like breathing. It is the air in which we survive spiritually.” – Elisabeth Elliot

Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:17#elisabethelliot #prayer #christianbooks #faithful #spiritual pic.twitter.com/PYl0bzoDrN

— Elisabeth Elliot (@EElliotFdn) September 24, 2025

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mages from the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and its aftermath are forever seared in the mind of Israel Pochtar. 

Pochtar, a pastor at Congregation Beit Hallel in the city of Ashdod, Israel, recalled the early-morning sirens that jolted him awake and sent him peering through the windows of his apartment on the 30th floor. He watched rocket after rocket fire from Gaza, 23 miles to the south. Smoke billowed from buildings in nearby Ashkelon. 

He turned to social media and saw videos of Hamas terrorists killing Israeli police officers. He thought it was fake news. 

Only after seeing news reports of Hamas brutally murdering more than a dozen elderly Israelis who had gathered for a trip to the Dead Sea did he comprehend the unfolding horror: 1,200 dead and 251 taken hostage, with evidence of rape, torture, and entire families burned alive. 

As he drove one of his sons to a nearby military base to report for duty as part of a massive call-up, he saw fear and confusion in the eyes of soldiers. “No one was smiling, and no one was making jokes,” Pochtar noted. He prayed for his son, said goodbye, and burst into tears. 

Then he began identifying ways his church could serve a fearful and broken population. 

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Two years after October 7, churches in Israel and Egypt continue to provide food, aid, and a listening ear to those scarred by the Israel-Hamas war.https://t.co/VfDE4T2Zn1

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) October 7, 2025

After months of speculation, the Church of England has finally appointed a new Archbishop of Canterbury. The first woman in the post, she is the current Bishop of London and as such has already played a senior role in the Church for several years.

Her theological training and ministerial experience are minimal. She was enrolled on a local ordination course rather than at a theological college and served a couple of part-time curacies before being very briefly rector of a parish church. She was soon promoted to the episcopate as suffragan bishop of Crediton, but her main achievement appears to be that she was a competent administrator in the National Health Service. Is a track record like that promising for a future Archbishop of Canterbury?

The short answer must be no.

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💬"Everybody in the Church of England will be polite to her, but few will listen to whatever she has to say…"

📢Gerald Bray on the announcement that Sarah Mullally is to be the new Archbishop of Canterbury: https://t.co/ZKEEYPdOoT

— Evangelicals Now (@EvangelicalsNow) October 3, 2025

These works of local hospitality – flowers, music, refreshments, keeping the church warm – may seem simple, but they are fundamental to the church’s mission: to draw people together in fellowship to hear the word of Christ. And whilst the works are simple, organising them isn’t. A service like our Harvest Festival needs many to help: everyone from clergy to musicians and flower-arrangers. However, ever fewer are willing to volunteer.

In recent decades, the Church of England has undergone a relentless programme of centralisation. Money and powers have been drawn upwards from parishes to dioceses and new bodies like the Archbishops’ Council.

These central bodies are fixated on grand visions and political fashions rather than the practical work of local parishes. They are reluctant to spend money on paying for ordinary clergy and churches. Instead, funds are soaked up by growing bureaucracies.

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✍️ 'The next Archbishop must care for the Church, not political fashions' | Writes Bijan Onrami

Read the column ⬇️https://t.co/w0mDBc3HsW pic.twitter.com/p2kGynnk50

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 2, 2025

Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most revered conservationists, who earned scientific stature and global celebrity by chronicling the distinctive behavior of wild chimpanzees in East Africa — primates that made and used tools, ate meat, held rain dances and engaged in organized warfare — died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 91.

Her death, while on a speaking tour, was confirmed by the Jane Goodall Institute, whose U.S. headquarters are in Washington, D.C. When not traveling widely, she lived in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England, in her childhood home.

Dr. Goodall was 29 in the summer of 1963 when National Geographic magazine published her 7,500-word, 37-page account of the lives of primates she had observed in the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in what is now Tanzania. The National Geographic Society had been financially supporting her field studies there.

The article, with photographs by Hugo van Lawick, a Dutch wildlife photographer whom she later married, also described Dr. Goodall’s struggles to overcome disease, predators and frustration as she tried to get close to the chimps, working from a primitive research station along the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.

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She lived a great, impactful life, and inspired me to study primate behavior. Stephen Jay Gould called her work one of the Western world's greatest scientific achievements. Jane Goodall, Eminent Primatologist Who Chronicled the Lives of Chimps, Dies at 91 https://t.co/bXbmX0ueqh

— Michael Platt (@MichaelLouisPl1) October 1, 2025

The name of the Crown’s nominee as next Archbishop of Canterbury is expected to be made public on Friday.

The final meeting of the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) was held last week, and it is understood that a nominee was agreed by at least the required two-thirds majority.

The CNC comprised 17 members, including six elected from the General Synod, five representing the Anglican Communion, and three from the diocese of Canterbury, alongside the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, and the Archbishop of York.

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The name of the Crown’s nominee as next Archbishop of Canterbury is expected to be made public on Friday

Follow the #ChurchTimes for up-to-date and informed coverage of the new appointment#archbishopofcanterbury #Archbishop106 #nextABC https://t.co/jIsz9igOgv

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 1, 2025

Herewith one story–Anglicans Gather to Honor Bishops Allison and Null

Anglicans from across the globe gathered together on September 15 at Prince George Winyah in Georgetown to honor the ministry of Bishop Fitz Allison. His ministry included teaching Ashley Null about justification by faith and ordaining him to the priesthood. During the service, Bishop Allison prayed for Ashley’s new ministry as the bishop of the Diocese of North Africa. Bishop Null’s episcopal ordination was held on May 11 at St. George—an historic Anglican church in Tunis just a few miles from ancient Carthage and St. Cyprian’s original cathedral. As the Anglican successor to St. Augustine, Bishop Null intends to continue the robust legacy of Reformation Anglicanism which Bishop Allison has championed for decades. Please join all who gathered at Prince George Winyah (PGW) in praying for the difficult ministry in North Africa and for the continued biblical focus of Bishop Allison and Bishop Null’s ministries. To God be the glory.

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'Anglicans from across the globe gathered together on September 15 at Prince George Winyah in Georgetown to honor the ministry of Bishop Fitz Allison. His ministry included teaching Ashley Null about justification by faith and ordaining him to the priesthood. During the service,… pic.twitter.com/5YdkT8K6r9

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) October 1, 2025