Archbishop calls secret service for gay clergy

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is to hold a secret Communion service for gay clergy and their partners in London.

Dr Williams will celebrate the eucharist at St Peter’s, Eaton Square – the Church of England parish that is known as the spiritual home to some of the country’s most liberal and wealthy Anglican elite. There he will give an address titled “Present realities and future possibilities for lesbians and gay men in the Church”.

The event has been organised under Chatham House rules, which prevent any disclosure of the discussions. The event will take place at 10am on November 29. A list of the names of those who will be present will be seen only by Dr Williams. It will be shredded afterwards.

Among those attending will be the convenor, Chris Newlands, the chaplain to the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Rev John Gladwin. Also present will be the Vicar of St Peter’s, the Rev Nicholas Papadopulos, and the former chaplain to the Bishop of Salisbury, the Right Rev David Stancliffe. Read more

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It's a tough job ...

The absence of normal service on this blog over the last couple of days is due to the fact that I was in Ghana, speaking at a 'Global South' consultation on 'Wealth Creation'. This was similar to the consultation in Kenya back in July, which is why I got invited.

The only problem was, it was a very 'last minute' invitation, with the result that having spent a lot of time getting everything arranged, I flew out on Wednesday and flew back in this morning. Although there's only a one-hour time difference, I feel pretty rough!

Still, the view from the hotel wasn't bad.

Rev John Richardson

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Archbishop sees vibrant future for Anglican Church

MARK COLVIN: More drum kits and fewer stained glassed windows. That's the future of the Anglican Church through the eyes of the leader of Australia's biggest Anglican community. Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen has used the Church's annual Synod or parliament to attack his own church as forbidding and unnecessarily old-fashioned.

But there's a definite limit to Dr Jensen's appetite for change. He says there's still no need for women to become priests in his diocese or for the Church to embrace the openly gay.

Simon Santow reports. Read more

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Sydney: Move to empower laity raises church ire

THE Sydney Anglican Church has revived its radical push to let church elders preside over Holy Communion despite strident opposition from Australian Anglicans and the worldwide church and at the risk of antagonising international churches it has courted to stop the consecration of gay bishops.

A committee of church officials has urged the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, to amend the licenses of senior lay people and deacons to enable them to preside over Holy Communion, a right at present restricted to ordained priests and bishops. Read more

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Bishop warns that Muslims who convert risk being killed

One of the Church of England's most senior bishops is warning that people will die unless Muslim leaders in Britain speak out in defence of the right to change faith.

Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, whose father converted from Islam to Christianity in Pakistan, says he is looking to Muslim leaders in Britain to 'uphold basic civil liberties, including the right for people to believe what they wish to believe and to even change their beliefs if they wish to do so'. Read more

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Cathedral Chancellor: "Thinking about Ramadan has made me a better Christian"

(Ed: One of the advantages of having a Muslim on the staff of your Cathedral is that they can show you where you're going wrong.)

[...] The holy month of Ramadan reminds me that I need both body and soul to be in good shape if I'm to approach the heavenly courts. It also teaches me that the taqwa, which is the divine gift to all people of faith and goodwill, will only come my way when I achieve a more balanced nurturing of both.

How humbling that I hear the divine call to respond to all this and to correct the imperfections in my own faith through the holiness and wholesomeness of another faith community. How wonderful that God tries to make me a better Christian, a better person, through my Muslim sisters and brothers.

· Chris Chivers is canon chancellor of Blackburn Cathedral and director of exChange, the cathedral's interfaith development agency Read more

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