A primary school receptionist, Jennie Cain, whose five-year-old daughter was told off for talking about Jesus in class is now facing the sack for seeking support from her church.
Mrs Cain sent a private email to close friends to ask for prayers for her daughter after she was called into the school where she worked in Crediton, Devon, to be reprimanded.
Her daughter Jasmine had been overheard by a teacher discussing heaven and God with a friend and had been pulled to one side and told off.
Mrs Cain contacted 10 close friends from her church by email but the message fell into the hands of Gary Read, the headmaster of Landscore Primary School where she works.
The 38-year-old mother of two is now being investigated for professional misconduct for allegedly making claims against the school and its staff. Read more
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Thursday, 12 February 2009
Primary school receptionist 'facing sack' after daughter talks about Jesus to classmate
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
An Essex 'Fresh Expression' of Church
From 2006-2008, the Church on the Common, an aging evangelical anglican congregation in the village of G---, Essex, UK, tried to turn itself into a child-friendly church. It failed.What this site is all about
In September 2009 it plans to launch a fresh expression of church, particularly targeted at infant and junior aged children (ie 4s-11s) and their families.
At the same time, Church on the Common is a vibrant, wise and gospel-centred place. It is still aiming to grow, and is exploring ways to live up to its considerable potential.
This site is being launched in February 2009. It aims to analyse what went wrong with the earlier project, and give you a real-time description of our efforts to get ready for the launch of the new one while continuing to support and be excited by the ongoing life of the Church on the Common.
We hope it will be useful for pioneers and leaders of similar churches, and interesting to all those involved. We would love people to interact with us.
On this site, all names are shortened to their initial and final letter, but all facts given are (to the best of the authors' knowledge) entirely true.
Read the blog to keep up to date - the earliest posts are at the bottom of the page, so you might want to scroll down to the beginning to start.
Orthodox Anglicans Don't Expect Unity for Long
Days after Anglican leaders came out of a global meeting pleased with the respect and graciousness that were exchanged despite ongoing internal conflicts, one prominent conservative bishop demanded that the "bitter truth" be acknowledged – that their differences are irreconcilable.
In an open letter addressed to Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, who is considered the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, Nigerian Archbishop Peter J. Akinola expressed his discontentment with the churches in North America and their continued pro-gay actions.
"It now seems increasingly clear that without a radical change of behavior on the part of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada the only possible outcome of such a process is acknowledgment of a bitter truth that the differences in the words of Archbishop Idris Jones are 'irreconcilable,'" Akinola wrote in the letter, released Tuesday.
During a Feb. 1-5 meeting in Alexandria, Egypt, Anglican leaders agreed to maintain a moratorium on the ordination of openly gay bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions as they try to move forward to mend their rifts and re-establish mutual trust.
Some Anglicans in North America, however, have taken steps to start blessing same-sex unions, Akinola noted. The Diocese of Virginia adopted an amendment, days before the Anglican meeting, affirming "the inherent integrity and blessedness of committed Christian relationships between two adult persons."
Also, the Diocese of Toronto put forward a proposal last week to allow some parishes to offer blessings – although not the nuptial blessing – to same-sex couples. Read more
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US Church calls for six-year delay on Anglican Covenant vote
The Executive Council of the US Episcopal Church has recommended a six-year delay before voting on the Anglican Covenant.
At the close of its three-day winter meeting on Jan 31 in Stockton, California, the Executive Council endorsed a report from a task force that recommended the delay on adopting the Covenant, and voiced strong criticism of the most recent draft of the document.
The Anglican Covenant will be presented to the Communion at the May meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Kingston, Jamaica. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori last year urged the church not to take up the Covenant at the July meeting of General Convention saying more time was needed.
However conservative critics said the delay was politically motivated, noting that when the issue of affirming the election of a partnered gay priest was brought before Convention in 2003, a similar timeframe was not found to be objectionable by the church’s liberal hierarchy.
Waiting until the 2015 General Convention “would provide a fruitful opportunity for [the Episcopal Church] to hear the voices of other members of the Anglican Communion as they discuss future drafts.” Read more
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Banned from Britain, Dutch campaigner against Islam
A far-right Dutch MP whose film linking Islamic texts with the terror attacks on New York sparked protests around the Muslim world was last night banned from entering Britain.
Geert Wilders, who leads the small Dutch Freedom Party, was due to show his controversial 17-minute film at an event in the House of Lords tomorrow, but was informed yesterday by British officials that he would not be allowed to enter the country. The decision sparked an immediate diplomatic row after the Dutch Government pressed Britain to reverse the ban. Read more
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Tuesday, 10 February 2009
An Open Letter from Archbishop Akinola to Archbishop Williams
Dear Rowan:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing in regard to the recently concluded Primates Meeting in Alexandria, Egypt. Thank you for all of your contributions. I admire how you bear graciously the divergent views and enormous pain they impose. As I indicated at the time I was grateful that we were able to discuss core theological convictions and achieve considerable clarity about our differences. That we were able to do so in an atmosphere of respect and without rancour is not only an answered prayer but it is also a testimony and credit to your role in this outcome and something for which I am most appreciative.
In preparation for the meeting I asked The American Anglican Council to prepare the attached report on the continuing situation of The Episcopal Church to enable people in the wider Communion to have a fuller perspective of the circumstances in North America. I shared it with my colleagues in the Global South but did not release it more widely in the hope that we would receive assurances from the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada that they were willing to exercise genuine restraint towards those Anglicans in North America unwilling to embrace their several innovations.
Sadly that did not prove to be the case. Instead we were treated to presentations that sought to trivialize the situation and the consequences for those whose only offence is their determination to hold on doggedly and truthfully to the faith once delivered to the saints. In addition I have learned that even as we met together in Alexandria actions were taken that were in direct contradiction to the season of deeper communion and gracious restraint to which we all expressed agreement. For example, in the days leading up to our meeting, the Diocese of Virginia declared the “inherent integrity and blessedness” of same sex unions and initiated a process to provide for their “blessing”. While we were meeting, The Diocese of Toronto also announced that it will start same sex blessings within a year and The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia filed further costly legal action appealing the court’s decision in twenty cases favouring nine Virginia congregations. These and many further actions are documented within the report.
In our meeting we recommended that you initiate a “professionally mediated conversation which engages all parties at the earliest opportunity.” It now seems increasingly clear that without a radical change of behaviour on the part of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada the only possible outcome of such a process is acknowledgement of a bitter truth that the differences in the words of Archbishop Idris Jones are “irreconcilable”. I know that you are grieved by the continuing brokenness of our Communion but I believe that healing will only come when we face into the true reality of our situation. That is what I am endeavouring to do by releasing this report and a similar document describing the situation in Canada. I assure you of my prayers and determination that we do nothing that will compromise the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ that is our only hope.
In Christ,
+ Peter Abuja
A PDF copy of the letter above is available here.
The American Anglican Council’s report on The Episcopal Church that was prepared for the Primates is available here.
An additional report prepared by the Anglican Network in Canada on the Anglican Church of Canada is available here.