Ed: Can anyone help with this? "However there is one elusive model and that is the priest at the window. He is described as a 'clergyman from Essex' and I have tried to identify this character through the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford but with no success."
A Painting depicting one of the most famous episodes in the history of a Mearns town is set to be restored to its former glory.
Volunteers at an Aberdeenshire church are raising funds to pay for the £2,000 restoration of the 1865 work by George Washington Brownlow, Baptism from a Stonehaven Jail.
The painting, which hangs in the town's Tollbooth museum, is owned by the Bishop of Brechin, the Rev John Mantle.
It depicts a turbulent time in the history of the Scottish Episcopal Church, following the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and shows a clergy-man behind bars baptising a bairn.
George Masson, a member of St Ternan's Episcopal Church, Muchalls, is now leading a fundraising drive to raise the money needed to pay a professional to conserve the piece.
He said: "It is a wonderful painting and the difference when the expert did one tiny area was amazing.
"The colours are very vibrant and it would be nice to see it restored to the way it should be.
"It is a very important work and at one time or another every episcopal church in Scotland will have displayed a copy."
As part of the project Mr Masson is also hoping to conduct further research into those depicted in the painting.
He added: "Most - if not all - of the locals Brownlow used for his models in the painting have been identified.
"In fact I know of at least three descendants, myself included, of people in the painting.
"However there is one elusive model and that is the priest at the window.
"He is described as a 'clergyman from Essex' and I have tried to identify this character through the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford but with no success."
Mr Masson is hoping Press and Journal readers may hold the answers and is appealing for anyone with information about the painting to contact him on 01224 733583 or by e-mailing george.masson@limeone.net Read more
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Saturday, 22 December 2007
Spot the Essex clergyman in historic painting
See of Canterbury to be replaced by Lagos or Singapore?
[...] It is theoretically possible for the Anglican Communion of Churches to engage in prayerful negotiation over a period of time and then decide that the time has come, in God’s providential guiding of the Anglican Way, for the central and unifying See to be elsewhere—e.g. Lagos or Singapore—and for the Church of England, which gave its name (Ecclesia Anglicana) to the Anglican Communion , to be demoted to one of the ordinary members of the 38 current Churches, rather than its first member.
If this is what the Global South and their American supporters desire, then it would surely be good for them to stay for the time being within the traditional patterns and procedures, and, within this context initiate the discussions to test out how many Provinces favor this radical change. Their present criticisms and threats to boycott Lambeth 2008 are surely not the way for godly and reasonable church leaders to deal with an institution of 1410 years of existence.
Unity in truth and Truth in unity is what the Anglican Communion has stood for historically, even though this has been an ideal, and rarely an attainment.
This ideal needs to stay in place, all Bishops invited to Lambeth Conference in July 2008 should plan to attend, submitting to the historical vocation of the See of Canterbury to issue invitations and to be the president.
Once there, the Bishops of the Global South can ensure that any moves to seek to change the primacy of Canterbury can begin in charity, missionary concern and in prayerfulness. Read more
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Richard Starkey: Prince Charles can save the nation, when the Church of England can't
[...] "is it now time for the monarchy to throw over the Church of England?" he asks, thrillingly, in his programme. "After all, the sometime national church, despite the splendours of its architectural inheritance, is now in fact weak, divided, and fast shrinking into a mere sect. If religion still has strength in this country, it lies elsewhere, in evangelical Christianity and radical Islam, and neither is very promising material for royal ceremony."
To compound this, says Starkey, "the notion of public service has effectively been abandoned. Every political party now buys into business values, and into the notion that by definition business must run things more efficiently."
What's left, he argues, is a moral vacuum - and a position for Prince Charles to step into, if he so wishes. Read moreNo comments will be posted without a full name and location, see the policy.
Friday, 21 December 2007
This Government has relentlessly undermined the rule of law by its vague legislation and constant meddling
[...] This erosion of the rule of law is not the avoidable consequence of poorly drafted legislation. It is impossible to state clearly what constitutes a hateful remark, a hostile environment or neglectful parenting. If the Government wishes to rule out such things, it can only pass vague laws and delegate the power to interpret them to its agents.
It must replace the rule of law with “the rule of men”. Knowing whether your actions make you liable for punishment is not a matter of reading the legislation but of predicting the sensibilities of the authorities.
And not just towards your actions but towards you. Despite their risky assertions, polemical atheists and evangelical preachers have little to fear from the religious hatred law because the authorities who wield it at their discretion have different targets in mind, such as BNP politicians and Islamic radicals. Justice may be blind but the Home Secretary is not.
The second erosion of the rule of law comes from the Government's open contempt for the idea that the law defines the scope of the Government's interest in you, that you can be on the wrong side of the Government only by being on the wrong side of the law. For example, it is not illegal to have fat children. Yet we know that the Government disapproves of parents who do, since it sends them letters pointing out their children's obesity. “We've got our eye on you,” they insinuate. To which a free man should respond: “If I have committed a crime, arrest me; otherwise, leave me alone.”
But this generation of Labour politicians cannot leave us alone. For they are convinced that they have attained a new level of moral insight and feel duty-bound to improve us. There is no topic on which the Government does not have some recommendation for how we should behave: from what we say about homosexuals, to what we eat, to how we raise our children. They admonish and cajole and “educate” and hint at impending penalties for those who do not fall into line. Read more
Schori Appoints Three Bishops to Seek Lambeth Invitation for Bishop Robinson
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Theological training threatened by cuts
(Ed: According to the article, these cuts will not affect trainee imams.)
THE UPTURN in young ordinands coming forward for training in the Church of England could be checked, after a government move to redistribute £100 million to finance more first degrees.
The Higher Education Funding Council has been forced to find £100-million-a-year cuts by the Treasury. On 7 December, it announced that it plans to save the bulk of this by not funding second qualifications that are equivalent to, or less than, a person’s existing qualification. Most theological qualifications come into this category.
The cuts, due to be implemented next autumn, would leave the Church up to £1.5 million a year short, experts warned this week.
The Archbishop of Canterbury said on Monday that he was very worried about the cuts and had already received representations about them. But he did not yet know the full extent of the likely impact on the Church. The cost to the Church was likely to be about £2500 per candidate. Read more
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Thursday, 20 December 2007
Three (Christmas) Cheers for Rowan Williams
There are some really terrible headlines in the papers at the moment about what Rowan Williams 'said' about the Christmas story:
"It’s all a Christmas tall story" The Times
"Three Wise Men are just a legend, says Archbishop of Canterbury" The Daily Mail
"Archbishop says nativity 'a legend'" Daily Telegraph
I'm sure there's plenty more around like this. The only problem is, none of it is true. Instead, one 'journalist' seems to have fed on another. (So no surprise there, then.)
The story is based on a lengthy interview with Simon Mayo on Radio 5 live. You can hear the whole of it, which is very wide-ranging, here. You can read a transcript of the relevant bit of the Archbishop's conversation here. And you can see the bit where he overlaps with Ricky Gervais on Youtube here.
You'll notice the Archbishop uses the word 'legend' as follows (Simon Mayo is describing an archetypal Christmas card - manger, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, star, three kings, snow):
SM And the wise men with the gold, frankincense, and Myrrh - with one of the wise men normally being black and the other two being white, for some reason?
ABC Well Matthew's gospel doesn't tell us that there were three of them, doesn't tell us they were kings, doesn't tell us where they came from, it says they're astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire. That's all we're really told so, yes, 'the three kings with the one from Africa' - that's legend; it works quite well as legend.
SM But would they have been there?
ABC Not with the shepherds, they wouldn't. So if you've got shepherds on one side and three kings on the other, there's a bit of conflation going on.
Notice the difference? Matthew doesn't tell us the 'legendary' bits. Matthew does say 'they're astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire.' If you're still not convinced, listen to the whole interview. Earlier, we get this critical question:SM It comes round every year that we're not being Christian enough or people don't know where Bethlehem is, people have never heard of Mary and so on, so this is a sort of an almost a tradition of Christmas, isn't it really. But I wonder, if people have got a traditional religious Christmas card in front of them, I just want to go through it, Archbishop, to find out how much of it you think is true and crucial to the believing in Christmas. So start with … the baby Jesus in a manger; historically and factually true?
ABC I should think so ...
And from a man not given to dogmatic statements, read in the context of everything else he says in the interview, I'll take that as a 'Yes'.
So credit where it's due, and three cheers for RW!No comments will be posted without a full name and location, see the policy.
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
The Goddess at Her Church
In the 'you couldn't make this up if you tried' category, I offer this video from Her Church, the Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Thanks to Peter Ould's blog for the tip-off.
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Monday, 17 December 2007
Changing Attitude responds to Rowan Williams' Advent letter
Ed: Read in conjunction with the Archbishop of Canterbury's Advent letter, this is precisely why many of us in Chelmsford feel it is wrong for our Diocesan Bishop to be a patron of Changing Attitude. Listen, yes - we are listening here. Be a patron, no.
... It is impossible for the church to welcome LGBT people until there is a change in the discipline of the church and the interpretation of the Bible. Read more
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Archbishop of Canterbury's Advent Letter Offers Little Hope for Orthodox Episcopalian
The Archbishop of Canterbury believes that tensions between The Episcopal Church (TEC) and the wider Communion - an ongoing crisis for more than four years - have been sufficiently answered by The Episcopal Church and "it would be unrealistic and ungrateful to expect more from TEC in terms of clarification."
In his yearly Advent letter to the Anglican Communion, Dr. Williams said that "whatever our individual perspectives, I think we need to honor the intentions and the hard work done by the bishops of TEC. For many of them, this has been a very costly and demanding experience, testing both heart and conscience. But now we need to determine a way forward."
His words offer little hope for orthodox Episcopalians who are leaving weekly by the thousands, with dozens of parishes and one diocese, possibly three or more, ready to depart the denomination for ecclesiastical safety in African and Latin American provinces. Read more
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Why atheists are so angry
If you haven't seen my “God v. Atheism” debate with philosopher Daniel Dennett, you can view it at Tothesource.org. You should read the comments in response to the debate both on my AOL blog as well as on the atheist site richarddawkins.net. From the atheists you hear statements like this: "D'Souza is a goddamned idiot." "Odious little toad." "D'Souza is full of s**t." "A smug, joyless twit." "Total moron." "Little turd." "Two-faced liar." Etc, etc. Now admittedly the topic of God v. atheism can be an emotional one, but you will find no comparable invective on the Christian side. Why then are so many atheists so angry?
One reason I think is that they are God-haters. Atheists often like to portray themselves as "unbelievers" but this is not strictly accurate. If they were mere unbelievers they would simply live their lives as if God did not exist. I don't believe in unicorns, but then I haven't written any books called The End of Unicorns, Unicorns are Not Great, or The Unicorn Delusion. Clearly the atheists go beyond disbelief; they are on the warpath against God. And you can hear their bitterness not only in their book titles but also in their mean-spirited invective.
Here is a second reason the atheists sound so angry. They are not used to having their sophistries exposed. For the past three years the new atheists have had a virtually free ride. Dawkins and Hitchens make outrageous claims ("religion poisons everything") and media pundits like Lou Dobbs and Tim Russert fawn all over them. But in the past few months I've been meeting the leading atheist spokesmen in open debate, and challenging them on the basis of the same reason and science and evidence that they say vindicates their claims. Read more
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Anglican Church continues to divide
Churches in California and Canada have decided to split from the Anglican Communion due to disagreement over how the church should minister to homosexuals and doctrinal matters.
The Diocese of San Joaquin and churches in British Columbia will instead align with the Argentinean Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
The Episcopal Church is the U.S. province of the Anglican Communion which serves 77 million members world-wide.
The AP reports that Saturday, the Diocese of San Joaquin voted to split from the Episcopal Church because of their disagreements over the Bible and homosexuality.
The homosexual issue is not a key issue. It is a concern, but it is not the central concern,” said Reverend Van McCalister a spokesman for the diocese.
McCalister says that some in the diocese have been disgruntled for decades over the authority of scripture and the relationship to the historical church. ”Some folks have been concerned since 1955 when Bishop Pike said he no longer believed in the doctrine of the trinity, no longer believed in the resurrection, or the virgin birth, and the church was unwilling to discipline him,” said McCalister.
On Saturday, clergy and lay members from the diocese voted 173-22 to remove all references to the national church from the diocese’s constitution. Read more
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Greg Venables welcomes San Joaquin back into full fellowship in the Anglican Communion
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, our one and only Lord and Savior. By an overwhelming majority of nearly 90% (173 to 22), our Annual Convention voted Saturday, December 8th, to uphold the authority of Holy Scripture and thereby preserve our place in the worldwide Anglican Communion and with the See of Canterbury by realigning our Anglican identity through the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of the Americas under the Most Rev. Gregory Venables, Archbishop and Primate.
This historic and momentous decision by our Annual Convention was the culmination of The Episcopal Church’s failure to heed the repeated calls for repentance issued by the Primates of the Anglican Communion and for the cessation of false teaching and sacramental actions explicitly contrary to Scripture.
However, we are no longer operating under the looming shadow of this institutional apostasy because our Annual Convention wisely and prayerfully accepted the gracious invitation for sanctuary from the Southern Cone. Under a plan developed with their House of Bishops and ultimately discussed between Archbishop Venables and a number of other Primates and Bishops we were offered hope by the Southern Cone. I wish to emphasize that Convention’s action is not a schism over secondary issues but a realignment necessitated by false teaching as well as unbiblical sacramental actions that continue to take place in The Episcopal Church. As our new Archbishop so succinctly put it: “Christianity is specific, definable and unchanging. We are not at liberty to deconstruct or rewrite it. If Jesus was the Son of God yesterday then so He is today and will be forever.” After our Annual Convention voted to accept the invitation from the Southern Cone, the first words to the Diocese of San Joaquin from our new Archbishop were these: Read more
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Canada's thought police pursue author
Celebrated author Mark Steyn has been summoned to appear before two Canadian judicial panels on charges linked to his book “America Alone."
The book, a No. 1 bestseller in Canada, argues that Western nations are succumbing to an Islamist imperialist threat. The fact that charges based on it are proceeding apace proves his point.
Steyn, who won the 2006 Eric Breindel Journalism Award (co-sponsored by The Post and its parent, News Corp), writes for dozens of publications on several continents. After the Canadian general-interest magazine Maclean's reprinted a chapter from the book, five Muslim law-school students, acting through the auspices of the Canadian Islamic Congress, demanded that the magazine be punished for spreading “hatred and contempt" for Muslims.
The plaintiffs allege that Maclean's advocated, among other things, the notion that Islamic culture is incompatible with Canada's liberalized, Western civilization. They insist such a notion is untrue and, in effect, want opinions like that banned from publication. Read more
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Saturday, 15 December 2007
Archbishop of Canterbury's Advent Letter to Primates
Ed: This is a long and technical letter to the Primates of the Anglican Communion detailing some of Rowan Williams' concerns and expectations about the current divisions in the Communion and his hopes for the Lambeth Conference in 2008. It can be read here.
Read a comment on the letter here.
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Thursday, 13 December 2007
Church 'fury' over Council 'hijacking' of Christmas
The Church of England has written a spoof hymn bemoaning the "hijacking" of Christmas by a local council.
The hymn, a reworking of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, accuses Warrington Council of forgetting the meaning of Christmas with its choice of Christmas lights.
Rather than invoking a traditional Christmas spirit, the local authority has erected lights bearing the message "Recycle for Warrington".
The Diocese of Manchester said Christians in Warrington, Cheshire, have been "insulted" by the decision to link the festive season with a recycling promotion.
It has accused the authority of "using a secular agenda to remove overtly Christian symbols".
The Bishop of Bolton, the Rt Rev David Gillett, said: "I am quite surprised to see the usual Christmas greetings replaced by the slogan Recycle for Warrington.
"The various faith communities in Warrington all share the common belief that we should care for our environment and celebrate festivals in an appropriate way.
"For the majority of Warrington's population the celebration of Christmas is an important time. I hope that next year the council will reinstate Christmas." Read more
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Bishop of Wakefield aims to make an impression
WITHOUT the gift of prophecy, it's difficult to be certain. But there's a good chance that tomorrow there'll be more people in Wesley Owen's, the bookshop in Vicar Lane, Leeds, where they do religion, than there will be in the next door Chinese supermarket where they go in for Szechuan sauce and star anise.
Why? Because there's a book signing being done by a Yorkshire church leader who has been dubbed an ecclesiastical Rory Bremner.
Stephen Platten, bishop of Wakefield, does, for instance, a remarkably good Robert Runcie, the now deceased former Archbishop of Canterbury who was his old boss when he was the primate's secretary for ecumenical affairs at Lambeth Palace. Platten captures with amazing accuracy the voice of Runcie, which was a strange mixture of Malcolm Muggeridge and Frankie Howerd.
Not that there is likely to be any mimicking of anybody by the Bishop of Wakefield at tomorrow's book signing. The exercise is rather too serious and weighty a matter for any episcopal tomfoolery.
Stephen Platten, like all his brother bishops, along with probably every vicar in the land, is painfully aware of the fact that the Church of England has tragically lost touch with the vast majority of people and urgently needs to recapture their hearts and minds.
It must, that is, win back the unchurched millions by somehow bringing them to a renewed sense of knowledge about and confidence in God. The challenge, as he admits in his new book, Rebuilding Jerusalem: The
Church's hold on hearts and minds, is immense.
How to even begin? Platten, who has been Bishop of Wakefield since 2003, and was previously Dean of Norwich, thinks the tired old CofE must show more of a commitment to the poor. He also believes there's a need for a rediscovery of engagement with mystery. Read more
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Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Chicago Consultation: "Gay agenda is gospel agenda"
Anglicans from around the world met near Chicago December 5-7 to build international coalitions and develop a strategy for the full inclusion of gay and lesbian Christians in the life of the church.
Meeting at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, the 50-member group known as the Chicago Consultation urged leaders of the Episcopal Church to permit the blessing of same-gender relationships and to remove barriers that keep gay candidates from being elected as bishops, according to a news release from the group.
"Some people call it the gay agenda, but we call it the Gospel Agenda," the Rev. Bonnie Perry, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Chicago, co-convener of the Consultation, said in the release. "We are asking our church and our communion to see what God has created and know that it is good."
The Consultation also called upon Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to invite New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson as a full participant to the 2008 Lambeth Conference. Robinson, a member of the Consultation, is the only diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion living openly in a same-gender relationship.
"We wanted to affirm Gene," said Diocese of Washington Bishop John Bryson Chane in the release, "but we also wanted to affirm all of the anonymous gay and lesbian Christians who have graced the church with their God-given gifts -- even when the church has been unwilling to receive them."
Participants from Africa, England and New Zealand joined Anglicans from Central, North and South America in "pledging to work against schismatic leaders who have sought to gain power in the Communion by turning marginalized groups against one another," the release said.
"Homophobia is a sin whose end time is now," said the Rev. Canon Marilyn McCord Adams, Regius Professor of Divinity at Christ Church, Oxford University, in a paper opening the Consultation.
Human institutions are riddled with systemic evils, she said. "Our calling is to discern which ones are ripe for uprooting and to take the lead in eradicating them, beginning in the garden behind our own house." Read more
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Rowan Williams interview with Oi! magazine online
Inter Milan football strip offends Muslims
Ed: Just out of curiosity, I Googled the following phrases:
"Offends Muslims", 12,300 results
"Offends Christians", 3,189 results
"Offends Jews", 1,770 results
"Offends Buddhists", 221 results
"Offends Hindus", 376 results
"Offends Pagans", 149 results
I also found for the phrase "insulting Christianity" 1,950 results, compared with "insulting Islam", which produced 327,000 results!
A football strip worn by Italian team Inter Milan is at the centre of a legal row after a lawyer claimed it offended "Muslim sensibilities".
Players wore the new strip – a white shirt with large red cross on it – in a Champions League match last month against Turkish team Fenerbahçe to celebrate the club’s centenary.
But a Turkish lawyer, Baris Kaska, took exception to the "Crusader-style" cross which he said symbolised "Western racist superiority over Islam".
He claimed the offending shirt reminded Turks of an emblem of the Christian order of the Knights Templar.
Mr Kaska, who specialises in European law, has lodged a complaint in a local court against the club.
He is seeking damages, and is appealing to Uefa to annul the match, which Inter Milan won 3-0.
Read more
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ABp Williams: Family and God keep me going - even if they all think I'm an idiot
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, stops work at 6pm so he can watch The Simpsons. He is more afraid of what his wife Jane thinks than he is of the Editor of the Daily Mail. And he believes that gay clergy should adhere to the Bible and not act upon their sexual preferences.
Dr Williams spoke of the insecurities and anxieties of high office in the Church of England in an interview with three teenage reporters from the youth magazine Oi!.
He told one of the interviewers, 17-year-old Georgie Gothard, who said that she was 12 weeks pregnant and did not know whether she should keep the baby, that he could never advise anyone to have an abortion and that the 24-week limit was too high.
“Personally, I believe a child is a gift from God and you wouldn’t give a gift back, would you?” he said.
And he confessed that, although at £60,000 a year he earns less than a headteacher, he enjoys his job – “at least the nonpolitical side of things”. Read more
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Anglican gay rows harm relations with Rome
Divisions over sexual ethics could be harmful in the relations between the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church, a cardinal in Rome said.
Speaking to the Pope and cardinals in a private meeting three weeks ago Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for promoting Christian unity, said that there were disagreements with the Anglicans that had stalled talks.
"While progress is being made on theological divisions, new divergences are emerging in the ethical field," he said.
"These concern in particular the questions related to the defence of life, to marriage, to the family, and to human sexuality.
"Because of these new divisions that are being created, common public witness is significantly weakened, if not impossible." Read more
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ABp of Wales: Dr Williams 'in an invidious position'
[...] Dr Williams has previously spoken out in favour of gay clergy while saying he knew of one homosexual couple who had done an excellent job of raising a child.
The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, indicated the Church in Wales is similarly split over issues like same-sex adoption and the ordination of gay clergy.
He said Dr Williams was in an invidious position in having to hold together the Anglican church worldwide by trying to ensure his own liberal views do not alienate more conservative elements within the faith.
Dr Morgan said, “The point is that there are his personal views and then there are the views of the Church which he represents.
“The position of the worldwide Anglican community is that it’s not opposed to gay clergy – it’s opposed to gay clergy who are practising homosexuals.
“On the gay adoption issue some people would argue that it’s necessary to have people of the opposite sex to bring up a child.
“But like Archbishop Rowan I can think of one particular couple, who have brought up a child fantastically well that no one else wanted.”
Dr Morgan, who is in favour of the ordination of gay clergy and says homosexual couples should not be automatically barred from adoption, has to walk a similar tightrope.
“That’s my personal position and I’m not sure that the Church in Wales is at that point either. There are different views within the Church in Wales and I suppose what’s important is that we should remain in dialogue with one another.
“We shouldn’t take up entrenched positions from which we launch grenades at one another. I feel we’re a bit beleaguered at the minute.” Read more
Rowan Williams: Practising homosexual clergy "don't adhere to Bible"
(Ed: In the same interview he also expresses opposition to abortion.)
[...] Mylie Veitch, 18, asked him for his views on a gay friend of hers who is considering adopting with his partner.
Dr Williams said: “This is a big one. I have questions as to whether same-sex couples can provide the same stability as ‘normal parents’. I have no answers really, just questions.
“Many would argue that we need a balance of men and women to bring a child up. However, I have seen one fantastic example of same-sex parenting first hand and I suppose stability is another key consideration.”
Asked about his support for gay clergy, he replied: “I have no problem with gay clergy who aren’t in relationships, although there are savage arguments about the issue you might have heard about. Our jobs mean we have to adhere to the Bible. Gay clergy who don’t act upon their sexual preferences do, clergy in practising homosexual relationships don’t. This major question doesn’t have a quick-fix solution and I imagine will be debated for many years to come.” Read more
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Archbishop of Canterbury 'aware of' Southern Cone Realignment proposals
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, seems prepared to let the American Episcopal Church (TEC) work out its problems with parishes and dioceses leaving the denomination without interfering in their internal affairs.
Dr. Williams is being kept appraised of the situation in the United States and will apparently not comment publicly on the situation, but is letting events unfold, VirtueOnline Was told by Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone.
Newspaper reports suggesting that there is a split between Southern Cone Primate Gregory Venables and Dr. Williams are not true, he told VOL. Read more
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BBC News: US Church splits over gay rights
A Californian diocese has voted to become the first to break away from the US Episcopal Church in protest at its support for gays in the Church.
Delegates of the San Joaquin diocese in Fresno voted 173-22 to secede.
It follows years of disagreement with Church authorities triggered by the consecration of a gay bishop in 2003.
The Episcopal Church is the US wing of the 77m-member Anglican Communion, which is threatened by a deep split between conservatives and liberals.
The Episcopal Church says that in recent years 32 of its 7,600 congregations had left, with another 23 voting to leave but not taking the final step.
San Joaquin is the first of the Church's 110 dioceses to complete the split.
In a later vote, the diocese accepted an invitation to join the province of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America. Read more
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'Continuing Episcopalians' making plans to reconstitute Diocese of San Joaquin
Local leaders, along with those from the wider church, are already making plans for the continuation of the Diocese of San Joaquin following a vote to disassociate from the Episcopal Church.
Michael Glass, a San Rafael, California-based attorney who represents congregations and individual Episcopalians who wish to remain in the Episcopal Church, told Episcopal News Service (ENS) December 11 that he, local leaders, Chancellor to the Presiding Bishop David Booth Beers, and leaders from Episcopal dioceses surrounding San Joaquin "are coming together very soon to finalize our coordinated efforts to provide for the leadership needs, the legal and pastoral issues, and the financial concerns of our brothers and sisters in San Joaquin, and to provide for the continuation of the diocese."
The Rev. Robert Moore will meet with the group as well. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori appointed Moore "to provide an ongoing pastoral presence to the continuing Episcopalians in the Diocese of San Joaquin," said the Rev. Charles Robertson, canon to the Presiding Bishop. Read more
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Inclusive Church condemns support for Duncan, Iker
Sir
Canon Killwick and Prebendary Houlding (Letters, 30 November) both claim that the main rationale for supporting Bishops Duncan and Iker (News, 23 November) is "the threat of action under church law". In contrast Fr Kirk erroneously claims that a doctrinal offence is the issue.
The recent actions of these bishops, and of their diocesan synods, are clearly contrary to the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church. It is passing strange for members of General Synod to express support for unlawful behaviour in any other province. If the Bishop of (say) Rochester or Blackburn were openly to egg on their diocesan synods to pass resolutions purporting to dissociate from the Church of England and join (say) the Province of the Southern Cone or the Church of Ireland, would they expect the Archbishops of Canterbury or York to stand idly by? Of course not.
The Presiding Bishop is to be commended for her gentle but firm tone in writing to ensure that these (and other) bishops are fully aware that their actions will have consequences. She knows full well that a small minority of disgruntled Episcopalians, well-financed by wealthy conservatives, were plotting and scheming, long before the election of the current Bishop of New Hampshire, to get The Episcopal Church excluded from the Anglican Communion.
We hope the Archbishop of Canterbury will take at least as firm a line as the Presiding Bishop is doing, in responding to the request of the Canadian church. He should make clear that the recent actions of the Southern Cone in both the USA and Canada are wholly unacceptable to the Communion at large.
Yours
Canon Giles Goddard
Read here
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Tuesday, 11 December 2007
UK Muslims warned against 'victim culture'
The Conservative peer who helped negotiate the release of the primary school teacher jailed in Sudan for allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohamed, attacked her fellow British Muslims today for their "victim culture".
Baroness Warsi, a Conservative spokeswoman on community cohesion, also criticised Labour for its "patronage politics" and for having encouraged the "divisive concept" of multiculturalism.
Lady Warsi, 36, born to Pakistani parents in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, is the youngest member of the House of Lords. She came to public notice earlier this month when she was asked by Lord Ahmed, a Labour peer, to accompany him to Sudan to mediate the release of Gillian Gibbons, who had been jailed for insulting Islam. Read more
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Average age of murdered London teenagers is just 16
The average age of teenagers murdered on the streets of London is just 16, an Evening Standard study has revealed.
We also discovered that children as young as 13 are being charged in connection with the deaths.
Even before the murder of 14-year-old Jack Large - who became the 25th teenager murdered in the capital this year - senior police officers described 2007 as the worst in living memory.
Jack, who died after being knifed on a Chigwell estate on 30 November, was one of 16 teenagers stabbed to death.
Another eight were shot and one was beaten to death. Read more
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Ruth Gledhill's Blog: Anglican experiment "is over"
his lovely photo has reached my desk from the latest CANA consecrations, reported by BabyBlue, who has a video. The story is also on Thinking Anglicans. Martyn Minns delivered an address to the CANA council that preceded the consecrations. The Times' Tom Baldwin reports today from Washington today that San Joaquin has formally severed its ties with The Episcopal Church, the first to do so. Meawhile, Jim Rosenthal has taken time out from his St Nicholas duties to issue a denial that Rowan Williams has endorsed the actions of Gregory Venables in providing a safe haven for dioceses such as San Joaquin. Read more
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Calls to 'depose' retired Bishop in Chelmsford
Ed: Pretty wearisome stuff, but the Liberal blog 'Thinking Anglicans' features numerous calls for the removal of the license of retired Bishop John Ball who attended the recent consecrations to CANA in North America. For the record, Bishop Ball wrote to the other bishops in Chelmsford informing them of his attendance before he went.
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Monday, 10 December 2007
Rival Anglican group sets up in San Joaquin
Ed: Since the vote on Saturday that the diocese of San Joaquin should disaffiliate for the time being from The Episcopal Church, a rival group within the diocese has set up a website, with the following welcome:
Those of us who remain Episcopal within the Diocese of San Joaquin extend our thanks and appreciation for the overwhelming expression of love and support that we have received from faithful Episcopalians and Anglicans throughout The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. We are committed to the very challenging tasks that we are now faced with, including but not limited to, supporting and protecting the clergy that have stood with us, maintaining and growing the parishes that retain their Episcopal affiliation, providing support and leadership to those who are in the minority in their current parishes, informing and gathering those who have left over the years in response to words and actions they found oppressive and marginalizing. To those within our diocese who have not felt represented by Remain Episcopal but have a desire to remain loyal to The Episcopal Church, please know that we do not exclude those who may feel their opinions and beliefs differ from ours. Read more
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Four new bishops consecrated for CANA
On Sunday, 9 December 2007, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) held the consecration of four new suffragan bishops in the USA: Roger Ames, David Anderson, Amos Fagbamiye, and Nathan Kanu. These four will join Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns and Suffragan Bishop David Bena in leading CANA. Read more
Amongst those attending the service was retired Bishop John Ball, who ministers in the Diocese of Chelmsford. Bishop John was also one of those who signed a letter of welcome to the new bishops. The other signatories were:
Bishop Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes and President of the Church of England Evangelical Council
Bishop Colin Bazley, former Primate of the Southern Cone,Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Chester
Rev Dr Richard Turnbull, Chair of the Church of England Evangelical Council
Rev Richard Bewes, former Rector of All Souls Langham Place.
Dr Philip Giddings, Convenor of Anglican Mainstream and member of General Synod
Rev Geoffrey Kirk, Director, Forward in Faith
The Venerable Michael Lawson, Archdeacon of Hampstead
Rev Geoffrey Kirk, Forward in Faith.
The Rev David McCarthy, Rector, St Silas, Glasgow
Mr Paul Boyd-Lee, Chair of 1990 Group in General Synod
Mrs Sarah Finch, Member of General Synod
The Rev Paul Perkin, Chair of the Covenant Group for the Church of England and Member of General Synod
The Rev David Banting, Rector of St Peters Harold Wood
The Rev David Phillips, General Secretary, Church Society
The Rev Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe’s Oxford
Mrs Alison Ruoff, member of General Synod
Canon Dr Chris Sugden, Executive Secretary, Anglican Mainstream and member of General Synod
More links on the Thinking Anglicans (Liberal) blog here.
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TV clip Archbishop in Mugabe protest
The Archbishop of York dramatically cut up his dog collar during a live television interview yesterday, and vowed not wear it again until Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe is out of office.
Dr John Sentamu made the gesture on the Andrew Marr show. He removed his dog collar, saying: "As an Anglican this is what I wear to identify myself, that I'm a clergyman. Do you know what Mugabe has done? He's taken people's identity and literally, if you don't mind, cut it to pieces. In the end there's nothing." Read more
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UK Muslim apostates threatened over Christianity
Sofia Allam simply could not believe it. Her kind, loving father was sitting in front of her threatening to kill her. He said she had brought shame and humiliation on him, that she was now "worse than the muck on their shoes" and she deserved to die.
Sofia Allam received death threats after leaving the Muslim faith for Christianity
Religious persecution of the kind Sofia suffers is increasingly common in Britain today
And what had brought on his transformation? He had discovered that she had left the Muslim faith in which he had raised her and become a Christian.
"He said he couldn't have me in the house now that I was a Kaffir [an insulting term for a non-Muslim]," Sofia - not her real name - remembers.
"He said I was damned for ever. He insulted me horribly. I couldn't recognise that man as the father who had been so kind to me as I was growing up.
"My mother's transformation was even worse. She constantly beat me about the head. She screamed at me all the time. I remember saying to them, as they were shouting death threats, 'Mum, Dad - you're saying you should kill me… but I'm your daughter! Don't you realise that?'?" Read more
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Basra's murderous militias tell Christian women to cover up or face death
On her first day at Basra University this year a man came up to Zeena, a 21-year-old Christian woman, and three other Christian girls and ordered them to cover their heads with a hijab, or Islamic headscarf.
“We didn't listen to him, and thought he might just be some extremist student representing only himself,” she said. The next day Zeena and two of her friends returned to class with uncovered heads.
This time a man in the black clothes of the Shia militia stopped them at the entrance and took them aside. “He said, 'We asked you yesterday to wear a hijab, so why are you and your friends not covering your hair?'. He was talking very aggressively and I was scared,” Zeena recalled.
The girls explained that they were Christians and that their faith did not call for headscarves. “He said: 'Outside this university you are Christian and can do what you want; inside you are not. Next time I want to see you wearing a hijab or I swear to God the three of you will be killed immediately',” Zeena recalled. Terrified, the girls ran home. They now wear the headscarf all the time. Read more
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Prison does not work, we need more university researchers
Two letters in the Times in response to this article along with Peter Kirk's comment, but taking issue with 'Theodore Dalrymple' (a pseudonymn), not me ;-).
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Sunday, 9 December 2007
TEC Presiding Bishop Eyes New Leadership for Diocese of San Joaquin
The Episcopal Church will continue in the Diocese of San Joaquin, albeit with new leadership, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said after she learned that clergy and lay delegates to the diocese’s annual convention voted today to approve the second and final reading of a constitutional amendment to leave The Episcopal Church and accept an offer of affiliation from the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone.
“We deeply regret their unwillingness or inability to live within the historical Anglican understanding of comprehensiveness,” Bishop Jefferts Schori said. “We wish them to know of our prayers for them and their journey. The Episcopal Church receives with sadness the news that some members of this church have made a decision to leave.” Read more
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I wish you a very Christian Christmas
[...] In Britain we're well-rehearsed in the "Winterval v Christmas" debate. We welcome the school Nativity play that has morphed into a hybrid celebration of Diwali, Hannukah, or Russian Orthodoxy. We may balk when we read that children's choirs are banned from singing traditional carols in shopping malls, and that Santa has been replaced by a "more inclusive pixie" in a school in Brighton. But if the end result is a multicultural society at ease with itself, then so be it.
The galling reality is that the practitioners of other faiths don't care how we celebrate. They accept the Christmas story as just that, an entertaining story. They consider the bank holidays that mark it to be a bonus, and think we're mad to neuter our celebrations in the way we do. But we remain consumed by fear of causing offence, and the unthinking, politically correct, "Christianophobic" jobsworths who run our institutions are to blame.
And so we have the ludicrous situation reported this week whereby travellers to Bahrain - an Islamic country - find the airport fulsomely decorated for Christmas, with Santas in abundance, while O Come All Ye Faithful blasts from the duty-free electronics store. At Heathrow, there are minimal decorations and no carols in case Muslim passengers or airport employees are offended. Read more
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San Joaquin votes to leave Episcopal Church, realign with Southern Cone
Delegates attending the 48th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin on Saturday, December 8, overwhelmingly voted to leave the Episcopal Church and to align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield asked for a moment of silence in deference to those who opposed the change, reminding the gathering that he "knows what it feels like to be a minority" before the vote tallies were read. The results, by orders were: 70-12 clergy and 103-10 vote in the lay order to effectively remove all references to the Episcopal Church from its constitution and describe the diocese as "a constituent member of the Anglican Communion and in full communion with the See of Canterbury."
"The Episcopal Church receives with sadness the news that some members of this church have made a decision to leave this church," said Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. "We deeply regret their unwillingness or inability to live within the historical Anglican understanding of comprehensiveness. We wish them to know of our prayers for them and their journey. The Episcopal Church will continue in the Diocese of San Joaquin, albeit with new leadership." Read more
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Calif. diocese votes to split with Episcopal Church over role of gays, lesbians
An Episcopal diocese in central California voted Saturday to split with the national denomination over disagreements about the role of gays and lesbians in the church.
Clergy and lay members of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin voted 173-22 at their annual convention to remove all references to the national church from the diocese's constitution, according to spokeswoman Joan Gladstone.
The Fresno-based congregation is the first full diocese to secede because of a conservative-liberal rift that began decades ago and is now focused on whether the Bible condemns gay relationships.
The diocese, in a later vote, accepted an invitation to join a conservative South American congregation of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. member of the global Anglican Communion.
The decision is almost certain to spark a court fight over control of the diocese's multimillion-dollar real estate holdings and other assets. Read more
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Episcopal Diocese Votes to Secede
The Diocese of San Joaquin voted on Saturday to cut ties with the Episcopal Church, the first time in the church’s history a diocese has done so over theological issues and the biggest leap so far by dissident Episcopalians hoping to form a rival national church in the United States.
Fissures have moved through the Episcopal Church, the American arm of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members, and through the Communion itself since the church ordained V. Gene Robinson, a gay man in a long-term relationship, as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
Traditionalists at home and abroad assert that the Bible describes homosexuality as an abomination, and they consider the Episcopal Church’s ordination of Bishop Robinson as the latest and most galling proof of its rejection of biblical authority. Read more
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Saturday, 8 December 2007
Government bid to reshape childhood
Ed: A headline that 40 years ago would have read "Russian Government ..."
Children as young as two are to be offered free nursery care in a government drive to intervene in the lives of disadvantaged children at the very earliest stages of their development.
The subsidised places, to be targeted at poorer parents, are part of a major overhaul of early-years learning that children's secretary Ed Balls will present to the Commons next Tuesday.
Balls will also announce extra support for disabled children and their families, because the extra expenses they incur often tip households into poverty. Read more
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Guns out for battyboy [homosexual men] bashers
[...] It is time to challenge the hierarchy of discrimination that puts the rights of racial minorities and religious groups high above those of women and gay rights. Too often culture or faith are cited as excuses for attitudes that would never be forgiven in, for example, white working-class men. Read more
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Dutch government campaign targets "religiously orthodox" on homosexuality
The Netherlands has led the world in the introduction of the homosexual political movement. Now it is going to be leading the way to cracking down on dissent from the officially "tolerant" position on homosexuality, particularly among those Dutch citizens who "follow a more orthodox religious lifestyle".
The coalition government has agreed to earmark 2.5 million euros from 2008 to 2011 to promote homosexuality as normal in social areas. The government said that the money will be spent on programmes specifically targeting young Muslims in schools, sport clubs or neighbourhood associations.
Ronald Plasterk, minister of education admitted that Dutch homosexuals enjoy the same rights as everyone else, "socially the acceptance is not automatic among certain ethnic minorities or people who follow a more orthodox religious lifestyle."
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to institute same-sex "marriage" and allow homosexual partners to adopt children.
The policy will extend, in as-yet undisclosed programmes, to Dutch foreign aid donations. Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders told Parliament, "The Netherlands will promote equal rights for gays as much as possible. We will not avoid awkward discussions about this." Read more or read Revelation 13:17.
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UK 'lacking nativity knowledge'
Ed: Something to bear in mind at the carol service. Most people won't know who "Royal David" was, much less which was his town, and why it mattered that Jesus was born there. But then it reminds me of the time a speaker said in a talk to us clergy back in the 1980s, "Now to understand the next bit of my talk, you have to understand how the Old Testament holds together. You do understand that, don't you?" We didn't, but he took five minutes to explain it to us.
More than a quarter of adults in Britain do not know where Jesus was born, a survey has suggested.
The poll found that 27% of people were unable to identify Bethlehem as his birthplace, rising to 36% of people aged between 18 and 24.
The poll, for public theology think tank Theos, also found 27% did not know who told Mary she would have a son.
Last week a Sunday Telegraph survey suggested only one in five schools is planning a traditional nativity play.
The majority of the 1,015 adults questioned, 52%, could not name John the Baptist as Jesus's cousin.
When asked where Joseph, Mary and Jesus went to escape from King Herod - which was Egypt - more than three quarters of people, 78%, gave the wrong answer.
The majority, 52%, thought they escaped to Nazareth.
Only 12% of adults could answer all four questions about the Christmas story correctly.
Theos said the findings showed the Christmas story was still "very much" in the "cultural bloodstream" of the nation. Read more
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Split in Episcopal Church could come today
Clerical and lay officials from nearly 50 Episcopal churches throughout the Central Valley, including St. John's and St. Anne's in Stockton, might vote today to split from the Episcopal Church USA and align their churches with more-conservative members of the Worldwide Anglican Communion.
Deacons, priests and several lay people of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin - which includes 47 churches from San Joaquin County in the north to Kern County in the south and the Nevada border in the east - will cast ballots in Fresno over whether to disassociate with the ECUSA because of its liberal theological bent, and issues such as blessing same-sex unions and ordaining openly homosexual priests and bishops.
"Frankly, we as Christians have to come to some conclusion if the Bible is the inspired word of God or if it's just a bunch of campfire stories," said the Rev. Van McCalister, spokesman for the San Joaquin Diocese. "Most of us believe it to be the word of God." Read more
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Hate campaign drives out woman priest
A woman priest who has been the victim of two arson attacks and a series of increasingly threatening letters over the past six months has stepped down from her parish duties over fears for her safety and her family.
The Rev Yvonne Hobson, 56, a curate in the Truro diocese, was advised by police and her bishop, the Right Rev William Ind, to take a break after her mystery persecutor stepped up a hate campaign with attacks that became “increasingly aggressive and threatening to person and property”, a diocesan spokesman said.
Mrs Hobson, who has been advised not to comment publicly, is being persecuted by someone who clearly has local knowledge, according to the spokesman.
She was first sent threatening letters in June expressing anger that she was a female priest. Last month logs in a basket in the porch of her vicarage were set alight, causing a blaze that was extinguished after firefighters were called to the scene.
The latest attack happened on Wednesday when a lit candle was forced through the passenger window of her car. Although it failed to set fire to the car, it caused damage to a passenger seat and persuaded Mrs Hobson to step down from her work. Read more
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Bringing life back into the parishes
As a new curate in a Durham mining village, Trevor Beeson was surprised to hear that a complaint had been made to his vicar about him being unfriendly. It transpired that this was because when he knocked on the door of a cottage he waited for someone to open it in instead of stepping straight in.
But 1951 was a different world, when a young clergyman would spend every afternoon visiting the houses of the people in his parish. Someone was in when he called; the community was alive. And there was a community spirit in death, too. The mortally ill would normally die in their own homes, not an anonymous hospital, and the funeral rites would begin at home, with neighbours making a point of calling.
Trevor Beeson's career has matched the span of the Queen's reign, beginning the year before her accession. He has been a Canon of Westminster and the Dean of Winchester, chaplain to the Speaker and adviser on religious programmes to commercial television. In a new book, Round the Church in Fifty Years (SCM, £19.99), he does not chart his (rather influential) life in the Church of England, but sketches the changes in five decades of Christian life in Britain. Read more
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Prison works, we need more prisons
[...] We often hear that Britain locks up more people than any other country in Europe, or that our criminal justice is uniquely punitive. A moment's reflection will demonstrate that these claims, heard on the lips of some of our senior judges, is fatuous in the extreme. If we imprisoned people at the same rate per crimes committed as the Spanish, we would have between 350,000 and 400,000 prisoners, not the paltry 80,000 that we do have.
Again, it is often pointed out that the recidivism rate of prisoners serving short-term prison sentences is 70 per cent (actually, this is the reconviction rate: given the low level of detection, the reoffending rate is probably nearer 100 per cent). But this is an argument for drastically lengthened prison sentences, not for leniency: and indeed there is evidence that the recidivism rate is proportional to the length of sentence served.
Moreover, the recidivism rate of non-custodial community sentences is more or less the same as with short term-prison sentences, but with this difference: that while they are in prison, prisoners cannot commit crimes against the general public. It is easy to demonstrate that millions of crimes a year are committed by people already serving community sentences; thus failure to imprison properly is one of the main causes of crime in this now deeply criminalised country. Read more
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Breakaway Anglicans Move Forward with Orthodox Initiative
The first annual meeting of a flourishing breakaway Anglican group opened Thursday, marking the "coming of age" for the orthodox Anglican initiative, said one bishop.
Hundreds of clergy and lay delegates representing more than 60 congregations in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) converged in Herndon, Va., for the first council addressing the current state and future growth of the orthodox group.
"This is the first time that we have been able to gather so many CANA clergy and lay leaders together and I would be most remiss if I did not express my personal gratitude to all of you for your remarkable faith," CANA missionary bishop the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns said in his opening address Thursday. "Your willingness to step out of the boat and become part of this community of faithful Anglicans called CANA is a source of continuing encouragement."
Presiding over the council this weekend is Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, who set up CANA in the United States as a missionary initiative of the Church of Nigeria - one of the largest provinces in the global Anglican Communion. CANA is now a body for realignment or what Akinola called a place to provide a spiritual home for those discontent in The Episcopal Church – the U.S. branch of Anglicanism – and its liberal direction in Scripture and theology. Read more
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Dominic Lawson: Could a robust Christian response be the answer to Muslim extremism in Britain?
[...] Dr Nazir-Ali does not simply blame the Saudis, or other foreign governments who might have been funding militant Islam in the mosques of Great Britain, for the rise in Muslim chauvinism in this country. He blames the British people themselves, arguing that there has been a catastrophic collapse in Christian-based morality and spirituality in this country over the past 40 or so years and that this has created a "moral vacuum" in society as a whole, which has been increasingly filled – at least in the minds of impressionable youth – by fundamentalist Islam.
Here, as a leading figure in the Church of England, Dr Nazir-Ali is swimming in dangerous waters. Is it the British people who should be blamed for deserting, in their millions, the once-dominant Church of England? Or should not the Church of England look at its own performance and try to understand why it has lost such a vast proportion of its audience – at least as defined by regular churchgoing, rather than notional affiliation?
An astounding statistic in a recent Policy Exchange pamphlet, The Hijacking of British Islam, shows that while Muslims make up no more than 3 per cent of the British population, there are now more Muslims who attend a mosque regularly than there are regular attenders in the pews of the Established Church. Fundamentalist Islam can hardly take all the blame for that extraordinary reversal.
Dr Nazir-Ali is deeply critical of the way in which New Labour, supposedly packed with devout Christians, has indulged men such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi (a frequent guest of the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone), who preaches that apostates from Islam should be executed.
My own suspicion is that the warm embrace of British politicians can only reduce the credibility of Qaradawi among radical Muslim youth; for similar reasons it is hard to imagine that if there is to be a revival of Christianity in this country, that it could ever come from a Church whose leaders sit in Parliament.
Afterwards, I wished I'd asked Hannah what she thought of it all; but she must have slip-ped away. Read more
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Thursday, 6 December 2007
Imam's daughter in hiding after her conversion to Christianity sparked death threats
The daughter of a British imam is under police protection after she received death threats from her family for converting to Christianity.
Hannah, 32, whose father is a Muslim imam in Lancashire, has moved house 45 times to escape detection by her family since she became a Christian 15 years ago.
Hannah, who uses a pseudonym to hide her identity, told The Times newspaper that she fled her family home aged 16 to avoid being forced into an arranged marriage. She then chose to convert to Christianity.
The threats against her became more serious a month ago, prompting police to offer her protection in case an attempt is made on her life. Read more
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Evangelical Alliance shares MP's fears over 'Christianophobia'
An appeal from MPs against the neglect of Christianity’s rich contribution to British culture and society has been backed by the Evangelical Alliance.
Tory MP Mark Pritchard held a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday about “rising Christianophobia” evident in the reluctance of officials, the media and even Royal Mail to mark Christian festivals and traditions.
He said that while the reason given for marginalising Christianity is often to avoid offending people of other faiths, this is a “bogus cover” for the secularist and politically correct agenda. Read more
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Diane Louise Jordan opens new Arts & Crafts and Environment Centre
Diane Louise Jordan with the Bishop of Chelmsford Songs of Praise and ex-Blue Peter presenter, Diane Louise Jordan, accompanied by the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Revd John Gladwin, has officially opened the brand new Arts & Crafts and Environment Centre at St Mark’s College, Audley End, Saffron Walden. Read more.
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
Anne Atkins: Sex education in schools isn't working
So sex education works, does it? According to Polly Toynbee, it does. The proof of this is that more teenage girls are having abortions. And - this is the stunning bit - this is "good news". I promise you. Verbatim.
Heaven help us. Where do you start, if the indicator for success is more teenage abortions? Forget the shock to the body that any operation is; forget the distress sometimes caused even to adult women by such a difficult decision. Call me old-fashioned, but I thought the rallying cry for abortion was a woman's right to choose, not a girl's obligation to make the choice we approve of.
All right, let's start further back. Imagine a brave new world in which no underage teenagers ever got STDs or got pregnant. Success! All targets met, all objectives realised, sex education has worked. (In truth, the last 20 years or so of sex education hasn't had this effect at all: as sex education has increased, so have the pregnancies and infections. But let's imagine, for a moment, this so-called education "working" perfectly. After all, this is the Utopia most politicians and many journalists seem to want: a world in which teenagers suffer none of the unwanted physical effects of sex.)
Now ask a parent whether this is success. Your 13-year-old is bonking away like a rabbit, Mrs Smith, but don't worry: she's not pregnant. She's had more one-night stands than a hamburger chain, but she hasn't got chlamydia. Is this really all we care about? Tell me: what do you think of a doctor who treats you as if you were nothing but a body, with no emotions, no fear, no hope, no dignity? Isn't this one of the most chilling aspects of prostitution, that a woman is reduced to using her body as a thing, as if there were no implications for her self-worth?
And yet isn't this exactly what we're doing to the country's teenagers? Read moreNo comments will be posted without a full name and location, see the policy.
Questions (and some answers) at Chelmsford November Diocesan Synod
Q.2 Revd. Steven Hanna (Barking & Dagenham) to ask the Bishop of Chelmsford:
"A year ago, Bishop John was asked in this Synod what he thought would be the impact of his decision to become a patron of Changing Attitude on those in the Diocese who object to the campaigning stance of that organization.
That patronage has now resulted in a delay to the ordination of a candidate who has passed through the selection processes of this diocese and of the national Church, who has had three years full-time training and who has been offered a post in this diocese as a curate.
Will the Bishop now agree that his patronage of Changing Attitude has become an impediment to the relationship between himself and some of those in his own diocese?"
Q.7 For written reply - Stuart Kimber (Southend) to ask the Bishop of Chelmsford:
"In the light of :
1. Your Patronage of ‘Changing Attitude' whose declared aim is ‘Working for gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender affirmation within the Anglican Communion';
2. Your unwillingness to step down as a Patron of ‘Changing Attitude' despite numerous requests from members of this Diocese to do so;
3. Your tacit support of your Chaplain in his convening of a ‘secret' meeting (under the Chatham House rule) of homosexual clergy and their partners due to take place on November 29th this year, at which Archbishop Rowan will speak and celebrate Communion; and
4. Your continuing appointment of clergy in same-sex partnerships to posts within the Diocese;
And in view of the Christian teaching, regularly affirmed by statements issuing from Bishops across the Anglican Communion, that ‘homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture' :
What pastoral and legal advice can you give clergy in this Diocese who sincerely desire to fulfil their oath of canonical obedience to yourself ‘in all things lawful and honest' (Canon C14), but who feel you are failing in this matter to ‘uphold sound and wholesome doctrine and to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange opinions' (Canon C18), and therefore feel driven to explore the possibility of Alternative or Extended Episcopal Oversight?"
Answer from Eddie Carden, the Diocesan Synodical and Pastoral Secretary
“The first piece of pastoral advice is to talk and pray about these concerns with the Bishop, who would be delighted to do so! To prepare the way, you might find it a help to talk with the Archdeacon. Second, always use your spiritual director to ensure your own personal preparation.
On the legal side, there is no such thing as Alternative Episcopal Oversight, and Extended Oversight only applies in relation to the issues surrounding the ordination of women to the priesthood.
In general, as Christians it is important for all of us to be generous to one another and to avoid putting the worst interpretation on events.”
Q.8 For written reply - Peter Nicholson (Southend) to ask the Bishop of Chelmsford:
1. "In their guidelines on civil partnerships, the House of Bishops stated that, 'The Church should not collude with the present assumptions of society that all close relationships necessarily include sexual activity' (para 20). Nevertheless, it noted that civil partnerships will be 'widely seen as being predominantly between gay and lesbian people in sexually active relationships' (para 21), and therefore advised clergy in such relationships to 'expect to be asked for assurances that their relationship will be consistent with the teaching set out in Issues in Human Sexuality.' As a matter of policy in this diocese, are such assurances being sought and given?
2. Where appointments are being made of clergy with same-sex partners how will the bishop to make clear to the majority of people in the area concerned, who are not aware of the subtleties in the House of Bishop's guidelines, that, as paragraph 27 states, 'the Church's teaching on sexual ethics remains unchanged'?"
Read the other answers here.
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