Thinking Anglicans

CofE pensions update

The Church Times has a report today by Bill Bowder: Dioceses asked to find £10m to shore up pensions

The letter referred to in the article can be found on the Church of England web site linked from this page.
WARNING the .rtf file there is (at present) 4.3 Megabytes in size. [file size now fixed] You may find it more convenient to read the letter below the fold here.

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Coekin appeal is heard

There are reports of the hearing of the appeal being made by Richard Coekin against the action of Bishop Tom Butler of Southwark.

The Times Vicar defends protest against gay marriage
Church Times Scott-Joynt hears Southwark appeal
Church of England Newspaper Southwark appeal hearing for vicar

Meanwhile Mr Coekin is busy as described by the CEN in Why reaching men with the Gospel is no picnic in the park as well of course as here.

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Lake Malawi again

In the Church Times Pat Ashworth reports: Archbishop defies court.

THE ARCHBISHOP of Central Africa, the Most Revd Bernard Malango, and the disputed Bishop of Lake Malawi, the Rt Revd James Mwenda, have been found in contempt of court, and were due to appear with others before a judge yesterday. If they failed to appear, a warrant would be issued for their arrest…

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Nigeria: Canadian bishops speak out

According to the Anglican Journal:

Canada’s Anglican bishops unanimously endorsed a motion expressing “grave concern” about proposed legislation in Nigeria that “would prohibit or severely restrict the freedom of speech, association, expression and assembly of gay and lesbian persons.” Their motion also called criticized the (Anglican) Church of Nigeria for its support of the legislation…

Full news story.

Anglican Mainstream has issued an editorial comment, defending the Nigerian church, in response to this news story. You can read that here.

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California episcopal election

Update Saturday morning
The Times carries this article by James Bone Lesbian priest who could split the Anglican Church
Chicago Tribune via CentreDaily.com Lesbian priest may be selected for bishop position Original version: Pastor doesn’t shy from call
Reuters Episcopals consider gays in Calif. bishop election
Washington Post In Bay Area, Diocese May Elect Gay Bishop
Tri-Valley Herald Faithful facing colossal decision
National Public Radio feature on this (3.5 minutes) Listen via this page
San Francisco Examiner Anglicans choosing a bishop and see also the front page headline of the newspaper today (pdf format)
BBC Radio: Today programme interview of David Anderson and Susan Russell (4 minutes)
(hat tip KH for several of these links)

Update Friday
The New York Times has this on the eve of the election Episcopalians Divide Again Over Electing Gay Bishop

There are several news reports about this election for the Diocese of California, which takes place next Saturday.
The election site with all the official information is here.

San Mateo County Times Bishop hopefuls aim for diversity

AP via San Jose Mercury News California Episcopalians consider electing gay bishop

San Franciso Chronicle Gay issue at forefront of Episcopal bishop vote

Marin Independent Journal Episcopal churches brace for election of bishop

Los Angeles Times Church Braces for Possible Election of Gay Bishop

Christian Science Monitor Episcopalians face key votes over gays

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Time magazine names Akinola in 100 list

Time has announced its 2006 list of

…the 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example, is transforming our world”.

Under the category of

Leaders & Revolutionaries – Dictators, democrats, holy men (and a TV host) – these are the people with the clout and power to change our world,…

they have included Archbishop Peter Akinola.

The article about him is written by Rick Warren.

Hat Tip: PoliticalSpaghetti.

Update Friday
This matter is reported in the Church of England Newspaper by Andrew Carey in an article titled Archbishop Akinola recognised on Time list.

The Church Times reported it only in a nib (not on web until next week) as follows:

Akinola makes top-people’s list

THE Archbishop of Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter Akinola, and Pope Benedict XVI have been included in Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people. The Iraqi Muslim Shia cleric and military leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, was also included.

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more Special Commission followup

Earlier reaction from within ECUSA and in the press to the Special Commission report (issued on 7 April) was recorded here and also here.

Some further items have appeared. This is not a complete list, so please propose additions that I may have overlooked.

First, from the Anglican Communion Institute I want to link to two earlier articles that although not directly in response to the commission’s report, do have some relevance:
If there is a future for ECUSA and the Anglican Communion, then what? by Ephraim Radner dated 2 April
An open letter from the ACI to General Convention members, dated 4 April.

(More recently, Dr Radner wrote a personal note entitled Why I am Still a Member of the Anglican Communion Network and there is also this footnote.)

Next, a further article by Michael Watson Are the SCECAC resolutions intended to authorize private blessings?

David Simmons wrote this analysis and Sarah Dylan Breuer wrote this response to him.

The anthills blog contains several posts about the report. They include:
ARCHBISHOP ROWAN, PLEASE SPEAK UP NOW
LISTEN TO INSIDER MARK HARRIS.

Mark Harris’s four part commentary on the Windsor Report is here: one, two, three, and four.
Update part 5 added.

Fr Jake proposed some Amendments to the Special Commission’s Proposed Resolutions.

Integrity published its response as a PDF file, but AAC has republished it as html here.

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Abp Sentamu interviewed on multiculturalism

Christopher Landau interviewed John Sentamu for the BBC Sunday programme.

You can hear that interview by going 19 minutes foward into this recording (Real Audio). Better and more permanent link from the BBC now available here. The segment is nearly 7 minutes long.

This took place at the Fulcrum conference on in Islington last Friday, at which the archbishop was a main speaker. You can find out all about the conference at this page.

Update CEN report of conference: Finding a place for the Gospel in modern day Europe

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weekend opinions

Bishop Basil of Sergievo writes in The Times that Christians should not be trying to escape from the material world.

Undaunted, Christopher Howse in the Telegraph writes about Suicide club to tropical island.

In the Guardian’s Face to Faith column, Julian Baggini writes that

Part of the problem with assessing how religious we are is that it is not clear what “being religious” means.

Giles Fraser writes in the Church Times about Dealing with people who stop mission.

Robert Mickens in the Tablet reports on what Cardinal Martini has been saying in Clarion call on condoms.

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A Church Asunder redux

The press column in the Church Times last week discussed the New Yorker article. The best reason though for linking to what Andrew Brown said about it is because that way I can show you the cartoon that illustrated the original article.

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Funding the Anglican Right

Updated August 2012

The links below are broken. The PDF file is now available here.

Washington Window, the monthly newspaper of the Diocese of Washington [D.C.] has a major feature in the May issue, in two parts, entitled Following the Money: Donors and Activists on the Anglican Right.
You can read it online here: Part 1, and also Part 2. Or the whole thing is available as a single PDF file here. (375 K)

Jim Naughton is the author of this work.

The full press release is here.

The first part of the series, “Investing in Upheaval,” draws on Internal Revenue Service Forms 990 to give a partial account of how contributions from Howard F. Ahmanson, Jr., the savings and loan heir, and five secular foundations have energized resistance to the Episcopal Church’s decision to consecrate an openly gay bishop and to permit the blessing of gay and lesbian relationships.

The article sets contributions to organizations such as the American Anglican Council (AAC) and the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) in the context of the donors’ other philanthropic activities which include support for conservative political candidates, think tanks and causes such as the intelligent design movement.

The second article, “A Global Strategy,” uses internal emails and memos from leaders of the AAC and IRD to examine efforts to have the Episcopal Church removed from the worldwide Anglican Communion and replaced with a more conservative entity. The documents surfaced during a Pennsylvania court case. The article also explores the financial relationship between conservative organizations in the United States and their allies in other parts of the world.

And that’s not all. Two other items just published touch on the same area:
If anyone still had illusions about the political slant of the IRD… from politicalspaghetti
This Schism Is Brought to You by the IRD by Daniel Webster in the Witness.

For the part of the Washington Window article that refers to UK recipients of funds, see below.

Update Friday 5 May This is reported in the Church Times Family trusts ‘fund ECUSA’s Right’

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Church Commissioners annual report online

Available to download are full and summary versions of the Church Commissioners’ report and accounts for 2005.

Both are in the format of a PDF file.
Full version 3.2 M.
Summary version 720K.
More information here
.

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a way ahead for the CofE?

ABCD: a way ahead for the C of E was the title of an article written by David Edwards and printed in last week’s Church Times.

David L. Edwards sets out his vision for the future of the Church: ‘If the Anglican experiment is to be a failure, the tragedy should not be underestimated’.

The letters stand for Activities, Blessing, Conferences, and Discretion.

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the Carey letter

Updated Wednesday evening and Thursday evening
There was an interview this morning with Lord Carey on the BBC radio programme Sunday . You can hear the 8.5 minute segment (Real Audio required) some 35 minutes into the programme at this link. (Better link now available from the BBC.)

The interview was concerned with the letter originally published last Sunday in the Sunday Times newspaper along with this report. The Sunday Times report did not claim any bishops had already signed the letter. It did not reveal its Australian origins either.

Letter original with signature list.

Lord Carey issued a statement. I found it at this location.

The story behind this was explained in Friday’s Church Times in Carey rebuts open letter as ‘mischievous and damaging’ by Pat Ashworth and Muriel Porter.

Sadly for Mr Ince and his colleagues Roger Bolton’s radio interview omitted any reference to LEAC.

Update Monday
The Guardian this morning says Lord Carey hits back at critics’ open letter. (Link to original commendation.)

Update Wednesday
The Australian press has caught up with this matter:
Sydney Morning Herald Anglican liberals pen rebuke to former head and Rent asunder as brawls replace talk
Melbourne Age Anglicans furious at former archbishop
ABC Radio The Archbishop of Canterbury and George Carey

Update Thursday
Ekklesia Anglicans need more jaw and less war by David Wood originator of the letter and
Lord Carey says ordaining a gay bishop verges on heresy

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opinions on the Saturday after Easter

The Times today carries an article by Andrew Linzey entitled ‘The logic of all purity movements is to exclude’. The strapline reads Our correspondent suggests that Anglicans listen to the Holy Spirit, and not to the schismatic fundamentalists. No doubt TA readers will have something to say about this…

The Credo column is by Rod Strange, The doubt of Thomas was not a lack of faith but a deeper love.

In the Guardian the Face to Faith column is also critical of dogmatism. David Haslam writes that The risks of rigid methods of parenting have echoes in the dangers of the more dogmatic forms of religion.

Madeleine Bunting had a really interesting article on Friday about the Anglican church angles on The constitutional crisis we face when the Queen is gone.

Christopher Howse writes in the Telegraph about Yorkshire’s own chosen Emperor. The exhibition to which he refers Constantine the Great has its own website here.

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Bishop Griswold gives an interview

The Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church USA, Frank Griswold gave the Guardian an interview in London: US church leader edges away from gay bishops confrontation. The interview was with Stephen Bates. Lead para:

The leader of the US Episcopal church, which is in danger of being expelled from the worldwide Anglican communion for its election of an openly homosexual bishop, has warned parishioners of the diocese of California that they would widen the confrontation it they chose another gay bishop.

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Abp Akinola gives an interview

Christianity Today carries this interview: Nigerian Archbishop Demands Justice. The interview was with associate editor Collin Hansen. The strapline says:

Peter Akinola affirms warning to government and Muslims, fires back on the Western press.

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Octavia Hill Estates: sell-off mulled

There are reports on Ekklesia and BBC London tonight about this.

Ekklesia Church of England faces embarrassment over homes sale:

The Church of England is facing embarrassment today after it was reported that a company to which it sold social housing just a month ago – with public reassurances about its long-term future – may sell almost half the properties…

BBC New estates owner mulls sell-off:

Hundreds of low-income homes at south London’s Octavia Hill estates may be sold after a consortium bought them off the Church of England.

Just a month after the properties were bought by Grainger Gen Invest, it has told tenants it may have to sell 400 of them to cover the cost of the purchase…

Here is the transcript of the recent General Synod Questions and Answers on this topic. (original in RTF format here.)

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track bishops in the House of Lords

Update
I deliberately didn’t mention this before because it wasn’t working initially, but now I can report that this site also provides a separate RSS feed for each bishop’s Recent Appearances. This makes it even easier for you to track your favourite (or non-favourite) bishop’s remarks.
I have gathered these feeds together into a blogroll which is currently viewable here. Open the list by clicking on the + sign at the left labelled Bishops in the Lords.

The excellent website TheyWorkForYou.com has extended its services to the House of Lords. Now anyone can track the activities of a Church of England bishop by signing up for an email notification of their remarks.

See for example:
The Archbishop of Canterbury
The Bishop of London
The Bishop of Chelmsford
The Bishop of Chester
Lord Carey of Clifton

Yesterday, as an example, the Bishop of Coventry spoke about Nigeria. Here is what he said. As you can see he didn’t mention many of the things reported here.

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Nigeria: latest developments

The previous TA entry on this, originally posted on 9 April but updated on 13 April.

Since then there has been a further significant press release on 17 April from Changing Attitude titled Nigerian Anglican hostility to gays and threat to Davis MacIyalla revealed. There is also some background on African and Anglican involvement in the recent ILGA Geneva conference.

Today, politicalspaghetti published a very detailed review of recent Nigerian events under the title Things fall apart. (This entry also deals with the New Yorker article, see immediately previous post here.)

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