From ENS in the USA we have a report Presiding officers, Executive Council member urge congregations to study the Anglican Covenant.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson and Executive Council member Rosalie Simmonds Ballentine are calling on all Episcopal congregations to engage in discussion of the proposed Anglican Covenant at some time during the next two years.
The Episcopal Church leaders suggested in a Sept. 3 letter that congregations consider organizing a discussion group on the covenant during Advent (2010 or 2011) or Lent (2011 or 2012) or at another time before General Convention in 2012…
There is an official Study Guide, available here.
Meanwhile, from Simple Massing Priest in Canada we have a strongly worded critique, Saying No to the Anglican Covenant.
16 Comments…The Anglican Covenant is the greatest attempted centralization of authority since the de facto creation of the Anglican Communion due to the final disestablishment of episcopacy in Scotland (1689) and the consecration of the first American bishop (1784). Despite the pretty words of 4.1.3 that the Covenant “does not represent submission to any external ecclesiastical jurisdiction,” nor “grant to any one Church or agency of the Communion control or direction over any Church,” 4.2.7 is very clear that the newly minted Standing Committee (whose creation has been a sideshow of smoke, mirrors and skullduggery) will have authority effectively to direct “relational consequences” to be imposed on recalcitrant Provinces…
Two separate surveys have been published recently.
Theos has published one conducted by ComRes, see Who’s a fan of papal teaching? and Theos Papal Visit Poll September 2010. Detailed results are available at Theos Papal Visit Tables 4 September 2010.pdf.
The Tablet has published another, conducted by Ipsos MORI see The Pope, the Church and the visit – what Britons really think. Detailed results are available here. Some of the findings:
9 CommentsPerhaps the most surprising finding is the number of people who recognise Pope Benedict from a photograph bearing no clues to his identity. He was correctly named by a sizeable majority of all those polled (65 per cent) who recognised him more readily than the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, identified by only half of the respondents. Curiously, Dr Williams is more readily recognised by Catholics (54 per cent) than by the general public (50 per cent), although surprisingly nearly a quarter of the Catholics polled failed to recognise the Pope…
Awareness of the Pope’s role as head of the Catholic Church is well understood by the vast majority of the general public (93 per cent) – in fact, more people are aware of this than that the Queen is the head of the Church of England…
Overall the public’s view of religion generally is fairly benign. More than half (52 per cent) say that on balance it is a force for good. The figure rises to 60 per cent among those aged over 65. However, when asked the question with specific reference to the Catholic Church, respondents are not so sure, with only 41 per cent of all those questioned either strongly agreeing or tending to agree that the Church is a force for good. Even fewer Anglicans – 39 per cent – believe this. Among all Christians the figure is 47 per cent. However, a big majority of Catholics (78 per cent) hold that the Catholic Church is a force for good…
There is keen awareness of one of the main matters that divides the Catholic and Anglican Churches. Fewer than two-thirds (63 per cent) of those polled understand that women cannot be ordained priests in the Catholic Church while among Catholics the figure is considerably higher (74 per cent). Perhaps this demonstrates interest and possibly concern about the issue.
There are many reports of the damage caused by the earthquake in New Zealand. Here are links to some of them.
Diocese of Christchurch Earthquake Update
And there is a collection of pictures of Earthquake Hit Churches.
ChristChurch Cathedral has earthquake news on its front page.
The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia has Quake damages many churches but spirits are holding up.
stuff.co.nz has a large collection of Latest photos: 7.1 quake.
Bosco Peters has a report Christchurch earthquake.
Timaru Herald Damage closes churches
The Australian Christchurch in lockdown amid aftershocks
2 CommentsPat Ashworth reports in the Church Times African bishops split over ‘ambushed’ agenda, but together on development and scroll down the same page for African Churches wrestle with their missionary inheritance by Michael Doe.
The Living Church has two articles:
African Primates Support Partners, ACNA
catholic voices: Anglicanism Remakes Itself by John Martin
The Church of England Newspaper has Tables turned in Entebbe by Martyn Minns.
61 CommentsTwo more articles on this subject from Modern church by Jonathan Clatworthy.
Women bishops and valid sacraments
This article focuses on a central concern of opponents, the conditions for the validity of the sacraments, expressed for example in Simon Killwick’s article in the Church Times in July 2010. My aim is to undermine this concern by describing the historical origins and theological weaknesses of the idea.
45 CommentsThis article aims to clarify the claims being made. What is the universal Church? In what sense does the Church of England belong to it? How, if at all, does the universal Church make or allow changes? What stops women priests and bishops being one of the changes?
The Downing Street website has this:
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend Stephen David Conway, MA, Area Bishop of Ramsbury, for election as Bishop of Ely in succession to the Right Reverend Anthony John Russell, BA, DPhil, on his resignation on the 28th February 2010.
Read more here.
And from the diocesan website here.
15 CommentsUpdated yet again Tuesday evening
ENS has a report by Matthew Davies African bishops look to the future, commit to leading the church in the 21st century.
New Vision carried Bishops condemn corruption.
Daily Monitor had Love your culture, say African bishops.
Christian Post has Anglican Bishops in Africa Issue Communiqué.
Spero News has a report in this article (scroll down) Kenyan Christians greet the new Constitution.
Episcopal Café has An end to the myth of a monolithic Africa
A report about a letter from some bishops of the provinces of Central Africa and South Africa to the other bishops who attended the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa meeting has been floating around the internet for a few days. We haven’t published it previously because we were unable to verify it, but now, courtesy of Anglican Information, we have. Their version follows…
Some commentary on all this:
Mark Harris The Fault Line Runs Right Through Here: And when is the Anglican quake?
Jim Naughton On not blaming the media for covering the sexuality struggle
Tuesday updates
Episcopal Café has the full text of the letter from the Provinces of Central Africa and Southern Africa. See here. Text of letter reproduced below the fold.
And now it also has a transcript of an interview with ACNA archbishop, Robert Duncan, see What ACNA Archbishop Duncan wants which includes this:
32 CommentsVOL: What do you see as the future of Anglicanism in North America with ACNA?
DUNCAN: The only future for ACNA, as the only future for Anglicanism, is the kind of confessional Anglicanism as represented in the Jerusalem Declaration. The clarity with which the GAFCON/FCA primates have admitted me as a primate among them also reveals something of the trajectory we are on.
The full text of the Conference Statement of the Second All Africa Bishops Conference is now available here.
This statement is separate from the CAPA Primates statement which was published earlier.
3 CommentsLetter from the House of Bishops of the Province of Rwanda
We write to you with gratitude and humility as we rejoice in our time together in Entebbe, Uganda at the All African Bishops’ Conference.
Blessed is the Church in Africa to have such gifted leadership in our host, the Anglican Province of Uganda and its Primate, the Most Reverend Henry Luke Orombi. Such blessings continue in the CAPA Leadership and its Chair, the Most Reverend Ian Ernest, Primate of the Province of the Indian Ocean.
As we think of this very important gathering we recall that it was only four months ago that many in this gathering arrived in Singapore for the Fourth Global South to South Encounter. Since that gracious time shared, Anglican revisionism in the West continues and the need to “Secure our Future” as Faithful Anglicans has become even more acute.
As the chair of CAPA has articulated in his address, it is in this very moment we have a unique opportunity in the providence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to show the Communion and the world that Africa now sees fit to “unlock our potential” for a faithful witness to the Communion, fellow Christians in other traditions and the world.
Despite these blessings, we the Bishops of Rwanda have great concern about the state of the Anglican Communion and its ongoing disintegration. We ask you to prayer fully consider the contents of our Dispatch for Action for a pastoral plan that will indeed “Secure our Future”.
1. A RENEWED AFRICA OFFERS A RENEWED ANGLICAN IDENTITY
1.1 The Church since the days of our risen Lord has realized the need to express and strengthen their Koinonia by coming together in fellowship to meet contemporary challenges to the faith. The witness of the church was consistently a beacon to: a) address the numerous doctrinal and ecclesiastical controversies in a manner that forges the way forward for CAPA; b) create and foster a clear identity and unity among CAPA Provinces; and c) insure the strengthening of our structures that are conducive to witness to the Faith and fruit bearing in the Christian community.
1.2 We request that the CAPA Primates and Provinces initiate dynamic and effective structures that will strengthen our Anglican and African identity for Africa, the Communion, and the World.
2. STANDARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
2.1 The Anglican Communion has a serious problem of identity. As with most of the Christian Traditions, we face external cultural forces along with internal ecclesiological challenges that must be met and dealt with in this pluralistic society where major religions and aggressive ideologies are competing for the hearts and souls of humanity.
Who will stand for a united Anglican voice to bring the Way, Truth and Life in a hindered and divided Church?
Given the growth and the faithfulness of the Anglican witness in Africa, the time has come for CAPA Provinces to undertake the obligation from the Lord to protect and prevent the erosion of faith from these external forces. The Anglican Provinces of Africa possess a vibrant spirituality, a dynamic biblical witness, and numerous expressions of creative ministry to young and old, rich and poor, north and south.
Given such giftedness, we challenge the All African Bishops’ Conference to adhere to the Statement on the Global Anglican Future as proposed at GAFCON 2008.
3. COLLEGIAL LEADERSHIP AND FAITHFUL WITNESSS ARE OUR HERITAGE AND OUR FUTURE
3.1 Additionally, the Anglican Communion has added peculiar ecclesiological problems of its own that must be resolved. We call this today our “ecclesial deficit”. It cannot be resolved by a Covenant that requires little of those who ascribe to it and maintains no clear direction for discipline. Therefore, we propose that there be a structure based in the historic models of the church to resolve these crises.
3.2 Each provincial jurisdiction was birthed by Mother Africa. Mother Africa seeks all her children both temporally and spiritually to come together as a true Communion, united through a conciliar process rather than a separated Federation. Such a style of leadership would mean a more effective voice and a greater impact in the Communion. It would be monumental if the CAPA Primates and their bishops would make such a call and show the world that they are ecclesiastical leaders who understand this issue as the key to a real Global Anglican Future and are willing to boldly undertake the responsibility and leadership to begin this work.
4. SECURING OUR FUTURE
4.1 Based on the faith once delivered to the saints, the leadership structures as mentioned above; as well as a clear understanding of our own identity and dignity, we are now able to confidently unlock our potential and creatively address our issues of social, theological, and economic concerns with one voice. In so doing we will be able to develop sustainable programs by developing strategic alliances and partnerships for the future
5 CONCLUSION
We submit this dispatch in humility and boldness of faith requesting a direct response from CAPA Primates and Bishops. Nonetheless, we ask how many more statements will Anglican leaders give without due action? How long shall the Lord’s people be in the bondage of inactivity?
12 CommentsTwo ACNS reports by Jan Butter:
African Anglican bishops in Uganda draw a line in the sand in their final conference statement
The statement discussed in this article is now available over here.
Seven days in Entebbe – A reflection on the All Africa Bishops Conference
12 CommentsThe CAPA Primates, meeting at Entebbe, have issued this Communiqué. Please note this is a separate document from the Conference Statement of the Second All Africa Bishops Conference.
1. In a spirit of unity and trust, and in an atmosphere of love the Primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) as well as Archbishop John Chew, the Chairman of the Global South, which represents the majority of the active orthodox membership in the entire Anglican Communion, met during the 2nd All Africa Bishop’s Conference in Entebbe, Uganda. We enjoyed the fellowship and the sense of unity as we heard the Word of God and gathered around the Lord’s Table.
2. We gave thanks to God for the leadership of the Most. Rev. Ian Ernest, Archbishop of the Indian Ocean and Chairman of CAPA and for the abundant hospitality provided by the Most Rev. Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda and the entire Church of Uganda.
3. We were honored by the presence of the His Excellency General Yoweri K. Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, for his official welcome to Uganda and for hosting an official state reception for the AABCH. We are very grateful to him for his support of the work of the Anglican Church in Uganda and for his call to stand against the alien intrusions and cultural arrogance which undermines the moral fiber of our societies. We recall his admonishment to live out the words and deeds of the Good Samaritan. We are also grateful to the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Uganda for his presence and words of encouragement to us.
4. We were very happy and appreciated that the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams, accepted our invitation to attend the 2nd All Africa Bishop’s Conference. We were encouraged by his word to us. We also appreciated the opportunity to engage face-to-face with him in an atmosphere of love and respect. We shared our hearts openly and with transparency, and we have come to understand the difficulties and the pressures he is facing. He also came to understand our position and how our mission is threatened by actions which have continued in certain provinces in the Communion. We therefore commit ourselves to continuously support and pray for him and for the future of our beloved Communion.
5. We were very saddened with the recent actions of The Episcopal Church in America who went ahead and consecrated Mary Glasspool last May 2010, in spite of the call for a moratorium (1) and all the warnings from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion and the 4th Encounter of the Global South.
This was a clear departure from the standard teaching of the Anglican Communion as stated in Lambeth Resolution 1.10. We are also concerned about similar progressive developments in Canada and in the U.K.
6. Being aware of the reluctance of those Instruments of Communion to follow through the recommendations of the Windsor Report (2) and taken by the Primates Meetings in Dromantine (3) and Dar es Salaam (4) we see the way ahead as follows:
A. In order to keep the ethos and tradition of the Anglican Communion in a credible way, it is obligatory of all Provinces to observe the agreed decisions and recommendations of the Windsor Report and the various communiqués of the past three Primates Meetings, especially Dar es Salaam in 2007. We as Primates of CAPA and the Global South are committed to honor such recommendations.
B. We are committed to meet more regularly as Global South Primates and take our responsibilities in regard to issues of Faith and Order. (5)
C. We will give special attention to sound theological education as we want to ensure that the future generations stand firm on the Word of God and faithfully follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
D. We are committed to network with orthodox Anglicans around the world, including Communion Partners in the USA and the Anglican Church in North America, in holistic mission and evangelism. Our aim is to advance the Kingdom of God especially in unreached areas.
E. We are committee to work for unity with our ecumenical partners and to promote interfaith dialogue with other faiths in order to promote a peaceful co-existence and to resolve conflicts.
F. We are committed to work for the welfare of our countries. This will involve alleviating poverty, achieving financial and economic empowerment, fighting diseases, and promoting education.
7. Finally, we are very aware of our own inadequacy and weaknesses hence we depend fully on the grace of God to achieve his purpose in the life of his church and our beloved Anglican Communion.
FOOTNOTES:
1. The Windsor Report Section 134.1 The Episcopal church (USA) be invited to express its regret that the proper constraints of the bonds of affection were breached in the events surrounding the election and consecration of a bishop for the See of New Hampshire, and for the consequences which followed and that such an expression of regret would represent the desire of the Episcopal Church (USA) to remain within the Communion (2) the Episcopal church (USA) be invited to effect a moratorium on the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate who is living in a same gender union until some new consensus in the Anglican Communion energies.
The Windsor Report Section 144.3 We call for a moratorium on all such public Rites, and recommend that bishops who have authorized such rites in the US and Canada be invited to express regret that the proper constraints of the bonds of affection were breached by such authorizations.
2. Windsor Report. Section D. 157 There remains a very real danger that we will not choose to walk together. Should the call to halt and find ways of continuing in our present communion not be heeded, then we shall have to begin to learn to walk apart.
3. The Communiqué of the Primates Meeting in Dromantine (2005) Section 14. Within the ambit of the issues discussed in the Windsor Report and in roder to recognize the integrity of all parties, we request that the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada voluntarily withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference.
4. The Communiqué of the Primates Meeting in Dar es Salaam in 2007. If the reassurances requested of the House of Bishops cannot in good conscience be given, the relationship between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican communion as a whole remains damaged at best, and this has consequences for the full participation of the Church in the life of the Communion.
5. Lambeth 1988 Resolution 18.2(a) Urges the encouragement be given to a developing collegial rule for the Primates Meeting under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, so that the Primates Meeting is able to exercise an enhanced responsibility in offering guidance on doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters.
Lambeth 1998 Resolution III.6 (a) reaffirms the Resolution 18.2(a) Of Lambeth 1988 which “urges that encouragement be given to a developing collegial role for the Primates’ Meeting under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, so that the Primates’ Meeting is able to exercise an enhanced responsibility in offering guidance on doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters”.
END
23 CommentsTwo reports in the Ugandan Daily Monitor.
The first is dated last Wednesday and is titled Nsibambi lauds bishops for rejecting homosexuality.
The Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, has commended African bishops for rejecting the practice of homosexuality in the church. “I thank the church in Africa for being exemplary by not accepting homosexuality… they see that it is not acceptable in the society where they serve,” Prof. Nsibambi said yesterday during an opening service of the second All Africa Bishops Conference in Entebbe. He, however, added: “We should not persecute them (homosexuals) but I think it is wrong and we cannot recognise them because it is wrong like ordaining a gay bishop.”
The second, dated tomorrow, Sunday, is titled African bishops unite to denounce homosexuality.
…Breeding disunity
“Homosexuality is not a new phenomenon in the society but the only trouble is that the issues dividing us (church) now are very difficult to handle. They are threatening the unity of the church because they disobey the authority of the scriptures,” says Bishop Okoh. He says homosexuality is a result of some people engaged in making their culture to be superior to the biblical teachings. “It is two sided; while some people want to be obedient to their culture to determine the content of the church, others say no and it must be the guidance of the bible,” he added.The primates describe homosexuality as an imposed interpretation and alien culture that has hindered the growth of an authentic church which could respond to its people. “We are saying homosexuality is not compatible with the word of God. We are saying that this culture of other people is against the traditional belief of marriage held by the Anglican Communion,” says the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi. Bishop Orombi says that the Anglican Church will never accept homosexuality because the scriptures too do not allow people of same sex to join in marriage.
Evil practice
“Homosexuality is evil, abnormal and unnatural as per the Bible. It is a culturally unacceptable practice. Although there is a lot of pressure, we cannot turn our hands to support it,” says Bishop Orombi…
And further on:
10 Comments..The Archbishop of the Province of Indian Ocean, Ian Ernest, says the bishops have to courageously raise their voices to counteract the false ideologies that creep into the church and put at stake the mission that Christ has entrusted to his church. “We cannot afford to continue to lurch from one crisis to the next in our beloved Communion. Despite attempts to warn some western provinces, action has been taken to irrevocably shatter the Communion. Sadly existing structures of the Anglican Communion have been unable to address the need for discipline,” says Bishop Ernest, the chairman of CAPA. He says the teachings of homosexuality are irrelevant to the needs of Africans and are unrepresentative demographically hence the need for new structures that are credible and representative of the majority.
The anti-homosexuality voices from the bishops are a likely boost to proponents of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (2009), before the Ugandan Parliament which proposes life imprisonment for acts of homosexuality and introduces “aggravated homosexuality” as a serious crime.
According to the proposed law, offenders must face death if they have sex with a minor or a disabled person, or are found to have infected their partners with HIV/Aids. The proposed law, if passed in its current shape, would also punish attempted homosexuality as well as the failure of a third party to inform the authorities of homosexual activity.
Bishop Orombi says the primates in Africa have since shared their stand with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. Bishop Okoh says Africa has various challenges of disease, young widows, divorce, single motherhood, poverty which affect the church. “The issue of moral failure in the community is another problem to the church. But we have to work hard to ensure that the church of God is not divided by some practices like the ordination of women clergy which we are still studying,” he says.
This press release came from the Church of Uganda:
CAPA Apologizes to the Church of Uganda for Financial Scandal
In a 27th August letter to Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Ian Earnest, Chairman of CAPA (Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa), apologized for “embarrassing” the Church of Uganda when CAPA received a $25,000 grant from Trinity Grants (USA) for the All Africa Bishops Conference taking place in Uganda. (Letter is attached.)In 2003, the Church of Uganda broke communion with the Episcopal Church (TEC) over their unbiblical theology and immoral actions that violated historic and Biblical Anglicanism and tore the fabric of the Communion at its deepest level. At the same time, the Church of Uganda resolved to not receive any funds from TEC.
The 2nd All Africa Bishops Conference was hosted by the Church of Uganda, but the programme and speakers were chosen by CAPA. The Church of Uganda received no outside funding for its role in hosting the 400 Bishops and other participants in the week-long conference. All funds were raised locally within Uganda.
Archbishop Henry thanked Archbishop Ian for acknowledging the awkward position CAPA had put the Church of Uganda in and appreciated his humility and generous spirit in writing.
Here is the attached letter as a PDF.
31 CommentsThis morning, the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 carried this:
Dr Tom Wright: ‘The long failure of the enlightenment project’
The retiring Bishop of Durham, Dr Tom Wright, has called for a renewed focus on social mobility in the light of “the long failure of the enlightenment project”.
Speaking to James Naughtie, he said that in an “increasingly religious age” we needed to find new ways of dealing with the way “human beings mess things up”.
Andrew Brown has written Bishop Tom vs the Enlightenment
Tom Wright says that the breakdown of the welfare state shows that the enlightenment project has failed. Is he right?
He starts this way:
19 CommentsOh lord, I thank thee that I am not as other columnists are, for they will assuredly pick up from his Today show interview Tom Wright’s description of the newspaper columnists as the Pharisees of our age and his complaint that the media has ignored at least fifteen speeches that he made in the House of Lords without one mention of s-e-x in them.
It is a little more interesting, though, to look at what he thought about the wider world. You can pick a lot of holes in the detail of his argument, but there is a very important truth hidden in there…
The comment article by Muriel Porter in last week’s Church Times is now available to non-subscribers.
Sydney thwarted on lay presidency
THE DECISION of the Appellate Tribunal rejecting lay and diaconal presidency at the eucharist is the latest setback for the diocese of Sydney in its quest to find a means of allowing lay people and deacons to fulfil this function.
Since the 1990s, numerous attempts have failed, but this decision is the most serious, because the diocese’s current ordination policy is based on the premise that deacons can (in Sydney’s preferred terminology) administer the Lord’s Supper.
Under the policy that has been introduced in recent years, ordination as priests (or presbyters, as Sydney calls them) is restricted only to rectors of parishes. At least one newly appointed rector has been ordained priest in the same service in which he was inducted into his first parish.
Under this policy, all curates, senior assistant clergy, and chaplains are expected to remain deacons. Particularly in chaplaincy situations, the celebration of holy communion will, in time, become dependent almost entirely on diaconal presidency…
The accompanying news report, linked previously, is here.
42 CommentsUpdated again Friday morning
Several of the presentations made to the conference are now available from the Downloads page of the conference website.
ACNS “Climate change will kill more Africans than malaria or AIDS,” Anglican church warned
Update 3 pm
Lambeth Palace has just issued this press release:
Archbishop reflects on CAPA meeting
The Archbishop of Canterbury has today returned from a three-day visit to Uganda where he attended the All Africa Bishops Conference on effective leadership for sustainable development, convened by the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA).
He also had the opportunity to meet with the President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni and to visit children at the Mildmay HIV Centre outside Kampala. Details and images of the visit to the Mildmay centre can be found here: http://archbishopofcanterbury.org/2974
Dr Williams said:
“I very much appreciated the invitation to hear the challenges facing my brother bishops in Africa, and also to spend some time in prayer and fellowship with them.
“This conference comes at a significant moment in the life of CAPA, with Anglican churches in Africa putting development issues at the top of their agenda in Entebbe. Their willingness to do so has been welcomed by other churches and politicians in the region and internationally, as they recognize that the African Church has the willingness and the skills to make them best placed to set their development agenda. Their challenge will be in finding the imaginative opportunities for unlocking this potential.
“I valued opportunities to hear from bishops ministering in the heart of conflict situations in countries such as Sudan, DR Congo, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, and learnt much from presentations on the serious threats to the well-being of women and children, as well as the potential of the Church to respond to these issues. I also welcomed the opportunity to meet and speak with the President of Uganda.”Friday update
The Church Times carries a news report, Dr Williams warns African bishops to listen and take risks and scroll down for a sidebar by Bishop Michael Doe which is headlined Bishops seek Africa focus.
CNN Belief Blog African bishops chide Anglican leader on homosexuality
16 CommentsUpdated Saturday evening
The school is St Vincent’s Cathedral School in Bedford, Texas.
News reports:
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Bedford school turns away student because of parents’ lesbian relationship
See also, the letter to the editor (scroll down to Clarifying church ties) and there is also this.
Dallas Morning News Dallas-area school won’t take daughter of lesbian couple
CNN Texas school rejects 4-year-old over lesbian parents
Update
Episcopal Café Vincent’s dean defends rejection of student
29 CommentsThe Very Rev. Ryan Reed, Dean of St. Vincent’s School, spoke with DallasVoice.com about the rejection of 4-year-old Olivia Harrison from his school because her parents are lesbian…
Updated again Thursday morning
Guardian Riazat Butt Ugandan archbishop urges African clergy to re-evangelise Anglican church
Cif belief Andrew Brown The tank parked on Rowan’s foot
[Orombi] said:
“The potentials represented today in this conference must be free to go to Europe and America with ‘fresh wine’ from ‘new wine skins’ to the mother church desperate for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I say ‘the Church in Africa’ must rise up. Shake off your fears, shame and superficial dependency. Take hold of this God-given opportunity and use it to his glory. Preach the gospel, evangelise and extend the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”
This is a straightforward defiance of the policy of Anglican Communion against “border crossing”: the practice of African churches setting up branches in North America to try and claim the churches, the congregations, and a share of the money of the liberal Anglicans there. But it’s worth noting that he now wants to move into Europe as well. To say this to the face of the Archbishop of Canterbury is not parking a tank on Rowan’s lawn; it is parking one on his foot.
The Archbishop reacted with circumspection. So much circumspection, in fact, that it is worth translating his remarks into English…
Anglican Mainstream ENTEBBE: To Rowan Williams: “Listen to the voice of the Anglican Communion in Africa” – Ian Ernest
This is the full text of Archbishop Ernest’s remarks yesterday.
Anglican Mainstream ENTEBBE: African Anglicans Must Rise Up and Bring life to Ailing Global Anglicanism – Apb Orombi
This is the full text of Archbishop Orombi’s remarks yesterday.
ACNS
President of Uganda tells African bishops: “There should be no room for intolerance because everyone is made in the image of God.”
and
History-making Anglican priest says Africa “has faith to believe it can defeat AIDS”
ENS UGANDA: President tells African bishops: ‘There should be no room for intolerance’
New Vision Museveni warns on religious extremism
15 CommentsUpdated again Wednesday morning
Here is the full text of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s sermon at the opening service:
The Archbishop’s sermon for Opening Eucharist at the CAPA All Africa Bishops’ Conference, Uganda.
ACNS African bishops’ meeting in Uganda told: “History will record what happens at this conference”
Earlier press reports:
Daily Monitor Anglican head arrives for bishops’ summit
New Vision Anglican Church must be practical by Canon Kodwo Ankrah
Later press reports:
AFP Homosexuality against word of God: African bishops
ENTEBBE, Uganda — African Anglican bishops voiced their strong disapproval of homosexuality at a meeting Tuesday attended by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, as the issue continues to divide Anglicans.
“Homosexuality is incompatible with the word of God,” said conference host and Ugandan Archbishop Uganda Henry Luke Orombi.
“It is good Archbishop Rowan is here. We are going to express to him where we stand,” he added…
Another version of this report appears at Daily Nation African bishops say Anglicans in West strayed from God
New Vision Anglican bishops maintain anti-gay stand
ANGLICAN bishops attending the All Africa Bishops Conference in Entebbe have reiterated their firm stand against homosexuality.
In speeches, most of which received standing ovations, the prelates said the practice was alien and an “innovation of the truth”.
Present was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, whose open support of the practice has made him the centre of attraction for the media at the conference.
The seven-day conference, at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, attracted over 400 bishops, a quarter of whom are from Nigeria. Participants were excited by the attendance of bishops from the Muslim countries of Sudan and Egypt.
As most clergy stood to clap at speeches critical of homosexuality, Archbishop Williams and two aides, who sat in the front row, were the only ones who remained seated…
Anglican Church in North America Archbishop Duncan Joins Leaders at All Africa Bishops Conference
Archbishop Robert Duncan was included with the other Anglican primates during the opening Eucharist, and shared in the distribution of communion, as did the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
Bishops from all of Africa as well as Anglicans from around the world are meeting together in Entebbe, Uganda, for the Second All Africa Bishops Conference August 23-29.
The conference, which is organized by the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), calls together bishops and archbishops from 400 dioceses in Africa. Invited guests from around the Anglican world are also present.
Archbishop Robert Duncan, Bishop Martyn Minns, Bishop John Guernsey and Bishop Bill Atwood are among the Anglican Church in North America leaders who are attending the event. “The Anglican Church is expanding everywhere in Africa. There are now some 400 dioceses spread across the continent. As Archbishop I am here to learn and to stand in solidarity with this vigorous gospel mission,” said Archbishop Duncan. As the leader of the Anglican Church in North America, Archbishop Duncan was included with the other Anglican primates (leaders of Anglican provinces) during the opening Eucharist, and shared in the distribution of communion, as did the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
Archbishop Williams told the gathered bishops that the 21st Century may well be the “African Century.”
Archbishop Duncan, as well as Archbishop John Chew of Southeast Asia, have also been invited to sit with the primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) during their meetings.
Box Turtle Bulletin “There is Already A Break”: Ugandan Archbishop Declares De-Facto Schism
…In Williams’ opening remarks, he didn’t address homosexuality specifically, but said this in his typically indirect, round-about way:
“We must learn to listen to those we lead and serve to find out what their hopes and needs and confusions are. We must love them and attend to their humanity in all its diversity,” Williams said.
But African clergy weren’t waiting to hear Williams’ watered-down messages, and they were far more direct in speaking with reporters…
New Times (Rwanda) African Bishops to re-examine the issue homosexuality
THE All African Bishops International Conference kicked off yesterday in Entebbe, Uganda with the clerics promising to strengthen their position on intolerance of homosexuality in the Anglican Church.
The one-week conference being held under the theme; “Securing our future; Unlocking our potential,” is jointly organized by the by Church of Uganda and the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA).
The Bishop of Butare Anglican Diocese, Nathan Gasatura, who is among the twelve Bishops representing Rwanda at the conference, said that the meeting would also reinforce the need for a common voice among African bishops.
“We shall consolidate our position to really stand against homosexuality now with one voice,” he told The New Times in an interview yesterday.
“Sometimes we have been speaking with dissenting voices because this is one of the planned topics that is going to be consolidated.”
Cape Times (South Africa) Anglican church ‘out of touch with word of God’
14 CommentsUpdated
As previously reported here (scroll down), the conference website explains:
The Council for Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) will convene the 2nd All Africa Bishops Conference (AABC) from the 23rd – 29th August 2010 at the Imperial Resort Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda.
The conference brings together Bishops from 400 dioceses in Burundi, Central Africa, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Seychelles, Mauritius, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Egypt and Uganda.
This year’s All Africa Bishops Conference (AABC) running from 23rd – 29th August 2010 will be hosted by the Province of the Church of Uganda.
Entebbe is located in Namirembe Diocese which is one of the 33 dioceses in the Province of the Church of Uganda.
Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi is the current Primate of the Province.
It has been confirmed that the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Dr. Rowan Williams, will be at the conference.
Dr. Rowans is scheduled to preach at the opening service on Tuesday August 24, 2010 at 09:00 AM local time.
This will be the first time that the Head of the Anglican Communion is visting Uganda since he became primate in 2002.
The conference programme is listed here, and continues here.
Updates
ENS has a report, African bishops, global partners head to Uganda for weeklong meeting.
New Vision has a lengthy report, 400 African bishops meet in Entebbe which includes an interview with the CAPA General Secretary, the Reverend Canon Grace Kaiso.
Daily Monitor has Orombi to meet Archbishop of Canterbury over homosexuality.
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