Two 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 CommentsThe 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 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.
18 CommentsThe Anglican Church of Australia has published a one page summary of the latest decision of the Appellate Tribunal.
As previously linked, the full documentation – four separate documents – of this case can be found here.
For a plain English explanation of this decision, read Muriel Porter in the Church Times Tribunal rules out Sydney’s diaconal and lay presidency.
THE highest church court in Australia, the Appellate Tribunal, has ruled that both lay and diaconal presidency at the eucharist are not permitted under existing General Synod canons — contrary to claims by a 2008 resolution of Sydney Synod (News, 24 October 2008).
Since the 2008 Synod, at least one of the assistant bishops in the diocese of Sydney has approved diaconal presidency in his area. There is evid-ence to suggest that diaconal presidency has taken place at some Sunday services, including presidency by women who, although ordained priest in other dioceses, are licensed only as deacons in Sydney diocese…
There is a further article by Muriel Porter, which will be available to non-subscribers next Friday. (Subscribers will find it now at this link.)
12 CommentsThe Daily Monitor reports, Anglican Church is broken, says Orombi:
The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi, yesterday said the Anglican Church today faces many challenges which have made it dysfunctional.
“What I can tell you is that the Anglican Church is very broken,” Bishop Orombi said.
“It (church) has been torn at its deepest level, and it is a very dysfunctional family of the provincial churches. It is very sad for me to see how far down the church has gone.”
Speaking at the opening of a three-day provincial Assembly in Mukono, the head of the Church of Uganda noted that the church has lost credibility.He proposed that the Church of Uganda engages church structures at a very minimal level until godly faith and order have been restored. “I can assure you that we have tried as a church to participate in the processes, but they are dominated by western elites, whose main interest is advancing a vision of Anglicanism that we do not know or recognise. We are a voice crying in the wilderness,” he said at the Church’s top assembly that convenes every two years…
And, according to Icebreakers Uganda in Anglican Bishop in Uganda Vow to Confront Bishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury (H/T this report from Changing Attitude):
14 CommentsIn a move to reaffirm their opposition to gay rights and gay acceptance in the Anglican church of Uganda, Bishops from all over the country sitting at Mukono vowed to confront the arch-bishop of Canterbury over his stand on homosexuality and gay Bishops serving in the church.
They promised to let him know where they stand with him and also make it clear that they will never agree with him on the issue of homosexuals in the church.
During the meeting, the arch-Bishop of the church of Uganda said they would not break away from Canterbury but would not cooperate with it until after arch-Bishop Rowan Williams has changed his stance on homosexuality in the church or left the position of arch-Bishop…
Paul Bagshaw, whose recent writing on this topic was reported on here, has written A couple of covenant comments.
Commenting on the paper by Stephen Noll, linked here, he writes:
Since 1998, and to some degree before then, the Communion has come to be conceived as a single entity lacking central governance. But it was never intended to be such – it grew as a federation of Churches each of which had, and safeguarded, its own coherent doctrine and effective discipline – accepting the differences in both from one province to another. That it was ‘lawless’ was not a criticism, merely a statement of the obvious. Each member had plenary jurisdiction and law; the Communion never had jurisdiction.
Nonetheless the mood changed. The federal structure (in the shape of the Eames Commission) sought an answer to the dissatisfaction of some by creating a tighter, more unitary structure – and the covenant mechanism can only move in that centralising direction. The SCAC reinforced it. The Anglican Communion is now thought of as a single body which ought to have the apparatus of a single body to make the idea real.
He also makes some comments on the ACC Constitution and the remarks of John Rees, which were reported over here.
6 CommentsMy attention has been drawn to this recently published article at Sociological Research Online. [hat-tip to Roland Orr]
The Meanings of Communion: Anglican Identities, the Sexuality Debates, and Christian Relationality by Robert M. Vanderbeck, Gill Valentine, Kevin Ward, Joanna Sadgrove and Johan Andersson, University of Leeds.
Here is the abstract.
16 CommentsRecent discussions of the international Anglican Communion have been dominated by notions of a ‘crisis’ and ‘schism’ resulting from conflicts over issues of homosexuality. Existing accounts of the Communion have often tended to emphasise the perspectives of those most vocal in the debates (particularly bishops, senior clergy, and pressure groups) or to engage in primarily theological analysis. This article examines the nature of the purported ‘crisis’ from the perspectives of Anglicans in local parishes in three different national contexts: England, South Africa, and the United States. Unusually for writing on the Communion, attention is simultaneously given to parishes that have clear pro-gay stances, those that largely oppose the acceptance of homosexual practice, and those with more ambivalent positions. In doing so, the article offers new insights for the growing body of literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Christians, as well as wider discussions about the contested nature of contemporary Anglican and other Christian identities. Key themes include the divergent ways in which respondents felt (and did not feel) connections to the spatially distant ‘others’ with whom they are in Communion; the complex relationships and discordances between parish, denominational, and Communion-level identities; and competing visions of the role of the Communion in producing unity or preserving diversity amongst Anglicans.
The Appellate Tribunal of the Anglican Church of Australia has issued its opinion on the legality of the administration of Holy Communion by deacons or lay persons.
The full documentation from the tribunal can be found here.
News reports:
Anglican Media Sydney Tribunal disagrees with diaconal administration
Episcopal News Service SYDNEY: Tribunal rejects move to allow deacons to preside at Eucharist
40 CommentsThe Anglican Communion Office has published an article titled The ACC Constitution: An Interview with ACC’s legal adviser Revd Canon John Rees.
The Anglican Consultative Council has a new Constitution. How did this come about? What does this mean in reality? How will it affect the work of the Instruments of Communion? The Standing Committee? ACNS spoke to John Rees, legal adviser to find out more…
The last two questions are perhaps the ones of most interest to TA readers.
33 CommentsQ. What’s your response to those who say this new Constitution is an attempt to give the Standing Committee and/or the ACC more power.
That’s very wide of the mark. The drafting committee took care to ensure that the plenary meeting of the Council would continue to have the same democratic rights to appoint the Standing Committee that it always had in its unincorporated state. The wider membership attending the plenary meetings of the ACC every two or three years remains the body which appoints its members of the Standing Committee and entrusts the Committee with the Council’s work in between its meetings. I have attended a good many Standing Committee meetings over the years, and I can vouch for the fact that its members are very conscious of the interdependence of the ACC with the Archbishop and the Primates and are careful to respect boundaries.
So it’s also misleading to suggest that the ACC would impinge on the authority of the Archbishop or of the Primates’ Meeting. Neither the Archbishop’s role as the pivotal Instrument of Communion, nor his role in calling together the Primates’ Meeting (which itself has no formal constitution) are in any way restricted by these Articles. As the Archbishop’s Registrar for the Province of Canterbury, I would have been very concerned if I had thought there was any intention to do so.
The definition of ‘Primates’ in these Articles remains essentially as it appeared in Article 3(a) of the earlier Constitution. Indeed, the drafting committee went out of its way (in Article 8.1) to emphasise that the Primates should elect their members of the Standing Committee “in such manner as they shall think fit”. The guidance that they, and the ACC’s membership as a whole, should have regard to the need for regional, order and gender balance was carried over from the earlier Constitution, and at best can operate only as an aspiration.
Q. Doesn’t making the ACC an English company subject the council to UK and applicable EU law including equalities legislation?
The incorporation of the ACC as a limited company does not subject the ACC to UK or EU equalities legislation to which it would not otherwise have been subject. The Church of England has played a major part, with other churches in the UK, in achieving and preserving certain exclusions for itself and other religious bodies in relation to this legislation as it has developed over the last thirty years. The Equalities Act would have been equally applicable to the ACC in its unincorporated form because it was also registered as an English charity. Equally, the ACC in its new structure will enjoy the benefit of exclusions from this legislation to the same extent as any other religious organisation in the UK. I share the unease of many religious people about the impact of this British legislation, but it is not right to say that the restructuring of the ACC will have altered its position viz-a-viz the implementation of this law.
Episcopal Café has drawn attention to several articles in Religion in the News about the Church of Uganda and the proposed anti-homosexuality legislation in that country.
Mark Fackler writes about Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill.
Jesse Masai writes about The Word from Kampala’s Anglicans. This is based on interviews with Archbishop Orombi’s communications director, Amanda Onapito, and Assistant Bishop of Uganda David Zac Niringiye.
“The church’s position on human sexuality is consistent with its basis of faith and doctrine and has been stated very clearly over the years as reflected in various documents,” she said. “From a careful and critical reading of Scripture, homosexual practice has no place in God’s design of creation, the continuation of the human race through procreation, or his plan of redemption.
“The Church of Uganda believes that homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture. At the same time, we are committed at all levels to counseling, healing, and prayer for people with homosexual orientation. The church is a safe place for individuals who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing.”
On the bill itself, she continued, the COU prefers that current law (Penal Code Cap. 120) be amended, clarifying gaps, protecting all parties from uneven enforcement and from the anti-homosexuality bill’s encroachment into family life and church counsel. Currently, the bill outlaws failure to inform authorities of homosexual activity, much as standard criminal law forbids failure to testify concerning wrongful acts observed. Ugandan law protects underage girls from sexual predators, Onapito explained, but not underage boys.
The COU wants the law to protect, not criminalize, confidential relationships of medical, pastoral, and counseling professionals and their clients, she said. An amended Penal Code must, in fairness and for the protection of youth, specify lesbianism, bestiality, and “other sexual perversions” as targeted behaviors. The free marketplace of ideas must have legal boundaries prohibiting material that “promotes homosexuality as normal or as [merely] an alternative lifestyle.”
Onapito added that while the church’s position may be contrary to Western notions of fair treatment for gays, it hardly poses the desperate risk to life and freedom that gay rights advocates fear. There should be no doubt, however, that the COU wants to ensure that “sexual orientation is excluded as a protected human right.”
We also learn, from the Church of Uganda website, that
Church of the Province of Uganda will be hosting the second All African Bishops’ Conference from August 23- 29, 2010 in Kampala, Uganda.
Read lots more about it at the conference website.
Now, as Episcopal Café explains here, this conference is being funded with a grant from Trinity Wall Street to CAPA. This listing of grants includes:
Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
$25,000 over one year to fund the All Africa Bishops Conference, a week long gathering in August [2010] that will address the emerging pastoral and contextual education concerns in Africa.
The Church of Uganda itself does not accept money from such sources but is nevertheless the host of this conference.
The official position of the Church is explained in this FAQ about Church of Uganda, GAFCON, and the Anglican Communion.
12 CommentsJonathan Clatworthy of Modern Church has written for Cif belief No covenant please, we’re Anglican.
The Anglican communion has always been inclusive, not confessional. Our differences of opinion are signs of maturity.
Phil Ashey of the American Anglican Council has written an article The Anglican Covenant: Major Revisions Required.
This depends heavily on a paper written by Stephen Noll and available as a PDF file.
24 CommentsWe have linked previously to articles by Paul Bagshaw of Modern Church.
See two recent items here.
Since then he has also written three articles Incompatible with the Covenant, and Incompatible with the Covenant 2 and Incompatible with the Covenant 3.
Modern Church has now issued a press release, the text of which is below the fold. The web publication mentioned in the press release is titled A very un-Anglican Covenant.
16 CommentsThe minutes of the previous meeting, on 15-18 December 2009, of the Anglican Consultative Council – Standing Committee have now been published, see
Minutes of Standing Committee meeting December 2009 (PDF file)
Update an html copy is available over here.
As Episcopal Café comments in Breaking: TEC still in the AC
…though these are minutes from a meeting seven months ago, it is indeed new information about the vote to keep the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion.
The entire document is worth reading, but paragraph 4, Recent Developments in the Anglican Communion, dealing with this point, is reproduced in full below the fold.
Another paragraph of interest is this:
13 Comments17. Any Other Business
The Archbishop of Canterbury mentioned two things:
a) The Church of England had issued guidelines on clergy in civil partnership. He wondered if the moratoria included those clergy involved in civil partnership. Some were in celibate same sex partnerships.
In response to the above it was noted that the moratoria referred to consecration of bishops, and authorisation of formal blessing of same sex unions. The meaning of civil partnership was unclear as it could include siblings or friends simply living in the one house.
b) Pastoral Visitors
The Archbishop reported on the work of Pastoral Visitors. They had attended the first meeting of Anglican Communion in North America and Anglican Coalition in Canada. The intention was to facilitate conversations which were different from Continuing Indaba. Could we broker civilised conversations?
The Standing Committee expressed gratitude to the Archbishop of Canterbury for his work in this area.
Professor Sarah Coakley who is Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University, gave a lecture at the United Theological College, Sydney, Australia on 13 July 2010.
An edited version of the lecture is available in three parts:
Rethinking the sex crises in Catholicism and Anglicanism, Part 1
Rethinking the sex crises in Catholicism and Anglicanism, Part 2
Rethinking the sex crises in Catholicism and Anglicanism, Part 3
Updated
The Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Abjua Primate of all Nigeria, addressed the fourth annual CANA Council on 23 July.
See earlier report boundary crossing in Virginia.
If you are at all confused about what CANA stands for, there’s a comprehensive reminder of its history in this post by Fr Jake.
His full remarks are available here.
Here’s an extract from what he said.
The Western Church led the world toward Christ for almost 2,000 years. But now it has cast aside its leadership and finds itself leaving Christ’s path and following its own road. The West, Nations and Church, are disinheriting their Christian inheritance. Perhaps this is the easiest road to take. But it is certainly not the right road.
This is the challenge faced in the Anglican Communion where the revisionist agenda has weakened a church, which for generations has been at the forefront of global evangelization and mission.
Given the speed with which we alter time-honored theological positions some of our ecumenical friends now doubt our reliability, and suspect our fellowship. We are all vulnerable to temptation and sin, but Christ calls us to stand shoulder to shoulder and faithfully declare that ‘there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved’ [Acts 4:12].
We are Christians. We must affirm our faith and identity, while we make allowance for others to affirm theirs as part of the grace for a plural society. We must, as orthodox Anglicans, uphold and continue to defend the biblical understanding of the family and its moral implications. The clear intention of Scripture is that marriage is a monogamous, lifelong, covenantal relationship between one man and one woman. All other sexual relationships are a sad reflection of our brokenness, self-centredness and continuing rebellion against the expressed will of the Almighty God for which we need repentance.
Let there be a change. As Americans you occupy the lofty height of the world’s civilization and material glory. But as a prophet, let me humbly encourage you to remind yourselves of the rise, the reign and the fall of one of the greatest empires the world has ever known, the Roman Empire. It will do you good, to avoid certain pitfalls, as you struggle to retain your enviable position as the world’s number one nation.
Savi Hensman has written at Cif belief about Archbishop Okoh’s earlier remarks. See her article at Bishop Okoh’s war on homosexuality.
At the same meeting, Bishop Martyn Minns delivered his Bishop’s Pastoral Call 2010 which is available in full as a PDF file here. Despite its length, it is worth reading for it gives a very comprehensive picture of CANA.
Update
Mark Harris has posted two blog articles commenting on what Martyn Minns said. See
Bishop Minns accuses The Episcopal Church leadership of bribery.
The Tide of Ecclesial Pollution: Bishop Minns reads the Anglican Oil Spill.
The Partnership of the Dioceses of El Camino Real, Gloucester and Western Tanganyika
From the Diocese of Gloucester website:
Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury
Regarding the partnership of the dioceses of El Camino Real, Gloucester and Western Tanganyika
[in .doc format]
From the Diocese of El Camino Real website:
8 CommentsLetter to the Archbishop of Canterbury from our Partnership Bishops
This letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury was drafted by Bishops Mary Gray-Reeves of the Diocese of El Camino Real, Gerard Mpango of the Diocese of Western Tanganyika, and Michael Perham of the Diocese of Gloucester.
Please read it at http://www.edecr.org/sitefiles/file/newsdocs/NEWS-Ltr2ArchbpREpartnDio-20100622.pdf [in pdf format]