Thinking Anglicans

opinion

Ian Paul responds to the article by Linda Woodhead that I linked to last week: Who is ducking what in the C of E?

Justin Welby has blogged On tweeting and touching and preached this homily at Trinity Wall Street, New York.
Andrew Brown of The Guardian responds with this: Justin Welby’s Twitter sermon sounds like a plea for ecclesiastical discipline.

Angela Tilby Church Times Dissing the D-word

Giles Fraser The Guardian Even atheists such as Stephen Fry have Downton-esque nostalgia for the C of E

Graham Kings Fulcrum English Monk Who Encouraged the Ministry of Women. Also published in The Times (£).

25 Comments

opinion

Linda Woodhead Church Times The challenges that the new C of E reports duck

Meri-Anna Hintsala Westminster Faith Faiths blog Putting a Church Online – Lessons from Finland

Church Times leader Right sort of growth

Michael Paulson New York Times Inequality as a Religious Issue: A Conversation With the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury’s speech at ‘Creating the Common Good’ conference in New York

19 Comments

opinion

Ben Irwin blogs How Newsweek Got the Bible Right — and Still Got it Wrong in response to the Newsweek article that I linked to three weeks ago.

The Economist Go forth and multiply

Mark Clavier blogs Fragmented formation: training clergy.

Father Richard Peers SCP ‘Liberals in vestments’: What is the Society of Catholic Priests for?

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opinion

The Guardian Epiphany around the world – in pictures

Huffington Post Epiphany 2015: Dates, Customs, Scripture And History Of ‘Three Kings Day’ Explained (PHOTOS)

Paul Handley Church Times leader Fundamentalism

Christopher Howse writes about St Hilary in his Sacred Mysteries column in The Telegraph Troglodytes, topazes and the spring term.

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opinion

Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message

Church Times leader Disorganised religion

For Epiphany Archdruid Eileen writes about Three Ways to Know.

Christopher Howse The Telegraph Exodus: the evidence for the Bible story

Canon Andy Thompson writes to The Guardian in response to the leader we linked to last week: The reality of being a Christian in the Gulf.

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opinion at Christmas

Cole Moreton Telegraph Why female bishops could be the Church of England’s saviour

The Guardian editorial The Guardian view on religious intolerance: the burden of the cross

Kurt Eichenwald Newsweek The Bible: So Misunderstood It’s a Sin

Ian Paul Jesus really wasn’t born in a stable

There are several articles this week about Justin Welby.

Financial Times leader A Christian leader who is living in the real world
Caroline Wyatt BBC News ‘Super-astute’ Welby faces big challenges ahead
Independent editorial Spiritual – and political: For those who question the Church’s relevance to society, a resounding answer is provided this Christmas
Ian Paul Justin Welby: a leader ‘for such a time as this…’

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opinion

Giles Fraser The Guardian The Christmas story is all about God divesting Himself of power

Aaron James Premier Better toilets will save the church, says TV newsreader

Hannah Martin The Guardian One female bishop is not enough – the church must behave more like Jesus

Bible Society Survey reveals people confuse Bible Nativity with traditional misconceptions. You can take the quiz there yourself.

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opinion

Ian Ellis of the Church of Ireland Gazette has interviewed Rowan Williams. You can listen to the interview here. Topics include Christian Aid and the European Union; there’s a list of contents with timings below the fold.

Kelvin Holdsworth blogs about The Peace and Unity and Order of the Church.

Rachel Mann blogs on Headship and Holiness: ‘It’s a Trap!’ or ‘Why the Bishop of Maidstone might be particularly bad news for Conservative Evangelicals’

(more…)

2 Comments

opinion

Vic Van Den Bergh More than ‘Just a service’ – Funerals

Michael Sadgrove Cathedrals: a success story?

Giles Fraser The Guardian The whole point of Christianity is to create a deeper form of humanism

Madeleine Davies Church Times The Maasai – a tradition in transition

25 Comments

opinion

Kelvin Holdsworth Six reasons why [some] cathedrals are doing well
and Church blogging – all may, none must, some should

Church Times leader Cathedral conundrum

Andrew Brown The Guardian Talking about fish copulation is no way to discuss the family

Kate Bottley The Guardian I’m all for a mid-week church service – at least it’ll give me a Sunday lie-in

James Croft Patheos This Atheist is Thankful for the Clergy

Paul Handley The Guardian Let us give thanks, Black Friday has nothing to do with religion

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opinion

Miranda Threlfall-Holmes 5 Things I miss about being Laity

Cathy Newman interviews Rose Hudson-Wilkin for The Telegraph Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin: The truth? We’re all fearful for the first female bishops

Rupert Christiansen The Telegraph Why do Christmas carols make the church feel nervous?

Erasmus The Economist Hello ladies, goodbye Communion?

Lucy Ward The Guardian Una Kroll: ‘Public protest is still very important’

Sam Wells The Christian Century Dressed for the moment

Bosco Peters A Bishop is not a Priest

Isabel Berwick Financial Times From atheist teenager to lady of the parish

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Priests ordained by women bishops abroad

The Questions yesterday evening at General Synod included this question and answer:

Mrs Christina Rees (St Albans) asked the Secretary General:
Q Is there any longer a bar on a man or woman who, having been ordained to the priesthood by a bishop who is a woman in another province of the Anglican Communion or in another Church with which the Church of England is in communion, being given to permission to officiate under the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967, so as to make them then to be as a priest in the Church of England, given a Licence or Permission to Officiate?

Mr William Fittall replied:
A The decision taken by the Synod this afternoon means that it is now lawful for women to be consecrated as bishops in England. The rationale for the bar which the Archbishops have operated up to now under the 1967 Measure has therefore disappeared. The gender of the consecrating bishop will be no longer relevant when applications for permission to officiate are considered.

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opinion

updated Saturday night

Frederick Schmidt What is a seminary faculty?

These three articles look at the Church of England statistics issued on Monday.

David Keen New CofE stats: we did better than UKIP, but still not well enough
Norman Ivison The clock is ticking
Bev Botting New Stats, New Findings
Giles Fraser The Guardian The Church of England is actually holding up pretty well in an adverse market

Angela Denker Sojourners 3 Ways ‘All Are Welcome’ Is Hurting the Church

Leading article in The Spectator Thank heavens for Justin Welby!

Update

David Keen has also published Latest CofE stats: Attendance by Diocese 2009-13.

6 Comments

opinion

Rachel Harden, the Church of England’s Deputy Director of Communications, writes about Blogging Faith.

Alex Willmott If you can’t lead a church, don’t lead a church

Kevin P Emmert Christianity Today New Poll Finds Evangelicals’ Favorite Heresies

Kelvin Holdsworth Becoming a Welcoming Cathedral

Pat Henking “Priestly Formation” is a Term that Really Bugs Me!

8 Comments

opinion

Michael Sadgrove Extraverts and Introverts: a plea for understanding

David Keen Vicars – A Great Resource Squandered?

Brother Ivo Defending Lord Hope -different times, different understandings

Kelvin Holdsworth Beware of the Celibate

Giles Fraser The Guardian Superstition can’t be exorcised just by simply turning off the God switch

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opinion

Ian Paul How to save a diocese
Gillan Scott How to prevent the extinction of the Church of England
Jonathan Clatworthy Does the Church still need parishes?

Miranda Threlfall-Holmes Women in the Episcopate Bill gains Royal Assent

Sarah and Lindsey blogs at A Queer Calling When the Church’s “Welcome” to LGBT People Hurts

Neil Hodgson of the Liverpool Echo has been talking to Andrew Ware of church suppliers Hayes & Finch.

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Opinion

Ian Paul wrote Free healthcare cannot continue.

David Keen wrote The parish system: game over?

The Bishop of Durham Paul Butler has been writing about the Synod of Bishops in Rome, in a series of reflections which begin
here and continue
here
here
here and
here.

Update And part 6 is here.

Justin Welby has written in Prospect magazine Archbishop of Canterbury on dealing with ISIS and jihadism.

12 Comments

opinion

Jon Riding writes for Fulcrum about Bible in the Raw.

The Guardian has published a selection of readers’ pictures of Empty places of worship.

Giles Fraser writes in The Guardian that Jesus wasn’t much taken with biological kith and kin – he said we’re all family.
On the same topic Andrew Lightbown has written An open letter to Nigel Farage.

The Church Times has now published its complete list of the 100 best Christian books.

15 Comments

opinion

Richard Beck blogs at Experimental Theology about Faith as Quantum Superposition.

David Salisbury of Vanderbilt University asks Are the world’s religions ready for E.T.?

The Archbishop of Canterbury talks to the editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette, Canon Ian Ellis.

4 Comments

opinion

Marcus Borg Patheos A Christianity Co-Opted by Individualistic, Exclusivist Faith

Gillan Scott blogs Shock! Justin Welby admits that he believes in God

Charities Aid Foundation The Guardian The role of socially responsible investment in economic uncertainty

Karen Armstrong The Guardian The myth of religious violence

The Church Times has compiled its list of the 100 best Christian books. Yesterday (Friday) it revealed numbers 100 to 51. Numbers 50 to 11 and then 10 to 1 will be announced on 3 and 10 October.

8 Comments