By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent — The London Times — July 11, 2004 The Church of England is in danger of suffering a seismic rift over the issue of homosexuality, the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, said yesterday. He called for church members to move on from the debate and concentrate on the Church's original task of converting the unbeliever. Dr Hope, leading a Bible study seminar at the summer meeting of the General Synod in York, said that the Church was "in d

From Rector and Vestry of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit — July 4, 2004 The Most Reverend Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, New York 10017 Dear Bishop Griswold: We, the vestry of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, are most distressed by the misapplication of Holy Scripture and the grievous distortions of the Gospel contained in your pastoral letter of June 23 to the Episcopal Church. In this obliquely worded

The Archbishop of Canterbury talks to Roy Hattersley about Tony Blair, war and God Sunday July 11, 2004 — The Observer Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England, possesses personal modesty and moral certainty in equal measure. Combined with the scholarly precision of his language and his unqualified belief in the message of the Gospels, those qualities make him reluctant to give glib answers to simplistic questions. They also enable him to express s

Each of Three Churches in Greater Akron Area Has Different View on What Is Acceptable By Colette M. Jenkins, Beacon Journal Religion Writer — July 11, 2004 On any given Sunday, you can hear the same prayers, readings, psalms and devotions at Church of Our Saviour, St. Luke's Episcopal Church and Hudson Anglican Fellowship. But while they all look like Episcopal churches — using the Book of Common Prayer as their primary guide for worship — there is something very different g

By Rod Minchin, PA News The Church of England today rejected moves to look at ways of overhauling clergy disciplinary procedures. The General Synod voted against a proposal to create heresy courts to deal with allegations of misconduct by the clergy. It was the first review of disciplinary procedures in relation to doctrine, ritual and ceremonial matters since 1963 and was designed to make the process simpler. Under the proposals, new heresy courts, headed by bishops and adv

News Analysis By David W. Virtue — Colorado Springs, July 10, 2004 Two orthodox ECUSA priests have charged two revisionist Colorado bishops with deception, "secret protocols" and perjury, with one bishop taunting the priests saying "present me if you dare" in response. The Rev. Don Armstrong and the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner have taken on the former Bishop of Colorado Jerry Winterrowd and the present incumbent Bishop Rob O'Neill in the press and a private letter, charging the

Clergy Exchange Volleys as Church Weighs Gay Rights By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News — July 10, 2004 A private same-sex ceremony in April between two Episcopalian women has escalated into charges of deception, "secret protocols" — and even a taunt of perjury against a retired Colorado bishop. "Jerry Winterrowd knew such covert blessings were being done," says the diocese's most outspoken leader of the traditional wing, the Rev. Don Armstrong. He argues that Winterrowd,

The Christian Challenge — June 26, 2004 A noted Anglo-Catholic Episcopal parish in the nation's capital has announced the visits next year of an outspokenly conservative Anglican provincial leader, followed by a liberal one — namely, Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. The invitation by the well known St. Paul's, K Street, Washington, to the presiding bishop — among other things the chief consecrator of openly homosexual Bishop Gene Robinson — raised some eyebrows amo

What Happens When Church and Culture Conspire to Ignore the Meaning of Words By Bob Wenz It's been almost nine months since two significant but seemingly unrelated events happened — events symbolized by two separate hills in our nation's capital. The U.S. Senate, in an overnight session, failed to muster a supermajority of 60 votes to break a filibuster over presidential nominations for the federal court bench. As a result, the minority in the Senate stonewalled four seemingl

Church of England Newspaper | July 8, 2004 Evangelical clergy are making plans to keep the Bishop of St. Albans out of their parishes following last Friday's controversial installation of Jeffrey John as Dean of St. Albans. The service to install Dr. John took place with only minor protests outside, but many evangelical clergy boycotted the service. The Bishop of St. Albans, Christopher Herbert, remained defiant, declaring in his sermon that the reality of the call to Christi

Church of England Newspaper | July 8, 2004 In the wake of claims that the Eames Commission has excluded the voices of gays and lesbians from its deliberations comes new word that internal tensions centering around its Steering Committee and staff may divide the Commission. Some members object to a perceived pursuit by the Commission's Steering Committee of "enlightened expediency" at the expense of truth. Non-Western members of the Commission are troubled that the steering co

By Tony Seel Dear Friends, There is a Russian parable that goes like this: A hunter raised his rifle and took careful aim at a large bear. The hunter was about to pull the trigger when the bear spoke in a soft, soothing voice: "Isn't it better to talk than shoot? What do you want? Let us negotiate the matter." Lowering his rifle, the hunter replied, "I want a fur coat." "Good," said the bear, "that is a negotiable question. I only want a full stomach, so let us negotiate a co

By Madeleine Collins | The Southern Cross The Sydney Standing Committee has bolstered the heavyweight pressure being put on the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lambeth Commission to penalise the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA) over the controversial appointment of Bishop V. Gene Robinson. After a lengthy debate in late May, the Standing Committee resolved to support the conservative primates of the Global South — representing two-thirds of the Communion — in their ca

by Euan Bear Out in the Mountains Vermont Bishop Thomas Ely met individually with press representatives in Montpelier to release three proposed rites for blessing same-gender unions. The liturgies are the fruit of more than a year's work by a task force appointed by the progressive Vermont bishop. The released document is called "A Report to the Bishop and People of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont from the Task Force on the Blessing of Persons Living in Same-Gender Relations

Christian Institute News Release, 7th July 2004 Earlier this afternoon David Blunkett launched an astonishing attack on Christians throughout the UK. Announcing a new policy to criminalise 'incitement to hatred', the Home Secretary has implied that he wants to clamp down on the beliefs of evangelical Christians. David Blunkett has resurrected the proposed law after it was thrown out in 2001 by the House of Lords. At the time evangelical Christians raised alarm that the incite

ACiNW News Release http://www.acinw.org/ July 7, 2004 VANCOUVER — A group of North Vancouver Anglicans struggling to restore democracy in their parish have decided to drop legal action against the Bishop of New Westminster for firing its elected church trustees in September 2003. The parishioners of St. Martin's Anglican Church in North Vancouver say they prefer to use resources for ministry instead of a court battle, adding that even a favourable court judgment would not lik

An Interview with Archbishop John Hepworth, Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion By David W. Virtue BEDFORD, TX--He's been in the top job for little more than a year, but already he is flexing his ecclesiastical muscle and showing that he is made of the right stuff. He is tall, imposing, and has the right bearing for an Anglo-Catholic Archbishop. He travels extensively, hobnobs comfortably with world class religious leaders, is politically astute, and he is positioni

In recent weeks, ACNS has received a large number of queries about the progress of the Lambeth Commission on Communion (LCC). ACNS managed to catch up with the Chair of the Commission, the Most Revd Robin Eames, as he passed through St. Andrew's House this week. He agreed to give some personal reflections on the work of the Commission, given that it is impossible for him or the Secretary of the Commission to respond to the large number of individual enquiries that we have rec

Warren Throckmorton, PhD July 3, 2004 Are your kids safe at school? In the space of three days, two independent reports have questioned the safety of the nation's schools. First, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educators Network (GLSEN) released a report on June 28 which gave 42 states failing grades on policies designed to ensure safe schools for all students. Then, June 30, the Department of Education released the widely quoted report concerning educator sexual misconduct sug

Sterling Fox, CKNW, Corus Radio Network across Canada July 3, 2004 Fox: A couple of Anglican parishes in the British Columbia diocese of New Westminster (which is the Greater Vancouver area) who are being threatened with eviction from their churches because of their disagreement with the diocese and the bishop, of course, on the matter of same-sex marriages. Ed Hird is the acting Media Director of the Anglican Communion in Canada. He's also the Rector of St. Simon's Church in