From the Church Times THE CHOIR of St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney will not proceed with a planned tour of churches in the United States, in response to the consecration of Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. The tour, which had been scheduled for April, was to have been in conjunction with a tour by the St Andrew's Cathedral School orchestra, and was to have included engagements in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Phillip Heath, the head of the

By the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner Dr. Ephraim Radner responds to Mark Harris's article Contending with Anglican Realignment As Paul Zahl, the Dean of Advent Cathedral in Birmingham recently said, the accusation of "homophobia" when once leveled within our church at a Christian interlocutor, has the effect of stopping conversation cold and, with a little manipulation, tainting reputations and spoiling careers. It is also grossly unfair when used, in the present debate over the pr

By Jacinthia Jones February 22, 2004 Promoting the themes of unity and reconciliation, Episcopalians from across West Tennessee refused Saturday to back efforts that would have distanced the local diocese from actions taken by the national church. On the final day of the diocese's annual convention meeting here, clergy and lay delegates passed a resolution supporting Bishop Don Johnson "in his leadership and commitment to unity." The church vote calls for Johnson to formulate

By Rachel Harden CHURCH TIMES ANGLICAN leaders across the world were warned this week to stop taking "precipitate action or legal proceedings" because of conflicting views over homosexuality. The warning came from the Eames Commission, also known as the Lambeth Commission, which met for the first time last week, under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Robin Eames. It is considering how divisions over this and other issues will affect the Anglican Communion. The

By Staff Reporter Belfast Telegraph 20 February 2004 THE major Anglican Commission chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames in the aftermath of the controversy involving homosexual bishops has called for a period of calm. The Commission on Anglican Structures, which met for the first time at St George's, Windsor, for three full days last week, has issued a statement requesting all members of the worldwide Anglican Communion "to refrain from any precipitate action, or legal proceedin

CAMBRIDGE, USA, February 27 (CNA) - A Catholic Harvard University law professor says all U.S. citizens should welcome President George W. Bush's endorsement of a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, based on the implications of same-sex marriage. In an article on same-sex marriage released Feb. 25, Mary Ann Glendon argues that same-sex marriage is not a civil rights issue, but a movement for special preference. She states that it will impair childr

News Analysis By David W. Virtue The new bishop of New Hampshire V. Gene Robinson said in a sermon in Chicago honoring the 200-year old ordination of Absalom Jones the first African-American priest ordained in the Episcopal Church, that his own oppression as a gay man is equal to that of "people of color." "The real sin, of course, of any oppression is making an object out of another human being. Treating people as if they were a commodity, an it. Slavery, of course, being th

4/25/2004 I was going to analyze Frank Griswold's letter, dated December 19, 2003, to the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. But as I read it, something gradually occurred to me. I'd read it before. Frank to the Patriarch: I write to you with a heavy heart, having reviewed the November 17 press release from the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church and having pondered it in my prayers for many weeks. I know that our bonds of fraternal

2/24/2004 Canon Edward Norman has written a scathing attack on the Church of England and is converting to Catholicism. Damian Thompson meets him "My new book is not actually a criticism of the Church of England," says Canon Edward Norman, chancellor of York Minster, choosing his words with donnish precision. Edward Norman: 'men are interested in truth, ideas, sin, wickedness and virtue'. Is he serious? Two minutes later, he declares: "There is a big hole at the centre of Angl

From: Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy An Anglican cleric who led the protest against the blessing of same-sex unions is to address Church of Ireland clergy in the coming week. The Rev. David Short, rector of St John's, Shaughnessy, Vancouver, made his protest after his Bishop in the Canadian diocese of New Westminster permitted rites for so-called 'gay marriages'. His parish, along with ten others, formed a coalition, the Anglican Communion in New Westminster (ACiNW),

Enemy-occupied territory – that is what the world is. When you go to church you are really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going. - C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity, II-2 Spin Can Make You Dizzy A diabolical communiqué, intercepted by Gerry Hunter From the Desk of the Undersecretary for Ecclesiastical Affairs My Dear Dogwood, I doubt that you realize what a lucky devil you are. In fact, your recent beh

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II criticized the media saying they often give a positive depiction of extramarital sex, contraception, abortion and homosexuality that is harmful to society. The pontiff, in a statement issued ahead of the Church's World Communications Day in May, urged the media to promote traditional family life. "All communication has a moral dimension," his statement said. "People grow or diminish in moral stature by the words which they speak and the messag

Recently, I was asked to hold the funeral of a close friend and 83-year-old colleague, Glenn. The end of a life is always a sobering thing, but in Glenn's case, it was a privilege to bury him. As we sang the old spiritual "There is a Balm in Gilead," his widow, Marlys, bent over his open casket, took his hands in hers, and kissed him goodbye. Six hundred people were in the room, and there was not a dry eye. But it was not just because we were watching a farewell. Here was a c

Speaking Out: Why Gay Marriage Would Be Harmful Institutionalizing homosexual marriage would be bad for marriage, bad for children, and bad for society. By Robert Benne and Gerald McDermott Christianity Today Now that the Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that marriage be open to gays and lesbians, it is time to consider the question that pops up more than mushrooms after a spring rain. How would the legalization of gay marriage harm current and future heterosexual marria

The Passion of Mel Gibson Why evangelicals are cheering a movie with profoundly Catholic sensibilities. by David Neff 02/20/04 In the history of modern evangelical enthusiasms, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ seems to be joining WWJD bracelets and Promise Keepers' conferences as cultural markers. At first it seemed like it might just be a quirky art film: a film about Jesus' passion using only Aramaic and Latin-and with no subtitles. But what started out as news of the

The Anglican Inheritance and the Church Catholic Cheryl H. White, Ph.D. "We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church." We repeat those words every Sunday when we stand together to recite the Nicene Creed. What it means to be a part of the church catholic holds a renewed and special meaning for Anglicans today because of the crisis issues that face us. It is our unique Anglican heritage that allows us to lay claim to the historic faith we profess in that creed. So wha

AS EYE SEE IT. Tensions and threats abound at West Tennessee Convention by Jeff Marx The Diocese of West Tennessee had its convention this past weekend. Bishop Don E. Johnson, who voted against Robinson, continues to verbalize the theme of unity. In an emotionally powerful image he recounted a rabbinical story about Abraham's call. The point of the story was that Abraham responded to God with one request, "I will go where you send me if I can bring my family with me." Bishop

Women could become 'second class' bishops By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent THE TELEGRAPH 2/24/2004) Women could be barred from becoming Archbishops, and may not even be allowed to run dioceses, under official plans to consecrate them as bishops. An unpublished Church of England report will suggest the reform may be acceptable to conservatives only if women are merely allowed to climb on to the first rung of the ladder by becoming "junior" bishops. The proposal will s

Ash Wednesday, 2004 Learning to Live with an Audience of One Rev. R. William Dickson St. John the Divine, Houston, TX Introduction: There's a quip about public speaking which I have always found quite startling and provocative. It goes this way – "The first thing an inexperienced novice speaker does upon being invited to speak somewhere is to inquire about the topic – 'What is it I am to talk about?'; but the first thing a really expert speaker asks is 'Who is my audience?" I

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjack's wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! Cheap grace is the prea