Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Episcopalians and Presbyterians Growing Closer
The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. agreed to move forward with a dialogue with The Episcopal Church aimed at encouraging closer relationships between congregations. The agreement, which must be approved by The Episcopal Church's 76th General Convention next year, would permit Presbyterian and Episcopal clergy to perform ministerial functions in each other’s congregations “when requested and approved by the diocesan bishop and local presbytery.” It stops short of a full communion agreement like the one that The Episcopal Church signed with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2000. Under the polity of the Presbyterian Church, the General Assembly action must be ratified by a simple majority of the denomination’s 173 regional presbyteries. That ratification is expected to be completed by the General Assembly’s next meeting in 2010. Bishop Christopher Epting, the Presiding Bishop’s deputy for ecumenical and interreligious relations, described the agreement as “the way to take one step forward on the local level” which eventually “helps advance the whole ecumenical cause.”
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
A Bishop Who Won't be at Lambeth
Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyr Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho triumphed over suffering and was faithful even to death: Grant us, who now remember him in thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
BBC: Archbishop's Body Found in Iraq
BBC: Archbishop's Body Found in Iraq
Under One Week Until Lambeth
We are now under one week until this decade's Lambeth Conference, the 10-yearly meeting of nearly all the bishops of the global Anglican communion (representing around 80 million Christians) to pray, study, fellowship and discuss issues of concern in the communion. More than 650 bishops are expected to attend the gathering at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England.
According to the Lambeth website, a particular focus will be on equipping the bishop as enabler and encourager of God’s people in their purpose and mission. Other issues of large concern are stated as safeguarding God's creation, engaging a multi-faith world, and living under scripture. I hope, indeed, that these are some of the primary concerns of the gathering, but you'd have to be asleep or not paying attention to not realize that the homosexual question promises to be of great concern as well. Archbishop Rowan Williams is hoping (for good reason) that it doesn't completely take over the conference, but it seems like the communion can't wait another ten years for a strong decision so something will probably have to happen. At the last Lambeth conference, the bishops voted overwhelmingly that homosexuallity was not compatible with scripture or Anglican teaching, but that appartently wasn't enough to put the issue to bed.
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA Katharine Jefferts Schori has called for prayer leading up to the conference, and I can't imagine a better thing to call for. The Presiding Bishop suggested the prayer for the Church from page 515 of the Book of Common Prayer:
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Please join me and the millions of other Episcopals and Anglicans the next days as the conference gets ready to begin.
According to the Lambeth website, a particular focus will be on equipping the bishop as enabler and encourager of God’s people in their purpose and mission. Other issues of large concern are stated as safeguarding God's creation, engaging a multi-faith world, and living under scripture. I hope, indeed, that these are some of the primary concerns of the gathering, but you'd have to be asleep or not paying attention to not realize that the homosexual question promises to be of great concern as well. Archbishop Rowan Williams is hoping (for good reason) that it doesn't completely take over the conference, but it seems like the communion can't wait another ten years for a strong decision so something will probably have to happen. At the last Lambeth conference, the bishops voted overwhelmingly that homosexuallity was not compatible with scripture or Anglican teaching, but that appartently wasn't enough to put the issue to bed.
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA Katharine Jefferts Schori has called for prayer leading up to the conference, and I can't imagine a better thing to call for. The Presiding Bishop suggested the prayer for the Church from page 515 of the Book of Common Prayer:
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Please join me and the millions of other Episcopals and Anglicans the next days as the conference gets ready to begin.
Thoughts on the Jerusalem Declaration / GAFCON
Here are NT Wright's and JI Packer's response to GAFCON (Global Anglican Futures Conference) and the Jerusalem Declaration. They are remarkably different opinions from two very wise men, and worth a close read.
GAFCON was a seven day conference of conservative Anglican bishops and leaders which was held in Jerusalem last week. The conference was planned to occur one month prior to the Lambeth Conference, the ten-yearly gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world. It is primarily aimed at Anglican leaders who consider themselves to be in impaired communion with the global church because of the consecration in 2003 of openly homosexual bishop Gene Robinson by the Episcopal Church in the United States.
GAFCON was a seven day conference of conservative Anglican bishops and leaders which was held in Jerusalem last week. The conference was planned to occur one month prior to the Lambeth Conference, the ten-yearly gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world. It is primarily aimed at Anglican leaders who consider themselves to be in impaired communion with the global church because of the consecration in 2003 of openly homosexual bishop Gene Robinson by the Episcopal Church in the United States.
The Jerusalem Declaration
In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit:
We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, have met in the land of Jesus’ birth. We express our loyalty as disciples to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus. We joyfully embrace his command to proclaim the reality of his kingdom which he first announced in this land. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of salvation, liberation and transformation for all. In light of the above, we agree to chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world, solemnly declaring the following tenets of orthodoxy which underpin our Anglican identity.
We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.
We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.
We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Saviour from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.
We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.
We recognise that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world. We uphold the classic Anglican Ordinal as an authoritative standard of clerical orders.
We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.
We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptise, teach and bring new believers to maturity.
We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation, to uphold and advocate justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.
We are committed to the unity of all those who know and love Christ and to building authentic ecumenical relationships. We recognise the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice, and we encourage them to join us in this declaration.
We celebrate the God-given diversity among us which enriches our global fellowship, and we acknowledge freedom in secondary matters. We pledge to work together to seek the mind of Christ on issues that divide us.
We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.
We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus’ coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.
We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, have met in the land of Jesus’ birth. We express our loyalty as disciples to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus. We joyfully embrace his command to proclaim the reality of his kingdom which he first announced in this land. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of salvation, liberation and transformation for all. In light of the above, we agree to chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world, solemnly declaring the following tenets of orthodoxy which underpin our Anglican identity.
We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.
We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.
We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Saviour from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.
We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.
We recognise that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world. We uphold the classic Anglican Ordinal as an authoritative standard of clerical orders.
We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.
We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptise, teach and bring new believers to maturity.
We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation, to uphold and advocate justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.
We are committed to the unity of all those who know and love Christ and to building authentic ecumenical relationships. We recognise the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice, and we encourage them to join us in this declaration.
We celebrate the God-given diversity among us which enriches our global fellowship, and we acknowledge freedom in secondary matters. We pledge to work together to seek the mind of Christ on issues that divide us.
We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.
We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus’ coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.
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