Last year this blog featured Frederick Gere and Milton Williams' The Winds of God, which was one of the earliest Episcopal "folk Masses" produced. Attempting to break out of the traditional Episcopal mould of music, the folk Mass featured several types of music. One of them was the Nicene Creed, where choir director Milton Williams …
Rowan Williams' Dismissial of Western Christians' Persecution is Premature
The man who couldn't stay ahead of the realities of the Anglican Communion is a little behind the curve on this one too: Lord Williams said religious believers should be wary of complaining about their treatment in the Western world, with those claiming they are "persecuted" making him "very uneasy". He added the level of …
Continue reading "Rowan Williams' Dismissial of Western Christians' Persecution is Premature"
Global Citizen. Really?
It's the goal of @pbenedictii, the new Headmaster of my old Episcopal prep school, St. Andrew's in Boca Raton: Q. What would you say is your priority? A. We have to prepare our students to be global citizens and will change the curriculum to understand that citizenship. Meanwhile across town we have the blog of …
Genteel Episcopalianism is Indeed Gone: A Family View
@markdtooley documents it well: Former U.S. Senator Harry Byrd, Jr. was buried on Saturday in Winchester Virginia after a brief funeral at Christ Episcopal Church, with which the Byrd dynasty was long associated. Presiding at the funeral was his former colleague retired U.S. Senator John Danforth, an ordained Episcopal clergyman who also presided at President Reagan’s …
Continue reading "Genteel Episcopalianism is Indeed Gone: A Family View"
On Councils, FiFNA, Icons and Intercession
One of the more recent kerfuffles in the Anglican world surrounds the recently adopted statement of belief by FiFNA (Forward in Faith North America for those who aren't nourished on the Anglican alphabet soup), the Anglo-Catholic organisation. The point of controversy is #8, which affirms that the (first) Seven Ecumenical Councils are in fact "ecumenical …
Continue reading "On Councils, FiFNA, Icons and Intercession"
Leaving Liberal Churches: Where the Treasure Is
Over at Patheos, Connor Wood wonders why: Liberal Protestantism is dying. Rod Dreher says so in a recent column in The American Conservative, and the statistics back him up: for decades, liberal and mainline Protestantism has been on the decline in the US, with some denominations (such as the United Church of Christ) losing adherents …
Continue reading "Leaving Liberal Churches: Where the Treasure Is"
The Most Sensible Response of the Churches to Same-Sex Civil Marriage
It is to pitch officiating civil marriages altogether, as the Sikhs in the UK are being advised: Sikh temples have been advised to halt all civil marriage ceremonies on their premises to protect them from possible legal challenges for refusing to conduct same-sex weddings. It is the first example of a religious group altering its …
Continue reading "The Most Sensible Response of the Churches to Same-Sex Civil Marriage"
High Church is One Thing, but Trashing the Nautilus is a Mistake
It would make sense that a Reformed person such as Steven Wedgeworth would pan an article on the revival of "high church". After all, who else to trash "high church" but the people who pitched the liturgy to start with? It would move the debate forward if a definition of "high church" would be agreed …
Continue reading "High Church is One Thing, but Trashing the Nautilus is a Mistake"
The Chickens Come Home to Roost for the Church of England
There's a lot going on these days; the problem for me is that most of it either doesn't deserve comment or I've already done it before. The topic at hand falls into the latter category, but it probably deserves a little recap. Liberals like Mark Harris like to remind us from time to time that …
Continue reading "The Chickens Come Home to Roost for the Church of England"
Why Both Lewis and Tolkien Were Both Wrong on Marriage
Christianity Today's piece on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien on marriage is making the rounds, especially in the wake on SCOTUS's boffo performance on same-sex civil marriage. CT's take is that Lewis was wrong and Tolkien was right, but unfortunately things aren't that simple. CT's analysis (coming as it does from an Evangelical publication) reminds …
Continue reading "Why Both Lewis and Tolkien Were Both Wrong on Marriage"
Positive Infinity 