Some More (unAmerican) Thoughts on Rwanda, AMiA and Chuck Murphy

A few days ago, as this story was breaking, I made some comments based on my experience with African oversight and church politics.   Since that time AMiA Bishop Chuck Murphy has made the break and there is all kinds of back and forth on this issue, I keep feeling compelled to say more, because this …

AMiA Bishop Chuck Murphy's Moment of Truth

Seems another wearer of the purple shirt is getting an offer he can't refuse: The head of the Anglican Mission in America has been threatened with ecclesiastical discipline for contumacy.  Unless Bishop Chuck Murphy repents of his disobedience and apologizes for his offensive statements within seven days, the Rwanda House of Bishops will assume that …

Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols

This year's Chattanooga Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols will be presented by the Roueché Chorale and Orchestra on Friday, December 9 at 7:00 pm at First Baptist Church, 401 Gateway Avenue, down-town Chattanooga.  Prelude music will begin at 6:40 pm. The only way to describe this performance is jaw dropping.  You'll need to get …

TAC Archbishop John Hepworth's Tough Trip to the Bottom

The Catholic Church will allow him to come to Rome as a layman: John Hepworth, the Archbishop of the Adelaide-based Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), will be received back into the Roman Catholic Church, but only as a layman. Sources say Hepworth was given a letter from Rome by the hand of Melbourne Archbishop Denis J. …

A Couple of Things Worth Remembering About Advent

Today is the First Sunday in Advent, and along with all of the coverage of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the plethora of Christmas stuff around, we're also presented with another way of celebrating the time before the birth of Our Saviour: Advent.  The first season in the liturgical calendar, this year promises to be …

Pat Robertson Isn't Correct on Divorce and Alzheimers

Not this time: Pat Robertson advised a viewer of yesterday's 700 Club to avoid putting a "guilt trip" on those who want to divorce a spouse with Alzheimer's. During the show's advice segment, a viewer asked Robertson how she should address a friend who was dating another woman "because his wife as he knows her …

The Perils of Any "Renewal Movement" Staying in an Established Church

John Richarson, the Ugley Vicar, has his doubts about the course of Anglican Evangelicalism after the "Keele" commitment to stay within in the Church of England: When I was a young trainee clergyman (just six years on from Keele), the phrase going round was that we were ‘in it to win it’. In other words, …

They Don't Call Them "Main Line" Churches for Nothing

It's got the liberal Episcopal blog The Lead scratching its head: There was news last month that contrary to most people's expectation, the more educated an American is, the more likely that person is to attend church regularly. So why are the mainstream churches in the U.S. losing membership across the board? Apparently it's because …

After the Palm Beach Season: Sometimes It Pays to Stay on the Island

A few "snowbirds" are finding this out the hard way: Palm Beacher Jessie Araskog said Saturday she and her husband, Rand, decided to evacuate their Southampton home and get a suite at the St. Regis hotel in Manhattan. “We are all boarded up and ready for the storm," Araskog said. Jessie Araskog said her daughter, …

Evangelical Christianity, the Perpetual Road Trip

The recent death of John Stott has given people who are normally hostile to Evangelical Christianity an opportunity to say some good things about an individual whose high place in the movement is deserved.  Such praise is generally joined with criticism of those who had the bad taste to carry the movement into the political …

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