Well, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is kicking off its quadrennial meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. (I wish my church would have the good sense to have its General Assembly in Jamaica, but I digress...) One of the items on the agenda is the decision to send the latest draft of the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant …
Book Review:J.I. Packer’s Affirming the Apostles’ Creed
J.I. Packer is one of the most eminent writers and theologians in the Anglican world. His claim to fame was sealed by his being defrocked by Michael Ingham, the revisionist Bishop of New Westminster whose sanctioning of same-sex blessings predates the American's ordination of V. Gene Robinson.  It's one of those things that, if he …
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Civil Marriage: Let’s Take This to the Next Level, Gene
Bishop of New Hampshire V. Gene Robinson is at it again: The first openly gay Episcopal bishop told a Los Angeles gathering yesterday that the church should begin mending divisions over the issue of same-sex marriage by getting out of the civil marriage business altogether. During a visit to St. Michael and All Angels Church, …
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Special to Jethro Tull Fans: When Prayers for Souls in Kentish Town Get Answered
Tull fans may remember this line from A Passion Play: We pray for souls in Kentish Town. Evidently someone's prayers along these lines got answered, as the former well-known sceptic A.N. Wilson attests: A week ago, there were Palm Sunday processions all over the world. Near my house in North London is a parish with …
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So Why, Gene Robinsion, Are You a Bishop?
He poses the problem: "Let's be honest, most of the discrimination ... has come at the hands of religious people, and the greatest single hindrance to the achievement of full civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people can be laid at the doorstep of the three Abrahamic faiths: Christianity, Judaism and Islam," Robinson …
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Rowan Williams’ Haunted England, or Why Europeans Aren’t Found In Church
Air travellers know that an "open jaw" itinerary is one where the destination from which you return is different than the one you departed to. My idea of an "open jaw" itinerary is one where you arrive at the airport to suddenly find your flight has been cancelled, so you stand with an open jaw...hopefully …
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The Ignorance of the Laity, in TEC and Elsewhere
A.S. Haley may have missed the unintentional humour of Judge Larry Schwartz in his decision favouring TEC in the case involving Grace Church and St. Stephens in Colorado. Part of his decision reads as follows: For one thing, it appears to be rare that parish members, induding members of the governing Vestry, know anything about the details …
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The Real Presence Won’t Get People Out of the Episcopal Church
Thad Stevens wonders why it's hard to get people out of the Episcopal Church: Most Common Cause parishes don’t compare favourably with neighbouring Episcopal parishes in worship and the Sacraments. In most cases, the problem isn’t due to size or limited financial resources, but to attitude–‘snake-belly’ low services and sloppy celebrations of the Eucharist don’t …
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Rewarding Rebellion, Episcopal Style
The Episcopal Bishop of Western Kansas has a point: Now I read that the "New" Diocese of Fort Worth passed a $632,466 dollar budget for a part-time bishop, a little over 19 priests and 62 delegates who represent way less than a thousand people, and $200,000 is from the General Convention budget!... If I, as …
The Gospel for Quinquagesima, Set to Music in French
The Gospel for Quinquagesima is on this wise: “Gathering the Twelve round him, Jesus said to them: “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem; and there everything that is written in the Prophets will be done to the Son of Man. For he will be given up to the Gentiles, mocked, insulted and spat upon; …
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Positive Infinity 