Devotional: My God, I love Thee...

My God, I love Thee --

not because I hope for heaven thereby,
Nor yet because who love Thee not must die eternally.
Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me upon the Cross embrace;
For me didst nails and spear endure, and manifold disgrace.
Why, then why, O blessed Jesus Christ,

should I not love Thee well?
Not for the hope of winning heaven, or of escaping hell--
Not with the hope of gaining aught, nor seeking a reward,
But as Thyself hast loved me, O ever-loving Lord!
E'en then I love Thee and will love, and in Thy praise will sing
Solely because Thou art my God and my eternal King.
... Anonymous Latin Hymn, attrib. Francis Xavier image

Walk On

Why I Left the Episcopal Church to Remain an Anglican

One priest's story of (dis)obedience
by Matt Burnett

I serve a 4-year-old church in northern Colorado Springs planted outside The Episcopal Church, and am awaiting the latest word on the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado’s decision to depose me—to officially un-ordain me, even though they willingly transferred me to the Province of Rwanda years ago. Now, that province and its mission organization, the Anglican Mission in America, are part of a move to create a new Anglican province in North America.

This isn’t quite what I had envisioned when I felt a call to ordained ministry as a teenager, nor when I attended seminary as a 41-year-old.

What has happened? And what does the new province mean for my current province of Rwanda, my flock, my family, and myself? the rest

(h/t TitusOneNine)

Double-edged verdict in California court ruling

Wednesday, 7th January 2009
By George Conger

The California Supreme Court has issued a double-edged verdict in the Episcopal Church property cases, handing both the Diocese of Los Angeles and three breakaway parishes a defeat in their bids to control disputed church properties.

By a vote of 6 to 0 --- with the seventh judge issuing a separate opinion that agreed with the ruling but rejected the legal arguments of the majority --- the California Supreme Court rejected the Episcopal Church’s arguments that the state must defer to the church in adjudicating church property disputes. The judges held that California courts must use “neutral principles” of law to resolve church property dispute --- giving no deference to claims made by the church hierarchy not found in the underlying title and corporate charters.

“To the extent the court can resolve a property dispute without reference to church doctrine, it should apply neutral principles of law,” the court held. “The court should consider sources such as the deeds to the property in dispute, the local church’s articles of incorporation, the general church’s constitution, canons, and rules, and relevant statutes, including statutes specifically concerning religious property.” the rest

British Schools Giving Morning After Pill to Girls as Young as 11, Without Parents

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 5, 2009

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Secondary schools in England are under fire for giving the morning after pill to girls as young as 11 years old without the knowledge of their parents. Norman Wells, director of campaign group Family Education Trust, obtained the information from the health department under the Freedom of Information Act.

The information shows that, in Oxfordshire alone, school-based health clinics have given 1,081 Plan B pills to schoolgirls in the last six years.

Staff at the more than 1,000 clinics throughout the UK are not required to obtain parental permission before giving girls the drug, which can cause an abortions in some circumstances if taken after conception. the rest

Translating “Dégenerations”: From Québec with Love

By Paul Allen
Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Mes Aïeux is a Québec folk-music troupe—with a difference. Based in cosmopolitan Montreal, the group evokes strong memories of the history of French-speaking Québecois in a song entitled “Dégenerations.”

The song’s title is a play on words, evoking the decline and decay of Québecois society. It eventually became a sensation, but when it first came out its politically incorrect lyrics made it the object of an unoffical media ban. While the song lauds the festive impulse of dancing, it refers critically to abortion, spurns TV, gives unequivocal praise to their ancestors’ (les aïeux) high birthrates, and pours scorn on the new culture of empty nests.

Musicians and artists are often the first to see irony and tragedy in a social crisis. “Dégenerations” highlights a recent social shift in Québec, a reaction against the 1960s consensus. There is a new angst over the goals and assumptions that drove the province headlong into secular modernity, the so-called Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. the rest

Don't Let Them Die Alone

Hospice care spirituality would benefit from greater Christian engagement.
A Christianity Today editorial
1/06/2009

Spiritual seekers seek till the very end of life, demonstrated a recent New York Times piece about the friendships between "spiritual but not religious" hospice patients and their chaplains. As hospice care has become an affordable, dignifying end-of-life choice in recent decades (the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization says that 38 percent of deaths last year were in hospice) the demand for hospice chaplains has boomed. The Association of Professional Chaplains reports a 50 percent jump in the last 10 years of the number of U.S. hospice chaplains.
Chaplaincy culture has changed, too. What was once a field of ordained clergy is now filled by many who see it more as social work than a divine calling.

No matter chaplains' motives, the benefit of spiritual support in the last days is undeniable, something the medical community plainly recognizes. Serving alongside nurses, counselors, and home health aides, chaplains "are the patient's advocate," says Phil Kenyon, an Illinois resident taking chaplaincy training at Vitas, a national accreditation program. "You are showing a dying person dignity and love that in some cases, they may never have received in their lives." the rest

Bishop Martyn Minns: 'Principle, not property'

Anglican Bishop Martyn Minns says parishes leaving the Episcopal Church are prepared to forfeit their facilities
Lynn Vincent
January 06, 2009

Bad news travels fast. Though tucked away at a clerical retreat in Nigeria, it took only a flash of electrons for Anglican Bishop Martyn Minns to receive news of the California Supreme Court’s property dispute ruling against St. James parish in the city of Newport Beach, Calif. The court on Monday ruled that the congregation, whose facility overlooks luxury yachts afloat on Lido Channel, must surrender that property to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

St. James is one of about 100 U.S. Episcopal congregations that in recent years have split with the national church hierarchy, first over the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson, a openly practicing homosexual, then over the larger, evolving issue of homosexuality and the church.

Leaders in the Los Angeles diocese quickly suggested that Monday’s ruling might have a “chilling” effect on other congregations considering leaving the national church. But Minns disagrees.

Minns is missionary bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a group of more than 70 congregations and 150 clergy in 21 states. Founded in 2005, CANA was established as a diocese-like home for breakaway U.S. Anglican churches. The group includes 11 Virginia churches that last month prevailed in the largest U.S. property dispute in Episcopal Church history.
the rest

‘Secret’ University of Wisconsin plans for mid-term abortion clinic revealed

Madison, WI
Jan 7, 2009

CNA- Newly publicized plans for the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics to perform second-trimester abortions in a jointly-operated clinic have attracted protest from employees of the clinic and the Alliance Defense Fund. The pro-life group claims the “secret and potentially illegal plans” would likely compel pro-life medical professionals to cooperate in unethical acts and could provide fetal remains for medical research.

The plans, made public by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) on Tuesday, show that University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UWHC) is planning a full-service second-trimester abortion practice at the Madison Surgery Center. The center is a joint venture of UWHC, UW Medical Foundation, and Meriter Hospital and currently does not provide any services related to abortion. the rest

Scandalous Homosexuality-Affirming Milwaukee Middle School

Boy, 6, Misses Bus, Takes Mom's Car Instead

10-Mile Trip to Va. School Ends With Crash but Without Injury
By Tom Jackman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The word "miracle" can be overused. But when a 6-year-old boy drives a Ford Taurus for more than 10 miles, weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, slams into a utility pole and no one gets hurt, well, maybe miracle is appropriate.

That's what happened on Virginia's Northern Neck on Monday morning, when the first-grader missed his school bus and decided to drive his mom's car to elementary school so he wouldn't miss breakfast and PE, authorities said yesterday. the rest

Why Christian Colleges Are Thriving

January 6, 2009
By George Marsden

Evangelical colleges and universities have been thriving. According to the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the one hundred or so "intentionally Christ-centered institutions" that they count among their affiliates have been growing at a remarkably faster rate than have other major sorts of American colleges and universities. From 1990 to 2004, all public four-year campuses grew by about 13%, all independent four year campuses (including many schools with broad religious or denominational connections) grew by about 28%. But schools associated with the CCCU grew by nearly 71%.

One factor contributing to this growth is that these schools offer the sort of coherent educational experience that has become increasingly difficult to find elsewhere in American higher education. By way of contrast, consider Harry R. Lewis's, Excellence Without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education (2006). Lewis, former Dean of Harvard College, laments that Harvard is driven by so many competing careerist and ideological interests that there is little attention either in the curriculum or among faculty (who are rewarded only for scholarship) to fostering healthy personal and moral growth among its students. If that is the case at Harvard, one can imagine the incoherence of the educational experience at the huge state universities and the many community colleges where the vast majority of America's collegians get their degrees. Most of what students study involves practical skills in preparation for careers. Liberal arts are incidental to most undergraduate experience. The best hope for "community" is found in fraternities and sororities or more likely just in a dorm containing many sub-groups of those who happen to find common recreational interests. the rest

Commentary: Rick Warren foes aren't practicing tolerance

By Jordan Lorence
Special to CNN
January 6, 2009

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (CNN) -- Proponents of redefining marriage couldn't wait for the new president to be sworn in before demanding that he erase from the inauguration ceremony a prominent American who disagrees with them.

The target of their rhetorical bombardment is Rick Warren, the popular Christian pastor from Southern California.

President-elect Barack Obama has asked Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. Not so fast, cries Kathryn Kolbert, head of People for the American Way, an organization that claims to advance equality and freedom of speech and religion (but not for Rick Warren and those who agree with his marriage views) in a piece published on CNN.com.

Warren's grave sin? Along with 52 percent of California voters, he supported California's Proposition 8, which affirmed the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.

What a radical! the rest

Devotional: There are times when you cannot understand...

"Peter said unto Him, Lord, why cannot I follow Thee now?" John 13:37

There are times when you cannot understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings the blank space, see that you do not fill it in, but wait. The blank space may come in order to teach you what sanctification means, or it may come after sanctification to teach you what service means. Never run before God's guidance. If there is the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt - don't.

In the beginning you may see clearly what God's will is - the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, something you feel distinctly before God is His will for you to do, never do it on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will end in making difficulties that will take years of time to put right. Wait for God's time to bring it round and He will do it without any heartbreak or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move.

Peter did not wait on God, he forecast in his mind where the test would come, and the test came where he did not expect it. "I will lay down my life for Thy sake." Peter's declaration was honest but ignorant. "Jesus answered him ...The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied Me thrice." This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself, of what he was capable. Natural devotion may be all very well to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His fascination, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will always deny Jesus somewhere or other.

...Oswald Chambers image

Four Am Law 200 Firms on California Episcopal Church Case

January 6, 2009
by Zach Lowe

When litigation is simmering nationwide, people tend to look to California for guidance. On Monday, that state's Supreme Court ruled that three breakaway Episcopal churches--offended by the parent church's 2003 decision to ordain a gay bishop--forfeited their property rights when they affiliated with a different parent church, according to the ruling and this recap from the Los Angeles Times.

The ruling was a win for two Am Law 200 attorneys who argued the case: John Shiner of Holme, Roberts & Owen, representing the Los Angeles diocese, and Heather Anderson of Goodwin Procter, representing the U.S. Episcopal Church. (A team from Weil, Gotshal & Manges submitted an amicus brief on the behalf of the U.S. Presbyterian Church--another parent church concerned about losing property to breakaway parishes.) the rest

A Lambeth triumph for Dr. Williams, but the splits go on

by George Conger
January 5, 2005

Lambeth, Gafcon and the American church’s legal wrangling topped the international church news in 2008.

Designed to avoid controversy, Lambeth 2008 set out to make no statements, take no stands, and avoid provoking new conflict within the Anglican Communion. By its own lights, the July 14 to Aug 3 meeting at the University of Kent in Canterbury was a triumph for its organizer and host, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, for during those three weeks the oft foretold crack up of the Anglican Communion did not happen.

While Lambeth was not by schisms rent asunder or heresies distressed—no anti-Popes set up residence in Abuja to preside over rival Communion as a result of the July gathering—functionally the tear in the fabric of the church begun in 2003 was all but completed. A third of the bishops—representing over two thirds of the communion’s active members—refused Dr. Williams’ invitation, even as the Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson was prevented from defending himself before the assembled bishops in Canterbury. the rest

Press Release: California Supreme Court Decision on Anglican Churches

January 5th, 2009

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – January 5, 2009 – The California Supreme Court today ruled in Episcopal Church Cases that church property disputes must be resolved by “neutral principles of law,” not by civil courts merely deferring to the decrees of church “hierarchies.” This ruling has wide and favorable impact for churches throughout California that seek to change their denominational affiliation.

While adopting this “non-religious” method of resolving property disputes between churches, the Court seemed to defer to the Episcopal Church’s alleged “trust canon,” which purports to create a trust interest in church property owned by local congregations. The Court made its ruling despite the fact that St. James Anglican Church, Newport Beach, purchased and maintained its property with its own funds and has held clear record title to its property for over fifty years. the rest

Vatican Newspaper Publishes Article Detailing Birth Control Pill as Cause of Abortion and Cancer

By Hilary White
ROME, January 5, 2009

(LifeSiteNews.com) – The Vatican’s official newspaper has caused a media storm in the European press with an article asserting the abortifacient and carcinogenic effects of hormonal contraceptives.

The Italian edition of L’Osservatore Romano carries an article this week on a report by the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) that was created to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the encyclical Humanae Vitae, the document by Pope Paul VI that reiterated the Catholic Church’s teaching on artificial birth control.

Pedro José María Simón Castellví, the president of FIAMC, wrote that “the means of contraception violate at least five important rights: the right to life, the right to health, the right to education, all right to information (their spread is at the expense of information on natural resources) and the right to equality between the sexes (the burden of contraception falls mostly on women).” the rest

In a Quiet Rebellion, Parishioners Keep the Faith

By ABBY GOODNOUGH
January 5, 2009

SCITUATE, Mass. — There are sleeping bags in the sacristy at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church and reclining chairs in the vestibule, but no one here gets too relaxed. “Please be ever vigilant!” a sign by the door warns, and the parishioners who have occupied the church since it closed more than four years ago take it as seriously as a commandment.

St. Frances was among dozens of churches that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston decided to close and sell in 2004, not least because of financial turmoil made worse by the abuse scandal in the clergy. But while most churches closed without a fight, parishioners at St. Frances, a brick A-frame on a wooded hill, and at four other churches rebelled.

For 1,533 days, the group at St. Frances has taken turns guarding the building around the clock so that the archdiocese cannot lock them out and put it up for sale. They call it a vigil, but by now it is more of a lifestyle. the rest

Spain Is a Key Battleground for Church’s Future

By RACHEL DONADIO
January 5, 2009

VALLADOLID, Spain — The Macías Picavea primary school hardly looks like the seat of revolution. But this unassuming brick building in a sleepy industrial town has become a battleground in an intensifying war between church and state in Spain.

In an unprecedented decision here, a judge ruled in November that the public school must remove the crucifixes from classroom walls, saying they violated the “nonconfessional” nature of the Spanish state.

Although the Roman Catholic Church was not named in the suit, it criticized the ruling as an “unjust” attack on a historical and cultural symbol — and a sign of the Spanish state’s increasingly militant secularism. the rest

Hugh Hewitt: Bush's Legacy

January 6, 2009

Excerpt:
Bush’s great legacy is the peaceful transition of power in an age of terror, a legacy made possible by his courage and his resolve to take the battle to our enemies, confront and defeat them wherever they could be found, contain them when they could not be attacked, and demand of the world a seriousness about the threat that remains real and deadly in its intentions. He has modeled how to act as president in this new media age of virulent venom at home and of fanatical violence and hatred abroad — with detachment toward the former and courage toward the latter.

Count me among the 30 percent, which will soon be 40 percent — and then more than 50 percent much sooner than most of the chattering class can conceive. Bush is deeply loved and respected in places as diverse as remote villages in Africa and booming tech centers in India and, despite the noise from a left still trying to diminish his character, among tens of millions of Americans grateful for the care he has taken to protect them and their families.

But his greatest admirers will be Americans, and perhaps Afghans, Iraqis, Israelis, Indians and Africans a century or more from now who read about his record and resolve in so many efforts will marvel at his restraint and credit his faith and his family for a remarkable service to freedom. the rest image

The End of the Line: Lunch with President George W. Bush

Hollywood Conservatives Encouraged to Come Out of the Closet

Monday, January 05, 2009
By SE Cupp

A once-timid group of social outcasts is emerging from the shadows in Hollywood. If the past year is any indication, Tinseltown may have to get accustomed to the loud presence of a growing minority.

After years of silence, conservatives are coming out of the closet.

Andrew Breitbart, the conservative founder of Breitbart.com and author of "Hollywood Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon," is launching a Web site he hopes will help challenge the status quo in what he believes has been a one-party, left-tilting town. Set to debut on Jan. 6, "Big Hollywood" will be a place where center, right and libertarian-leaning celebrities and industry-insiders can weigh in on Hollywood politics, offer film, television and movie reviews, and have an open forum for political discussion. the rest

Prop. 8 backers blast Calif. Attorney General

By LISA LEFF
The Associated Press
Monday, January 5, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sponsors of California's voter-approved gay marriage ban accused Attorney General Jerry Brown on Monday of advancing a far-fetched legal theory to justify overturning it.

In papers submitted to the state Supreme Court, lawyers for the Protect Marriage coalition argued that Brown had "invented an entirely new theory" by asking the justices to trump the electorate, which approved Proposition 8 to amend the state Constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman. the rest

Obama's Justice pick draws fire of pro-lifers

Stephen Dinan and Jerry Seper
Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Social conservatives and pro-life activists are mobilizing against President-elect Barack Obama's pick Monday for the No. 3 Justice Department job, a lawyer who aided the effort to remove Terry Schiavo's feeding tube during the landmark right-to-die case four years ago.

It is unusual for special interest groups to wage a fight over a sub-Cabinet appointment, but conservatives eager to press the Republican Party to mount some form of opposition to the emerging Obama administration say Thomas J. Perrelli's resume as a private lawyer and his appointment Monday as the nation's associate attorney general may provide the rallying cry. the rest

Devotional: Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance...

Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, it is laying hold of His highest willingness. ...Archbishop Richard Trench image

Bishop Bruno: ‘Dispute is Now a Pastoral Issue’

January 5, 2009

With the California Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Diocese of Los Angeles and The Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles, said he will personally reach out to the leadership at the three congregations where the majority voted to leave in 2004 over doctrinal disputes.

In a brief interview with a reporter for The Living Church shortly after the decision was announced on Jan. 5, Bishop Bruno said he was “overjoyed” at the verdict and considered all issues at dispute to be decided in their favor. Bishop Bruno said his next step will be to initiate dialogue individually with the clergy and lay leadership of the three churches in the hope that it will lead to reconciliation and perhaps the eventual voluntary return of those congregations to The Episcopal Church.

“I want to see if they are willing to talk; to see if they want to return to The Episcopal Church,” Bishop Bruno said. He added that the offer of dialogue carried no preconditions.

“Attorneys handle legal issues,” he said. “This is now a pastoral issue.” the rest

Married priest who ran off with his deputy questions life ban

By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
06 Jan 2009

The Rev Canon James Tipp, 63, was banned for serving as a priest for life, while his partner, the Rev Elaine Northern, 54, was barred for 12 years, after they both left their spouses and abandoned their church duties.

Last November, Rev Teresa Davies was barred for 12 years after she admitted at a similar disciplinary hearing that she and her husband had an open relationship and enjoyed wife-swapping holidays.

She also admitted holding three church services while drunk, smelling of alcohol and swaying from side to side. the rest

Anglican Curmudgeon: California Supreme Court Throws out the Statute of Frauds

Monday, January 5, 2009

The California Supreme Court has now joined the ranks of State courts who uphold trusts created by the Dennis Canon, without any action on the part of the parishes that actually own the property in question other than the act of aligning with the Episcopal Church (USA). In a 7-0 decision, it ruled that the Diocese of Los Angeles could go forward with its suit to reclaim the buildings and land of St. James Church in Newport Beach, California, which voted to leave ECUSA in July 2004. (Justice Joyce Kennard dissented only on the point that as construed by the Court, the California statute which saves the Dennis Canon [Corporations Code section 9142, discussed below] is not a "neutral principle of law.")

Analysis

Defender of the faith

By Andrew Weeks
Times-News writer

Some people believe the Bible is a figurative book with multiple meanings. Others believe there is only one interpretation - that it is the word of God and should be taken literally.

For Twin Falls resident Dean Hodges, the Bible is infallible. But his former church isn't.

Two reasons why he left the Episcopal Church a little more than five years ago.

Though not an official member of any church today - he's not on any church rolls - Hodges considers himself an Anglican and, at least once a month, travels more than 200 miles round trip to attend a one-year-old Boise parish because it feels a lot like going home again. the rest

Anglican Church in North America: A new province or a new church?

Anglican Journal
LEIGH ANNE WILLIAMS
staff writer
Jan 5, 2009

Leaders of the Common Cause Partnership, a coalition of conservative Anglicans in Canada and the U.S., released a draft constitution on Dec. 3 for a new Anglican province that they propose will be defined by theology rather than a geographic location.

Gathered in Wheaton, Ill., leaders of the partnership, which they say represents about 100,000 Anglicans (3,000 in Canada) – those who have left the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church in the U.S. largely over blessing same-sex unions and the ordination of an openly gay bishop – outlined their vision for the new Anglican Church in North America.

According to Bishop Robert Duncan, who led the diocese of Pittsburgh out of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. and is the provisional leader of the new province, the future of this new body may go further than being a parallel province operating in the same geographic regions as the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada; it may become a rival church. “I think what the Lord is doing is that the Lord is displacing the Episcopal Church,” Bishop Duncan said. “The Episcopal Church has been in extraordinary decline,” he added. “We are a body that is growing, that is planting new congregations, that’s concerned to be an authentic Christian presence in the U.S. and Canada.” the rest

California Supreme Court says breakaway parish can't take national church's property

A Newport Beach parish split from the U.S. Episcopal church because of a gay bishop. The state high court rules that 'the local church did not have the right to take the church property with it.'
By Maura Dolan and Duke Helfand
January 5, 2009

Reporting from San Francisco and Los Angeles -- The California Supreme Court decided unanimously today that churches that break away from a national denomination may not take the church assets with them.

In a ruling written by Justice Ming W. Chin, the state high court said the property of St. James Episcopal Church in Newport Beach is owned by the national church, not the congregation. The congregation split away after the national church ordained a gay man, V. Gene Robinson, as a bishop of New Hampshire, in 2003.

"When it disaffiliated from the general church, the local church did not have the right to take the church property with it," Chin wrote for the court. the rest

Ruling-pdf

Comments at Stand Firm

Orissa's Christians still hiding in forests

by Dibin Samuel and Anne Thomas
Monday, January 5, 2009

As cold weather grips Orissa state, Christian leaders in India have expressed their shock at the revelation that there are still Christians hiding in forests to escape violence.

In spite of the presence of thousands of paramilitary forces in the state, hundreds of people, including many Christians and Hindus, are believed to be hiding in forests. They are fearful of a repurcussion of the violence that swept through the north-eastern state late last year after the murder of a radical Hindu leader.

"Hundreds of tribals haven’t returned home after the riots,” district collector Krishan Kumar told Indo-Asian News Service.

“The tribals had recently visited their villages but fled to the forest again. We are trying to reach them." the rest

Church remains divided over historic reforms to create women bishops

Plans to introduce women bishops have deeply divided the Church of England, according to the survey.
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent
04 Jan 2009

The poll of General Synod members found that only half of them would support the compromise deal proposed by the Church.

After years of bitter wrangling over the issue, a report was published last week that advocated creating a new class of clergy to cater for traditionalists who refuse to accept women's ordination.

However, 41 per cent of respondents said they would not back such a solution, and a further eight per cent said they were undecided.

Figures on both sides of the debate argued that providing "complementary" or "flying" bishops for opponents of female bishops was unacceptable. the rest

Albert Mohler: For Goodness Sake?

Monday, January 05, 2009

Just before the end of 2008, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released a report indicating that a significant percentage of American evangelicals are rejecting the biblical claim that Jesus is the only way of salvation. According to the report, 52% of American Christians believe that "at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life."

Surprisingly, 37% of those identified as evangelical Christians agreed, rejecting the claim that Jesus is the only Savior and identifying at least some non-Christian religion or religions as leading to eternal life.

The report was an important follow-up to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released in 2007, and it basically affirmed one of the most controversial findings of that survey -- the claim that evangelical Christians are increasingly rejecting the exclusivity of Christ. A potential lack of precision in the way the question was first asked led the Pew Forum to take another look at the issue. This new report, based in solid research, corroborates the earlier study. Many evangelicals are redefining the Gospel and rejecting the claim that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life. the rest

Home schooling grows

By Janice Lloyd
USA TODAY
posted January 5, 2009

The ranks of America's home-schooled children have continued a steady climb over the past five years, and new research suggests broader reasons for the appeal.

The number of home-schooled kids hit 1.5 million in 2007, up 74% from when the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics started keeping track in 1999, and up 36% since 2003. The percentage of the school-age population that was home-schooled increased from 2.2% in 2003 to 2.9% in 2007. "There's no reason to believe it would not keep going up," says Gail Mulligan, a statistician at the center.

Traditionally, the biggest motivations for parents to teach their children at home have been moral or religious reasons, and that remains a top pick when parents are asked to explain their choice. the rest

St. John's members bolt Episcopal flock

By Kelly Jasper
Staff Writer
Monday, January 05, 2009

During services at St. John's Episcopal Church on Sunday, the Rev. Rob Hartley told his congregation he would resign and start a new church.

They are now calling themselves the Church of the Holy Trinity and are aligned with the Anglican Church in North America, an alliance created in December that presents itself as a conservative alternative to the Episcopal Church.

To avoid a legal dispute with the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, the Holy Trinity congregants abandoned the St. John's sanctuary on Belvedere-Clearwater Road and will hold their first service next Sunday in a converted warehouse near Interstate 20.

Most of the 90-member St. John's congregation agreed to follow the Rev. Rob Hartley when he and church staff announced their resignations Sunday. the rest

Devotional: Let our temper be under the rule of the love of Jesus...

Let our temper be under the rule of the love of Jesus: He can not alone curb it, - He can make us gentle and patient. Let the vow, that not an unkind word of others shall ever be heard from our lips, be laid trustingly at His feet. Let the gentleness that refuses to take offence, that is always ready to excuse, to think and hope the best, mark our intercourse with all. Let our life be one of self-sacrifice, always studying the welfare of others, finding our highest joy in blessing others. And let us, in studying the Divine art of doing good, yield ourselves as obedient learners to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. By His grace, the most common-place life can be transfigured with the brightness of a heavenly beauty, as the infinite love of the Divine nature shines out through our frail humanity. ...Andrew Murray image

Tehran Times Quotes Bp. Schori

Here

'Conspiracy' against Muhammad

Ruth Gledhill's blog
January 4th, 2008

The Times reported in 2007 that Muhammad was the second most popular name for new-born boys in Britain, beaten only by Jack. We prophesied that Muhammad in all its various spelling incarnations would soon hit the top spot. Just a year or so later, and as The Times now reports, Jack is still the most popular name, but Muhammad has dropped off the list completely. Archbishop Cranmer, to whom I offer thanks for this illustration and most of the comments below, suspects a conspiracy,

Cranmer writes that all the ad-hoc lists compiled by private companies also appear to have eradicated all mention of Mohammed, whether spelt with a ‘u’, or an ‘o’, two ‘m’s or one. The website ‘Innocent English’ has also cleansed its lists the Prophet, reports Cranmer, who comments:

'Even when one takes into account that there are at least 14 different spellings of the name – all pronounced the same – it is utterly baffling that the name now appears nowhere. The main two, Mohammed and Muhammad (a non-Arab Muslim would adopt the name ending in -ed while an Arab Muslim would adopt the -ad ending) are complemented by Mohammad, Muhammed, Mohamed, Mohamad, Mahammed, Mohammod, Mahamed, Muhammod, Muhamad, Mohmmed, Mohamud and Mohammud. And these are augmented still by the much less-common Mehmet or Mohemet. the rest

Florida demonstrator: Jews - you need a big oven'

By Stan Goodenough
January 04, 2009

The ugly face of Israel and Jew hatred was revealed on the streets of Fort Lauderdale, Florida last week as hundreds gathered to demonstrate against Israel's self-defensive war against Gaza's Hamas terror group.

Up to 300 men and women, white and black, Arab and Caucasian, teenagers and gray-haired, spewed their venom at the Jewish state.

According to Tom Trento, a concerned American citizen who mingled among the demonstrators, filming them and then posting the video on YouTube, the gathering at a busy intersection of a main street boulevard, was protesting Israel and American support of Israel.

"This was not Gaza, it was not Paris, it was not London, it was not even Detroit," the horrified Trento said on commentary following the video. "This was Fort Lauderdale, Florida!" the rest

North Augusta church leader steps down, congregation follows

By Arielle Clay
Jan 4, 2009

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - The Vicar of St. John's Episcopal Church in North Augusta stepped down Sunday. He says it is because he does not agree with the direction the National Church is taking.

Now dozens of his congregants are following him to a new church and new denomination.

Sunday was Phyllis Kirkland's last time in the kitchen of St. John's Episcopal Church, Susan Bafford's last time singing in the sanctuary, and Paula Wahl’s last time as senior warden.

“I turned in my key today,” Wahl said.

That's because for the three women and most other members of the church Sunday was their last day as congregants at St. John's and of the Episcopal denomination.

“The Episcopal church has been going in a direction that I wasn't in agreement with,” Wahl said the rest

How Support for Abortion Became Kennedy Dogma

By ANNE HENDERSHOTT
JANUARY 1, 2009

For faithful Roman Catholics, the thought of yet another pro-choice Kennedy positioned to campaign for the unlimited right to abortion is discouraging. Yet if Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of Catholics John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton, abortion-rights advocates will have just such a champion.

Ms. Kennedy was so concerned to assure pro-abortion leaders in New York, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Dec. 18, that on the same day Ms. Kennedy telephoned New York Gov. David Patterson to declare interest in the Senate seat, "one of her first calls was to an abortion rights group, indicating she will be strongly pro-choice."

Within the first week of her candidacy, Ms. Kennedy promised to work for several causes, including same-sex marriage and abortion rights. In responding to a series of 15 questions posed by the New York Times on Dec. 21, Ms. Kennedy said that, while she believes "young women facing unwanted pregnancies should have the advice of caring adults," she would oppose legislation that would require minors to notify a parent before obtaining an abortion. On the crucial question of whether she supports any state or federal restrictions on late-term abortions, Ms. Kennedy chose to say only that she "supports Roe v. Wade, which prohibits third trimester abortions except when the life or health of the mother is at risk." Presumably Ms. Kennedy knows that this effectively means an unlimited right to abortion -- including late-stage abortion -- because the "health of the mother" can be so broadly defined that it includes the psychological distress that can accompany an unintended pregnancy. the rest

Kennedy Was Spared Financial Disclosure as a Top Aide at City Schools

Anglicans and Their Unwelcome House Guests

John Mark Reynolds
December 22, 2008

Imagine a fan so full of admiration that he takes your name and moves into your house. Your family has always tried to reach out to others and so you allow him to stay with you as an act of kindness.

Weirdly, after this fan moves in he becomes quite critical. He decides that many of your costumes and ways are unworthy of the family name and begins to demand that you change them. Your own children stop coming home, because the interloper has become so obnoxious.

At that point, charity finally exhausted, you demand that he leave. He then barricades himself in his room, which he points out you have called "his room," and refuses to leave. He calls you a false and hateful person who has missed the "spirit of the family." Neighbors who have not followed the situation wonder why you are being so mean to a family member. You simply wish that he would go form his own family and leave you in peace.

This story might help a neutral observer to understand what is happening in American Anglicanism. the rest (h/t anglican Mainstream)

Gay marriage backers target New England

Foes brace for a fight
Valerie Richardson
Sunday, January 4, 2009

Two New England states have already legalized same-sex marriage, and a Boston-based advocacy group wants to see the other four join them.

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, known as GLAD, has launched a first-of-its-kind regional campaign aimed at winning approval for same-sex marriage in the six-state New England region by 2012.

Same-sex marriage is already legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts, a result of court decisions in cases brought by GLAD lawyers. The 2003 Massachusetts decision was the first in the nation, while the Connecticut ruling went into effect Nov. 12. the rest

Devotional: Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know...

Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know,to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights Thee most, to value what is precious in Thy sight, to hate what is offensive to Thee. Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight of my eyes, nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of the ears of ignorant men; but to discern with a true judgment between things visible and spiritual, and above all, always to inquire what is the good pleasure of Thy will. ...Thomas a Kempis image

Clothing and the Character of the Child

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
by Dr. Timothy Paul Jones

Our daughter Hannah is rapidly closing in on thirteen years of age. She is tall for her age. Her dark curls and tawny skin mirror the features of the birthparents who brought her to a Romanian orphanage when she was eight months old. Hannah has been part of our family since she was seven years old. She is the apple of her Daddy’s eye, the princess of her Daddy’s heart, and—at this moment—she’s in need of some new clothes. In our household, this means a Daddy-Daughter Date Day, primarily because, in our family, Dad tends to have more patience than Mom when it comes to the quest for appropriate clothing.

And so here I am, meandering into a local mall, hoping that this year’s range of suitable selections is better than last year’s.

It isn’t. the rest-Excellent!

Traditional family defenders now in 'gay' agenda bull's-eye

Licensing proposal could require lawyers to endorse homosexuality
January 01, 2009
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

One of the top lawyers in the nation in the battle to protect traditional marriage, historically Christian lifestyle choices, parental rights and the key freedoms provided by the U.S. Constitution is warning that there eventually could be no lawyers left to take up those disputes.

That's because of a recommendation before the State Bar of Arizona – the organization that licenses attorneys – to require all new lawyers to swear they won't let their personal religious perspective on homosexuality affect their representation of any client. Mathew Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel, warns that the proposal is just the "tip of the iceberg."

According to reports in Arizona, the state bar is considering a major change to its existing oath that requires lawyers to affirm they won't "permit considerations of gender, race, age, nationality, disability or social standing to influence my duty of care" to clients. the rest

Legislation drafted for women bishops

staff reporter
January 2, 2009

FLYING BISHOPS would remain in the C of E in all but name to serve those who cannot accept the ministry of women bishops, under a draft Measure and Code of Conduct pub­lished on Monday. Critics of the legislation fear it would lead to a series of petitions for judicial review.

The drafts have been produced by the group chaired by the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Nigel Mc­Culloch (minus the Revd Jonathan Baker, who resigned from the group after the General Synod rejected any structural provision for traditional­ists last July).

The draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure states that “The archbishop of each province [Canter­bury and York] shall, from time to time, nominate one or more suf­fragan sees in his or her province from which the holders (being men) may be selected by diocesan bishops of that province to exercise, in relation to parishes in their dioceses whose parochial church councils have, on grounds of theological conviction, requested arrangements to be made . . ., episcopal functions.” the rest

Truth and Freedom

First Things
By Michael Novak
Friday, January 2, 2009

Human liberty depends on an accurate grasp of the human condition, not as we might like it to be, but as it is: “The truth shall set you free.”

Let us suppose, for instance, a situation in which truth is rendered servile by some contemporary enthusiasm. If truth is held captive by a powerful force of attraction, can the human beings who live under that force ever find a way to liberty? Only by luck, great courage, and long perseverance.

During the past hundred years, ideologies have often trumped the unimpeded search for truth. Here is where the sentence from Orwell becomes pivotal. “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

To seek the true reality while everyone around you is applauding what many know to be false is to act as a grown woman or man. It is to show a mind that distinguishes reality from the prevailing prejudices of the age. In fact, a mind committed to finding reality—despite surrounding unreality—is the only free mind. the rest

Vatican breaks from Italian law

by Anne Thomas
January 2, 2009

The Vatican announced this week that it will no longer automatically adopt laws passed by the Italian Parliament.

The move, which came into effect on Thursday, ends 80 years of automatic adoption brought in by the Lateran treaties between the Pope and the Italian parliamentary system.

The Papal office said there were too many laws in the Italian civil and criminal codes and that many of them conflicted with the Church’s principles.

Vatican City State, the smallest sovereign state in the world, will now consider laws passed by parliament on an individual basis before adopting them as their own. the rest

Devotional: The workshop of character is everyday life...

Good habits are not made on birthdays, nor Christian character at the New Year. The workshop of character is everyday life. The uneventful and commonplace hour is where the battle is lost or won. ...Mattie D. Babcock image

Boozy Britain's bloody New Year: A 999 call every seven seconds in alcohol-induced mayhem

By Neil Sears
01st January 2009

Violence scarred celebrations and led to a bloody New Year across the country as emergency services endured a chaotic end to 2008.

Ambulance control centres reported receiving 999 calls as often as once every seven seconds - the second highest volume of calls since the Millennium - as binge drinkers turned nasty in the freezing temperatures.

Many of the calls related either to alcohol-fuelled assaults or excessive drunkenness. the rest

I don't want to be Britain's next Catholic leader, monk tells the Pope

I don't want to be Britain's next Catholic leader, monk tells the Pope
By Simon Caldwell
01st January 2009

A monk chosen by Pope Benedict XVI to be the next leader of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales has declined the post at the last minute, it emerged last night.

Dom Hugh Gilbert, the Abbot of Pluscarden Benedictine Abbey in Scotland, had originally said he would be happy to succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor as Archbishop of Westminster. the rest

Earthquake Swarm at Yellowstone Supervolcano: Update

January 01, 2009
James Pethokoukis

So what is the latest with the ongoing earthquake swarm at the Yellowstone supervolcano caldera? Here is my just-completed email chat with Dr. Jacob Lowenstern of the U.S. Geological Survey, top scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory:

How would you characterize the recent level of seismic level? Terms like "swarm" are pretty alarming. How would place this level of activity in historical context to what the USGS/YVO have tracked before?

Lowenstern: Swarm refers to seismicity when there isn't a typical mainshock/aftershock sequence. In other words, the events are more similar in size. Swarms are very common at Yellowstone. This one is clearly bigger than normal, and is the largest since 1985. There were also some large swarms in the 1970s, but the seismic network was much cruder at that time and we weren't able to locate earthquakes as well. the rest

Archbishop of Canterbury's New Year Message

January 1, 2009
ACNS

Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message - the treasure that is our fellow human beings
On January 1st 2009 The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will deliver his New Year Message on BBC One at 1.30pm and again on BBC Two at 6.55pm.

In the message, Dr Williams asks us to consider the importance placed on material wealth, to 'turn outwards' and appreciate the treasure that is our 'fellow human beings' during this time of financial crisis.

The Archbishop recognises that people are entering the New Year with “anxiety and insecurity” and “fears about disappearing savings, lost jobs, house repossessions and worse” but sees recent months as having provided an opportunity to “think about wealth and security and about where our ‘treasure’ is”. the rest

Mother has healthy baby boy despite abortion warning by doctor

A mother who was twice advised to have an abortion by doctors has gone on to have a 'perfectly' healthy son.
By Paul Stokes
31 Dec 2008

Gaynor Purdy was warned her first child could have a fatal chromosome defect and a life threatening heart condition.

But she rejected two suggestions to terminate the pregnancy and she and her husband Lee are celebrating life with their "perfect" ten-month-old son.

Mrs Purdy, 28, a quality control inspector, said: "We refused to give up on him, and decided throughout the pregnancy that as long as he was fighting, we would continue fighting with him." the rest

Pakistani Christians manage to celebrate Christmas

by Aftab Mughal
Thursday, January 01, 2009

The Christian community in Pakistan celebrated the birthday of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day 2008 with its usual fervor. Due to the security situation in the country, the government took special measures to protect the Christmas prayer services. The government announced an optional vacation for the day after Christmas for government servants belonging to the Christian community. Despite the government’s declaration of two holidays for Christmas, most Christians went to work.

Through his special Christmas message, President Asif Ali Zardari emphasized the need for inter-faith dialogue and harmony among people belonging to different religions and said the government would protect the rights of minorities in the country. “Let me also reiterate on this occasion the pledge made by the government that it will continue to uphold the rights of the Christians, indeed of all minorities, to be treated as equal citizens of the state and allowed to partake in its development on an equal footing,” President Zardari said. the rest

Washington Group Building Assisted Suicide Free Zones With Doctors, Hospitals

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 1, 2009

Olympia, WA (LifeNews.com) -- One of the leading groups that tried to defeat the November ballot proposal voters approved to make the state the second to legalize assisted suicide is no trying to counteract the measure. The Coalition Against Assisted Suicide is working with hospitals and doctors to create assisted suicide free zones.

Katie Martin of CAAS tells LifeNews.com that she is hearing from Washington citizens who want to patronize doctors and medical centers committed to refusing to be involved in assisted suicides.

"We have received calls from across the state from Washington residents concerned about their hospitals, care facilities or doctors participating in assisted suicide," she said.

"Senior citizens, people with disabilities and caregivers have contacted us to ask how to make sure the facilities in their communities remain safe harbors, 'assisted suicide-free zones,'" Martin elaborated. the rest

Elm Grove church first in Wisconsin to break from Episcopalians

By Annysa Johnson
of the Journal Sentinel
Dec. 31, 2008

An Elm Grove congregation is the first in Wisconsin to announce it will split from the Episcopal Church in the United States to align with a more conservative, rival province being formed in North America.

Wednesday's announcement by St. Edmund's Episcopal Church comes less than a month after a group of breakaway dioceses and parishes announced that they were forming a new, more theologically conservative North American province. Those churches have been angered by the liberal views of the U.S. Episcopalian and Canadian Anglican churches.

"We are not leaving the Episcopal Church; they have left us," said Marsha Ohlgart, a board member and spokeswoman for the 125-member parish at 14625 Watertown Plank Road.
"This is a lateral move. We're just joining with the traditional, conservative Anglican Church in the world," she said. the rest