Tag: ACNS

Unity prayers to recall the Reformation and celebrate reconciliation

Martin Luther
Martin Luther’s act of nailing his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg gave birth to the Reformation. In this 500th anniversary year, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will reflect on the Reformation and ongoing reconciliation.

[WCC] The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, celebrated worldwide from 18-25 January, will be hosted this year by the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland / ACK). As 2017 marks the commemoration of the Reformation, the week of prayer will reflect on the legacy of the Reformation and the current spirit of reconciliation in Christ.

“For Christians in Germany and all over the world, the theme Reconciliation – The Love of Christ Compels Us (2 Corinthians 5:14-20) can be considered both a calling and an opportunity for reconciliation”, the Revd Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, World Council of Churches (WCC) director of Faith and Order, said, “a chance to break historical walls that separate churches and congregations from each other, during times that require healing and recovering hope”. Continue reading “Unity prayers to recall the Reformation and celebrate reconciliation”

Why I have hope for 2017 | ACNS

The Rev. Dr. Rachel Marsh
The Rev. Dr. Rachel Marsh

In a blog post for the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) the Rev. Dr. Rachel Marsh sets out “four things” that give her hope in 2017. I’m with her in being filled with hope; I especially liked “thing” #3. ~Fr. Dan

Was 2016 the year that fear and hatred won? Looking to the future, many people are filled with concern, particularly about the environment – a cause close to my heart. … We feel powerless – powerless to stop governments who say climate change is a myth; powerless to stop its impact on the most vulnerable.

And yet, we are people of faith. What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. (Hebrews 11:1 Living Bible). We know what we want to happen. How can we be assured it will happen?

Here are four things that give me hope for 2017.

Read for yourself the four things that give Rev. Marsh hope.

 

A Bible Study Opportunity

Here is yet another way to join a group Bible Study

The Archbishop of Canterbury was joined by thousands of Christians around the world today [5/19/2016] for his first live Bible study on Facebook. Archbishop Justin Welby discussed John 1:35-42 with the Revd Chris Russell, the archbishop’s advisor for evengalism and witness, and answered questions from viewers.

Read the entire post on Anglican Communion News Service

Maybe this is just what you were looking for.

Image: ACNS

 

Prayers to begin, but what is to follow?

2016-04 Lahore

April 4, 2016 [ACNS, by Gavin Drake] Around 200 Christians, Muslims and Hindus gathered yesterday (Sunday) at the site of last weekend’s horrific Easter Day bomb attack for a united act of solidarity and sympathy for the victims of the attack.

This weekend’s gathering at the Gulshan-e Iqbal Park began with a peaceful demonstration at 5.40 pm – the exact moment that last week’s blast occurred.

[…] Candles were lit and Christian, Muslim and Hindu religious leaders – including the Moderator of the Church of Pakistan, Bishop Samuel Azariah, joined hands as they prayed for the victims and their families.

Amongst the 200 people present were representatives from the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Louisiana and the presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Church of Pakistan is a United Church. In addition to being a province of the Anglican Communion it is also a member of the World Council of Reformed Churches and the World Methodist Council. See: http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2016/04/multi-faith-vigil-for-lahore-easter-bomb-victims.aspx on Anglican News Service

As the article goes on read how the Archbishop of Canterbury was confronted with words asking for more than platitudes, no matter how compassionate. The Archbishop’s unnamed friend was asking for involvement.

What do you hear the Spirit saying?

Photo Credit: Diocese of Raiwind on Anglican News Service

Homeless Jesus

Homeless Jesus sculptureThe Anglican Church News Service (ACNS) posted this article with commentary as the “Homeless Jesus” sculpture was placed at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin:

Speaking during the short service in the cathedral before the unveiling, Archbishop Jackson said that the people of Dublin were both honoured and chastened to receive the Homeless Jesus sculpture. Honoured, he said, because of the beauty of the craftsmanship and the trust expressed in the location of Christ Church Cathedral and chastened because of the “scandalous fact that the relentlessness of homelessness and the statistics of individual homeless people in Dublin in 2015 still merit such a sculpture as a reminder and as a memorial”.

Read the full article is here

On our blog

A Hope-full Meeting

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury meets Pope Francis in Rome

On June 14, 2013 the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, met the new Pope, Francis I, in Rome. The two men began their “new” ministries within days of each other. Their conversation, their shared prayers, their time together fill me with hope.

Each man desires to lead his church to be more attuned to the ‘least among us.’ Each man desires the relationship between the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church to deepen and strengthen as they minister to the poor over the years of their leadership. It is a hope-filled beginning for both our churches.

Read the summary of the meeting provided by the Archbishop of Canterbury here.

Read the summary of the meeting provided by Vatican Radio here.

Image source: Getty on the page of the Archbishop of Canterbury

New director of Rome’s Anglican Centre

Changes in Rome continue, this time on the Anglican side of the equation:

Former Archbishop of the New Zealand Dioceses, the Most Revd David Moxon, has become the new Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See. He has been honoured with the title “Archbishop Emeritus” by the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia, the first time the church has bestowed such a title. Archbishop Moxon (62) will continue as Co-Chairman of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).

According to Vatican Radio:

The new director of Rome’s Anglican Centre, former Archbishop of New Zealand David Moxon will be officially welcomed to his new post on Thursday at an ecumenical prayer service in Rome’s Oratory of St Francis Xavier, run by the Caravita international Catholic community.

You can read more about this change (and the hope it brings) here:

Wind Chimes: 1 Oct 2012

Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury. Photo in the Sunday London Times. Gareth Fuller/PA

Here is today’s sampling of the music made by the Spirit in the Wind Chimes.
What do you hear?

Three more reports about nominating the man to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury

Here is the original post in this series

  1. Archbishop of Canterbury: Who makes the final selection? dated 9/28/12 by Jayne Lutwyche and José M Galván Déniz for Religion & Ethics on the BBC website.
  2. Church of England fails to agree successor for Archbishop of Canterbury. A partial transcript of an article by Ruth Gledhill in the Sunday London Times dated 9/30/2012.
  3. Critics attack ‘secrecy’ of Archbishop selection by Cole Moreton and Edward Malnick in The Telegraph dated 9/30/2012

“Official” Update on the Crown Nominations Committee of the Church of England

Here is a link to the latest “official” Update about the work of the Crown Nominations Committee via the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) posted Sep. 28, 2012.

What did you do this weekend?

Planet Money on NPR provides an answer about the “Average American” use of weekend time. Will it surprise you that on average we spend 37min and 12secs on Volunteering and Religious Activities? Be sure to read the caveats at the end of the article. Here is the post with 2 graphics.

Wind Chimes: 30 Sep 2012

Papyrus fragment: front. Karen L. King, 2012 from the Harvard Divinity School Website.

Here is today’s sampling of the music made by the Spirit in the Wind Chimes.
What do you hear?

Did Jesus have a wife? Three more perspectives. [1]

Here is the original post in this series

  1. The Coptic Papyrus by Martin E. Marty in an online series entitled Sightings published by the University of Chicago Divinity School. The essay examines the interaction of media and religion (and scholarship).
  2. Jesus’s Wife: Would it even matter for Women? by Sonja and posted on the blog WIT: Women in Theology. This essay examines what impact this text would have on women in the Church IF (a very big if according to the author) there was a debate 1800 years ago about the marriage status of Jesus.
  3. Vatican newspaper calls ‘Jesus’ Wife’ fragment a ‘clumsy fake.’ This is an article by Alessandro Speciale dated Sep. 28, 2012 on Religion News Service (RNS) reporting on an article published in L’Osservatore Romano (the Vatican’s newspaper).
    1. Here is a link to the English edition of L’Osservatore Romano.
    2. And, finally, a link to the English translation of the original article in L’Osservatore Romano

Update on the Crown Nominations Committee of the Church of England

Here is a link to the latest “official” Update about the work of the Crown Nominations Committee via the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) posted Sep. 28, 2012.

No shoes, no taxes, no sacraments

On Monday (9/24) I read this summary of a Pastoral Letter of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Germany. Later in the week I read their defense of their action. I understand, thanks to Hovak, that an article appeared in The Desert Sun on Saturday, Sep. 29, 2012 on page A-13. More to come, I believe.

________________________

Church of Sudan offers Anglicans digital record of historic day

Check in on this. Perhaps on Sunday we’ll order one or more CDs for our library. –Dan

Anglicans around the world are being offered a slice of history in the form of a new CD of around 450 photos and films recording the independence weekend in South Sudan.

International Co-ordinator for the Episcopal Church of Sudan Rebecca Coleman is hoping that people right around the Anglican Communion will want to own a CD filled with sights and sounds from the day a country was born. Not least because proceeds from the sale of these historical discs will help upgrade the communications systems in the Provincial Office.

“I have produced CDs of the photos and videos I took over the independence weekend in South Sudan,” she said. “There are 450 photos and films in total, all fantastic quality, and featuring scenes from the day such as the arrival of President Bashir, the lowering and raising of the flags, the national anthem sung by the enormous crowd, and close-ups, some humourous, of the delegates who attended.

“Bonus features include Independence Eve on Juba’s streets, the sound track of the national anthem and thanksgiving prayers in All Saints Cathedral.”

“The CD costs just 50SDG, 15USD or 15GBP,” said Rebecca, “and all proceeds go towards an urgent upgrade of the communications systems in the Episcopal Church of Sudan offices.

You can get a CD from the ECS Provincial Office, but they are also available in Juba, the USA and the UK. Contact Rebecca at international@sudan.anglican.org for more details.

via Anglican Communion News Service: Church of Sudan offers Anglicans digital record of historic day.

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