Week of 17 September 2006

Associations, Guilds
Society for the Propagation of Reformed Evangelical Anglican Doctrine: This website includes a long document prefaced with the following caveat by the Bishop of Shyira, John Rucyahana: 'This document is not written to compel or demand any action. Rather, we seek to clarify the state of the Anglican Communion and advise what actions we may need to take to defend the Anglican faith and promote the Gospel.'

Book Reviews
Charitable Hatred: Tolerance and Intolerance in England 1500-1700, by Alexandra Walsham, reviewed by Arnold Hunt in the Church Times. Anglicans 'seem to have lived, for most of the time, on perfectly friendly terms with their popish and Nonconformist neighbours... The practical toleration granted to Catholics and Dissenters was, she suggests, the very reason why they were denounced with such ferocity.' Hunt complains that her insight is not 'applied more widely. Explaining how tolerance can suddenly tip over into intolerance - how communities that have managed to live with religious difference can suddenly fracture, murderously and savagely, along religious lines - has never seemed more urgent than it does today.'

Death Redesigned: British Crematoria, History, Architecture and Landscape, by Hilary J. Grainger, and From Dust to Ashes: Cremation and the British Way of Death, by Peter C. Jupp, are reviewed by Geoffrey Rowell in the Church Times. Grainger's is a 'fascinating and lavishly illustrated study of the architecture and landscape settings of the places at which more than 70 per cent of British people are bidden farewell.' Jupp considers 'the theological, practical, and pastoral questions for the Churches.' He notes in his conclusion '"disposal of the dead has become much more a matter of convenience . . . and modes of disposal have largely lost their theological significance."'

Political Economy and Christian Theology Since the Enlightenment: Essays in Intellectual History, by A. M. C. Waterman, reviewed in the Church Times by Peter Sedgwick. 'This is the definitive account of Christianity and early economic theory, and should be in every theological library in universities and colleges.'

Church History
AO's Cynthia McFarland transcribed, edited and introduced Bishop William White's An Essay on High-Church Principles, (first published in 2001). White (1748-1836) was the first Bishop of Pennsylvania, and he exercised a strong influence on the formation of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

Journals of the Mashonaland Mission 1888 to 1892, by G.W.H. Knight-Bruce (1892). Knight-Bruce (1852-1896) led the formation of the Diocese of Mashonaland in what is now Zimbabwe.

Santa Cruz and the Reef Islands, by W.C. O'Ferrall (1908). O'Ferrall was missionary on Santa Cruz (Nukapu Island) from 1897-1904. In this attractively-illustrated account, he describes the progress of Anglican life in the decades after the martyrdom of Bishop J. C. Patteson in 1871.

England
Resources
New Wine: Equipping Churches to see Jesus' kingdom grow. 'Our vision is to see the nation changed through Christians and churches being filled with the Spirit, alive with the joy of knowing and worshipping Jesus Christ, living out his Word, and doing the works of the Kingdom of God.' They encourage the training of leaders in all ministries of the church with special emphasis on youth. What began in one parish outside London has 'spread not only to Scotland, Ireland and Wales, but to twenty countries in Scandinavia, Africa, North America, Western Europe, South East Asia and New Zealand.'

Soul Sista. Soul Sista is a ministry for girls only, part of Soul Survivor. 'We believe that something special happens when we get together, ‘just the girls’. Whether its looking at issues that are particularly relevant to us, or more general stuff from a girly perspective, or simply just enjoying some time to ourselves we have seen God do amazing things when we get together in this way.' (Cross-listed in Youth resources.)

Soul Survivor. Begun by Mike Piklavachi (the Youth Worker at St Andrew's in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, UK under the Vicar, David Pytches, founder of New Wine) who wanted to have an event like New Wine dedicated to youth. Mike says: 'I wanted it to be evangelistic and a lot of fun but at the heart of it would be worship, teaching and ministry.' There is an online Soul Survivor Magazine that's current and interesting. (Cross-listed in Youth resources.)

Episcopal Elections or Announcements
Ongoing
The Diocese of Newark in New Jersey, USA, will hold a special convention to elect the tenth Bishop of Newark on 23 September 2006. Information on this convention is available here.

Complete
The Diocese of South Carolina elected the Very Reverend Mark J. Lawrence as next bishop on the first ballot on 16 September 2006. Episcopal News Service has more information on Lawrence in this article, and the Diocese of South Carolina has its own announcement here. [Where do bishop-search websites, like this one for this election, go after the elections are complete?—Ed.]

Letters to Anglicans Online
Have a read. Write a letter of your own to us for possible publication.

Christian Education and Ministries
New Wine: Equipping Churches to see Jesus' kingdom grow. 'Our vision is to see the nation changed through Christians and churches being filled with the Spirit, alive with the joy of knowing and worshipping Jesus Christ, living out his Word, and doing the works of the Kingdom of God.' They encourage the training of leaders in all ministries of the church with special emphasis on youth. What began in one parish outside London has 'spread not only to Scotland, Ireland and Wales, but to twenty countries in Scandinavia, Africa, North America, Western Europe, South East Asia and New Zealand.'

News Centre
Nigerian Communion issues more statements. New bishop for South Carolina. Jesus in an empty beer glass. Former ABY is again former incumbent. Texas parish will buy building from diocese. Primatial oversight meeting ends without outcome. All this, and more, in the News Centre.

Not in the Communion
Episcopal Orthodox Mission in Italy: This organization, which also calls itself the Anglican Mission in Italy and Missione Anglicana in Italia, 'is a canonical Foundation of the Diocese of Ruvuma in the Anglican Church of Tanzania within the Anglican Communion [...] under the direct authority and jurisdiction of the Rt. Revd. Maternus Dr. Kapinga Diocesan Bishop of Ruvuma to proclaim the Gospel and administer Sacraments, to Italian and/or african anglicans whom are members "in good standing" of the Diocese of Ruvuma. [...] Accordingly EOMI does not claim any Parallel or Overlapped canonical anglican jurisdiction in Italy or Europe. The EOMI recognizes in Italy only the spiritual authority and jurisdiction of the Diocese of Gibraltar (namely Diocese in Europe) of the Church of England.' [Frankly, we're just confused—Ed.]

Odds and Ends
Anglican Communion Legal Advisers Network: Established by resolution of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Hong Kong, September 2002.

40 Days of Discernment: This website, which includes material from the Diocese of Virginia and two parishes in that diocese, 'is dedicated to helping Episcopal congregations and their clergy answer an important question: Can orthodox, biblically committed congregations continue to remain affiliated with The Episcopal Church in the U.S.; or has the time come to seek alternative affiliation with some other branch of Anglicanism?'

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Thanks
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USA
New York: Lake Luzerne, St Mary (Albany) [midi-attack]

Resources
ONE Episcopalian (TM): 'a grassroots partnership between The Episcopal Church and the ONE Campaign to rally Episcopalians – ONE by ONE – to the cause of ending extreme poverty in our world and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)'. This web resource is a project of the Episcopal Public Policy Network; it includes liturgical resources, material in Spanish, theological reflections, and further information on the Millennium Development Goals. [Although this site claims trademark status for the words ONE Episcopalian, we were not able to find an active trademark application or registration for this term by any US applicant.—Ed.]

Vocare. 'A young adult ministry [in ECUSA] that provides opportunities for spiritual renewal and discovery. The Vocare weekend is one filled with fun and games, as well as reflection and discussion all focusing on one's spiritual calling.' (Cross-listed in Youth Resources.)

Vacancies Centre
List a parish or diocesan opening for one month at AO — at no charge. What a bargain! The more you use our free service, the more useful it will become for all.

Seeking a position? Scan vacancy pages on diocesan web sites with vacancies listings throughout the communion.

Worth Noting
The Electronic Collection Plate: Douglas LeBlanc writes in The Living Church (Milwaukee) on the phenomenon of electronic donations for church purposes. Anglicans Online, by the way, has its own electronic collection plate to help keep our computers running.

The Gift Outright: Dr Michael Poon and Mark Macdonald, Bishop of Alaska, engage in dialogue about 'our common future'. Macdonald writes: 'Though it may seem absurd or amazing or both, it appears, at least from the perspective of mainline church institutions that the Gospel is just now about to find its first real home in North America'.

Searching for the Garden of Eden: Bishop Geoffrey Rowell writes in the Times (London) on his experience of Christian life in Lake Nicaragua, where the influence of Ernesto Cardenal is quite strong.

The Results Are in: A full, interesting report on 2004/2005 statistics for the Church of England reveals some encouraging and surprising news. Average giving is up to the record level of £5 a week; the highest number of new clergy were ordained since 2002; the number of children and young people at services rose slightly; cathedral attendance is up; and the biggest surprise for us was reading that some 86 percent of people in England have attended a church or other place of worship in the last year. Confirmation numbers are down, but baptisms, marriages and funerals are about steady.

Youth Resources
Soul Sista. Soul Sista is a ministry for girls only, part of Soul Survivor. 'We believe that something special happens when we get together, ‘just the girls’. Whether its looking at issues that are particularly relevant to us, or more general stuff from a girly perspective, or simply just enjoying some time to ourselves we have seen God do amazing things when we get together in this way.' (Cross-listed in English resources.)

Soul Survivor. Begun by Mike Piklavachi (the Youth Worker at St Andrew's in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, UK under the Vicar, David Pytches, founder of New Wine) who wanted to have an event like New Wine dedicated to youth. Mike says: 'I wanted it to be evangelistic and a lot of fun but at the heart of it would be worship, teaching and ministry.' There is an online Soul Survivor Magazine that's current and interesting. (Cross-listed in English resources.)

Vocare. 'A young adult ministry [in ECUSA] that provides opportunities for spiritual renewal and discovery. The Vocare weekend is one filled with fun and games, as well as reflection and discussion all focusing on one's spiritual calling.' (Cross-listed in USA Resources.)