Anglican Mainstream

Should you and your church wish to contribute you may do so via Anglican International Development at 21 High Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HE, or by donated through the Donate button here earmarked for Chilean Earthquake. If you wish to send funds directly please email anglicanaid@gmail.com for bank details.  All proceeds go to the church in Chile. Thank you for your concern!

CHILE EARTHQUAKE – 11 DAYS ON .

Read Anglican Mainstream, Andrew Goddard, John Nolland, John Richardson , Charles Raven and Peter Ould

…In other words, some say this, and some say that, and who is to say who is wrong? Yet this is not a recipe for unity but for disaster … The midway position on this topic is not one that can be sustained, not least because it is not one that the key protagonists wish to hold. [emphasis added] John Richardson

…By having side-by-side with equal validity contradictory opinions which strike at the very heart of what it means to be human and what it means for Christ to be Christ is to create an unstable and contradictory message. This is not a missional approach.  Peter Ould

PFOX What is the ex-gay movement?  

Former homosexuals are the last invisible minority group in America.  The ex-gay movement ensures the safety and inclusion of former homosexuals in all realms of society, and supports the ex-gay community’s equal access to all public venues.  Ex-gays and their supporters should not have to be closeted for fear of other’s negative reactions or disapproval.  They do not think something is wrong with them because they decided to fulfill their heterosexual potential.  Nor do they believe others should condemn them for the personal decision they have made for their lives. 

What are some of the discriminatory actions against ex-gays?

Due to media indifference, many Americans are unaware of the widespread intolerance practiced against those who leave homosexuality:

• Unlike gay groups, ex-gay groups like PFOX are routinely denied equal access to participate in public school events, donate books to public school libraries, and present speakers on diversity day.

• Transgenders and cross-dressers are affirmed for changing their gender but former homosexuals are ridiculed for making the decision to change their sexual orientation. 

• Ex-gay conferences and seminars across the country are frequently picketed by anti-ex-gay protestors like PFLAG, a parents organization run by a gay activist, and Soulforce, a gay religious organization.  Read the rest of this entry »

There are many difficulties involved anytime one engages in discourse about same-sex issues.  There is the political, the religious, the pastoral.  There is the belief — or lack thereof — that people can and actually do change their 'orientation'.  There is concern about how other countries and cultures handle homosexuality and about how the West is embedding LGBT rights legally, religiously and also culturally via its educational system.  I am thinking here in particular of Kevin Jennings' (US 'Safe School Czar') GLSEN clubs presently in 4,000 public schools, clubs which describe and promote various LGBT sexual practices to children 12 and above through its recommended reading lists (see here (warning)). 

These issues constitute a veritable minefield. A recent skirmish comes from OneNews Now, which wrote up something here which has since been modified here.  Warren Throckmorton's site is here and Peter LaBarbera's site is here. 

One of my ex-gay friends had been enmeshed in the gay scene for many years but has since come out and now self-labels and -identifies as 'straight'.  He recently said to me that some of those who have never been on his kind of journey appear to find it far easier to minimise and dismiss it than to be critical of the gay party line they claim to oppose.    

What I do know is that it is much more dangerous to publish a cartoon of Mohammed than to slice apart a Christian with a machete.

In a number of places around the world, it is open season on Christians. We read of Christians burned out of their homes and slaughtered in Pakistan. Most recently, at least 500 Christians were murdered in Nigeria. The attackers in all cases are Muslims, inspired by the warlike message of their Prophet. AFP reports on the Nigerian attacks:

—UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Washington led calls for restraint on Monday after the slaughter of more than 500 Christians in Nigeria, as survivors told how the killers chopped down their victims. Read the rest of this entry »

LENT III: St. Porphyry (Porphorius), Bishop and martyr, 421, 

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY:  According to tradition, he was known as a noble of Banias, who became a bisshop most charitable and caring for the poor. He visited those in prison because of their debts and paid off their obligations. When the era of persecution started, it was called in every place to worship the idols. The Saint heard that the prince was passing by, he stood in front of his house and shouted in his face, saying: "I am Christian." After many failed trials from the prince to dissuade him on changing his faith, the prince ordered his neck to be cut off.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: The readings today and the saint of the day come from the Coptic Church who are observing the fifth week of the Great  Fast.Lent. The Copts have seasons of fasting matched by no other Christian community. Out of the 365 days of the year, Copts fast for over 210 days. Read the rest of this entry »

Religion | Controversial archbishop of Nigeria Peter Akinola steps down with purpose | Mindy Belz

By Hilary White

LONDON, March 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The case of the Christian civil registrar being forced by her employers to perform homosexual civil partnership ceremonies does not raise issues of “general public importance,” according to the Supreme Court. The court rejected Lillian Ladele’s request for an appeal and Ladele is now considering taking her case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Ladele, an evangelical Christian, had worked for 16 years as a registrar for the Islington council. In 2005 the Labour government made it possible for homosexuals to register their relationships as civil partnerships, with many of the same rights and privileges as natural marriage. Ladele at first rearranged her schedule to accommodate homosexuals with other registrars, but was threatened with sacking by the council after a complaint was made of “homophobia.”  Read here

10 March 2010   Hat-tip:  SF  [Episcopal News Service]  Diocese of Los Angeles Bishop Suffragan-elect Mary Douglas Glasspool has received the required number of consents from diocesan standing committees to her ordination and consecration, pending verification by the presiding bishop's office.

The Diocese of Los Angeles announced March 10 that Glasspool had received 61 standing committee consents, in an unofficial tally. A majority of consents, or 56, were required from standing committees in the Episcopal Church's 109 dioceses.

"I give thanks for the standing commitees' prompt action, and for the consents to the elections of my sisters," Los Angeles Bishop Diocesan J. Jon Bruno said on March 10, referring to both Glasspool and Bishop Suffragan-elect Diane Jardine Bruce.  Read here

It has been too long since AM posted material from Desert Streams.  Andy Comiskey has quite some story to tell of his own journey to wholeness.  His huge heart for sexually broken people and a profound personal integrity are equally impressive. Living Waters (London) regularly runs events in the UK, and in fact the next is the 12th and 13th of March with Dr Carla Waterman.  See here for more.

March 10, 2010