Anglican Mainstream

The Church of England's General Synod is currently looking at the legislative process designed to make it possible for women to be bishops while also making provision for those who, for theological reasons, will not be able to receive their ministry.

The Archbishop of Canterbury made the following intervention during the General Synod debate on the Business Committee’s Report on the Reference of the Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure to the Dioceses.

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From ENS

Archbishops Rowan Williams of Canterbury and John Sentamu of York have suggested that the Church of England and the Anglican Communion ought to be in “an open-ended engagement” with the Anglican Church in North America.

By Edward Malnick, Telegraph

Rioters who took part in the summer’s unrest were expressing “frustrations” felt by many young people, the Archbishop of Canterbury says today.

Dr Rowan Williams re-enters the political fray with a claim that Britain has “let down” youngsters by being “suspicious and hostile” towards them, and by failing to provide good role models.

His comments, in his New Year message, risk reopening his clash with David Cameron, who warned last month that while the Church is entitled to address political issues it should “keep on the agenda that speaks to the whole country”.

The Prime Minister’s comments came after an article in which Dr Williams said people were “afraid” of the Government and that Mr Cameron’s Big Society was viewed as an “opportunistic” cover for cuts.

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Read also:  Archbishop of Canterbury warns against giving up on young people from The Guardian

By Ed Thornton, Church Times

CHRISTMAS sermons expressed concern at social divisions; and the Queen’s broadcast focused on the reconciliatory power of forgiveness.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, preaching in Canterbury Cathedral on Christmas Day, spoke of a society where “bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost”. Society was “much the poorer” for forgetting the 1662 Prayer Book, which “gives us words that say where and who we are before God”.

Dr Williams said that the Prayer Book had “defined what a whole society said to God together. . . If you thumb through the Prayer Book, you may be surprised at how much there is that takes for granted a very clear picture of how we behave with each other.”

Dr Williams continued: “The most pressing question we now face, we might well say, is who and where we are as a society. Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost. Whether it is an urban rioter mind­lessly burning down a small shop that serves his community, or a speculator turning his back on the question of who bears the ultimate cost for his acquisitive adventures in the virtual reality of today’s financial world, the picture is of atoms spin­ning apart in the dark.

“And into that dark the Word of God has entered, in love and judg­ment, and has not been overcome; in the darkness the question sounds as clear as ever, to each of us and to our Church and our society: ‘Britain, where are you?’ Where are the words we can use to answer?”

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From Sky News

The Archbishop of Canterbury will today speak of the "broken bonds and abused trust" in a British society torn apart by riots and financial speculation.

Delivering his Christmas Day sermon from Canterbury Cathedral, Dr Rowan Williams will ask the congregation to learn lessons about "mutual obligation" from the events of the past year.

Dr Williams will say: "The most pressing question we now face, we might well say, is who and where we are as a society. Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost.

"Whether it is an urban rioter mindlessly burning down a small shop that serves his community, or a speculator turning his back on the question of who bears the ultimate cost for his acquisitive adventures in the virtual reality of today's financial world, the picture is of atoms spinning apart in the dark."

It is not the first time the Archbishop has referred to last August's disturbances, which spread from Tottenham, north London, to cities across the country.

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By Ed Beavan, Church Times

THE current uncertainties in the world economy are prominent in the Christmas messages of senior church­men this year.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, speak­ing on Radio 2’s Pause for Thought on Chris Evans’s breakfast show last Thursday, said that there would be “a good few people con­cerned just now about what they can afford” this Christmas.

Dr Williams debunked the idea of a “perfect Christmas”. He said that the first Christmas “is the story of a series of completely unplanned, messy events. . . In the complete mess of the first Christmas, God says, ‘Don’t wor­ry — I’m not going to wait until you’ve got everything sorted out per­fectly before I get involved with you.

“I’m already there for you in the middle of it all, and if you just let yourself lean on me a bit instead of trying to make yourself and every­thing around you perfect by your own efforts, everyone will feel a little more of my love flowing.”

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From Christian Concern

The Government has been heavily criticised by Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, over its decision not to back four British Christians who have taken their cases to the European Court of Human Rights.

Lord Carey had appealed to Prime Minister David Cameron, asking him to support the four Christians who were ruled against by British Courts. Among these were Shirley Chaplin and Gary McFarlane, whose cases were handled by the Christian Legal Centre.

Two of the four cases relate to the freedom of Christians to wear a cross in the workplace and two concern instances where the freedom of Christians to act in accordance with their conscience has been trumped by homosexual rights.

The Government has stood by the British courts and argued that these Christian individuals have not been discriminated against.

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From the Archbishop of Canterbury's website

The Archbishop of Canterbury introduced and closed an almost 5-hour debate in the House of Lords on the situation of Christians in the Middle East.

Lord Wood of Anfield and Lord Howell of Guildford concluded the debate on behalf of the Opposition and the Government.

By Steve Doughty, Mailonline

Jesus would spend Christmas with the St Paul’s Cathedral protesters, the Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday.

Dr Rowan Williams declared that Christ would be ‘there, sharing the risks, not just taking sides.’

He said in an article aimed at the huge audience of buyers of the Christmas edition of the Radio Times that Jesus ‘is somebody who constantly asks awkward questions’.

The Archbishop said: ‘Christmas doesn’t commemorate the birth of a super-good person who shows us how to get it right every time, but the arrival in the world of someone who tells us that everything could be different.’

Dr Williams’ move to link the St Paul’s protest with Christmas follows his decision last month to give his personal backing to the cathedral campers.

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By Paul Lewis, James Ball and Matthew Taylor, Guardian

UK must rescue those who think they have nothing to lose or face further civil unrest, says Rowan Williams

Dr Williams recorded the video message during a recent visit to the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo which he describes as having been at ‘the epicentre of a great deal of appalling violence in recent years.’ He talks specifically about the use of sexual violence as a tool of war – something which is used to ‘humiliate and subdue others’ and the extent to which the people in the DRC have suffered from this particular type of brutality which has become endemic in many communities.

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By Julian Mann

"The conversation of interfaith dialogue is always one where we look eagerly and expectantly for enrichment. We're not playing for victory, we're seeking understanding from one another," declared the Archbishop of Canterbury at the launch of the Hindu Christian Forum at Lambeth Palace last week.

In that astonishing remark the divergence between the attitude of the liberal Anglican establishment and that of Christ's Apostles is on full display.

Christians are not playing for victory indeed. According to the New Testament, over an idolatrous religion such as Hinduism, we certainly should be.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury and Sri Shruti Dharma Das Ji launched the Hindu Christian Forum at Lambeth Palace, at an event which featured addresses from Andrew Stunell MP, Baroness Richardson and Lord Popat.

In his address, the Archbishop said "The conversation of interfaith dialogue is always one where we look eagerly and expectantly for enrichment. We're not playing for victory, we're seeking understanding from one another… by learning the depth of one another's commitment and vision – dialogue and depth is what we all hope for."

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by Daniel Boffey, Guardian

Bishops across the country, backed by Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, have condemned the coalition government's controversial welfare reforms, which they say risk pushing thousands of children into poverty and homelessness.

Eighteen Church of England bishops, backed by Williams and the archbishop of York, John Sentamu, are demanding that ministers rewrite their flagship plan to impose a £500-a-week benefit cap on families.

In an open letter in Observer, they say the Church of England has a "moral obligation to speak up for those who have no voice". Their message is that the cap could be "profoundly unjust" to the poorest children in society, especially those in larger families and those living in expensive major cities.

The high-profile intervention comes after the Church of England became embroiled in an embarrassing row over its attitude to anti-capitalist protests outside St Paul's Cathedral in London. One cleric resigned over plans to evict the protesters forcibly, arguing that the Church should have been more supportive of their cause.

The bishops are calling on ministers to back a series of amendments to the welfare reform bill – due to be debated in the House of Lords tomorrow – that have been tabled by the bishop of Leeds and Ripon, John Packer.

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Read also:  Bishops sign open letter criticising welfare reforms from BBC News

From ACNS

Archbishop Rowan Williams preached today at a Thanksgiving Service for the 400th anniversary of the 1611 Authorized (King James) translation of the Bible, attended by Her Majesty The Queen and TRH The Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince of Wales.

In his sermon, the Archbishop reflected on the King James Version of the Bible and on what makes a good translation: “A good translation will be an invitation to read again, and to probe, and reflect, and imagine with the text. Rather than letting me say, ‘Now I understand’, it prompts the response, ‘Now the work begins.’”

Regarding the historical context of the publication of the 1611 Bible, he said “it was not yet a volume that everyone could be expected to own…it was meant to be read aloud. And that means that it was meant to be part of an event, a shared experience. Gathered as a Christian community, the parish would listen, in the context of praise, reflection and instruction, to Scripture being read”.

Dr Williams concluded his sermon by saying that to celebrate the Bible “is to recognise the absolute seriousness with which [the translators] sought to find in our language words that would pass on to us hearers and readers in the English tongue the almost unbearable weight of divine intelligence and love pressing down on those who first encountered it and tried to embody it in writing”.

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By Simon Jenkins, Guardian

Pythonesque preaching from Church of England top brass is of no practical help in this economic mess

From Christian Today

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have challenged the case for the introduction of a wholly or partially elected House of Lords.

Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu warned that reforms to the House of Lords could deprive it of expertise and amount to an unjustified expense at a time of economic uncertainty.

The Government’s Draft Bill proposes a House of Lords of 300 members, with 80 to 100 per cent of peers elected by proportional representation.

If the House of Lords were to maintain an appointed element, the number of Church of England bishops would be reduced from 26 to 12. If the Government decided upon a wholly elected House, the bishops’ seats would be abolished altogether.

The Archbishops outline several concerns with the proposals in their submission to the parliamentary joint committee on the draft Bill.

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By Nicola Methven, Mirror

For a man pretending to be a vicar, it was high praise indeed.

The night before this interview, actor Tom Hollander and his co-stars from Rev went for drinks with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

And the verdict from the country's most senior churchman? He declared Tom's portrayal of put-upon Reverend Adam Smallbone "pitch perfect" and revealed he is a firm fan of the hit BBC2 show.

Tom, 44, says: "We went to Lambeth Palace and it was thrilling. One of the few relaxing things about being Archbishop of Canterbury is that you can have lovely drinks parties that people turn up to.

"And he does like the show! I think they feel that its heart is in the right place and they are not nervous of it."

Tom – who has people shouting "Oi, Rev" at him in the street – reveals the show has struck a chord with clergy all over the country.

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