Bishop Alberto Ramento of Tarlac in the Philippines, former Prime Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church, or Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), was found stabbed to death at his rectory on the morning of October 3.
The working group appointed by the Council of General Synod to review priorities in light of declining revenues has released two documents that summarize the outcomes of its first meeting.
In a new co-operative venture with the Church Mission Society (CMS), the Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Office (ACO) is delighted to announce the appointment of the Revd John Kaoma Kafwanka as Mission and Evangelism Desk Officer for the Anglican Communion. The position became available after the recent retirement of the Anglican Communion Office Director of Mission and Evangelism, Mrs Marjorie Murphy.
In the midst of escalating accusations and misunderstandings between Christians and Muslims it was a pleasure to attend an event with a different focus. The National Muslim-Christian Liaison Committee (NMCLC) held its awards dinner on Tuesday, September 19th, 2006 to honour two people who have contributed to Muslim-Christian dialogue and mutual understanding. Over 70 people attended the dinner hosted at the Ameer Restaurant in Toronto, representing the Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Jewish faiths. Each place at the table was marked with a napkin ring inscribed alternately with a crescent or a cross as an encouragement to sit among one another. The tide of conversations filled the room as questions of each other were exchanged and new understandings grew. Bishop Michael Bedford-Jones and Bishop George Elliott were two of the Anglicans participating in the dinner.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and the Chief Rabbis of Israel, Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger today signed a joint Declaration which sets out a framework for continuing dialogue between them. Dr Williams described the agreement as historic:
The face of anglican.ca is about to change into a new, cleaner and more streamlined form designed to help you get where you want to go with less effort.
As the result of the generosity of a number of members of the Compass Rose Society, TEAC (the Anglican Communion Theological Education Working Party) is supplying theological colleges in Asia and Africa with key books in the field of Anglican Studies. The purpose of these book grants is to enable students training for Anglican ministry in theological colleges with limited library resources to have greater access to books which will provide an overview of Anglican history, liturgy and spirituality.
On Thursday afternoon, over 1,200 youth, in Winnipeg for the 2006 Canadian Lutheran Youth Gathering (CLYG 2006), flowed out of the Winnipeg Convention Centre, the main site of the gathering, and into the streets of downtown for a faith walk to the Manitoba Legislative Building to kick-off the start of CLYG 2006. In her opening keynote speech to CLYG 2006 participants, Rev. Kathy Martin, told the youth, “at this gathering we are going to do things differently. We’re going to head out there and make a difference.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is to visit China this autumn. The visit is at the invitation of the senior leadership of the post-denominational Protestant Churches in China. It will take in five cities, including the capital, Beijing.
The Church of England has today launched a new area on its website to assist the thousands of people currently trying to trace the branches of their family tree.
Many of the people who have fled the Israeli bombing of Lebanon have found refuge in public schools in Beirut and other cities.
The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), a member of ACT International (Action by Churches Together) is doing its best to help some of them, bringing in much-needed food parcels.
In rites on November 4-5 at Washington National Cathedral, the Episcopal Church will welcome Katharine Jefferts Schori as its 26th Presiding Bishop.
Forty religious leaders from around the world, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Dr. James Christie of the Canadian Council of Churches, have signed a statement to the G8 heads of state, calling on them to keep their promises and scale up their response to HIV and AIDS.
In a lengthy reflection on what it is to be Anglican, Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane declares, ‘we cannot lose this middle ground.’ He argues that the central core of Anglican tradition is not bland or shallow, but offers ‘productive spiritual soil.’ He refutes any suggestion that embracing the middle ground means ‘anything goes.’ Rather, he affirms uncompromising dedication and obedience to the heart of faith, as it is lived under the authority of Scripture, of Church order and structures, and of Christian tradition.
When he was elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada in 2004, Archbishop Andrew Hutchison said he would make youth ministry a priority.