Anglican Weekly Review 29 April - 6 May, 2011

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Posted On : May 6, 2011 9:27 PM | Posted By : Admin ACO
ACNS: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2011/5/6/ACNS4857
Related Categories: ACO

> Weekly Review 29 April- 6 May, 2011

A weekly roundup of Anglican Communion news plus
opinion, reviews, photos, profiles and other
things of interest from across the Anglican/Episcopal world.

> This edition includes...
> This week's Anglican Communion news
> Anglican Life - ACNS now on Facebook and Twitter
> Anglican Life - Episcopalians contemplate Osama bin Laden's death
> Anglican Life - Japan farm is testing daily for radiation
> Anglican Life - Primate of Uganda: Celebrating
> victory over the troubles of this world
> Anglican Life - Christians under attack again in Pakistan
> Anglican Life - Mothers' Union to hold General Assembly in Scotland
> Comment - "A church for sinful addicts"
> Publication of the week - Archbishops Canterbury and York launch new websit es
> Bookshelf - Developing consciousness - A sheep in wolf's clothing?
> The coming week's Anglican Cycle of Prayer.

> ________________

ANGLICAN NEWS

England - Anglicans play central role at historic royal wedding
South Africa - Primate of Southern Africa:
"Climate Change issue is Moral Imperative for All"
Nigeria - Aid urgently needed for victims of post-election violence
New Zealand - Suva's super-size ordination service
Pakistan - Pakistan's Christians fear reprisals
England - Anglicans play central role at historic royal wedding
Pakistan - Titus Presler is appointed Principal of Edwardes College, Peshaw ar
USA - NYC church offers its pews to watch royal wedding
South Africa - Archbishop of Cape Town Calls for
the Return of Police "Services"
USA - Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran leaders issue
pastoral letter for 10th anniversary of full communion

> ________________

> ANGLICAN LIFE

> ACNS now on Facebook and Twitter

News that appears on the Anglican Communion News
Service can now be accessed via two social media
platforms: Facebook (here) and Twitter
(@acoffice). Other ways of sharing stories online
will soon be available on www.anglicancommunion.org.

> ******************************

Episcopalians contemplate implications of Osama bin Laden's death

Celebratory mood viewed with understanding, concern

By Mary Frances Schjonberg - Episcopal News Service

As some people in the United States and elsewhere
in the world took to the streets to celebrate the
killing of Osama bin Laden on May 1,
Episcopalians began offering notes of caution and
reflection to those reactions.

"I am not sorry that Osama bin Laden is dead ?
But I don't celebrate his death, either," the
Rev. Jay Emerson Johnson wrote on his blog.

> Read more here

> ******************************

Archbishop Henri Orombi: Celebrating victory over the troubles of this world

The Primates' Easter message from churchofuganda.org

?I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.?

?In this world you will have trouble. But take
heart! I have overcome the world.? John 16:33

When Jesus made the profound declaration, ?I have
overcome the world?, the disciples must have
thought he meant that the end of all their
earthly troubles was near. They must have been
excited at the prospect of the Messiah overcoming
the current leadership and taking over the affairs of all Israel, if you li ke.

But a few chapters on, the Bible tells us that
the disciples were faced with the reality of
Jesus? death, and the pain and disappointment
they experienced; the agony of watching their
dreams crushed right infront of their eyes.

2000 years later, societies have since grown and
developed in many aspects, but we remain the same
as humans. Human beings always hope for a better
tomorrow, keep trying when they could have given
up; keep believing in the power of miracles to
make their worlds better. Like the disciples, we
cling to every hope that we are given as an
ultimate solution to our problems. We cling to
money, we cling to power, we cling to Charismatic
leaders and to those we believe can bring about the change we hope for.

> Read more here

> ******************************

> Japan farm is testing daily for radiation

Nearly two months following the Japan earthquake
on 11 March, USPG?s church partners continue to live in fear.

> From USPG's website

> Steven Cutting is based at the Asian Rural
> Institute (ARI), where USPG sends community
> leaders for training in agriculture.

He reported: ?Exactly one month after the quake,
we had one of the biggest aftershocks. The
tension that has slowly been dissipating came back instantly.

?These aftershocks, big and small, continue
daily. Last night there were at least four. Each
time you feel the tremor, you wonder if this one
will evolve into another huge quake. And
sometimes you realise there was no shaking at all
? it was only the wind blowing or your heart beating.?

ARI is about to intake 22 students from churches
around the world. In recent years, USPG has
sponsored students from Myanmar, Malawi and the Philippines.

ARI is located 110km from the unstable nuclear
power plant in Fukushima. However, due to the
ongoing radiation hazard, the institute will
initially hold training at a site further from the power plant, close to To kyo.

> 'Each morning we share updates on radiation'

> Read more here

> ******************************

> Christians under attack again in Pakistan

> From the CMS website

The atmosphere is tense in Gujrunwala, Pakistan,
this week, following attacks on a Christian homes a school and church.

Many Christians have fled the area, following the
violence on Saturday 30 April, which left some 50
people wounded and resulted in 25 arrests, according to newspaper reports.

The violence followed the release of two

Christian men who had been accused of desecrating
the Qur'an by writing on it and burning pages.

Police had arrested them two weeks before. It
soon became clear the accusations were fabricated
after the police employed a handwriting expert to
test whether the men wrote the offending words.

> Read more here

> ******************************

Mothers' Union to hold their 2011 General Meeting in Scotland, UK

> From the Mothers' Union website

Professor Tanya Byron has agreed to be a keynote
speaker at  Mothers' Union's General Meeting
-  Tanya Byron is a chartered clinical chartered
psychologist, an author, broadcaster and
professor.  Tanya is also known for her on screen
expertise on The House of Tiny Tearaways and
books such as Little Angels, Your Child Your Way and many more.

Mothers? Union?s General Meeting 2011 will be
held on Thursday 9th June, at the world famous
Usher Hall in Edinburgh.  Edinburgh is one of the
most vibrant cities in Europe and Usher Hall is a
wonderful venue with the capacity to accommodate at least 2000 visitors.

> Read more here

> _______________

> COMMENT

> The Church for sinful addicts

> By Giles Fraser writing in the Church Times

I met a man the other day who had spent 20 years
as a heroin addict. He is now the CEO of a large
and well-known company, and married with
children. The only suggestion of previous
addiction was the can of Coke in his hand as the
rest of us drank wine. He has been clean for
nearly 25 years, but still goes to Narcotics Anonymous (NA) every week.

I am on day four of giving up smoking, again.
It?s not the same as a heroin habit, I know. But
it is interesting how addiction stays with you. I
gave up smoking several years ago, and I really
thought I had cracked it. But, one night last
December, I just had the one, and then was back
on 20 a day within a week. It was madness. Was it
weakness of will? That, of course, is a common
explanation of addiction. But my new friend
understood it completely differently. Addicts
actually have incredibly strong wills, he argued
­ in fact, too strong. How else can they resist
the pressure of friends and family constantly
calling on them to quit? No, the addict?s will is
so strong that he or she is endlessly inventive
to justify a reason for the next fix; endlessly
devious in finding new opportunities for a puff or a line.

This is why, my friend believes, the only way to
recover fully is to hand your will over to others
­ or, as a Christian might put it, to an Other.
Thus, for instance, if he was planning to go on a
trip, he would ask those at his NA meeting
whether they thought it was a good idea. They
would see the risks, understand the temptations,
and smell out the bogus justifications that we
use to return to our drug. If they said no, he wouldn?t go on the trip.

I have long felt that groups such as Narcotics
Anonymous offer a model for a persuasive
ecclesiology. Human beings are sinful creatures.
Sin is an addiction, even for those who have been
clean for years. A good church is a place where
you can have the trust to hand your will over to
others ­ as well as to an Other. A good church is
a place where we all acknowledge our addiction,
and can help each other with honesty and
fellow-feeling. This is why church can be so
easily corrupted by respectability, by the desire to pretend and to tut-tut.

I was having a fag outside the new Bishop of
Ely?s enthronement the other day. Another cleric
saw me, and screwed up his face in obvious
disapproval. If my ecclesiology has some merit,
then that face is how the Church dies. Snooty
respectability kills it by acting as if we, as
church, have been cured of our addiction. No:
what we need to do is to support each other in
our battle against sin, not to pretend that we are somehow beyond it.

The Revd Dr Giles Fraser is Canon Chancellor of St Paul?s Cathedral, Engl and.

> ____________________________

> PUBLICATION OF THE WEEK

> Why not take a look at the new websites of
> Archbishops Rowan Williams at
> http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org  and John
> Sentamu at http://www.archbishopofyork.org  ?
> Both sites are packed with photos, stories, and
> videos detailing their ministries.

> ____________________________

> BOOKSHELF

> A sheep in wolf's clothing?

Developing Consciousness - A Roadmap of the Journey to Enlightenment

> (From the publishers' promotional material)

When is a book a Christian book? That is the
debate that is raging around Nicholas Vesey's
groundbreaking Developing Consciousness - A
Roadmap of the Journey to Enlightenment. Written
with non-Christian sensibilities firmly in mind,
it reads like any other 'New Age' book until
about half way through. Anglican priest Nicholas
Vesey has constructed a book positioning
Christianity as an eastern religion where seekers
can find 'enlightenment' like Buddhism, Taoism or Hinduism.

> "This book is aimed at people who wouldn't
> normally go anywhere near the church," says
> author Nicholas Vesey. "It is an attempt to build
> a bridge between contemporary Christianity and
> the Christian tradition. The pitch is: 'if you're
> seeking enlightenment, then why not find it in the Christian tradition?'"

For more information visit http://www.developingconsciousness.net

> .____________________________

ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER Click here for the full ACP

> Friday 06-May-2011
> Psalm: 78:1-8    Exod. 13:1-16
> Newark - (Province II, USA) The Rt Revd Mark M. Beckwith

> Saturday 07-May-2011
> Psalm: 78:9-16    Exod. 13:17-22
> Newcastle - (York, England) The Rt Revd Martin Wharton
> Suffragan Bishop of of Newcastle - (York, England) The Rt Revd Paul Richard son

Sunday 08-May-2011     Easter 3 Julian of Norwich, Spiritual Writer, c.1417
Psalm: 85:8-13    Heb. 5:1-6
Newcastle (AUS) - (New South Wales, Australia) The Rt Revd Brian George Far ran
Suffragan Bishop of Newcastle (AUS) - (New South
Wales, Australia) The Rt Revd Peter Stuart

> Monday 09-May-2011
> Psalm: Luke 1:68-75    Heb. 5:7-10
> Ngbo - (Province of the Niger, Nigeria) The Rt Revd Christian Ebisike

> Tuesday 10-May-2011
> Psalm: 78:17-30    Exod. 14:1-14
> Nicaragua - (Central America) The Rt Revd Sturdie Downs

> Wednesday 11-May-2011
> Psalm: 78:32-39    Exod. 14:15-22
> Niger Delta North - (Province of the Niger Delta,
> Nigeria) The Rt Revd Ignatius Kattey
> Niger Delta West - (Province of the Niger Delta,
> Nigeria) The Rt Revd Adoluphus Amabebe
> Niger Delta, The - (Province of the Niger Delta,
> Nigeria) The Rt Revd Gabriel H Pepple

> Thursday 12-May-2011
> Psalm: 78:40-55    Exod. 14:23-31
> Nike - (Province of Niger, Nigeria) The Rt Revd Evans Jonathan Ibeagha
> Niger West - (Province of Niger, Nigeria) The Rt Revd Anthony Nkwoka

> __________________________________

If you have any comments relating to the Weekly
ACNS Review please contact news@aco.org

For subscription Information please go to:

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/help/acnslist.cfm