30 June 2005: Methodists on road to Anglican unity
The Telegraph (London) reports that the Methodist Church in England approved the principle of Methodist bishops, provided that they are 'not associated with palaces and patronage'.

27 June 2005: Papers for Church of England General Synod
Thinking Anglicans has assembled the list of resources sent to members of the General Synod in advance of its July meeting.

26 June 2005: ACC 13 almost finished in Nottingham
The 13th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council has essentially finished its meetings in Nottingham this week. The official documents produced include the Presidential address by Rowan Williams, the chairman's address by John Paterson, a press release about resolutions passed, and another about further resolutions passed. Simon Sarmiento (our Europe correspondent) has written this summary of what happened there; next week he will write about the environment in which it happened.

The US Episcopal News Service press releases include 'Theologians offer response to Windsor Report request', 'More that unites than divides, Episcopalians tell ACC', 'ACC votes to add Primates to membership', and 'ACC affirms Communion-wide listening process, members' voluntary withdrawal'. The Anglican Church of Canada press releases include '"Key messages" for the Anglican Consultative Council', 'Canadians address Anglican Consultative Council', and 'ACC decision regrettable, but of little practical consequence, Canadian Primate says'.

An early summary of the meeting was published by Cartoon Church. News reports include 'ACC resorts to secret poll to modify ejection plan' and 'Power is the issue, as well as sex and scripture, Dr Williams tells ACC' in the Church Times; 'US Church excluded for gay stance' from the BBC; 'Anglicans "expel" Canada' in the National Post; 'American churches shown door as gay row deepens' in The Times.

25 June 2005: ACC and Israeli/Palestine conflict
Thinking Anglicans has good coverage of the ACC's passing a resolution about the Israeli Palestine conflict. Here's the resolution, and here's the TA News Roundup.

24 June 2005: New ABY to keep out of sex arguments
The Church Times reports that in a recent interview, the Most Revd Dr John Sentamu, newly-appointed Archbishop of York, has said that he will not be drawn into Anglican rows about sexuality. That newspaper ran this opinion leader about Dr Sentamu's role in the global church.

19 June 2005: ACC meeting this week in Nottingham
The Anglican Consultative Council will meet this week in Nottingham, England. As is our custom, we will wait until it is finished before we publish much news about it. The turbulent collection of pre-meeting essays and opinions is easy to find should you wish to read it; we recommend the coverage at Thinking Anglicans.

19 June 2005: ABC discusses women and gays in television interview
The Scotsman reports 'The Archbishop of Canterbury today said he could see no “theological objections” to a woman leading the Anglican Church and admitted many Christians were bigoted towards homosexuals.' The Observer and The Telegraph both made brief mention of this interview.

17 June 2005: New Archbishop of York announced
The British government has announced the appointment of the Rt Revd John Sentamu as the next Archbishop of York. A native of Uganda, he is currently Bishop of Birmingham. Coverage includes the Yorkshire Post, the Associated Press, The Telegraph, The Scotsman, The Times, and the BBC.

17 June 2005: Fundraising for Kunonga trial
The Church Times reports that an urgent appeal for funds has come from the diocese of Harare in advance of the ecclesiastical court trial of the Rt Revd Nolbert Kunonga, Bishop of Harare, which begins on 18 July.

16 June 2005: Communiqué on Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue
The Anglican Communion News Service has released a 'Communiqué from The International Commission of the Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue'.

15 June 2005: Anglican Global Initiative
The Guardian has published a report on a previously-secret charter for a proposed alternate Anglican Communion, to be called the Anglican Global Initiative. Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh (PEP), which also obtained a copy of the document, has published this press release. The document itself is available here; here is a comparison of the AGI draft with the CAPA Nairobi Statement released in January. PEP has made available a PDF image of the document as they received it. The Church Times published this report on it and ran this editorial.

15 June 2005: ABC speaks on The Media
The Most Revd and Rt Hon Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, delivered this speech at Lambeth Palace, preceded by this press release announcing it. Entitled 'The Media: Public Interest and Common Good'. He exhibits little respect for online news reporting, but we trust that he is not referring to us and this News Centre.

10 June 2005: Preparing for the ACC meeting
The Episcopal News Service (USA) reports on preparations for the Anglican Consultative Council meeting, which will be held June 19-28 in Nottingham, England.

10 June 2005: Not money, but meaning
The Church Times reports that the Resourcing Mission Group of the Church of England will tell General Synod next month that the shortage in that church is not money, but purpose. Earlier The Times had reported 'Church admits cash shortage threatens one third of clergy'. The chairman of that Group wrote this Letter to the Editor of The Times in response.

10 June 2005: Interview with Angela Ifill
The Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago recently un-invited the Revd Angela Ifill from a planned visit to that country because of her liberal views. The Trinidad and Tobago Express recently tracked her down in New York City and published this interview.

10 June 2005: New Archbishop of Burundi
The Anglican Communion News Service has announced the election of the Rt Revd Bernard Ntahoturi as Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Burundi.

8 June 2005: Membership of the Panel of Reference announced
The Anglican Communion News Service has released the names of the members of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Panel of Reference. The Church Times offers this explanation.

7 June 2005: Statement from Scottish bishops
The Bishops of the Scotttish Episcopal Church have released this statment concerning the Windsor Report.

6 June 2005: Historic meeting of Inclusive Church
Thinking Anglicans reports on the recent 'Partnership and strategy day' sponsored by Inclusive Church, in England. That report generated more reader commentary than anything we can remember at Thinking Anglicans.

4 June 2005: Covenant could bring big changes
The Church Times reports that 'Millions of churchgoers will face big changes in Sunday worship if the Church of England and the Methodist Church draw closer together.'

1 June 2005: ARCIC statement text available
The Vatican has released the full text of the Seattle Statement from ARCIC, entitled 'Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ'. One Anglican response to that document is in Fulcrum, a UK evangelical site. There is a Vatican response by Jared Wicks, s.j.

31 May 2005: Anglican Consultative Council ACC-13 Meeting
The Anglican Communion News Service has announced the details of the upcoming Anglican Consultative Council meeting. This is the meeting that North American representatives have chosen to have a different representative status than at past meetings.

29 May 2005: Anglican Communion Sunday
The Anglican Communion News Service has announced that today 'in many parts of the Communion' it is Anglican Communion Sunday, 'a day to raise awareness of and celebrate the Anglican Communion'. We urge all of you to be aware of the Anglican Communion and to celebrate it. We suspect that most powerful Anglicans are doing just that this week, because there doesn't seem to be any significant Anglican news. Earlier this week the Anglican Communion News Service made the formal announcement of the May 16 release of the ARCIC document on Mary. Much of what might at first glance be mistaken for Anglican news this week is in truth people stating their first reaction to that document. As usual, we shall wait a while before reporting opinion as news.

25 May 2005: Canadian Church announces 'presenters' to ACC
The Anglican Church of Canada has announced the names of the four people who will respond to a request that the church make a presentation to the Anglican Consultative Council next month.

22 May 2005: New archbishop in Adelaide
Australian news sources report that the Most Revd Jeffrey Driver, sitting Bishop of Gippsland, has been elected Archbishop of Adelaide. Coverage includes The Age, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Sunday Mail.

20 May 2005: US delegation to ACC meeting named
One outcome of recent turbulence in the Anglican Communion is that the US and Canadian churches will not engage in 'ordinary participation' in the upcoming Anglican Consultative Council meeting. The Living Church has just named the US delegation to that meeting.

17 May 2005: Reaction to ARCIC document on Mary
Ruth Gledhill at The Times and Rachel Boulding at the Church Times describe reactions to the Mary: Hope and Grace in Christ document released recently by ARCIC. The Anglican Communion News Service has released this introduction to the Mary document. The Church Times commented with 'Giving Mary her rightful place'.

15 May 2005: Australia reconsiders women bishops
The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald report that 'Women bishops are back on the agenda of the Anglican church after narrowly failing to win the required two-thirds majority at the national synod in October.' (It's the same news article, by Barney Zwartz, but you might have a subscription to one newspaper and not the other).

15 May 2005: New Westminster parish properties to be returned
The Diocese of New Westminster reports that two former diocesan priests and their followers say that at the end of May they will vacate the church buildings which they have been occupying. The departure of these two parishes was international news; we have not yet found any commercial newspaper that has published news of their return.

14 May 2005: Dissident priests in Connecticut
There's been a lot of posturing but none of what we consider to be actual news in the case of the priests who call themselves the 'Connecticut Six'. The Hartford Courant published this news story about a publicity event in Connecticut's state capital. When there's news, we'll tell you about it.

14 May 2005: New Westminster offers compromise
Reuters Canada reports that the Diocese of New Westminster has agreed on Saturday to temporarily limit the number of parishes that perform the ceremony. Here is the report from the Diocese itself.

13 May 2005: Church and State in Zimbabwe
The Church Times reports on the plight of witnesses scheduled to testify against the Bishop of Harare in an upcoming criminal trial.

11 May 2005: Archbishop Peter Carnley to lead Panel of Reference
The Anglican Communion News Service reports that The Most Revd Peter Carnley of Australia has accepted the ABC's request to serve as chair of “The Panel of Reference” created in response to the request of the recent Primates Meeting. There is extensive coverage of the announcement on Thinking Anglicans. There have been virtually no reports of this event in the commercial press; this mostly-factual article from the Associated Press is pretty much what's there.

8 May 2005: Vatican comments on Anglicans
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has issued this 'Update on Relations with the Anglican Communion'.

7 May 2005: Canadian commission finds that blessings are a matter of doctrine
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports on the opinion from a theological commission that the blessing of same-sex unions is a matter of doctrine. The Anglican Journal also reports on Canada's recent decision to attend the ACC meeting but not 'participate fully'. Earlier the Anglican Consultative Council had agreed to respect any decision reached by Canada's Council of General Synod. That body met from 6 May to 8 May, and at the end of its meeting issued this 'message for the church'. News reports of substance included Canadian Press and CBC News.

7 May 2005: Adelaide synod prepares for archbishop vote
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that after nearly a year without a leader, the synod of the Diocese of Adelaide is once again preparing to vote on an archbishop.

6 May 2005: Wrong number of the beast
The Church Times, Beliefnet, and the National Post, all report that recent scholarship applied to fragments of ancient papyrus indicates that the Number of the Beast is not 666 but 616.

6 May 2005: Statement from CPSA bishops about same-sex relationships
The Anglican Communion News Service has published a statement from bishops of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa on marriage and same-sex relationships.

6 May 2005: Texas congregation instructed to vacate parish property
The Associated Press reports that the Bishop of Northwest Texas has given a breakaway parish until 1 June 2005 to vacate the parish property because of their refusal to be part of that diocese. We're sure that there will be more news about this in the weeks leading up to 1 June.

2 May 2005: Bishop of Chelmsford un-invited to Trinidad
The Trinidad and Tobago Express reports that the Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago has withdrawn an invitation for a visit by the Bishop of Chelmsford because of +Chelmsford's support of North American churches. The Times (London) reported the story.

1 May 2005: Severe budget shortfalls in Canadian church
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that expenses at General Synod, the national office of the Anglican Church of Canada, need to be cut by CDN$415,000.

1 May 2005: Bishop refutes claims made in newspaper advertisement
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that the Rt Revd Fred Hiltz, Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, has refuted an advertisement announcing that 'the Anglican Church of Canada had been expelled from “the governing council of the Canterbury Communion for departing from biblical standards and tradition.”'

29 April 2005: ARCIC statement on the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Anglican Communion News Service reports that ARCIC (the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission) is set to release on 16 May a joint statement of understanding on the place of Mary in the doctrine and life of the church.

29 April 2005: Bishop consecrated in Hanuato'o
The Anglican Communion News Service reports the consecration of the Rt Revd Jonnie Kuper as Bishop of Hanuato'o.

29 April 2005: ABC slams the world economy
The Church Times reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury, speaking at a Christian Aid service, has blamed the global economy for leaving billions of children in extreme need.

28 April 2005: Canadian moratorium on same-sex blessings
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that 'At their regular spring meeting, bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada unanimously agreed "neither to encourage nor to initiate" the blessing of same-sex couples "until General Synod has made a decision on the matter"'. The story was carried in numerous Canadian newspapers, including the Winnipeg Sun, the London Free Press, and the Globe and Mail (Toronto).

27 April 2005: College of Emmanuel and St Chad to close
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that seven months after launching an $8.5 million fundraising campaign to mark its 125th anniversary, the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad in Saskatoon said it plans to close.

1 May 2005: Bishop refutes claims made in newspaper advertisement
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that the Rt Revd Fred Hiltz, Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, has refuted an advertisement announcing that 'the Anglican Church of Canada had been expelled from “the governing council of the Canterbury Communion for departing from biblical standards and tradition.”'

29 April 2005: ARCIC statement on the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Anglican Communion News Service reports that ARCIC (the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission) is set to release on 16 May a joint statement of understanding on the place of Mary in the doctrine and life of the church.

29 April 2005: Bishop consecrated in Hanuato'o
The Anglican Communion News Service reports the consecration of the Rt Revd Jonnie Kuper as Bishop of Hanuato'o.

29 April 2005: ABC slams the world economy
The Church Times reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury, speaking at a Christian Aid service, has blamed the global economy for leaving billions of children in extreme need.

28 April 2005: Canadian moratorium on same-sex blessings
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that 'At their regular spring meeting, bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada unanimously agreed "neither to encourage nor to initiate" the blessing of same-sex couples "until General Synod has made a decision on the matter"'. The story was carried in numerous Canadian newspapers, including the Winnipeg Sun, the London Free Press, and the Globe and Mail (Toronto).

27 April 2005: College of Emmanuel and St Chad to close
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that seven months after launching an $8.5 million fundraising campaign to mark its 125th anniversary, the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad in Saskatoon said it plans to close.

24 April 2005: Australia leads Anglican break to Rome
The Australian reports that 'The new Pope has established links with a group of disaffected Anglicans seeking to form their own church affiliated to the Vatican. Benedict XVI has held meetings with representatives of the Traditional Anglican Communion, according to Archbishop John Hepworth, the rebel group's primate.'

24 April 2005: Anglican bishops attend inauguration of new Pope
The BBC reports that the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, has attended Pope Benedict XVI's inauguration in the Vatican. The Times (London) also reports on the attendance of Dr Williams, and notes that the US church was represented by the Rt Revd Pierre Whalon, Bishop in Charge of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe.

23 April 2005: Letters between bishops
Thinking Anglicans reports on some correspondence among US bishops and to the Archbishop of Canterbury, pertaining to the aftermath of the Windsor Report.

23 April 2005: CPSA may change its name
The Independent Online (Cape Town) reports that the Church of the Province of Southern Africa will likely change its name so that the new name contains the word 'Anglican'.

22 April 2005: Red Cross may change its name
The Church Times (London) reports that the International Red Cross is considering the use of a red crystal rather than a red cross or a red crescent to identify its military facilities.

22 April 2005: ABC to lead Anglican delegation to meet new Pope
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will lead representatives from the Anglican Delegation in Rome this weekend in a brief audience with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on Monday morning (25th April) in Rome.

22 April 2005: Update on dissident priests in Connecticut
The New York Times has published three reports on the six dissident priests in Connecticut: 'Dissident Priests Not Punished, but Their Fate Is Still Unclear', 'Dissident Episcopal Priests Are Called Part of a Strategy', and 'Episcopal Clergy to Meet on Dispute Over Gay Issues'. There is a very detailed report on this issue in Thinking Anglicans.

19 April 2005: ABC offers greetings and prayers for new Pope
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has offered his best wishes and prayers for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on his election as Pope. Thinking Anglicans has gathered official Anglican reactions from around the world to that election.

16 April 2005: Conflict in Connecticut
The Rt Revd Andrew Smith, Bishop of Connecticut, is squabbling with six conservative parishes, which are getting outside encouragement and support from conservative lobbying organizations. Here is the bishop's statement. Here are statements from the American Anglican Council and the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes. News coverage includes the New York Times, the Connecticut Post, Newsday, and various international newspapers.

16 April 2005: African bishop supports condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS
PolitInfo reports that the Bishop of Gambia has come out in support of the use of condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Most African religious leaders continue their disapproval of the use of condoms for this purpose.

13 April 2005: ECUSA letter to Anglican Consultative Council
The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church in the USA has endorsed and sent this letter to the Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council. The letter is in regards to the communiqué from the recent Primates meeting in Northern Ireland. There are comments and responses from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Associated Press, the New York Times, Canada's Anglican Journal, the American Anglican Council, the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, and Reuters.

10 April 2005: Pope died and was buried
His Holiness Pope John Paul II, of whom you have heard, died last week and was this week interred in the crypt of St Peter, in Rome. Most of the world's religious news this week has not actually been news, but rather essays about the man and his works.

10 April 2005: Three new bishops in Fiji
The Fiji Times reports that the Diocese of Polynesia has consecrated three new bishops. The Rt Revds Gabriel Sharma, Apimeleki Qilho, and Winston Halapua were consecrated at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Suva.

7 April 2005: Two statements from Primate of All Nigeria
The Most Revd Peter Akinola, Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria, issued two formal statements today. The first is 'A word to Nigerian Anglicans in North America' and the second is 'A letter from the Primate of All Nigeria to the House of Bishops and the Members of the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria'. We won't attempt to paraphrase or summarise them, as they are not long and seem to have been worded carefully.

7 April 2005: Church in Wales Governing Body meeting
The Governing Body of the Church in Wales met recently in Aberystwyth. The MNost Revd Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales, delivered this presidential address about which this summary press release was issued. His key message is that, as Anglicans, 'it is difficult for us to be taken seriously when the present debate within the Anglican Communion has been couched in harsh, confrontational tones'.

6 April 2005: New bishop in Seychelles
The Seychelles Government and newspaper Seychelles Nation report on the recent consecration of the Rt Revd Santosh Marray as Bishop of Seychelles.

5 April 2005: Fabricated news about Gene Robinson causes stir
On 13 February 2005, the Rt Revd Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, spoke in a Lenten Forum series at Christ Church of Hamilton and Wenham in the Diocese of Massachusetts. This church is part of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, an organisation of conservatives within the US Episcopal Church. His remarks and the following panel discussion are recorded in full on that parish's website, so there can be no doubt about what it is that Bishop Robinson actually said. A week or so later, one of the better-known Episcopal bloggers (someone who has never been guilty of letting facts intrude into a good story) published a report on Bishop Robinson's remarks in which he (the blogger) reported that Bishop Robinson said that Jesus was probably gay. This story was picked up by a cub reporter at The Sunday Telegraph (London) and published as actual news. A certain number of people seem to have believed the article, and there was a bit of a kerfuffle here and there in the world media. Today the New Hampshire Union Leader reported that Bishop Robinson held a press conference to denounce those reports and draw attention to what he actually said. We take comfort in noting that most of the world's newspapers did not make this mistake, and that modern communications technology lets us easily refer to multiple news sources before forming conclusions.

3 April 2005: Church and state in California
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Bishop of California was very angry at Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's governor, for vetoing the parole of a rehabilitated prisoner. The church that had intended to employ him as a deacon was also disappointed.

3 April 2005: Deaths in the news
Pope John Paul II, Terry Schiavo, and Steven Plummer all died this week; may they rest in peace and rise in glory.

1 April 2005: The Ark, alive?
Despite the date, we believe this to be a legitimate report: the Church Times reports that a British businesswoman is proposing a Bible-based theme park in Yorkshire, whose centrepiece will be a replica of Noah's ark built to the specifications recorded in Genesis.