30 September 2008: GAFCON meeting in Uganda
The New Vision (Kampala) reports that 39 GAFCON bishops met at Uganda Christian University to continue the business of GAFCON. That newspaper notes 'GAFCON is a clergy movement against homosexuality in the Church.'

29 September 2008: African Province chair calls for end to bickering
Religious Intelligence reports that 'The chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) has called upon the African church to put aside its differences and engage with its theological opponents...'

29 September 2008: A new bishop in Burma
The Anglican Communion News Service reports that the Rt Revd Saw Stylo has been installed as the sixth bishop of Hpa-An in Myanmar. As a parish priest, he had opened an agricultural centre and an orphanage, and had been President of the Fish Breeding Federation of Kayah State. (The issue of whether the country is named Burma or Myanmar is complex and controversial).

28 September 2008: Pittsburgh bishop removed from office; diocese votes to secede
The US Episcopal News Service reports that 'Robert Duncan has been given a formal sentence of deposition from the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church and has been removed as the bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.' We recommend that most people not directly involved in this caper stop paying attention to most details until the attorneys finish slugging it out. This letter from the Revd Dr Bruce Robison to his parish in Pittsburgh is a very good summary of what it is that has happened. Across the Aisle has released this letter from one member of the Standing Committee who will remain in the US Episcopal Church.

A few days after this deposition, the US Episcopal News Service reported that at the Diocesan Convention of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, delegates voted 240-102 to leave the Episcopal Church and then voted to join the Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina. The US Presiding Bishop issued this statement.

27 September 2008: New bishop for Southern Virginia
The US Episcopal News Service reports that the Revd Herman Hollerith IV was elected Bishop of Southern Virginia. Computer history officionados may recognize the name Herman Hollerith, indeed his ancestor.

27 September 2008: Queensland churches asked to help with strike-breaking
The Courier Mail (Brisbane) reports that Anglican churches are being approached by Queensland Health officials to provide strike-breaking staff as industrial action over hospital wages escalates.

26 September 2008: Wales to stop having a 'flying bishop'
The Church Times reports that the Church in Wales will no longer have its equivalent of a 'flying bishop' to provide oversight for those clergy and parishes that cannot in conscience accept women priests. They have also decided to introduce quotas for women on all church committees.

26 September 2008: UK holds nationwide 'back to church' day
The Church Times reports that churches across England, Wales, Scotland, and 'as far afield as New Zealand and Canada' are rolling out the red carpet in an attempt to welcome people back to church this Sunday.

26 September 2008: Construction begins on new Anglican church in Qatar
The Gulf Times (Qatar) reports that construction has begun on an Anglican church in Abu Hamour.

26 September 2008: Making a difference in Burundi
The US Episcopal News Service reports on a celebration in Bujumbura, Burundi, marking 8 successful years of the Mothers' Union Literacy and Development program.

25 September 2008: Furor in Australia over Islamic cemetery plans
The Canberra Times reports that an Anglican Cemetery near Sydney has been sold to a Muslim association, and that the plans to repurpose it as an Islamic cemetery are meeting fierce local opposition. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has also reported the situation.

24 September 2008: ABC and ABY slam capitalism as world financial crisis hardens
The Telegraph (London) reports on separate statements from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York on the evils of unfettered capitalism. +York gave a speech at a bankers' convention in London, and +Canterbury wrote an article for The Spectator. Additional coverage in the British press include The Guardian, The Times, The Mail, and the BBC. The Financial Times was quick to point out that the Church of England uses many of the same techniques in managing its own wealth. The Archbishop of York has written for The Telegraph an essay about how some of that money might better be used. mentioning his new Education for All initiative.

24 September 2008: Reprieve for Nigerian woman fighting deportation by living in a church
We reported last week on the plight of Felicia Abimbola Akinwalere in Mississauga, Ontario. Today The Star (Toronto) reports that immigration officials have, after some conflict and some negotiation, agreed not to deport her.

24 September 2008: Women clergy in Uganda demand women bishops
The New Vision (Kampala) reports that 'Female clergy in the country have demanded that the Church of Uganda starts ordaining women bishops.'

22 September 2008: New bishop for Bermuda
The Royal Gazette (Hamilton) reports that Canon Patrick White was elected Bishop of Bermuda.

22 September 2008: Bishop of Pittsburgh formally removed from office
The vote was last week, the sentencing announced this week: the US Episcopal News Service reports that former bishop Robert Duncan has been given a formal sentence of deposition from the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church and has been removed as the bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The Church Times has a good summary of it all.

22 September 2008: Church and State in Botswana
Mmegi Online (Gaborone) reports that a group of Anglican priests whose licence was revoked by their bishop have taken their case to the Botswana High Court in Lobatse. The Botswana government's Daily News offers this report on the case.

22 September 2008: Diocese of British Columbia merges island parishes
The Times Colonist (Victoria) reports that shrinking attendance at Island churches is forcing the Anglican Church of Canada to close one Victoria parish and merge eight others.

22 September 2008: Sparrow returned to Liverpool Cathedral
The Liverpool Echo reports that the twice-stolen bronze sparrow at Liverpool Cathedral is now twice returned.

21 September 2008: Church outreach to UK football fans
The BBC reports that four bishops' smiles will beam from an ad in match day programmes, inviting fans to join in Back to Church Sunday and notes that last year an extra 6,000 people came to services across the diocese that Sunday. You can see the advert here and read the Diocese's press release here. 'We may not offer a pie and a Bovril at half time, but many consider a cup of tea or coffee and a bit of banter after the final whistle, er, prayer, a decent substitute.' The Birmingham Post, read by far more football fans than is the BBC website, filed this report.

20 September 2008: Sanctuary in a Canadian church
The Star (Toronto) reports that when Felicia Abimbola came to Ontario from Nigeria 18 years ago, her husband took part in a failed military coup, and was presumed dead. She was afraid to return, but her attempts to gain immigrant status failed. Two years ago, the authorities came looking for her, and she took refuge in Trinity Church, where she was known. She has been there ever since, and the church is caring for her and pressing her case.

19 September 2008: Anti-Christian violence spreads in North India
The Church Times reports that the Bishop of Amritsar's family are among the 4000 Christians made homeless as violence by Hindu extremists continues.

19 September 2008: Central figure in UK creationism controversy resigns his post
The Church Times reports that the Royal Society’s director of education, the Revd Professor Michael Reiss, resigned from his post this week after a row over his view that creationism should be examined in science classes. Canon John Polkinghorne (a physicist and a theologian) has a piece in The Times regretting the misrepresentation of Reiss's views, which led to his resignation.

19 September 2008: Breakaway Anglican group uses Sydney archbishop's postbox as address
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the postbox address for the Diocese of Sydney is listed as the central contact point for the effort to form the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans as a rival to the Anglican Communion.

18 September 2008: Bishop of Pittsburgh deposed by vote of US House of Bishops
The US Episcopal News Service reports that the House of Bishops voted by a 2:1 majority to depose Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh and released this account of the vote. Such a vote authorizes Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori to remove him from ordained ministry. Bishop Jefferts Schori issued this statement on the vote to depose. Thinking Anglicans has gathered links to commentary (part 1, part 2) and press reports on this action.

15 September 2008: Former New Westminster clergy and lay leaders sue diocese
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that 17 former clergy and former lay leaders have filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of New Westminster and its bishop over the diocese’s decision to evict breakaway priests who continue to use diocesan properties.

14 September 2008: Creationism in UK science lessons?
It's Kansas in Liverpool. Thinking Anglicans reports on the furor following a reported statement from the director of education at the Royal Society that British high schools should include creationism and 'intelligent design' in their science classes.

14 September 2008: ABY says that intolerance of faith groups and faith schools is growing
Religious Intelligence reports that the Archbishop of York has accused government oficials and bodies of being "intolerant" of faith groups and faith schools. We wonder if the reason for this intolerance is in any way linked to the story above.

14 September 2008: NZ bishop outraged at drug distribution
The New Zealand Herald reports that the Bishop of Auckland is trying to rally support for an anti-methamphetamine effort there.

14 September 2008: Curious skeletons found under Bermuda church
The Boston Globe reports that human remains have been found hidden under the floorboards in a Bermuda church said to be the oldest Anglican church in the world outside Britain. The Royal Gazette (Hamilton) claims that these include the remains of a former governor of Bermuda.

10 September 2008: ABC asked to convene interventions meeting
The Episcopal News Service (USA) reports that 'Canadian Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has asked Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to facilitate a meeting between him, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil Archbishop Mauricio de Andrade and Anglican Province of the Southern Cone Archbishop Gregory Venables to discuss cross-border interventions.'

10 September 2008: US Presiding Bishop removes inhibition after apology
The Episcopal News Service (USA) reports that US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has removed the inhibition on retired Bishop Edward MacBurney after he apologized for unauthorized involvement in the affairs of another diocese.

9 September 2008: First woman dean of an African cathedral appointed
Religious Intelligence reports that the Very Rev Martha Deng Nhial was installed as dean of St Matthew's Cathedral in the Diocese of Renk, the youngest of the 24 dioceses of the Episcopal Church of Sudan. This makes her the first woman cathedral dean in Africa.

7 September 2008: Sydney cathedral organ said to be 'too loud'
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the organist of St Andrew's Cathedral has been asked to tone down his loud musical flourishes at the end of Sunday services because members of the congregation have complained they cannot hear themselves think. Note to other cathedrals: if you're searching for a new organist, that search should probably include Sydney.

7 September 2008: London floating church temporarily in dry dock
TV New Zealand reported on a floating church at Canary Wharf in London's Docklands, which calls itself St Peter's Barge.

6 September 2008: Cash rolls in for Brisbane cathedral completion
The Courier Mail reports on the successful fundraising to complete the century-old construction project that is Brisbane's Cathedral of St John.

6 September 2008: Bees roll in to devour Lichfield cathedral
The Telegraph (London) reports that bees are eating Lichfield Cathedral. Technically the 'masonry bees' are not actually eating the cathedral but digging holes in it to build their nests, but you have to grant headline writers some leeway.

5 September 2008: Birmingham Cathedral wine bars?
The Church Times reports that Birmingham Cathedral is poised to launch its own wine label, to be sold at its own wine bars around town.

4 September 2008: Reorganization in Kenya
Religious Intelligence reports that the Anglican Church of Kenya is moving forward with a plan to reorganize into four ecclesiastical provinces, each headed by an archbishop.

3 September 2008: TEC re-opens theological institute
The Analyst (Monrovia) reports that The Episcopal Church has re-opened the Seth C. Edwards Memorial Theological Institute for the academic year 2008-2009.

3 September 2008: Fair trade clergy shirts in the UK
The BBC reports that a vicar in Nottinghamshire is offering fair trade clergy shirts, which he says have not previously been available. The Church Times' report includes a cartoon suggesting that the shirts might come with an accessory halo.

3 September 2008: Gambian priest defrocked by text message
The Gambia News Gateway reports that the Bishop of Gambia has sent one of his clergy a text message that he has been defrocked not for scandal, but for refusing to move to a distant mission station. We note from careful reading of this news report that this sacking has cut the number of full time clergy in that diocese by half. Here is a blog comment from an overseas priest who knows the diocese, noting that this was not out of character for the bishop.

The country is actually named 'The Gambia', after the river, and if you look at a map of that country you will see that the country and the river are nearly the same. The width of the country was determined by the range of British naval guns in 1889.

1 September 2008: Yukon fails to elect new bishop
The Anglican Journal (Canada) reports that 'Members of the diocese of the Yukon, meeting in Whitehorse on May 31, failed to elect a new bishop, and Archbishop Terrence Buckle said he would postpone his retirement....'

31 August 2008: Sectarian violence in Tanzania
Religious Intelligence reports that 'Violence erupts between Christians and Muslims in Tanzania' after an Anglican evangelist was accused of blaspheming Islam. The Citizen (Dar es Salaam) printed an editorial condemning this disruption of religious harmony.

29 August 2008: Sectarian violence in Eastern India
The Church Times has a good summary report on attacks, otherwise mentioned primarily in South Asian news media, of Hindu extremists against Christians. The Church of North India, whose members are being attacked, is a member of the Anglican Communion.

28 August: Buried secrets: Newman's remains to be moved
In preparation for Cardinal Newman's beatification by Pope Benedict, his remains will be removed from a small cemetery at Rednal, to a grander sarcophagus inside Birmingham Oratory. The decision, which has been approved by the British government, has caused upset to some because he three times expressed a clear wish to be buried beside his friend, Fr Ambrose St John, and to others who have made a dubious claim that the two had a homosexual relationship, which the church is trying to deny. The Daily Mail article has a good picture of him in his study, the year before he died.

28 August 2008: Anglican church in Brisbane defrocks pedophile priest
The Courier Mail (Brisbane) reports that a convicted pedophile priest has been defrocked by the Anglican Church more than 30 years after he sexually assaulted a boy in Brisbane.

27 August: Cracking the Charles Wesley code
The Guardian (London) reports that a British professor has decoded the unique shorthand script of Charles Wesley's diary, uncovering tensions between him and his brother John, over marriage (he sabotaged John's intention to marry Grace Murray, who had been previously engaged, by persuading her to honour her earlier betrothal) and over Anglican orders.

26 August 2008: Pastoral letter to Anglican bishops from the ABC
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has sent this 'Pastoral Letter to Bishops of the Anglican Communion'. The letter is not the sort of deep theological rhetoric of which Dr Williams is capable, and doesn't need much explication. The Church Times published this brief comment on it.

24 August 2008: Post Lambeth, Post Olympics
Anglicans Online has always taken a narrower position than many other publications on what constitutes 'actual news' that is worthy of your attention. We have no obligation to fill column inches or screens. This week we assert that there is almost nothing going on the Anglican world, above and beyond the background noise of arguing about sex and power (and occasionally money), that is worth taking up your time to read.

23 August 2008: Church and state in Kenya
The Daily Nation (Nairobi) reports that Kenyan 'Clergymen admitted to blessing warriors to engage in violence and inviting politicians to disseminate hate messages that incited people against members of various communities.' That newspaper published this editorial about the episode.

22 August 2008: The legacy of William Temple
In the Credo column in The Times (London), Peter Townley extols the example of Archbishop Temple, declaring that 'his wide informed vision checks our growing narrowness and self-obsession, his realism our Utopian perfectionism, his generosity of heart a worthy riposte to the mood of cynicism and anger
... and his statesmanship a powerful reminder of what it is to serve as the national church.'

21 August 2008: Church and state in Uganda
Ecumenical News International (Geneva) reports that 'Some Ugandan Anglican church leaders have expressed support for a statement by President Yoweri Museveni in which he commended the denomination's bishops for resisting homosexuality.' President Museveni told his countrymen that homosexuality in Uganda was a result of Western influence. For a glimpse into how President Museveni's speech was received by the people to whom it was directed, see this editorial column in The New Times (Kigali, Rwanda).

17 August 2008: Celebrating 50 years of inclusion in Guam Episcopal church
The Pacific Daily News (Guam) reports on the celebration of the 50th anniversary of St John the Divine Episcopal Church in Upper Tumon, Guam.

17 August 2008: Freak belltower accident in Brisbane cathedral
The Australian reports that a bellringer at St John's Cathedral in Brisbane was caught in the rope and injured, necessitating a complex rescue operation.

17 August 2008: Uganda Primate says it's all caused by moral decay
The Daily Monitor (Kampala) quotes the Archbishop of Uganda as having said that moral degeneration is the cause of religious and leadership conflicts in that country. We're tempted to send him a Lambeth T-shirt, but don't know his shipping address.

15 August 2008: New English-language RC liturgy
The Church Times reports that the Vatican has approved a new translation of the most important parts of the Roman Catholic mass for use throughout the English-speaking world. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued this press release.

15 August 2008: Church of Ireland Gazette editorial on Anglican Governance
The Church of Ireland Gazette, which assures us that it is 'editorially independent of the Church of Ireland', offered this short editorial on the aftermath of Lambeth 2008.

15 August 2008: Bishop of Winchester complains that Lambeth Conference allowed too many opinions
The Church Times reports that the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester is furious that the Lambeth Conference allowed the discussion of opinions that differ from his own.

15 August 2008: Church of England urged to honour John Henry Newman by excluding women clergy
A former president of Italy has written an opinion piece for The Times (London) suggesting that the Church of England ought not dishonour John Henry Newman by consecrating women as bishops.

14 August 2008: Diocese of Quincy sends separation booklet to all members of the diocese
The US Episcopal News Service reports that the Diocese of Quincy has sent a document to all members of the diocese aimed at answering the question of whether the diocese should separate from the Episcopal Church. There is considerable disagreement among observers as to whether all of the statements made in that document are actually true. The Diocese of Quincy is so small that the postage charge for this mass mailing was probably not very great.

13 August 2008: Fort Worth priests propose aligning with Roman Catholic church
The Star Telegram (Fort Worth) reports that four Fort Worth priests are asking their local Roman Catholic Diocese’s help in aligning with the RC church. The Bishop of Fort Worth clearly has other plans, because the [Episcopal] Bishop of Forth Worth issued this statement just a few hours after the story broke.

13 August 2008: Bradford bishop not barmy
The Telegraph and Argus (Bradford, UK) reports that the Bishop of Bradford joins other notable citizens in dismissing as 'barmy' a report from the Policy Exchange that the solution for the economic woes of England's northern cities (such as Bradford) is to abandon those cities and move their populations south.

11 August 2008: Paying for the Lambeth Tea Party
The Church of England issued this press release about funding bailouts for the Lambeth Conference and Tea Party.

10 August 2008: Out of Africa: a Kenyan missionary in Manchester
The Independent on Sunday profiles Cyprian Yobera, who lives in one of the terraced houses built when Manchester was a thriving cotton town, but are now part of a patch of inner-city urban decay. He doesn't use the m-word (missionary) - or even the g-word, in his ministry of presence.

9 August 2008: No comment allowed (the SPCK affair)
Dave Walker, the Artist in Residence at the Lambeth Conference, had been chronicling the strange saga of the former SPCK bookshops, purchased by the Texan Brewer brothers, who are filing for bankruptcy in a US court. If you go to his site, you will find a notice that the post has been removed. The Suffragan Bishop of Buckingham, Alan Wilson, is one of the bloggers who tells the story of the Cease and Desist letter that led to the withdrawal of those pages. As with most blogs, it's very hard to figure out who is behind the 'SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info' blog where you can follow this story in gruesome detail should you wish. (It's Phil Groom).

8 August 2008: What happened at the Lambeth Conference? No one seems to know
The Church Times' Pat Ashworth reflects on what did or didn't happen at The Lambeth. Conference, that is. Whatever it is that happened there, the Church Times reports that bishops are saying that 'it would be foolish to let such a gift fall apart'. Thinking Anglicans has done its usual good job of gathering a very large amount of commentary on Lambeth; look here. Jim Naughton of the Diocese of Washington wrote 'What I "learnt" at Lambeth' for the Church Times; it's quite worth reading. One thing that is very clear about the Lambeth conference is that it lost money.

8 August 2008: A dangerous apology
The Sydney Morning Herald reports on the backlash against Australian clergy (of many denominations) who signed a petition apologizing to gays and lesbians for past mistreatments.

6 August 2008: A no-longer-dangerous apology
The US Episcopal News Service reminds us that the US Episcopal Church will hold a 'Day of Repentance' to apologize for its participation in slavery. The venue of this Repentance service has changed since the original announcement; it will be held at the African Episcopal Church of St Thomas, in Philadelphia.

4 August 2008: Lambeth 'Holier than thou' T-shirt available
Anglicans Online has received permission to reproduce the 'Holier than thou' T-shirt mentioned in last week's News Centre that was so popular at the recent Lambeth conference. We've taken the liberty of putting that same artwork on a tote bag and some tea mugs, as T-shirts aren't for everyone. We are offering it through the Anglicans Online gift shop at Café Press.

3 August 2008: Lambeth Conference is over
The final draft of the 'Lambeth Indaba Reflections' document has been released by the Anglican Communion Office on behalf of the bishops attending the Lambeth Conference. As has the Archbishop of Canterbury's Concluding Presidential Address to the Lambeth Conference. Activist groups on all sides of The Issue have released statements. Since those statements have been released, they have presumably run off into the forest, and we shan't go chasing them. Most of the 'newsworthy' events at Lambeth 2008 have been people saying unkind things about other people, and we continue to reject all of it. If an Anglican Covenant comes out of this process (not likely anytime soon) then some people will sign it and some people will not and then, over time, what happens as a result of that will probably qualify as news. The official T-Shirt of the 2008 Lambeth Conference says 'Holier than Thou' in block letters on the front. The Church Times blog quotes Archbishop Drexel Gomez (in charge of producing the document) saying that the draft Covenant is 'future-directed'.

It seems right in reflecting on an English conference to honour the Crusades, the Hundred Years' War, and Robert the Bruce (and also to avoid having to sift through so many press releases) by looking at reports from the French, from the Scots, and from a Muslim. The best conceptual summary of Lambeth 2008 that we've seen so far was written by The Guardian's brilliant new religion writer, Riazat Butt (a Muslim).

1 August 2008: Sydney sleepovers
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, has been having his clergy attend sleepover conferences in groups of 6 or 7 at his Bishopsgate home.

1 August 2008: Free Speech 1—Australian bishops intercede for jailed Papuan demonstrators
Displaying a separatist flag in Indonesia is subversion under Indonesian law. Religious Intelligence reports that when 46 Papuans were arrested (and reportedly humiliated and beaten) for expressing national aspirations, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall denounced the clampdown. The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches have been assisting refugees who find their way to Port Moresby.

27 July 2008: Free Speech 2—Lord Carey defends the right to speak about the unspeakable
A judge has awarded Max Mosley 60,000 pounds (plus costs) after a British tabloid alleged he had engaged in a Nazi style orgy. The Telegraph (London) reports that former ABC Lord Carey said the ruling has created a new privacy law which will allow public figures to engage in 'unspeakable and indecent behaviour', and that the High Court decision undermines public morality.

27 July 2008: Lambeth Conference continues
We at Anglicans Online are sticking to our story that the daily and hourly minutiæ of the Lambeth Conference are neither news nor newsworthy. We smiled when we read this report in the Church Times about how frustrating it is to be a reporter there, or this lament from Jim Naughton about whether or not anything has actually happened at Lambeth so far. If you feel compelled to follow its progress and aren't willing to digest the steady stream of official press releases or read the official coverage in the Lambeth Daily, you can follow it in the British national press, or follow the US Episcopal Church's coverage, or read the Church Times Blog, or read Thinking Anglicans coverage, or read the collection of bishops' blogs gathered as the 'Lambeth Journal', or read the Episcopal Café's list of 'Bishops Blogging' or the BBC's 'Lambeth diary'. Several writers point out that Simon Sarmiento observed that at the previous Lambeth Conference, nothing of consequence happened until the end. Rather like Sumo wrestling, except that in that sport the notion of 'the end' is defined by something of consequence happening; Lambeth is on a fixed schedule.

26 July 2008: Jesus Christ — annoying for 2000 years
When New South Wales threatened to fine Sydneysiders $5500 for 'annoying' pilgrims as Pope Benedict XVI visited World Youth Day, an Anglican church placed a sign outside: 'Jesus Christ - annoying for 2000 years'.

26 July 2008: Church closure rate increases in the UK
The Telegraph (London) reports that more than 260 churches belonging to the Church of England have ceased to be used for regular worship in the past decade, of which 29 were in the last year.

24 July 2008: Bishops march
The BBC reports that 'Hundreds of bishops from across the world have marched in London to demand urgent action on global poverty.' Additional coverage in The Times (London), The Independent (London), and the US Episcopal News Service (New York). Ruth Gledhill of The Times describes the tea eaten by the bishops at Buckingham Palace after marching against poverty.

19 July 2008: Australian bishop challenges Pope's authority
The Age (Melbourne) reports that 'A senior Anglican bishop has questioned the very existence of the Papal office at a meeting with the Pope and other Christian leaders'.

18 July 2008: Rome warns Anglicans who contemplate jumping ship
The Church Times reports that the Vatican has reaffirmed their position that opposition to women bishops is not reason enough to become a Roman Catholic

17 July 2008: Marriage, Mitres and Being Myself
Jane Williams (Mrs ABC) spoke to some of the Wahs (wives and husbands) attending Lambeth about the tensions between the private lives and public duties experienced by bishops' spouses. Her book on that theme has become an unexpected best-seller. Reports in The Guardian and The Telegraph.

16 July 2008: Lambeth Conference begins
The 2008 Lambeth Conference has begun. We do not recommend trying to follow it hour-by-hour, but if you must, let us recommend the bland and regulated official news coverage in the Lambeth Daily or the British-Museum-esque coverage in Thinking Anglicans. That will surely put you to sleep, which you need. This journal from Ruth Gledhill, religion reporter for The Times (London), gives a first-hand account of the reporters' dilemma. This link collects most bishops' blogs from Lambeth in an RSS feed. Some bishops, such as +New Jersey or +Dudley, are not officially blogging and so their non-blogs are non-listed there, but worth reading nonetheless. The Church Times reports that 'The Lambeth Conference opened this week in Canterbury on a rising tide of support for the Archbishop of Canterbury.' Most of the Church Times' detailed coverage of Lambeth is restricted to subscribers until the conference is over, which is actually just fine. Waiting softens the urgency of the moment.

16 July 2008: Kenyan church on the cross
The pallid response of Kenyan churches to post-election violence reflects their dwindling moral influence, according to an article in the Standard, reported on the Religious Intelligence website. It looks back to the time when Jomo Kenyatta's description of church as the conscience of society seemed to have more credibility.

15 July 2008: A Common Word for the Common Good
An unprecedented gathering of Muslim scholars from all schools of thought have declared the common ground between Christianity and Islam. The ABC has welcomed the friendly spirit of the document, and called for further discussion to tackle the issues of religious freedom, pluralism and religiously-motivated violence.

15 July 2008: Profile of the ABC
Beset by liberals, hounded by conservatives, Rowan Williams needs a miracle to keep the church intact, suggests this article in The Guardian

13 July 2008: Countdown to the Lambeth Conference
The world press seems largely to be ignoring the Lambeth Conference (which starts Wednesday, 16 July) having spent so much energy covering the run-up to it. Google News indexes about 2700 articles about the Lambeth Conference, but 3,400 articles about the weather in New Zealand, 10,000 articles about Pope Benedict XVI, 20,000 articles about Iran's recent missile tests, 22,000 articles about cricket matches around the world, and 120,000 articles about the upcoming US presidential election.

13 July 2008: the 50 most influential Anglicans
In its countdown to Lambeth, The Telegraph (London) profiles the fifty most influential figures in the Anglican Church. You can help shape the list.

13 July 2008: Pope Benedict offers prayers for Lambeth
In Sydney, the Pope said he would not offer advice to Anglicans, but hoped they would be able to avoid further schisms or new fractures, says a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

11 July 2008: In search of wisdom between the extremes
Leading churchmen share their hopes and fears for the future of the Anglican Communion on the pages of The Times (London).

8 July 2008: Women bishops approved for Church of England
The Anglican Communion News Service reports in a terse and businesslike manner on the vote of the General Synod of the Church of England to permit women to be bishops. There is a vast amount of commentary about this in the British press, notably including articles in The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, and the Daily Mail, Every imaginable lobbying organization has issued a statement or a press release, but we're not going to link to any of them. Editorials in The Times, The Telegraph, and The Guardian comment and make predictions. The Vatican, via the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, issued this statement of regret. Thinking Anglicans has its usual encyclopedic roundup of reports and reactions, but there's no one link we can give you to find it all. Look here and here and here and here and here.

7 July 2008: Passing of the Bishop of Bangor
The Bishop of Bangor (Tony Crockett) died after a fight with cancer. He was, says the Telegraph, a fluent Welsh speaker, enthusiastic about pilgrimages, and he 'encouraged others to see the Christian life itself as a pilgrimage of spiritual discovery.' We suspect this may be a tribute from BBC Wales.

7 July 2008: Flight from women bishops
An editorial in The Tablet suggests that 'it is not particularly complimentary to the Catholic Church to treat it as a refugee camp, just over the ecclesiastical border as it were, for disgruntled Anglicans.' But the Bishop of Ebbsfleet suggests otherwise, in a column in the Catholic Herald, after the Church of England's decision to allow women bishops.

7 July 2008: Aspinall warns Jensen
On Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio, the Australian Primate warned that conservatives face legal battle if they try to overstep the laws of the church. You can listen here, read a transcript here, or read what the Sydney Morning Herald had to say about it.

7 July 2008: Williams stands tall
The religious reporter for the Telegraph gives a moving account of an address by the ABC in York Minster. 'By the end of his sermon many of the congregation were close to tears. Others were celebrating that the Archbishop seemed like a man transformed.' The BBC reported that the ABC said that Jesus would feel the pain on both sides of the divide.

7 July 2008: Church of England said to be looking at Super Bishops
The Telegraph reports that the Church of England is considering a new class of 'super bishop' to be created to cater for traditionalists who oppose the introduction of women. Friends at amazon.co.uk tell us that there have been several orders of radioactive spiders sent to Lambeth Palace.

6 July 2008: 'Building an æroplane while flying'
In an interview with The Times (Johannesburg), Archbishop Thabo Makoga describes his first six months in office, with the challenges of crime and the poverty divide; and he calls for efforts to end political violence in Zimbabwe.

6 July 2008: Women bishops shouldn't scare the synod
In anticipation of Monday's discussion at General Synod, Canon Jane Hedges argues in the Telegraph against the proposal for safeguards to protect those who find the prospect of women bishops troubling. As a sign of the times, the Independent has a photo of the security measures that await synod delegates.

5 July 2008: Archbishop of Sudan admitted as a Sarum canon
This is Wiltshire reports that Daniel Deng, who has been an active peacemaker in the Sudan, has been made a canon of Salisbury cathedral. The dioceses of Salisbury and Sudan have had a close relationship for thirty years.

5 July 2008: The battle for hearts and souls
The Sydney Morning Herald comments on the suddenly high visibility of the Archbishop of Sydney on the political stage.

4 July 2008: Tom Wright accuses GAFCON of bullying
The Bishop of Durham has some surprisingly harsh words for Garcon. You can listen to his interview on the BBC here.