Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Spiritual and Sacred Links - Tuesday 30 June 2015

Supplied by a UK colleague:

Here are some things I hope you will find encouraging and informative:

#1 John Lennox on witnessing in an challenging culture; #2 Grant LeMarquand on preparing for the challenges of ministry; #3 Ele Mumford at the seaside; #4 the challenge and encouragement of Psalm 119; #12 Please pray for the victims' families from numerous massacres in the last 10 days and those being charged with insulting Islam, including now in the UK; #14 Some articles on the US court decision on marriage and some examination of the Pakistan blasphemy laws.

Prayers for you for the coming week

SERMONS AND TALKS
1. The Premier Lecture 2015 - Against the Flow - Professor John Lennox [Do you sometimes feel like you need to be encouraged in your faith, especially with the challenges you face in an increasingly secular culture?]
http://tinyurl.com/q2w4af5

2. 2015 Graduation Commencement Address - Bishop Grant LeMarquand - TSM
http://tinyurl.com/nufxfqh

3. The Wisdom of the Cross - Ele Mumford [1Corinthians 1:18-20] - St Peter's Brighton
http://tinyurl.com/qfus8h2

4. Psalm 119
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkEfuY2hKPE

Commentary
5. Preaching Ideas and Commentary - Rev Peter Carrell
http://preachingdownunder.blogspot.co.nz/

6. The Sunday Readings - Rev Stephen Trott
https://laworgospel.wordpress.com/

7. The New Testament in a year with Rev Andrew Goddard
http://www.sjtl.org/category/reading-nt/

WORSHIP
8. The bells of St Peter ad Vincula, Combe Martin in Devon - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0606md6

9. Sunday Worship from First Lisburn Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0606mdj

10. Sunday Hour - BBC Radio 2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05zzyd8

11. Choral services from the chapels of King's College Cambridge
http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/choir/webcasts.html
and St John's College, Cambridge
http://www.sjcchoir.co.uk/webcasts
and Trinity College, Cambridge
http://trinitycollegechoir.com//webcasts/listen-again/
and New College, Oxford
http://www.newcollegechoir.com/webcasts.html

PRAYER
Please pray for those under trial for insulting Islam in Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan and now the UK; for Charleston in South Carolina, Tunisia, France and Kuwait in the aftermath of mass killings; for the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church; for Christians and all facing persecution and crime in Syria and Iraq and Iran; for those affected by the earthquakes in Nepal; for peace in Burundi, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza; and for the Diocese of South Carolina.

12. Topical Prayers - Church of England
http://tinyurl.com/6wnk2pk
Prayers for the Church of England from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/mvux2u3
UK: Belfast Pastor Faces Prison for "Grossly Offending" Islam - Soeren Kern
http://tinyurl.com/qxle3l9
Imam defends pastor who called Islam 'satanic', says he will go to jail with him - CT
http://tinyurl.com/pwd6mcg
Egypt: Coptic boys on bail, anti-Islam charges pending - WWM
http://tinyurl.com/pgf3lvf
Egyptian convert still in jail having served his time - WWM
http://tinyurl.com/p6c72oz
Sudan: Prosecution closes case Sudanese Pastors trial - CSW
http://tinyurl.com/pwz2575
South Carolina:Prayers from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/kssn33y

CURRENT AFFAIRS
13. Sunday Programme - with Edward Stourton - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0606mdd

Food for thought
14. What Churches and Clergy Should Note from the Same-Sex Marriage Ruling - Christianity Today
http://tinyurl.com/q89w45a
SCOTUS Decision: Best Articles & Videos - David Murray
http://tinyurl.com/q4j9wt7
and a round up from First Things
http://tinyurl.com/pklw9jw
Don Carson Responds to SCOTUS
http://tinyurl.com/pusn758
A Prayer Litany for Marriage from the ACNA college of bishops - Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/nnm4bte
Al Jazeera digs into Pakistan's blasphemy law in two-part series - Julia Duin
http://tinyurl.com/py83pxx
Our Story Begins: Hudson Taylor - OMF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRwa0-QHf7Y

FINALLY
15. Facing the Canon with Anthony Delaney - J John
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0rBAmUGCT8

16. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me - Elgar - St John's College Choir, Cambridge
http://www.sjcchoir.co.uk/taxonomy/term/348

17. Trails End - Randy Halverson Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/124181194

God bless you

Monday, June 29, 2015

#LoveWins

The gospel in a Tweet is, #LoveWins.

Funnily enough, that is also the hashtag celebrating the US Supreme Court's decision to act as the parliaments of various countries, including my own, have acted. (Wait that doesn't sound right: the Supreme Court is not the US legislature ... but that is another issue, internal to the body politic of the States).

Christians in the US are either celebrating (led by President Obama himself) or concerned. The latter include the US Catholic Bishops, a coalition of evangelicals, ACNA, and the Diocese of South Carolina.

It is worth noting, via First Things, that c.100 million US citizens likely disagree with this ruling (i.e. agree with the 4 judges who were outvoted by the other 5). Chief Justice Roberts himself disputes whether this matter had anything to do with the constitution. Arguments about this will run and run. Yet where will it end, since some conservative Christians' minds may be changed?

Obviously 'marriage' in the sense of a permanent contractual relationship between two people is undergoing redefinition in Western culture, supported by legal redefinition. In the majority judgement, Justice Kennedy writes,
"No union is more profound than marriage for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family."
That Kennedy is willing to include same gender couples in this otherwise admirable definition of marriage demonstrates that in this redefinition of marriage, gender diversity is immaterial.

There is now no legal sense in several Western countries that 'marriage' means: 'The most profound human union because it embodies the union of male and female bound by the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.'

Yet it is difficult to see that a majority of Western Christians are going to let go of the concept of a 'something' (which used to be called 'marriage') being a union of a man and a woman. For this majority the US Catholic Bishops speak:

'The unique meaning of marriage as the union of one man and one woman is inscribed in our bodies as male and female. The protection of this meaning is a critical dimension of the “integral ecology” that Pope Francis has called us to promote. Mandating marriage redefinition across the country is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us, especially children. The law has a duty to support every child’s basic right to be raised, where possible, by his or her married mother and father in a stable home. 
Jesus Christ, with great love, taught unambiguously that from the beginning marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman. As Catholic bishops, we follow our Lord and will continue to teach and to act according to this truth.'

Nor is it possible to see that the ever increasing Muslim population in Western countries is going to let go of the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

Might we yet see a new word for what 'marriage' used to mean?

Meanwhile for those Christians not supporting gay marriage, who believe the Gospel = #LoveWins, there is a question of how we connect with those who believe that Gay Marriage = #LoveWins.

What can we affirm about the love which binds two people of the same gender together according to the law of the land on marriage? 

If we cannot find affirmation I suggest we are in grave danger of being viewed as those who discriminate against gay and lesbian people in a society which rightly abhors discrimination against people groups.

The gospel does not require gays and lesbians who commit to loving another to be put beyond the pale. While conservative churches rightly claim that they seek to put no one beyond the pale, the difficulty now is that we are being perceived as putting people beyond the pale.

Incidentally, this is also a time for conservatives to continue being, well, conservative.

The Supreme Court ruling does not change the fact that conservatives in Western societies have concerns about the future of the family: we should continue to argue (as the US Catholic bishops do) for the rights of children to be brought up by a mum and a dad, as well as arguing that the word 'mother' or 'father' should not be demeaned by a person of the opposite gender claiming to be what they are not.

We should continue to ask what 'bisexual' means in a context where commitment to monogamous marriage (gay or straight) is being celebrated. We should continue to be wary of future progression towards legal polygamy (given that no rational arguments against legalisation now exist in Western countries which have legalised gay marriage).

Speaking more personally about the state of my own inner thinking, as I read across the internet through these days, finding impressive arguments for and against the Supreme Court decision, I am freshly struck by the way in which what I have personally understood marriage to be all about is undergoing examination. I realise, to give one line of questioning, that within a Western cultural framework, fuelled by childhood books and TV programmes in which the hero and heroine met, fell in love and got married, I have assumed marriage is primarily about love and secondarily about faithful commitment between two people intending to create a family. (Someone I read said that much better but I cannot find the link). From that 'romantic' perspective, Western culture has always been on track - though we knew it not until recently - to affirm gay marriage because the State, in the end, cannot and should not stand in the way of love between two people.

#LoveWins!

It is from the 'family' perspective on marriage that the greatest objections to gay marriage arise (so it seems from my reading). If marriage is about two people uniting to reproduce, committing to fidelity in order to provide security for their children, then should the law permit marriage between two people whose union does not lead to reproduction? (A secularist could ask that question.) Ditto: ... then should church canons define marriage to include two people whose union does not lead to reproduction? (That is an ecclesiastical question tied to permitted actions of ministers in respect of blessing and (for some churches) sacramental action).

In sum: is God at work through this time to refine our understanding of marriage? Not merely refining us in the sense of 'getting back to the Bible' or 'recommitting to tradition' but also in the sense of challenging specific cultural assumptions that have become enmeshed with our understanding which we have described confidently as 'biblical' or 'traditional'?

To return to the question above concerning the gospel = #LoveWins, in our engagement in so-called culture wars and in church debates over marriage, how might Christian love win?

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Change is coming and it won't be long

I am calling Cardinal Kasper the patron saint of persistent prelates.

Last year he figured as point man for the push within the Roman church for change to rules regarding communion and remarried divorcees.

There was a push back, but it looks like the Kasper shove is coming back into the maul, and steering it towards the try line. The Tablet reports here. (Note this report also)

Oh, I know, those who doubt the maul will head in that direction will be vocal. "The church is bound by ... this and that."

But that could be to underestimate the current Pope. He is a realist, not an idealist. He knows that the church (all churches, he understands Protestants and Pentecostals pretty well) in the West is in trouble. On certain matters it is becoming too much like the Pharisees (i.e. emphasising the rules) and less like Jesus (i.e. emphasising mercy). Only the Jesus shaped church has a chance of winning back the West.

He has not taken the name Francis for nothing.

And this means something for Anglicans. We may be responding to cultural change with - take your pick - greater urgency, less regard for tradition, etc, but perhaps we are going to be more in tune with Rome than looked the case when (e.g.) the Ordinariate began.

And there is a challenge for Anglicans. Rome changes with a significant regard for unity. We Anglicans do not always have that regard.

Though currently - amidst a round of Motion 30 workshops in the Christchurch Diocese - I am impressed by our local commitment to finding a way forward to stay together.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Spiritual and Sacred Links - Wednesday 24 June 2015

Supplied by a UK colleague:

The face of the world has turned to Charleston this week where out of tragedy of the loss of nine church members to a gunman, a remarkable Christian witness has shocked the world even more as they live out the words of Jesus: 'Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

#1 and #2 are two sermons from Charleston, the first from the church which lost members to a gunman on 17th June; #3 Vaughan Roberts on Jesus being all you need; #4 Dr Richard Hays of Duke University on how the two Testaments inform each other #12 how The AME church in Charleston is recovering and the remarkable witness it is making worldwide.  Please pray for it. #15 the Turin Shroud continues to baffle and inspire; #16 and #17 encouraging and #19 a song for Charleston from Christian song-writer Steven Chapman and there are prayers for Father's Day.

Prayers for you for the coming week

SERMONS AND TALKS
1. Sermon at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston today - Rev. Norvel Goff [Psalm 46] [First service after reopening after losing nine members]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7T7QQ90Jtk

2. Do not be overcome by Evil, but Overcome Evil with Good - Brian McGreevy - St Philip's Charleston audio today
http://tinyurl.com/omudybp

3. Jesus Who'll Satisfy You - Vaughan Roberts [John 4:1-42]
http://tinyurl.com/ok2w637

4. Did Moses Write About Jesus? - Dr Richard Hays - Lanier Theological Library Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/129713917

Commentary

5. Preaching Ideas and Commentary - Rev Peter Carrell
http://preachingdownunder.blogspot.co.nz/

6. The New Testament in a year with Rev Andrew Goddard
http://www.sjtl.org/category/reading-nt/

WORSHIP
7. The bells of Lincoln Cathedral - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05zc8hp

8. Sunday Worship from Wellington College in Berkshire commemorating Waterloo - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05zc8j6

9. Choral Evensong from King's College, London - BBC Radio 3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05yl2rh

10. Sunday Hour - BBC Radio 2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05zzxr4

11. Choral services from the chapels of King's College Cambridge
http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/choir/webcasts.html
and St John's College, Cambridge
http://www.sjcchoir.co.uk/webcasts
and Trinity College, Cambridge
http://trinitycollegechoir.com//webcasts/listen-again/
and New College, Oxford
http://www.newcollegechoir.com/webcasts.html

PRAYER
Please pray for Charleston in South Carolina and Emanuel AME Church known as 'Mother Emanuel' for its foundation; for the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church, Christians and all facing persecution and crime in Syria and Iraq and Iran; for those affected by the earthquakes in Nepal; for peace in Burundi, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza; and for the Diocese of South Carolina.

Charleston, South Carolina
12. A Call to Prayer from the Bishops in South Carolina
http://tinyurl.com/ne5mtan
Victims' Families Address Charleston Shooter In Court With Forgiveness
http://tinyurl.com/ou6ov65
Emanuel AME Church holds first service since killings - USA Today
http://tinyurl.com/orrs9wb
Moving Photos Of Sunday’s Service At Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church - Buzzfeed
http://tinyurl.com/pm2ywrh

13. Topical Prayers - Church of England
http://tinyurl.com/6wnk2pk
Prayer for Father's Day
http://tinyurl.com/on8hgkz
Prayers for the Church of England from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/mvux2u3
South Carolina:Prayers from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/kssn33y

CURRENT AFFAIRS
14. Sunday Programme - with Edward Stourton - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05zc8j0

Food for thought

15.How did the Turin Shroud get its image? - BBC
http://tinyurl.com/ow95mjf
Elizabeth Elliot - Christianity Today
http://tinyurl.com/navyv5p
Elisabeth Elliot on the Christian Father - Christianity Today
http://tinyurl.com/pyk4unn
The Church Is Not a Sanctuary: On the Ground in Charleston - Peter Beck
http://tinyurl.com/om3mab2
Thriving Churches in a Hostile Culture - GC
https://vimeo.com/100309193
Vein Repetition - David Keen
http://tinyurl.com/o7bg4kc
A 4 Step, Simple Strategy To Have a Less Stress-Filled Life - RE
http://tinyurl.com/ne89jps

FINALLY
16. Worcester Cathedral Voluntary Choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqlKqEM7_zE

17. Phil Chadder, Prison Chaplain
https://vimeo.com/123711390

18. How Beautiful Upon the Mountains - Stainer - St John's College Choir, Cambridge
http://tinyurl.com/nmo4y5f

19. Song for Charleston - Steven Curtis Chapman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnFmHKVyRGg

God bless you

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Cuban Sanity in Mad, Bad World

What a tough week for humanity this week. 

The bad: Refugees on the move through Africa, Middle East, Asia. Shootings in a church in Charleston, SC. Greece on the verge of ... bankruptcy, or maybe not, the alternative could be a further enslavement to the dictates of the EU ... or Russia. Killings continue at the hands of ISIS. Syria is a bloody mess. Etc.

The mad: NRA line in the States that the killings in the church would have been limited if churchgoers had had concealed weapons. What the?!?!!? Note to the USA: the rest of us really do not understand you at times. Greece's economics and politics which got them to the current bad situation. Various politicians in Australasia (I'm thinking of you Tony/Bill/John/Murray/Nick) demonstrating less than competent handling of various matters.

Sanity: I haven't read Pope Francis' Laudato Si encyclical but it looks a corker. Can we learn the language of love in our relationship with the earth or will we continue harassing her? (May or may not comment further, but there is a LOT of comment on the internet, so I hardly think my twopence will add much to the reception).

Then there is this. I am reading Thomas C. Oden's A Change of Heart: A Personal and Theological Memoir (Downers Grove: IVP, 2014). Oden is the Forrest Gump of twentieth and early twenty-first century theology. His academic life leads him to meet Bultmann, Barth and Benedict XVI. He becomes a liberal, attends WCC events, begins to change his mind and becomes a conservative, initially wowed by Augustine and Aquinas, then passionate about the patristics. He has been in thick with Packer, Neuhaus and Pannenburg.

Enough of the names. I want to share with you two items of sanity. Both from a visit Oden made to Cuba in 1993.

First, Oden describes a sermon he heard in a charismatic church. I think it is a sermon we need to hear again.

'The preaching was as impassioned as the praise. Its power was palpable as I heard the words telling all of us that it was about a war with Satan in the hearts of each one of us.  
We were told that although the final outcome at the end of history is already known to the faithful, the struggle continues this side of the end. We face an adversary who presents himself as a friend, and we cannot afford to be naive about this combat.  
As you are mocked by others who do not understand and will scold you, do not complain. Be ready to view sacrifice as a privilege of participation in the way of the cross. Rejection is to be expected, even within your own family.  
You are called now to make a decision that could be the most important decision of your life: receive Jesus in your heart and trust him for the forgiveness of your sins.' (pp. 236-37)

Then Oden records a visit made to an aged Presbyterian theologian, Rene Castellano.

"The aging professor had been imprisoned early in the Cuban revolution and was now considered a saint among seminary students.  
He told me in clear, moving English:  
"God only illumines the next step, not long distances ahead. We would prefer God to illumine the way for a long distance ahead, but the flickering light of the Word shows only the next step.  
God called Abram, 'Leave Ur. I will then tell you where you are going.'  
To Paul the Spirit said, 'Go to Macedonia. I will tell you there what next.'  
The risen Lord said to his disciples, 'Go to Galilee. You will find me there.'  
It is humbling for the pilgrim to not know what is over the hill, to have no more foreknowledge than the next person. But this is a part of our spiritual growth: to take small steps without knowing what is ahead but trusting God to bring good out of evil. (pp. 237-38)

Both excerpts are fortifying in this tough week for our mad, bad world.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Christianity's greatest challenge starts with S but does not end with X

Damian Thompson pulls no punches in a recent Spectator column. He nails down the key word to understand the present and future state of Christianity in the West. Despite appearances in headlines to the contrary, the word which starts with S does not end with X. Secularisation.

Secularisation is the key word, but, as Damian says, it requires 'unpacking.'

"The deadliest enemy of western Christianity is not Islam or atheism but the infinitely complex process of secularisation. 
Or, to put it another way, choice. Long before digital technology, social mobility was undermining what the American scholar of religion Peter Berger calls ‘plausibility structures’ — the networks of people, traditionally your family, friends and neighbours, who believe the same thing as you do. 
I’m not saying that my Catholic grandparents accepted the doctrine of transubstantiation only because the people closest to them shared that conviction: faith can’t be reduced to social processes. But supernatural belief is hard to sustain once plausibility structures collapse. 
You go away to university and suddenly almost nobody believes what you do, or did. Your siblings move to different towns, so you won’t see them in church any more. Your laptop plugs you into any social network that takes your fancy. Even if you’re born again as an evangelical Christian, life pushes you from one congregation to another. Many Evangelicals get bored and turn into nones."

In other words, secularisation is the phenomenon when faith slips out of one's life because other beliefs - newly plausible explanations for the the point and purpose of living - creep in. Loss of family structure is arguably a critical element in widespread loss of Christian plausibility - a loss that may come through moving from one place to another, or through marriage breakdown.

Thompson also makes the point, vital for churches to understand, that secularisation does not only happen through forces external to the churches. It is creeping into the churches. (In the British context in which he writes, Thompson, a conservative Catholic, is fiercely critical of secularised Catholicism).

"It can’t be stressed too often that the secularisation that happens inside churches is as important as the sort that happens outside them."

Indeed, to go back to that other S word which troubles the churches of the West today, sex, many of our debates are precisely because of the infection of secularisation dis-easing the churches about beliefs which formerly were plausible to all and now only seem plausible to some.

Within the British scene, Thompson is pessimistic:

"James Davison Hunter, an orthodox Christian, believes he has found a way out of this maze: follow the instructions of Jesus and ‘faithful presence’ will change hearts, if not society. This seems to me to ignore the reality that religions invariably die, at least on a local level, when no one can be bothered to attend their services. As a Catholic, I believe that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church founded by Peter. There will always be someone to take the place of ‘the last Christian’. But not necessarily in Britain, where the death rattle has begun."

Now, let me conclude on a pessimistic note! If Western Christianity dies out, we Western Christians have the consoling thought that Christianity will yet live ... in the East. But how long will faith last there, between the squeeze of growing militancy among Muslims and the rise of Western style secular plausibility as materialism sweeps across the planet?

OK. Let's not conclude there. If there is a one word description of our greatest challenge, secularisation, there is a one word response in respect of Who holds the key to a new future: God.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Spiritual and Sacred Links - Tuesday 16th June 2015

Supplied by a UK colleague:

SERMONS AND TALKS
1. Will You Give Your Yes to God? [Acts 2:1-11]  - Rev. Russ Parker - St John's John's Island Audio

2. Are We Ignorant of Satan’s Designs (Genesis 3:1-15) - Dr Kendall Harmon - Christ St Paul's Audio

3. It Takes a Movement to Reach a City - Tim Keller - CS Lewis Institute video

Commentary
4. Preaching Ideas and Commentary - Rev Peter Carrell

5. The New Testament in a year with Rev Andrew Goddard

WORSHIP
6. The bells of All SaintS, Odiham in Hampshire - BBC Radio 4

7. Sunday Worship from All Saints, Odiham celebrating Magna Carta - BBC Radio 4

8. Choral Evensong from Wells Cathedral - BBC Radio 3

9. Sunday Hour - BBC Radio 2

10. Choral services from the chapels of King's College Cambridge
and St John's College, Cambridge
and Trinity College, Cambridge
and New College, Oxford

PRAYER
Please pray for the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church, Christians and all facing persecution and crime in Syria and Iraq and Iran; for those affected by the earthquakes in Nepal; for peace in Burundi, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza; and for the Diocese of South Carolina.

11. Topical Prayers - Church of England
Prayers for the Church of England from Lent and Beyond
Iran: Pastor Saeed Abedini 'Viciously Beaten' in Iranian Prison, Told His Only Way Out Is to Deny Jesus Christ - CP
South Carolina:Prayers from Lent and Beyond

CURRENT AFFAIRS
12. Sunday Programme - with Edward Stourton - BBC Radio 4

Food for thought
13. 8 Keys to Personal Prayer - Winfield Bevans
An Open Letter to Britain - J John

FINALLY
14. Tribute to Araucaria, the late Rev John Galbraith Graham  - Guardian Vimeo

15. O Jesus, I Have Promised - The Scottish Festival Singers


God bless you

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Definitive Communion split coming over marriage? [UPDATED]

I am posting quite a bit on one issue these days. One reason is that I am preparing for a series of workshops in our Diocese on Motion 30. Another reason is that a landmark TEC GC is coming rapidly into view, and there is a lot of posting on that to keep in touch with.

UPDATED

Since first posting quite a lot of material has popped up on the internet ... including:

Responses to Tony Campolo coming out as an evangelical supporting same sex marriage: here and here. Added: I do not hold in any way shape or form with Stand Firm/Matt Kennedy's pronouncement from some assumed position on high that Tony is an anti-Christ. Are we going to call anti-Christs those who deviate from the teaching of Jesus to support the remarriage of divorcees? Are we going to call anti-Christs those who deviate from us Anglicans on creedal matters (such as the Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox)? Are we going to call anti-Christs those who break fellowship with us Anglicans because we have ordained women?

From across the Ditch, Bishop Ian Palmer of Bathurst speaks out against 'equal marriage.'

My initial paragraphs below about TEC crossing a rubicon should now be updated to note a decisive move towards that same rubicon by the Scottish Episcopal Church. Read all the links on Thinking Anglicans. I must say they have a novel way forward which had not appeared on my radar: changing their marriage canon by removing words rather than adding words. Does that make a difference to (e.g.) my way of thinking? Yours? (Response now from Scottish Evangelicals, here)

Mark Harris at Preludium has a robust post, well worth reading IMHO, on the many weaknesses of many attempts to theologise about marriage. His robust reflections include reflections on for/against material linked to below concerning the run up to TEC's GC in July. But he also recognises that he goes a little too far in the dismissive direction and in a subsequent post backtracks slightly re Craig Uffman's and others' recent contributions.

An important point is made here by David Roach.

ORIGINAL
Rubicon

One of the least controversial observations Anglicans can make as we contemplate Anglicanland shifts and turns on marriage is that a rubicon is coming.

That rubicon is whether an Anglican church via canon and liturgy understands marriage to be between a man and a woman or between any two persons.

Proposals going to this July's TEC General Convention, if passed, would take TEC across that line to marriage being between any two persons. I am not aware of any other Anglican church which is already across that line or any other Anglican church which has such a proposal before it.

If TEC crosses this rubicon, will the Communion be irrevocably split? (Yeah, yeah, I know many readers here already think this has happened!!)

Consider this: when Gene Robinson was consecrated bishop it was able to be argued that he was only the first openly gay bishop, that there had been many before him in other Anglican churches.

But if TEC agrees to the Taskforce's proposals then it will definitively be the first and only Anglican church to differentiate its canon on marriage from all other Anglican churches. It would have no claim to say it was merely being honest about what other churches have fudged. It would have no claim to being co-holders of a common doctrine on marriage with other member churches of the Communion.

Arguments

It is interesting (and time consuming) reading the back and forths of arguments for and against change (see links below with reference to TEC's current situation).

I want to suggest a missing element to the argumentation.

First, let me characterise the back-and-forth of the arguments:

forth: Marriage is this and it is that and same sex marriage doesn't match those requirements.

back: Yes it does because (e.g.) procreative potential is not a requirement since it is not met in the case of an older couple and (e.g.) difference between partners is met because, well, every partner to a marriage is unique and thus different to the other partner.

forth: well, you can't change the doctrine of marriage

back: but you have done because (e.g.) you have allowed contraception to deny the procreative potential of potentially procreative couples and you have permitted the remarriage of divorcees, so you should allow one more change to remove the requirement that a marriage involves a man and a woman.

The missing element, I suggest, is that it is very difficult to discern in Scripture three things pertaining to arguments that the church may vary its teaching on marriage.

(A) That the authority of the church to vary anything in marriage extends beyond pastoral consideration of the grounds for divorce and subsequent remarriage.
(B) That the difference between men and women in respect of marriage is incidental because the important differentiation in marriage is between two (intrinsically unique) people. (See the end of Craig Uffman's article below where Tobias Haller is cited on differentiation).
(C) That Scripture has to yield an answer if we keep pressing it to give a reason why it is the biological difference between men and women which is decisive for marriage being restricted to heterosexual couples.

Let me expand briefly on A, B and C.

(A) There is not much authority here at all for the church to exercise, but there is a sliver as we see some variation between the way Matthew, Mark and Luke express the words of Jesus on remarriage after divorce, and what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7. Absolutely we can argue that some churches (Protestant, Eastern Orthodox) have exercised authority beyond their brief; and we can argue whether the Roman Catholic approach to annulment is something envisaged by Jesus or not.

(B) As a priest of the church of God, I look for an assurance from Scripture and the church's teaching through the ages, that God does bless same sex partnerships. I do not find that assurance via what is a special pleading, that biological difference is incidental to God's blessing of marriage.

(C) As rational creatures we seem to be drawn to argue about the purpose of marriage, the reason for the core features of marriage to be what they are. Thus we explain why marriage is between a man and a woman in terms of their procreative potential. Or we offer analogy between two-into-one-flesh and the Trinity or, following Ephesians 5:22-33, between a man and a woman and Christ and the church. But does Scripture say these arguments are intended to be watertight and if they are not, then we are free to vary our understanding of marriage? No. Scripture connects these insights to marriage but does not actually explain the commitment to heterosexual marriage in terms of them. In the end, I suggest, marriage in the Bible between a man and a woman just 'is'. The coming together of a man and a woman in a one flesh relationship is in itself a matter which pleases God. There is no indication in the Bible that God is pleased when two men or two women come together because they represent some deeper principle of diversity-in-unity being manifested.

In other words, I am wondering in the links below whether some argumentative wood is being missed for the trees.

Nevertheless, this is not the last word. I suggest that the church needs to keep thinking about what mercy and grace means in this brave new world of ours. We may not have the authority to vary the doctrine of marriage, but we do have a mandate to act mercifully. What does that mean in this world of ours in which couples of any gender mix may marry according to the law of the land? What does showing mercy mean as a church when we can understand that two people of the same sex covenanting between themselves to be faithful to each other is better than a casual sex or promiscuous lifestyle? In a number of articles below, which argue that the church cannot endorse same sex marriage, nevertheless I see signs of great willingness to engage with important questions concerning how we then shall live as a church.

For background to my observations above, see the following links:

With particular reference to the forthcoming TEC General Convention:

Tobias Haller here (see below re ATR). Also note this.

(And now, this reply by Jordan Hylden to Haller.)

ATR here re TEC Task Force. Check out Hill on Scripture and the Task Force's approach to it then Anderson extending Hill here).

Also, First Things responding to the TEC Task Force here in a concise version of the longer original ATR essay at link above. (Discussion in the comments is interesting, some arguing that Anglican arguments against the TEC Task Force's proposals are doomed to failure because a Lambeth Conference once upon a time agreed that use of contraception was okay).

Anglican Curmudgeon has a sequence of posts detailing where TEC is heading re proposed changes going to TEC's forthcoming General Convention: onetwo and three.

Craig Uffman contributes an essay here which is imaginative, and worth at least reading the last part re a correspondence with Tobias Haller re difference in marriage. (If that link does not work, go to this link and then try to look up the article from that page).

Scripture and Sexuality essays here.

Other references worth a look:

Jason Goroncy here (re Australian contexts).

A gracious review by Tim Keller (New York) of two recent books by Vines and Wilson making waves around the evangelical world is here.

Ian Paul reflects on Keller's post along with Vines and Wilson's responses to Keller (the links to their responses are in the Ian Paul post.

A number of the links above are included in this Thinking Anglicans post.

Then, re the state of the play among North American evangelicals, note these two stories, here and there.


Monday, June 8, 2015

Spiritual and Sacred Links - Monday 8th June 2015

This week in the wake of new figures on religious affiliation in Britain, there has been a lot of thought put into the church, its history and what can be done to engage people and some of that is in this collection:

#1 Kendall Harmon on Pentecost and the church and our part in it; #2 Vaughan Roberts on the history of the church in Europe and the part we can play; #3 Martin Robinson shares his experience of church-planting in a modern European context.   This theme is taken further in #14 with an article by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, and some analysis and suggestions by others.   The other side of the coin is the continuing persecution of Christians reflecting not so much the secular hostility to Christianity as the offence other religions appear to take at it and the threat they perceive it to be.  Do please pray for them.

Prayers for you for the coming week

SERMONS AND TALKS
1. Pentecost - the birth of the Church - Dr Kendall Harmon - Christ St Pauls Audio [Acts 2]
http://tinyurl.com/ngnwjzr

2. The Evangelism of Europe - Vaughan Roberts - St Ebbes Audio [Acts 16:11-34]
http://tinyurl.com/pwz9o6c

3. Church Planting in a Continent Experiencing Rapid Change - Martin Robinson - FOCL [watch this if nothing else]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POfa-Sod1LI

4. Preaching Galatians - David Cook - St Helens media
http://tinyurl.com/ogoomqm

Commentary
5. Preaching Ideas and Commentary - Rev Peter Carrell
http://preachingdownunder.blogspot.co.nz/

6. The Sunday Readings - Rev Stephen Trott [hopefully back online soon]
https://laworgospel.wordpress.com/

7. The New Testament in a year with Rev Andrew Goddard
http://www.sjtl.org/category/reading-nt/

WORSHIP
8. The bells of St Lawrence, Jewry in London - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05z5m42

9. Choral Evensong from Truro Cathedral - BBC Radio 3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05x1w65

10. Sunday Hour - BBC Radio 2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05x8vjg

11. Choral services from the chapels of King's College Cambridge
http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/choir/webcasts.html
and St John's College, Cambridge
http://www.sjcchoir.co.uk/webcasts
and Trinity College, Cambridge
http://trinitycollegechoir.com//webcasts/listen-again/
and New College, Oxford
http://www.newcollegechoir.com/webcasts.html

PRAYER
Please pray for the Church of England, Christians and all facing persecution and crime in Syria and Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria and Iran; for those affected by the earthquakes in Nepal; for peace in Burundi, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza; and for the Diocese of South Carolina.

12. Topical Prayers - Church of England
http://tinyurl.com/6wnk2pk
Prayers for the Church of England from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/mvux2u3
Sudan: S. Sudan pastors face death penalty on charges of sedition and spying - WWM
http://tinyurl.com/nv4xzms
Christian pastor on trial in Sudan: 'God chose me to suffer' - CT
http://tinyurl.com/q9pcu2m
Iran: Iran sentences 18 Christian converts to prison for creating house churches - CT
http://tinyurl.com/odvwz8x
Iran pastor Fathi's appeal fails, against extra year in prison and 74 lashes - WWM
http://tinyurl.com/ph4lwl6
South Carolina:Prayers from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/kssn33y

CURRENT AFFAIRS
13. Sunday Programme - with Caroline Wyatt - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xcqs9

Food for thought
14. We need to embrace our history and reach out to the "spiritual" if we want to halt declining Anglican numbers - Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali
http://tinyurl.com/nb62bre
Religious 'nones' aren't as anti-church as we might think - CT
http://tinyurl.com/p5mzm6s
Evangelism: Knowledge and Openness - Darryl Dash
http://tinyurl.com/n9bglzs
Socio-Demographic Groups and Religious Affiliation in Britain - BRIN
http://tinyurl.com/qcx3l5r
2,600-year-old 'tomb of prophet Nahum' is under threat from Islamic State - CT
http://tinyurl.com/nuqoc74
Judge sides with student suspended by his school for sharing Christ with classmates - CT
http://tinyurl.com/otjcmz2
Is this the secret to living longer? - Peter Bowes - BBC Capital
http://tinyurl.com/p6btduc

FINALLY
15. Why do I care? - Release International
http://tinyurl.com/q9ex8x5

16. Corpus Christi Carol - Britten - Voces 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcjRh0BB1So

17. Behold the Lamb - Stuart Townend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alvX9Fa53-o

18. Reflections from Uyuni, Bolivia - Enrique Pacheco Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/126061288

God bless you

Sunday, June 7, 2015

A Kiwi Response to the Scots Showing the English the Way Forward (4-7)

I need to get this series out of the way ... it began way back here, and is a response to a set of comments listed here.

COMMENTS PREVIOUSLY WITH RESPONSES

COMMENT FOUR

(4) "Obviously, choices in this life involve many possibilities, and some possibilities may clearly lack other and crucial qualities. The suggested "solution" in your post values expediency and a form of "peace" over principle and a struggle for revealed truth. I'll let you decide whether, in view of the following quotes, a possibility heavily-based on expediency is something you commend to any Christian denomination. My views is that any denomination that places a high value on expediency is due for reaping a deserved low respectability rating from the general populace together with a concomitant, nominal status the denomination will occupy in the life of that population.

"Enter by the narrow gate. Wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to destruction, and many enter that way; narrow is the gate and constricted the road that leads to life, and those who find them are few." Mt. 7:13 (REB). "'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door; for I tell you that many will try to enter but will not succeed.'" Lk. 13:24 (REB)"


Response:
- I am not commending 'expediency' to our denomination as though the issue to be voted on is 'expediency.'
- I am trying to acknowledge that we have sufficient votes for the status quo and sufficient votes for change for us to be a denomination which asks itself what the Way Forward is, and whether that Way Forward can be found which enables us to stay together rather than break apart.
- If we break apart, I guess both new churches (for both would be 'new' in a variety of ways, whoever claims to hold to the heritage of ACANZP) could pat themselves on the back for not being expedient, for holding to the truth (as each sees it), but would both smaller churches command the respect that our whole church would command if we find a way to stay together? (!)

COMMENT FIVE

(5) "Once the pass that "marriage is for life" was surrendered, the insistence on "one man, one woman" becomes clearly about attitudes to homosexuals more than about "retaining marriage as it was". The on-this-site oft-repeated "two wrongs don't make a right" sounds extremely hollow after many years now of nothing being done about the first "wrong". The plain reading of the Bible is much clearer about the first wrong than the second, and, casuistry notwithstanding, the issue is much deeper than agreeing, as is easily done, on a God-sourced anthropology. The integrity of Christianity is at stake when those who in NT-Jesus terms bless adultery and fornication of sequentially-monogamous heterosexuals, but vociferously condemn homosexuals seeking to express God's lifelong covenant in their relationship."


Response:

- Two wrongs don't make a right, even if nothing is done about the first wrong being done. It is nevertheless worth asking, Is nothing being done about the first wrong (i.e. remarriage after divorce)? I am not at all clear that 'nothing' is being done. People work at their marriages. The church continues to teach that marriage is for life, it has not begun to teach that marriage is temporary.
- Attitudes to homosexuality may be a prejudicial driver in arguments against same sex marriage, but I continue to find that conservatives arguing against same sex marriage are deeply concerned for homosexuals, including the concern that they do not teach falsely about the implications of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
- I agree that 'the integrity of Christianity is at stake ... vociferously condemn homosexuals seeking to express God's lifelong covenant in their relationship.' I ask, are those vociferous condemnations part of Anglican teaching and preaching in ACANZP? I am not aware that they are. What I am aware of is a significant group of Anglicans concerned that the integrity of Christianity is at stake if we do not take the Bible seriously, both on marriage, on samesex marriage (which they cannot find approved in the Bible) and on attitudes to homosexuals (that is, mercy and kindness, generous love).

COMMENT SIX

(6) "[After 2 points made] 3. Lastly, and vitally, given for the moment that the two stances as outlined in Motion 30, 1 (a) and (b), do have their respective “integrities”, and given a way forward can be found institutionally whereby these two might live ‘under one roof’ [both massive assumptions, I realise], nonetheless what integrity might this new entity itself possess?

Well; there we all have it ... And the outcome of such careful archaeological/genealogical work will, I suggest, only show how illogical and impossible it will be to keep these ‘good folk’ within one and the same house ... And thereafter history, especially eschatological history, will be the judge."


Response:
- The integrity the new entity itself might possess is the integrity of Christianity itself which in its broad compass encompasses all kinds of opposition. Sure, the practical way this internal-to-Christianity opposition is typically coped with is via differing denominations; and there may be no examples to hand of such opposition being coped with any other way, but does that rule out the possibility of a new thing being done by God?
- In the long run (say a couple of hundred years) it may be that it is impossible to 'keep these 'good folk' within one and the same house' but it may also prove over that time that one integrity has more staying power than the other. The 'staying power' of the once upon a time integrities which endorsed slavery and apartheid has not stayed the distance. (But note, before you-and-your-integrity leap for joy at this thought, if one integrity loses its staying power, it is not at all clear (to me) which one that will be. Let me see, the integrity informed by progressive theology which congregationally seems represented by elderly, declining congregations or the integrity informed by conservative theology which congregationally seems well represented by younger generations, which one will stay the distance? We shall see.

COMMENT SEVEN

(7) "Peter, Mike has a point. This really is not for me to say, but do evangelicals need to repent of allowing an almost sacramental divorce. From a sola scriptura point of view, gay marriage is trivial if you allow heterosexual divorce."

Response:
- I am not sure what is meant by 'an almost sacramental divorce' (but I get the point that there is a question to consider when one group of Christians permits remarriage after divorce and does not permit blessing of same sex partnerships or same sex marriage).
- I do not aqree that 'gay marriage is trivial if you allow heterosexual divorce'. First, because in some situations Jesus/Paul seem to admit the possibility of remarriage after divorce. That is, the comparison sought here is not precise. Secondly, because both Old and New Testaments prohibit sex between two people of the same gender (according to most people holding to the 'sola scriptura' approach to Scripture), and warns about loss of salvation because of it (1 Corinthians 6:9-10), it cannot be said that 'gay marriage is trivial' on any grounds of complaint about how 'sola scriptura' Christians understand Scripture on other rmatters.
- The point remains that Christians accepting remarriage after divorce need to have a well thought out case for doing so, ought to apply a hermeneutic in doing so which is consistent with any associated case for prohibiting same sex marriage, and should take care not to suppress the voices of those who argue against them.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

On the necessity of hell

Cranmer has a great article on hell. Here is but one paragraph as a taster:

"‘Universalism’ is a sincere attempt to reconcile God’s love and mercy with His justice and holiness, but it fails to take account of the scriptural realities: that one solitary sin is sufficient to drive us from God’s presence; that God’s authority can extend even to Hell (indeed, there is no scriptural warrant that Satan rules there); and that Jesus Himself taught an eternal punishment (Mt 25:31ff; Mk 3:29). The fact that the Son of God – God’s love incarnate – says more about Hell than any other individual in the Bible is certainly worthy of reflection. The notion that everyone ultimately makes it to Heaven is difficult to substantiate from Scripture. In addition, the Bible teaches that punishment will be by degrees (Lk 12:48), and St Paul’s reasoning in Romans 2 is a clear indication that punishment exists and will be meted out appropriately."

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

A Kiwi Response to the Scots Showing the English the Way Forward (3)

From a few posts further back, the third in a series of responses to issues/questions raised. The third issue/question was stated thus:

"(3) "I agree that living with difference is a model that can work for "disputable matters".

But why not apply this same logic to priests living in a de facto relationship? That is a widely accepted practice in today's society but it violates God's commandments to us in the same way as active homosexual relationships do.


Once you start down the road of "co-existence" or "living with difference" you need very clear guidelines about what is disputable and what is not. 
To follow your analogy, are we still really a team if we're wearing the same jumper but every player plays according to their own set of rules?""

[Clarification: I understand 'de facto relationship' to mean 'de facto heterosexual relationship'.]

My response:

I absolutely agree with 'Once you start down the road of "co-existence" or "living with difference" you need very clear guidelines about what is disputable and what is not.' Without such agreement on what we are disagreed about, there would be the chaos of 'every player plays according to their own set of rules.'

But what we are facing in the current situation is no group of priests living in de facto heterosexual relationships and requesting similar treatment to those who are married. It is not difficult to imagine the arguments if that were the situation we were facing.

Nor are we facing the situation where it is agreed as to what constitutes violation of God's commandments (yet nevertheless one group wants permission to go ahead and violate them).

We are facing a situation where there is a disputable issue as to what violates God's commandments within a group of Christians who otherwise either agree on many matters or have a settled state of disagreement about other matters. Given that we do not seem to be able to resolve the disputable issue (one way or the other), and all parties to the dispute wish to remain in the same church, then we have a question of how we remain together with this particular difference.

Nor is the situation one in which people are seeking to play by their own rules. Indeed it could be argued that the opposite is the case: that the dispute is rapidly focusing on one specific issue, whether same sex marriages will be performed in churches, and thus gay and lesbian persons are seeking to play by the same (marriage) rules as heterosexuals.

In sum: the issue here boils down to whether or not we can agree on what constitutes violation of God's commandments. The question is, what happens when we cannot agree?


Victory in Sight for Anglicans in Quest for Global Church Domination?

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Just when it looked like the Anglican church (at least in the West) was becoming the mother of all vacillating churches and the father of many schismatic splinters, and thus losing the quest for global church domination, a stumble by the leading contender has occurred.

Just taking two items on ADU's sidebar this morning, I notice the following:

1. An Irish Catholic lesbian pundit, Ursula Halligan has a crack in the Tablet at Roman theology of sexuality. Time for a change, she says, without drawing pause for breathe to check whether some larger issue is at stake. See below.

2. Andrew Comiskey, once a well known Protestant teacher and leader of ministries aimed to support gay and lesbian Christians becoming and remaining chaste if not changing through the power of God is now a Roman Catholic teacher and leader of the same. Secure in the strength of the one true church, Andrew is a feisty and forthright exponent of gospel values undergirded by Catholic catechetical assurances. But in today's post he is disappointed by the Pope's lack of response to the Irish referendum. The gist of his disappointment is 'Papa, you are letting me down.'

What is going on here? Between Ursula and Andrew, representing opposite poles of the Catholic spectrum on sexuality, we have the emergence of a truly Anglican spirit of ecclesiology. This spirit, historically, questioned the power of the papacy and was and is willing to reconsider all matters of doctrine via synods in which laity have a vote!

OK, tongue out of cheek. There is no actual quest for global church domination ...

But what is interesting about these two posts is that homosexuality is now exposing publicly for the Roman hierarchy what has been a very publicly difficult question for Anglican hierarchies around the Communion: how to fit ancient Christian teaching with modern realities of human sexuality?

I would go so far as to say, recalling other posts in recent weeks to which I have drawn attention here, that the greatest possibility for the Roman church of the 21st century fracturing now lies on exactly the same faultline as the fracturing of the Communion is taking place.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Sacred and Spiritual Links - Monday 1 June 2015

Supplied by a colleague in England:

Here are some things which may be of interest: #1 Bishop Rennis Ponniah on what the Holy Spirit coming means for us; #2 Ele Mumford with some challenging thoughts on the gifts of the Spirit; #3 Bishop Ken Clarke in Singapore asking what we do with Jesus; #4 some materials to think about for Trinity Sunday; #9 the challenge of Jesus in Sunday Worship - well worth listening to; #13 weary of praying for the persecuted church? They need our prayers and and for us to remember them and tell their story; #15 lots of interesting and encouraging stories; #16 challenging story from a Rwandan who encountered Christ on Alpha.

Prayers for you for the coming week

SERMONS AND TALKS
1. When the Holy Spirit Comes - Bishop Rennis Ponniah - St Andrew's Cathedral Singapore Audio
http://tinyurl.com/od6dolp

2. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit - Ele Mumford - Holy Trinity Barnes Audio
http://tinyurl.com/ot5cuvr

3. The Most Important Question of All - Bishop Ken Clarke - St Andrews Singapore Audio [Matthew 27]
http://tinyurl.com/ouppzr9

4. Trinity Sunday
321 - The Story of God the World and You! - Glen Scrivener
https://vimeo.com/83662637
Trinity Resources - Glen Scrivener
http://tinyurl.com/q8wmzb9
How to Glimpse the Trinity - Peter J Leithart - Christianity Today
http://tinyurl.com/qxp7s8w

Commentary
5. Preaching Ideas and Commentary - Rev Peter Carrell
http://preachingdownunder.blogspot.co.nz/

6. The Sunday Readings - Rev Stephen Trott [hopefully back online soon]
https://laworgospel.wordpress.com/

7. The New Testament in a year with Rev Andrew Goddard
http://www.sjtl.org/category/reading-nt/

WORSHIP
8. The bells of St Probus & St Grace, Probus in Cornwall. - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wnjjh

9. Sunday Worship from Holy Trinity, Platt in Manchester - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wnlz1

10. Choral Evensong from St David's Cathedral - BBC Radio 3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05w83tp

11. Sunday Hour - BBC Radio 2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wxrtd

12. Choral services from the chapels of King's College Cambridge
http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/choir/webcasts.html
and St John's College, Cambridge
http://www.sjcchoir.co.uk/webcasts
and Trinity College, Cambridge
http://trinitycollegechoir.com//webcasts/listen-again/
and New College, Oxford
http://www.newcollegechoir.com/webcasts.html

PRAYER
Please pray for the Church of England, Christians and all facing persecution and crime in Syria and Iraq, Nigeria, Iran, Egypt, Eritrea and China; for those affected by the earthquakes in Nepal; for peace in Burundi, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza; and for the Diocese of South Carolina.

13. Topical Prayers - Church of England
http://tinyurl.com/6wnk2pk
Prayers for the Church of England from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/mvux2u3
Syria: Abduction of Christians - MEC
http://tinyurl.com/o5nkcse
Iran: Update on pastor on trial - MEC
http://tinyurl.com/qy2ddcr
Egypt: Bishoy Boulous suffers ‘regular beatings’ in jail - Release International
http://tinyurl.com/qdfptms
Nigeria: Nigeria’s Northeast Suffers String of Attacks by Boko Haram - WSJ
http://tinyurl.com/o4grc92
Militants kill more than 100 in Benue - Release International
http://tinyurl.com/pf4vajm
Eritrea: Protest marks 13 years since church crackdown - CSW
http://tinyurl.com/oxqjg54
China: Two Chinese house church Christians given jail sentences - CT
http://tinyurl.com/o9e9sdt
Video for China week of prayer - CSW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npppXegdSd4
South Carolina:Prayers from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/kssn33y

CURRENT AFFAIRS
14. Sunday Programme - with Edward Stourton - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wnlyx

Food for thought
15. Archbishop encourages all to explore vocations - ABY
http://tinyurl.com/ou575sr
God's Army - Premier Christianity
http://tinyurl.com/njgsurf
The letter of RT Kendall to the UK Church - Premier
http://tinyurl.com/p7j82nq
Wrestling with God - Shawn Michaels [The Heartbreak Kid] - Premier
http://tinyurl.com/qju6vht
What happened to online churches? - Martyn Casserly - CT
http://tinyurl.com/ojngyoj
Why do people hate Jews and Judaism? - Benjamin Blech
http://tinyurl.com/nemx54q
Could it Happen Here? What Existing Data Tell Us about Contemporary Antisemitism in the UK [pdf] - JPR
http://tinyurl.com/pplnkwc
Remembering the Gospel with Alzheimer’s - Marlena Graves - Christianity Today
http://tinyurl.com/o66fphy
Having HIV doesn't mean I can't have the quality of life that Jesus offers - via David Keen
http://tinyurl.com/oxhu5tl
Rise and Shine - The King's English
http://tinyurl.com/nhqm9q3

FINALLY
16. Emmanuel's Story - Rwanda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8xDZnfOG34

17. The Spirit of the Lord - Stopford - Ecclesium
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XrmmsEt5yI

18. Joy - Worship Central NZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdIvnUjyK-A

19. Bach: The Well Tempered Clavier Alan Warburton Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/128275855