[Religion News Service – Washington, D.C.] Twenty-five top Christian leaders gathered in the U.S. city with perhaps the worst reputation for civil discourse May 15 and committed themselves to elevating the level of public conversation. Meeting in a row house three blocks from the U.S. Capitol, the group spanned the Christian spectrum, and included officials [...]

[Lambeth Palace] Two days before the Feast of Pentecost, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Holy Spirit “gives us a love for the world around us, and the capacity to both speak and act in a way that is revolutionary”. In a short film (available here) produced by Lambeth Palace, Archbishop Justin adds that [...]

[Episcopal Public Policy Network] “A few years ago, government authorities in Turkmenistan persecuted a woman and her son because they had converted to Christianity. The son was tortured to death. The woman was twice detained and tortured. She fled to the United States, where, suffering from panic attacks and depression, she tried to kill herself. [...]

[Anglican Communion Environmental Network] Anglicans and Episcopalians are being encouraged to inform themselves and join in the debate about the controversial and growing practice of drilling for natural gas known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. In an open letter to the Anglican Communion, Canon Dr Jeff Golliher has called on its members to learn about [...]

[Episcopal News Service] The Holy Spirit comes, for some, as a comforting presence. For others, it’s a disturbing upsetter. And still, for others, it is mysterious, even scary. But don’t confuse it just with Pentecost – the 50th day after Easter – which the church observes this Sunday (May 19) and which “challenges us to [...]

Roy Bay, obispo anglicano de Auckland en Nueva Zelanda, ha sido acusado de discriminación ante un tribunal de Derechos Humanos, por negarle a un hombre gay entrada para el proceso de ordenación. El hombre, Eugene Sisneros, no recibió la aprobación del obispo porque vive con otra persona del mismo sexo violando así el canon de [...]

[Episcopal News Service] When the members of The Falls Church Episcopal formally install their new rector and celebrate their ministry together May 15, it will be just more than a year since they first returned to their historic building, nine months since their rector joined them and five days ahead of what they had hoped [...]

[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs press release] The Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church (TREC) is utilizing social media to solicit ideas, info and as a means to hear from the church. And, TREC plans to regularly pose questions, report on its progress, and engage both the wider church and specific groups within [...]

[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs] Episcopal News Service has launched a new section, On The Move, sharing the news of churchwide appointments, job transitions, clergy ordinations and retirements. “We wanted to add this new section to the Episcopal News Service website to make it easier for people to share the news of their job [...]

The Rev. Canon Lee Alison Crawford was called in early April to serve at Church of Our Saviour, Mission Farm in Killington, Vermont. Church of Our Saviour is home to a bakery and guest house that sleeps 16 people. Its 170 acres alongside a river and up to a mountain ridge provide walking trails for [...]

Anglicans and Episcopalians are being encouraged to inform themselves and join in the debate about the controversial and growing practice of drilling for natural gas known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.  

Adelaide’s Anglican Archbishop Jeffrey Driver has urged the Federal Government to ensure children are not housed at a new permanent detention facility on Manus Island.

The Anglican Communion’s Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN) has launched a worldwide survey to gather the experience of Anglicans and Episcopalians who have taken part in national or local truth and reconciliation commissions.  

From the Church of England Prayers and liturgical resources for the nationwide celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty The Queen are released online today, at http://www.coronation.churchofengland.org.

By Bellah Zulu, ACNS Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Zambia, the Rt Revd William Mchombo has challenged Zambian politicians to stop practicing “politics of the belly if they genuinely care for the electorate”.

Former Archbishop of the New Zealand Dioceses, the Most Revd David Moxon, has become the new Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See

The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, the official body appointed by the two Communions to engage in theological dialogue, has held the third meeting of its new phase (ARCIC III), at the Mosteiro de Sao Bento, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (29 April – 7 May 2013).

From the Anglican Alliance The Northern region of Ghana has been hit by several storms during March and April and the Government has declared the affected areas a disaster zone.

By Bellah Zulu, ACNS The President of South Sudan has appointed the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan to chair the national reconciliation committee "trying to heal the mental wounds"’ in the world’s newest nation after 40 years of war.

By Bellah Zulu The Diocese of Botswana in the Church of the Province of Central Africa has elected Fr Metlhayotlhe Rawlings Belemi, a priest working in South Africa, as the bishop-elect of the diocese.

The 9,000 Church of England Readers are being refreshed! To reflect current trends, their badge and logo has been given a make-over and is being launched at the annual meeting of the Central Readers’ Council in London in April.

The Archbishops’ Council has linked with Durham University in an historic partnership to provide a suite of higher education awards for ordinands, lay ministry students and others studying in colleges, courses and dioceses in England.

Since the very first days of the Syrian conflict in March 2011, we have prayed as we watched in horror and sorrow the escalating violence that has rent this country apart. We have grieved with all Syrians - with the families of each and every human life lost and with all communities whose neighbourhoods and livelihoods have suffered from escalating and pervasive violence.  

By Bellah Zulu, ACNS A not-for-profit, self-sustaining road safety organisation known as The Ministry of Safety has urged higher participation from the church and all its networks in the prevention of road traffic accidents in Africa.

Churches and Christians are being urged to mark Sunday 12th May 2013 as a special day of prayer for the media – and to contact their local newspaper, radio and TV station to find out what they would like prayer for.

After its diocesan synod, Malawi Church warns its political leaders: "Being a politician is a calling from God"  

Members of the Anglican Communion are being asked urgently to pray for an end to the violence in Syria.

Nearly 200 church leaders and medics will gather in Birmingham, England, this week to plan new initiatives in health care. Against the backdrop of rising chronic illness in the UK, churches and Christian general medical practitioners (GPs) will outline their initiatives to reverse this trend.

Almost 6 million people were reached by the Church of England's (@c_of_e) Easter 2013 twitter campaign according to figures released today. Official figures from Twitter showed a cumulative reach of 5.8m users from the 8,527 tweets sent over the Easter period, from Good Friday to Easter Day, using the hashtag #EverythingChanges.

The Rededication of St John The Baptist Cathedral in Zimbabwe Report by the Revd Fr Abel Joseph Waziweyi, Rector of Mufudzi Wakanaka Parish in the city of Mutare. Fr. Waziweyi and Communication Officer of the diocese of Manicaland. On the April 6, 2013, all roads in the Zimbabwean city of Mutare led to the cathedral of St John the Baptist in the center of the city, as over 3,000 Christians marched to witness the cleansing and rededication of the cathedral after years of defilement and abuse by the excommunicated bishop Mr Elson Madhodha Jakazi.

From the Diocese of Portsmouth The Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth will make his second visit to Ghana in two years when he flies out today.

By Bellah Zulu, ACNS Bishop of the Diocese of Niassa in Mozambique, the Rt Revd Mark Van Koevering, has called for peace in the country following the violence and death of at least five people, after members of the opposition party, RENAMO, attacked a police post in the Mozambican town of Maxungue Thursday (4 April).

Young Anglicans from the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) have called for urgent training of Sunday School and youth leaders to enhance leadership skills among youths in the Province.

[Anglicantaonga] Insurance money from quake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral cannot be used to fund the transitional cathedral in nearby Latimer Square, a judge has ruled.

The Church of England's view of the long-established meaning of marriage has been outlined in a new report - "Men and Women in Marriage" - published this week by the Church's Faith and Order Commission.

[The Chronicle by Genevieve Kennedy] With legs of jelly, a team of cyclists pedalled into Toowoomba this afternoon.

[Anglicantaonga] A special evening service will be held in Hastings for Archbishop David Moxon, who leaves New Zealand next month to become the chief Anglican representative to the Catholic Church in Rome.

[The Monitor by Maureen Odubeng] The Anglican Women's Fellowship (AWF) under the Anglican Diocese of Botswana, hosted a conference themed 'Revive, Relate, Rejoice Women of God' to mark AWFs 20th Anniversary.

The following statement was released on 8 April by Mr Rob Rogerson, Provincial Treasurer, on behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA). 

The Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa has congratulated Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on winning the Templeton Prize.

Desmond Tutu, a clarion voice from the pulpit during South Africans' struggle against racial apartheid, has won the £1.1m Templeton prize for advancing the "spiritual liberation" of people around the world.

An unexpected, but very pleasant, surprise for ten members of Lyon Anglican Church who visited Israel recently was an invitation to dinner with young people from Kids4Peace, a Jerusalem based organisation which attempts to break down the barriers of fear and mistrust between Christians, Muslims and Jews. 

Just short of £400 was raised by the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Right Reverend John Davies, who spent three hours ‘on his knees’ last Thursday, Maundy Thursday, cleaning the shoes of passers-by in Swansea Market.

Archbishop Justin has said in his Easter sermon that pinning hopes on individuals in politics and public life is "always a mistake". But he said Holy Week and Easter remind us of the power of God and the fallibility of human beings - lessons which liberate us to be merciful with each other.

By Bellah Zulu, ACNS An agriculturalist in the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) has encouraged farmers in Africa to adopt a biblically-based version of conservation agriculture known as “Farming God’s Way”, to successfully curb food insecurity on the continent.

The General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Tanzania has published a full account of the recent election of the Archbishop-elect.

The final day of the Standing Committee began with a presentation on the Anglican Alliance – Development, Relief and Advocacy’s new status as a charitable company. The committee was told that primate of the Church of the Province of Central Africa Archbishop Albert Chama is to be the Chair of Trustees of the company

Church of England Bishops will be taking Easter to the streets of towns and city centres as they get on their knees to shine the shoes of passers-by on Maundy Thursday (March 28th).

[Anglican Taonga by Silke Hendel] Thirteen years in the making, a new edition of Te Paipera Tapu (the Holy Bible in M?ori) has been launched at Te Rau College in Gisborne.

“Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!” The wonderful ancient greeting for Easter that the western liturgical traditions have retrieved from the Orthodox churches – which have maintained it over many centuries as a greeting not simply for inside the church building, but between neighbours and friends in the street - captures the immediacy of the Easter event. It is real and it is present, and it is for proclaiming boldly and confidently to all around us.

The Core of Group of Anglican Witness: evangelism and church growth initiative in the Anglican Communion, representing nine regions of the Anglican Communion and five specialised ministries, met recently in London to receive and consider the implementation strategy of the ACC-15 evangelism mandate.

[BBC] Restoration workers have discovered nine secret crypts hidden under the ruins of Coventry's bombed cathedral.

Rain, snow, and temperatures that were barely above freezing did not deter a group of about 400 Episcopalians from taking to the streets of the nation’s capital March 25 to transform the traditional re-enactment of Jesus’ journey to Calvary and the tomb into a prayer procession meant to challenge what they called a culture of violence.

The day began with a presentation on the work of the Communications Department. Director for Communications Jan Butter said the biggest challenges for the Communion included communicating all the good ministry and mission work of churches above the noise of controversial issues, plus enabling Communion members to connect and talk with one another.

Four out of five British adults believe in the power of prayer, according to a new ICM survey in the run-up to Easter. Holy Week and Easter are the most important period in the Christian calendar, marking the last days of Jesus' ministry, his death on the Cross and resurrection to new life.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu has invited Headteachers from schools and academies across the North of England to Bishopthorpe Palace on Wednesday 24 April 2013 to hear about the Young Leaders Award, which has been developed by his Youth Trust.  The Archbishop will also address Headteachers on the importance of enabling community regeneration.

Members of the Anglican Communion are being asked to sign a petition asking the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa - to urge Syria’s leadership to allow humanitarian aid to civilians.

Day 1 of the 2013 Standing Committee meeting

Women from around the Anglican Communion have called for clergy and laity to receive training to "recognise violence and to address it effectively".

A retired Ugandan bishop arrested for distributing pamphlets calling for an end to high-level corruption has avoided going to jail.

From the Diocese in Europe The Rt Rev Dr Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, is to retire before the end of this year. Bishop Geoffrey, who is 70, will leave office on 8 November 2013 and says The Friends of the Diocese service on October 23rd will he his formal farewell to the Diocese, followed on All Saints Day by a farewell visit to the Cathedral in Gibraltar, where he was enthroned as Bishop 12 years ago.

From the Office of the Archbishop of York The Archbishop of York Welcomes Appointment of New Archbishop of New Zealand

Christians are calling for prayers and for peace and reconciliation in Tanzania following a horrific attack on the residence of Archbishop Valentino Mokiwa – the Bishop of Dar Es Salaam and Primate of the Anglican Church of Tanzania.

New Zealand’s Anglican community has chosen the Rt Rev Philip Richardson, Bishop of Taranaki, as its new Archbishop.

An announcement from Downing Street has confirmed the appointment of the Reverend Christopher Goldsmith as the new Bishop of St Germans. He will be installed as a Bishop by Archbishop Justin Welby at a service in Southwark Cathedral at 11am on Tuesday 14 May.

The Most Revd Justin Welby was today enthroned as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in a service that celebrated the diversity of the Anglican Communion.

Preaching to 2,000 people inside the cathedral and millions more watching and listening around the world, Archbishop Justin said that fear imprisons us and stops us from being fully human.  

A selection of Photographs from the Service for the inauguration of Archbishop Justin Welby, Canterbury Cathedral, Thursday 21 March 2013

The Rev Dr Mouneer Hanna Anis was able to get a first hand view of the new development at Orchard Grove in Darwen.

The Order of Service for the inauguration of Archbishop Justin Welby, Canterbury Cathedral, Thursday 21 March 2013 is now available online

As Archbishop Justin Welby prepares for his inauguration in Canterbury today, the 85 million members of the Anglican Communion are being invited to pray for him and his ministry.

Members of the worldwide Anglican Communion are gearing up for tomorrow’s inauguration of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at Canterbury Cathedral.

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, has urged Anglicans in Africa and around the world to support Earth Hour by "switching off your lights" and "switching on to saving the world".

The modern term would be inauguration, but 'enthronement' remains appropriate: this ceremony is all about the Archbishop of Canterbury 'taking his seat' - in fact, two seats.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said today he was "overwhelmed" by the support of Cornish people on the fourth day of his prayer pilgrimage.

By Bellah Zulu, ACNS As I walked into the Holy Cross Hospice in Gaborone, Botswana, I was greeted with charming smiles and the sweet aroma of food emanating from the kitchen. The environment was so full of life and welcoming. This is not exactly what I expected.

Despite a century-long decline, religious affiliation has shown a marked resurgence globally since 1970. Both Christianity and Islam make up growing segments of the world’s population. Africa and China have witnessed the most marked religious change.  

Anglicans in Japan are considering the next phase of a key project set up to help the most vulnerable following the country’s triple disaster two years ago.  

Chief executives from ten leading Anglican Mission agencies this week recommitted to a work together “in join action and reflection within the framework of the Five Marks of Mission”.

The news that the leader of the Orthodox Church will attend the inauguration of the new Pope is being described as an historic moment for Christianity.

From The Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa The Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) hosted an inter-faith peace mission to Kenya for religious leaders from the Great Lakes Region from 19th to 21st February 2013. The mission was led by Ps. Dr J B Kadembo, the co-president of Inter-Religious Council of Uganda who is also the President Seventh-day Adventist Uganda Union.

From The Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa The African Network of Institutions of Theological Education Preparing Anglicans for Ministry (ANITEPAM) and the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) have agreed to a merger in which ANITEPAM would – as envisioned by the Most Revd Ian Ernest, Archbishop of the Indian Ocean, when he served as the Chair of CAPA – become CAPA’s ‘theological arm.’ With the final transfer of funds, and the completion of a transitional issue of the ANITEPAM Bulletin, this important step has now been finalized.

A year-long ecumenical initiative backed by leading figures from the Catholic, Anglican and Free churches in the UK launches today to explore how faiths can work better together for social justice amidst unprecedented economic crisis and inequality.

The upcoming 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Busan, Republic of Korea, will present an opportunity for sustained ecumenical formation and theological education.

Five different churches in Egypt including the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, the Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church have joined together to form the Egypt Council of Churches after one year of deliberations and meetings between the churches.  

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Justin Welby, is to be represented by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, at the inauguration of the ministry of Pope Francis as Bishop of Rome.

As it announces the appointment of the Revd Robert Heaney, Ph.D. as the new Director of the Center for Anglican Communion Studies and Assistant Professor of Christian Mission, Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), is also advertising for a new Director of Communications.

Visiting the capital on his prayer pilgrimage today, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, prayed with shoppers and thanked God for "the life and fire" of London's Borough Market.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, continued his ‘Journey in Prayer’ today, arriving in Coventry where he led prayers for hope, friendship and reconciliation.

Places of worship in one of the most culturally diverse parts of Wales are inviting visitors on an interfaith tour next week.

Over a thousand people came onto the streets of Norwich today to welcome the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as he began his five-day prayer pilgrimage leading up to his enthronement next Thursday. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Secretary General of the Anglican Communion have welcomed the appointment of the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

The Mission to Seafarers global maritime welfare charity is pleased to announce that we have been commissioned to write and deliver a prayer of remembrance and to give a blessing to the future crew, passengers and engineers who will sail on the replica cruise ship Titanic II.

From the Mission to Seafarers The Mission to Seafarers in Kenya has come to the aid of an abandoned crew who have been left without food and wages on a cockroach-infested vessel.

Bishop renews call for prayer for South Sudan and Sudan as agreement to resume oil production is finally reached

The Rev Dr Jaakko Rusama, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland and a previous General Secretary of the Finnish Ecumnenical Council, has been elected Lutheran Co-Moderator of the Anglican-Lutheran Society, and his Anglican Co-Moderator is to be the Rt Rev Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Woolwich.

The licensing service of the Revd Tracy Reynolds on Sunday (March 17) will be a somewhat different affair to many others.

Right Reverend Francis Benjamin Quashie says the lack of adequate access to education had left the country with an illiteracy rate of 46.3 percent and an army of semi-literate population who are unprepared for the increasingly sophisticated economy.

A former IT specialist hopes to play a part in the regeneration of a Valleys’ community when he becomes its new vicar.

The new Pope has reportedly said the Church universal needs Anglicans and that the Ordinariate is "quite unnecessary".

From The Anglican Outlook, the newspaper of the Diocese of Trinidad & Tobago The Revd Fr Jesus Latan, SOUL Coordinator, approached Canon Kenley Baldeo, principal of Richmond Street Boys Anglican School, to present a proposal to promote the teaching of sign language as a pilot programme.

The Revd Andrew Wright has taken up his new post as Secretary General of The Mission to Seafarers. Revd Wright has joined the Mission from Fishermen’s Mission, where he was chaplain and director of operations.

Alexandria, VA – On March 7, 2013, the VTS Board of Trustees unanimously approved the appointment of the Rev. Robert Heaney, Ph.D. as the new Director of the Center for Anglican Communion Studies

On Saturday 16 March Elder Fu Xianwei, the Chairperson of National Committee of Three–Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China and the Revd Peter Koon, Provincial Secretary General of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (Anglican Province of Hong Kong), are to commence a four day visit to Dublin. The visit, sponsored by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, and the Dublin University Far Eastern Mission, marks a new step in the growing relationship between the Province of Dublin and that of Hong Kong.

Bishop of the Diocese of Eastern Zambia, the Rt Revd William Mchombo has advised that educating young boys and girls on the equality of men and women is the key to addressing issues of gender-based violence in Africa.

Retreat concludes with call for ‘new conversation’ that challenges U.S. gun violence

The 10th Assembly of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), meeting from 3 to 10 March in Honiara, the Solomon Islands, adopted a series of resolutions on public issues ranging from climate change and resettlement, through seabed mining and nuclear weaponry, to the self-determination of West Papua and Maohi Nui (or Tahiti).

In a letter to Pakistani churches, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has condemned the attacks on Christians in Badami Bagh, Lahore, on Saturday, 10 March. More than a hundred houses were burned down following allegations of blasphemy.

At a time of widespread scandals over clergy sex abuse, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) have called for professional standards of clergy accountability at an international forum on violence against women.

St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral are again among the top visitor attractions in the UK, according to the latest statistics from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (AVLA).