James's Weblog

The full audio recording of Archbishop Nicholas Okoh's sermon at the consecration of Andy Lines as a bishop in ACNA.

On Friday 30th June, at 4pm UK time, the Anglican Church of North America held a very special service to close their Provincial Assembly. Canon Andy Lines was consecrated bishop. In a previous post, I wrote about the lead-up and background to this.

Do you remember the "Love Is" cartoons. Occasionally I show them at the start of a wedding sermon. They were a light-hearted slogan to suggest what love looks like in practice, accompanied by a picture of an innocent-looking boy and girl which wittily goes with the caption. Mostly, it was extremely soppy romantic love. You could accuse them of being shallow, lacking meaning and depth — but they were only ever meant to be a bit of fun.

The annual so-called "Pride Festival" runs from Saturday 24th June until Saturday 8th July this year.

Lots of businesses, public and private, have chosen to show their support. They're proud to support Pride.

The trouble is, "Pride" is not something that is supported by all of the British public. Yet, in giving these businesses their custom, members of the public are giving their support (including financial support) to the Pride movement.

John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (paid link) is one of the bestselling books ever written, never out of print since 1678. By way of brief background: It is written as though the narrator dreamt the story, and is an extended allegory of the Christian’s journey through life. The protagonist is called Christian (and all the other people and places have names that betray their character).

Here's a simple tip, which may help some clergy looking to complete their tax returns.

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant, so this is not professional advice, merely a tip from a fellow traveller. Needless to say, you are responsible for the figures you put on your own annual returns.

A perennial frustration

There's a cycle that repeats each year.

Here, once again, is David Gooding, in his book True to the Faith (paid link).

Read this slowly, let it sink in, and take time to enjoy the amazing mercy and grace of God shown that first Pentecost:

Is schism the biggest, or even the only, heresy in today's church?

Recent events in the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) have led to big cracks opening up in the wider Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury has, rightly, regarded unity as vital to pursue. A house divided against itself cannot stand. He wants the Anglican Communion to stay together, walk together, in spite of profound disagreement. However, latest events have left him having to work frantically to keep the Anglican Communion together.

… eventually.

I have no idea which way tomorrow's General Election will go. But our parish magazine, The Well, comes out this week or next, and I have a letter in there about the Election. Here it is:

Dear Friends

I was planning to write some more about the epoch-making events 500 years ago known as “The Reformation”. That can wait: We’ve had a General Election, and possibly the outcome is known by the time you read this.

Why Pentecost? Why did the Spirit come on the church on that day in particular?

It's a good question. Jesus ascended on a Thursday; the Spirit did not come for another 10 days. Why the wait? Jesus only said that they'd have to wait for "a few days", but 10 is longer than it might have been.

Perhaps it was just expedient. There would be multi-national crowds in Jerusalem over the Pentecost festival, making it a perfect time for them to hear the wonders of God in their own tongues.

Maybe.