Methodist Church appoints working group on marriage; Archbishop appoints new adviser for evangelism and witness; UK Coptic leader calls for reconciliation in Egypt
Methodist Church appoints working group on marriage
A working group is to be appointed to consider the Methodist Church’s position on marriage.
The group will be tasked with considering whether the position of the Church should be revised to reflect changes in society.
Its reflections will be made with reference to “scripture, tradition, reason and experience”, and take into consideration the implications of the Marriages (Same Sex Couples) Bill to legalise gay marriage.
The membership of the working group will reflect the breadth of theology, age, ethnicity, gender and experience in the Church.
In a response to the Government’s plans to legalise gay marriage last December, the General Secretary of the Methodist Church, the Reverend Dr Martyn Atkins said the Methodist Church “explicitly recognised, affirmed and celebrated the participation and ministry of lesbians and gay men”.
“The Government has indicated that Churches which do not wish to marry same-sex couples will have the protection of law. This is important. However, in our response to the consultation we also stated that, while in the future we may or may not choose to affirm same-sex marriage, it would be unwarranted interference for the State to make that decision for us,” he said.
Evidence submitted by the Methodist Church to the House of Commons Bill Committee in February affirmed the Church’s belief that marriage is a lifelong union in body, mind and spirit of one man and one woman.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/methodist.church.appoints.working.group.on.marriage/33116.htm
Archbishop appoints new adviser for evangelism and witness
The Archbishop of Canterbury has appointed Canon Chris Russell as a new adviser for evangelism and witness.
Canon Russell will work part-time on the Archbishop’s staff whilst retaining his post as vicar of St Laurence in Reading.
He will help implement the Archbishop’s priority of the re-evangelisation of England and ensure that evangelism remains central to the Archbishop’s ministry.
Canon Russell said he was “honoured and thrilled” by his new appointment.
“It is my passionate belief that the best thing anyone can possibly do with their lives is follow Jesus Christ, and so it is with great anticipation that I come on board the Archbishop’s team to serve him as he serves the Church of Jesus Christ,” he said.
“My prayer is that we are all empowered to live the lives of faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ and his revolutionary goodness and love.”
Canon Russell was trained for the Ordained Ministry at Ridley Hall during which he also did an M Phil in Dogmatic Theology at Cambridge University.
He was ordained in 1996 and served his title post at St John with Holy Trinity Deptford, Southwark, after which he served on staff at Soul Survivor Watford before becoming vicar of St Laurence Reading in 2001. He was made a Canon of Christchurch Cathedral Oxford in 2013 and is the author of Ten Letters.
UK Coptic leader calls for reconciliation in Egypt
The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK has called upon Egyptians to work together in rebuilding their nation following the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi.
Bishop Angaelos made the comments in an address to the Church of England General Synod in York today.
He criticised the media for calling Morsi’s ousting a military coup, saying it had been the “right of the people” to express a vote of no confidence in the leadership. The media was also criticised for promoting the idea that Cairo had become a battle zone “but in fact it has not”.
Bishop Angaelos said Egypt had gone from a state of fragmentation under the previous regime to a “completely polarised one” under Morsi, but added that he was hopeful the nation could be rebuilt.
“We are hopeful because we have seen the work of God. Who would have thought that an Islamist leadership would fall apart in a year and bring the whole country together again?” he said.
Bishop Angaelos went on to speak of the role of Christians in bringing reconciliation to communities, saying: “We’ve got to get away from the model that says that religion brings people apart. Actually it brings people together.”
He said: “We carry this burden but it is a cross that we carry because it gives glory to God. And I ask for your prayers these days, not feeling sorry for Egypt, but praying for strength and reconciliation and a new heart because what has happened over the last days and weeks has shown people that division will never ever take Egypt anywhere.
“But a consensus, coming together, a unity, a love, a reconciliation from the heart after years of division and divide and conquer, that is the only way ahead.”
Egyptian army stand guard around the Republican Guard building in Nasser City in Cairo, Egypt
In a separate statement released to media on Monday, Bishop Angaelos said efforts towards a new Egypt were “being undermined by needless violence and bloodshed”.
On Monday, 51 Morsi supporters were killed after security forces opened fire on them. The Muslim Brotherhood condemned the “massacre” and has rejected a timetable for new elections by next February proposed by interim president Adly Mansour.
Bishop Angaelos has called Christians in the UK to pray over the next three days for peace, reconciliation and an end to the violence.
“For the good of Egypt, it is imperative that all parties work towards a common future, realising that any lives taken are those of fellow Egyptians,” he said.
“We continue to pray for unity and reconciliation, confident that the spirit that has been developing over the past two years and culminated in June 30 2013 will endure over these vital weeks and months ahead.”