Rapid reading summary including – New church in Dubai; Presbyterian and Anglican church splits; Climate change and Pacific women’s rights; Italy considers taxing church property
Women’s rights in Pacific hit hard by climate change
ACNS – Australians who want to support justice for women on International Women’s Day (March 8) should be extremely concerned about the impact of climate change on the Pacific’s most vulnerable women, says the CEO of Anglicord – Anglican Overseas Aid. “We know that the poorest communities are most vulnerable to climate change[1], we know poverty in the Pacific is bad and getting worse[2], and we know that women and girls account for 70% of people living in poverty[3]. Australians have been hearing all week about Pacific communities that are sinking under sea level rises. Women are bearing the brunt of climate change in the Pacific, and they are bearing it right now,” Ms Coleman said. Women are responsible for growing crops for food and income in places like Solomon Islands, which has one of the highest rates of sea level rises in the world, putting pressure on crops through land loss and salinity. Communities are reporting food shortages[4]. “In Solomon Islands, women already experience high levels of poverty and family violence,” Ms Coleman said. “Women and families are under terrible pressure right across the Pacific and we can’t just shrug our shoulders while their burden gets heavier and heavier.”
http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/3/7/Womens-rights-in-Pacific-hit-hard-by-climate-change
TAC appoints Hepworth replacement
Tablet – Australian Archbishop John Hepworth has been deposed as Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), at a meeting of the breakaway body’s College of Bishops in South Africa. The bishops also decided to reject Pope Benedict XVI’s invitation to enter into full communion with Rome, declaring that the TAC would remain “fully Anglican”.
“While it receives, with thanks, the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus from the Holy See, the TAC College of Bishops has voted as a Communion to decline the invitation,” a statement issued on 1 March said. A founding bishop of the TAC, Archbishop Samuel Prakash of India, was elected Acting Primate by acclamation, the statement said. The Weekend Australian reported last Saturday that Archbishop Hepworth had accepted his removal.
Opening of first Anglican church in Ras Al Khaimah
Gulf News – The first Anglican church in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) will be consecrated at the new church complex — which can accommodate up to 2,000 people at one time — in Al Jazeera Al Hamra on March 9. Bishop Michael Lewis, Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, will facilitate the consecration and open the church and its facilities to the public. The new church is built on a 5,600-square-metre land given by His Highness Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah. It is the fifth and northernmost church under the Chaplaincy of Dubai and Sharjah.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/worshippers-look-forward-to-opening-of-first-anglican-church-in-ras-al-khaimah-1.990131
Episcopal Church, Breakaway Anglicans Fight Over Property
VOA News – Outside the U.S. capital stands a red brick church with white wooden pews where George Washington served as a vestryman, or lay leader. The Falls Church was founded in 1732 and even gave its name to the well-to-do suburb where the church is located in northern Virginia. But in recent years, The Falls Church has become a symbol of a division in the Episcopal Church, a Christian denomination that has given the United States more presidents than any other, and a good share of the country’s Anglo-Saxon Protestant elite. The rupture came after an openly gay man was consecrated as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire in 2004. The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and The Falls Church was one of many congregations that broke from the U.S. church by aligning with conservative Anglican provinces in Africa and South America.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/religion/Episcopal-Church-Breakaway-Anglicans-Fight-over-Property-141613123.html
Presbyterians Form a New Denomination
Christianity Today – Conservative Presbyterians launched a new denomination in January, though most don’t plan to leave their current one. In response to the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s decision to ordain noncelibate gays and lesbians, dissenting congregations can exclusively join the new Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO), but they can also affiliate with it while remaining in the PC(USA). A poll of the 2,100 representatives from 900 congregations who attended the ECO’s founding conference in Florida indicated most churches would not leave the PC(USA). But the New Wineskins Association of Churches, which broke from the PC(UCA) in 2007, said it would “conclude its ministry” and merge with the ECO.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/march/gleanings-mar12.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+christianitytoday%2Fctmag+%28Christianity+Today+Magazine%29
Italy considers taxing some church properties
ENI news – Strapped for cash as it seeks to avoid falling victim to the European debt crisis, Italy’s parliament is debating a controversial measure that will force church-owned properties to pay property taxes. Prime Minister Mario Monti, head of an unelected government appointed last November to push through difficult reforms, is under pressure to increase tax revenue, reduce government spending, and jump start growth in order to assuage fears that Italy could be forced to default on its debt.
http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=5517
Canada: Special government advisor announced
ACNS – The Rev. Laurette Gauthier Glasgow has been appointed Special Advisor for Government Relations for the Anglican Church of Canada (The General Synod and the Diocese of Ottawa) while also continuing as Incumbent for the Parish of St. James, Leitrim, in the Diocese of Ottawa. In a joint announcement, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and Bishop John Chapman of Ottawa, expressed delight in co-sponsoring this half-time position that responds to a long-standing desire on the part of the church to establish a government relations presence in Ottawa. This was also a key recommendation from Vision 2019, endorsed at General Synod 2010.
“This local presence will help facilitate the church’s relationships with elected representatives and government officials in Ottawa, giving us a stronger voice, greater focus, and an enhanced capacity to contribute to public policy discussions and formation, consistent with the tenets of the Gospel” said the Primate. “This presence will build upon the church’s efforts as an advocate for peace and justice.”
http://www.aco.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/3/7/Canada-Special-government-advisor-announced
USA – When Disaster Strikes Next Door
Crosswalk – For Rev. Steve Schaftlein, the work of providing aid to victims is well underway. He is grateful that St. Francis Church – located in the center of storm-ravaged Henryville, Indiana, – survived the disaster, and pledges to use the building to help rebuild the community. “We were spared with a purpose by God,” he says, “to be a symbol of hope and also to walk the talk.” He says the congregation is coming together to help provide for those who were injured in Henryville. In the back room of the church, boxes of food and clothing reach the ceiling, and have overflowed into the sanctuary.”We’re praying here, that’s our first work, but underneath is the food, the clothing that will help sustain the community in the months ahead,” he says.
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/when-disaster-strikes-next-door.html