Free Republic

Prominent bishops are pulling out. Convention-goers were told headquarters had spent $18 million suing local congregations. Members are leaving at a record rate. This is no longer George Washington’s church – once the largest denomination in the colonies.The headlines coming out of the Episcopal Church’s annual U.S. convention are stunning — endorsement of cross-dressing clergy, blessing same-sex marriage, the sale of their headquarters since they can’t afford to maintain it. The American branch of the Church of England, founded when the Vatican balked at permitting King Henry VIII to continue annulling marriages to any wife who failed to bear him...

Clergy have been given the go-ahead to ditch their robes and dress down for services following a vote by the church's General Synod. Priests should be allowed flexibility to wear what they want to make the church more accessible and relevant to the modern world, members said. This means that clergy are now officially allowed to lead services in casual clothing such as jeans and trainers. The changes would help the church by "reflecting the way society has gone in the way of informality", said Leyland vicar Alistair McHaffie. He also pointed out that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby,...

The General Synod of the Church of England has officially passed a motion welcoming and affirming transgender people to the church. A top bishop also declared that being LGBT is "not a sin." "That this Synod, recognizing the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person's gender transition," the motion that passed on Sunday reads. As the official CofE website points out, the vote went overwhelmingly in favor of welcoming transgender people, with 30 for the...

The legacy of Protestant missionaries a century later is higher literacy rates, better public health and stronger institutions than places where Catholic missionaries were or state sanctioned Protestants worked.

Synod calls for government to ban practice aiming to change sexual orientation after hearing experiences of ‘spiritual abuse’ in emotional debateThe Church of England has called on the government to ban conversion therapy and has condemned the practice, which aims to change sexual orientation, as unethical and potentially harmful. At the end of an emotional debate in which two members of the C of E synod described their experiences as spiritual abuse, the church’s governing body overwhelmingly backed a motion saying the practice had “no place in the modern world”. Conversion therapy is usually described as an attempt to change...

At the time, Steve McQueen was the number-one movie star in the world, and he is still used as a point of reference for masculinity and “coolness” to this day. He was (and is) the definition of an American icon. ... But notwithstanding all his fame and fortune, a colossal vacuum lived rent-free in Steve McQueen’s heart, a yawning chasm, a lack of purpose rooted in the absence of functional, involved parents. He spent his whole life avoiding his mother and searching for his father—searching for someone or something to stand in for him, someone to love him. He had...

A senior Church of England figure is calling for bishops to ditch their mitres because they symbolise a "culture of deference". Revd Ian Paul, a member of the Archbishops' Council, said the traditional hats were part of a "world of the past" and meant the bishops appeared elevated above the rest of the church. "The mitre has become a sign that 'this person is a bishop'. It's not a very good one because it looks daft and it doesn't signify anything in the Church of England. "It makes them distant and it makes them look silly," he told the Telegraph,...

Workshop Opportunities On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, one of the activity choices you will have to make is to delve into a variety of topics offered in our workshop sessions. Download the workshop descriptions here. Each day there will be 2 opportunities: 2:15-3:30 p.m. and 3:45-5:00 p.m. As you read through these offerings, please note that some workshops are offered more than once. Tuesday, Aug. 8 2:15-3:30 p.m. 500th Anniversary of the Reformation Advocacy as Public Witness Another Century of Faithful Proclamation: Toward a Lutheran Lay Preaching Movement. Being a grounded leader in the midst of the storm. Biblical Storytelling...

In light of the recent report by Responsible Robotics The Salvation Army has released the following statement on the possible impact of the availability of ‘sexbots’ on the demand for victims of sexual exploitation. Kathryn Taylor, of The Salvation Army’s Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery Unit, said: “The Salvation Army’s work with victims of sexual exploitation and modern slavery means we hear and see the impact on people first hand of the dreadful realities of sexual exploitation. The Salvation Army is concerned that by offering another option for purchasing sex though ‘a sexbot’ (sex robot) it could fuel demand for...

The World Communion of Reformed Churches has accepted that Joint Declaration on Justification that was originally signed by the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation in 1999, and later by the World Methodist Council in 2016. The World Communion of Reformed Churches will formalize its assent to the statement at an ecumenical prayer service to be held in Wittenberg, Germany, on July 5. The Pontifical Council for Christian Unity welcomed the acceptance of the statement by the Reformed Churches as an “important milestone” in ecumenical affairs. The Vatican body said: One of the crucial issues of dissent between the...

Supernatural experience is you saturated by my Presence in and through you for as Ezekiel was swept up into my presence "Behold" this IS where I desire you to be always and forever in the arms of the One that loves you is where you belong ! A Psalm of David. Psalm 23 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through...

London, England, Jun 29, 2017 / 06:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Methodist Church in Britain and the Church of England announced Sunday that each ecclesial community is considering a proposal that would enable the sharing of clergy between them. Jonathan Baker, the Anglican bishop of Fulham, said that “(t)he separation between Anglicans and Methodists in Great Britain is a tear in the fabric of the Body of Christ. The proposals made in this report are offered as a means of helping to repair that tear.” The proposal, Mission and Ministry in Covenant, would in effect largely end the approximately 200-year-old...

FULL TITLE: Supreme Court: Government Can’t Exclude Christian Groups From Programs Just Because They’re Christian In a huge victory, the Supreme Court today ruled that government programs can’t exclude Christian groups from them just because they are Christian. The specifics of the case at issue are not directly related to pro-life causes but the decision certainly could have impact on pro-life organizations. Previously, Christian-based abstinence organizations have been denied funding and pro-life organizations have been denied participation in governmental programs. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Monday that the government cannot exclude churches and other faith-based organizations from a secular...

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has suggested that all Church of Sweden priests be compelled to perform gay marriages, despite the Lutheran church’s position that clergy members should have the right to refuse. Same-sex weddings have been legal in Sweden since 2009, although priests can decline to carry out these ceremonies under the country’s marriage code. This could now change, however, given Lofven’s recent comments about the role of priests in Swedish society. The prime minister indicated in an interview with a church magazine that if a priest cannot bless a gay marriage, they should consider another vocation. “We Social...

* Reverend Justin Welby said the divisions cannot be healed by human hands * His remarks indicate deepening desperation among Anglican leaders over the irreconcilable gap between liberals who demand gay equality within the Church * Archbishop made his unusual and heartfelt reference to the need for a miracle in a paper on the C of E’s attitude to sexuality written with his most senior colleagueThe Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday that the Church of England will need a miracle from the Holy Spirit to solve its long-running row over gay rights. The Most Reverend Justin Welby said the divisions...

On Tuesday, June 27, it will be 50 years since the first automated cash dispenser – which came to be known as an automated teller machine (ATM) – was inaugurated in London. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. I belong to the generation who stood 45 minutes to an hour to deposit or cash checks in the pre-ATM era. I remember getting yelled at for taking my bicycle through the drive-up line at the National Bank of Detroit to avoid the much longer line inside. It did not take me very long to become an early...

June 20, 2017 by paulsimeon2014 Vatican reportedly working on “Ecumenical Rite of Mass” for joint worship with Protestants Pope Francis meets with Rev. Jens-Martin Kruse at Rome’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on Nov. 15 2016Italian journalist and Vatican expert Marco Tosatti has reported that Pope Francis has formed a top-secret commission tasked with implementing a new kind of “mass” that is acceptable to Catholics, Lutherans and Anglicans. The commission consists of representatives from all three denominations, all bound to secrecy.The journalist, who is well known in Italy for his accurate reporting of all things happening in the Vatican, has said that...

In typical Hollywood fashion, a pro-choice actress has claimed her views on abortion and Christianity go hand in hand — suggesting the pro-life crowd has “stolen” the Christian identity. Actress Amy Brenneman, star of the HBO show “The Leftovers,” describes her church’s philosophy on the “moral agency of women” as a mother’s right to keep or kill her baby — or to “decide what’s right for her fetus,” in Brenneman’s words. "In my church, we are prayerfully pro-choice, which means that we believe in the moral agency of women," Brenneman, 52, said in a video created by the "Lives of...

Despite the radicalism of early Protestantism toward many ancient Catholic "distinctives," such as the Communion of the Saints, Penance, Purgatory, Infused Justification, the Papacy, the priesthood, sacramental marriage, etc., it may surprise many to discover that Martin Luther was rather conservative in some of his doctrinal views, such as on baptismal regeneration, the Eucharist, and particularly the Blessed Virgin Mary. Luther indeed was quite devoted to Our Lady, and retained most of the traditional Marian doctrines which were held then and now by the Catholic Church. This is often not well-documented in Protestant biographies of Luther and histories of the...

The veneration of relics is so obviously just a late medieval corruption of the faith, right? Actually, it comes from the Bible and the first Christians. A speck of bone, their childhood shoes, even a drop of blood? If anything is distinctive of the devotional practices of the Catholic Church compared to Protestant Christians, it’s the Church's practices surrounding relics. Relics are the remains of those recognized as saints, whether it is a part of their body (first degree relic), something they owned (second degree relic), or even, though less impressive, objects that have touched a first or second degree...