News Briefs
news from around the communion and around the world
American Canon Appointed to Post at Oxford Cathedral in England
The Rev. Canon Dr Marilyn McCord Adams was installed at Oxford Cathedral as Regius Professor of Divinity and Canon of the Cathedral on 18 January during Evensong. Canon Adams, an American, was appointed to the prestigious post by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as Oxford is a royal foundation. The Queen's mandate was read at the beginning of the service.
The Rt Revd Fred Borsch, former bishop of Los Angeles, and Mrs Barbara Borsch were present at the service as Los Angeles was Canon Adams' home diocese. At the same service, the Rev.Canon Dr. George Pattison was installed as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity and Canon, a post which was held by Archbishop Rowan Williams.
Anglican Mission in America Announces Policy on Women's Ordination
After an extensive and thorough process of study and reflection the leadership of the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) has announced its newly adopted policy on the ordination of women.
Archbishops Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda and
Yong Ping Chung of South East Asia, sponsors of the Anglican Mission, have provided the guidance to ordain properly qualified and called women as deacons, but not as priests or bishops.
The decision follows two years of intensive
study and input on the part of a special commission chaired by the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Rodgers. Bishop Rodgers, formerly President of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Pittsburgh, indicated that to his knowledge, it is the most extensive study and review of its kind on the issue of women's ordination.
Commission members, who represented a va
riety of views on the topic, read a large amount of background material, dealt with the biblical texts and considered the best way forward. Along the way a major
document was produced--likely the only one of its kind--outlining the various options, the pros and cons, and the exegesis related to each position. The report was then considered by the leadership of each AMiA congregation, and feedback was received. After this, the findings went to the House of Bishops in Rwanda in early October for their deliberation, and finally to the sponsoring Primates of the Anglican Mission for their decision.
As promised when the Anglican Mission was
formed in 2000, the two women who had already been ordained Priests and had affiliated with the AMiA, will be permitted to continue their ministry as priests, serving on staff where called. However, women who seek affiliation with the Anglican Mission from this point on, who are already ordained as priests, will be asked to serve as deacons. Also as promised, women deacons will only be appointed to minister where they are openly received. [The EWC statement in response to this policy appears here]
Nova Scotia Elects Third Woman Bishop in Canada
The diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island has elected a well-known priest and social justice advocate as its suffragan, or assistant, bishop.
Susan Moxley is the diocese's first female
bishop and only the third woman ever to be elected to Canada's house of 42 active bishops.
The lay and clergy delegates voted on the five
nominee priests: Bishop-elect Moxley led on all ballots, though it took three ballots to elect her by a clear majority in both lay and clergy houses.
Ordained to the diaconate in 1984 and to the
priesthood in 1985, Bishop-elect Moxley has a bachelor's and a master's degree in arts from the University of Western Ontario, a master's in psychology
and a Ph.D. in education and psychology from the University of Michigan. She received her master's degree in divinity in 1984 from the Atlantic School of Theology, where she served as a part-time faculty member from 1990-1996.
Bishop-elect Moxley will take up the suffragan
position on 1 March 2004, assisting diocesan bishop Fred Hiltz in serving a diocese that comprises more than 300 congregations. She will be ordained and installed March 25, on the Feast of the Annunciation. She is currently rector of St Mark's, Halifax, honorary canon of the Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax, and a member of the international Anglican Consultative Council.
New Canon Pastor Appointed at Canterbury Cathedral
The Rev. Clare Edwards has been appointed the new Canon Pastor at Canterbury Cathedral by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams. Canon Edwards has served as Rector of Bletchingley in Surrey since 1995.
She studied for the ministry at Lincoln Theological College and was ordained priest in 1994, having been ordained a Deaconess and then a Deacon since 1986. She is an Honorary Canon of Southwark Cathedral, has been Rural Dean for Godstone since 1998, and is also the Dean of Women's Ministry for the Diocese of Southwark.
Clare Edwards will take up the new post in
early Summer. "It has been a hard decision to leave parish life but I will relish the new opportunities, meet
ing those who work, worship and visit the Cathedral, as well as those in the wider Diocese" she said earlier today. "I hope to be able to have a part in the conduct of retreats and the spiritual growth of worshippers, and share in the spiritual life of this great Church".
The Dean of Canterbury, the Very Rev. Rob
ert Willis, added, "I am absolutely delighted at the appointment of Canon Clare Edwards to be the Canon Pastor at Canterbury Cathedral. This is a new post and she brings immense gifts from her experience as a parish priest and Rural Dean. We look forward to welcoming her to Canterbury".
Although she has little spare time from all her
Church activities, Canon Edwards' hobbies include wind surfing and bell ringing.
Melbourne Anglicans State Their Readiness to Ordain Women as Bishops
Anglicans in Melbourne, Australia, have broken ranks with the rest of the Australian church in approving the immediate ordination of women to the episcopate. The synod meeting took the surprising action even though it was predicted that it would wait for the synod of the national church next October. Instead they voted to consider women for vacant positions regardless of whether the national church approves.
The motion will most likely pit the conservative
Diocese of Sydney against Anglicans in Melbourne. "We really do believe that God doesn't want barriers of gender in the priesthood," said the Rev. Charles Sherlock. "We hope we have come up with a proposal
that is phrased in a way that Sydney might let through. They might not support it but they might let it through."
If passed by the national synod the motion
would allow each diocese to decide whether it would choose women bishops. Those opposed could then refuse to acknowledge the female bishops but also priests they ordain, further dividing the church.
In Australia about 12 percent of the clergy are
women with 262 priests and 154 deacons. Although a motion to allow female bishops was presented to the national synod in 2001 it was withdrawn, despite significant support, because compromise made it unacceptable to both sides.
Massachusetts Raises 18 Million to Launch the Barbara C. Harris Center
With a recently awarded $500,000 grant in hand, the Diocese of Massachusetts is celebrating the successful completion of an $18.4 million fund-raising campaign for its Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center. The brand-new facility, located near Greenfield, N.H., opened last summer.
The award, announced in November, comes
from the Jane's Trust, a local charitable remainder trust. It is designated for financial aid to summer campers. The total project cost of $18.4 million included $13.4 million in construction costs, a $3 million scholarship endowment and a $2 million operating endowment.
news from around the communion and around the world
The many-faceted campaign involved more
than 160 volunteers working through numerous committees. The campaign represents the most money the Diocese of Massachusetts has ever raised toward a single project, with contributions from each of its nearly 200 parishes, missions and college chaplaincies.
"There was a lot of hard work and lots of people
involved," said Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, crediting in particular campaign chair Jack Cogan of Cambridge and diocesan chancellor George Kidder of Trinity Church in Concord. "I'm deeply moved by the generosity of people in this diocese."
Church of England Considers Women Bishops, Non-Geographical Province
Several reports in the British press over the past two weeks have suggested the possibility of a third nongeographical province being introduced to the structure of the Church of England in response to the possible ordination of women bishops in the province.
The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, England, has chaired the working party on the Theology of Women in the Episcopate since it was created in July 2000, and the culmination of its work has resulted in a report being drafted for consideration. The House of Bishops of the Church of England met this week in the lead up to the annual February gathering of the General Synod in London, and one of the items on their agenda was the discussion of this draft report.
Head of Media Relations for the Church of
England, Mr Steve Jenkins, said that the House of Bishops had been asked by the General Synod to produce a
report on the theological issues, considering all possibilities, as a background document to any future debate. "At the end of the report there is a table that represents all possible pastoral arrangements," he said. "At one extreme there is the option of no episcopal oversight, and at the other extreme there is the possibility of a third non-geographical province." The likelihood of one of these extremes being adopted is improbable.
The primary task of the working party has been
to identify and examine the theological issues involved in the ordination of women to the episcopate. "It may be...that arising out of this, the working party will also be able to make practical recommendations," said Bishop Michael. "It is...for General Synod to consider the findings of the working party and to make appropriate decisions in the light of such findings."
Toronto Same-Sex Blessing Takes Place Quietly
A Toronto parish has performed what may be the first public blessing of a same-sex union in Canada's largest diocese.
Alison Kemper and Joyce Barnett, two Anglican deacons who have worked actively for the recognition of same-sex marriage, had their recent civil marriage formally blessed on Sept. 6 at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity, a downtown parish with close ties to the city's gay and lesbian community.
The couple, who have two children and have
been together for almost 20 years, were married in a
civil ceremony at Toronto City Hall in June, just days after a ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeals allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry.
"What happened to us was substantial and
something of great joy, and we wanted to celebrate that with our religious community and our friends and neighbours," said Ms. Kemper, who is executive director of the 519 Church Street Community Centre.
"We're deeply grateful that we had that op
portunity," she said. "I felt that it really expressed the big tent of the Anglican Church."