Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

On March 21st delegates from around Scotland will gather in Glasgow to exchange ideas on how to strengthen Companion Links with Dioceses overseas, building on relationships developed at the Lambeth Conference. 

Before last year’s Lambeth Conference quite a number of overseas bishops and their spouses visited our dioceses in Scotland before travelling to Canterbury. Many were from our Companion Dioceses and this time shared was clearly appreciated by our visitors. Sharing in the life of other dioceses enabled many within our congregations to feel a closer link with our Companion Dioceses. But where did that lead us? The need to keep such conversations going has to be a high priority.

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“World focus on the current economic situation threatens to overshadow the response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in DR Congo and elsewhere at a time when the message ‘Peace on Earth’ begins to take centre stage in our thoughts,” declares the Most Rev Dr Idris Jones, Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

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The Church in Society Committee welcomes Prime Minister Gordon Brown's call for a greater international effort to combat global poverty and his reminder to other world leaders of the promises made in 2000 when they committed themselves to the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty by 2015. However, having just passed the halfway mark in terms of time, the Prime Minister notes they are "a million miles" from being met by 2015.

As a Christian community, we are committed to a Gospel message of care and support for the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters. We believe that the quality of a society can be measured by the respect shown to its weakest members. As members of a global society, we have an obligation to do whatever is in our power to ensure that significant progress is made towards meeting the MDG's at least by 2015, and earlier if at all possible.

The Anglican Communion has made achievement of the goals a priority; member churches will work towards this through global partnerships and local action. The Scottish Episcopal Church has pledged to ensure that it plays its part in this important work.

Item from: The Scottish Episcopal Church

The Most Revd Dr Idris Jones, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway today endorsed the following statement issued by the Scottish Inter Faith Council:

‘We, the under-noted religious leaders of Scotland, utterly condemn the recent attack on Glasgow airport and incidents in London, as we do all acts of terrorism and hope that the full force of the law will be brought to bear on those who perpetrate such violence against innocent people.

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The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church was constituted during a Choral Eucharist Service in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral on 7 June, and concluded on Saturday 9 June.

In his Charge to General Synod, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Revd Dr Idris Jones, challenged Synod members to commit themselves to be the Scottish Episcopal Church at its best and encouraged them to make their churches more inclusive.

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The Very Revd Dr Robert (Bob) Gillies has been elected as the new Bishop for the Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney.   Bob Gillies is presently rector of St Andrew’s Church, St Andrews and Dean of that diocese. He has previously held appointments as chaplain to the University of Dundee, Curate to Christ Church, Morningside, Edinburgh and Curate to Christ Church, Falkirk. He was an honorary philosophy lecturer at Dundee from 1985-1994.

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What Easter means for me is summed up in the words of St. Paul 'It is a fact; Christ is risen' ( 1 Cor 15 v 20 ). 

We cannot know how it happened, and in a sense we do not need to know how it happened, just the plain fact that it did - and it will take more than a Hollywood sales pitch to cast any doubt about that in my mind! We do know the consequences of it happening, and we could turn to St. Paul once more to draw these consequences out.   “Now it is no more me who lives, but Christ who lives in me” ; “ if we share with Christ in death we shall surely share in his resurrection” ; and most personally for St Paul “ who are you Lord ?   - I am Jesus “ the question and the answer that turned Paul round in his own life of faith. We know also from the Gospel narratives that Jesus once risen was not immediately recognisable to his friends. Mary of Magdala in the garden ; the weary fishers on the shore ; the two disciples at Emmaus all needed some way in which they could recognise the risen Christ .    It might be that in the record there is a message that just says nothing remains the same in our relationship with God and that and growth is inevitable as a result of the encounter with the risen Christ . 

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The following is a copy of a personal reflection by the Prumus on the recent meeting of Anglican Primates in Dar es Salaam, which he has sent to all clergy within the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Many people will have read with interest the Communiqué from the Primates’ meeting and drawn their own conclusions from it. A document like this is generated within a specific context and usually makes more sense to those who shared in the meeting than it does at first sight to those who read it afterwards. 

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At a meeting on the 31st July, the College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church expressed its deep concern at the continuing conflict in Israel, Lebanon and Gaza. 

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The College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church released a statement, yesterday, concerning future discussion of issues raised by the Windsor Report in the Province.

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Scotland's Primus takes on important role at meeting of world-wide Anglican Communion Primates

The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Most Revd Bruce Cameron will have an important role in next week's meeting of the world-wide Anglican Communion Primates (leaders), when he will be tasked with presenting a summary of the responses from the entire Anglican Communion to the Windsor Report presented by the Most Revd Robin Eames, the Primate of All Ireland, last October.

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The Venerable David Chillingworth has been elected as the new Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane in the Scottish Episcopal Church at a meeting of the Electoral Synod today in Perth. He will succeed the Rt Revd Michael Henley who retired as Bishop of the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld Dunblane in July this year.

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The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Revd Bruce Cameron, preached in Connecticut at Christ Church Cathedral for the anniversary of the consecration of Samuel Seabury.

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Four candidates have been short-listed for the post of Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane (one of seven Dioceses within the Scottish Episcopal Church) which became vacant in July when Bishop Michael Henley retired after 9 years' service.

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A major four-day conference held by the Scottish Episcopal Church at Heriot Watt University from 2-5 September has been hailed a great success. Over 300 delegates from across Scotland took part in the conference, which was led by three key-note speakers - The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams; the Rt Revd John Miller, former Moderator of the Church of Scotland and Minister in Castlemilk, Glasgow and Rev Kathy Galloway, Leader of the Iona Community.

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Church representatives, campaign groups and local politicians earlier this month launched Amnesty International's Edinburgh Festival campaign for an imprisoned Burmese journalist by unveiling a large city centre mural.

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Canon Martin Shaw was elected as the new Bishop of Argyll and The Isles in the Scottish Episcopal Church at a meeting of the Electoral Synod on March 24 in Oban. He will succeed the Rt Revd Douglas Cameron who retired at the end of October last year.

Martin Shaw is presently Precentor and Residentiary Canon of the Cathedral of Edmundsbury, Ipswich.

More here: http://www.scotland.anglican.org/news_headlines_03.html