Anglican Communion News Service

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet you in the precious name of our Lord. It is a great joy to be with you this morning. Had King David lived today, there is no doubt that the popular press would have had a field day with his eventful life. Those who gave us the books of Samuel and Kings may not have had the same journalistic freedom as today's tabloids, but they still give us some pretty juicy material to work with.

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Archbishop of York tells of his own captivity in repeated call for release of Alan Johnston

Standing among you all, I feel like the youngest, the put upon and the most inexperienced lion in Daniel’s den of lions!

According to recent statistics, the increasing number of people who use the internet for obtaining their news means that the last newspaper will be published sometime between 2034 – 2043. There are similar statistics which claim that the decline in church going over recent years means that at around about the same time we will be holding our last service in the Church of England.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, spoke yesterday in the debate on gambling and super casinos in the House of Lords. The Archbishop of Canterbury, along with the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Bishop of Peterborough, voted for an amendment tabled by Lord Clement Jones to reject the order to grant casino licences in their proposed form.

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Historic Westminster Abbey hosted a service today to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Slave Trade Act. The occasion spoke of the reality of how Britain was a "major beneficiary of slavery," yet it was also the British who "led the struggle to abolish the system." The opening words of the service were offered by the Very Revd John Hall in the "bidding" - he said, "We have come to remember the commitment and courage of a group of abolitionists, black and white, male and female

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As the Procession of Witness reached Lambeth Bridge, London, as part of a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in England, a large choir sang Amazing Grace, the hymn written by John Newton, himself a reformed slavemaster

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Intervention from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, during the General Synod debate on lesbian and gay Christians.

[Note: The debate was initiated by the Revd Mary Gilbert from the Lichfield diocese in the form of a private motion. The intervention came when amendments to the main motion were being debated; the Archbishop’s contribution was intended to address the possibility that, if both amendments and the substantive motion were all defeated, the Synod would end up being heard to say nothing on this subject.]

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Monday 26th February 2007

After the debates at the American General Convention last summer, I wrote directly to all the primates of the Communion to ask about their reaction and the likely reaction of their provinces as to whether the resolutions of Convention had met the proposals of the Windsor Report for restoring something like normal relations between the Episcopal Church and others in the Communion. The answers were instructive. About eleven provinces were fairly satisfied; about eleven were totally dissatisfied. The rest displayed varying levels of optimism or pessimism, but were not eager to see this as a life and death issue for the Communion. Of those who took one or the other of the more pronounced view, several on both sides nonetheless expressed real exasperation that this question and the affairs of one province should be taking up energy to the near-exclusion of other matters.

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Christian leaders have called for prayers throughout Advent for Christians in the Holy Land as they prepare for a pilgrimage to the birth place of Jesus Christ. The four heads of Churches will undertake the pilgrimage in solidarity with Christians living in the Holy Land in the week leading up to Christmas. The pilgrimage is in response to invitations from Christian Churches in the Holy Land. The call for prayer in the Advent season is for the pilgrims, but especially the Christians

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Nearly 200 members from the global Anglican community attended the opening session of the annual event on Monday 30th October, which has been expanded since 2004 to incorporate World Mission issues as well as companion relationships between dioceses. As well as guests from UK, Partnership for World Mission (PWM) was delighted to welcome delegates from and representing Botswana, Canada, Estonia, Kenya, India, Ireland, Malawi, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Uganda, US, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia

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The Archbishop of York has today ended his seven-day vigil for peace by calling for the international community to renew its efforts in working for a sustainable solution to conflict in the Middle East. Speaking at the morning Eucharistic service in York Minster, where he has spent the past week praying, fasting and sleeping in a tent, The Most Revd Dr John Sentamu said, 'The events of the past weeks, in the Lebanon, Israel, the United States and Britain have demonstrated that we cannot afford any longer to leave the issues of the Middle East in the pending tray of unresolved business

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The Archbishop of York had his head shaved and anointed with oil during the Sunday morning act of worship at York Minster. The acts of preparation came as the Most Revd Dr John Sentamu began a seven - day fast and prayer vigil for the Middle East. After the service the Archbishop entered the tent which he has pitched in St. Johns Chapel inside the Minster where he will be sleeping for the next seven nights as part of his vigil

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The Church of England has today launched a new area on its website to assist the thousands of people currently trying to trace the branches of their family tree. The move reflects the huge popularity of research into family history: when the 1901 Census was placed online in 2002 it soon became one of the most visited sites on the web, and more than 829,000 people have visited The National Archives Family Records Centres in London and Kew in the last three years

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I am glad to have the opportunity of offering in these few minutes a very brief update on the current situation in the Anglican Communion, particularly in the light of the recent session of the Episcopal Church's General Convention - which was, of course, attended by my brother Archbishop, who made an outstanding contribution to its discussions

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To mark the first anniversary of the bombings of 7th July 2005, prayers will be said at the General Synod and in churches across England. The anniversary will be referred to in the opening prayers of the General Synod at York University, led by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, and will also be reflected in the intercessions at evening prayer that night.

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The curse of our age has been the inhumanity of absolute ideology and of myths of racial supremacy, the great lies that have plunged our continent and our world into darkness and butchery so many times since the nineteen twenties. And in the new century and millennium, what we have to fear is a toxic mixture of religion that has become inhuman...

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I was always taught, of course, that you should never under any circumstances say 'Alleluia' during Lent. It was like giving up chocolate or alcohol. Save it till Easter, and then you'll really enjoy it as it was meant to be enjoyed. There's plenty of good sense about this, if we understand what Lent is properly about - a preparation for Easter

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On March the 28th 2006 a Thanksgiving Service took place in Westminster Abbey to mark the 150th anniversary of The Mission to Seafarers. Thanks was given to those who inspired its foundation in 1856 and those who have carried out its ministry over the last century and a half with their dedication and commitment

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'This is not an anomaly. By 'declaring war on terror' President Bush is perversely applying the rules of engagement which apply in a war situation. But the prisoners are not being regularly visited by the Red Cross or Red Crescent, which is required by the Geneva Convention. They were not even allowed to be interviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Group

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Ugandan Archbishop Janani Luwum was murdered on 17 February 1977 for standing up to dictator Idi Amin. The Archbishop Janani Luwum Trust will be launched in Westminster Abbey this Saturday, 18 February. The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu is President of the Archbishop Janani Luwum Memorial Trust. He will join other worshippers for the traditional service of Evensong in the Abbey at 3 pm

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'This world will one day pass away and the ecclesiastical structures on which we expend so much time and energy, important though they are, will pass away with it. In the light of this fact, we need to give the highest priority to deepening the quality of our love for the other members of the Body of Christ

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A Church of England group is proposing a way forward aimed at both permitting women to become bishops - should General Synod vote in favour of this - and of preserving the maximum amount of unity within the Church

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The Installation of a new Archbishop begins a new chapter in the life of the province and diocese as its chief pastor and teacher is welcomed by his people, placed in his archiepiscopal seat (cathedra, which gives a cathedral its name), and begins his ministry of teaching and celebrating the Good News of God in Jesus Christ.

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To begin by asking this audience, 'Why are you here?' may sound just a bit negative (shades of the wartime challenge, 'Was your journey really necessary?'). But it's meant as a serious and an open question.

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Hundreds of members of the new Synod of the Church of England join with Her Majesty the Queen, for a Communion Service to mark the opening of the 'church's parliament'. The synod is re-formed every 5 years and the Queen by custom attends the Eucharist and speaks at the opening session, in her role of Supreme Governor of the Church of England

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[Inverness, California] Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, attended All Saints Sunday services at the Parish Church and Retreat House of St. Columba's in the quaint California seaside town of Inverness

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A memorial service for the victims of the London bombings was held today at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The Service attended by relatives who lost loved ones, survivors and members of the emergency services joined a 2,300 congregation

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The Most Rev'd Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, with the August 2004 consent of the House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda has appointed a priest of the Church of England, the Rev'd Prebendary Sandy Millar, as Assistant Bishop in the Church of Uganda

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In an ancient formal legal ceremony accompanied by hymns, soloist, drums, brass and an address from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Most Revd John Sentamu was confirmed as Archbishop of York in St Mary Le Bow Church, London on October 5th

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The Anglican Franciscan Third Order meeting at the Franciscan International Study Centre in Canterbury, UK, grew by over a hundred members overnight

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I read with utter dismay the pastoral statement recently issued by the Church of England House of Bishops with regard to the Civil Partnership Act scheduled to come into force on 5 December 2005.While I was pleased to note the reaffirmation of the Church's historic teaching on both marriage and sexual intercourse, I was sorely distressed that these words are not matched by corresponding actions.

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