Statement from the House of Bishops, Anglican Church in America reference APCK
IN a Pastoral Letter recently read to parishes and missions of the Anglican Province of Christ the King's (APCK) Diocese of the Eastern States, Bishop Rocco Florenza pledged increased "cooperation and fellowship" and declared "a state of genuine unity and full communion" with the Anglican Church in America. In response, the following statement has been issued by Bishop George Langberg, speaking for the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America:
"We rejoice at the news that this significant step toward the greater unity of the Church has been taken by Bishop Florenza and others. We join our brother in Christ in proclaiming that we are in full and unimpaired communion with each other, and we are committed to working with him toward the vision our Lord expressed for His Church in John 17 - that we might be one, as He and the Father are One. Our hope and prayer is that our work together may inspire others to set aside man-made divisions and come together in fulfillment of Christ's explicit Divine Will for His Church."
When asked to explain what shape Bishop Florenza's "genuine unity" and the ACA bishops' "working together" would take, Bishop Langberg referred to the "form follows function" principle of architecture and engineering, saying, "We first need to focus on getting everyone on both sides thoroughly committed to following our Lord's clearly-expressed will for His Church. Once we all thus agree on what we are determined to do, we can address the issue of how to make it happen, in full confidence that if we trust in the Lord, He will direct our paths."
[A parallel statement also came from Archbishop John Hepworth, Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion. See news/announcement item 30 th June 2007]Ballarat's Anglican Church to ordain females for first time
WOMEN will be ordained as Anglican deacons for the first time in Ballarat's history, according to a report in the Ballarat Courier . They will become "permanent" deacons able to preach, lead church services, conduct weddings and funerals, but unable to preside or celebrate the service of holy communion.
Ballarat Bishop Michael Hough said men and women would be able to become permanent deacons and the new role was about further engaging the community.
He said deacons played a key role in the early church and the position was not designed as a stepping stone to become a priest.
Women were first ordained in the Australian Anglican church as deacons in 1986 and as priests in 1992.
Out of 23 Anglican dioceses in Australia, Ballarat is one of only four dioceses that does not ordain women as priests.
Until a motion was passed at the annual Ballarat dioceses synod this week, Ballarat and the Murray were the only two dioceses in Australia not to ordain women deacons.
Bishop Hough said ordaining women was currently not a high priority in Ballarat.
"If you look around the Australian church, the whole debate has been so divisive," he said.
Leading Melbourne Anglican laywoman Dr Muriel Porter said Ballarat was "extremely conservative" and a "long way behind" other dioceses. Across Australia one fifth of Anglican clergy are women, Dr Porter said.
"I'm delighted to see women given even a limited role in the diocese of Ballarat," she said.
"Once you allow women to be ordained and called reverend and having a formal ministry role in the church, in my experience the opposition to women as priests disappears overnight."
Source: Ballarat Courier
