ARE YOU *LISTENING* ARCHBISHOP ROWAN WILLIAMS? Most African countries, including Uganda, Zimbabwe and Ghana – all of have been accused of witchhunts against gay people.

Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, off to visit President Magabe, Zimbabwe,  in October HERE

Forty of the 54 Commonwealth member states retain a ban on homosexuality

¨Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has called for next month’s Commonwealth heads of government meeting to discuss gay rights.

The meeting, to be held in Perth, Australia, should discuss issues such as the decriminalisation of homosexuality and legal protection from harassment, Mr Tatchell said...¨ HERE

·  Thanks to Gay Kenya, sidebar
·  Thanks to Pink News, United Kingdom
·  Thanks to Peter Tatchell

Sort of a Music Hall Joke: ¨What are Archbishop Rowan's thoughts on lay ministry? Archbishop Rowan doesn´t have any thoughts on lay ministry, does he? Does he? Boom-Boom¨ Lay Anglicana

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, delivered his Presidential Address today at the General Synod's July 2011 Group of Sessions, held at York University. The full text  HERE

¨Archbishop Rowan is a gifted orator, and it is clear from the twitter reactions to his speech that it was well-received overall. For the bishops and clergy present, I can see that 'heart spoke unto heart'. But what about his listeners from the House of Laity? What about other lay people, looking on? What about the LGBT community, as David Goss reminded us on twitter?

I see nothing here for any of us except a desert and waste land.

Luckily, my experience of God is more or less the opposite of what ++Rowan appears to have in mind as the 'correct' way for lay people to experience Him, and that is solely as demonstrated by the ordained. Kindly meant, no doubt, but if, after 60 years of Christian worship, I had to rely on the priesthood to explain to me what was meant by Christianity, it wouldn't say much for their effectiveness over a lifetime, now would it?... please read it all By Lay Anglicana,  HERE

...One priest who has shown, and continues to show me the way is the Revd Lesley Fellows. Here is an extract from a recent post of hers¨:

¨...The church sometimes draws me towards God and sometimes away from God. Sometimes I wonder whether there is more darkness than light in the church. However, I find myself connected to God through the Eucharist and even if it is that one sacrament alone that the church offers as light, that still leaves me committed to the church for my spiritual refreshment, however infuriated I sometimes get.¨ the Reverend Dr. Lesley Fellows, HERE

·  Thanks to Lay Anglicana, sidebar HERE
·  Thanks to Lesley´s Blog, sidebar
·  Thanks to The Archbishop of Canterbury, HERE

Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, does not want to see the Anglican Communion self-destruct during his incumbency

¨One can hardly fault the Archbishop of Canterbury for trying to keep the Anglican Communion from disintegrating; doing so is surely a task entailed by his job description¨

¨Yesterday, some friends and I were discussing how Rowan Williams has been such a disappointment as Archbishop of Canterbury. Whereas many of us expected him to be a progressive primate who would move both the Church of England and the Anglican Communion forward, he has instead been an instrument of reaction under whose leadership the Anglican Communion threatens to either fall apart or to descend into irrelevance. Those of us who welcomed the end of George Carey’s tenure had high hopes for the new resident of Lambeth Palace, but those hopes were not to be realized. We prayed that the Jeffrey John affair would prove an aberration, but Rowan’s missteps began happening with such predictable regularity that that it soon became statistically impossible to credit them either to momentary lapses in judgment or simple bad luck.

What went wrong?

The answer, I think, is twofold...¨read it all, HERE

·  Thanks to Lionel Deimels Web Log, sidebar