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September 2015

Open Bible

Revealed In The Bible?

I regularly see the phrase, “revealed in the Bible”, and it pulls me up short. Sure, maybe some people are using the phrase “revealed in the Bible” as shorthand for something akin to “revealed by God and recorded under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in one of the books of the Bible”. To be

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Icon of St Michael

St Michael and All Angels

This is the only feast of angels that the Reformers retained. It goes back to the fifth century when a basilica was dedicated to St Michael. The Gregorian Sacramentary (no 726) has this collect for the commemoration in the Basilica of the Holy Angels on September 29. Michael and Gabriel are the only archangels named

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Pope Selfie

Pope Selfies

For the image for this post, I started photoshopping my image as a selfie with Pope Francis. I have seen other popes, but not (yet) Pope Francis. It was going to be a bit of fun, and selfies are a bit of fun, just a bit of fun – aren’t they? My post, as often,

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incense

Illegally Incensed

Incense is used by Christians in many traditions. [It is used by other world faiths as well]. In Anglican history, incense is one of the “six points” of Ritualists, one of the streams that flowed into the catholic renewal of Anglicanism in the nineteenth century: altar candles, vestments, presiding facing East, wafer bread, adding water

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Synod

Synod Statute Summary

In the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, there are statutes doing the rounds of Te Runanganui, the Diocese of Polynesia, and the diocesan synods. I think all these statutes need further work and should not be passed. They need assent by the first two, and by a majority of diocesan synods. Even

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Heavenly Treasure

Praying a Collect in Common

This coming Sunday (27 September), Roman Catholics and Anglicans/Episcopalians again share a common collect. I am working on producing a full set of shared collects for the church year. My work so far can be found here: Book of Prayers in Common. My rendering for this coming Sunday and the week following is: Let us

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Anglican Communion

Anglican Communion Homonym

Much in the news and in the blogosphere is the invitation of Anglican Primates by the Archbishop of Canterbury to meet in Canterbury 11-16 January 2016. Our thoughts and prayers are with this meeting and its preparation. Much of the response to this announcement is around “What is the Anglican Communion?” and “What is the

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