Someone once said to me, “I have no problem believing that it’s Jesus, it’s believing that it’s bread that I find difficult!” Another time I heard someone explaining, “it’s not supposed to be bread, it’s just supposed to symbolise bread.” In the early church, Christians used the same baking techniques and same ovens for both
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Jesus!
Gluten and Alcohol-Free Christ Read More »I have already reflected on a Eucharist at St Andrew’s, Plimmerton, and there is another part of that service I want to reflect on. After receiving communion, most persons of the congregation stopped by a nearby quilt hanging vertically. Each of these persons tied a knot in one of the threads protruding from it, stopping
Recent discussion about confirmation (and here and check the search box for more) has highlighted that many people are not aware of the majority historical practice of a united Christian initiation: baptism-christmation/confirmation-communion. Receiving communion, then, is clearly the repeatable part of Christian initiation. Current practices separating baptism; confirmation; communion – or – baptism; communion; confirmation
Giving Holy Communion to Infants Read More »
Earlier this year I wrote about the Pope washing the feet of women possibly signalling an openness to rethinking ordination of males-only in Roman Catholicism: Pope Takes One Small Step Towards Women Priests? Now: Pope Francis has announced he will create a commission to study the possibility of allowing women to serve as deacons in
Pope Considers Ordaining Women Read More »
Yesterday, the text of the Way Forward Working Group report was published. It deals with how blessing committed same-sex couples may be progressed in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. It comes in response to Motion 30 of General Synod Te Hinota Whanui 2014 (GSTHW 2014). The Way Forward Working Group report
Blessing Same-Sex Unions Read More »
Friend and fellow-blogger, Peter Carrell, said something strongly recently which has kept me thinking since he wrote it on his website: It matters not one whit how much nerve I (or you) have, nor whether we believe there is only One Bread etc, nor whether various popes make pleasant and, yes, encouraging gestures, the simple
Today, at 4:30pm, many were expecting to hear the final decision about what would happen to the Christchurch Anglican cathedral in the Square, damaged in the earthquakes that destroyed so much of Christchurch. The Great Christchurch Building Trust have sought to see the building brought back essentially to as it was pre-quakes. The owners, the
Christchurch Cathedral Read More »
Previous posts examine the confusion around NZ Anglican liturgical practice. That disorder extends to ordination and maybe even threatens the validity of those ordinations. This can also impact relationships not only within the Anglican Communion but also with those who, ecumenically, accept the ordinations of our church. The last meeting of General Synod Te Hinota
Liturgical Disorder Read More »
