News for Week Ending 10/8/2012

Curaçao ordains first woman priest

According to Episcopal News Service, the Rev. Alma Louise De bode-Olton became the first woman priest to be ordained in Curaçao on September 21, 2012. The ordination took place on the 60th anniversary of the Anglican Episcopal Church in Curaçao.

Second female African bishop elected

All Africa reported October 4, 2012, that a second female Anglican bishop has been elected in Africa. Canon Margaret Vertue will become the bishop of the Diocese of False Bay, a poor suburb of Cape Town. Vertue was ordained by Archbishop Desmond Tutu 20 years ago. She will be consecrated by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba at the same time as the first woman bishop elected in Africa, the Rev. Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.)

Selection of next Archbishop of Canterbury remains stalled

No conspicuous progress in selecting candidates to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury was made in the past week. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) The London Evening Standard reported October 1, 2012, that Prime Minister David Cameron, who formally transmits the names chosen by the Crown Nominations Commission to the Queen, is eager for the Church of England to select those names. The Living Church reviewed the situation on the same day.

Church Times suggested in an October 5 editorial that the delay in naming candidates for the Canterbury see is caused in part by the impossible demands of the office itself. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) The Independent editorialized October 7 that the deadlock is rooted in divergent views on the role of the Church of England—should the church re-imagine itself to become more relevant to the 21st century or should it bide its time, waiting for old differences to “dissolve.” It may be best to select a “caretaker” archbishop. Andrew Brown, writing for The Guardian, argued that differences are indeed dissolving. “The sexuality wars are coming to an end,” Brown wrote, “and the liberals have won.” Changing Attitude, which works for the inclusion of LGBT people in the life of the Anglican Communion, has written to all English bishops, encouraging them to be honest about issues around sexuality, asserting that “over 50% of bishops dissent from the current teaching and practice of the Church of England on homosexuality.” (The Changing Attitude press release can be found here. The Guardian covered the story here.)

The Telegraph has published a list of the members of the Crown Nominations Commission along with some indication of their backgrounds and leanings.