News for Week Ending 4/15/2013

Bishop Michael Ingham to retire

Michael Ingham, who has been the Bishop of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada since 1994, has announced his intention to retire effective August 31, 2013. Ingham is currently the longest serving bishop in the Canadian church. He is perhaps best known for his authorizing liturgy for blessing same-sex unions in his diocese in 2003, an act that, along with the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, led to still-unresolved conflict within the Anglican Communion. Ingham has also had to deal with property disputes involving clergy and congregations leaving the diocese for other Anglican jurisdictions. (See, for example, the Pittsburgh Update story here.) Ingham’s announcement is reported on the Web site of the Diocese of New Westminster.

CoE issues marriage report

The Faith and Order Commission of the Church of England issued a report on marriage, “Men and Women in Marriage,” on April 10, 2013. The report, which was approved by the House of Bishops for publication and carries a foreword by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, is described in a Church of England press release. The report largely repeats assertions about marriage previously articulated by the church. It describes marriage as “an exclusive commitment of one man and one woman” and as a “creation ordinance, a gift of God in creation.”

The report has elicited a good deal of commentary, much of it negative. Church Times advised ignoring “Men and Women in Marriage.” Other commentary has been collected by Thinking Anglicans here, here, here, and here.

Developments continue in South Carolina

The provisional bishop of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, Charles G. vonRosenberg, has written to approximately 140 priests and deacons who have not participated in the recent Episcopal conventions. The letters essentially ask whether recipients are in or out of The Episcopal Church. The action is similar to what was done in Pittsburgh after the 2008 split in the diocese. Details can be found here.

On the legal front, the South Carolina faction that left The Episcopal Church have filed papers with the U.S. District Court arguing that its lawsuit should be litigated in state court. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) The April 10, 2013, filing can be found here.