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From Singapore-
The 27 parishes of the Anglican Church in Singapore on Thursday (Mar
19) suspended all worship services and gatherings until Apr 3, said the
Anglican Diocese of Singapore.
"The Diocesan leadership has
closely monitored the escalating COVID-19 situation and makes this
contribution towards the concerted national effort to ‘flatten the
coronavirus curve’," it said in a press release.
The suspension of services comes after a member of St Andrew's Cathedral was confirmed on Wednesday to have contracted the coronavirus.
The
church member, who had been in the UK, attended a service last Sunday
but had no symptoms of illness and passed precautionary screening, said
the cathedral.
More here-
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/anglican-church-suspend-services-singapore-covid-19-12559060
From Singapore-
In the live-action remake of Disney's classic Beauty And The Beast, LeFou shows more than just friendly feelings for the handsome antagonist Gaston.
This prompted Anglican Bishop Rennis Ponniah to issue an advisory before the film premieres here on Thursday.
In a statement released on the St Andrew's Cathedral website, Bishop Rennis Ponniah urged the clergy and deaconesses to alert their congregation about the homosexual content in the film.
He wrote: "Disney films for children's entertainment are usually associated with wholesome and mainstream values. But times are changing at a foundational level... LeFou is portrayed as gay and a 'gay moment' is included in the movie by way of a subplot.
"Parents are advised to provide guidance to their children about (the film), and indeed to their children's entertainment choices in a rapidly changing age."
More here-
http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/disney-film-prompts-advisory-anglican-bishop
From Singapore-
The Anglican Bishop of Singapore has weighed in on American singer Madonna's concert scheduled for Sunday, saying that the Church is not forcing its views on non-believers in asking Christians not to attend the concert.
He said the Church is only calling on Christians to make choices that "decisively show" their love for God.
"In taking a position on the Madonna concert, the Church can be cast as being moralistic or arrogantly prescriptive for everybody else. That is not our intention or motivation," said Rev Rennis Ponniah in a pastoral letter put on the Diocese of Singapore's website on Friday.
More here-
http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/advice-on-madonna-concert-not-an-imposition-of-values-on-non-believers-anglican-bishop
From Singapore-
The Government has barred Australian clergyman James Minchin from entering Singapore as he "has interfered in Singapore's domestic politics", the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Sunday.
An author and Anglican priest, Mr Minchin arrived in Singapore from Australia on Nov 7, and was turned back at Changi Airport, The Straits Times online reported.
In August last year, while on a social visit to the Republic, he spoke at a political forum "where he alleged that the rule of law was bypassed and corrupted in Singapore, and questioned the independence and integrity of the judiciary", MHA said.
He did not have a permit to speak.
All foreigners who are involved in activities directly related to the "organisation or conduct of any seminar, conference, workshop, gathering or talk concerning any religion, race or community, cause or political end" must hold a Miscellaneous Work Pass, The Straits Times report added.
Recently, Mr Minchin, a controversial figure from Melbourne, came to Singapore again on a social visit and gave a "political interview" in his capacity as a clergyman.More here-
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20121113-383092.html
From Singapore-
Anglican Alliance has launched a new scheme to help improve education standards around the Commonwealth.The scheme will support education administrators from around the Anglican Communion in coming to London to learn about the delivery of education services.The first four education administrators to take part in the scheme are David Agbo from Nigeria, Jacqueline Glasgow-Browne from St Vincent, Joe Takeli from the Solomon Islands, and Seidu Adam from Ghana.Agbo, Takeli and Adam work for church education services, while Glasgow-Browne liaises with church schools on behalf of government education services.They will spend eight weeks visiting education services and specialist education institutions in the UK next year and apply what they have learned to their own national contexts.Their time in the UK will be split between studying local authority education services, workshadowing senior officials, visiting schools and learning from diocesan education services in two Church of England dioceses.Their stops include Nottingham University, which has a special unit that works on leadership in education and especially on the role of faith schools.More here-
http://sg.christianpost.com/dbase.php?cat=education&id=904
From Christian Post-
Archbishops representing Anglican churches in the southern hemisphere will formally accept a covenant aimed at promoting unity within the worldwide denomination when they meet in Singapore 2010.The Global South Anglican, which brings together 20 of the 38 provinces (churches led by archbishops or their counterparts) in the Anglican Communion and in which the Bishop of Singapore and Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Southeast Asia The Most Revd Dr John Chew serves as incumbent general secretary, will be holding its fourth meeting or ‘encounter’ from 19 to 23 April.The Anglican Communion Covenant as it is called was developed over the past number of years to salvage unity within the communion after the ordination of an openly homosexual bishop by The Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of Anglicanism, threatened to split it.In a video message posted online, the spiritual leader of the 80 million member Anglican Communion the Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Revd Dr Rowan Williams said: “In recent years in the Anglican family, we’ve discovered that our relations with each other as local churches have often been strained, that we haven’t learned to trust one another as perhaps we should, that we really need to build relationships, and we need to have a sense that we are responsible to one another and responsible for each other."In other words, what we need is something that will help us know where we stand together, and help us also intensify our fellowship and our trust," he said.More here-
http://sg.christianpost.com/dbase/church/2410/section/1.htm
From Channel News Asia-
The Anglican Church celebrates 100 years in Singapore on Monday.From the iconic St Andrew's Cathedral, to several well-known schools and community welfare centres, the church's contributions to society go beyond religious convictions.The St Andrew's Cathedral was the first Anglican Church in Singapore.It was built for the British expatriate community in the 19th century. Today, it conducts services in seven languages.Celebrations were in full swing at the cathedral to mark 100 years of the Anglican Diocese of Singapore - the mission's governing body.Thousands gathered at a carnival to raise funds for the community services set up by the diocese.They include the St Andrew's Community Hospital, the Family Crisis Centre which offers support and shelter for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, and the new St Andrew's Autism Centre.The target amount of $100,000 has been reached through ticket sales prior to the event.Schools founded by the diocese like St Margaret's, St Hilda's and Anglican High were among those who helped raise funds."I'm glad to see that it is reaching out to other groups in Singapore to help build a strong community and social cohesion in Singapore. Religion is a force for good in the world and it is important that religion does not become exclusive," said Singapore's Deputy Pm and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.The early Anglican settlers were from the British East India Company in Singapore and since then the community has grown from strength to strength.The Diocese of Singapore now has 20,000 members and 26 churches, including the St Andrew's Cathedral.The Anglican mission has proven to be an effective social cement through its engagement with the wider community, regardless of religion.http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1006332/1/.html
