New Anglican Archbishop appointed

From Trinidad and Tobago-

The An­gli­can Church in the West In­dies has a new head fol­low­ing the elec­tion of Ja­maican Bish­op Howard Gre­go­ry to the post of Arch­bish­op for the Province of the West In­dies dur­ing its provin­cial syn­od at the Cas­ca­dia Ho­tel yes­ter­day.

Arch­bish­op Gre­go­ry pre­vi­ous­ly held the posts of head of An­gli­can Church in Ja­maica and Cay­man Is­lands. 

He suc­ceeds Bar­ba­di­an Dr John Hold­er, who re­tired in Feb­ru­ary 2018 and has be­come the first Ja­maican to head the An­gli­can Church in the Caribbean since Arch­bish­op William Hardie va­cat­ed the post in 1949.

Dur­ing a short press con­fer­ence fol­low­ing his elec­tion, Arch­bish­op Gre­go­ry said there were many top­i­cal is­sues in the Caribbean on which the church need­ed to be lend guid­ance.

“At the mo­ment we are deal­ing with is­sues re­lat­ed to abor­tion, we are deal­ing with is­sues re­lat­ed to mar­i­jua­na, we are deal­ing with is­sues re­lat­ed to hu­man traf­fick­ing and as a church we cer­tain­ly have to be a part of the en­gage­ment of the so­ci­ety bring in some per­spec­tives to bear on these things, not just out of emo­tion, not just po­lit­i­cal par­ti­san in any­way but to bring our the­o­log­i­cal and bib­li­cal per­spec­tive to bear on these sit­u­a­tions,” said the new Arch­bish­op.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/new-anglican-archbishop-appointed-6.2.854840.b3c0a6ea0e 

and here-

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20190527/five-things-about-new-west-indies-anglican-archbishop-jamaican-howard-gregory

and here-

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/gregory-elected-archbishop-of-the-west-indies_165883?profile=1373

Faith leaders call for abandonment of sodomy laws

From The West Indies-

Intimate Conviction, a book which speaks about the commitment of several global faith leaders to have governments abandon sodomy laws, has been launched here.

The book was launched at the Marion House conference room last Friday November 16.

Presentations were made by Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Framework Maurice Tomlinson and Reverend Tom Decker, an Anglican military chaplain from the Canadian Armed Forces.

According to Tomlinson, the book came out of the 2017 “Intimate Conviction” conference which was a two-day event held in Jamaica to examine the church and anti-sodomy laws across the Commonwealth.

The keynote address at the conference was delivered by Barbadian the Most Reverend John Holder, Anglican Archbishop of the West Indies.

More here-

https://searchlight.vc/searchlight/news/2018/11/20/faith-leaders-call-for-abandonment-of-sodomy-laws/

Anglican Church in the Caribbean: No to Same Sex Marriage

From The Caribbean-

The Head of the Anglican Church in St. Kitts and Nevis Archdeacon Valentine Hodge is making it clear that the Church does not support gay marriage, or condone a homosexual lifestyle. 

"I can only speak...on the behalf of the Anglican Church which is the church in the province of the West Indies…um at the moment we cannot marry in church two people of the same sex...We believe in indissoluble monogamous marriage that is something which should last for life.. indissoluble.. and,  we also believe that it is something between a man and a woman," the Archdeacon said, speaking on WINN FM's Breakfast Show Thursday. 

"We are not into same sex union in the province in the Caribbean, although we find that the Episcopal and the Church of Canada have been very much into that, but we haven’t reached that stage as yet and I think that we [aren't] going to in the foreseeable future given our constitution of the province of the West Indies. We are really holding on to the biblical tradition  and there are certain passages of scripture like Romans Chapter One...that very clearly [says] what’s enunciated in terms of marriage." The Archdeacon said that the issue of the rights’ of homosexuals and lesbians was one of the law and theology. 

More here-

http://www.winnfm.com/news/local/5420-anglican-church-in-the-caribbean-no-to-same-sex-marriage

Anglican bishops in West Indies denounce Obama blackmail over gay 'marriage'

From The West Indies-

The Anglican bishops of the West Indies have urged their governments to hold fast and resist pressure from Britain and the United States to legalize gay rights and gay "marriage."

In a statement released on April 25, 2013, following the House of Bishops meeting in Barbados, bishops of the Church the Province of the West Indies (CPWI) reiterated their belief in marriage “definedas a faithful, committed, permanent and legally sanctioned relationship between a man and a woman.”

“The idea of such unions being constituted by persons of the same sex is, therefore, totally unacceptable on theological and cultural grounds,” the bishops said. The CPWI consists of eight dioceses: the Diocese of Barbados, the Diocese of Belize, the Diocese of Guyana, the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the Diocese of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Diocese of the Windward Islands.

The 23 active and retired members of the house of bishops observed that the push to redefine marriage was coming from abroad. There have been “trends within countries of the developing world and international forums, and in which these countries exercise a controlling interest, in which matters related to human sexuality have been elevated to the level of human rights and are being promulgated as positions which must be accepted globally.”

More here-

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/anglican-bishops-in-west-indies-denounce-obama-blackmail-over-gay-marriage/