"Almighty God, you who wonderfully created man in your image, and yet more wonderfully restored him: grant, we pray, that as your Son our Lord Jesus Christ was made in the likeness of men, so we may be made partakers of the divine nature; through the same your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns one God, forever and ever. Amen. 
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Bishop David Anderson and Canon Phil Ashey
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Bishop Anderson
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Bishop Anderson and Canon Ashey are out of the office today and will return next week.
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Canon Ashey
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The American Anglican Council wishes you a most blessed New Year. May your relationship with the Lord grow ever richer and deeper in 2013.
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Kendall Harmon-What Kind of Love Came Down at Christmas?
| Source: kendallharmon.net
December 28, 2012
Christina Rossetti's words pierce my heart at Christmas, year after year:
"Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas, Star and angels gave the sign."
It is worth pausing and pondering the answer to the question: how deep and how broad was that love?
To move with me toward an answer, journey to a small chapel in Cartmell Fell, a little known holy place in the North of England. If you know where to look when you arrive there - the stone is half hidden in the chancel - you can find a 1771 inscription with elegant lettering:
"Underneath this stone a mouldering Virgin lies,
Who was the pleasure once of Human Eyes.
Her Blaze of Charms Virtue once approved
The Gay admired her, much the parents loved.
Transitory life! Death untimely came.
Adieu, farewell, lonely leave my name."
The words describe Betty Poole; she was a little girl who died at age three.
Christina Rossetti also wrote:
"In the bleak mid-winter Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone..."
It is only when the bleakness of this world and its iron hardness is fully felt, that the miracle of melting which began at Christmas can penetrate and shock us into appropriate awe. God's love enveloped the whole moaning, stony, sin-sick world. It is broad enough to embrace it all, in this world and the next.
I imagine being with Betty Poole in Heaven and hearing her say with a smile, "God's love was bigger than I thought!"
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England: The Queen once again points her subjects to Jesus Christ
| Source: Christian Medical Comment blog
December 25, 2012
By Peter Saunders
While the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Westminster  addressed Syria, women bishops and gay marriage respectively the Queen kept her Christmas message short, direct and simple.
Building on the spirit of togetherness and friendship captured in 2012 by the London Olympics and Diamond Jubilee celebrations she then praised the spirit of service displayed by the armed forces, emergency services and health workers before saying that all of us should reach out beyond 'familiar relationships' to serve others.
But then she really cut to the chase (see full text here).
'At Christmas I am always struck by how the spirit of togetherness lies also at the heart of the Christmas story. A young mother and a dutiful father with their baby were joined by poor shepherds and visitors from afar. They came with their gifts to worship the Christ child. From that day on he has inspired people to commit themselves to the best interests of others.
This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only son "to serve, not to be served". He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.
It is my prayer this Christmas Day that his example and teaching will continue to bring people together to give the best of themselves in the service of others.'
Not content to point to Jesus simply as an example to follow, she drove home the point of responding personally to him:
'The carol, In The Bleak Midwinter, ends by asking a question of all of us who know the Christmas story, of how God gave himself to us in humble service: "What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a wise man, I would do my part". The carol gives the answer "Yet what I can I give him - give my heart".'...
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Attorney says Hobby Lobby Won't Offer Morning-After Pill
| Source: ABC News
December 28, 2012
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Dave Green, Hobby Lobby CEO and founder
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An attorney for Hobby Lobby Stores said Thursday that the arts and crafts chain plans to defy a federal mandate requiring it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill, despite risking potential fines of up to $1.3 million per day.
Hobby Lobby and religious book-seller Mardel Inc., which are owned by the same conservative Christian family, are suing to block part of the federal health care law that requires employee health-care plans to provide insurance coverage for the morning-after pill and similar emergency contraception pills. The companies claim the mandate violates the religious beliefs of their owners. They say the morning-after pill is tantamount to abortion because it can prevent a fertilized egg from becoming implanted in a woman's womb.
On Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied the companies' request for an injunction while their lawsuit is pending, saying the stores failed to satisfy the demanding legal standard for blocking the requirement on an emergency basis. She said the companies may still challenge the regulations in the lower courts....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Iran: Yousef Nadarkhani re-arrested
| Source: Fox News
December 26. 2012
By Lisa Daftari
The Iranian Christian pastor who had been imprisoned in Iran for converting from Islam to Christianity was taken into custody again on Christmas Day,
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Yousef Nadarkhani
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according to several Iranian media sources and individuals close to the pastor and his family.
Youcef Nadarkhani, 35, had been summoned to return back to Lakan Prison in Rasht, the facility where he served time and was then released, based on the charge that he must complete the remainder of his sentence, according to several reports and confirmed by those close to Nadarkhani in Iran....
The rest of the article may be found here.
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Peerage for Rowan Williams
| Source: Anglican Ink
December 26, 2012
By George Conger
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Dr Williams
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The Prime Minister's Office has announced today the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has been given a life peerage by the Queen. Upon his retirement from office, Dr. Williams will become Baron Williams of Oystermouth.
The 26 December 2012 announcement from No. 10 Downing Street stated Dr,. Williams "will be created a Baron for Life by the style and title of Baron Williams of Oystermouth in the City and County of Swansea."...
The rest of the article may be found here.
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