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1. Anglican watch

There's lots going on among Anglican churches today. Here's a summary:

1. Three U.S. churches appealed to the archbishop of Canterbury for non-U.S. oversight. The dioceses are Pittsburgh, South Carolina, and San Joaquin, California, have joined the diocese of Forth Worth in their request
   
   
2. Two of Virginia's largest churches are leaving their diocese. "Two of Northern Virginia's largest and most historic Episcopal churches—Truro and the Falls Church—informed Virginia Bishop Peter J. Lee yesterday that they plan to leave the diocese and that as many as two dozen other parishes may follow suit," according to The Washington Times. This follows the decision of Christ Church of Plano, Texas, to leave the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas.
   
   
3. Update: Falls Church disputes the Washington Times report. The church says the report "misrepresents where we are as a congregation." The Falls Church has not informed the bishop that they are leaving the Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church.
   
   
4. The Washington Times also reports, "The Rev. Martyn Minns, rector of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, was elected a bishop today by the Anglican province of Nigeria with the mandate to oversee a cluster of expatriate Nigerian parishes in the United States."
   
   
5. A gay priest is one of four candidates for bishop of Newark, N.J.
   
   
6. Nigerian archbishop Peter Akinola doesn't like Rowan Williams's idea of a two-tiered church. Either you're in or you're out, he says.
   
   
7. Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen doesn't like it either.
   
   

2. Christian school allowed to sue University of California

Calvary Chapel Christian School of Murrieta will be allowed to proceed with its lawsuit against the University of California for admission standards the school says violate its religious beliefs. The LA Times reports:

The lawsuit charges that UC violated the students' and the school's rights by rejecting certain courses as not meeting the university's admissions standards. Last school year, for instance, UC said it would not give Calvary students admissions credit for an English class, Christianity and Morality in American Literature; a history course, Christianity's Influence in America; and a government class titled Special Providence: Christianity and the American Republic.

Perhaps they could add a course on the history of Christian litigation.

3. The mis-education of California courts

A California Christian high school is being taken to court for expelling two girls for being lesbians, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "Any implementation of the Unruh Act [which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation] would contradict the stated position of [the school] that homosexuality is immoral," said John McKay, the school's attorney. "In addition to freedom of religion, he said, the constitutional guarantee of freedom of association trumps any state law that 'forces the group to accept members that it does not desire.'"

The girls' attorney responded, "Nothing about accepting these young women or other perceived or actual homosexuals has any effect on anybody at the school's ability to preach their religion, to practice their religion, or to criticize lifestyle choices."

Weblog knows nothing about the way in which these girls were expelled or what action caused the principal to expel them. (They don't admit to being lesbians, and news reports don't say they were caught in the act.) But assuming they were properly informed of the rules and the school's disciplinary procedures were followed, a Christian school ought to be allowed to expect of its students certain behavior. This attorney and many others need an education on the right to practice religion.

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June (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50