THE RIGHT REV RENNIS PONNIAH has been appointed the Ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Singapore. e Most Rev Bolly Lapok, Archbishop of the Province of South East Asia, announced the appointment at the 22nd Session of Synod held here on May 12, 2012.
The Installation Service will take place in October.
Meanwhile, the incumbent, the Right Rev Dr John Chew, will remain in office until Oct 4, 2012.
Bishop-designate Ponniah, 56, has been the Vicar of one of the largest Anglican parishes in Singapore, St John’s-St Margaret’s Church, since July 1993. In 2005, he was consecrated as Assistant Bishop.
He received his Master of Divinity from Trinity eological College in 2000.
At the 22nd Session of Synod, he and several other leaders showed appreciation for the sterling leadership of Bishop John Chew in the last 12 years.
Under Bishop Chew’s leadership, the Diocese and the Province had grown holistically and in many ways: seeking the welfare of the city through community services, overseas outreach as well as the strengthening of its schools and local churches.
Bishop Chew had also played a major role internationally, especially in standing for orthodoxy in faith and practice through the Global South grouping of Anglican Provinces, and in building a strong link between the Anglican Church in African states and the Christian Church in China.
Theese are some of the areas that Bishop-elect Ponniah intends to build on.
On news of his election, he responded: “With faith in God, I receive this immense responsibility. I am humbled by the trust invested in me by the clergy, the laity and the provincial bishops.
“I intend to build on the good work of Bishop John Chew and his predecessors, while seeking fresh ways to bring the love and hope of the ‘good news’ of our faith to a multi-religious and constantly-changing society in a responsible and winsome way.” – Diocese of Singapore.
General Conference of The United Methodist Church
United Methodists address wide range of challenging issues
TAMPA (Florida, US) – United Methodists from five continents addressed a wide range of challenging issues, including church structure and human sexuality, and engaged in an Act of Repentance towards indigenous people during their recent 10-day legislative gathering here.
Meeting in the Tampa Convention Centre, steps away from the waters of Tampa Bay, the 988 delegates recalled through worship, song and sermon the healing and transforming ministry of Jesus beside the Sea of Galilee.
As storms on the Sea of Galilee alarmed the disciples, so too, conflicting stands on structure and social justice issues troubled the delegates and some 4,000 visitors and staff. Perhaps the most surprising lightning strike occurred at 4.30 pm on May 4, the final day of the assembly, when the delegates received word from the church’s supreme court that a major piece of legislation regarding restructuring violated the denomination’s Constitution.
Later, Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Area, the outgoing Council of Bishops President, sought to comfort a frustrated assembly at the start of the evening session. “God always provides a way,” he said.
In addition to restructuring and the Act of Repentance, the General Conference addressed a wide range of topics during its April 24-May 4 gathering. The delegates:
• Retained the church’s position regarding homosexuality, deciding not to adopt language that would have said United Methodists are not of one mind on this issue;
• Did away with “guaranteed appointments” for clergy;
• Rejected a proposal for setting aside a bishop to serve as full-time President of the Council of Bishops;
• Entered into full communion with a number of historically black pan-Methodist denominations;
• Approved making the United Methodist Women an autonomous organisation rather than operating it under the church’s missions agency;
• Created a national ministry plan for Pacific Islanders;
• Adopted a US$603-million (S$753.7- million) budget for the 2013-2016 period; and
• Decided not to divest from three companies whose products are used by the Israeli military in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The delegates, from more than 60 nations, processed some 1,200 petitions during the assembly. e General Conference meets every four years and is the only body that speaks for the 13-million-member denomination.
Church restructuring received more attention from delegates than any other issue. Plans for a new structure that had been evolving over the last year and finally hammered out after a week-long struggle took a major hit when the Rev L. Fitzgerald “Gere” Reist, the General Conference Secretary, announced that the Judicial Council had ruled the newly-established structure unconstitutional.
Delegates and visitors reacted in stunned silence and scattered applause. – United Methodist News Service.
Rich Peck is a retired clergy member of the New York Annual Conference.
‘John Wesley’ comes home on Wesley Day
LONDON – At a ceremony at Methodist Church House here on May 24, 2012, the Rev Dr Leslie Griffiths, the minister of Wesley’s Chapel and a former President of the Methodist Conference, unveiled the nameplate “John Wesley” from a High Speed Train (HST) power car.
The nameplate had previously been unveiled on a locomotive at St Pancras Station on May 24, 1988. It was attached to British Rail HST power car No. 43103 from 1988 to 1994.
The power car is still in service with Cross-Country trains as No. 43303 and has now travelled about 20 million miles (32 million km).
Power car No. 43118 was named Charles Wesley (after John’s younger brother and famous hymn-writer) at the same time.
The “John Wesley” nameplate was found in a scrap bin in Edinburgh. It was acquired by Mr Derek Brown and sold to Dr Ian Harrison, a prominent Methodist and Chairman of the South of England Group of the Friends of the National Railway Museum, who loaned it to Methodist Church House. Mr Brown generously donated the purchase price.
The nameplate will be on display at Methodist Church House for at least the next five years.
May 24 is celebrated in the Methodist Church as “Wesley Day” in commemoration of May 24, 1738 when John Wesley realised that God’s love was for all people. On that basis, he began to preach across the country and founded the Methodist movement.
The Rev Dr Griffiths said: “John Wesley travelled over 250,000 miles (400,000 km) in England on horseback – more than anyone else, until the coming of the railways 40 years after his death. e nameplate has travelled many miles and I’m so pleased that it has now reached a home where it will remind staff and visitors of the itinerant origins of Methodism.” – The Methodist Church in Britain.