Anglicans for Life
Encyclopedia
Anglicans for Life is a pro-life
ministry of the ACNA (Anglican Church of North America), and internationally associated with the Anglican Communion
. Anglicans for Life educates and provides pastoral resources on the right to life
position on the issues of abortion
, assisted suicide
, elderly care
, cloning
and embryonic stem cell
research. AFL also educates and provides pastoral resources on abstinence
and adoption
. The organisation has volunteer Life Leaders in more than 100 parishes in the United States
, Canada
, Kenya
, Uganda
and Uganda
.
founded Episcopalians for Life. In 1973 the United States Supreme Court ruled to make abortion legal (Roe vs. Wade). Episcopalians nationwide formed Chapters in dioceses across the country as this new law came into effect.
On December 6, 1983 the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life Research and Education Foundation (N.O.E.L.) was officially incorporated. The first official Board of Directors met in February 1984 to elect Bishop Harte Chairman Emeritus and the Rt. Rev. (Bisihop) John W. Howe as President.
From 1983 to 1996 NOEL operated from Fairfax, Virginia. It published newsletters and educational resources to present their pro-life
concerns. N.O.E.L.’s ministry reached nationwide, ministering to women in unplanned pregnancies, educating Episcopalians about abortion, and working to influence the church by introducing pro-life resolutions at General Conventions.
In 1996 the headquarters moved from Virginia to Sewickley, Pennsylvania
. In 1998 the board appointed Georgette Forney as the fifth President of N.O.E.L., a position formerly named “Executive Secretary” and “Executive Director”.
In 2003 the Rev. D. Lorne Coyle was elected as the new Board Chairman. The board changed the name of the organization from N.O.E.L. to "NOEL". In February 2007 the organisation was renamed Anglicans for Life, and has become a partner with the Anglican Communion Network
.
In 2009, AFL's Sanctity of Life Declaration was adopted by the ACNA and made part of its founding Canons.
, Anglicans for Life (AFL) launched the National Silent No More Awareness Campaign in 2003, in an effort to further educate the general public about abortion and other pro-life issues. The Campaign allowed AFL to network and partner with other pro-life organizations in the United States
. In 2010, AFL launched the "Anglican Angel Ministry" to raise awareness about the need to help pregnant women and to provide a parish-based support system for single mothers.
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
ministry of the ACNA (Anglican Church of North America), and internationally associated with the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. Anglicans for Life educates and provides pastoral resources on the right to life
Right to life
Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
position on the issues of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, assisted suicide
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
, elderly care
Elderly care
Elderly care or simply eldercare is the fulfillment of the special needs and requirements that are unique to senior citizens. This broad term encompasses such services as assisted living, adult day care, long term care, nursing homes, hospice care, and In-Home care.-Cultural and geographic...
, cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
and embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells...
research. AFL also educates and provides pastoral resources on abstinence
Abstinence
Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical...
and adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
. The organisation has volunteer Life Leaders in more than 100 parishes in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
.
History
In 1966 the Rt. Rev. Joseph M. Harte of the Episcopal Diocese of ArizonaEpiscopal Diocese of Arizona
The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which has jurisdiction over Arizona. It is in Province VIII.Kirk Stevan Smith is the current bishop. His seat is at Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix.-History:...
founded Episcopalians for Life. In 1973 the United States Supreme Court ruled to make abortion legal (Roe vs. Wade). Episcopalians nationwide formed Chapters in dioceses across the country as this new law came into effect.
On December 6, 1983 the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life Research and Education Foundation (N.O.E.L.) was officially incorporated. The first official Board of Directors met in February 1984 to elect Bishop Harte Chairman Emeritus and the Rt. Rev. (Bisihop) John W. Howe as President.
From 1983 to 1996 NOEL operated from Fairfax, Virginia. It published newsletters and educational resources to present their pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
concerns. N.O.E.L.’s ministry reached nationwide, ministering to women in unplanned pregnancies, educating Episcopalians about abortion, and working to influence the church by introducing pro-life resolutions at General Conventions.
In 1996 the headquarters moved from Virginia to Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 at the 2010 census...
. In 1998 the board appointed Georgette Forney as the fifth President of N.O.E.L., a position formerly named “Executive Secretary” and “Executive Director”.
In 2003 the Rev. D. Lorne Coyle was elected as the new Board Chairman. The board changed the name of the organization from N.O.E.L. to "NOEL". In February 2007 the organisation was renamed Anglicans for Life, and has become a partner with the Anglican Communion Network
Anglican Communion Network
The Anglican Communion Network is a theologically conservative network of dioceses and parishes working toward Anglican realignment.-Goals and structure:...
.
In 2009, AFL's Sanctity of Life Declaration was adopted by the ACNA and made part of its founding Canons.
Campaigns
In conjunction with Priests for LifePriests for Life
Priests for Life is a Roman Catholic pro-life organization based in New York. It functions as a network to promote and coordinate pro-life activism with the primary strategic goal of ending abortion and euthanasia and to spread the Gospel of Life according to the encyclical of the same name...
, Anglicans for Life (AFL) launched the National Silent No More Awareness Campaign in 2003, in an effort to further educate the general public about abortion and other pro-life issues. The Campaign allowed AFL to network and partner with other pro-life organizations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 2010, AFL launched the "Anglican Angel Ministry" to raise awareness about the need to help pregnant women and to provide a parish-based support system for single mothers.