UGANDA

• In the past six months, hundreds of congregations voted to leave the United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage and whether LGBTQ+ people should be clergy.
• With over 80 million believers in 160 countries, the Anglican Communion has been grappling with LGBTQ+ issues since the 1970s.
• It is a long-standing process for navigating disputes called the “via media,” or middle way, which has thus far succeeded in holding together people with contradictory beliefs.

Controversies in the Anglican Communion

• For decades, diverging points of view over homosexuality and rumors of schism have both confused and polarized believers in the global Anglican Communion.
• This is part of a larger struggle within the Anglican Communion to renegotiate imbalances of power and authority left over from the colonial era of the British Empire.
• In the 21st century, these churches still have most of the money in the Anglican Communion, but congregational numbers are dwindling.
• That is the orthodox Anglican position.” Views like these carry great weight in the Anglican Communion, even today.

• But they remain within the Anglican Communion.
• The Episcopal Church in the U.S. has ordained openly gay bishops – most controversially Gene Robinson, former Bishop of New Hampshire, in 2003.
• In 2016, the primates – the most senior leaders of the Anglican Communion – voted to suspend the Episcopal Church from decision-making on Anglican governance and policy for three years.

The via media

• Despite such heated conflicts, the Anglican Communion holds together through the via media.
• Via media was first mentioned by English reformers who broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century.
• It is this Church of England that eventually spread globally with the British Empire to become the Anglican Communion.
• In the 19th century, via media became a way of thinking about internal, rather than external, challenges, such as resolving debates over how to interpret scripture.

Holding together

• It is this understanding of via media, I argue, that is holding the Anglican Communion together thus far.
• Instead, it seeks to include people with deeply held but contrary beliefs within the same church through common worship and life.
• The Church of England, for example, made plans for negotiations between people holding differing viewpoints before the Synod meets again in July 2024.

Lisa McClain is affiliated with her local Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Idaho. She is a professor of Gender Studies and a member of the international think tank The Inclusion Crowd as a gender expert.

• The prize also acknowledges the scientists’ commitment to leadership, mentoring and engagement within their communities, including the translation of research into actionable insights for stakeholders.
• We are so proud of them and are sure this prize is just one step on their path to success."
• By offering this prize, we want to spotlight the important research undertaken by the women who've become inspiring role models for communities most affected by this issue."
• To find out how the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award helps shape our understanding of the global South, read more about the 2023 winners here .

• The first procedure was performed by Andrea Natale, M.D., F.H.R.S., F.A.C.C., F.E.S.C., cardiac electrophysiologist and executive medical director of TCAI, and Amin Al-Ahmad, M.D., clinical cardiac electrophysiologist.
• Dr. Natale and Dr. Al-Ahmad were two of 67 global operators to participate in the trial that led to FDA approval.
• The novel PFA system delivers short-duration, high-energy electrical pulses to the cardiac tissue to destroy cells that cause irregular heart rhythms without using excess heat or cold.
• "Our team is honored to have played a part in piloting this new era of global innovation for cardiac arrhythmia."

• The new LOA represents the country's first-ever carbon credits authorised for corresponding adjustments under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement .
• The announcement also marks the first Korean-based company to acquire Article 6-authorised credits from Tanzania, with Ecoeye purchasing the first issuance of these credits.
• The authorisation for corresponding adjustments based on the first transfer will significantly contribute to the development of the Article 6 pathway within Tanzania.
• The ongoing work is part of the Community Carbon initiative launched by UpEnergy, which supports communities by reinvesting project revenue back into project areas centered on cleaner cooking and safe drinking water.