Anglican Professor Slain in South Africa

From the Living Church-

The Rev. Clive Newman, who narrowly escaped murder when he was a 27-year-old businessman in 1991, was found dead on Nov. 9.

Fr. Newman, 45, was a lecturer at College of the Transfiguration in Grahamstown, South Africa, for the past four years. He taught in the fields of Anglican studies, worship and early African church history. He was ordained in 2007.

The Rev. Canon William Domeris, rector of the college, found Fr. Newman’s body in his campus apartment. Canon Domeris said he checked on Fr. Domeris because he had not shown up for teaching duties or for worship.

The attack in 1991, by two men who had already killed three other people, left Fr. Newman with sliced vocal chords and gaping wound in his neck. He was told that he may never regain his voice, and he suffered a stroke.

He regained 80 percent of his voice and went on to sing in the St. Maury’s Church choir in Port Elizabeth.

“Clive was a gentle man who looked after everybody,” said his sister, Adele Bulkin, of Summerstrand, in The Herald of Port Elizabeth. “He spent his whole life spreading the word of God in his community and doing acts of kindness.
“He was an amazing person and he is going to be sorely missed.”

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/11/11/anglican-professor-slain-in-south-africa

Skateboards meet spirituality

From Australia-

Where signs warding off skateboarders once hung, a new movement to blend skating culture with Christianity is taking root.

Tonight, Christian rock music will blare from the speakers as kids take advantage of the only place in town they can skateboard indoors. When their boards hit the ramps, they will be taking part in a new iteration of a global Christian movement called Fresh Expressions that is making the teachings of the Anglican church accessible to people who haven’t felt a connection to the traditional church.

This new skateboard ministry, which will happen every Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., is a collaboration between a local teen who was looking for a space to skate in the winter, and a church that has switched from opposing skateboarders to welcoming them.

Last spring, skateboarders broke into the church’s hall and damaged folding tables they used as makeshift ramps.

“There was a misunderstanding,” said Rev. Christine Piper. “The youth understood they were free to come in and use the church, and that wasn’t the case. There was a little bit of distress over that.”

When the skateboarding continued, the church put up signs telling skateboarders they weren’t welcome at St. James.

More here-

http://www.yourperth.ca/article/18264

Christian leaders urged to condemn Ugandan anti-gay bill

From Uganda-

Christian leaders around the world, particularly in the Anglican Communion, are being urged to condemn proposed legislation in Uganda which would introduce the death penalty for certain consensual homosexual acts.

In an open letter published by the Guardian today, the prominent gay Christian Nigerian activist Davis Mac-Iyalla has called on the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Anglican primates to speak out against the bill, whatever their views on “homosexuality as a moral issue”.

Sexual activity between two people of the same sex is already punishable by life imprisonment in Uganda. The proposed bill – backed by certain Anglican figures in the country - would bring in the death penalty for anyone whose same-sex partner is aged under 18 or is disabled.

The bill would also introduce a range of new offences, permitting imprisonment for three years for anyone in a position of authority, such as a minister of religion, who knew of a homosexual act but failed to report it.

“As a practising Anglican Christian, I believe it is crucial that the Anglican Communion unites to prevent the killing of people on the grounds of sexuality” said Mac-Iyalla, who now lives as a refugee in Britain following homophobic persecution in his native Nigeria.

Like many Christian activists, he is particularly angry that Ugandan politicians promoting the bill claim that they are motivated by Christianity.

“The Church of England has a duty to condemn the anti-homosexuality legislation and put pressure on those MPs who support such laws,” added Mac-Iyalla, “Anglicans should unite in condemnation of violent persecution and discrimination of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] people whoever and wherever they are, particularly when it is carried out in the name of Jesus Christ”.

The letter is expected to add to the growing pressure on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to make a clear public statement calling on Christians to oppose the legislation.

More here-

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10584

Permission denied to sell Anglican church properties in Mumbai

Apparently not a problem unique to the western church - From India-

Church properties belonging to the Anglican community in Mumbai cannot be sold by those in possession of them, according to the ruling of Maharashtra charity commissioner N V Deshmukh.

Rejecting an application of the Bombay Diocesan Trusts Association (BDTA) seeking permission to sell the transfer of development rights (TDR) of two of its churches amid much controversy, Deshmukh said institutions running the churches are merely custodians of the land and it is to be used only for religious and educational purposes.

"The property was allotted for the specific purpose of religious worship of the established Church of England and for no other purpose. The document prohibits any change in usage other than for religious worship. As per the indenture, in case the property is used for other purposes, the grant shall cease and hereafter the property shall become absolutely the property of the secretary of the state," Deshmukh said in his order, quoted by a DNA report.

According to sources, there are over 4,000 church properties in Mumbai managed by BTDA which is formed by several small and big trusts. The BDTA’s claim that the redevelopment of its properties is needed to maintain churches is strongly opposed by the parishioners who suspect the trust’s motives.

"The historic judgment by the charity commissioner has delighted all parishioners, worshippers, and the entire Christian community," Cyril Dara, a church activist, was quoted saying. "All fraudulent deals are satanic and all the so-called illegal custodian trustees of BDTA are liable for criminal action and prosecution."

More here-

http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/permission-denied-to-sell-anglican-church-properties-in-mumbai/4782.htm

Anglicans welcome offer from Rome

From The BBC-

The proposal offers them what amounts to their own dioceses within the Roman Catholic Church.
The Vatican also said they could continue with Anglican traditions, such as some church services.

Anglican clergy claim the rules set out in the document make the offer seem more generous than it first seemed.

Fr Geoffrey Kirk, the national secretary of Forward in Faith, which represents Anglicans sympathetic to Catholicism, said more clergy around the world would probably convert as a result.

"Of the 450 parishes I knew would take it (the Pope's invitation) seriously, I said between 150 and 200 would convert. Now I think it'll be more than 200."

The details published today confirm that Church of England priests who are married will be allowed - on a case-by-case basis - to serve as Roman Catholic priests.

That could lead to an influx of married priests to a church where clergy have traditionally been celibate.

More here-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8351584.stm

Pope 'is not trying to lure Anglicans into the Catholic Church'

From The London Telegraph-

Father Federico Lombardi, the Pope's official spokesman, spoke out following the recent announcement that the Pontiff would allow traditional Anglicans to "move to Rome" - which was seen as a possible shift in policy on the celibacy of priests.

In the Roman Catholic Church, priests are not allowed to marry or have sexual intercourse and Father Lombardi made his comments after the Vatican published a guide for Anglicans who want to convert called "The Apostolic Constitution".

Father Lombardi said: "This is not an initiative that came from the Holy See" but "a generous response by the Holy Father to the legitimate aspirations of some Anglican groups.
"It is not an initiative by the Pope to attract new members," he said, stressing that dialogue with the Anglican Church would not be affected.

He added: "The institution of this new structure is in full harmony with a commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church."
The Apostolic Constitution or Anglicanorum Coetibus, to give it its official Latin title, allows Anglicans to become Catholics while retaining some of their traditions and practices.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/6534586/Pope-is-not-trying-to-lure-Anglicans-into-the-Catholic-Church.html

Married Catholic priests? Yes and (mostly) no

From the LA Times-

It was a blow to Roman Catholic liberals when the Vatican announced last month that it would welcome, en masse, conservative Anglicans who share the pope's opposition to female clergy and traditional views about homosexuality. But there was a silver lining for liberals: The fact that in welcoming married Anglican priests to the fold, Pope Benedict XVI was perhaps opening the door to married priests within so-called Latin Rite Catholicism. (Eastern Rite Catholics, who recognize the pope's authority but follow rites similar to those of Eastern Orthodoxy, do ordain married men, though Eastern Catholics in the United States were pressured to conform to Western practice so as not to "scandalize" their Irish Catholic neighbors).

But the publication this week of the decree implementing the overture to Anglicans suggests that the slope to married Catholic priests isn't that slippery. After saying that married former Anglican priests could be ordained as Catholic priests, the "Apostolic Constitution" stops short of adopting the Anglican practice of routinely ordaining men who want to become priests.

While authorities of the new church-within-a-church will abide by "the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule," an "ordinary" (a bishop or former Anglican bishop) may also ask the pope for permission to ordain married men "on a case-by-case basis." This could be a face-saving way to perpetuate the Anglican tradition of a married clergy without saying so, or it could be a warning that married Anglican laymen will be ordained only rarely. Either way, the new Anglican body within Catholicism will not have the autonomy enjoyed by the Eastern Catholic churches.

The more stinging rebuff to Roman Catholic advocates of married priests is this rather mean-spirited provision of a companion document: "Those who have been previously ordained in the Catholic Church and subsequently have become Anglicans, may not exercise sacred ministry in the Ordinariate." In other words, if you left the Catholic Church and now want to return alongside other Anglican priests, you are treated worse than an Anglican priest who never belonged to the Catholic Church in the first place.

More here-

http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2009/11/married-catholic-priests-yes-and-mostly-no.html

Responses Varied as Vatican Offers Plan Details

From the Living Church-

Since Oct. 20, when the Vatican announced its plan to welcome Anglicans into its fold, most responses have followed this pattern: Anglicans most directly affected by the plan have expressed gratitude. Others have used the occasion to criticize their fellow Anglicans or the Roman Catholic Church.

The Vatican has now released the full text of Pope Benedict XVI’s constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus, which explains in detail how Anglicans will be welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church.

The constitution includes these details:

• “A Personal Ordinariate is entrusted to the pastoral care of an Ordinary appointed by the Roman Pontiff.

• “Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders … Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy.

• “The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff … for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case-by-case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.”

One of the warmest responses to the plan has come from the Rt. Rev. John Fulham, chairman of Forward in Faith–United Kingdom.

“Today all the accompanying papers have been published and they are extremely impressive,” Bishop Fulham said in a statement on Nov. 9. “What Rome has done is offer exactly what the Church of England has refused. … For some of us I suspect our bluff is called! This is both an exciting and dangerous time for Christianity in this country.”

The Global Anglican Future Conference/Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans primates council praised the Vatican’s plan briefly in a statement issued by its chairman, the Most Rev. Peter Akinola, Primate of the Church of Nigeria.

“We believe that this offer is a gracious one and reflects the same commitment to the historic apostolic faith, moral teaching and global mission that we proclaimed in the Jerusalem Declaration on the Global Anglican Future and for this we are profoundly grateful,” the primates said.


More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/11/10/responses-varied-as-vatican-unveils-plan-specifics

First Pakistani woman priest ordained

From Episcopal Life Online-

The Rev. Dr. Khushnud Mussarat Azariah shattered another barrier on Nov. 8 when, by way of the Diocese of Los Angeles, she became the first Pakistani woman ordained to the priesthood.
Azariah hoped her "miraculous" day sent a powerful message to women back home.

"Ever since I was a young child, I have felt God had a special calling for me but I was told there was no place for me in the church," said Azariah, 60. "This day is a miracle. I never knew this day would ever come. I always prayed to God that one day the Church of Pakistan would ordain women," she added tearfully.

The great-granddaughter and granddaughter of ministers, her father was a priest and a bishop, and Azariah was also the first Pakistani woman ever to attend seminary, though she could not do so in Pakistan. She also is married to Presiding Bishop Samuel Robert Azariah of the Church of Pakistan.

"This is an historic day for our family, a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving," said Samuel Robert Azariah, who is also Bishop of Raiwind and served as a presenter during the ordination at St. James Episcopal Church in South Pasadena, California, in the Diocese of Los Angeles.

"As the Church of Pakistan, this is one step forward in our further understanding of the Body of Christ as one family," he said Sunday. "Khushnud's ordination to the priesthood, which would not have been possible in Pakistan at the moment, affirms the significance of 'where I am weak, you can be my strength' … and how the Body of Christ can support one another in their strengths and weaknesses."

He also asked for prayers for his country and the church. "Pakistan as a nation is at a crossroads and the challenge of the church becomes heavier as to what it means to share the grace of Jesus Christ. And please pray for the Church of Pakistan, because it faces difficulties of persecution," he said.

The United Church of Pakistan was formed in 1970 by uniting the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and other Protestant groups in Pakistan. Christians number about 2 percent of Pakistan's 140 million people; 97 percent are Muslim.

More here-

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81831_116565_ENG_HTM.htm

Pope allows married Anglicans to become Catholic priests in bid to tempt them to defect

From the Daily Mail-

The Roman Catholic Church is to allow married Anglican converts to become priests in a radical concession to tempt them to defect.

Church of England bishops who switch allegiance to Rome will be able to ordain them, the Vatican said yesterday.

Married Anglican vicars have been able to convert and join the Rome priesthood since the 1950s, but this is the first time that married non-vicars have been allowed to become priests.

The decision to allow Anglican converts to keep their tradition of married priests is a break with rules that have applied in western Catholic churches for nearly 900 years.

The Vatican was at pains to insist that it does not mean a break with the celibacy for clergy nor the first step towards a married priesthood.

But leading Anglo-Catholics confirmed that CofE bishops who switch loyalty to Rome will have the power to ordain their own priests and that - with permission from the Pope - some of the newly-ordained priests may be married.

The gesture goes alongside a welcome package for Anglicans that will mean that converts will be able to worship according to services from the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer. Services will be re-written to remove references to the Queen as head of the church and to pledge loyalty to the Pope.


Read more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1226449/Pope-allows-married-men-priests-bid-attract-Anglican-recruits.html#ixzz0WTcyzGS9

Church Schism Paves Way for Female Priests

From The Wall Street Journal-

For three decades, a succession of conservative bishops here barred women from being ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church.

But the conservatives went their own way last fall, forming the Anglican Church in North America. And so on Sunday, exactly one year after that schism, Susan Slaughter will become the first woman in the Episcopal Church's Forth Worth diocese to don a red stole for ordination to the priesthood.

"God works in mysterious ways," Ms. Slaughter said, "and this is one of those."

The national Episcopal Church has been ordaining women priests since 1977, but a handful of holdout bishops around the country, including here in Fort Worth, refused. Bishop Jack Iker viewed women's ordination as a departure from traditional church practices and a break from the Biblical model of male priesthood.

Bishop Iker and the traditional faction of the diocese that he leads have taken little note of Ms. Slaughter's pending ordination. "What they're doing, they're doing," Dean Ryan Reed said. "We're heading down two different paths."

Those aligned with the national church, meanwhile, are rejoicing. "It's like Juneteenth," said Father Vernon Gotcher, referring to a holiday marking the day the last slaves in America were liberated. "You discover that you are free. The new has arrived."

The ceremony at St. Luke's in the Meadow -- where Ms. Slaughter will become rector after her ordination -- is expected to be packed. It will be streamed live online for those who can't find seats.

Ms. Slaughter said she's overwhelmed. "The joy others are feeling humbles me," she said.

More here-

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125781264990639943.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Ida Wreaks Havoc in El Salvador; ERD responds

From ENS-

Hurricane Ida hit El Salvador late Saturday, Nov. 7, fed by 145-kilometer-per-hour winds and causing heavy flooding. The country's civil protection authorities reported that 91 people were killed, 60 missing, and hundreds injured.

Following Ida's assault, Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) has been in contact with its program partners, the Anglican Diocese of El Salvador, Asociacion CREDHO and Asociacion Mangle. ERD says it is standing ready to support the partners with emergency relief to devastated communities.

"We are working with our local partners to collect information, contact affected communities, and assess the current situation," said Matt St. John, ERD's program officer for Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Once the assessment is complete, we will formulate a response based on the needs and available resources," St. John said. "In the meantime, the Anglican Episcopal Church of El Salvador is providing pastoral care in several affected communities, including in the area of Bajo Lampa and the department of San Vicente."

El Salvador's central region was hardest hit, with the Chinchontepec volcano causing a mudslide near San Vicente that claimed several victims. According to Civil Defense Chief Jorge Melendez, the number of fatalities could rise as rescue services continue combing the eastern regions. Major roads into the country are blocked, five bridges have collapsed, and thousands of people are in emergency housing.

The Most Rev. Martín Barahona, primate of the Anglican Church of the Region of Central America (IARCA), said, "We are praying for the families and are in communication with other institutions and sister churches at the national, regional and international level to plan our level of action right now and after the emergency."

Barahona considers Ida "the worst natural event of the year to strike El Salvador. It intensifies the social and economic problems with which we live. We pray to God for the life of our families, communities and countries."

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81808_116597_ENG_HTM.htm

An Episcopal Flock Breaks -- and Heals -- Apart

From The Wall Street Journal-

There is still talk of pain and loss. But not much of it.

Last November, the Episcopal diocese here in northeast Texas fractured over issues such as the ordination of women and gays, and the theology of salvation. A year later, both sides express one emotion above all: Relief.

The Episcopal Church, about two million strong, is the U.S. branch of the world-wide Anglican communion, which has about 80 million members. In the past few years, scores of individual churches and several entire dioceses have rejected the leadership of the national church and formed their own Anglican Church in North America, aligned with more conservative bishops in Africa and South America.

Complicating matters, the Vatican last month reached out to the disaffected faction in the U.S., offering to welcome them into the Roman Catholic fold. It was a dramatic gesture that seemed to further strain the already-divided Episcopal Church.

But at least here in the Fort Worth diocese, the pope's overture appears to have so far fallen flat. The reason? Life apart has left both sides surprisingly content.

They are still fighting a legal battle for control of church property and endowments. Yet the faithful from both factions have found the split reinvigorating; it has helped clarify their understanding of their central mission as Christians.

Those who have stayed with the national church have taken up their presiding bishop's calls to focus on serving the poor and hungry, and to embrace a broad view of God as welcoming not just Christians but also Muslims, Jews and others into his kingdom.

More here-

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125780717815139709.html

Clerics united in opposition to death penalty

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

It could be the start of a groan-worthy joke.

A Catholic priest, a rabbi, an Episcopal rector, a Methodist minister and a Lutheran pastor sit down for some interfaith dialogue.

But yesterday at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in East Liberty, there was no joking about the discussion topic, the death penalty.

The Judeo-Christian religions have come a long way from the Old Testament notion of an eye for an eye, the panelists said. Representatives of the five religions said their churches have officially come out strongly against America's use of the death penalty.

The panel discussion, which was sponsored by the Pittsburgh Faith in Action Against the Death Penalty group, came just a few days after a Washington County jury unanimously decided against the death penalty for Terrell Yarbrough, 29, of East Liberty. Mr. Yarbrough was sentenced to life without parole for the shooting deaths of two Franciscan University of Steubenville students in 1999.

Pennsylvania has executed three people since 1976, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center, but has 226 people on death row.

The Rev. Donald Green, a Lutheran pastor and the executive director of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, moderated the discussion among the four panelists, who each presented their church's official stance on the death penalty.

"At the core of Catholic understanding is the worth and dignity of every human being, and the protection thereby," said the Rev. Frank Almade, the pastor of St. Juan Diego Parish in Sharpsburg.

Speaking for the United Methodist Church was the Rev. David Morse, a retired pastor and the chair of the Western Pennsylvania United Methodist Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. The United Methodist Church opposes the death penalty, he said, and urges "restorative justice" rather than "justice of punishment, or vengeance."

Rabbi Art Donsky, the spiritual leader of Temple Ohav Shalom in McCandless, outlined the evolution of death penalty position in Jewish scripture, thought and practice.

"There would be no moral or legal grounds within Jewish tradition to execute anyone," he said.

The Rev. Moni McIntyre, rector of Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Homewood, said the Episcopal Church has made pronouncements against the taking of human life, including through the death penalty.


Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09313/1011924-455.stm#ixzz0WNvcimJB

Program to Help the Hamptons’ Homeless Begins

From Sag Harbor New York-

Last spring when a make shift “soup kitchen” was erected at the Tires Plus store in Southampton many people were shocked into an awareness of local poverty. The many pictures and headlines depicting large groups of men lining up for food presented an image of the Hamptons quite at odds with our area’s reputation for extreme wealth and exclusivity in the summer months. Yet being homeless in the Hamptons is a year round realty for the approximately 500 hundred people currently seeking shelter in the five towns of the South Fork of Eastern Long Island. That is the estimated figure according to Barbara Jordan, and affordable housing advocate living in East Hampton.

Since April, Jordon has been on a mission to give the area’s homeless a safe, warm place to eat and rest during the cold winter months. She spent her summer organizing volunteers and raising money to buy supplies for a program called Maureen’s Haven, a national program that helps local church’s set up occasional shelters for the homeless. With the help of several community churches and non-religious organizations, East Hampton’s United Methodist Church will start housing guests every Friday night starting November 6th and will continue housing them through March. Sag Harbor’s Christ Episcopal Church and Addas Israel will be a part of the community-wide effort.
Jordan explained the program asks area churches to provide an overnight stay including a hot meal, a place to wash, and other things such as AA meetings, nurses visits, and clothes to the homeless during the winter months. People are only allowed into the program after they have been searched and screened for drugs, alcohol, and unstable behavior.

Jordan was overwhelmed by both the media interest in the shelter as well as the community’s generosity. “People are wanting to find something constructive and helpful to do.” She noted, and added “People have been great. I have to put people on a waiting list to volunteer at the moment.”

So far the shelter is a real mix of community volunteerism, according to Jordan. Although East Hampton’s Methodist Church is housing the shelter, which will only be able to accommodate about 20-25 people, Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church is backing the venture both financially and with volunteers. At the moment various congregations sponsor a Friday night, which means their parish or group pays for and makes a hot meal, sets up the bedding, and arranges for volunteers to dine and spend the night with the guests.

More here-

http://sagharboronline.com/sagharborexpress/page-1/program-to-help-the-hamptons-homeless-begins-5406

Anglicans Respond Coolly to Swedish Consecration

From the Living Church-

Swedish press reports that the Church of England and Church of Ireland will boycott the consecration of a partnered lesbian priest as Bishop of Stockholm are not true, spokesmen for the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of Armagh told The Living Church.

Nevertheless, no episcopal representatives from the Churches of England or Ireland, the Church in Wales or the Scottish Episcopal Church will be present for the Nov. 8 consecration of the Rev. Eva Brunne by Swedish Archbishop Anders Wejryd of Uppsala.

The Swedish Christian newspaper Dagen reported on Nov. 3 that the Church of England and Church of Ireland will boycott the ceremony as a sign of their displeasure with the ordination of Pastor Brunne, who lives with her partner, a fellow Church of Sweden pastor, the Rev. Gunilla Lindén.

Paul Harron, a spokesman for Archbishop Alan Harper, Primate of the Church of Ireland, said that while the substance of the comments attributed to Dr. Harper were correct, the archbishop “did not give such a statement to a Dagen journalist.”

Dr. Harper would “not think of this in terms of a ‘boycott,’ ” Mr. Harron said. The archbishop received an invitation, he said, but declined to attend.

The Archbishop of Armagh “has conveyed to the Church of Sweden that the Church of Ireland will not be officially represented at the episcopal consecration in Uppsala,” Mr. Harron said, as the “Church of Ireland is observing the moratorium” on the consecration of clergy with same-sex partners.

David Brownlie-Marshall, a spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury said the Church of England will be represented by the Area Dean of the Baltic and Nordic States of the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, the Rev. Nicholas Howe, chaplain of St. Peter and St. Sigfrid’s Church in Stockholm.

A “diary conflict” will prevent Fr. Howe from attending the consecration, Mr. Brownlie-Marshall said, but he will attend a subsequent reception. The Church of England’s Diocese of Portsmouth, which is twinned with the Diocese of Stockholm, will also send a representative to the reception.

Speaking to the Church of Sweden’s newspaper, the Kyrkans Tidning, Archbishop Wejryd said he did not expect the Archbishop of Canterbury to attend. “We send invitations to those with the highest rank. That’s why the Archbishop of Canterbury received an invitation, but no one expected him to say yes.”

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/11/7/anglicans-respond-coolly-to-swedish-consecration

Apostolic Constitution: married ex-Anglican bishops may keep insignia of episcopal office

From the London Telegraph-

I’m going to analyse the Constitution in detail later, but let me draw your attention to an intriguing detail which demonstrates just how far Rome is prepared to go to make special provisions for ex-Anglicans. Married ex-Anglican bishops will not be ordained Catholic bishops – but, if they become Ordinaries, they will be able to join Bishops’ Conferences with the status of retired bishops, and may be allowed to use “the insignia of the episcopal office”. This is from the Norms:

§1. A married former Anglican Bishop is eligible to be appointed Ordinary. In such a case he is to be ordained a priest in the Catholic Church and then exercises pastoral and sacramental ministry within the Ordinariate with full jurisdictional authority.

§2. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate may be called upon to assist the Ordinary in the administration of the Ordinariate.

§3. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate may be invited to participate in the meetings of the Bishops’ Conference of the respective territory, with the equivalent status of a retired bishop.

§4. A former Anglican Bishop who belongs to the Ordinariate and who has not been ordained as a bishop in the Catholic Church, may request permission from the Holy See to use the insignia of the episcopal office.

I’m also very struck by the Constitution’s insistence on the “treasures” of Anglicanism, which it values very highly and wishes to see brought into the fulness of the Church. The Constitution is a very big deal indeed.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100016125/apostolic-constitution-married-ex-anglican-bishops-may-keep-insignia-of-episcopal-office/

Episcopal Church bishop to visit area

From the Diocese of Bethlehem-

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will make her first visit to the Diocese of Bethlehem this week, stopping at St. Stephen’s Procathedral in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

Featured events during her visit will be Evensong at 6 p.m., during which she will preach, followed by a reception and open forum. Today, the bishop will be at Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. On Tuesday, she will be at St. Luke’s Church in Lebanon.

The public is invited to these events.

Additionally, Jefferts Schori will visit local ministries on Tuesday morning and meet with Moravians at Moravian Seminary, Bethlehem, on Wednesday morning. Diocesan youth have been invited to meet with her at St. Stephen’s on Wednesday afternoon.

Finally, she will meet with the clergy of the Diocese of Bethlehem on Thursday morning at Good Shepherd, Scranton.

Jefferts Schori was elected presiding bishop for a nine-year term in 2006. She serves as chief pastor to the Episcopal Church’s 2.4 million members in 110 dioceses in 16 countries, the first woman to hold a comparable office throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion. Some Anglican provinces don’t permit women to be ordained priests; some of those that do don’t allow them to be consecrated bishops.

She has been vocal about the Episcopal Church’s mission priorities, including the UN Millennium Development Goals, issues of domestic poverty, climate change and care for the Earth, as well as the ongoing need to contextualize the gospel.

A career as an oceanographer preceded Jefferts Schori’s studies for the priesthood, to which she was ordained in 1994. She served for six years as Bishop of Nevada before election to this post. She grew up in the Seattle area, and lived a few years in New Jersey, but has spent most of her life in the West. Bishop Jefferts Schori and her husband, Richard Miles Schori, a retired mathematician, were married in 1979. They have one daughter, who is a pilot captain in the U.S. Air Force.

More here-

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Episcopal_Church_bishop_to_visit_area_11-09-2009.html

Churches try to balance Communion with sanitary practices during flu season

From the Boston Globe-

Houses of worship around the region are continuing to grapple with how to balance efforts to contain the spread of swine flu with traditional practices that involve building community by sharing a cup or embracing a neighbor.

The latest to weigh in is the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, whose bishops last week issued a lengthy set of guidelines to parishes, prefaced by the declaration that, “While God’s will for us is to live and thrive in community and in celebration of God’s gifts to us, it is also God’s will that no unnecessary risks be taken that might complicate or compromise the health of our people.’’

The Episcopal bishops joined many other religious leaders in advising a discontinuation of the practice of worshipers shaking hands, or holding hands, at any point during services. But Episcopal guidelines differ from others in some significant respect - unlike the advice from many Catholic bishops, the Episcopal bishops are not recommending against the use of a common cup for Communion, but rather state, “Drinking from the common cup is a treasured symbol of unity in the life of the church and it may be continued, although scientists disagree as to whether the wine carries enough disinfectant power to kill the virus.’’

More here-

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/08/churches_try_to_balance_communion_with_sanitary_practices_during_flu_season/

Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh grows with addition of parishes

From The Pittsburgh Tribune Review-

Three out-of-state churches Saturday joined the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh — a group of 55 parishes that last year broke away from the national Episcopal Church of America over issues ranging from abortion to the consecration of a non-celibate gay bishop.

The new member churches are St. James Church of San Jose, Calif.; Holy Trinity Church of Raleigh, N.C.; and the Church of the Transfiguration of Cleveland.

An area church — Harvest Anglican Church of Homer City, Indiana County — was admitted to the diocese.

For the most part, the new member churches were attracted to the diocese because of its more conservative theological views than the national Episcopal Church, said Bishop Robert Duncan.

"There has been a secular drift in the Episcopal Church in the U.S. and in the Anglican Church of Canada. It has caused the church to stray from core theology," Duncan said yesterday at his diocese's first convention since the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh split in two last year.

"There is a whole sense of freedom and joy here. We are not spending time debating differences," said Peter Frank, a deacon at Grace Church in Mt. Washington.

For the Church of the Transfiguration of Cleveland, the realignment is an attempt to keep the church alive. The parish initially became interested in the Pittsburgh-based diocese when the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio said it planned to close the urban church.

"We left two years ago because we were going to be closed. We affiliated with the Anglican Church of Kenya, and now we are here," said the Rev. Barbara Harris, a priest.

The Pittsburgh-area parishes that remained with the national Episcopal Church met last month. They named a new bishop, Kenneth Price Jr.

The two dioceses are embroiled in litigation, and Duncan's group is appealing a Common Pleas Court ruling that stated that the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh owns all diocesan property.

Duncan, who is also archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, said the group is seeking recognition as a province from the worldwide Anglican Communion, which is made up 38 provinces.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_652124.html

Anglican Diocese to expand, cut costs

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

Due to at least a temporary loss of endowment, the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh has slashed its budget, but still plans to launch 70 new churches over five years.

It received five mission congregations at its convention yesterday in Sewickley. It also received four parishes from outside its original boundaries. All nine were already counted among its 58 churches.

The Anglican diocese is appealing a Common Pleas Court decision awarding its endowment to the 28-parish Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The two split last year when a majority at the diocesan convention voted to secede from the Episcopal Church, which they believed had failed to uphold biblical doctrine on matters from salvation to sexuality. The Anglican diocese billed this as its 144th convention, and there were references to the Episcopalians as "the rogue diocese."

But others can't be blamed for any past failure of missionary initiative, said the Rev. Mary Hays, canon to the ordinary, as she urged the diocese to start 70 new churches.

"There's a reason we're in this mess and it isn't just the rogue diocese," she said. "We have to take responsibility for not reaching the people around us with the love and power of the Lord Jesus."

The diocese left the Episcopal Church for the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America. Both the Southern Cone and the Episcopal Church belong to the global Anglican Communion.

In June the diocese joined the new Anglican Church in North America, which hopes to join the Anglican Communion.

Yesterday it voted for sole affiliation with the Anglican Church in North America, while its bishops and clergy hold dual credentials with the Southern Cone.

It adopted a flexible 2010 budget of $919,163 to $987,416. That's down from $1.7 million for 2009. Rent will be slashed by moving from Downtown to the North Side. Archbishop Robert Duncan's pay package was reduced from $192,700 to $89,356 but he will receive $75,000 from the Anglican Church in North America for serving as its archbishop.

The convention overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing abortion, except to save the mother's life, and called for aid to women with crisis pregnancies. There were questions about a clause against teaching that "divorces the sexual act from ... the possibility of procreation."

Some asked if that was a criticism of contraceptive use. Co-author Deacon Tara Jernigan of Butler replied that "the intent here is not to legislate with regard to birth control" but to counteract a world view "that has divorced sex from babies."

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09312/1011753-455.stm#ixzz0WGbmUSRo

Hope for priests who would marry

From the Washington Post-

One of the hardest things Ed Donaghy has ever done was leave his ministry as a Catholic priest. For months, he agonized over his conflicting desires to have a family and serve as a priest in the Sacramento Diocese.

In the end, Donaghy felt he had no choice. The priest, who served in Woodland, Calif., told his bishop that he had to leave.

That was four decades ago.

"It would have been wonderful to be married and be a priest," said Donaghy, 73, now retired as an insurance agent. "I loved the work and would have continued."

Donaghy is one of more than 75 men in the Sacramento area who have left active ministry in the priesthood to marry. Many of them, Donaghy said, "would have returned in a minute if the rules changed." That is not likely to happen soon.

But the likelihood of Catholics seeing married priests in the pulpit increased last month when Vatican officials announced an arrangement that welcomes Anglicans into the Catholic Church, including married Anglican priests.

Vatican officials have said repeatedly that celibacy will remain mandatory -- at least in most circumstances. But many observers say having married Anglican priests in the church is a "major move" toward the idea of married Catholic priests.

"It's significant," said Sister Chris Schenk of FutureChurch, a Cleveland group studying shortages of priests in the United States.

More here-

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3781727046490408959

Cardinal Cormac: Let's welcome Anglicans, 'particularly if they've got a lot of lay people'

From The London Telegraph-

Has Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor had a change of heart and thrown his weight fully behind the Pope’s Apostolic Constitution offering special arrangements for Anglican converts? I nearly fell off my chair when I read this sentence from the fascinating transcript of Andrew M Brown’s interview with the Cardinal:

If these priests and lay people really want to become Catholics, then let’s have them, particularly if they’ve got a lot of lay people with them. Something like this is obviously going to be easier than receiving them one by one.

That’s a rather different message from +Cormac’s lukewarm response to the proposal just a few days before the interview, when he reckoned that only small numbers of Anglicans would take advantage of the Personal Ordinariates. If he has re-thought his position, then good for him. The Magic Circle won’t be pleased, but now that the Cardinal is joining the Congregation for Bishops, he really should sever his ties with that mafia of the mediocre.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100016013/cardinal-cormac-lets-welcome-anglicans-particularly-if-theyve-got-a-lot-of-lay-people/

Anglican archbishop to meet with pope

From the Washington Post-

Anglican archbishop to meet with pope Two developments arose after the Catholic Church's surprising overtures last month to Anglicans. First, the Vatican has confirmed that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, will meet Pope Benedict XVI on Nov. 21.

The second development is a clarification issued by Catholic leaders about how the conversion of married Anglican priests will mesh with the Catholic tradition of celibate priest. Catholic leaders issued a clarification that essentially says only current Anglican priests and seminarians will be allowed to become Catholic priests.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/06/AR2009110603742.html

Is This Bishop Catholic?

From The New York Times-

As the archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, you are known as the leader of a conservative — and even ultraright — movement that was founded last year in a break from the Episcopal Church. Do you plan to convert to Catholicism now that Pope Benedict has opened his doors to Anglicans?
I wouldn’t characterize us as ultraright. We don’t beat up folks. We are sort of mainstream right. I am very pleased that the Vatican has done this, but my call now is to lead all those Anglicans who stand where Anglicans have always stood.

Have you had any contact with the pope?
I corresponded with him as Cardinal Ratzinger in 2003, when we had the first national gathering of Episcopalians and Canadian Anglicans who realized they couldn’t go on with the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Church of Canada.

Was this at the time that the Rev. Gene Robinson was being consecrated by the Episcopal Church as the first openly gay bishop?
It was between the time he was confirmed and ordained. He’s a likable enough guy, but the problem is he’s leading a whole generation astray. I don’t believehe should be a bishop.

You and Robinson were fellow students at the General Theological Seminary in New York.
Yes. That was in the early ’70s. He was living a heterosexual lifestyle at the time. He was married. Then he left his wife and later committed himself to a male partner. I don’t wish him ill.

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/magazine/08fob-q4-t.html

New Anglicans taking their travails in stride

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

At the convention of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, which is appealing a Common Pleas Court decision that awarded its property to the smaller Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, there was laughter over the litigation and its possible consequences.

Archbishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh and the new Anglican Church in North America, spoke of visiting a West Coast parish that lost its building to the Episcopal Church. Parishioners stuck a sign in the church lawn with a paraphrase of Hebrews 10:34, "We gladly accept the confiscation of our property."

The litigation stems from a 2008 split when the majority of clergy and laity at the diocesan convention voted to secede from the Episcopal Church, which they believed had failed to uphold biblical doctrine on matters from salvation to sexuality.

The new Anglican diocese and its 58 parishes are affiliated with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America and the new Anglican Church in North America. Before the split, some of the 28 parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh sued the Anglican diocese, saying that church law requires property of departing parishes to remain with the denomination. Last month's court decision dealt only with assets of the central diocese, such as endowment funds, not with parish buildings.

Last night the convention seemed to be taking the litigation in stride. The Rev. Mary Hays drew peals of laughter from the 335 clergy and laity when she preached on a passage from Isaiah that says, "He who has no money, come buy and eat."

"Hey, you who have no money, do you think Isaiah knew that our funds would be frozen?" she asked.

At a dinner people were given donor cards for the Staying Faithful Fund, which was set up to cover expenses related to the litigation. For every $2 given through the end of 2010 an anonymous donor will give $1, up to a match of $200,000 for donations of $400,000. About $18,000 has been given so far.

Today, the diocese is expected to receive formally four parishes from outside its original boundaries. Saying that "we want our new parishes to be fully equipped," Archbishop Duncan presented Terrible Towels to representatives of the parishes in Raleigh, N.C., Springfield Mo., San Jose, Calif., and Cleveland. While the others gave their towels at least a token wave, the man from Cleveland quickly set his aside.

Despite the collection for legal expenses, there were no pep talks about the likely success of the appeal. Instead, Archbishop Duncan said it was a sign of spiritual courage and that members of the Anglican Church in North America were prepared to give up their buildings if necessary.

In the great Christian revivals of St. Patrick's Ireland or John Wesley's England or East Africa today, "it isn't that they have money, it's that they have the Holy Spirit," he said.

Archbishop Duncan predicted that the 21st century will be an "Anglican century" because Anglicanism embraces evangelical faith in the Bible, tradition that stems from a Catholic heritage and a Pentecostal reliance on the Holy Spirit.

"Let's bless our enemies and move forward," he said.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09311/1011614-455.stm#ixzz0WBHzN4QL

Priest exodus claims exaggerated, says bishop

From Worceste rnews.-

RECENT predictions that hundreds of priests might leave the Church of England for the Catholic church have been exaggerated, according to the Bishop of Worcester.

Dr John Inge spoke out in response to a decree from Pope Benedict XVI welcoming Anglicans to Rome.

The announcement, called the Apostolic Constitution, offers an alternative to disaffected Anglicans who are opposed to the ordination of women bishops.

However, Dr Inge said: “There has been much written about ‘the Pope poaching Anglicans’ in the last few days but this is entirely inaccurate.

“What the Pope has done is respond to requests from some Anglicans who are opposed in conscience to the ordination of women as bishops.

“It is difficult to be clear about how such people will react to this Apostolic Constitution since its terms have yet to be made public.

“Some may feel the draw to Rome and this is to be respected but estimates of hundreds of priests leaving the Church of England are wildly overblown. In the diocese of Worcester, the vast majority of clergy are wholeheartedly and enthusiastically supportive of women becoming bishops, as am I.”

Father Ian Pearson, priest at Old St Martin’s, the Cornmarket, said he believed his congregation would wait for details before deciding.

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/4725268.Priest_exodus_claims_exaggerated__says_bishop/

Traditional Anglican Communion of U.K. first to accept Pope's offer

From Catholic News Agency-

Members of The Traditional Anglican Church in Great Britain have announced that they will enter into communion with the Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution for Anglicans.

According to the group's website, members met on October 29 for their October 2009 Assembly. They scrapped their initial itinerary for the meeting following the Vatican's Oct. 20 announcement that an Apostolic Constitution was being prepared in response to requests from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful wanting to enter into full communion with the Church. Instead, the assembly focused on what the news from the Vatican meant for the small group of Anglicans who are part of the Traditional Anglican Communion.

Anglican Bishop David Moyer released a statement describing the October Assembly as “grace-filled,” noting that everyone in attendance became “aware of the movement of the Holy Spirit.”

“The bishops, priests, ordinands, and lay representatives were brought to a place of 'being in full accord and of one mind,' as St. Paul prayed for the Church in Philippi,” Bishop Moyer wrote.

During the assembly, Bishop Moyer as well as Anglican Bishops John Hepworth and Robert Mercer fielded questions about the Vatican proposal before the Assembly unanimously passed resolutions written to carefully “and clearly reflect TTAC’s corporate desire and intention.”

The resolutions state that the Traditional Anglican Commuion in Great Britian “offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution.”

Bishop Moyer added, “All present realised that the requirement for the days ahead is patience, charity, and openness to the Holy Spirit.”

Though the Apostolic Constituion is not yet available, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine for the Faith announced on Oct. 31 that it will be ready “by the end of the first week of November.”

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17614

Jane Black has died: broke ground for women in Episcopal church

From St. Louis-

In 1967, the Episcopal bishop of Missouri said it was time to put a stop to the church's segregation of women. "There's no biological or theological reason why women" shouldn't serve, then-Bishop George L. Cadigan said. He urged that women be allowed as delegates at the church's General Conventions.

Three years later, Jane Black and 28 other women were officially seated as delegates to the 1970 General Convention. Mrs. Black died Sunday (Nov. 1, 2009) at the Gatesworth in University City.

She was 93, and had been a resident of Clayton. Jane Jordan was born in St. Louis in 1916. She watched Charles Lindbergh pass her house in a ticker tape parade after his 1927 solo flight over the Atlantic. She remembered placing second in a citywide dance contest behind classmate and friend Betty Grable, who left St. Louis to begin an acting career in Hollywood.


More here-

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/deathsobituaries/story/CEE0F9B42C9015A786257666000CB397?OpenDocument

Priest to face charges in court

From Bethlehem PA-

Episcopal priest Gregory Malia did not injure anyone when he allegedly waved a handgun at his two daughters and their boyfriends outside a Jenkins Township tavern in July, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Attorney Nanda Palissery said there was no evidence the gun was loaded.

Jenkins Township police allege in arrest records that Malia, 44, of Laflin, waved a gun as his daughter, Marilyn Malia, 23, was being assaulted by Angela Sweet, 24, in the parking lot of the River Street Ale House on July 7.

After nearly two hours of testimony, District Judge Diana Malast agreed with Palissery, dismissing four felony counts of aggravated assault, the most serious charges, against Malia.

Malast forwarded six counts of reckless endangerment and two counts each of simple assault and disorderly conduct against Malia to Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.

The district judge sent two counts each of simple assault and driving under the influence, and one count each of harassment and disorderly conduct against Sweet to county court.

Sweet, of Larksville, was one of two women with Malia inside the tavern when Marilyn Malia arrived with her boyfriend, Ron Romashko.

They were meeting her sister, Amanda Malia, and her boyfriend, Dennis Condusta, and did not know their father was there.

“I asked my sister if we should leave and she said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Don’t let him ruin your night,’ ” Marilyn Malia testified.

Marilyn Malia said she stood with Romashko on the other side of the tavern away from her father. As a band was playing, she testified her father was dancing with Sweet and intentionally bumped into her shoulder.

“I threw my beer in his face,” Marilyn Malia testified. “My boyfriend grabbed my arm and told me it was time to leave.”

More here-

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Priest_to_face_charges_in_court_11-06-2009.html