Maine Episcopal Diocese Consecrates 1st Openly Gay Bishop

From Maine-

The Episcopal Diocese of Maine has consecrated an openly gay bishop for the first time.

The diocese says Rev. Thomas James Brown was ordained and consecrated its tenth bishop on Saturday in a ceremony that drew more than 900 people to St. Luke's Cathedral in Portland. Twenty-seven Episcopal bishops and more than 100 clergy from Maine participated in the service.

Gene Robinson, the retired Diocese of New Hampshire bishop and the first openly gay bishop, says Brown "stands on the shoulders of many other LGBTQ priests."

Brown is originally from Michigan and trained at parishes in California and his home state. He has also served in Vermont and Massachusetts. Brown says he is "especially grateful to be welcomed by loving and wise bishops in New England."

More here-

https://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Maine-Episcopal-Diocese-Consecrates-First-Openly-Gay-Bishop-511769862.html

And here-

https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Maine-Episcopal-Diocese-consecrates-first-openly-14041829.php

Mutamiri new Anglican bishop

From Central Africa-

Dr Farai Mutamiri was yesterday consecrated as the new bishop of the Anglican Church's Diocese of Harare, Church of the Province of Central Africa at the City Sports Centre.

The consecration was later followed by his enthronement at the Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints in the afternoon. He replaces Bishop Chad Gandiya, who retired at the end of last year.

Bishop Mutamiri's consecration was presided over by Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Central Africa Albert Chama. Bishop Mutamiri was elected on November 27 last year.

Archbishop Chama in his sermon urged Bishop Mutamiri to put the interest of the clergy ahead of his own.

"The church belongs to God and your role is to shepherd his flock and not to personalise the church," he said.

More here-

https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-152970.html

The Imperative of the Imperium

From First Things-

In “The End of the Imperial Episcopate,” Fr. Jay Scott Newman speculates about the Church's current situation. One of his premises is that many bishops have become too much like distant managers and administrators, and that this has contributed to today's problems. He also suggests “the clerical culture in which bishops and priests live is in many ways diseased and deformed, requiring renewal.” I fully agree with Newman on these points. We do not need politicians and administrators. We need bishops who act like bishops:  teaching, shepherding, and, when necessary, disciplining like bishops. We need priests who don’t act like camp counselors, committee chairmen, facilitators, or socialites; we need priests who focus on their priestly, liturgical, and sacramental mission. Further, we need religious who remain faithful to the particular charisms of their founders instead of behaving like secular social justice activists.  In short, we need faithfulness to particular callings across the board.

In his article, Newman proposes various reforms. These include requiring bishops to spend more time in their own cathedrals, eliminating the auxiliary bishop model, and reducing diocesan bureaucracy. While I might offer a few caveats, in principle I think these suggestions have merit. Where I believe Newman goes off the rails is in his proposal that certain elements of the “imperium,” such as traditional episcopal vesture and titles, “need to go.” Newman presents some rather specious arguments that are neither consistently applied nor rooted in a fulsome view of Church history or the Christian East. These proposals do not address the current situation, and, if implemented, may even compound the Church's problems rather than eliminate them.

More here-

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/09/the-imperative-of-the-imperium

Much Ado about Bishops

From The Living Church-

By John Bauerschmidt

The recently concluded General Convention of the Episcopal Church took up many matters of business, some of them widely reported and blogged upon before, during, and after the convention. Others have drawn less attention. From my perspective, as a member of the House of Bishops, it’s worth taking note of the work of the convention on the reform of the episcopate. Actions taken (and not taken) tell a story whose significance is not yet fully known. If you’re a General Convention aficionado you may want to skip down several paragraphs, but at the risk of too much inside baseball I offer this account from my vantage point as a participant in the daily legislative work of one house.

Through Resolution D004, the 2015 General Convention established a Task Force on the Episcopacy charged to address a number of concerns: studying the selection and responsibilities of bishops; racial and gender diversity in the House of Bishops; proposals for revising the process of “discernment, nomination, formation, search, election, and transition” for this ministry; and developing “best practices and educational materials” available to the wider church. During the intervening triennium the task force did its work, and in the months before the convention it presented this report. (I was not a member of the task force.)

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/08/10/much-ado-about-bishops/

First Persian woman to be ordained to the episcopate consecrated in Canterbury Cathedral

From ACNS-

The first Persian woman to become a bishop was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury this morning during a service in Canterbury Cathedral. Guli Francis-Dehqani, the daughter of the former Bishop of Iran, Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, will serve as the first suffragan Bishop of Loughborough in the Church of England’s Diocese of Leicester. Her family were forced into Exile after a botched assassination attempt on her father – who was also the first President Bishop of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. He mother was injured in that attack. Guli’s brother, Bahram, stayed behind in Iran. He was murdered in 1980 and is commemorated in Canterbury Cathedral’s Chapel of Saints and Martyrs.

Today’s service reflected the new bishop’s early life in Iran. Bishop Iraj Mottahedeh, who succeeded Bishop Hassan Dehqani-Tafti as Bishop of Iran, gave the sermon. Bishop Iraj is now retired and lives in England. For 15 years, Bishop Iraj was the only Christian priest in Iran.

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2017/11/first-persian-woman-to-be-ordained-to-the-episcopate-consecrated-in-canterbury-cathedral.aspx

International gathering of Bishops in northern England

From ACNS-

The Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, has this week hosted a group of international Bishops for a retreat in the north of England.

The diocese of Leeds has Anglican partnership links with Sudan, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, USA (Southwestern Virginia), and international ecumenical links with Lutherans in Sweden (Skara) and Germany (Erfurt).

Those participating were: the Archbishop of Khartoum, the Bishops of Mara, Colombo, Faisalabad, Southwestern Virginia, Skara and the Superintendent of Erfurt; they spent five days with the Bishop of Leeds and the suffragan bishops of Bradford, Huddersfield, Richmond, Ripon and Wakefield.

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2017/04/international-gathering-of-bishops-in-northern-england.aspx

Gay clergyman passed over seven times for promotion to bishop

From The Guardian-


Jeffrey John, a gay senior Anglican churchman, has been passed over for promotion to a bishopric for a seventh time since the Church of England rescinded his appointment as bishop of Reading in 2003 amid homophobic protests.

John, dean of St Albans Cathedral, was put forward for the post of bishop of Sodor and Man in February, but failed to make it on to the shortlist despite positive feedback. The rejection came shortly before he was passed over for appointment as bishop of Llandaff after objections to his sexuality allegedly were raised.

In the diocese of Sodor and Man, which covers the Isle of Man and surrounding islets, John’s name was considered by the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), an appointment body of 14 people chaired by the archbishop of York, John Sentamu, and including representatives of the General Synod and from the diocese of Sodor and Man. An open vote confirmed that the panel had no objection to John’s sexuality and long-term civil partnership with Anglican priest Grant Holmes.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/06/openly-gay-clergyman-passed-over-seven-times-for-promotion-to-bishop-jeffrey-john-reading

The Real Work of Bishops

From Patheos-

But let’s hope that the bishops return to the subject of congregational vitality and give it serious, concerted attention, because if there is one issue facing the leadership of mainline Protestantism today it is the fate and future of shrinking congregations with ever-smaller numbers and evaporating resources.

Why we face those challenges can be traced to a number of factors: Shifting rural-urban demographics; the growth in numbers of those who identify as spiritual but not religious or as Nones; the changing generational interests and expectations; the rise of immigrant populations that have their own traditions; and the decline in numbers of white, middle class communities are just a few of the factors that are beyond the church’s control.

But there are other challenges that that the church can and must address: the failure of mainline Protestantism to give people a vital, inescapable, spiritually grounded explanation for why they should attend church; our over-identification with political causes that can be pursued just as easily without a religious motivation; the lackluster character of our programs for children and youth; (in the case of my denomination) the inescapable and unacknowledged classism of our denomination; and the failure of our congregations to give more than lip service to welcoming people of color, unless they are willing to conform to our cultural affectations and Progressive Protestantism’s theology. There are also serious strategic issues: the location and viability of congregations; resource distribution; the linguistic barriers to serving immigrant communities; and the supervision and training of lay and ordained leadership.

More here-

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whatgodwantsforyourlife/2017/03/real-work-bishops/

Bishops advise, mostly, in Episcopal pastor selection

From North Carolina-

I’m the first to admit it. I’m just a little bit intimidated by bishops.

It’s all that beautiful, colorful clergy attire: albs, chasibles and copes, topped off with a red, white or gold mitre, said to be the most recognizable part of a bishop’s dress, not to mention the big ring and the pectoral cross.

Who doesn’t feel the heart skip a beat when Bishop Michael Curry of the N.C. Episcopal Diocese or Bishop William H. Willimon of the United Methodist Church come down the aisle at Duke Chapel in one of those long processions, accompanied by the booming voices of the congregation, the choir and the great organ. It’s awesome!

More here-

http://www.thedurhamnews.com/2014/09/02/4105662/on-faith-bishops-advise-mostly.html?sp=/99/586/928/934/

I think we should keep Anglican bishops in a reformed House of Lords

From The London Telegraph-

The debate continues about the place of the Church of England's bishops, the 'Lords Spiritual', in the House of Lords. At the moment 26 archbishops and bishops are allowed to sit in the upper house, a small number in the midst of over 800 members. Of course, their presence in Parliament flies in the face of a steady progression of wisdom from the Enlightenment onwards: religion and politics are best (at best) sharing a fence not sharing a bed. But the present debate is not really about the influence of religion on politics, good or bad, but rather about keeping on-board the input of an unlikely but valuable group of men.


Here are three non-religious reasons I believe the bishops are worth preserving in the UK's Parliament: they are unelected, they are pastoral and they are vulnerable.

Why should we allow anyone unelected to have political power? Well, the bishops actually occupy a unique position. They are neither born to rule like the aristocracy was in the past, nor are they elected in the normal democratic process. There is nothing wrong with elections of course, and I am passionate about voting in them, but there's often quite a lot wrong about striving to win them. An ambitious vicar may play games in ecclesiastical politics to try to be ordained a bishop but I don't think he would spend his clerical career seeking secular political power by trying to become a bishop. 

It just wouldn't make sense – and the House of Lords would not give him that sort of power anyway. Few people would want to return to the privilege of power through blood, despite its usefulness in older, wilder times – perhaps most especially not the one who in Britain could most easily lay claim to it, our Queen; but the bishops, coming from all social backgrounds and intellectual interests, are given their unelected political role without asking for it. It's possibly the closest we can come to disinterested rule.

More here-

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/stephenhough/100063593/i-think-we-should-keep-anglican-bishops-in-a-reformed-house-of-lords/

New Nonfiction Work Probes Britain’s Bishops

From England-

The job of a bishop has changed considerably since the days of the early Church, but the role of Anglican bishops in Britain since the 16th century Reformation has changed a lot less than might be expected.

In Bishops: the Changing Nature of the Anglican Episcopate in Mainland Britain the Revd. Mike Keulemans examines the New Testament and early Fathers to discover the roots of the Episcopal office, how it evolved during the Middle Ages, how it was refocused upon teaching the Faith by the Reformers and how the demands of the Establishment upon it have remained as strong as ever.

The backgrounds and careers of Anglican bishops between 1905 and 2005 are examined in detail. The results of a major survey of clergy, laity and retired bishops on attitudes to the episcopate conducted in 2007 are presented and analyzed. Suggestions for the reform of the episcopate are made and a practical solution offered to solve the conundrum of how to reconcile those who favor women bishops and those who do not.

This work provides a fresh perspective on Anglican bishops and makes the history of the Church of England both readable and absorbing.

More here-

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9211086.htm

Africa: Statement By the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church

From South Africa-

We, the Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, gathered from 6 to 10 February, 2012, under Mantsopa Mountain at the St Augustine's Centre, Modderpoort, in the Diocese of the Free State, for a time shaped by worship, prayer and reflection around the theme of spirited leadership.

Inspired by the beautiful scenery surrounding the diocesan centre, we worked and relaxed under the generous hospitality provided by Bishop Paddy Glover and his team, in the comfortably refurbished mission centre.

We began our work with a lively discussion facilitated by Bishop Brian Germond around the topic of creatively thinking outside of the box. We re-examined some of the mission opportunities God provides us, and the recent proposals of multiplication coming from the dioceses of Mozambique challenged us to think again on how we might respond to the fresh manifestation of the Spirit of God in our midst. We were challenged to take imaginative and courageous action that might include alternative models of ministry, mission and episcopal oversight. We agreed that we must willingly take risks, in faith.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201202161023.html

All African Bishops Conference to be Held Soon

From All Africa-

A one-week All African Bishops' Conference (AABC) will take place in Uganda from August 23 to 29.

This year's theme is "Securing Our Future: Unlocking our Potential," (Hebrews 12:1-2).

According to Edward Gaamuwa, the chairman of the organising committee, the council of Anglican provinces of Africa meeting in Pretoria, South Africa in 2001 resolved to hold an African Anglican Bishop Conference to focus on African needs.

"The Anglican Church is very old in Africa but African problems and issues are still being treated as an appendix to other issues at the church's international forum," Gaamuwa said in an interview.

Some of the aims for this conference include mobilising the bishops to tackle the obstacles that continue to keep the continent in conflict, poverty, corruption, poor leadership and disease.

There is also the need to create a platform for interaction and partnership development and also to expose church leaders to various models for resource mapping, investment, management and global technology.

And how the Anglican Church in Africa is spearheading and participating in global initiatives that seek to address the threats to human dignity.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201008110556.html

Slash spending on bishops’ houses, says task group

From The Church Times-

EXPENDITURE on bishops’ houses is out of control, an official task group has concluded.
The funding for see houses is set every three years. The total spent in 2002-04 was £11 million. In 2008-10, it is forecast to be £21 million. The average maintenance cost of some bishops’ houses is now well over £50,000 a year.

The figures come in a document prepared by a task group on spending, chaired by the Bishop of Lon don, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres. Other members include the Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd Andrew Urquhart, and the First Church Estates Commissioner, Andreas Whittam Smith.

The group acknowledges that a number of the houses are Grade I and Grade II listed. It also accepts that much of the expenditure is a result of work on office space in many of the houses, which are used by diocesan staff as well as by the bishop. Such expenditure seldom adds to the value of the house.

It concludes, none the less, that the money allocated in 2011-13 should be capped at £15 million, with a view to bringing it down to no more than £10 million in 2014-16. “There is a compelling need to bring control over this area of expend iture,” the group says.

Official responsibility for the see houses rests with the Church Commissioners, and their board of governors is discussing future strategy later this year.

The task group says: “Our view is that it has no option but to think radically about the future. Past reviews have created much debate but little real change. We think that the time has come when tinkering with the portfolio will not be enough.”


More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=97023

A Minnesota-centric ceremony

From Minnesota-

The Rev. Brian Prior realizes that several thousand people are going to make their way to the Minneapolis Convention Center Saturday morning to witness his installation as the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota. He just doesn't want all the attention to be on him.

"As I was talking to the people planning this, I told them that the one thing I don't want is for this to feel like a coronation," the 50-year-old bishop said Thursday. "I want this to be a celebration of the diocese. I don't want it to be focused on the new bishop, I want it to be focused on the new chapter in the diocese."

The consecration, which starts at 11 a.m. (people are being encouraged to arrive by 10:30), will feature a localized version of pomp and circumstance. It will include Ojibwe and Dakota drummers, Hmong choristers and a 200-voice choir gleaned from the diocese's churches.

More here-

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/84277737.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:aUq9_b9b_jEkP:QUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Committee revises its view on women bishops — again

From The Church Times-

THE draft women-bishops legislation may not be ready for the February Synod, after the revision committee failed to agree last week on which powers should be given by law to bishops who would oversee traditionalist parishes.

At their previous meeting, in October, members of the committee revived the idea of vesting such bishops with legal rights, which the General Synod had rejected in July 2008. The move drew approval from traditionalists, but accusations of betrayal from WATCH (Women and the Church) (News, 16 October).

But at last week’s meeting, when it came to deciding which functions should be vested, members voted each one down in turn, leaving nothing. Sharp exchanges reportedly took place across the table as the work of the two previous meetings was, in effect, undone. Staff are left with the task of rewriting the legislation. “The timetable is now extremely tight” for February, the committee has acknowledged.

In a statement, it said: “The effect of the committee’s decision is there fore that such arrangements as are made for those unable to receive the episcopal ministry of women will need to be by way of delegation from the diocesan bishop rather than vesting.

“There remain important issues for the committee to determine at its forthcoming meetings over the shape of the proposed legislation in the light of this decision, in particular whether to retain a statutory code of practice or adopt the simplest possible legislation.”

The committee goes on to state that it will “report to the full General Synod at the conclusion of its work”. Thereafter, the Synod will debate its proposals and has the option of approving, amending, or sending the legislation back to the revision committee for further consideration.
Voting figures will not be released until the committee makes its final report to the Synod. In anticipation of the question why it issues statements at all when the decisions keep changing, a C of E clarification said: “Synod members coming to speak to amendments they have submitted have the right to know when there has been a major change affecting their proposals. Since such decisions will quickly become widely known, the committee concluded it was best to put the facts on public record.”

Committee members are not free to comment on discussions. Prebendary David Houlding, of the Synod’s Catholic Group, who was an observer at the October meeting, said on Tuesday that the issuing of a press statement just before the Archbishop of Canterbury went to Rome for a meeting with the Pope was extraordinary.

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=84976

Catholic bishops claim moral authority amidst 'confusion'

From USA Today-

Responding to scientific advances and widespread "confusion" among their flocks, U.S. Catholic bishops today issued detailed guidelines on marriage, reproductive technologies and health care for severely brain-damaged patients.
The bishops gathered here for their semi-annual meeting also heard a preliminary report on the "causes and contexts" of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that resulted in some 14,000 abuse claims and cost the church $2.6 billion since 1950.

Researchers from New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice told the nearly 300 members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that homosexual orientation should not be linked to the sexual abuse, even as some church leaders have sought to make a link between gay priests and sexual abuse.

"What we are suggesting is that the idea of sexual identity be separated from the problem of sexual abuse," said Margaret Smith of John Jay College. "At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data that we have right now."

More here-

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-11-17-Bishops-morality_N.htm

Women bishops move suffers blow

From The BBC

A Church of England committee has backed away from a concession which would have given traditionalists their own male, rather than female, bishops.
It had suggested last month that traditionalists might have their own bishops with full legal authority to operate independently.

Some Anglican clergy opposed to women bishops are considering an offer from Pope Benedict to join the Roman church.

Anglicans who convert could keep many of their traditions, he has said.
They would join a special section that would let them keep aspects of Church of England liturgy.
However, many Anglicans are wavering, because they want to preserve the CofE's historic catholic-Protestant balance.

The committee's abandonment of this concession means that male bishops overseeing traditionalists would, in some cases, only be able to operate at the behest of women bishops.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said that as things stand, the development seems likely to encourage more traditionalists to convert to Catholicism.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8361249.stm

Former Episcopal bishop of Ohio dies at 91 at his Michigan home

From Youngstown-

The Rev. John H. Burt, 91, retired bishop of Ohio for the Episcopal Church, died Tuesday at his home on the southern shore of Lake Superior.

The Rev. Mr. Burt served seven years at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Youngstown, where he received the Arvona Lynch Human Relations Award. He was also the founding president of the city’s American Civil Liberties Union.

When he left Youngstown in 1957 to become rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif., The Vindicator wrote an editorial calling his departure “a matter of public regret” and saying the city was better for his having been here.

In 1967, he was elected the bishop of Ohio and served in that capacity until 1984.

In 1977, Mr. Burt and the Rev. James W. Malone, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, issued a plea for understanding and help for neighbors on reduction of operations at Youngstown Sheet & Tube.

In 1978, Mr. Burt co-founded the Ecumenical Coalition of the Mahoning Valley, which fought to keep Youngstown Sheet & Tube from reneging on labor agreements and to seek ways to reopen the mills.

Mr. Burt also was one of the first to advocate the ordination of women to the priesthood, saying he would resign as bishop if the Episcopal General Convention failed to approve women priests in 1976. Once the measure was approved, Mr. Burt ordained eight women as priests during his term as Ohio’s bishop.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2009/oct/22/former-episcopal-bishop-of-ohio-dies-at-91-at-his/?newswatch

Church of England bishops spend £1.3million in a year on travel

From The London Telegraph-

More than 10 per cent of the total covered overseas expenditure including air fares, despite high-profile campaigns by senior clergy urging people to fly less in order to save the environment.

Junior bishops also spent almost £50,000 on gardeners last year – more than MPs are now allowed to claim on their parliamentary expenses.

The 113 bishops of England’s established church have much of their costs covered by the Church Commissioners, who manage a £4.4billion portfolio of property and financial investments.
Figures published for 2008 that £16m was spent on staff salaries, office expenditure, legal costs and travel, up from £14.1m the previous year. More than £700,000 of the additional cost was a result of the once-a-decade gathering of senior Anglican clergy that took place in summer 2008, the Lambeth Conference.

In addition, the commissioners spent £5.1m on bishops’ pay and pensions, together with a further £7.3m on the upkeep of their historic see houses.

A detailed breakdown of the figures shows that bishops spent £1.32m on travel in 2008.
This included £114,193 on overseas travel, including “visits on ecumenical and Anglican Communion business by the Archbishop of Canterbury and his staff, the Archbishop of York and diocesan and suffragan bishops travelling at the request of the Archbishops and representing the Church of England”. This is a fall from the 2007 figure of £179,309, however.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6337853/Church-of-England-bishops-spend-1.3million-in-a-year-on-travel.html