US church leaders urge President to restore vital funding to East Jerusalem hospitals

From Lutheran World-

Leaders of Lutheran, Catholic and Episcopal (Anglican) churches in the United States have jointly called on the US President to restore vital funding for four church-associated medical institutions in East Jerusalem. By halting this humanitarian assistance “lives are being threatened unnecessarily,” they say in a joint statement issued today.

The five church leaders, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry (The Episcopal Church), Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops), Bishop William O. Gafkjen (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), and Bishop Joseph C. Bambera (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) say restoring the vital financial support “is a morally correct thing to do” so that patients can “continue to receive the treatment and care they need.”

One of the affected institutions is Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH), which is run by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF). For decades, AVH, St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital and Princess Basma Rehabilitation Centre (Anglican /Episcopal), and St. Joseph’s Hospital (Catholic) had been assured of US humanitarian assistance. Recently, President Donald Trump’s administration decided to discontinue such support as part of a wider move to curtail funding towards Palestinians.

More here-

https://www.lutheranworld.org/news/us-church-leaders-urge-president-restore-vital-funding-east-jerusalem-hospitals

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Curry: I am compelled to oppose these actions and to affirm the moral principle of equal rights for all persons, including the LGBTQ communities.

From The Epsicopal Church-

“I am compelled to oppose these actions and to affirm the moral principle of equal rights for all persons, including the LGBTQ communities,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael B. Curry stated in his statement. “I do so as a follower of Jesus Christ, as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and as a citizen who loves this country.”

The Presiding Bishop’s statement follows:

In light of President Trump‘s tweet banning transgender individuals from serving in the military and the Department of Justice’s argument that employers can legally discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation, I am compelled to oppose these actions and to affirm the moral principle of equal rights for all persons, including the LGBTQ communities. I do so as a follower of Jesus Christ, as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and as a citizen who loves this country.

More here-

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/posts/publicaffairs/episcopal-presiding-bishop-curry-i-am-compelled-oppose-these-actions-and-affirm

Clergy Should Be Paid

From Free Range Priest-

The Living Church posted an article a few days ago about Episcopal congregations who don't pay their clergy, some of whom report working 40 - 50 hours per week. This is because so many congregations, especially small ones, can no longer afford to pay full or even part-time salaries. Not paying a priest's salary (and benefits) can seem like a blessing for those churches that might otherwise have to close their doors. But at what cost?

1. The devaluing of ordained ministry. 'The laborer deserves to be paid,' 1 Timothy reminds us, especially those who labor at teaching and preaching the Christian faith. Ministry is clearly a spiritual calling, but from the beginning of the church, ministry has been compensated, whether through the community's direct support of food and housing or through wages. Not compensating ordained ministry at all devalues it within the church, and within the larger community. Which has larger consequences, including...

More here-

https://www.freerangepriest.org/father-cathie-free-range-priest/clergy-should-be-paid

NEUTERING JESUS

From The Living Church-

If you happened to pray the Morning Office in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer on the first Monday of Advent this year, you encountered one of the richest christological poems in the whole psalter, but you may not have realized it.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,” begins Psalm 1, “nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Early Church figures like St. Hilary of Poitiers and St. Augustine of Hippo tell us that this psalm is speaking about Jesus. He is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. He is the one who prospers in all he does. This psalm is a great comfort to us as sinners because even though we find ourselves among the wicked, we know that Jesus has stood in the place we were not able to stand and has paid the price for our sins. We can take comfort knowing that, even though we would perish if left to our own devices, we have been claimed by Jesus Christ. His holiness is flowing into us and transforming us by grace into children of light.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2016/12/06/neutering-jesus/

‘Blessed Ramadan’ signs springing up in Minnesota

From The Twin Cities-

“Blessed Ramadan” signs have been popping up in Minnesota yards this week, a welcoming gesture to area Muslims led by the Minnesota Council of Churches.

This past weekend, members of 17 area churches — including several Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist congregations — were given the signs to put up in their yards. About 1,800 were distributed in the Twin Cities and Duluth, said the Rev. Canon Peg Chemberlin, chief executive officer of the Minnesota Council of Churches.

The yard signs, which read “To Our Blessed Neighbors BLESSED RAMADAN” are meant as a show of support for Muslims, who have been the recent target of “significant negativity,” she said.

More here-

http://www.twincities.com/2016/06/06/blessed-ramadan-signs-springing-up-in-minnesota/

Unique program helps women escape streets, transform lives

From CNN (Nashville)

Many cities have one: an ugly stretch of road lined with cheap motels, dollar stores and liquor marts.

Often, women and girls are also part of the landscape, selling their bodies at strip clubs or on the streets.

In Nashville, one such area exists on Dickerson Pike. It's a tough environment, where even the weeds pushing up through the concrete -- thistles -- have thorns.

Many of the women who have walked this road are hardened by a life of abuse and addiction.
Caught in a struggle for survival, they can't see a way out.

That's where Becca Stevens steps in. For nearly 20 years, Stevens has dedicated her life to helping women escape prostitution, addiction and trafficking -- and providing a place for them to heal.

"Those scars are deep, but it doesn't have to be the end of the story," said Stevens, an Episcopal priest.

More here-

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/us/cnn-hero-becca-stevens/

Crook Steals Copper From Manchester Church

From Connecticut- (with video)

Manchester police are searching for the person who stole copper from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church on Park Street around Christmas.

According to police, the crook climbed on up on the church roof multiple times, pilfering from copper flashing and downspouts.

“Apparently it was a crime of opportunity,” explained Manchester police Capt. Christopher Davis. “He saw there was value in the materials.”

According to Rev. Paul Briggs, the absence of such items allowed a wave or water to pour from the ceiling during one of the church services. Although the service continued, members of the congregation had to grab buckets and mops to clean the mess.

More here-

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Crook-Steals-Copper-From-Manchester-Church-288611121.html

Bishops Endorse Ex-Episcopalian and Champion of the Poor Fr. Paul Wattson for Sainthood

From Aleteia-

Grace works in strange ways. The path to sainthood of Fr. Paul Wattson, whose cause for beatification was endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Catholics Bishops last week, may have begun with a practical joke one fateful day in 1844.

On that day Wattson’s father, Joseph Wattson, was kicked out of an Anglican seminary for joking that he was secretly a Jesuit.

The General Theological Seminary in New York City was cracking down on anything that smacked of  “Popery,” including the reading of the extremely popular tracts of John Henry Newman, which called for a return to the more liturgical traditions of the past.

More here-

http://www.aleteia.org/en/religion/article/bishops-endorse-ex-episcopalian-and-champion-of-the-poor-fr-paul-wattson-for-sainthood-5810098102337536

Episcopal diocese 'Not Only With Our Lips' urges voting, advocacy, evaluation of politicans

From Western Massachusetts-

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts has issued a document urging its members and others to vote, advocate for equality and justice, and evaluate political candidates and policies against those values.

"The gap between rich and power has never been greater," the document states. It adds, "Now more than ever the world needs an effective Christian social witness."

More here-

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/09/episcopal_diocese.html

Hebron church members vow to move forward, post fire

From Easton-

As fire ripped through St. Paul's Episcopal Church off Route 50 in Hebron, Ron Knapp sat against a nearby tree.

Knapp, the pastor of the church, tried to make sense of the 240-year-old church burning Tuesday, while sitting there. Then he saw his wife.

"My wife appeared with my pectoral cross, this wooden one, with this silver corpus that I had been given the day I was ordained 45 years ago," he said to his congregation Sunday, holding up the cross. "She told me that a firefighter had emerged from the remains with cross dangling from his hands. And I had been looking for this cross for weeks.

More here-

http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2014/07/27/stpauls-fire-recovery/13244717/

Arrest made in Ramona church break-in

From San Diego:

A man suspected of ransacking a Ramona church last week is in custody, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Christopher Szumski, 34, was arrested Tuesday morning during a traffic stop on Interstate 8 near Main Street in El Cajon. A passenger in the vehicle, identified as 19-year-old Brandon Tye, was also taken into custody.

Sheriff's officials found stolen property in the vehicle, and both men were booked into Central Jail on two counts of burglary and possession of stolen property.

During interviews with detectives, Szumski and Tye allegedly admitted to burglarizing the church as well as committing a home burglary in San Marcos.

More here-

http://www.10news.com/news/arrest-made-in-ramona-church-break-in

Princeton Theological Seminary awarded $1.1 million grant for confirmation research

From Princeton-

The Princeton Theological Seminary has received a $1.1 million grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. to fund The Confirmation Project, Christian Youth: Learning and Living the Faith. Lilly Endowment, Inc. is a private foundation from Indiana that supports advancements in religion and education.

The focus of the research project will be on how confirmation, a rite of initiation in several Christian denominations, and equivalent practices build lasting faith and discipleship in youth. The project will study five Protestant denominations in North America: the African Methodist E
piscopal Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church in America and the United Methodist Church.

More here-

http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2014/04/princeton-theological-seminary-awarded-1-1-million-grant-for-confirmation-research/

Why the Pats lost: A pastoral response

From Boston-

As a clergyman, I am always sensitive to the pastoral needs of my flock. As a priest in New England, I realize that many in my congregation are grieving the Patriots loss to the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Yet as a Baltimore Ravens fan, I don’t really care about their feelings when it comes to football. So I’m torn in my pastoral duties. Since next week is the Annual Meeting and it’s best to keep the peace, I’ll err on the side of pastoral concern.

In times such as these, many are left wondering why? Why did my team lose? Why did God do this to the Patriots? Is God mad at me? To ease some of the confusion, I thought I’d share some light on why the Patriots lost to the Broncos. Understanding why is an intellectual response and so Patriots fans will still need time to grieve. I’m sensitive to that and I will walk with them during this painful time.

Here are the reasons the Patriots lost:

God’s wrath for cutting Tim Tebow after the preseason. (Of course he was also cut by the Broncos when they signed Peyton Manning but whatever. God’s complicated).

God prefers Anglicans (aka Redcoats) to Patriots (aka religious dissenters).

Read more:

http://www.doverpost.com/article/20140120/BLOGS/301209998/-1/News#ixzz2qwj5aw1k

Episcopal Diocese seeks demolition of Euclid Avenue church, after Cleveland Clinic emerges as land buyer

From Ohio-

Another historic Euclid Avenue church is facing demolition, now that a marketing effort by the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio appears to have netted a big buyer: the Cleveland Clinic.

The diocese recently applied for a demolition permit for the Church of the Transfiguration, a shuttered Gothic Revival building that occupies 0.83 acres on the northwest side of the Clinic's main campus. The Cleveland Landmarks Commission, which exerts some control over significant buildings and historic districts in the city, expects to consider the demolition request at its Thursday meeting.

David Hollister, a real estate broker representing the diocese, identified the Clinic as the buyer but would not disclose the purchase price. A Clinic spokeswoman said nothing has been finalized.

More here-

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/09/episcopal_diocese_seeks_demoli.html

Holmes Dixon Crossed the Altar, Busted Barriers

From PBS-

Since I’m now in my mid-50s, I can really say I’ve grown up right along with the women’s movement. As a reporter, I’ve had a front seat as women have fought to attain the place in society that was always their due.

One place you might think of as different from the corporate boardroom, the anchor desk or a presidential debate, is the altar. In my lifetime I’ve watched as women moved from one side of the altar, kneeling to receive communion or demurely waiting to kiss the groom, to take their place on the other side, as clerics, just as empowered to preach and teach as their brothers, husbands, fathers and sons.

So it was with sadness and shock that I heard of the passing of Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon early on Christmas morning. She was the second bishop in the Episcopal Church of the United States, the American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The news that women would be allowed ordination rocked the Episcopal Church when I was a teenager. Holmes Dixon, in her early 40s at the time, headed to seminary to become one of the first women priests in the American church. At a time when many Episcopalians were not sure they could accept a woman presiding at Communion, baptizing babies or running congregations, she plunged right in. She was, by all accounts, a success as a pastor.

More here-

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/social_issues/jan-june13/suarez_women_02-25.html

Huts for the homeless: 'It’s very secure and very comfortable

From Oregon-

Dianne Sciacca has not wasted any time making herself at home in her new Conestoga hut, located in the parking lot of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Eugene.

She describes the hut as having a “simple elegance. That’s the only way to describe it: simply elegant.” 

Since Sciacca moved in at the beginning of January, she has already painted the exterior and created a small tile foyer from sampled and broken tiles in front of her hut.

Sciacca is one of three tenants who the Church of the Resurrection has welcomed to live in the new Conestoga huts as a part of an initiative to increase assistance for the homeless in Eugene.

The huts, which cost between $200 and $500 to build, are created with the help of donors and volunteers. So far, the huts have received positive feedback from local officials.

Initially, the Conestoga huts were an experimental living alternative for unhoused members of the St. Vincent De Paul’s Overnight Parking Program. The program sites were for unhoused members of the community to legally park their campers, cars and tents.  

More here-

http://www.kval.com/news/local/Huts-for-the-Homeless--191473211.html

All eyes on Texas, S.C. church property fights

From The Washington Post (Via RNS)

When disgruntled congregations have left hierarchical denominations such as the Episcopal Church, they’ve often lost property battles as civil courts ruled buildings and land are not theirs to keep.

But outcomes could be different this year, court watchers say, as high-profile cases involving dozens of Episcopal congregations in South Carolina and Texas wind their way through state courts. That prospect has observers watching for insights that could shape legal strategies in other states and denominations.

Both cases involve conservative dioceses that voted to leave the Episcopal Church over homosexuality, among other issues. In South Carolina, congregations representing about 22,000 people are suing the Episcopal Church for control of real estate worth some $500 million and rights to the diocese’s identity. In Texas, the national Episcopal Church is suing about 60 breakaway congregations in the Fort Worth area for properties estimated to be worth more than $100 million.

The Episcopal Church argues, as it has in past cases, that local properties are held in trust for the denomination and can’t go with parishioners who choose to disaffiliate. But recent court actions are giving breakaway groups hope that things might go differently this time.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/all-eyes-on-texas-sc-church-property-fights/2013/02/18/5277e8aa-7a03-11e2-9c27-fdd594ea6286_story.html

Episcopal Church expands missions

From Sarasota-

Leaders from area Episcopal churches are looking at strategies to reach out to the unchurched or those missing a spiritual life.

A mission conference last month in Bradenton that brought together clergy and churchgoers from Tampa to Naples was moderated by the Rev. Eric Cooter, the diocesan missioner since Jan. 1 under Bishop Dabney Smith.

"The purpose of the event was to stir enthusiasm and also to create an educational opportunity to bring in some people that are not theorists, but doing it 'boots on the ground' in other parts of the church," he said.

Speakers included the Revs. Karen Ward and Bob Leopold, both of whom knew Cooter when he led a young adult ministry at Lamb of God, a federated Lutheran Episcopal church in Fort Myers. Cooter also served as rector at St. David's in Englewood.

More here-

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130218/ARTICLE/130219587

Grace Cathedral: a place of religious immunity, anonymity and unity

From The Telegraph-

This past week I've been in a sunny, blue-skied San Francisco playing Liszt's 2nd concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and Pablo Heras-Casado. The hotel at which I was staying was quite close to Grace Cathedral and I would pass by it at least twice a day on my way to rehearsals or concerts. It is an imposing structure on one of the city's many imposing hills and I finally found the time a couple of days ago go inside for a visit.

I was struck by two things: firstly, as I walked through its front doors, it was less visually overwhelming inside than I was expecting; but secondly, and more importantly, as I sat down in the AIDS Interfaith Memorial Chapel immediately to the right of the entrance, I became aware of this Cathedral's mission of inclusivity. I was disarmed and deeply moved by the sheer sense of acceptance symbolized by this small room devoted to the memory of those who died from a modern plague.

It hit me: We are loved: before accepting, after rejecting. Always. It was palpable – a sense (if God exists) of what God has to be like; and faith (which is really 'trust', not ticks down a list of doctrinal propositions) has to begin with a safe space. Grace Cathedral is one of the safest spaces I've encountered, a realization not unrelated to something I wrote last year on this blog about Anglican thresholds and Evensong.

More here-

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/stephenhough/100068206/grace-cathedral-a-place-of-religious-immunity-anonymity-and-unity/

Huntsville's St. Stephen's Episcopal Church begins 50th anniversary celebrations with Lenten Series

From Alabama-

The congregation of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 8020 Whitesburg Drive S., in Huntsville, a daughter congregation of the Church of the Nativity, Episcopal, and also a child of Huntsville’s rocket-age boom, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2013, beginning with a Lenten series Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Founding Rector, the Rev. Dr. Doug Carpenter, now of Birmingham, will be the first speaker for the Tuesday evening series.

Each Tuesday, the congregation will have an evening service at 6 p.m., with supper and reflections at 6:30 p.m.

Carpenter, the author of “A Powerful Blessing,” the biography of his father and Civil Rights pioneer Bishop Charles Carpenter, will speak Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, at 6 p.m., at the church.

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/02/st_stephens_50th.html