Swimsuit models in Cathedral cause uproar

From Trinidad and Tobago-

Pho­tographs of mod­els in bathing suits walk­ing down the aisle of the Holy Trin­i­ty Cathe­dral went vi­ral on so­cial me­dia yes­ter­day as peo­ple ques­tioned the ap­pro­pri­ate­ness of the sit­u­a­tion. The pho­tographs were tak­en dur­ing a fash­ion show which took place at the main church of the An­gli­can dio­cese in T&T on Sat­ur­day night as part of Style Week, Port-of-Spain.

Flags ad­ver­tis­ing the event’s main spon­sor, the Na­tion­al Lot­ter­ies Con­trol Board (NL­CB), were al­so dis­played on the church’s fence.

De­spite the on­line back­lash, how­ev­er, an­oth­er Style Week run­way show was held at the Cathe­dral last night which in­clud­ed on­line swimwear bou­tique, Gen­e­sis Swim.

El­lis Brig­gs, chair­man of Zetick Caribbean Lim­it­ed, the or­gan­is­er of Style Week, told Guardian Me­dia those hav­ing an is­sue with the fash­ion show at the church were just be­ing “hy­per­sen­si­tive”.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/swimsuit-models-in-cathedral-cause-uproar-6.2.977610.f539dcfe63

Synod rejects campaign to split ACK Mbeere Diocese

From Kenya-

Delegates from the 62 parishes who met at the Siakago diocese headquarters ruled that the faction pushing for the split neither represented the rest of the congregation nor did the issues they raised.

They also resolved that the faction did not follow the church’s procedure in agitating for the split. Each of the 62 parishes had sent three delegates - a priest and two lay leaders - to the crucial meeting.

The church’s lawyer, Wairimu Rugaita, and key leaders and professionals from the region attended.

Bishop Moses Masamba, who read a statement on behalf of the synod, said the allegations by some Christians that the church leadership favoured the north side of Mbeere diocese were false. He said the church’s development projects and resources were equitably distributed in all the parishes.

More here-

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001312643/synod-rejects-campaign-to-split-ack-mbeere-diocese

Up close with Bishop Mutamiri. . . Anglican turns new leaf

From Central Africa-

BISHOP Farai Mutamiri was early this month consecrated as the new Bishop of the Anglican Church’s diocese of Harare, Church of the Province of Central Africa.

The 51-year-old took over from Bishop Chad Gandiya who retired last year after steering the Anglican ship ashore through stormy waters that included factional fights within the church.

Coming from St John Parish in Canada where he had been based since August 2017, Bishop Mutamiri has set sights on making sure the Anglican Church continues to be a blessing to the community and wins more souls.

More here-

https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/up-close-with-bishop-mutamiri-anglican-turns-new-leaf

Presbyterians scrap ad campaign deemed offensive to minorities

From RNS-

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is scrapping an ad campaign for the needy after it was blasted for being culturally and socially insensitive.

The One Great Hour of Sharing campaign originally included an image of an Asian girl with the words “Needs help with her drinking problem” and, in smaller lettering: “She can’t find water.” Another image featured a man with the words “Needs help getting high,” followed in smaller lettering with: “Above the flood waters.”

Linda Valentine, executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, said a redesign has begun and the new campaign should appear in February.

“We made a great misstep,” she said. “We acknowledged that the materials not only perpetuated offensive racial stereotypes but were insensitive to struggles with addiction that are real struggles and many of our churches and many of our ministries are working with those very people.”

More here-

http://www.religionnews.com/2015/01/21/presbyterians-scrap-ad-campaign-deemed-offensive-minorities/

Association of Theological Schools Announces Focused Visit to EDS

From EDS-

EDS President and Dean Katherine Hancock Ragsdale has received a letter from the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (COAATS).

The COAATS stated that it had become aware of “several events reported to have occurred at Episcopal Divinity School this past academic year.”  As a result, the Board of Commissioners of the COAATS has decided to make a focused site visit to the School this fall.

The Board of Trustees and President welcome the outside perspective that the COAATS will bring.

http://eds.edu/news/association-theological-schools-announces-focused-visit-eds

Thousands back call for reinstatement of 'GTS Eight'

From Ekklesia-(with link to the petition)

A petition calling for the reinstatement of eight sacked faculty members at General Theological Seminary in New York is receiving huge support.

Over a thousand people have signed the petition in just 48 hours.

Supporters have urged as many signatories as possible before a meeting between the seminary board of trustees and the professors scheduled for Thursday 16 October. Former Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold will facilitate the meeting, it has been announced.

In addition, some 1,200 academics have now pledged not to work with GTS until the situation is resolved (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20931), over 1,000 people are involved with an online-support group and several hundred are involved with the reinstatement campaign through Twitter (@safeseminary and @Reinst8GTS8)

More here-

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20944

General Theological Seminary and Progressive Christianity

From Patheos-

The crisis at General Theological Seminary probably hasn’t been felt very far beyond the walls of The Episcopal Church. That’s not surprising. General is hardly a large seminary and, like most of our denomination’s seminaries, its faculty and student body is comparatively homogeneous, denominationally speaking. But the crisis has certainly rocked our little corner of the church-world. In part, because the dispute between General’s faculty and its President-Dean became the instant subject of conversation in the social media; in part, because the out-sized board represents such a large slice of the church’s life; and, in part, because the unique history of General’s founding makes it a creature of the national Church, its General Convention, the House of Bishops, and – by inference – the concern of the church’s Presiding Bishop.

Read more:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whatgodwantsforyourlife/2014/10/general-theological-seminary-and-progressive-christianity/#ixzz3FvVh9sTW

Stanley Hauerwas drops out of General Theological Seminary lecture series after controversy

From RNS-

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas has declined a series of lectures he was scheduled to give at New York’s General Theological Seminary in November in the wake of the crisis roiling the school.

On Wednesday (Oct. 8), the Christian ethicist said he does not want to get in the middle of a controversy involving the resignations or firings of eight faculty.

Two weeks ago, the eight faculty members quit teaching classes and attending official seminary meetings or chapel services until they could sit down with the Board of Trustees.

Hauerwas, who is professor emeritus of divinity and law at Duke Divinity School, said he pulled out of the lecture series so he would not appear to take a side.

More here-

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/10/08/stanley-hauerwas-drops-general-theological-seminary-lecture-series-controversy/

Seeking Dean’s Firing, Professors End Up Jobless

From The New York Times-

The General Theological Seminary in Manhattan, the nation’s oldest Episcopal seminary, seemed to be regaining its footing after almost having to seek bankruptcy protection in 2010. It sold off some valuable real estate — its leafy campus in Chelsea is just steps from the High Line — and hired a new dean and president, the Rev. Kurt H. Dunkle, who promised to make the struggling institution a “joyful, thankful and useful” place.

A year after his arrival, however, the seminary has fallen into turmoil. Eight of its 10 full-time faculty members walked off the job on Friday to protest what they described in letters to the school’s board of trustees as Mr. Dunkle’s overly controlling management style, his habit of making vulgar and offensive remarks, and his frequent threats to demote or fire those who disagreed with him.

More here-

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/nyregion/labor-dispute-leaves-professors-jobless.html?ref=nyregion&_r=3&referrer

What The Hell Is Happening At General Theological Seminary?

From Huffington-

Faculty members at the country’s oldest Episcopal seminary are facing off against the school’s President, blasting him for his allegedly bullying, heavy-handed leadership style.

Eight professors at New York’s General Theological Seminary announced Friday that they are not going to teach, attend meetings, or participate in common worship until they can meet with the school’s Board of Trustees, according Anglican Ink.

In a letter distributed to students, the professors accuse the seminary’s Dean and President, The Very Rev. Kurt H. Dunkle, of failing to collaborate or take their grievances seriously, creating a climate “fraught with conflict, fear, and anxiety.”

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/30/general-theological-seminary_n_5907270.html

Gay rector faces backlash in pews over ‘wedding’ plans

From The Telegraph-

An Anglican clergyman is facing opposition from parishioners over a service in his local church to bless his same-sex civil partnership.

The Rev Dominic McClean, the Rector of 13 parishes around the village of Market Bosworth in Leicestershire, invited parishioners to the special service this weekend to mark his civil union with his partner, Tony Hodges.

The service, taking place in the 14th Century St Peter’s Church in Market Bosworth on Saturday next week was given a go-ahead by the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Rev Tim Stevens, who led the Church of England’s opposition in the House of Lords to the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

But Aubrey Chalmers, a member of the Parochial Church Council in nearby Shackerstone, one of Rev McClean’s parishes, has written in protest both to Bishop Stevens and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, describing the service as “deeply divisive and repugnant to many people”.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/11099407/Gay-rector-faces-backlash-in-pews-over-wedding-plans.html

Yale Chaplain Explains Resignation After Oped About Israel and Anti-Semitism

From Time-

Within hours of the letter’s publication, Shipman says, people on and off campus began calling for his ouster. Two weeks later, he resigned. Why this happened—and what’s at stake—depends on who you ask.

Shipman has a long history of sympathy for the plight of Palestinians. As a teenager, he lived in Egypt while his father worked for World Health Organization and was there when Israel invaded during the 1956 Suez War. “Among my friends were Palestinian refugees and their children who were my age, so I heard their stories of dispossession and loss, people who had lost their homes and their farms and cut off from their land living in Jaffa and in the area which is now known as Israel,” he says.

More here-

http://time.com/3340634/yale-chaplain-bruce-shipman-israel-anti-semitism/

Priest sues Perth Archbishop

From Australia-

Rev. Terry McAuliffe is suing Perth Archbishop Roger Herft for defamation, claiming his reputation was irretrievably damaged by the head of Perth's Anglican Church.

Mr McAuliffe hit the headlines last year when he initially refused to hand back a valuable diamond bracelet he found in Inglewood - instead offering to sell it back to owners Clyde and Lesley Bevan for half its value.

More here-

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/24853788/priest-sues-perth-archbishop/

Nautilus Design On St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral Church In Boston Sparks Controversy

From Boston-

The pediment of The Cathedral Church Of St. Paul in Boston has stood empty for 190 years, as the builders of the impressive Greek Revival structure ran out of money during the initial construction phase. It was finally completed in May of 2013, but since then it's come under fire for its unusual design, which features a backlit nautilus sculpture.

Though the original plans for the Episcopal church called for a classical relief of St. Paul preaching to King Agrippa, the current design is absent of traditional Christian iconography, featuring instead the clean lines of a seashell's interior which allude to Oliver Wendell Holme's poem "The Chambered Nautilus," writes The Living Church in a review.

Reverend and Dean of St. Paul's, Jep Streit, told Radio Boston that the nautilus was "the perfect metaphor for a spiritual journey." He elaborated, "The nautilus is evocative of so much more than the church. It creates its shell by outgrowing each previous compartment. It’s always moving into a new, bigger space, and it can never go back."

Father Tim Schenck, an Episcopal priest, explained in a post on his Clergy Family Confidential blog why he finds the choice of a nautilus as a spiritual symbol to be "contrived" and "empty." He wrote, "I’m still not sure why Paul was pushed aside for a seashell."

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/01/nautilus-st-pauls-episcopal-church_n_4702350.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

Chicago burger garnished with Communion wafer

From The "You Can't Make This Stuff Up Department" Chicago Division-

 A Chicago restaurant has cooked up a controversial burger of the month for October, garnishing it with an unconsecrated Communion wafer and a red wine reduction sauce.

Kuma's Corner, a foodie destination with just a few tables, names its hamburgers after heavy metal bands. For October, the restaurant chose to name the burger after the Swedish band Ghost. Members of the band dress in religious robes and wear skeleton face makeup.

It's in poor taste, said Jeff Young of New Orleans who runs the blog Catholic Foodie.

"It's not, for us, the Eucharist," Young said. "However this wafer is a symbol. There's a cross on it. It's like taking a flag and burning a flag."

Luke Tobias, Kuma's Corner director of operations, said the restaurant never wanted to offend anyone. He said reaction has been a "mixed bag," but more positive than negative.

More here-

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/04/chicago-burger-communion-wafer/2922075/

Three years later, Anglicans get new bishop

From Australia-

The Right Reverend John Ford will become the new head of the diocese and replace former bishop Ross Davies, who resigned amid a storm of controversy in September 2010.

Bishop Ford is currently serving as the Bishop of Plymouth in the Diocese of Exeter, in England.

He was elected unanimously by the Bishop's Election Committee.

The Venerable Richard Seabrook has been administrator of the Murray Diocese since Bishop Davies' resignation and said he was pleased to finally have a replacement.

"I am delighted the election of a new bishop has taken place and look forward, after such a long time without a bishop, to welcoming Bishop Ford to the Diocese of the Murray to lead the priests and the people here and build of the work of God's church," Father Seabrook said.

More here-

http://www.murrayvalleystandard.com.au/story/1613692/three-years-later-anglicans-get-new-bishop/?cs=1527

For Episcopal Church’s Leader, a Sermon Leads to More Dissent

From The New York Times-

Curaçao, the Dutch island off the Venezuelan coast, is nice this time of year. Actually, it’s nice any time of year. The temperature is in the low 80s and the seawater is nearly as warm. It must be a nice place to give a sermon. But for Katharine Jefferts Schori, since 2006 the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, memories of Curaçao will always be associated with the controversy that greeted her upon her return — another controversy in what has already been a rocky tenure as the head of a troubled, shrinking church.

On May 12, Bishop Jefferts Schori preached in All Saints Church in the town of Steenrijk. Curaçao is part of the Episcopal Church’s small Diocese of Venezuela, and Bishop Jefferts Schori was making a pastoral call to a distant congregation. Her text was Acts 16:16-34, which includes the story of a slave woman and fortuneteller whom Paul encounters in Philippi, Macedonia.

As Luke, who Christians believe is the narrator, tells the story, the woman “had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortunetelling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, ‘These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.’ ” After many days, “Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.”

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/us/for-episcopal-churchs-leader-a-sermon-leads-to-more-controversy.html?_r=0

Archbishop of Canterbury 'should intervene in Dean dispute'

From The BBC

The Archbishop of Canterbury has been asked to help reconcile Jersey's Dean and the Diocese of Winchester.

The Dean, the Very Reverend Bob Key, was suspended by the Bishop of Winchester over his handling of a vulnerable adult's complaint he was abused by a churchwarden.

Archbishop Justin Welby said he would not intervene in the bishop's handling of the situation.

Senator Philip Bailhache said the move could hit island and church relations.

'Christians concerned'

The Bishop of Winchester, Tim Dakin, withdrew Mr Key's commission in March.

It followed the publication of a diocesan report which found failures in the implementation of policies relating to a complaint by a vulnerable adult parishioner in 2008 about the alleged abusive behaviour of a churchwarden.

More here-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-22142529

Archbishop compares C of E to shouting family

From The Church Times-

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that he has "no magic wand", and that there is "no silver bullet" to resolve the conflicts in the Church of England or the Anglican Communion.

Speaking to the Church Times at the "Faith in Conflict" conference at Coventry Cathedral, Archbishop Welby sought to play down the "huge expectation" that people had placed on his experience of conflict-resolution. He said that he could only "help to set the tone".

He said that he would seek to put his past work in reconciliation to good use. Nevertheless, he continued: "Reconciliation is never ever delivered by one person or a group of people. Reconciliation is something that is done by people in the conflict with each other.

"Sometimes somebody provides marginal help in facilitating that. I have sometimes been able to provide marginal help in facilitating people to reconcile, but they reconcile.

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/1-march/news/uk/archbishop-compares-c-of-e-to-shouting-family

Crisis Deepens in Episcopal Church

From Liberia-

The crisis in the St. Augustine Episcopal Church on Bardnesville Road is said to be deepening by the day as a result of dissatisfaction of some members of the Church.

Members of the Church especially men have been at odd with the Priest-in-Charge G. Nyema Harmon over the manner in which the affairs of the Church is being administered.

Reports gathered by this paper Sunday, February 3, 2013 say the Vestry (Church administrators) of the St. Augustine Episcopal Church has elected Rev. G. Nyema Harmon as Rector of the St. Augustine Parish something which might stall a pending truce with Episcopal Bishop Jonathan B.B. Hart.

Sources closed to the Episcopal Church of Liberia say Rev. Hart has called for a meeting with the men of the St. Augustine Episcopal Church to find a way out of the deepening crisis, but the men have insisted that Bishop Hart replace Rev Harmon if the Church must be peaceful.

The St. Augustine Episcopal Church Men have been pressing for their priest to follow the canon (constitution) of the Episcopal Church of Liberia but the men's request seems not to be yielding results.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201302040966.html