Mormon Leader Calls Gay Marriage 'Immoral'

From Huffington-

More states and nations may legalize same-sex marriage, but human laws cannot "make moral what God has declared immoral," a top Mormon leader said Sunday.

Apostle Dallin H. Oaks, in an address at the Mormon church's biannual general conference in Salt Lake City, said the faith's stance against same-sex marriage might be misunderstood or prompt accusations of bigotry.

But he urged members to remember that their first priority is to serve God, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' policies are based on God's decrees, The Salt Lake Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/1huO8fj ).

An LDS eternal perspective does not allow members "to condone such behaviors or to find justification in the laws that permit them," Oaks said. "And unlike other organizations that can change their policies and even their doctrines, our policies are determined by the truths God has declared to be unchangeable."

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/06/mormon-gay-marriage-_n_4055074.html

Women want to attend Mormon priesthood meeting in October

From Salt Lake City-

Some Mormon feminists are moving their drive for ordination in the LDS Church from talk to action: They are pushing for tickets to the all-male priesthood meeting at the faith’s October General Conference.

First, the group wishes to publicize the fact that women are not permitted to attend the semiannual priesthood meeting, says Kate Kelly, an international human rights lawyer in Washington, D.C., active Mormon and one of Ordain Women’s founders. "Some Mormon women may not know that."

Second, since the meeting is open to men who are "prospective elders," Kelly says, "were we permitted to attend, it would help church leaders see us as the prospective elders we believe ourselves to be."

The point is "to demonstrate to leaders that we are ready for this change, that our commitment is not just online but with our bodies." she says. "We want the [church] leadership to prayerfully consider ordination of women."

In April, the LDS Church responded to the Ordain Women movement by emphasizing that God loves both genders equally.


More here-


http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsfaithblog/56795670-180/women-says-church-kelly.html.csp

Sudanese in Utah celebrate Resurrection during Easter services

From Utah-

Contemporary Sudanese music blared from speakers in the sanctuary of the All Saints Episcopal Church Sunday, as live singers welcomed visitors and regular congregants to Easter services.

Outside the sanctuary, a sign read: "Prior to the service you are invited to the sanctuary for prayer and quiet reflection."

The congregation of around 70 to 80 people expanded to more than twice its size during Sunday's service as members of 10 different tribes of the Sudanese community gathered.

Members of the congregation spoke Dinka, Arabic and Ethiopian, but the service was conducted in English. Despite their differences, Bishop Scott Hayashi reminded those in in the congregation that they all speak a unifying language. 

"We're one people — a new people whose language is the language of life. It is the language of God."

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865577169/Sudanese-in-Utah-celebrate-Resurrection-during-Easter-services.html

Changes come to St. George soup kitchen

From Utah-

Those being served their meals may not have noticed, but a lot has changed behind the scenes at St. George's free public soup kitchen.

While the soup kitchen still provides hot meals to the needy three days a week at Grace Episcopal Church, its management has undergone some significant changes in recent weeks. Those changes, organizers say, will foster stability and provide certainty to what was previously an uncertain future.

"It's as strong now as it was," said Jim Roberts, who has been serving as the soup kitchen's co-director for the past two weeks. "By the first of May, we'll be twice as strong."

Earlier this month, nonprofit shelter and food pantry Dixie Care and Share took over operation of the soup kitchen, which had been operated by local restaurant owners Rich and Jessica Rivera since 2009. The Care and Share will ensure the soup kitchen keeps its nonprofit, tax-exempt status and will support the kitchen's management by funding the position of soup kitchen director.

More here-

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20120325/NEWS01/203250322/Changes-come-St-George-soup-kitchen?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

Salt Lake City chosen for 2015 Episcopal General Convention

From Utah-

The Episcopal Church Executive Council announced during its February meeting in Fort Worth that the 2015 General Convention of the Episcopal Church will be held in Salt Lake City.

General Conventions of the Episcopal Church are held every three years, traditionally in July. The 2012 General Convention is being held in Indianapolis. The most recent General Convention was held in 2009 in Anaheim, Calif.

"This is really a tremendous thing, both for the Episcopal Church in Utah and for Salt Lake City," said the Rt. Rev. Scott B. Hayashi, Bishop of Utah. "We could potentially have as many as 20,000 people come to Salt Lake from all around the Episcopal Church. I'm pleased that they will be able to get a sense of our ministry here, and see what a wonderful place Utah is to live."

The Convention is expected to take place in July 2015. The exact dates will be determined later.

The General Convention usually lasts about 10 days and brings to town with it thousands of delegates and their families, vendors, journalists and religious leaders from throughout the world. Convention sessions are open to the public and traditionally attract hundreds of observers.

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765551733/Salt-Lake-City-chosen-for-2015-Episcopal-General-Convention.html

Episcopal convention to bring 10,000 to Salt Lake City in 2015

From Salt Lake City-

The Episcopal Church has selected Salt Lake City as the site for its 2015 General Convention, an event that will bring approximately 10,000 people and generate $9.23 million in spending.

The event, June 19-July 6, will utilize all components of the Salt Palace Convention Center, which will host exhibits, workshops and various committee meetings.

The convention is a bicameral legislative and business meeting that has been staged every three years since 1785.

Lori Ionnitiu, general convention manager of the Episcopal Church, has worked with Visit Salt Lake on various conventions since 1998.

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/53383732-79/convention-salt-lake-episcopal.html.csp

Soup kitchen plans holiday feast

From Utah-

The supplies and donations may fluctuate, but Rich and Jessica Rivera have spent the past three years making sure the St. George Soup Kitchen has fed Southern Utah's needy, especially during the holidays.

Though the economy has struggled since the couple took over the soup kitchen in 2009, they have managed to navigate difficult financial waters to continue helping the growing number of people who need a warm meal during the holidays.

"The economic climate adds another layer of clientele," Rich Rivera said Monday while stocking supplies in a food pantry at Grace Episcopal Church. "There's a lot more working poor, and you get more children. You never want to see that."

On Wednesday, the soup kitchen will host its third Thanksgiving feast at Grace Episcopal Church, a gathering where about 200 to 250 people are served a free Thanksgiving meal consisting of turkey, potatoes, stuffing and all the other fixings.

More here-

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20111122/NEWS01/111220324/Soup-kitchen-plans-holiday-feast?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

Salt Lake City cathedral gets new dean and rector

From ENS-

The Very Rev. Raymond Joe Waldon, Jr. was installed and seated Nov. 14 as dean and rector of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Mark in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He most recently served at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Talladega, Alabama. Waldon also led rebuilding efforts in Alabama after the devastating tornado of this past spring, according to a press release.

While serving as rector of Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Pensacola, Florida, he assisted with rebuilding efforts in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. After Hurricane Ivan he opened the doors of the parish to house a local Lutheran congregation whose church building was severely damaged.

In his 16-year career, Waldon has served on various diocesan committees and represented the bishop during companion efforts for the Diocese of Western Louisiana in the Dominican Republic. He has also worked for various bishops in church growth and parish intervention. Prior to ordination he was a successful radio and television broadcaster.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80263_130503_ENG_HTM.htm

Utah churches tackle a weighty issue: Obesity

From Utah-

It’s time to cut the fat out of funeral potatoes and shrink the slices of cake — all in the name of God.

Church pews are Utah’s newest battleground to push back against potbellies, starting with the Episcopal Diocese of Utah.

With 5,000 members in 25 congregations, it is the first religious organization to formally agree to work with the state and others to prevent obesity among its members.

To Episcopal Bishop Scott Hayashi, emphasizing health is a natural fit for a diocese that established Utah’s first hospital (St. Mark’s) and for a faith that considers the human body a "temple of the Holy Spirit."

"From the beginning of the diocese of Utah, we have been a people who have worked together with God and with each other to save lives," he said recently, noting that the church also supports food pantries, domestic-violence shelters and 12-step programs. "Obesity is one of the ways in which human lives are put in jeopardy."

Hayashi said he will ask members to be healthy — to make healthy food for potlucks, choose smaller plates at coffee hours, offer apple slices and other fruit instead of cookies, grow gardens. And to be active.

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/52706027-80/health-church-utah-god.html.cspv

Local soup kitchen in need

From Utah-

As many impoverished residents continue to rely on the St. George Soup Kitchen for free meals, representatives from the organization are calling upon members of the community to support their goal of feeding the hungry.

Rich Rivera, executive director of the charitable organization, said community donations for the soup kitchen have declined by about 30 percent from last year.

"We continue to struggle to raise funds," he said. "The kitchen kind of just limps along."

Offering free lunch to members of the community three times weekly at Grace Episcopal Church in St. George, Rivera said the soup kitchen serves as a valuable resource to a number of residents.

More here-

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20110713/NEWS01/107130318

Utah Episcopalians get new “sumo” bishop

From Salt Lake-

Amid the pageantry and rousing hymns of a centuries-old liturgy to consecrate a new bishop, hundreds of Utah Episcopalians learned something Saturday about their new, slightly built shepherd:

Bishop Scott Hayashi’s avatar — the figure he chooses to represent him — is a sumo wrestler.

“That tells you all kinds of things about your new bishop,” mused the Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, the bishop of Chicago whom Hayashi served as a canon the past five years.

Lee preached the sermon to the 700 Episcopalians, 25 visiting bishops and leaders of other Salt Lake City faiths who gathered at The Grand America Hotel. But he also primed those in Hayashi’s flock for what to expect of the church’s 11th bishop.

“You’ve elected a bishop whose sense of humor will delight you. You will discover that this playfulness enfolds a heart of very serious purpose,” Lee said.

“His sheer competence will amaze you and an apparently endless supply of energy will dazzle you,” said Lee. “He will pray with you at the drop of the hat.

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50622187-75/bishop-hayashi-church-episcopal.html.csp

New Episcopal leader to be installed

From Utah-

The Episcopal Church of Utah's 11th bishop — Canon Scott B. Hayashi — is a minister who will clearly get to know his church members.

That's what has impressed the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop and primate of the 14 countries that make up the Episcopal Church, about the new Utah religious leader.

"I think the Diocese of Utah has chosen a wonderful priest," she said in an interview Friday afternoon. "I look forward to great things."

The Rev. Hayashi will be consecrated as the 11th bishop in a special service, today at 11 a.m., in the Grand America ballroom, 555 S. Main.

The service will begin with a procession of banners, bishops from around the country, Native Americans and clergy from multiple faiths. The Most Rev. Schori will be the chief consecrator as the Rev. Hayashi becomes bishop of Utah.

The 10th bishop of Utah, the Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish, is retiring and will turn over her ceremonial "crozier" (a staff resembling a shepherd's crook) to the new bishop as part of the traditional ritualistic service.

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700079148/New-Episcopal-leader-to-be-installed.html

New Episcopal bishop will bring Ogden experience to Utah

From Utah-

The Rev. Canon Scott B. Hayashi has special ties to Ogden, and his good feelings toward the city are a big part of why he was interested in what will be his new job.
Hayashi will be installed Saturday as the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah.

Hayashi served as the rector for the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Ogden from 1989 to 1998.

"I really enjoyed being in Ogden," he said. "It was such a wonderful period in my life to be the rector."

He described Ogden as "a big city you could get your arms around," and he named a number of government officials and families with whom he made friends while he was the Good Shepherd rector.

"These were just solid sorts of individuals," he said of his friends while living in Ogden. "There was a whole group of people that were solid."

The father of three said his youngest child was born while he served in Ogden.

Hayashi said Saturday's festivities will be a bit rare for Utahns to see. There have been only 10 such events in the Utah diocese's history since 1867.

More here-

http://www.standard.net/topics/religion/2010/11/04/new-episcopal-bishop-will-bring-ogden-experience-utah

Soon-to-be Episcopal bishop: Don’t let LDS Church define us

From Utah-

The first time the Rev. Scott Hayashi served Utah’s Episcopal Church, he was puzzled by some parishioners’ tendency to define themselves by what they weren’t: Mormons.

He even remembers pointing out the silliness in a sermon at Ogden’s Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, where he was rector from 1989 to 1998.

“I asked, ‘Does this mean if the LDS people are against gambling, we should be for it? If the LDS people have the Mormon diet and believe whole grains, moderation in eating and getting exercise is what you should do, that means we should eat all high-fat foods and not exercise? If the LDS people are against smoking, that means we should all be smoking like chimneys? Does this make any sense?’ ”

The next bishop for Utah’s 5,200 Episcopalians now frames the question this way: “Shouldn’t we have an identity that is formed on the positive, as opposed to being against something?”

Hayashi, 56, will be consecrated as Utah’s 11th Episcopal bishop Saturday by the Episcopal Church’s presiding bishop, the Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, in a ceremony at The Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City.

Bishops and clergy from throughout the nation as well as Mexico and Myanmar are expected to be among the 700-plus attending the event.

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50583307-76/hayashi-episcopal-church-bishop.html.csp

A bishop’s trials and triumphs

From Utah-

In the bleakest hours of her 14-year tenure as Episcopal bishop of Utah, the Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish was tempted to resign.

All around the diocese, priests and lay people felt neglected and angry with what they saw as betrayal — Irish’s secret slip into alcoholism just three years into her term.

When she returned in the spring of 2000 after several months of out-of-state treatment, plenty of people were hoping she would step aside.

“It was pretty bad when I came back,” Irish acknowledges. “There were some testy times.”

And yet Irish refused to walk away from the job she felt called to in 1996 — her charge to shepherd the 6,000 Utahns who practiced the faith she had adopted as an adult.

“I knew I didn’t want to grow old and feel I’d failed,” Irish says. “That’s all I can tell you. That was not going to happen to me.”

Now, Irish, 70, is retiring on her own terms.

On Nov. 6, her successor, the Rev. Scott Hayashi, will be consecrated, and Irish and her husband — the Rev. Frederick Quinn, a retired foreign-service officer whom Irish married in 2001 — will move to Washington, D.C.

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49773500-76/irish-bishop-episcopal-church.html.csp

Utah diocese elects Scott B. Hayashi as bishop

From Utah- ELO-

The Rev. Canon Scott Byron Hayashi was elected May 22 as 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, pending required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church.
Hayashi, 56, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Chicago since 2005, was elected on the second ballot out of a field of three nominees. A fourth nominee, the Rev. Canon Mary Sulerud, withdrew after the first ballot.

Hayashi received 73 of 128 votes cast in the lay order and 20 of 38 cast in the clergy order at a special electing convention at St. Mark's Cathedral in Salt Lake City. An election on that ballot required 65 in the lay order and 20 in the clergy order.

Pending a successful consent process Hayashi would succeed the Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish, 70, who was elected in 1996 and a year ago announced her decision to retire.

During nearly 25 years of ordained ministry Hayashi has served inner city, suburban and rural congregations in California, Utah and Washington.

After his 1984 ordination to the diaconate (June 2) and priesthood (Oct. 1) he served for five years as vicar to two small rural mission congregations -- St. John the Baptist Episcopal Mission in Ephrata, and St. Dunstan's Episcopal Mission in Grand Coulee -- in the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, Washington.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_122373_ENG_HTM.htm

Election results here-

http://www.episcopal-ut.org/bishop_election

Episcopal diocese to elect new bishop this weekend

More from Utah-

A new bishop will be chosen for Utah's Episcopal diocese Saturday, replacing retiring Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish, who has served the region for 14 years.

Tanner Irish submitted her resignation in January of last year and was the first woman west of the Potomac River to be elected as an Episcopal bishop, signaling a trend for the ordination of women in the church. Saturday's election, which is the 11th in 143 years, will be the pinnacle of a nearly two-year process that is akin to selecting the Queen of England, since both processes have roots in the Anglican Church, according to Utah diocese spokesman Craig Wirth.

"In the Episcopal Church, the bishop is the liturgical and business leader of the whole diocese," he said. "The bishop really sets the tone for how things are done."

Utah's diocese, he said, has been known as progressive.

Delegates from 25 parishes across the state and in Page, Ariz., will vote on the four final candidates until a majority is reached. Wirth said it is doubtful that a new bishop will be selected after only one vote, and traditionally it takes two or three, "if history repeats itself." As voting continues and if delegates cannot agree on one candidate, candidates have the right to withdraw from the election.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700034051/Episcopal-diocese-to-elect-bishop.html

Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish becomes first woman to win Giant in Our City Award

From Utah-

Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish became the first individual female recipient of the Giant in Our City Award, presented Thursday by the Salt Lake Chamber.

"When they first announced that, I felt deeply that it recognized all women," Bishop Tanner Irish said. "I still feel that way, and that's why it's important to me. It's not about me. It's about the larger community, not only of women, but all people."

Bishop Tanner Irish is the 10th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah and the first woman to lead a major denomination in Utah. She joined the likes of LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, Larry H. Miller, Jon Huntsman Sr., Mitt Romney, Ellis Ivory and Roger Boyer when she became the 30th recipient of the award during a reception at the Grand America Hotel Thursday night. According to the Salt Lake Chamber, Bishop Tanner Irish's greatest passion is championing people, which makes her a perfect recipient of the award.

When speaking about her life, she said it's impossible to choose her favorite accomplishment, but she can choose three of her favorites.

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700034058/Tanner-Irish-receives-award.html

Next bishop's big challenge: Grow a shrinking Episcopal Church in Utah

More here-

The question put to the Rev. Michael Barlowe is on the minds of many Utahns as they quiz four candidates for bishop:

"Where do you see the Episcopal Church in Utah in three years?"

Barlowe's answer, given recently to a group of Episcopalians in Ogden, is both a joke about the state's culture and a wish -- and it is greeted with applause:

"I'm not the prophet," he says. "But I would hope we'd be a much larger church."

Indeed, growing the church is very much on the minds of Utah Episcopalians as they come to the end of an 18-month process of selecting a new bishop to replace the Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish, Utah's 10th Episcopal bishop.

The 11th bishop will be elected May 22 in a special convention at St. Mark's Cathedral in Salt Lake City.

Like many mainline Protestant denominations, the Episcopal Church is losing members.
Utah, which had about 6,000 Episcopalians in 1996, when Tanner Irish was consecrated, now is down to 5,200 -- a 13 percent drop during a period in which the state's population swelled by 37 percent.

On any given Sunday, notes the Rev. Scott Hayashi, another of the finalists, only 1,600 are in the pews of Utah's 25 Episcopal congregations.

And yet, for Episcopalians, growth is not so much about having numbers to boast about as sharing what members see as a historical, richly liturgical and welcoming form of Christianity.
Rather than talking numbers, they talk about congregational development and mission, two priorities stressed by all four candidates.

Episcopalians meet bishop finalists

From Utah-

Members of Utah's Episcopal Diocese got acquainted Tuesday with a diverse group of candidates from which to select their next bishop, asking about everything from budgeting expertise to views on same-sex marriage and ordination.

The latter question is especially pertinent because one of the candidates — the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe of California — married his longtime partner in 2008, before Proposition 8 banned gay marriage in that state.

Barlowe and three other finalists spoke during rotating question and answer sessions at St. Mark's Cathedral Tuesday night. He and two of the three other candidates said they would support and allow the church's blessing of same-sex unions and that they would ordain gay clergy in the Beehive State.

The Rev. Canon Juan Andrés Quevedo-Boscho, of the Diocese of Long Island, N.Y., was the only candidate who declined to answer the question, saying it would be "irresponsible" until he has learned more about local Episcopalians and what their desires are.

The Rev. Canon Scott B. Hayashi, of the Diocese of Chicago and the Rev. Canon Mary C.M. Sulerud, of the Diocese of Washington, D.C., agreed with Barlowe that they would support the church's blessing for such unions.

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700029739/Episcopalians-meet-bishop-finalists.html