Morristown churches come together to feed people still affected by Sandy

From New Jersey-

It was a road trip, of sorts.

Volunteers from St. Margaret’s Church on Sussex Avenue traveled around the Morristown Green on Tuesday, to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on South Street. They took a turn serving dinner to residents who still are without power in the wake of last month’s Hurricane Sandy.

St. Peter’s began serving these meals on Nov. 2.  Morristown police convened a meeting of area clergy this week, and a number of churches have offered to join the effort at St. Peter’s, which features a large hall and a modern kitchen, named for late parishioner Leni Muscarella.

“We’re very happy to do it,” said the Rev. Hernan Arias, pastor of the Catholic congregation at St. Margaret’s, and an alumnus of Morristown High School. “St. Margaret’s is not just a little church where we gather to do prayers. We also reach out. As Christians, we are to share in the pain and suffering and difficulties of people. This is what it means to be a Christian.”

More here-

http://morristowngreen.com/2012/11/07/morristown-churches-come-together-to-feed-people-still-affected-by-sandy/

PAWLEYS ISLAND,SC: All Saints votes to unite with ACNA

From David Virtue-

Now once again, All Saints parishioners are in the midst of another change, another transition in their quest to follow Christ more perfectly. A congregational vote taken Monday (Nov. 5) has set the church on course to affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and come under the provincial jurisdictional authority of Archbishop Robert Duncan.

This was not been an easy decision. Two proposals, each presenting a way for All Saints to step out into the future, were presented. When the vote was tallied, 322 All Saints members voted for Proposal #1 calling for associating with ACNA; while 229 ballots were cast for Proposal #2 to make the Anglican Mission in the America's Society for Mission and Apostolic Works their ultimate spiritual home. Church bylaws dictate that a 51 percent margin, not just fifty-plus-one percent margin, is needed to effect the change of status. The target number was 316.

In recent years, All Saints' Way of the Cross has been painful and difficult as the congregation strove to disengage from The Episcopal Church and find its place in the unfolding Anglican realignment in the United States. In the end, parishioners and vestry members were so divided, as they attempted to discern the Lord's will in their ongoing congregational life, that a large ruckus church-family fight ensued. Lines were drawn, feelings were hurt, misunderstandings cropped up, accusations flew, and the rumor mill was operating at full tilt.

More here-

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=16776#.UJuY0kJOxH8

Episcopal Church ACC members reflect on ‘congenial’ meeting

From ENS-

The 15th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council that concluded here Nov. 7 (local time) after 12 days was “remarkable,” according to the four Episcopal Church members of the council.
The Episcopal Church was represented at the meeting by the Rev. Gay Jennings of Ohio, Josephine Hicks of North Carolina and Bishop Ian Douglas of Connecticut.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori attended the meeting in her role as a member of the Anglican Communion Standing Committee, which met here before the start of the ACC meeting. Douglas is also a member of the Standing Committee.

Hicks, whose term expired at the end of this meeting, is the longest-serving member, although Douglas has been present at four ACC meetings in various capacities. Hicks’ term began with the 2005 meeting in Nottingham, England when ACC members from the U.S.-based Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada attended as observers after both provinces voluntarily withdrew their participation in keeping with a request from the Anglican Primates — or principal archbishops — to allow space for consideration of sexuality issues.

That first meeting, she told Episcopal News Service during an interview with all four Episcopal Church members before the end of the Auckland meeting, was “exceedingly tense and awkward, although it had its marvelous moments.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/11/08/episcopal-church-acc-members-reflect-on-congenial-meeting/

Dumbing Abandonment Down

From The Living Church-

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori notified Bishop Mark Lawrence on October 15 that the Disciplinary Board for Bishops had certified that he “abandoned the Church” by certain actions he took in 2010 and 2011. Few would deny that was an eventful exchange: pursuant to the abandonment canon, the Presiding Bishop restricted his ministry, which suspends him until the House of Bishops can meet to vote on whether to remove him completely. These steps immediately triggered existing decisions by South Carolina’s standing committee that separated the diocese legally from the Episcopal Church and called a special diocesan convention within 30 days.

These sudden developments raise many questions, including why the disciplinary board took this step, how those opposed to Bishop Lawrence and South Carolina justify the summary imposition of the ultimate ecclesiastical penalty, and what those sympathetic to South Carolina are to make of the diocese’s response.

The place to start in grappling with these questions is with the specific charges leveled by the disciplinary board, which has welcomed several new appointees as others completed their service. The first charge relates to changes made in 2010 and 2011 to the diocesan constitution that modified but did not remove the “accession clause,” the provision that recites that South Carolina accedes to the Episcopal Church’s constitution. The second charge concerns an amendment to the corporate charter — the diocese is incorporated under South Carolina law — replacing a reference to the Episcopal Church’s constitution with one to the diocesan constitution. Neither of these first two charges was new. Both were considered by the disciplinary board only last year when it refused to certify Bishop Lawrence for abandonment after concluding that those were the actions of the diocese, not the bishop.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/dumbing-abandonment-down

Final day of ACC-15: "About the relationships, always about the relationships"

From ACNS-

On the last morning of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Auckland, New Zealand the members considered a final set of resolutions, many of which reflected on work and conversations that had occurred earlier in the meeting.

Among the resolutions that were passed were a revision to the Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion to include references to peace conflict transformation and reconciliation. This had been requested by the last ACC meeting.

The Council unanimously agreed to adjust the wording of the current fourth Mark of Mission to read:
To seek to transform unjust structures of society to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.

Among the other resolutions passed was a call for an increase of lay participation in the commission, councils and other bodies of the Anglican Communion and the hope that a Director of Theological Education be appointed to the staff of the Communion Office.

Two final resolutions gathered a great deal of support and unanimous agreement.

The first was moved by Harriet Baka Nathan of the Congo entitled “practical strategies for implementing the Marks of Mission”. It called on the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion to identify practical strategies to support the provinces of the Communion in the areas of land disputes; the trade, diffusion and misuse of small arms; border disputes; narcotics and alcohol abuse; youth unemployment and crime; and the trafficking, abuse and abduction of children and women.

More here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/11/7/ACNS5239

Archbishop of Canterbury: "My successor needs a newspaper in one hand and a Bible in the other"

From ACNS-


Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said today that his successor was going to have to map the Biblical vision of humanity and community onto the worst situations in society.

Speaking at the final media conference after the end of the Anglican Consultative Council in New Zealand, Archbishop Williams said the issues discussed at the meeting--including environmental change and ending domestic violence--were "actually questions about what kind of humanity we're seeking to promote and serve, which is a deeply Christian question."

He said he thought that when people were probing the church on certain issues, they were actually asking how the church could help them “be really human”.

“We believe as a church we have unparalleled resources for enriching humanity that way.”
In response to a question about what qualities the next Archbishop of Canterbury needs to have, he quoted Karl Barth who he described as "the greatest theologian of the 20th century."

"I think it was put very well by a theologian of the last century who said, 'You have to preach with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other'.

More here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/11/7/ACNS5240

‘Communion actually works,’ ACC members conclude

From ENS-

One of the headlines for the Anglican Consultative Council’s 12-day meeting that concluded here on Nov. 7 (local time) ought to be, in the words of one of its members, “the Anglican Communion actually works.”

“It’s alive and well, it’s exciting, it’s mission-focused … I want to honor the fact that this time we are really together,” said Suzanne Lawson, Anglican Church of Canada, during a reflection session just before the end of the meeting.

The Rev. Maria Christina Borges Alvarez of Cuba told the council that the message she will take back home is about “the great commitment the Anglican Communion has in terms of gender justice, the elimination of violence — environment justice as well.”

The council passed resolutions related to each of those issues during its Oct. 27-Nov. 7 meeting held primarily at Holy Trinity Cathedral here.

And while the Very Rev. Herman Browne, Church of the Province of West Africa, said he thought the ACC “is becoming more and more a forum where real diversities can be heard and valued,” the Ven. Canon Moses Chin, Church of the Province of South East Asia, remarked on “how long it takes to agree on anything.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/11/07/communion-actually-works-acc-members-conclude/

Robert W. Castle Jr., Episcopal Priest Who Turned Anger Into Activism, Dies at 83

From The New York Times-

The Rev. Robert W. Castle Jr., an outspoken Episcopal priest in Harlem who was the subject of Jonathan Demme’s acclaimed 1992 documentary, “Cousin Bobby” — and who went on to a film acting career as a result — died on Oct. 27 at his home in Holland, Vt. He was 83.

The death, of natural causes, was confirmed by his family.

Father Castle, who really was Mr. Demme’s cousin, was the rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, a largely black and Hispanic congregation on West 126th Street, near Broadway, from 1987 until his retirement in 2000.

There, he ran an energetic ministry in which spirituality and social action were indissolubly linked, relishing his role as “an obdurate whirligig fulminating against the establishment,” as N. R. Kleinfield wrote in The New York Times in 1996.

Mr. Demme, the Oscar-winning director of “The Silence of the Lambs” and other feature films, had been out of touch with his cousin for decades. In the late 1980s, he read a newspaper article describing Father Castle’s practice of plastering irate notices on the windshields of cars that were parked illegally on the church sidewalk, blocking congregants’ access.

More Here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/nyregion/robert-w-castle-jr-outspoken-harlem-priest-dies-at-83.html?_r=0

Nigerian Christians ask for prayer to end violence

From Christian Today-

Nigerian Anglicans are asking Christians around the world to pray and fast for an end to violence in the country.

Northern Nigeria has been hit by a wave of deadly attacks on churches, mostly blamed on Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

At least seven people were killed and dozens injured in a suicide bombing during mass at a Catholic church in Kaduna last week.

Archbishop Ikechi Nwachukwu Nwosu told the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meeting in New Zealand that the situation for Christians in Nigeria was "terrible".

He appealed to Christians to lobby their governments to intervene in the situation in Nigeria.

Christians in the country are uniting in a week of prayer and fasting starting on 12 November and they are asking believers around the world to join with them.

Fellow ACC member Abraham Yisa said: "Churches are being bombed every Sunday, especially in the northern part [of the country].

"The situation is that people are refusing to go to church or when they go to church they don’t know whether they’ll return home. Services during the week are disrupted, people are afraid to worship."
More here-

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/nigerian.christians.ask.for.prayer.to.end.violence/30971.htm

ACC: New members of the Standing Committee appointed

From ACNS-

On the penultimate day of the Anglican Consultative Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand the members of the Council elected six members to serve on the Standing Committee. It is expected that the Standing Committee will hold its first meeting in April or May of 2013.

The council consist of 15 members including:

President: The Archbishop of Canterbury
Chair: Bishop James Tengatenga, Central Africa
Vice Chair: Canon Elizabeth Paver, England
The Rt Revd Ian T Douglas, a continuing member from The Episcopal Church
There are five Primates elected by the Primates:
The Most Revd Dr Paul Kwong (Hong Kong)
The Most Revd Sammuel Azariah (Pakistan)
The Most Revd David Chillingworth (Scotland)
The Most Revd Dr Daniel Deng Bul Yak (Sudan)
The Most Revd Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori (The Episcopal Church)

Thirteen people were nominated and the following six were elected. As part of the nomination process each was asked to share an information paragraph.

More here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/11/6/ACNS5237

Smart money bets against the apocalypse

From Tennessee-

I recently ran across a very interesting sermon posted on a blog called "Below the Surface," by the Rev. Matthew Dutton-Gillette, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo, Calif. The sermon is called "Saints, Mayans and the End." It deals with the human fascination with apocalyptic events — the end of time as we know it.

Dictionary.com defines "apocalypse" as prophetic revelation, especially concerning a cataclysm in which the forces of good triumph over the forces of evil. In the Christian tradition, the word refers to the "Revelation of John." Today, however, the term apocalypse has come to be known as any destructive event that might bring an end to the world.

Predictions of world-ending events have popped up throughout history. The big one making the rounds these days is the one surrounding the Mayan calendar, which some say ends on Dec. 21 of this year, marking the end of civilization.

Some of the remaining Mayan elders say that the end of the calendar signals a new cycle, not a catastrophe — but what do they know? Modern students of apocalyptic events blend together the predictions of Nostradamus, a 16th-century pharmacist who wrote vague predictions in Latin, the Mayan calendar and who knows what other traditions as proof positive that things are about to end.

More here-

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/nov/06/david-hunter-smart-money-bets-against-the/

How Will the New Coptic Pope Deal with the New Islamist Egypt?

From Time-

Transparency on any level has never really been a modern Egyptian strongpoint. Crucial transitional moments — like Hosni Mubarak’s ouster or President Mohamed Morsy outmaneuvering his rival, the Defense Minister who was also head of the military junta, in August — tend to happen behind closed doors. The public generally finds out who the new boss is via opaque communiqué.

So the leadership of Egypt’s Coptic Church gets marks for conducting a truly transparent papal-selection process — literally and physically transparent. On Sunday morning, following a lengthy and lavish special Mass, the names of the remaining three candidates were written on pieces of paper. Each was folded and sealed inside a clear glass ball.

Read more:

http://world.time.com/2012/11/05/how-will-the-new-coptic-pope-deal-with-the-new-islamist-egypt/#ixzz2BRNxu1uZ

also here USA Today


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/11/04/egypt-coptic-christian-pope/1680103/

Prominent clergy taking part in Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts on Staten Island

From Staten Island-

Prominent clergy of many faiths have visited areas of Staten Island ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, consoling the victims and raising various donations for the needy.

Episcopal Bishop Andrew Dietsche was at Christ Church New Brighton on Sunday to help sort through donations, including a shipment of clothes collected by the West Side JCC in Manhattan. Deacon Beverly Neuhaus, the director of Richmond Senior Services, took the bishop to visit affected parishioners in South Beach, Midland Beach and Tottenville, including a stop at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Tottenville.

Episcopal Bishop Mark Sisk met the Rev. Roy Cole at St. John's Episcopal Church in Rosebank, which experienced the most storm damage of any Episcopal Church on the Island. The bishop was shown the steeple which was badly damaged by the hurricane. Bishop Sisk and Fr. Cole then visited Midland Beach and St. Stephen's Church.

More here-

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/many_faiths_are_praying_donati.html

Rayford High elected, installed as Fort Worth’s provisional bishop

From ENS-

The Rt. Rev. Rayford High was elected and installed as the third provisional bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth during the 30th Diocesan Convention Nov. 3 at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.

The convention was voting on the Sept. 19 recommendation of the diocesan Standing Committee, which had called High to serve as its next provisional bishop. High served as bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas from 2003-2011.

High succeeds the Rt. Rev C. Wallis Ohl, who retired as provisional bishop at the end of the diocesan convention. Ohl issued a call for the election of a bishop diocesan, a process that can take more than two years.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/11/05/rayford-high-elected-installed-as-fort-worths-provisional-bishop/

Episcopal Relief & Development supports Sandy relief efforts

From ENS-

Thanks to the generosity of Episcopalians from around the country, Episcopal Relief & Development is in the process of making emergency grants to impacted dioceses in support of parish-based relief activities following superstorm Sandy. In the United States, these funds will help congregations expand feeding ministries and facilitate the provision of shelter and transportation assistance for those in need. In the Caribbean, Episcopal Relief & Development support is helping to secure food, water and building materials for distribution in critically impacted areas.

Superstorm Sandy hit the Caribbean on Oct. 25 before turning north along the U.S. East Coast and making landfall in central New Jersey on Oct. 29, causing severe damage. At least 181 people were killed by the storm, including 110 in the United States. Episcopal Relief & Development has been working with leaders from the heavily impacted Episcopal dioceses of New York, Long Island, New Jersey, Newark and Connecticut to meet community needs. The organization also continues to support the Episcopal dioceses of Haiti and the Dominican Republic as they mobilize local resources and reach out to those hardest hit.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/11/05/episcopal-relief-development-supports-sandy-relief-efforts/

Five church properties sold, debt erased for Anglican Diocese of B.C.

From British Columbia-

A year ago, the Anglican Diocese of B.C. made the traumatic and dramatic decision to sell nine Vancouver Island church properties or see its $1.2-million debt escalate further.

The move has turned out to be a blessing, despite the turmoil it caused for members whose families had attended the historic congregations for generations.

Five of the nine church properties have sold, the accumulated debt of the diocese is gone, and its financial future and mission potential have been "helped tremendously" for the next several years, said Chris Pease, the diocese's asset manager.

Listed at $175,000 to $1.4 million, sale prices came "very close" to asking prices, he said.

In combination with cuts to expenditures, the diocese has paid off its accumulated debt, and will use some of the proceeds "to finance the annual operating deficit until revenues and expenses are back in balance," Pease said in an email.

Leases and future sales of the unsold properties will support ministry initiatives and upgrade and maintain buildings within the diocese.

Read more:

 http://www.timescolonist.com/Five+church+properties+sold+debt+erased+Anglican+Diocese/7487923/story.html#ixzz2BLRvQFEX

Archbishop of Canterbury: "Beware the danger of becoming less than we aspire to be as a Communion"

From ACNS-

In his final Presidential address, the Archbishop of Canterbury this evening told the Anglican Communion not to accept second best, but to seek a balance between corrective authority and enabling authority while still doing God’s work.

Speaking in St Mary’s Church1, Archbishop Williams said the fellowship of Anglican churches worldwide needed to “be aware of the danger of becoming less than we aspire to be as a Communion.”

“I think that we do aspire to be a consensual catholic and orthodox family,” he told the members of the Anglican Consultative Council gathered for evening prayer. “I believe we do aspire to be a family that lives in mutual respect and recognition. And to step back from that simply into a federal model...doesn’t seem to me to be the best and the greatest that God is asking from us as an Anglican family."

Archbishop Rowan said he believed Anglicans have a message to give the Christian world about how they can be “both catholic and orthodox and consensual, working in freedom, mutual respect and mutual restraint; without jeopardising the important local autonomy of our churches.”

More here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/11/5/ACNS5233

Episcopal Relief & Development Supports Impacted Dioceses after Superstorm Sandy

From ERD-

Episcopal Relief & Development is working alongside diocesan and parish leaders to distribute relief supplies, food and water aid to people directly impacted by Superstorm Sandy. The storm system hit the Caribbean on October 25 before turning north along the US East Coast and making landfall in central New Jersey on October 29, causing severe damage. At least 157 people were killed by the storm, including 88 in the US.

In Haiti, those still living in temporary shelters and tent camps established after the 2010 earthquake were among the hardest hit by the storm. The destruction of crops in the agricultural southern part of the country has led to concerns about high prices and potential shortages of fresh food. Episcopal Relief & Development, in collaboration with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, is sourcing food and water for distribution in critically impacted areas, and will help communities replace roofing and other materials lost to this latest crisis.

In the Episcopal Diocese of New York, Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting local diocesan and parish leaders in addressing difficulties caused by the fifth consecutive day of widespread power outages and lack of transportation. A major concern for the churches within the City of New York are people who live on upper floors in high rise apartment buildings and are unable to acquire or transport water and food to their homes. Relief efforts are underway to connect those communities in highly vulnerable parts of the New York City with church communities and volunteers who are able to provide and deliver supplies.

More here-

http://www.er-d.org/Supporting-Impacted-Dioceses-after-Sandy

New Haven church without walls serves homeless

From Connecticut-

Don Coviello makes the trip in from Milford every Sunday to worship in the Chapel on the Green.

The outdoor service aimed at the city’s homeless, where they can get something to eat and enjoy the camaraderie of a church community in addition to an Episcopal service, is what spirituality is all about, he said.

“This is a real church,” said Coviello, as he and his grandson, David Rivera, 15, participated in an art project, a special feature offered by Sarah Hovick and Evie Lindemann before the service this week.

The Chapel on the Green was celebrating four years in existence, and hasn’t missed a single Sunday except when Tropical Storm Irene came through last year.

It is part of the programs sponsored by the Trinity Episcopal Church.

“They are ministering to these people who would not have the experience of the Eucharist right outside. Some people feel strange about coming into church,” Coviello said.

More here-

http://nhregister.com/articles/2012/11/04/news/new_haven/doc5097440eaf659840324341.txt

Faith column: Recovering from Sandy

From Boston-

One of the perks of living next door to a church is easy access to candelabra. This may not seem like a big deal unless you're setting up a haunted house in your cellar or doing your best Liberace impression, but it comes in handy when the power goes out.

Here on Boston's South Shore, we were spared the worst of this week's "Frankenstorm," but at the St. John's rectory we did lose power twice for a few hours.

Having gone without power for a week following a hurricane when we lived in New York with two toddlers, the flickering lights still make me twitch.

This time, thanks to a plethora of candle stubs and said candelabra, we were all lit up at the rectory.
And by "lit up" I'm not referring to any pre-Sandy run to the liquor store but having the whole family awash in candlelight.

For me, one of the enduring images of Scripture is Jesus calming a storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). Sure, it would have been nice to have had Jesus doing the same down in New Jersey and other places on Monday; to cry out "Be still!" and have the wind and rain obey. While I don't doubt that he could, the danger here is reducing Jesus to little more than a glorified Mother Nature.

More here-

http://www.hannibal.net/article/20121104/OPINION/121109918

Anglican Consultative Council Digest: Nov. 5

From ENS-

Much happens each day during the Anglican Consultative Council‘s (ACC) 15th meeting. In addition to Episcopal News Service’s other coverage, here’s some of what else went on Nov. 5 (local time), the 10th day of the Oct. 27-Nov. 7 gathering.

Members debrief on weekend ‘Mission Encounters’

ACC members spent two hours discussing at table groups and then reporting a summary of the insights they gained over the Nov. 3-4 weekend as they worshipped with and talked with Anglicans in Auckland and other parts of the province, and learn about their mission and ministry.

“All of us felt we were given a huge gift” during the so-called “Mission Encounters,” said Helen Biggin, ACC member from the Church in Wales. “Many us feel we have a lot to learn from New Zealand.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/11/05/anglican-consultative-council-digest-nov-5/

Red zone like Beirut – Archbishop

From New Zealand (with video)

The head of the Anglican church has seen firsthand the state of Christchurch’s quake-damaged Anglican cathedral.

But Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wouldn't be drawn on whether he thinks the building should be saved.

Dr Williams says he sent prayers of hope to Christchurch every time he heard there was an earthquake.

Today he saw for himself just what 12,000 aftershocks have done to the city, including the Anglican cathedral.

The Archbishop was taken on a bus tour of the red zone. He says he was stung by the devastation.

Read more:

http://www.3news.co.nz/Red-zone-like-Beirut--Archbishop/tabid/423/articleID/275366/Default.aspx#ixzz2BFumquqZ

Christians across Pittsburgh help evolve approach to adoption

From Pittsburgh-

Among stacks of movies, family photos and Christian-themed books in Rob and Amanda Szenyeri's Cranberry home is a sign that reads, "Grant me the patience to deal with my blessings."

The parents of four, who adopted an infant from Ethiopia last year, try to live by those words.

On a recent Wednesday evening, Mr. and Mrs. Szenyeri, both 36, prepared dinner for 9-year-old Eli, 6-year-old Hank, 4-year-old Trey and the newest addition to their family: a joyful 20-month-old girl named Sidame, nicknamed Mae.

The couple adopted Mae in September 2011 through All God's Children, a Portland, Ore.-based Christian adoption agency.

"She was meant to be with us," Mrs. Szenyeri said. "God has a plan for her life."

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/christians-across-pittsburgh-help-evolve-approach-to-adoption-660521/#ixzz2BFramJ8Y

Va. Supreme Court Grants Breakaway Anglican Congregation's Appeal

From Virginia-

A Virginia congregation that broke away from The Episcopal Church over theological differences has been notified that its appeal was granted by the State Supreme Court regarding issues surrounding funds and property.

The Falls Church Anglican, a large congregation in Fairfax County that left the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia years ago along with several other conservative churches in the Commonwealth, was granted its appeal on Friday.

Jeff Walton, Anglican program director at the Institute on Religion & Democracy, told The Christian Post that the Va. Supreme Court's decision was a "positive development."

"This is a positive development for the Anglican group, which seeks to retain financial assets in its accounts at the time of the separation," said Walton.

"By hearing the appeal, the Virginia Supreme Court is allowing that the original case transferring all parish property – physical and financial – to the diocese may not have been correctly decided."
Read more at

http://www.christianpost.com/news/va-supreme-court-grants-breakaway-anglican-congregations-appeal-84174/#PmpQpOUqUutamHYr.99

Episcopal Bishop announces retirement

From Wisconsin-

The Right Rev. Russell Jacobus, Seventh Bishop of Fond du Lac, announced today his intention to resign effective Oct. 31, 2013.

He made the announcement at the conclusion of the 138th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac meeting in Manitowoc.

He has served as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese which covers northeast Wisconsin since his election and consecration in 1994. He will also retire from active ordained ministry at that time.

In his comments to the Convention, Jacobus said "what a joy it is being the Bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac. As I tell many people – this is a wonderful Diocese."

In addition, Jacobus called for the election of a successor at the next annual Convention of the Diocese in October 2013, noting the business will be held during the day on Friday and election of the new Bishop on Saturday.

Plans are being made to hold this Convention in Fond du Lac so that the election can take place in St. Paul’s Cathedral within the context of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

More here-

http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20121029/FON01/310290109/Episcopal-Bishop-announces-retirement

Presbyterian court clears pastor wed in same-sex ceremony

From New Jersey-

The top court of the Louisville-based Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has cleared a New Jersey pastor of charges that she violated church law by getting married to another woman in Massachusetts.

The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission ruled Oct. 28 that the Rev. Laurie McNeill didn’t violate any church law because she didn’t preside over a same-sex wedding but rather was one of those exchanging the vows, and because no Presbyterian clergy or churches were involved.

McNeill, and Lisa Lynn Gollihue got married in 2009 in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal. The ceremony took place in an Episcopal Church on Cape Cod and was presided over by ministers from the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ. New Jersey allows same-sex couples to have civil unions but not marriages.

The Presbyterian constitution defines marriage as between one man and one woman — although that definition has come under challenge in a denomination that has already began officially allowing the ordination of openly gay ministers — and it forbids Presbyterian ministers for presiding over such ceremonies and the use of Presbyterian churches in hosting them. The church does allow blessings of same-sex relationships as long as they aren’t represented as wedding ceremonies.

More here

http://blogs.courier-journal.com/faith/2012/11/02/presbyterian-court-clears-pastor-wed-in-same-sex-ceremony/

Anglican Consultative Council Digest: Nov. 2 Bible project, Christian Zionism report, ongoing environmental responses

From ENS

Much happens each day during the Anglican Consultative Council‘s (ACC) 15th meeting. In addition to Episcopal News Service’s other coverage, here’s some of what else went on Nov. 2 (local time), the seventh day of the Oct. 27-Nov. 7 gathering.

Bible project aims for ‘wider and fuller biblical literacy’

The three-year-old Bible in the Life of the Church project has found “some decline in biblical literacy” around the Anglican Communion but “above all encountered the sense of excitement, discovery and challenge that comes from reading the scriptures together,” according to a report discussed on Nov. 2.

“Deep Engagement, Fresh Discovery” explores the way engagement with and interpretation of Scripture looks like in different parts of the Anglican Communion. The ACC asked for the project at its 14th meeting in 2009 via Resolution 14.06. The report, with resources for Bible studies, is available here.

The project created a network of regional groups across the communion to explore how different regions engaged with and interpreted the Bible. It reviewed what the Anglican Communion has already said about Scripture through Lambeth Conference resolutions, official reports and reports of ecumenical conversations. It commissioned research based on a number of existing studies exploring how “ordinary Anglicans” view and understand the Bible, and it collected a range of resources for engaging more deeply with Scripture.

more here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/11/02/anglican-consultative-council-digest-nov-2/

ACC-15 told that love can still unite ‘untidy’ Anglicans

From The Church Times-

THE Archbishop of Canterbury said that he was praying for a "Pentecostal experience" at the 15th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), which got under way last weekend in New Zealand.

Speaking to ACC members on Saturday, at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Center, in Auckland, Dr Williams said that he hoped that "divided tongues of fire will touch us all in the days ahead; that we shall learn to listen to one another's languages, experience, and insight with all the enthusiasm and eagerness with which we would listen to God's own word".

Preaching a sermon at the opening eucharist of the ACC, in Holy Trinity Cathedral, in Auckland, on Sunday, Dr Williams said that the Anglican Communion should "constantly . . . draw others in".

He continued: "If we are prepared to risk loving the unlovable, knowing that we the unlovable have already been loved, then we'll be the Church, and then, please God, our wonderful quarrelsome, diverse, untidy Anglican Communion will testify in and through the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father."

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/2-november/news/world/acc-15-told-that-love-can-still-unite-‘untidy’-anglicans

S.C. Episcopalians say split goes beyond gay debate

From South Carolina-

The night before the Diocese of South Carolina announced its secession from the Episcopal Church two weeks ago, the Rev. Tom Woodle met with members of his Myrtle Beach church, The Well by the Sea.

He wanted to warn them and tell them what he knew. Most of his parishioners were relieved and felt the change was long overdue, Woodle said.

The Diocese of South Carolina severed ties with the Episcopal Church on Oct. 17 after a long battle over theology and homosexuality, particularly the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of openly gay bishops.

South Carolina church officials said the final split was triggered by disciplinary action taken against Bishop Mark Lawrence, its conservative leader, who was found guilty of “abandoning the church” by an Episcopal disciplinary board.

Under Lawrence, the South Carolina diocese — which covers the eastern half of the state — has legally and theologically distanced itself from the Episcopal Church, removing references to the the national church in civil and church documents. It has also renamed itself The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/sc-episcopalians-say-split-goes-beyond-gay-debate/2012/11/02/51c8ce4c-2530-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html

St. John’s Episcopal Church signs Red Cross shelter agreement

From California-

St. John’s Episcopal Church in Lakeport has signed a shelter agreement with the American Red Cross Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties.

The agreement makes possible the use of St. John’s Carey Hall as a temporary refuge for local disaster victims during Red Cross disaster relief activities.

“We welcome creative use of our sacred buildings and gardens to benefit our neighbors and community,” said St. John’s Parish Priest Fr. Leo M. Joseph, O.S.F.

“We’re pleased to partner with American Red Cross which, we know, provides shelter, food, emotional assistance and basic health care during disasters,” Joseph added.

St. John’s is the presence and ministry of The Episcopal Church in Lake County since 1877. The church building was recognized as a county point of historical interest by California Historical Resources Commission in 1989.

The American Red Cross provides services to individuals, families, and communities when disaster strikes.

More here-

http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27832:st-johns-episcopal-church-signs-red-cross-shelter-agreement&catid=1:latest&Itemid=197