On Vacation. We'll be back next week

Rwanda closes thousands of churches in bid for more control

From The Washington Post-

Rwanda’s government has closed thousands of churches and dozens of mosques as it seeks to assert more control over a vibrant religious community whose sometimes makeshift operations, authorities say, have threatened the lives of followers.

President Paul Kagame has said he was shocked by the high number of churches in this small East African country. “700 churches in Kigali?” he said of houses of worship in the nation’s capital in March. “Are these boreholes (deep wells) that give people water? I don’t think we have as many boreholes. Do we even have as many factories? This has been a mess!”

Kagame said Rwanda doesn’t need so many houses of worship, claiming that such a high number is only fit for bigger, more developed economies that have the means to sustain them.

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/rwanda-closes-thousands-of-churches-in-bid-for-more-control/2018/04/04/1a758880-37f0-11e8-af3c-2123715f78df_story.html?utm_term=.3363f0f7cbc5

Climbers scale the tower at 90-year-old St. Paul's Episcopal Church

From North Carolina-

The last time anyone scaled the 90-foot bell tower of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Winston-Salem was nearly a century ago when it was built.

And they surely weren’t doing it with iPads in hand, like rappellers did Tuesday at the property on Summit Street.

“While rappelling, they’re identifying types of damage and how severe and marking it on the tablet,” local architect Joe Oppermann said. “We’re giving this building a physical, to use a medical analogy. We’re looking carefully at the masonry and the mortar joints to see how it’s all holding up.”

Oppermann’s firm prepared digital drawings of the building’s structure, based on the original blueprints, so that experts could use the iPads to map places in the stone that were problematic.

More here-

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/climbers-scale-the-tower-at--year-old-st-paul/article_145b866a-479d-5b6e-8548-f062d9a4b8c8.html

Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute but a devoted disciple who supported Jesus financially and spiritually, scholars say

From The Independent-

If there’s a feminist figure from the Bible for the #MeToo era, it could very well be Mary Magdalene.

The major character in the life of Jesus was long maligned in the West and portrayed as a reformed former prostitute. But scholars have adopted a different approach more recently, viewing her as a strong, independent woman who supported Jesus financially and spiritually.

The New Testament tells how Jesus cast demons out of her. She then accompanied Jesus in his ministry around the Galilee, before witnessing his crucifixion, burial and resurrection in Jerusalem, which is being commemorated by Christians this week and next. The Roman Catholic Church and Western Christian churches observe Easter on Sunday, Eastern Orthodox Christians a week later. 

More here-

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mary-magdalene-feminism-metoo-jesus-disciples-apostle-christianity-judaism-pope-francis-vatican-a8281731.html

What makes A Wrinkle in Time Christian?

From Christian Century-


Works of art can become holy to people, and these “sacred texts” are miracles. A book, a song, a film, an image created by someone decades or centuries ago, is picked up and read or heard or seen—and in this encounter, something opens up for us. Something in the world makes a little more sense; we make a little more sense. As our life goes on we refer back to that text again and again, and with each reference it becomes more and more holy. Perhaps we believe that this holiness is intrinsic to the text, to the artist, to some faith or hope we share with them—and that, somehow, we swim in the same pool of faith or hope or truth or knowledge.

Such texts also have a way of becoming the property of a dominant culture, signifying cultural and theological values and assumptions. Interpretation of the symbols in these texts, from the Exodus to Bilbo Baggins, are then filtered through ideas of fidelity to the authoritative text. Some of us who read those texts, imagine ourselves within them, and then interpret them in ways that draw outside the lines of these dominant discourses can find ourselves perceived as lacking in spiritual or intellectual depth, or accused of importing our cultures into something alien to us.

More here-

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/film/what-makes-wrinkle-time-christian

Easter 'surprise' greets members at St. Paul's Episcopal Church

From Lansing-

Members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church had an Easter surprise waiting for them when they walked into the century-old building on Sunday morning.

They expected to see the reception hall set up for Sunday service, as it had been over the past year while work continued on the elegant worship space rendered unsafe by a wind storm.

Instead, the Rev. Karen Lewis ushered them into the stained glass-adorned sanctuary that had been off limits since March 8, 2017.

"It was quite the surprise; very few people were aware," said Joseph Lehning, a member of the church's facilities task force. "They came in and saw the hall set up for a reception. Just seeing the reaction of people when they came in (was gratifying). You could see it on their faces – the jubilation, the surprise."

The church received an occupancy permit for the renovated sanctuary on Thursday, nearly 13 months after the wall of the church facing West Ottawa Street began pulling away from the rest of the building amid strong winds.

More here-

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2018/04/01/easter-st-pauls-episcopal-church-lansing/476769002/

Democrats Are Christians, Too

From The New York Times-

Now that Stormy Daniels has confirmed on national television that Donald Trump initiated sex with her just months after his third wife gave birth to their child, at least half the country is asking: Surely this is a porn star too far for white evangelical Christians, right?

Wrong.

As we celebrate Easter Sunday, nearly 18 months after Mr. Trump won the presidency with about 80 percent of the white evangelical vote, surveys show him retaining nearly all of that support. In contrast, white evangelicals re-elected George W. Bush in 2004 with 78 percent of their votes, but by May 2006 their approval had slid to 55 percent. And that was after Mr. Bush had delivered, in late 2005 and early 2006, the Supreme Court appointments of both John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

The resilient support for Mr. Trump is hard to square with a constituency best known for trumpeting “family values” and proclaiming the nation’s moral decline. It also belies the idea that a record-high percentage of white evangelicals voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 simply because they could not bring themselves to cast ballots for Hillary Clinton.

More here-

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/opinion/sunday/trump-evangelicals-christians-easter.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

Study Theology, Even If You Don't Believe in God

From The Atlantic-

When I first told my mother—a liberal, secular New Yorker—that I wanted to cross an ocean to study for a bachelor’s degree in theology, she was equal parts aghast and concerned. Was I going to become a nun, she asked in horror, or else one of “those” wingnuts who picketed outside abortion clinics? Was I going to spend hours in the Bodleian Library agonizing over the number of angels that could fit on the head of a pin? Theology, she insisted, was a subject by the devout, for the devout; it had no place in a typical liberal arts education.

Her view of the study of theology is far from uncommon. While elite universities like Harvard and Yale offer vocational courses at their divinity schools, and nearly all universities offer undergraduate majors in the comparative study of religions, few schools (with the exceptions of historically Catholic institutions like Georgetown and Boston College) offer theology as a major, let alone mandate courses in theology alongside other “core” liberal arts subjects like English or history. Indeed, the study of theology has often run afoul of the legal separation of church and state. Thirty-seven U.S. states have laws limiting the spending of public funds on religious training. In 2006, the Supreme Court case Locke v. Davey upheld the decision of a Washington State scholarship program to withhold promised funding from an otherwise qualified student after learning that he had decided to major in theology at a local Bible College.

More here-

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10/study-theology-even-if-you-dont-believe-in-god/280999/?utm_source=atlfb

Why good Christians must disavow Trump

From NY Daily News-

Back in 2017, when asked if he wanted the President to embody the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, evangelical pastor Robert Jeffress replied unequivocally, "Absolutely not."

Fast forward several months, and on this Easter weekend, the question must be asked again — only this time, to everyone who claims to revere the teachings of Christianity and believe in the power of personal moral responsibility, as embodied by the world's most powerful individual.

A picture recently surfaced of porn star Stormy Daniels taking a lie detector test. The results support her claim that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006. Last week, her attorney reported that other women have contacted him, claiming to have similar stories about sexual relationships with Trump.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal has filed a suit that would allow her to discuss her alleged 2006 affair with Trump. And reality television star Summer Zervos's defamation suit against Trump is being allowed to proceed. She alleges that he kissed and groped her against her will. The issue is not merely one of personal sexual ethics, but of misogyny and assault.

More here-

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/good-christians-disavow-trump-article-1.3906225

How Easter became a #MeToo moment

From CNN-

But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense."
-- Luke 24:11

The men refused to listen to her story. She was publicly smeared as a whore. And when she emerged as a celebrated advocate, powerful men tried to silence her because she threatened their status.
Nevertheless she persisted.

The woman we're talking about, though, is not a leader in the #MeToo movement -- the viral
campaign raising awareness about sexual assault and harassment against women. She is Mary Magdalene, the first person Jesus appeared to after his resurrection, according to the New Testament, and the first person to preach the good news that he had been raised from the dead.

For billions of Christians around the world, Easter Sunday is a celebration of a risen savior. Yet what happened to Mary Magdalene shows that Easter can also be seen as something else -- a #MeToo moment, some pastors and biblical scholars say.

They say Easter is also a story about how charismatic female leaders such as Mary Magdalene -- and even Jesus himself -- were victimized by some of the same behavior that sparked the #MeToo movement: the sexually predatory behavior of men, the intimidation of women and an orchestrated attempt to silence women who drew too much attention when they spoke up.

More here-

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/30/world/easter-metoo-jesus/index.html

The Easter Effect and How It Changed the World

From The Wall Street Journal-

In the year 312, just before his victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge won him the undisputed leadership of the Roman Empire, Constantine the Great had a heavenly vision of Christian symbols. That augury led him, a year later, to end all legal sanctions on the public profession of Christianity.

Or so a pious tradition has it.

But there’s a more mundane explanation for Constantine’s decision: He was a politician who had shrewdly decided to join the winning side. By the early 4th century, Christians likely counted for between a quarter and a half of the population of the Roman Empire, and their exponential growth seemed likely to continue.

How did this happen? How did a ragtag band of nobodies from the far edges of the Mediterranean world become such a dominant force in just two and a half centuries? The historical sociology of this extraordinary phenomenon has been explored by Rodney Stark of Baylor University, who argues that Christianity modeled a nobler way of life than what was on offer elsewhere in the rather brutal society of the day. In Christianity, women were respected as they weren’t in classical culture and played a critical role in bringing men to the faith and attracting converts. In an age of plagues, the readiness of Christians to care for all the sick, not just their own, was a factor, as was the impressive witness to faith of countless martyrs. Christianity also grew from within because Christians had larger families, a byproduct of their faith’s prohibition of contraception, abortion and infanticide.

More here-

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-easter-effect-and-how-it-changed-the-world-1522418701?emailToken=e7174aed99ae34ccc989c1fa9baebf1dwubyRg5%2F9izIx%2FQw9l2WsXN1PyAdyRuzCFQD3juXDqDJmgAjH0pI16p%2FaZrfkZbtb5dgjhDpqHGu6YJGJLyBGfZsEFwn%2BmYAf6uQAivAF6E%3D

As they back Trump, evangelical leaders face their own sex scandals

From The Boston Globe -

As white evangelicals have been some of President Trump’s staunchest defenders, a handful of their leaders find themselves contending with a problem all too familiar to the commander in chief: A sex scandal.

As the allegations by Stormy Daniels, an adult-film actress who says she had an affair with Trump, captures the nation’s attention, and as the #MeToo movement highlights sexual abuse, harassment and impropriety in the workplace, at least four leaders in the evangelical movement have been accused of violating the tenets of their faith, from adultery to sexual abuse.

Now some observers wonder whether evangelicals are experiencing a repeat of the scandals that led to the downfall of several well-known televangelists in the 1980s.

More here-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/03/31/they-back-trump-evangelical-leaders-face-their-own-sex-scandals/9JwpnbdWzHOzQ7tEAmxUPN/story.html?p1=Article_Trending_Most_Viewed

Why I'm Joining the Episcopal Church

From Simple Follower-

Tomorrow, during the Great Easter Vigil at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, my family and I will be received into the Episcopal Church.

It has been a long and painful journey and after six years of traveling, it looks like I'm finally arriving somewhere. As many of you know, I have been flirting with Anglicanism for many years now. After reflecting for a while, I decided at one point to remain in the Roman Catholic Church.  But now I have discerned that it is time to leave. So what changed?

Before delving into the reasons for leaving the Roman Catholic Church and joining the Anglican Communion, let me make clear that I still love the Catholic Church. There has not been any one event that has made me want to leave.

Why then, am I leaving?

I am simply leaving to follow God's calling on my life.

Yes, I still have some disagreements theologically with the Roman Catholic Church. I disagree with their views on women ordination and closed communion, among others. But as I mentioned before, these disagreements were not enough for me to leave the Roman Catholic Church just yet. I still loved the Roman Catholic Church and I was willing to live with the disagreements.

More here-

https://asimplefollower.blogspot.com/2018/03/why-im-joining-episcopal-church.html?spref=fb

Newport’s St. James church to reopen April 8

From Los Angeles-

The long-locked St. James church in Newport Beach will reopen next weekend.

According to a statement Thursday from the bishop's office of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the church will hold services at 10 a.m. April 8, with Bishop John Taylor presiding.

St. James was embroiled in emotional legal and ecclesiastical tumult for nearly three years as then-Bishop J. Jon Bruno tried to sell the property to developers in 2015 and 2017.

In a letter to the St. James congregation and its priest, the Rev. Canon Cindy Voorhees, Taylor and the Rev. Abel Lopez, president of the diocesan governing body, said the congregation now has the organizational rank of "mission station" on a trial basis. It will regain use of the church facility at 3209 Via Lido, though a portion of it also will function as a broader Redeemer Center for Diocesan Ministries.

More here-

http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-st-james-20180329-story.html

Diocese of Atlanta clergy, laity renew vows at Martin Luther King Jr.’s church

From ENS-

Clergy and laity of the Diocese of Atlanta gathered this week for their renewal of vows in the sanctuary of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his father and grandfather preached.

Bishop Robert C. Wright, whose diocese also includes middle and north Georgia, said he sought permission to use the site because of its connection to the civil rights movement leader and the recognition of the humanity of all Americans.

“Being that we are all Georgians now, and that Martin’s and Coretta’s earthly remains are laying just outside, it seems good to stop here and remember, and maybe even borrow some of their resolve for service,” Wright said, motioning toward the site outside the church where King and his wife are buried. “More than that, I invited you here because there are three important ideas that are easy to illustrate in this space. They are simple but eternal ideas. They are possibility, pain and power.”

Wright said the small sanctuary that launched King to the international stage is a powerful symbol of possibility.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/03/29/diocese-of-atlanta-clergy-laity-renew-vows-at-martin-luther-king-jr-s-church/

THE LAST SUPPER: LOVE FROZEN IN TIME

From Episcopal Relief-

The Last Supper: The first image that comes to mind is that of the great and majestic fresco of Leonardo da Vinci, in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie.  Some critics of its latest restoration claim it now unrecognizable, but I see no danger of it ever fading from the West’s common cultural memory. Countless reproductions of The Last Supper, good and bad, have sealed its image into the minds of countless people. The fresco’s hold is so strong that even as I write I can see the long rectangles of the table and windows and the flowing reds and blues of the apostles’ robes. I can picture the soon-to-be-betrayed innocence in the eyes of Christ, the shocked look of those who have learned that one among them is a traitor, the unbelieving and uncomprehending pointing and self-accusation of Peter and the damning icons of the split salt and the clutched moneybag of Judas Iscariot.

No matter that this is extreme artistic license: there was no such table, no such scenic views, no such opulence in blues and reds. The image of da Vinci’s Last Supper is so powerful, so commanding, that it threatens to block other images, other ideas of this holy meal on the night in which our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed. And perhaps the most dangerous aspect of its power, its dominating image is that for all its artistic vividness, da Vinci’s Last Supper is temporally static and motionless. It captures a moment in time. It is Maundy Thursday preserved in aspic.

More here-

https://www.episcopalrelief.org/stories/the-last-supper-love-frozen-in-time

Archbishop of Canterbury offers to help end violence in Nigeria

From Nigeria-

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Tuesday repeated his offer to contribute towards any peace negotiations as violence continues to erupt in some parts of Nigeria.

Archbishop Justin tweeted in January: “I am deeply saddened by the killings and displacements in #Nigeria. President @MBuhari and authorities are exhorted to act now to end this violence and begin mediated dialogue. I mourn with this great country and stand with them in prayer, #prayforthepeaceofNigeria.”

However, the attacks have continued and spread rather than abate.

A question was put to the British government in the House of Lords – the upper house of the UK Parliament – on Monday on the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria.

More here-

http://punchng.com/archbishop-of-canterbury-offers-support-to-peace-negotiations-in-violence-hit-states/

Vatican: Claim that pope denied hell’s existence is unreliable

From America Magazine-

The Vatican said comments attributed to Pope Francis denying the existence of hell are a product of an Italian journalist's "reconstruction" of the pope's remarks and not a faithful transcript of the pope's real words. 

Eugenio Scalfari, a co-founder and former editor of La Repubblica, an Italian daily, said Pope Francis -- with whom he has had several telephone conversations and face-to-face meetings -- invited him to his residence March 27. 

During their conversation, Scalfari, 93, an avowed atheist, claims the pope said that while the souls of repentant sinners "receive the forgiveness of God and go among the line of souls who contemplate him, the souls of those who are unrepentant, and thus cannot be forgiven, disappear."

"Hell does not exist, the disappearance of sinful souls exists," Scalfari claims the pope said in the interview published March 29.

The Italian journalist has explained on more than one occasion that he does not take notes or record his conversations with the pope; he re-creates them afterward from memory, including the material he puts in quotation marks.

More here-

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/03/29/vatican-claim-pope-denied-hells-existence-unreliable

Pontius Pilate: You should have listened to your wife

From Lindsay Hardin Freeman-

The story of Jesus’ life and death could have turned out differently, had Pontius Pilate listened to his wife. Kind and intuitive (and unnamed), she is known for these few words:

“Have nothing to do with that innocent man [Jesus], for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” Matthew 27:19

Allow me to paint the story. Perhaps it happened something like this…
___________

As the morning light spills into her room, Pilate’s wife jolts awake, her eyes stretched like saucers. “No! Don’t do it! No!”

Hearing her distress, servants tumble into the room. And there they see a strange sight: their disheveled and shaking mistress scrawling words onto a linen napkin used at dinner the night before.
More here-

http://www.lindsayhardinfreeman.com/pontius-pilate-you-should-have-listened-to-your-wife/

Church Leader Mauled By Lion After Trying To Prove God Would Intervene

Matthew 4:7-

A Christian church leader tried to prove that the Lord would step forward and come to his rescue and save him recently when he went up against a lion. Things did not go as planned and the church leader had is buttocks and arm mauled by the lion when he ran towards the pride to try to prove that the Lord had power over animals in the wild.

Zion Christian Church prophet Alec Ndiwane was viciously attacked by the lion during a safari trip. The man wanted to prove to the church members with him that God would save him. The man went into a trance and began to speak in many different languages and then started to run towards the pride of lions that were eating an impala in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

The man started approaching the pack very quickly and of course, they wanted to protect their kill, or they saw him as prey. As the man charged up to them the pride grouped up on him an attacked. The lions chased him before one of them bit down on his buttocks. Ndiwane said that he did not have any idea about what came over him but said that humans were given dominion over all of the Earths creatures. Park officials made a statement and said that they had not been made aware of the incident that was said to have taken place.

More here-

https://www.disclose.tv/church-leader-mauled-by-lion-after-trying-to-prove-god-would-intervene-329108

This 3D “carbon copy” of Jesus was created using the Shroud of Turin

From Aleteia-

"We believe that we have the precise image of what Jesus looked like on this earth," said Professor Giulio Fanti of the University of Padua.

“This statue is the three-dimensional representation in actual size of the Man of the Shroud, created following the precise measurements taken from the cloth in which the body of Christ was wrapped after the crucifixion,” explains Giulio Fanti, teacher of mechanical and thermal measurements at the University of Padua, who studies the Shroud. Based on his measurements, the professor has created a “carbon copy” in 3D which, he claims, allows him to affirm that these are the true features of the crucified Christ.

Therefore, we believe that we finally have the precise image of what Jesus looked like on this earth. From now on, He may no longer be depicted without taking this work into account.” The professor granted exclusive coverage of his work to the weekly periodical Chi, to which he revealed: “According to our studies, Jesus was a man of extraordinary beauty. Long-limbed, but very robust, he was nearly 5 ft. 11 in. tall, whereas the average height at the time was around 5 ft. 5 in. And he had a regal and majestic expression.” (Vatican Insider)
More here-

https://aleteia.org/2018/03/28/this-3d-carbon-copy-of-jesus-was-created-using-the-shroud-of-turin/

US Episcopal Church ‘in denial’ over substance abuse among its leaders

From The Church Times-

THE Episcopal Church in the United States has failed to address substance abuse within its senior ranks because of “an impaired system that maintains denial, and helplessness toward addiction, mental illness, and physical disease”, a report on its leadership has concluded.

The Report of the Commission on Impairment and Leadership in the Episcopal Church was published by the House of Deputies earlier this month.

Its investigation was prompted by the case of the former Suffragan Bishop of Maryland, Heather Cook, who is serving seven years in prison for killing a cyclist, Thomas Palermo, while driving drunk in January 2015 (News, 30 October 2015).

Ms Cook was picked up by the police, who gave her a breathalyser test and found that she was nearly treble the legal limit. She later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other offences, including texting while driving, drink-driving, and leaving the scene of an incident.

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/29-march/news/world/us-episcopal-church-in-denial-substance-abuse-leaders

Survivor’s Reply to Archbishops’ pastoral letter

From Surviving Church-

Today a Pastoral Letter is being read in churches across the country. Here is a reply to the letter from one of those who have been affected by the recent hearings. It is presented here as a guest post and perhaps some of my readers will be able to identify with the sentiments. The opinions expressed belong to the author

Dear Brothers in Christ,

I’m writing in response to your ‘Pastoral Letter’. And, since Archbishop Justin has called for an end to clericalism and deference, I’m going to call you Justin and John. I know you’ll be happy with that.

So, Justin and John, I thought you might want to know how I, as a survivor, feel about your letter. And I know you’ll pay careful attention, because you’ve said you want to listen to survivors.

But first, let me talk a bit about the IICSA hearings. In the last three weeks I’ve been on an eventful personal journey. The first week I was emotionally chewed up: the evidence recalled to me many of the awful experiences I’ve had over my nearly 40 years in the Church of England. The second week I began to realise that at last powerful people were being called to account and some of the rottenness was being exposed. Frankly, John and Justin, I enjoyed seeing those bishops wriggle under questioning from two women who were much younger than them. The tables were turned and it did me a power of good.

More here-

http://survivingchurch.org/2018/03/25/survivors-reply-to-archbishops-pastoral-letter/

Moving deeper into Holy Week, Presiding Bishop visits Bethlehem, Nazareth

From ENS-

The gift of spending Holy Week in the Holy Land grew deeper and more real on March 28 for those on pilgrimage with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

In a small sample of the ecumenical hospitality that the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem both enjoys and offers, Curry and those traveling with him were the guests of Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Jordan and Patriarchal Commission to Bethlehem Theophylaktos in Bethlehem. The group traveled there at his invitation to hold Morning Prayer in the St. George’s Chapel at the Church of the Nativity and meet with him. He also welcomed them to pray in the Grotto of the Nativity below the church, which is undergoing extensive renovation and conservation.

Theophylaktos later offered the group sweets, short glasses of brandy and small cups of Arabic coffee during the early-morning conversation in his office in the new, 250-year-old wing of the Church of the Nativity. The older part of the church is 500 years old. His office walls were lined with religious icons, as well as an icon symbolizing the 2 million pilgrims who annually visit the church: a flat-screen TV with nine camera views of the shrine. Five church groups had arrived at 5 a.m. that morning to tour the church.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/03/29/moving-deeper-into-holy-week-presiding-bishop-visits-bethlehem-nazareth/

Anne Lamott (Author) Writes Down Every Single Thing She Knows, As of Today

From Daily Good-

My inside self does not have an age, although can’t help mentioning as an aside that it might have been useful had I not followed the Skin Care rules of the sixties, ie to get as much sun as possible, while slathered in baby oil. (My sober friend Paul O said, at eighty, that he felt like a young man who had something wrong with him.).

Anyway, I thought I might take the opportunity to write down every single thing I know, as of today.

1. All truth is a paradox. Life is a precious unfathomably beautiful gift; and it is impossible here, on the incarnational side of things. It has been a very bad match for those of us who were born extremely sensitive. It is so hard and weird that we wonder if we are being punked. And it filled with heartbreaking sweetness and beauty, floods and babies and acne and Mozart, all swirled together.

2. Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.

3. There is almost nothing outside of you that will help in any kind of last way, unless you are waiting for an organ. You can’t buy, achieve, or date it. This is the most horrible truth.

More here-

http://www.dailygood.org/story/1722/anne-lamott-author-writes-down-every-single-thing-she-knows-as-of-today-anne-lamott/

Misspelled Acomb sign proclaims 'Chris is Risen'

From The BBC

A church was presented with signs reading "Chris is risen" after a mix up at the printers.

Acomb Parish Church, in York, had ordered four banners saying 'Christ is Risen' but the 'T' was missed off the finished article.

However, assistant Curate Ned Lunn said the error was discovered before the signs were delivered.
A BBC Radio York Facebook post has been shared more than 3,000 times, prompting one person to reply 'More T vicar?'

Mr Lunn said: "I'm so glad the customer spotted the mistake. It'll save a bit of embarrassment and a lot of confusion.

"I had to check the four banners when I distributed them though, just to make sure.

"The pastor at the Baptist Church is actually called Chris and he's got to get up for a sunrise service at 6.30am on Easter Sunday.

"His predecessor didn't manage to get up for the service last year."

See it here-

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-35899023

'Religious left' emerging as U.S. political force in Trump era

From Reuters-

Since President Donald Trump’s election, monthly lectures on social justice at the 600-seat Gothic chapel of New York’s Union Theological Seminary have been filled to capacity with crowds three times what they usually draw.

In January, the 181-year-old Upper Manhattan graduate school, whose architecture evokes London’s Westminster Abbey, turned away about 1,000 people from a lecture on mass incarceration. In the nine years that Reverend Serene Jones has served as its president, she has never seen such crowds.

“The election of Trump has been a clarion call to progressives in the Protestant and Catholic churches in America to move out of a place of primarily professing progressive policies to really taking action,” she said.

More here-

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-religion/religious-left-emerging-as-u-s-political-force-in-trump-era-idUSKBN16Y114

Bishop of US-based Episcopal Church installed as Canon of St George’s, Jerusalem

From La Croix-

In a sign of Christian unity, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States has taken residence as a canon of St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem, anglicannews.org reports. 

The presiding Bishop of the US-based Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, was officially installed in his new role during an Evensong service on Palm Sunday.The dean of St. George’s, the Very Rev Hosam Naoum, welcomed the arrival of the episcopal canon at the cathedral, which was established in 1899 and offers education for clergy from around the world.

“The cathedral here becomes a sign for unity in the Anglican Communion, despite all of our differences,” he said. “That is the message that comes out from Jerusalem to the whole worldwide church.”

More here-

https://international.la-croix.com/news/bishop-of-us-based-episcopal-church-installed-as-canon-of-st-george-s-jerusalem/7248

Church Treasurer fired for suspected embezzlement

From Western New York-

St. David’s Episcopal Church has fired its treasurer, accusing the former employee of stealing $55,000 from the congregation.

Leaders with the church in West Seneca are gathering documents to hand over to police.

St. David’s handed out a letter to members earlier this month to explain the firing.

“I would like to express how proud I am of our vestry members; and how incredibly grateful I am for the many hours they have spent applying their abundant gifts and talents to resolving these issues,” the letter said.

2 On Your Side reached out to the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York. A spokesperson said the diocese is confident its insurance will cover the bulk of the losses.

More here-

http://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/west-seneca/church-treasurer-fired-for-suspected-embezzlement/71-532606318

Since 1993, I Have Learned to Observe Good Friday on My Knees

From Patheos-

On Good Friday, 1993, around noon, I slipped into the chapel of the nearby Episcopal church where I prayed weekly for an hour or so and was surprised by something I saw. Someone had positioned a low table before the altar. On it was set a linen cloth, a small crucifix, a pottery chalice filled with wine, and an earthenware plate holding Communion wafers.

A woman bustled in the nearby sacristy.

I called out to her, “What a wonderful aid to prayer!”

Often when my mind is wandering, it helps to have some token on which to fix my eyes. Postcards sent by friends are tucked in my desk organizer, a fixed point of beauty from which to build a center for concentration.

“Did you arrange this?” I asked.

Still finishing her tasks, she paused, calling back that the Communion elements were brought from the previous evening’s Maundy Thursday service as a reminder to keep vigil over the broken body of Christ. Then, her work completed, she left me to the silence.


Read more at

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/gospelforasia/2018/03/since-1993-i-learned-to-observe-good-friday-on-my-knees/#LHUuKCkzXgyfVdkh.99