'We Don't Have to Swim the Tiber; A Bridge is being Built'

From Catholic Online-

I received a response to an article we published on the "Becoming One" gathering of those coming into full communion through the Anglican Ordinariate in the United States. It was from an Anglican priest who identified himself as "Father Luke". He wrote, "I am still in san Antonio. I wait for the plane back to Reno. My EMC (Episcopal Missionary Church) parish has voted to enter the Ordinariate, and I am pleased to have gotten together with my fellow travelers here in San Antonio. We do not have to swim the Tiber; a bridge is being built."

The imagery is apropos. This historic overture toward Anglican Christians is prophetic. A bridge is indeed being built and Pilgrims are crossing over and coming home. The implications have only begun to be realized; not only within the Anglican and Episcopal world, but within the Catholic Church. I am convinced this a part of an unfolding movement of the Holy Spirit which is fostering restored communion between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches as well as the healing of the divisions occasioned by the Protestant reformation in the West. Pope Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity. We should not underestimate the significance of what is occurring in this pregnant moment in Church history.

More here-

http://www.catholic.org/hf/faith/story.php?id=39253

50 Anglican priests to quit CofE for Rome over women bishops

From The London Telegraph-

The Pope’s new Catholic group for disaffected Anglicans – which is known as the Ordinariate - will begin operation in the new year.

The Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, said he did not feel “guilty” that some Anglican parishes would be left without vicars as a result of the conversions.
He said the Catholic Church in England and Wales would provide £250,000 in start-up funding for the Ordinariate and seek to raise more money from donations and sponsors to cover its running costs.

Pope Benedict XVI offered to set up the Ordinariate in “response to requests” from Anglicans who could not accept liberal reforms in the Church of England, he said.

"This is not a process of rivalry or competition between our two churches,” he said. “So I do not feel guilty.”

Five bishops announced last week that they will be among the first to resign from the Church of England join the Ordinarate.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8146832/50-Anglican-priests-to-quit-CofE-for-Rome-over-women-bishops.html

Anglican-Old Catholic International Co-ordinating Council issues communiqué

From ELO-

The Anglican-Old Catholic International Co-ordinating Council (AOCICC) met in Schloss Beuggen, Germany from 8 to 12 November 2010. The Council welcomed Canon Dr Alyson Barnett-Cowan, Director for Unity Faith and Order at the Anglican Communion Office, as Anglican Co-Secretary.

In its most important piece of work, the Council finalized the text of a common statement on ecclesiology and mission 'Belonging Together in Europe'. This version of the text will be the major focus of the International Old Catholic and Anglican Theological Conference to be held in Neustadt, Germany from August 29 to September 2, 2011.

The members received reports of developments in the Anglican Communion and in the Old Catholic churches of the Union of Utrecht, and reviewed present ecumenical dialogues in which our churches are engaged. A paper by Bishop Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, entitled “Should The Episcopal Church Create a Missionary Diocese in Europe?” sparked discussion by members of the Council of their churches' mission perspectives.

The Council participated in daily prayer with the community in Schloss Beuggen and celebrated the Eucharist together. Bible study was led each morning by members of the Council. The Council attended Vespers presided at by Fr Peter Grüter at St Martin's Old Catholic church in Rheinfelden, Switzerland, and enjoyed a dinner hosted by Bishop Harald Rein and the church council of the Old Catholic Church of Switzerland.

The next meeting of the Council will take place November 4-8, 2011 in York, England, and will include the annual celebration of the Feast of St Willibrord with the Society of St Willibrord.

More here-

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81799_125817_ENG_HTM.htm

Anglican Head Has No Ill Feeling as Bishops 'Jump Ship' to Catholic Church

From Christian Post-

The Archbishop of Cantebury, Dr. Rowan Williams, said that supplying priests to churches would be among the "practical challenges" before the Church of England as Anglican bishops and priests defect for Rome.

Williams, the spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, is in Rome where he attended the 50th anniversary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity on Wednesday.

In an interview with Vatican Radio, Williams responded to the departure of five Anglican bishops who plan to join the new ordinariate to be established under the Roman Catholic Church for disaffected Anglicans seeking full communion with the Catholic Church.

He said there was no "ill feeling" between him and the five bishops who left over the ordination of women.

“Obviously my reactions to the resignations is one of regret but respect. I know the considerations they’ve been through, particularly the two who were my suffragans," Williams told the radio.

"We’ve talked about it, we’ve worked through it and parted with prayers and blessings so there’s no ill feeling there."

More here-

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20101118/anglican-head-has-no-ill-feeling-as-bishops-jump-ship-to-catholic-church/

SCHOFIELD v. SUPERIOR COURT OF FRESNO COUNTY

From San Joaquin-

SCHOFIELD v. SUPERIOR COURT OF FRESNO COUNTY
JOHN-DAVID SCHOFIELD et al., Petitioners
v.
THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FRESNO COUNTY, Respondent;
DIOCESE OF SAN JOAQUIN et al., Real Parties in Interest.
No. F058298.

Court of Appeals of California, Fifth District.
Filed November 18, 2010.

Wild, Carter & Tipton, Russell G. VanRozeboom; Haley & Bilheimer, Allan Scott Haley for Petitioners.

No appearance for Respondent.

Law Offices of Michael O. Glass, Michael Owen Glass; Goodwin Procter, David Booth Beers and Adam M. Chud, for Real Parties in Interst.
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
OPINION
ARDAIZ, P.J.

This matter comes before us on a petition for writ of mandate after the trial court granted a motion for summary adjudication. We conclude plaintiffs' first cause of action presents a purely ecclesiastical controversy not justiciable by civil courts. Accordingly, the trial court erred in granting plaintiffs' motion for summary adjudication on that cause of action.


More here-

http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=In%20CACO%2020101118062.xml&docbase=CSLWAR3-2007-CURR

The Ordinariate: Catholic bishops' statement

From The London Telegraph-

Here’s the English and Welsh Catholic bishops’ statement on the Ordinariate. My initial reaction: this is a pretty intensive timetable. Looks like the bishops are under pressure from Rome to get this working as soon as possible. Excellent. The Ordinariate is being taken more and more seriously by Catholics and Anglicans, as Rowan Williams’s generous comments yesterday indicated. More later.

Statement on the Implementation of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus: The Establishment of a Personal Ordinariate in England and Wales

Much has been achieved over many years as a result of the dialogue and the fruitful ecumenical relations which have developed between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. Obedient to the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ to His Heavenly Father, the unity of the Church remains a constant desire in the vision and life of Anglicans and Catholics. The prayer for Christian Unity is the prayer for the gift of full communion with each other. We must never tire of praying and working for this goal.

More here-

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100064362/the-ordinariate-catholic-bishops-statement/

Anglicans Entering the Ordinariate Hold 'Becoming One' Gathering in Texas

From Catholic Online-

Perhaps in three hundred years, historians and journalists will look back on a mid-November 2010 meeting on the edge of a Texas desert and realize that it was the first time the various Anglican "cousins" of the emerging Anglican Ordinariate in America met and began forging the bonds that would weave them into a united ecclesial family under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman and in full unity with the Vicar of Christ, the successor to the Throne of Peter.

A year ago, these vastly flung Anglican "cousins" heard the words of Pope Benedict XVI when he announced the establishment of the Anglican Ordinariate in his publication of Anglicanorum Coetibus, thus throwing open wide the doors of the Catholic Church to fully embrace those various Anglicans who want to reunite with the See of Peter while retaining their own unique Anglican patrimony and thereby helping to enrich the Catholic Church in the process.

"This is historic," proclaimed the Rev. Christopher Phillips, founding pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Anglican Use Catholic Church. "A great change was set into motion - a change so tremendous that Anglican/Catholic relations will be seen in terms of 'before Anglicanorum Coetibus' and 'after Anglicanorum Coetibus'."

More here-

http://www.catholic.org/hf/faith/story.php?id=39237

Episcopal dispute sent back to Fresno Co. court

From Fresno-

The legal battle between the U.S. Episcopal Church and the breakaway Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin over who owns church property will return to Fresno County Superior Court, the 5th District Court of Appeal ruled Thursday.

The appellate justices tossed out a Superior Court judge's decision that the breakaway diocese couldn't claim a right to the property in a jury trial. The judge essentially had decided that it was a church matter, not a matter for the civil courts.

In sending the case back to Superior Court, however, the justices supported some parts of the U.S. Episcopal Church's case, according to a news release from the church. In particular, the justices ruled that the continuity of the diocese is a matter regulated by church law.

Read more:

http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/11/18/2165714/episcopal-dispute-sent-back-to.html#ixzz15jO7iadL

Anglican Diocese of New Westminster responds to court ruling

From Canada-

This week, the National Post reported that four dissident parishes in the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster lost their case to keep their church buildings and land. At the time of writing, the Diocese was still preparing a statement. Here is what they posted on their web site Tuesday:

On Monday, November 15th, 2010, the British Columbia Appeal Court dismissed the legal action brought against the Diocese of New Westminster by individuals in four parishes.

The Court upheld Justice Stephen Kelleher’s November 25th Reasons for Judgment that the assets of the four parishes: St. Matthew’s, Abbotsford, St. John’s, Shaughnessy, St. Mathias & St. Luke and Church of the Good Shepherd remain within the Diocese of New Westminster.

When the Synod of the Diocese voted for a third time in 2002 to bless committed, faithful same-sex relationships it was made quite clear that such permission was optional, not mandatory. No one has ever been required to act against their conscience in this matter.


Read more:

http://life.nationalpost.com/2010/11/17/anglican-diocese-of-new-westminster-responds-to-court-ruling/#ixzz15dd3J4Ae

Musial to receive highest civilian honor

Stan is a Pittsburgh native.

St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, MLB.com reported Wednesday.

The Hall of Famer, who turns 90 on Sunday, will become the eighth baseball player in history to accept the country’s highest civilian award, which was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

The decision to honor Musial brought to fruition the “Stand for Stan” campaign led by the Cardinals organization, in part, to persuade President Barack Obama to present Musial with the prestigious award.

Musial, known affectionately as “Stan the Man,” spent 22 seasons with the Cardinals between 1941 and 1963, earning Most Valuable Player honors three times.

The outfielder and first baseman built a reputation as one of the game’s greatest hitters during his long, productive career.

More here-

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/St-Louis-Cardinals-legend-Stan-Musial-to-receive-presidential-medal-of-freedom-111710

Grace Episcopal to host two bishops next week

From Illinois-

For months now, getting into Grace Episcopal Church on East First Street has been a challenge to say the least. Parishioners, parish and preschool staff as well as students, parents and visitors have gritted their teeth to get through the dust and heavy machinery that has torn up the street in the church's front yard.

Despite the mess, the church has continued to look outward in its outreach. Besides supporting local causes like HCS Family Services (best known as The Food Pantry), Family Shelter Services and at this time of year, the Cathedral Shelter program, the church has offered help to such places in perilous need as Pakistan and Sudan. In September, the church hosted Zaheer Pervaiz Khan, Pakistan's consul general to Chicago. He discussed the devastating floods in Pakistan this summer, and Grace Church members and friends came out to learn more about the nation, its disaster and to support it with contributions.

Next week, Bishop Joseph Garang Atem of Renk, Sudan will return to the church to discuss the progress of churches and schools the Anglican Church is building there. The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Lee, bishop of the Chicago Diocese, will accompany the African bishop, who is known as Bishop Joseph. Brad Summers of Hinsdale, a Grace Church member and leader in the church's outreach efforts, said that the church has more than a dozen outreach efforts and that such diversity of scope is typical.

More here-

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/clarendonhills/news/2889768,clarendon-hills-towncolumn-111810-s1.article

New York prelate to lead bishops group

From The Washington Post-

America's Catholic bishops pulled a shocker Tuesday in picking their new president, disregarding tradition and precedent by rejecting the current vice president and instead choosing a man seen as more outspoken and conservative.

Voting 128 to 111, the U.S. Conference of Bishops picked New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who heads one of the nation's most prominent dioceses, to be its president for the next three years.

He defeated Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas, who had been vice president and had faced a barrage of last-minute criticism in recent days over how he dealt with a priest who was accused of molesting more than a dozen boys and is now in jail. Victim advocates spoke out against Kicanas, but the more significant opposition came from conservatives, who considered him too moderate in tone.

The election heralded a desire in the conference - the highest governing body of the U.S. Catholic Church - for more aggressive, outspoken leadership on hot-button social issues, said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a scholar at Georgetown University.

"It signals that this is a very conservative body that's going to continue to play a major role in this country's culture wars," Reese said.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111607034.html

3 Anglican priests dismissed

From Nigeria-

Three priests (names withheld) have been summarily dismissed by the Bishop of the Diocese of Egbu, Anglican Communion, Professor Emmanuel U. Iheagwam.

The Bishop disclosed this in his presidential address during the diocese’s third session of the 5th Synod, held at Emmanuel Anglican Church, Umualum, Nekede, Owerri West local council area of Imo State.

Recalling that two of the priests had absconded and were consequently dismissed, the Bishop also told the stunned audience that another one, from Ishiuzo, Egbu, had joined the ranks of dismissed clerics.

“As my chaplain and the priest in-charge of the Diocesan Farm, the priest defrauded the diocese of huge sums of money, part of which was recovered from him,” Iheagwam fumed.

According to the Bishop, “as priest in-charge of Saint Matthew’s Church, Obokwe, he was accused of mismanagement of human and material resources and was consequently suspended from office for six months.

“He was recalled in January 2009. Within the period of his reinstatement, he perfected his plans to abscond and has absconded. He is, therefore, dismissed as a priest in and of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion”.

More here-

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/11/3-anglican-priests-dismissed/

Anglican cleric tries to reconcile religion and science

From San Diego-

His scientific credentials are unassailable. His theological education and ordination as an Anglican cleric likewise cannot be questioned.

So why are the efforts of the Rev. John Polkinghorne to reconcile science and religion denigrated by some scientists and some believers?

“There are fundamentalists on both sides,” Polkinghorne said in an interview Tuesday at Point Loma Nazarene University. “I think both of them are wrong. I am in the middle. I want to take both science and religion appropriately seriously.”

San Diego County residents can hear Polkinghorne speak on “The Search for Truth in Science & Theology” at an 11 a.m. free public lecture Wednesday at the university, the last in a series of four talks.

Though perhaps not widely known here, the 80-year-old Polkinghorne is a leading figure in his home country of England in the discussion over the intersection of religion and science and beyond. He helped write the country’s guidelines on stem cell research and medical ethics.

More here-

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/16/anglican-cleric-tries-reconcile-religion-and-scien/

The Anglican covenant is the only way forward

From The London Guardian-

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold" is a celebrated line in WB Yeats's 1920 poem The Second Coming. How that relates to the Church of England and the tensions in the wider Anglican communion, 90 years later, we shall witness next week. On Wednesday 24 November, General Synod will be debating the Anglican covenant.

This covenant of unity seeks to hold the Anglican communion together organically in the face of increasing fragmentation. The choice in this debate is to opt into intensifying our world-wide relationships in affection and commitment or to allow splits to develop further and irrevocably. Do we consider each other and decide we belong together, or do we do our own thing and hang apart?

The covenant has been portrayed, and betrayed, by its detractors as a dangerous, monolithic innovation of regulatory control, which will stifle freedom and diversity. But forced assimilation is not on the table, and it is false witness to dress it up as such. Gregory Cameron (secretary to the group who produced the covenant) and Andrew Goddard (Anglican ethicist) have demonstrated that its detractors have seriously misconstrued the text and its intention.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/nov/17/anglican-covenant-way-forward

New York Episcopal Diocese Wants 'Investigation' of IRD

From Christian News Wire-

The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) is a danger to religious freedom, according to a resolution recently adopted by the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The resolution alleges that IRD has "sought to punish the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and United Methodist denominations for leadership choices with which it disagrees through seizure of church property and other assets."

The resolution calls upon the Episcopal Church's General Convention to authorize an "investigation" of IRD, in collaboration with the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The next General Convention is scheduled for July 2012.

Recently released figures provided by the Episcopal Church show that the diocese of New York experienced a 4.1 percent drop in attendance in 2009. In addition to a steady drop in both giving and membership, the diocese has lost over 4,000 attendees in the past decade.

More here-

http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/5247615509.html

"For a fair and accurate debate on the Covenant, read it first," says Unity, Faith and Order director

From ACNS-

Many things have already been said in the public arena about the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant. As Provinces around the world continue to discuss this important document I think it worth clarifying some points about it. I am not arguing here for or against the Covenant, merely pointing out that it should be debated fairly, with an accurate reading of the text.

The first thing to say is that for any Anglican or Episcopalian to be able to properly enter into a discussion about the Covenant it is vital that they first read it for themselves here http://anglicancommunion.org/commission/covenant/final/text.cfm

Having done that, let me then clear up some misconceptions that some people have about the document. The Standing Committee is not new; it is made up of elected Primates and elected members from the Anglican Consultative Council and it co-ordinates work in the Communion. Regarding the Covenant, it would have the role of monitoring developments and has no power other than proposing to the Instruments of Communion (the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meeting) steps to be taken to encourage discussion and discernment about disputed questions among the Provinces, or, if processes of mediation have broken down, what the relational consequences might be.

The point of the processes outlined in the Covenant is precisely to encourage one part of the Communion, when seeking to respond responsibly in its own context in mission, to consider how that will affect other parts of the Communion It is not that one Province would exercise a veto over another, but that there would be collaborative discernment. In a globalised world, it is no longer possible (if it ever was) for one church to act entirely for itself; decisions have ramifications, and the intention is for these to be explored together.

More here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2010/11/16/ACNS4750

Used bikes can change people's lives

From California-

Have an old bike sitting around? Let the magicians at Adopt a Family Bike program restore it to pristine condition and then give it to someone who can really use it.

The Adopt-a-Family Bike program was started in 2002 by a handful of dads from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Danville after a parishioner requested hand-me-down bikes for needy children at the Monument Crisis Center in Concord. Men jumped in to refurbish the bikes, and the program has grown each year since, working out of donated retail spaces.

This year the group is collecting donated bikes each Saturday in November at its location in the Rose Garden, 730 Camino Ramon, Suites 140 and 160, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

"We ask a $5-$10 donation per bike to defray the costs of parts, helmets and locks," said coordinator Tania Hanson-De Young. "The bikes are repaired, cleaned, safety inspected, then distributed to numerous nonprofits in the East Bay for the holidays."

"In the last two years alone we had donated 500 bikes," said Hanson-De Young. "Volunteers are welcome, experience not necessary but appreciated."

The volunteers have a great time as they work from early November until mid December taking is used bicycles, fixing them up, and sending them north to be given to underprivileged residents of Contra Costa County. They serve as much-needed transportation for many, who have reported that their lives have been changed as they can pedal to work.


More here-

http://www.danvilleweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=4514

Anglicanism splits Flying bishops take off

From The Economist-

SINCE its split from Rome (in a messy row about King Henry VIII’s divorce in 1529) the Anglican church has evolved into a curious hybrid. It tries to be both Catholic and Reformed (Protestant). Its adherents include people who believe every word in the Bible is true, modernists who consider it a collection of inspiring fables, and traditionalists who cherish archaic English.

One exotic bit of that ecclesiological cocktail is shrinking. Five bishops from the Anglo-Catholic strain in the Church of England (dubbed “smells and bells” for its love of incense and ritual) are leaving to join the Ordinariate. This is a new outfit set up by Pope Benedict XVI for Anglicans unable to accept their church’s decision this year to let women be bishops.

The move follows a crisis in the early 1990s over ordaining women priests, which Anglo-Catholics saw as dooming their hope for eventual unity with the (male-only) Roman Catholic priesthood. Around 500 Anglican priests switched to Rome then. Others decided to stay in the Church of England, in a parallel set-up led by “flying bishops”. This lot, concentrated in 363 of the church’s 13,000 parishes, bemoan its unilateral approach to theology and intolerance of minorities. A Rome-bound former flying bishop, John Broadhurst, calls his old church “vindictive”, “vicious” and “fascist”.

Unchristian language is only one paradox in this ruckus. The chirpy guitar-strumming habits of many Roman Catholic churches may affront the Anglo-Catholics’ finicky aesthetic sense. Pope Benedict’s enthusiasm for them is not shared by modern-minded Roman Catholic bishops, who are nervy about an influx of articulate traditionalists. Some think the Vatican, short of clergy, will itself one day accept women priests.

More here-

http://www.economist.com/node/17468427?story_id=17468427&fsrc=rss

Dissident Anglicans can’t keep churches, B.C. court rules

From Canada-

Dissident Anglican churches have been told by the highest court in British Columbia that they have no right to hang onto buildings and land they claimed in a long-running dispute over same-sex blessings and ordered to return the property to the Anglican Church of Canada.

As a result of the ruling, issued by the B.C. Court of Appeal Monday, parishioners at four Vancouver-area churches, including the largest parish in Canada, will be expected to leave their historic church buildings, valued at more than $20-million.

But the court also acknowledged that the present course the Anglican Church of Canada is one that could ultimately see clergy ministering to “non-existent congregations.”

The B.C. decision will have a far-reaching impact for the future of the breakaway churches across Canada and their ability to keep their properties. There are several court cases pending around the country but observers have said that this case involving the New Westminster diocese would be the standard by which others would be judged.

Read more:

http://life.nationalpost.com/2010/11/15/dissident-anglicans-cant-keep-churches-court-rules/#ixzz15RrAD7kY

Pastor accused of Ponzi scheme

From South Carolina-

The Rev. Ronald Satterfield preached from the pulpit, but authorities say he also ran a multimillion-dollar financial scam out of his historic church in downtown Charleston for several years.

A federal judge has frozen what few assets remain from the $3.3 million that investigators say Satterfield, rector at St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church on Anson Street, put toward a foreign currency Ponzi scheme using money from 70 investors, according to documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Charleston.

Satterfield acknowledged the complaints against him, but he insisted

Monday that the allegations made by the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission mischaracterized his trading activities.

"It's not the way they described it," he told The Post and Courier.

Satterfield told investors he could grow a traded pool of money by up to 48 percent during one year, according to court documents. Instead, he lost virtually all of the $1.9 million he invested on their behalf in the trading of foreign currencies, the trading commission said. He used the rest of the money to pay returns to customers until his companies failed in early 2009.

More here-

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/nov/16/pastor-accused-of-ponzi-scheme/

URUGUAY: Diocese votes to leave Southern Cone

From ENS (Wait, I thought the women clergy from the "Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh" were all transferred to the Southern Cone.)

A week after failing to convince the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone to allow its dioceses to ordain women to the priesthood, the Diocese of Uruguay has voted to seek affiliation with another province.

Uruguayan Anglicans had waited for nine years since the last time the province was asked to allow women's ordination and "felt … that a patient wait would be rewarded," said Diocese of Bolivia Bishop Frank Lyons in a statement released by the Anglican Communion News Service.

Clergy members of the Southern Cone's 10th triennial synod Nov. 4 refused to approve the canonical changes required to allow for the ordination of women to the priesthood. The changes, which required a two-thirds majority in all three houses, were approved by the bishops and laity. Uruguay ordains women to the diaconate.

The Diocese of Uruguay synod met Nov. 12 in the capital city of Montevideo and decided by a simple majority vote in orders to quit the province, according to Lyons.

The diocese wants to transfer from the Southern Cone within the year, he said, adding that if permission is not given, an appeal would be made to the Anglican Consultative Council to arrange for oversight, following provincial canons.

Uruguay has been a diocese within the Southern Cone since its formation. The province, known locally as Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur de America, officially was formed in 1981 following decades of Anglican missionary work in South America. Today, the Southern Cone includes about 22,000 members in seven dioceses throughout Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, making it one of the smallest provinces in the Anglican Communion in terms of numbers, yet it is one of the largest geographically.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_125738_ENG_HTM.htm

Major renovations completed at drop-in shelter at Grace Episcopal

From Wisconsin-

Thanks to a large corporate contribution, Grace Episcopal Church has completed major renovations to its men's drop-in shelter, making the shelter warmer and more inviting, organizers said.

"It will make guests feel that they are decent human beings instead of problems, and inspire them to turn their lives around," said Steve Schooler, executive director of Porchlight, which provides shelter, housing and other services in Dane County.

After reading news reports of deteriorating conditions at the shelter, 116 W. Washington Ave., representatives from Epic Systems Corp. toured the space last spring and decided to give money to upgrade the sleeping area, bathroom, kitchen and laundry facilities. Many of the contractors provided their services for free.

Schooler and Bern Tan of Epic wouldn't comment on the size of the gift. "It was significant, very significant. I can say that much," Schooler said.

Tan said he wanted the focus to be on Porchlight, not Epic. "We think we did the easy part and Porchlight bears really a good deal of responsibility for providing services to the homeless."

More here-

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/article_8c12c3ea-f0f9-11df-bff9-001cc4c002e0.html

Reno Church Holds Last Public Service

From Reno-

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Reno is suffering the fate of the economy and a shrinking congregation.

The last public service in the church on Seventh Street in northwest Reno was held Sunday afternoon.

Bishop Dan Edwards urged parishioners, to look forward.

But it will be tough for some. For more than 17 years, Ace Frazee says she's tended to the church's needs -- shoveling snow, gardening, painting.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports officials say the church will probably be sold.

The church which seats about 100 will close for good after a private service Sunday. The day is also the 45th anniversary of its opening in 1965.

More here-

http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=13504713

Converting Anglican bishop says papal action changed the landscape

From Catholic New Agency-

The Anglican Bishop of Richborough told his flock that he plans to become Catholic because Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic constitution “completely changed the landscape” for Anglo-Catholics and he now believes that he must lead the way to union with the Universal Church.

Bishop Keith Newton of Richborough, England said in a pastoral letter to priests and people in the Richborough area that he will resign as bishop as of Dec. 31. He will not conduct any public episcopal services. This “difficult” decision followed much thought and prayer, he remarked.

“I will, in due course, be received into full communion with the Catholic Church and join the Ordinariate when one is erected in England, which I hope will happen early next year.”

Pope Benedict established the proposed Anglican Ordinariate, a special jurisdiction within the Catholic Church, in his apostolic constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus.”

Bishop Newton explained that although the issue of the ordination of women as Anglican bishops has been an important factor in his decision, it is “not the most significant.”

More here-

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/converting-anglican-bishop-says-papal-action-changed-the-landscape/

Haiti's deep misery still on Alabamians' radar

From Alabama-

More than 10 months after the deadly magnitude 8.5 earthquake on Jan. 12 left an estimated 250,000 dead, the situation in Haiti remains grim.

"Haiti has had a rough go of it with hurricanes in 2008, then the earthquake and now cholera," said Dave Drachlis, a deacon at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Huntsville who has made two trips to Haiti this year. The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, which has a partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, has sent five medical mission teams to Haiti this year and a sixth is on its way.

The Rev. John Fritschner, rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn, and doctors Keith Adkins and Will Meadows from that parish were scheduled to leave for Haiti this weekend.

Last month, the diocese sent a team of clergy wives on a mission trip. They worked at a remote mountain school setting up a lunch program.

In 2008, hurricanes tore down the church and school at Crochu, and Episcopalians in Alabama have been raising support for the rebuilding effort.

More here-

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/11/haitis_deep_misery_still_on_al.html

David Livingstone and the Anglican Church

From Zambia-

AFRICA has lost many of its greats in death, presidents, kings, the rich and famous, but his was the longest funeral procession ever to be seen on the African continent.

A legend breathed his last on Zambian soil; his heart was buried in the bowels of his beloved Africa, at Chitambo but his body was escorted by a countless number of admirers to the Indian Ocean.

Seldom are God’s great giants honoured by the world but Dr David Livingstone joins the class of men who rank as the greatest explorers the world has ever produced. Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Charles Lindbergh, Edmund Hillary, and Neil Armstrong all have thrilled the world with their exploits.
Add the name of Livingstone who opened up Africa to civilisation and Christianity.

No wonder the natives gave him the longest funeral procession in history, after burying his heart under a tree near the place where he died.

Many would wonder if his death, which resulted from a bout of malaria was worth it. Many still would wonder if giving a name to the mighty Mosi-o-tunya Falls, one of the seven wonders of the world, was all what remains of his memory.

More here-

http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=15569

Episcopal Diocese of NY: Bishops Announce Retirement

From New York-

Both bishops heading the Episcopal church in the New York metropolitan area announced plans to retire today.

The Episcopal church in New York held its 234th annual convention Nov. 13 in New York City, attended by both clergy and lay representatives from all over the region, which stretches from Staten Island to Port Jervis.

In his address to the convention, Bishop Mark S. Sisk, the 15th bishop of the New York Diocese, called for a a co-adjutor to be chosen.

That call means he's planning to retire and is informing the diocese of the need to choose a successor.

After his address, Suffragan Bishop Kathy Roskam, the diocese's regional bishop in charge of Westchester and points north, addressed the convention and announced her retirement—effective Jan. 1, 2012.

The news of Sisk's plans did not come as a surprise, said some delegates to the convention. However, people were caught off-guard by Roskam's decision to retire at about the same time. It normally takes several years for the diocese to choose successors to its bishops, and now the representatives of the congregations must choose two.

More here-

http://bedford.patch.com/articles/episcopal-diocese-of-ny-bishops-announce-retirement