Pact for VTS, St. George’s

From The Living Church-

In a newly signed agreement, Virginia Theological Seminary and St. George’s College in Jerusalem agree to hold each other up in prayer, work together to promote a positive vision of the Anglican Communion worldwide, and actively seek to collaborate on mutual learning experiences, such as cross-cultural education programs.

The partnerships states: “Acknowledging the rich experience of partnership we have enjoyed and cognizant of the mutual benefits in our respective communities of such partnership, we commit to seeing our partnership grow and mature and acknowledge that this agreement represents a new era in co-operation for the sake of the wider church.”

“Virginia Theological Seminary has deep relationships in the Anglican Communion,” said the Rev. Melody Knowles, acting dean and president. “Our relationship and friendship with St. George’s presents opportunities for our community to experience and engage with a unique expression of Anglicanism in a unique setting. I am very pleased we have renewed this partnership.”

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/pact-vts-st-george-jerusalem

Church Mission Society seeks 1,000 new missionaries

From ENS (ACNS)-

Ambitious plans to recruit 1,000 new missionaries to follow in the footsteps of pioneers like William Wilberforce and Samuel Crowther have been unveiled by the Church Mission Society (CMS). The Free.In.Deed campaign is “based on the belief that all Christians are called by God into mission,” the Anglican mission agency says as it seeks to identify a “new generation of Christian missionaries who will cross cultures and even continents to bring change, hope and freedom to the world.”

The Free.In.Deed campaign is targeting individual Christians and local churches to find “a wave of people who are passionate about communicating the Christian message to this generation,” a CMS spokesperson said.

“For many Christians ‘calling’ is a nebulous concept, shrouded in uncertainty and religiosity,” CMS’ executive leader, Philip Mounstephen, said. “The Free.In.Deed campaign aims to change that and revitalize our relationship with mission so we don’t just see it as a responsibility to be taken seriously but rather a privilege to be called to.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/07/01/church-mission-society-seeks-1000-new-missionaries/

Washington National Cathedral to remove Confederate battle flags from its windows

From The Telegraph-

Washington National Cathedral, one of the country’s most visible houses of worship, announced recently that it would remove Confederate battle flags that are part of two large stained-glass windows honoring Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. Cathedral leaders said they would leave up the rest of the windows — for now — and use them as a centerpiece for a national conversation about racism in the white church.

The announcement comes a year after the cathedral’s then-dean, the Rev. Gary Hall, said the 8-by-4-foot windows have no place in the soaring church as the country faces intense racial tensions and violence, even though they were intended as a healing gesture when they were installed.
Read more here:

http://www.macon.com/living/religion/article86942072.html#storylink=cpy

Episcopal Church's Largest Congregation Is 300 Muslims Who Meet for Friday Prayers

From Christian Post-

An Episcopal church in Washington, D.C. has been welcoming Muslims into their sanctuary for Friday prayers for eight years, and the men who meet there now outnumber the church's congregation.

The Rev. Elizabeth Gardner of the Church of the Epiphany said the congregation felt called to open the church to the Muslim community because they were in need of a place to worship.

"It's our job to be the hands and feet of peace in the world, and how do we do that is by loving one another," she told CBS News in an interview posted on Thursday.

Farooq Syed, who coordinates the Friday prayers, said "I don't know if they ever thought that Muslims would come here and pray, and become one of the biggest congregations of Church of the Epiphany. This is the biggest congregation that Church of the Epiphany has, the Muslim prayers."

Read more at

http://www.christianpost.com/news/episcopal-churchs-largest-congregation-is-300-muslims-who-meet-for-friday-prayers-165924/#xGxMTWegxY80ld6f.99

Church leaders seek to unite divided country

From The Church Times-

UNITY, hope, and generosity are the values needed to enable the country to emerge from the transition out of the EU “confident and successful”, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have said.

In a result that confounded last-minute expectations, 51.9 per cent of voters in the UK opted to leave the EU. The Archbishops joined other church leaders, many of whom had publicly expressed their intention to vote Remain, in calling for reconciliation.

“We must now unite in a common task to build a generous and forward-looking country, contributing to human flourishing around the world,” they said in a statement issued on Friday morning. “We must remain hospitable and compassionate, builders of bridges and not barriers.” [Full statement below].

People must support those from overseas who would now be feeling a “deep sense of insecurity” by offering “reassurance, by cherishing our wonderfully diverse society, and by affirming the unique contribution of each and every one”.

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2016/1-july/news/uk/church-leaders-seek-to-unite-divided-country

Bishops’ consultation helps keep Communion together, says Hiltz

From Canada-

Seven years after the first Consultation of Anglican Bishops in Dialogue was held at the Anglican Communion offices in London, England, in 2010, a record 24 bishops—including four primates—came together in Accra, Ghana, from May 25-29 to learn about the unique contexts and challenges different parts of the African, North American and English churches are facing.

In a testimony released following the consultation, titled “Unity in Diversity,” the bishops looked back on what has been accomplished since 2010, and said that in order to build a stronger sense of unity, the Communion needs to turn to the past.

The testimony held up the concept of sankofa, common to the Akan people of the Gold Coast, as a useful way of doing so.

Sankofa can be translated as meaning “it is not a taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.” As the testimony explains, it is a way of seeing the past as a dynamic reality that should be examined and used as a resource for shaping the present and the future.

More here-

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/bishops-consultation-helps-keep-communion-together-says-hiltz

Episcopalians nominate new provisional bishop for South Carolina

From South Carolina (ENS)-

Leaders of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina have nominated the Rt. Rev. Gladstone B. “Skip” Adams III as the next provisional bishop for the diocese, calling him to South Carolina as he prepares to retire as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York.

The Standing Committee has called a special convention for Sept. 10 at Grace Church Cathedral in Charleston, where delegates will vote on installing Adams as the successor to Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg.

Adams was the unanimous choice of the Standing Committee, said the committee’s president, the Rev. Jean McGraw. The nomination follows a four-month search process and interviews with several potential nominees, coordinated with help from Bishop Clay Matthews of the Episcopal Church’s Office of Pastoral Development.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/06/30/episcopalians-nominate-new-provisional-bishop-for-south-carolina/

'Not my choice to leave:' retired Anglican priest reflects on 60 years in the Arctic

From Canada-

With a heavy heart, retired Anglican priest Mike Gardener is preparing to leave Iqaluit after a lifetime of work in the Arctic.

"It's not my choice to leave," says the 85-year-old.

After 61 years of life on Baffin Island and more than 41 years of work with the Anglican church in Kimmirut, Cape Dorset, Pangnirtung and Iqaluit, Gardener is moving to Ottawa next week.

His wife, Margaret, is moving into a special facility for Alzheimer's patients.

"And I want to be there in the place she is," he says.

Gardener says he is anxiously waiting for a facility to open in Nunavut that can accommodate patients like his wife, who need special care.

A group of people in Iqaluit, spearheaded by Gardener's daughter, MLA Pat Angnakak, is proposing to build an 80-person long-term care elders facility in Iqaluit as early as next year.

More here-

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mike-gardener-retired-anglican-priest-leaves-arctic-after-60-years-1.3657233

Episcopalians join together to help neighbors in flooded West Virginia

From ENS-

Episcopalians in the Diocese of West Virginia are helping their neighbors as the southeastern part of the state cleans up after last week’s devastating floods killed 23 people and damaged thousands of homes and businesses.

Fifteen of the state’s 23 deaths occurred in Greenbrier County. The two Episcopal churches in the county, St. James’ Episcopal Church in Lewisburg and St. Thomas Episcopal Church in White Sulphur Springs are already responding to the disaster with support from other congregations in the diocese.

Episcopal Relief & Development is providing technical and financial assistance to the Diocese of West Virginia, and the support will enable the diocese to pay for motel rooms for people who are displaced and supply gift cards so that people can buy needed clothes and household items.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/06/29/episcopalians-join-together-to-help-neighbors-in-flooded-west-virginia/

Oklahoma Episcopal leader takes Western North Carolina bishop's post

From Oklahoma (with video)-

A clergy leader in the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma recently was selected to serve as bishop for an out-of-state diocese.

The Rev. Jose McLoughlin was elected Saturday at an electing convention in Asheville, N.C., to serve as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina.

He currently serves as canon to the ordinary and chief of staff for the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, a position he has held since 2008.

McLoughlin, 47, was chosen from among four final candidates to lead Episcopalians in the Western North Carolina diocese, representing 15,000 members in 63 year-round congregations, six summer chapels and two conference centers.

More here-

http://newsok.com/article/5507012

The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon Jr., 13th bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, has died

From Charleston SC-

The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon Jr. died Wednesday after a battle with cancer.

Salmon, 83, served from 1990-2008 as the 13th bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.

Four years after his tenure ended, a majority of area parishes left The Episcopal Church after ongoing disputes over scriptural interpretations, namely over same-sex relationships, and administrative powers. That group today calls itself the Diocese of South Carolina while parishes that stayed with the national church are called The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

Bishop Mark Lawrence, who has lead the breakaway group since its departure, said in a press release that Salmon “was a champion of the faith; a tireless churchman, whose principled wisdom, sagacious humor and razor wit were legendary and widely loved by the casual acquaintance as well as by his family and longtime friends.”

More here-

http://www.postandcourier.com/20160629/160629386/the-rt-rev-edward-l-salmon-jr-13th-bishop-of-the-protestant-episcopal-diocese-of-south-carolina-has-died

Archbishop Berates Buhari’s Administration

From Nigeria-

The Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of being insensitive to the plight of  Nigerian masses.

The Anglican Cleric, who stated this  while delivering his address at the sixteenth Synod of Enugu Diocese held at the Church of Resurrection Power, New Haven, Enugu, equally said that Buhari was running a “corrupt administration.”

While condemning the President’s leadership style, he said it was sad that Buhari, who brags about anti- corruption, had taken delight in plunging the people he was elected to serve into hardship and suffering through his policies and programmes.

According to him, “It is corruption on your part if you increased prices of almost everything without palliatives to the people.

“There is hunger in the land, the people are complaining and crying and the one elected to serve us is enjoying his life at Aso Rock.

More here-

http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/2016/06/29/archbishop-berates-buharis-administration/

Gay Catholics laud pope’s remarks

From The Boston Globe-

Gay Catholic leaders in Boston are hailing Pope Francis’s assertion this week that Christians should apologize to gay people for marginalizing them.

But they also insist that words are insufficient: The church, they say, must change its teaching that gay sex is “intrinsically evil” and that marriage is a heterosexual union.

“I was taught by nuns that it’s not enough to say ‘I’m sorry,’ we had to make amends, and firmly commit to try as hard as we could not to make that mistake again,” said Peggy Hayes, president of Dignity/Boston, a community of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Catholics and their allies that worships in the South End. “I need to see that change of heart.

More here-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/06/28/gay-catholics-hail-pope-words/b7RcWCWurhzTxmJgaZuIrM/story.html

Mississippi Religious-Objection Law in Judge’s Hands

From The Wall Street Journal-

“The law simply provides religious accommodations granted by many states and federal law,” Republican Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. “I remain hopeful the courts will recognize that reality.”

“I truly believe that people will take great license with [the law] and there will be a lot of abuses,” said Susan Hrostowski, a 58-year-old plaintiff in one of four lawsuits. An Episcopal priest in Hattiesburg, Miss, she and her wife were among couples who won a ruling against the state ban on adoption by same sex couples in a separate case earlier this year.

The Mississippi legislation is one of many state bills social conservatives have sought amid setbacks on the national stage. North Carolina recently drew national attention, plus a legal fight with the U.S. Justice Department, with its  law that requires transgender people to use the public bathroom corresponding with the sex on their birth certificate.

More here-

http://www.wsj.com/articles/mississippi-religious-objection-law-in-judges-hands-1467152742

Letter to Episcopal Church from Presiding Bishop, President of House of Deputies

From ENS-

Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings have written the following letter to the Episcopal Church.

June 28, 2016

Dear People of God in the Episcopal Church:

We all know that some things in holy Scripture can be confusing, hard to understand, or open to various ways of understanding. But some essential teachings are clear and incontrovertible. Jesus tells us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, and he tells us over and over again not to be afraid (Matthew 10:31, Mark 5:36, Luke 8:50, John 14:27).

There’s no confusion about what Jesus is telling us, but it often requires courage to embody it in the real world. Again and again, we become afraid, and mired in that fear, we turn against Jesus and one another.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/06/28/letter-to-episcopal-church-from-presiding-bishop-president-of-house-of-deputies/

Also here-

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/us.episcopal.church.leadership.calls.for.repeal.of.north.carolina.transgender.law/89481.htm

Letter to Episcopal Church from Presiding Bishop, President of House of Deputies

From ENS-

Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings have written the following letter to the Episcopal Church.

June 28, 2016

Dear People of God in the Episcopal Church:

We all know that some things in holy Scripture can be confusing, hard to understand, or open to various ways of understanding. But some essential teachings are clear and incontrovertible. Jesus tells us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, and he tells us over and over again not to be afraid (Matthew 10:31, Mark 5:36, Luke 8:50, John 14:27).

There’s no confusion about what Jesus is telling us, but it often requires courage to embody it in the real world. Again and again, we become afraid, and mired in that fear, we turn against Jesus and one another.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/06/28/letter-to-episcopal-church-from-presiding-bishop-president-of-house-of-deputies/

Also here-

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/us.episcopal.church.leadership.calls.for.repeal.of.north.carolina.transgender.law/89481.htm

Pope's apology to gays is moving, but is it moving the Catholic Church?

From Seattle-

Pope Francis delivers surprises in his airborne news conferences, never more than Sunday when he argued that Catholics and other Christians must apologize to gay people and others for committing offenses and causing hurts.

Moved by a question referencing Orlando, Francis declared:  "The church must say it's sorry for not having comported itself well many times, many times."

He then turned first to a group long shunned by the Catholic hierarchy:  "I believe that the church not only must say it's sorry  . . . to this person who is gay that has been offended," he said, "but it must say it's sorry to the poor, also to mistreated women, to children forced to work."

More here-

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Pope-s-apology-to-gays-is-moving-but-is-it-8328268.php

Is it possible for politics and religion to co-exist?

From Tallahassee-

In a recent New York Times article, Dr. James Dobson, a leading Christian Evangelical, stated that Donald Trump has become a born-again Christian, that “Mr. Trump had recently come ‘to accept a relationship with Christ.’”

While I would never presuppose to judge anyone’s personal faith, it does beg the question whether political candidates and their campaigns can stand the test of living up to the faiths they profess.

Each religion upholds ideals to which its members are expected to adhere. While none of us do so perfectly, it is expected that we do our best.

Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism or other religions are not a clubs that members join. These are ways of life to which believers commit themselves. They are invitations into relations with the divine, as each believer understands the divine to be.

More here-

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2016/06/26/possible-politics-religion-co-exist/86411312/

Native American woman ordained to Episcopal diaconate

From Wyoming-

Roxanne Jimerson-Friday is set to become the first Native American woman from the Wind River Indian Reservation to be ordained to the transitional diaconate of the Episcopal Church in Wyoming.

Ceremonies begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Laramie, with the Rt. Rev. John S. Smylie, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming, presiding. Several others in the process of becoming priests will be ordained during the ceremony as well.

Jimerson-Friday’s ordination is a major step in the process of becoming a priest. Upon being ordained a priest, she will be the first Shoshone tribal member to do so, according to a media release.

More here-

http://trib.com/news/local/casper/native-american-woman-ordained-to-episcopal-diaconate/article_14173d4c-5c6e-52dd-bdc8-93a04568afe4.html

New bishop installed in Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

From Northern Indiana-

The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana has a new bishop.

Rev. Dr. Douglas Sparks was installed Saturday at a service at Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Wayne. He was consecrated by Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Sparks was elected during a diocesan convention on Feb. 6. Bishops and committees from other Episcopal dioceses approved of the consecration.

More here-

http://www.21alive.com/home/New-bishop-installed-in-Episcopal-Diocese-of-Northern-Indiana-384439271.html

Born-Again Donald Trump? Believe It, Evangelical Leader Says

From The New York Times-

Has Donald J. Trump become a born-again Christian?

That is the suggestion of James C. Dobson, one of America’s leading evangelicals, who said Mr. Trump had recently come “to accept a relationship with Christ” and was now “a baby Christian.”

Dr. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family and one of the country’s most prominent social conservatives, gave his account at a meeting Mr. Trump had in New York on Tuesday with hundreds of Christian conservatives.

In an interview recorded at the event by a Pennsylvania pastor, the Rev. Michael Anthony, Dr. Dobson said he knew the person who had led Mr. Trump to Christ, though he did not name him.

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/us/politics/a-born-again-donald-trump-believe-it-evangelical-leader-says.html?_r=0

THE REV. CANON JOSÉ McLOUGHLIN ELECTED AS SEVENTH BISHOP of WNC

From Western North Carolina-

On June 25, the Rev. Canon José A. McLoughlin was elected as the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina. During a special Electing Convention at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville, the Rev. Canon McLoughlin was chosen from among four final candidates to lead the Episcopal Church in Western North Carolina, representing 15,000 members in 63 year-round congregations, six summer chapels and two conference centers.

McLoughlin will join the diocese in September and will be consecrated as bishop on October 1. He replaces the Rt. Rev. G. Porter Taylor, the sixth bishop of the diocese, who was consecrated as bishop in 2004.

More here-

http://www.diocesewnc.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3179713