'It was a significant miscalculation' | DC faith leaders frustrated over President Trump's June 1 photo op at St. John's Church

 From D.C.-

Two weeks after President Donald Trump posed for a photo op in front of St. John's Church, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde invited other interfaith leaders to hold a joint prayer vigil at the church Sunday. 

Bishop Budde felt the way the President went about the picture was a "crime."

“The crime was the dispersal of a peaceful crowd, with all of the symbolism of the American government and military," she said.

Previous WUSA9 reporting shows that law enforcement deployed flash bangs and gas, similar to -- if not -- tear gas, to clear out protesters before President Trump posed in front of the church.

More here-


https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/protests/crime-dispersal-peaceful-crowd-interfaith-leaders-call-action/65-e5906915-3097-4115-8fa1-edb8fbf6e626

So Long, Cardinal Wuerl

From First Things-

As bishop of Pittsburgh, Wuerl was years ahead of his peers in responding to what would become the sexual abuse crisis. From the moment he arrived as bishop in 1988, Wuerl was meeting personally with victims at a time when many bishops would not even consider doing so. Within a year, Wuerl had established a diocesan committee to evaluate policies for responding to abuse allegations, a committee that grew to become the current Diocesan Review Board, nearly a decade before the Dallas Charter called for every diocese to have such a body. Wuerl also imposed a personal policy of “zero-tolerance” which stands comparison to any other diocesan policy today.   

Despite the grand jury report’s frequent mentions of Wuerl, that document cannot dent the core statistic: During Wuerl’s nineteen years as bishop of Pittsburgh, nineteen new allegations were brought forward against diocesan priests, and eighteen of these priests were immediately and permanently removed from ministry. And curial officials have not forgotten the time Wuerl flew to Rome to personally resist an order to reinstate an accused cleric, a contest of wills he eventually won.

More here-

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/05/so-long-cardinal-wuerl

In letter, Wuerl says he’s prepared to step down ‘to begin the healing’

From Washington DC-

Cardinal Donald Wuerl says he is prepared to step down in the wake of an intense firestorm of criticism over his handling of sex abuse claims dating back decades.

“Those called to serve the Church in a leadership capacity must recognize that we are to lead not only by word, but also by personal action,” Wuerl wrote in the Sept. 13 letter posted on the Archdiocese of Washington’s website. “We must be prepared to do whatever is needed, including stepping aside. This action on my part is an essential aspect of the healing so that this archdiocesan Church we all love can move forward.”

n a letter to priests sent earlier this week, Wuerl said he planned to meet with Pope Francis “in the near future” to discuss his possible resignation. Wuerl, 77, submitted his resignation nearly three years ago when he turned 75, which is customary.

More here-

https://wtop.com/dc/2018/09/in-letter-wuerl-says-hes-prepared-to-step-down-to-begin-the-healing/ 

and here-

http://dcist.com/2018/09/cardinal_wuerl_will_ask_pope_franci.php

Cardinal Wuerl Recognizes Calls for ‘New Leadership’ – Proposes Season of Healing

From NCR-

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington on Thursday recognized calls for new leadership in the archdiocese, including from local priests, but did not say whether he was considering stepping down.
In a September 6 letter to the priests of the archdiocese, Wuerl referenced a 90-minute period of prayer and discernment he had held with the priests of diocese three days earlier, before the annual Labor Day cookout.

“Among the many observations was that the archdiocese would be well served by new leadership to help move beyond the current confusion, disappointment and disunity,” he said in the letter.
Wuerl, who has faced growing calls for resignation over allegations of mishandling abuse reports, did not elaborate on his future leadership intentions. Sources have told CNA that Wuerl had hoped to stay on as Archbishop of Washington until the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ fall general assembly in November.

More here-

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-wuerl-recognizes-calls-for-new-leadership-proposes-season-of-heali 

and here-

http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/09/07/cardinal-wuerl-acknowledges-calls-for-new-leadership/

Many in Washington region turn to church for answers, hope with Trump administration

From The Washington Post-

Nearly a week after the end of a bitter and divisive presidential campaign, leaders of many Washington-area churches used services Sunday for reflection, healing and to calm the fears of members concerned about what a Trump administration could mean for their futures.

“Today we stand in wonderment, bewilderment, amazement and ask: What happened?” said the Rev. Dr. Marie Phillips Braxton, who offered the guest sermon at the historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in the District.

The nearly 180-year-old church, just blocks from the White House, with roots in the anti-slavery movement, has hosted multiple sitting presidents, including President Obama and Bill Clinton. But many said they did not know how to come to terms with Donald Trump as president.
More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/many-in-washington-region-turn-to-church-for-answers-hope-with-trump-administration/2016/11/13/847c2be6-a9ce-11e6-a31b-4b6397e625d0_story.html

‘God break racism!’ Evangelicals on D.C. Mall pray for hope and reconciliation

From The Washington Post-

Rappers and pastors, spoken word poets and authors appealed Saturday to thousands of evangelicals gathered around the Washington Monument in baking heat to recommit to prayer and hope at a time of intense racial and political polarization and growing secularism.

People streamed into prayer tents, asking volunteers for prayers to “reset” their lives, their families, their country. They got on their knees by the thousands, appealing to God to “break racism” at the call of charismatic evangelist Lou Engle, one of dozens of preachers in the hours-long lineup. They told personal stories of division in their lives that brought them to America’s capital for what aimed to be one of the bigger faith outreach events in the United States in years. Possibly an entire Bible’s worth of verses was written on the t-shirts in the crowd.

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/07/16/major-evangelical-revival-aims-to-uplift-traditional-christians-with-rap-rock-and-prayer/

Anglican ordinariate moves parish into Washington, DC

From Catholic Culture-

The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, established to serve the pastoral needs of former Anglicans in the US, is opening a parish community in Washington, DC.

St. Luke’s, an Episcopalian community that entered the Catholic Church in 2011, is moving from Bladensburg, Maryland, to the Immaculate Conception church in downtown Washington. The Vatican-approved liturgy of the ordinariate, incorporating elements of the Anglican liturgical tradition, will be celebrated daily there.

More here-

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=22481&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20CatholicWorldNewsFeatureStories%20(Catholic%20World%20News%20(on%20CatholicCulture.org))

James Renwick’s Trinity Episcopal Church was a striking place of worship

From The Washington Post-

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Answer Man remembers reading that somewhere. The point the author was trying to make was this: Nothing lasts forever.

That was certainly true of Trinity Episcopal Church, which stood for 85 years at the northeast corner of Third and C streets NW, where the Department of Labor is today. So striking was its design — especially the pair of spires, topped by airy, open steeples made of wood — that several readers turned to Answer Man for information on the red sandstone church.

The handsome house of worship came from the pen of New York architect James Renwick, best known in Washington for designing the Smithsonian Castle. In fact, Renwick’s Trinity Episcopal Church almost was the Smithsonian.
More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/james-renwicks-trinity-episcopal-church-was-a-striking-place-of-worship/2014/01/04/7dbc07c2-73c1-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html

61 religious leaders attack Redskins name in letter

From Minnesota-

A letter castigating the team name of the Washington pro football club and signed by 61 religious leaders mostly from the Washington region is scheduled to be sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and team owner Daniel Snyder on Thursday, according to the minister who is the driving force behind it.

The letter, dated Dec. 5, casts the roiling national controversy over the team name as a moral issue and includes signatures of leaders from a range of faith communities including Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, United Church of Christ, AME, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim.

"The derogatory term 'redskin' offends many Native Americans and others in this country," the letter says. "This word, defined in the dictionary as a slur, should not be publicly marketed and celebrated in America, which is built on the ideals of respect and inclusion."

More here-

http://www.sctimes.com/usatoday/article/3872663&usatref=sportsmod

Chaplains visit site of killings

From The Church Times-

CHAPLAINS rushed to comfort the injured and grieving at the Washington Navy Yard, where 12 people were killed by a gunman this week.

A former US Navy serviceman, Aaron Alexis, died after a gun-battle with police at the Navy Yard on Monday morning. Reports suggest that he had mental-health problems, and was known to police for two previous gun-related incidents.

Naval chaplains on the base, and others from bases near by, were brought in to assist those affected by the incident. Washington Cathedral offered prayers throughout the day for the victims, their families, and those treating them.

The Dean, the Very Revd Gary Hall, said: "All of us at Washington National Cathedral heard the news of this morning's shootings at the Washington Navy Yard with a mixture of shock and sadness. We mourn for those who have died, and we continue to grieve the persistence of gun violence in our nation."

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/20-september/news/world/chaplains-visit-site-of-killings

Prayers Follow Shootings

From The Living Church-

Washington National Cathedral is offering prayers throughout the day in response to the shootings reported at the Washington Navy Yard this morning. The Very Rev. Gary Hall, dean of the Cathedral, has released the following statement:

All of us at Washington National Cathedral heard the news of this morning’s shootings at the Washington Navy Yard with a mixture of shock and sadness. We mourn for those who have died, and we continue to grieve the persistence of gun violence in our nation. The Cathedral will hold the victims, first responders, and the Navy community in prayer, while also making the Cathedral’s space and its ministries available today to all who seek consolation and refuge from this loss.

The noonday service of Holy Eucharist, as well as the Choral Evensong service at 5:30 p.m. Monday, are open to all. Cathedral clergy intend to offer special prayers for the victims and first responders in both services.

More here-

 http://www.livingchurch.org/prayers-follow-shootings

A Search For Faith In 'Godless' Washington

From Washington DC-

War has brought the act of faith to the forefront for those who occupy the White House. President Lincoln famously issued a call to prayer during the Civil war. Franklin Roosevelt announced D-Day to the nation with a prayer.

Today, President Obama receives a daily spiritual meditation. The man who sends those messages is a Pentecostal minister named Joshua DuBois.

When he first moved to Washington, D.C., DuBois says he had already formed an impression about the spiritual life of the town.

"I had heard that Washington was, quite frankly, a pretty godless place," he says, "that people weren't serious about their faith and their values."

But what he found was quite the opposite.

"A lot of folks who were active in the public square, when they got back home, they took their faith practice pretty seriously, and that was illuminating for me," he says.

DuBois worked with religious communities across the U.S. as the head of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships under Obama. In February 2013, he stepped down and took a teaching position at New York University, and also writes for the Daily Beast.

More here-

http://www.wknofm.org/post/search-faith-godless-washington

Seat of Liberalism

From The American Spectator-

Is the Washington National Cathedral the spiritual center of the nation? In the mind of the liberal Episcopal cathedral’s new dean, it should be.

Such an assertion would surprise many of America’s churchgoers, the vast majority of whom are not even Oldline Protestants, let alone Episcopalians. But since assuming leadership of the Cathedral in October, Dean Gary R. Hall has frequently spoken of the church’s role as being “at the center” of American public life. Hall wants to raise the cathedral’s profile as not just a center of worship, but as an organized political advocacy center on a host of liberal issues.

Unlike some of his predecessors, Hall is not content to host conversational forums with authors and poets or preside over high-profile funerals like those of Gerald Ford and Neil Armstrong. From calling in December for new firearms restrictions, to announcing last week that the massive gothic church is available for gay weddings, Hall embraces liberal causes as easily as he dismisses traditional Christianity.

More here-

http://spectator.org/archives/2013/01/21/seat-of-liberalism

Remembering a great woman and role model

From The National Catholic Reporter-

When I first met Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon, we had an informal lunch and talked about her groundbreaking role as the first woman Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C., and the second woman bishop in the United States, following Bishop Barbara Harris of Massachusetts.
We talked about the fact that women can’t even be deacons in the Catholic church (yet), but she pointed out that no struggles for gender equality are easy. Catholic women, she believed, would eventually be accepted into all levels of the priesthood.

Jane understood well her own pioneer role, saying at a press conference on the day of her consecration in 1992, “I am a symbol of the inclusiveness of God.”

Those were the days when women could become bishops in the Episcopal Church, but were not yet universally accepted. Jane had to deal with a couple recalcitrant parishes that refused to welcome her, situations which she handled with grace, courage and conviction.

More here-

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/remembering-great-woman-and-role-model

As bells toll, clergy push Congress on gun control

From Christian Century-

As bells tolled across the country on Friday (Dec. 21) in memory of lives lost in Newtown, Conn., religious leaders gathered outside the Washington National Cathedral to push congregants and Congress to prevent further gun violence.

"Is the need for sensible gun control a religious issue?" asked Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. "Indeed it is, for our worship of guns is a form of idolatry."

Saperstein was among 20 faith leaders who gathered outside the Washington landmark Friday to mark the one-week anniversary of the mass killing at the Newtown elementary school. They paused as the cathedral's funeral bell tolled 28 times in memory of the 26 children and adults from Sandy Hook Elementary School, as well as the gunman and gunman's mother, who also died.

Washington Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde said prayer alone was not a sufficient response to the massacre.

"Now is also a time for us to show up in ways that will prevent such deaths in the future," she said. "If we only pray and offer comfort now, and do not act, we are complicit in perpetuating the conditions that allow these crimes to occur."

More here-

http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-12/bells-toll-clergy-push-congress-gun-control

In wake of school massacre, National Cathedral dean, Episcopal bishop preach about gun control

From The Washington Post-

The Episcopal bishop of Washington and the dean of the Washington National Cathedral are calling for stricter gun control in their Sunday sermons.

The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop, says the children and teachers who were gunned down in a Connecticut school shouldn’t die in vain. She says “if we only pray and do not act, we are complicit” in allowing such crimes to occur.

Budde preached at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Washington. She says civilians shouldn’t own assault weapons.

The Very Rev. Gary Hall, the National Cathedral dean, said in his sermon that Christians can no longer tolerate gun violence and that they have a moral obligation to work to end it.

Hall says the cathedral should become a focal point for advocating gun control.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-wake-of-school-massacre-national-cathedral-dean-episcopal-bishop-preach-about-gun-control/2012/12/16/5e1dc372-47cd-11e2-8af9-9b50cb4605a7_story.html

Why I am Grateful to Be an Episcopalian: Part 2 – Adventures in Church Shopping

From Patheos- (looking for part one)

My husband Daniel and I met at the Potter’s House Church in Washington, D.C., which was part of the Church of the Saviour movement. We worshipped on Wednesday evenings in a coffee house that the church also ran as a nonprofit business. The Potter’s House was the center of our social and spiritual life. We still count the friends we made there among our most intimate lifelong friends, the kind of people whom we see very rarely, but with whom we are able to pick up just where we left off. The Potter’s House took both social justice issues and a personal relationship with Jesus seriously—a surprisingly rare combination in a church.

But by the time we married, Daniel finished grad school, and we moved north to Connecticut for his first professional job, we were both burned out by the Potter’s House/Church of the Saviour model. In a small church with no clergy, there was not only a lot of work to do, but also a lot of conflict as we tried to work out a common vision for both our worshipping community and our coffee house business through consensus. If you wanted to see something done in our church, you absolutely had to do it yourself. 

More here-

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/ellenpainterdollar/2012/11/why-i-am-grateful-to-be-an-episcopalian-part-2-adventures-in-church-shopping/

Neil Armstrong to Be Remembered Thursday With Public Memorial at National Cathedral

From Washington DC-

Neil Armstrong, the first person to step foot on the moon, will be remembered Thursday by NASA leaders and other dignitaries at a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral.
Armstrong, who died last month at age 82 following complications from cardiovascular surgery, will honored by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and retired astronaut Michael Collins, the third member of the Apollo 11 mission in which Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their famous moonwalk.

The Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, will lead the service, which will also include remarks by former Treasury Secretary John W. Snow and a performance by the jazz musician Diana Krall, who will sing Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon."

The National Cathedral is a fitting place for a tribute to Armstrong. Among the grand church's many stained-glass windows is one depicting a peaceful sea of celestial bodies. Officially called the Scientists and Technicians Window (Space), the "Space Window got its name after Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins presented the cathedral with a 7.18-gram basalt lunar sample in 1974. The rock now sits embedded in the glass.

More here-

http://dcist.com/2012/09/neil_armstrong_to_be_remembered_thu.php

Masked, armed robber invades St. Stephen Episcopal Church in D.C.

From D.C. (with video)

A gun-wielding, masked robber invaded St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church in Columbia Heights Saturday afternoon.

Police and church workers say crime is a growing problem at the church, which is known to have an open-door policy.

The church, on Newton Street NW, just off 16th Street, was founded in 1925 and was the first Episcopal church in D.C. to integrate. It currently houses a dozen non-profit organizations in its basement, including Thrive D.C., which serves meals to 200 people every day.

D.C. police say the suspect ran up and pointed a gun at a 26-year-old man as he walked into the church around 12:30 p.m., then put a gun to the back of the man's head and said "Yo, do you have any money?"

As the victim handed over his wallet, iPhone, and Kindle, Rev. Sarabeth Goodwin walked out of the sanctuary and came face to face with the gunman who then pointed the gun at her.

More here-

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/09/masked-armed-robber-invades-st-stephen-episcopal-church-in-d-c--79607.html

President Obama And Family Go To Church

From Huffington-

On a crisp, mostly sunny Easter morning, the First Family walked across Lafayette Square to 11 a.m. services at St. John's Episcopal Church.

"Happy Easter, everybody," the president said as he strolled past the pool. He was wearing a dark suit with a light-blue tie. The first lady was wearing a magenta-colored dress with a black shrug.

A long line of people waited outside the church. They were being admitted through a side door.

During the Prayers of the People, as is customary, the congregation offered a prayer for "Barack, our President, the leaders of Congress, and the Supreme Court, and all who are in positions of authority."

POTUS was glimpsed briefly, in a pew on the right side of the center aisle, about six rows back, turning around to shake the hands of other worshipers during the offering of peace.

The President lined up for communion, ahead of First Lady Michelle Obama and daughter Malia. As the first couple returned to their seats, they smiled and greeted other worshipers.

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/08/easter-2012-president-obama_n_1411099.html?ref=religion