Episcopal Church Needs Evangelicals

Richard Mouw , President of Fuller Seminary encourages conservatives to stay as a witness.

This is a complicated issue for many of us who worry about the theological direction of the Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA). For one thing, I hate to see conservatives leave over women's ordination. What that means, among other things, is that they are abandoning many dedicated women clergy who are themselves conservative on the other two issues: biblical authority and homosexuality.

But we do have to be clear that it is not enough to say that the departing conservatives are simply setting up "a separate denomination." In this case they are aligning themselves with the growing majority of Anglican churches around the world--an alignment that liberal Episcopalians are choosing to abandon by their recent actions. For me, though, there is a further complication.

The evangelical seminary that I lead was founded six decades ago to counter the "separatism" of much of the evangelicalism of the day. One of the founding purposes, then, was to prepare persons for evangelical ministries in mainline denominations. While I respect and support those who sense God's call to depart from a denomination like ECUSA, I also want to respect the call of those evangelicals who choose to hang in there. I don't want to see ECUSA left without an evangelical presence.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/richard_mouw/2008/12/wrong_to_leave_episcopal_churc.html

Henderson to leave the Episcopal Diocese helm

The Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, who has led the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina since 1995, announced today that he is calling for the election of a successor.

Henderson will be a year away from the mandatory retirement age of 72 at the end of next year and said he feels he has done all he can do for the diocese.

Henderson, who played a key role in the national controversy over the ordination of a gay bishop, doesn't believe any more parishes in Upper South Carolina will be splitting away from the denomination and believes things are in good shape going forward without him.

Henderson voted against the ordination of a gay bishop and led a committee that studied the issue. His role in that controversy absorbed some physical, emotional and spiritual energy, and dulled somewhat the edge of my creativity," he wrote in a letter to Upstate Episcopalians. "It has not, however, reduced my love of the Lord and the Lord’s Church, nor the sheer joy I have as a deacon, priest and bishop."

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081217/NEWS01/81217011/1001/NEWS

Witnessing theology from inside

Report on the situation in Virginia and one of the parishes that decided to stay in TEC and why.

"I respected the congregation's wishes," he told me. "I struggled with the decision to stay in the Episcopal Church. As things dragged out, we were late in taking that vote."

St. Peter's ended up losing 50 percent of its members. Mr. Koth went on a leave of absence, then left the church in December 2007. By that point, the congregation was down to 150 members.

"We were a small mission church," Mr. Koth said, "so they didn't have the strength to withstand what happened."

In April, he was hired at the Falls Church, the largest of the 11 departing congregations. Amazingly, the 11, now part of the Anglican District of Virginia, have won a series of legal battles with the diocese to keep their property. A fourth and final court decision comes out Friday.

Marvin Lawley, senior warden at St. Peter's, told me things there are looking up and that 14 new families have arrived.

"We made more impact by staying than by going away," he said.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/18/witnessing-theology-from-inside/

Episcopal Head Addresses Controversies, Challenges Media

The PB at the The National Press Club this week-

"On two occasions in the last few days, leaders in my own church have said to me that the church only makes the front page if it’s about schism or sex – and in the current era, preferably both," said Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who leads The Episcopal Church – the U.S. arm of Anglicanism.

The Episcopal Church has made headlines over the last several years ever since it consecrated its first openly gay bishop in 2003. The move, which conservatives see as part of the national church's departure from Anglican tradition and Scripture, created deeper rifts within the global Anglican Communion and forced a number of congregations to break from the U.S. body.

Now The Episcopal Church is prominently back in the spotlight over a rival Anglican church that conservatives are forming in North America. Conservative groups, representing 100,000 Anglicans who severed ties with The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, have expressed a desire to live out their faith separate from the current existing North American bodies but aligned with the rest of the Anglican Communion.

Its all here-

http://christianpost.com/article/20081217/episcopal-head-addresses-controversies-challenges-media.htm

Children real victims of credit crunch claims Rowan Williams

From the London Times. Apparently Rowan is pro-life.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a strong message in support of children, giving a further indication of his traditional, Catholic stance on "life" issues. He warns that in the present credit crisis, it is children who are among those likely to suffer most.

Dr Rowan Williams, in his Christmas message to the 75-million strong Anglican Communion, makes it clear that he considers the unborn child from the moment of conception to be a full member of the human family. And he speaks out strongly against the abuse of children forced into being child soldiers, and of those who suffer unacceptable cruelty at the hands of those close to them, such as Baby P.

Dr Williams, drawing on the Christian tradition that God was born as a baby in Jesus Christ at Bethlehem on Christmas Day, says the concept of divinity manifesting itself as a defenceless baby is both "shocking" and "deeply challenging." He also reiterates the Christian stance against assisted dying by emphasising the value of human life even when disability or deprivation leaves a person with hardly any signs of "freedom or thought".

Its all here-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5347861.ece

The tumultuous history of Christmas caroling What's this about drunkeness?

Ok, now I understand the "wassailing" thing!

In 1607, the first settlers at Jamestown managed to observe the holiday while their leader, Captain John Smith, was out bartering for food. Carolyn writes, "the majority of the early settlers in Virginia, Maryland and the Carolinas were Anglicans of English descent. Perhaps because their history in the new world was grounded in hardship, struggle and uncertainty, they maintained a reasonable balance between observing Christmas as a sacred time and as a time of relaxation and rejoicing. Their Christmas celebrations emphasized feasting, drinking, dancing, card playing, horse racing, cock fighting and other games, rather than worship. The old English Christmas customs they brought along with them included Christmas carols, Yule logs, kissing under the mistletoe and decking homes with greenery."

Much to the Puritans' chagrin, settlers to the area kept bringing their own Christmas customs. The Dutch, who settled in New York, brought Sinter Klaas, who would later be known as Santa Claus. Germans, settling in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia, were known to celebrate Christmas despite the opposition.

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081216/THECONCORDINSIDER/812160375/1028/OPINION02

Good Stuff in TEC: New Jersey

Project Homeless Connect

Though we know it is "rough" economy to say the least, there are many people who have had economic hardships for quite some time right here in Morris County. Homelessness is a situation that people may find themselves due to job loss, when a primary care taker becomes ill or due to generational poverty. The Interfaith Council for Homeless Families in Morris County offers assistance to families in a homeless situation by providing long term emergency shelter, counseling and programs to help people acquire more stable and financially sound jobs. The result? Families once again living independently in affordable housing with the support they need to sustain themselves for the long term.

Amongst many organized efforts, Project Homeless Connect is an extraordinary event organized by Joann Bjornson, Executive Director of Interfaith Council for Homeless Families in Morris County. On Thursday, December 4th the second annual Project Homeless Connect was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. With over one hundred visitors, Project Homeless Connect served as a means for people in need of assistance to meet with counselors, receive free medical exams and literally "connect" with organizations in the area that can help get them back on their feet again. The event drew about two dozen agencies and is sponsored in part by the United Way of Morris County and St. Clare's Health Services.

http://www.nj.com/morristown/dominiquetornabe/index.ssf/2008/12/project_homeless_connect.html

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Good Stuff in TEC: Georgia

Holidays come early for hundreds in need

More than 450 people lined up Tuesday night outside Macon’s Christ Episcopal Church downtown to receive a free meal, clothes, toiletries and children’s toys at the annual Mentors Project Christmas event.

The crowd, the largest in the event’s nine-year history, reflected an ever-varying melting pot of midstate residents who are feeling the impact of the tough economy and worsening job market — part-time employees, large families, teenagers caring for young siblings, college students, senior citizens and the homeless, who rely on help from others that is increasingly sparse.

Throughout the Walnut Street church, volunteers manned charity stations, passing out bowls of soup and sandwiches in a large auditorium and donated women’s and men’s clothing and toys for kids in three smaller back areas.

June O’Neal, who organized the event this year, worked a moving line where adults waited to take a bag with two blankets, a flashlight and thermos, hats and gloves, fruit and other items to make do in the cold.

http://www.macon.com/198/story/559135.html

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Pity the poor Anglicans? They'll decline. (The offer)

From the Vancouver Canada paper-

The threat of schism in the worldwide Anglican communion, focussing on dust-ups in the U.S. and Canada, has been much in the news for almost a decade. The media and some Anglicans have created a sense of overwhelming crisis in the 70 million-member denomination.

It's enough to make you pity the poor Anglicans.

But I think most would decline the offer.

Many don't seem to want pity, which can have a condescending quality. They recognize some shifts are happening in global Anglicanism, not to mention global Christianity. But most Anglicans just want to get on with the "business" of being a vibrant, caring church. Many congregations around the world, including in Canada and the U.S., are doing just that.

There was media fanfare in early December when the Common Cause Partnership, a group of 700 conservative Anglican congregations in the U.S. and Canada, announced they're want to create their own "province" of the Anglican church. It was no small event, but such "news" now has a certain tiredness for most Anglicans.

It's also not the whole story in the Anglican church, including in Metro Vancouver, which has been one of the Anglican denomination's hot spots, with its years-old debate over same-sex blessings.

Even the Religion Newswriters Association, which represents almost 300 religion writers at secular news outlets in North America, added a "reality check" to the Anglican "crisis" this week.

Worth Reading the rest here-

http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thesearch/archive/2008/12/16/pity-the-poor-anglicans.aspx

New Mexico diocese votes to stay Episcopal

The Diocese of the Rio Grande votes to leave the Network and stay in the Episcopal Church. (Now those are hats!)

Episcopalians in New Mexico have voted to leave a conservative umbrella group and "reaffirm" their commitment to the Episcopal Church rather than join a new rival Anglican province on U.S. soil.

The Albuquerque-based Diocese of the Rio Grande on Thursday (Dec. 11) said it could not support plans to launch a new Anglican Church in North America and voted to end its four-year membership in the Pittsburgh-based Anglican Communion Network.

The Anglican Communion Network is one of 11 conservative groups that joined together to launch the new province on Dec. 3. Four Episcopal dioceses that belonged to the Pittsburgh group and have already left the national church plan to join the new province.

But other Episcopal dioceses that supported the Pittsburgh group, like Rio Grande, do not plan to join the new province and are likely to remain in the Episcopal Church, officials said.

"The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande disaffiliates from the Anglican Communion Network and rescinds its motion of support … and reaffirms the Diocese of the Rio Grande’s commitment to the Episcopal Church," the diocese’s elected leadership said in a unanimous resolution.

http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/2849

Re-Established Pittsburgh Diocese Convenes

From the Living Church

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh held its reorganizing convention Dec. 13–14 at St. Paul’s Church in suburban Mt.Lebanon. The special convention, “Coming Together in Faith,” adopted a budget and elected more than 50 people to positions vacated by those who followed Bishop Robert Duncan out of The Episcopal Church after the annual convention vote Oct. 4 to realign with the AnglicanProvince of the Southern Cone.

Twenty-seven congregations sent voting deputations to the meeting, including Trinity Cathedral, which previously announced plans to serve as the cathedral for both dioceses and had sent deputies to the convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh (Anglican) as well. Deputies approved a $789,198 budget for 2009. The amount includes a grant of $270,000 from The Episcopal Church.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/12/15/re-established-pittsburgh-diocese-convenes

GPS Being Used To Protect Holiday Displays

Not quite from the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department, but pretty close.

Electronic tracking devices are being used in a new way this holiday season. They are being used to protect some old traditions. CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports.

Pranksters should beware: big brother may just be guarding those nativity scenes and Menorahs on lawns across the country.

Every year, churches around the world put out nativity scenes and every year without fail the baby Jesus disappears from a display or two.
Sometimes, it's not just the baby Jesus. In fact at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, two wise men and a cow have also gone on holiday hiatuses.

"Ten years ago two of the wise men disappeared from the scene and they reappeared on a ski slope in Lisle," said Father George Smith.

The wise men were recovered, but the cow is still missing. That is why St. Mark's is joining a growing number of churches and synagogues turning to GPS devices and hidden cameras to help them track their holiday displays.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/GPS.Protects.Jesus.2.888074.html

Amazing Grace documentary released

An update on Canada's Amazing Grace Project where congregations sent in videos of themeslves singing the hymn. Oh Canada !

The long-awaited Amazing Grace compilation video is released today as a gift to the Anglican Church of Canada. Called Amazing Together, the 10-minute documentary includes video clips from hundreds of congregations that sang "Amazing Grace" on Nov. 23 and submitted their renditions to the national office before Dec. 1.
Over 500 videos were sent in out of 2,000 congregations in Canada. Singers were asked to donate a toonie to the Council of the North, a group of dioceses involved in work and ministry in Canada's north, and to date over $30,000 has been raised.

Canadian Anglicans sang the hymn on beaches, in remote chapels, a cappella, in labyrinths, and with jazz ensembles.

"I think the program is absolutely beautiful," Lisa Barry, senior producer of Anglican Video wrote in an online reflection. "It's folksy and wobbly and full of Spirit and hope and I love it."

In a press release about the video's success, Archdeacon Michael Pollesel, general secretary of General Synod, said "Amazing Together stands as a strong example of what Canadian Anglicans can do when something captures their imagination. We often hear church unity described as a fragile thing. This demonstrates conclusively that in the hearts and minds of Anglicans from coast to coast to coast, the church is strong and it is united."

http://www.anglican.ca/news/news.php?newsItem=2008-12-15_as2.fyi

Pittsburgh Episcopalians reorganize diocese

Episcopal Life reports on Saturday's Convention-

Members of 28 congregations took part in the December 12 convention, representing 40% of both the number of parishes and total membership -- as measured by the benchmark average Sunday attendance -- in the Pittsburgh diocese prior to October, according to a diocesan news release. Members of 18 congregations had declared their plans to remain with the diocese in the days just after the October convention.

"They're realizing that this is a better place to be," the Rev. James Simons, president of the Standing Committee and rector of St. Michael's of the Valley in Ligonier, told ENS. He said he expects the number to grow over time. "There's no time limit as far as we are concerned" for people who want to join or re-join the diocese.

The convention passed four resolutions, including one affirming that the diocese continues to accede to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church; approved a $764,000 budget for 2009; and elected people to diocesan leadership positions.

http://www.episcopal-life.org/79901_103790_ENG_HTM.htm

Happy Birthday Phillips Brooks

One of the great preachers of the 19th Century, Phillips Brooks was born on this day in 1835. He served in Philadelphia before being called to Trinity Boston where he served for many years and then briefly before his death he was Bishop of Massachusetts.

His "Lectures on Preaching" delivered at Yale in 1871 are still worth reading. In the opening pages he writes-

"Let us rejoice with one another that in a world where there are a great many good and happy things for men to do, God has given us the best and happiest, and made us preachers of his truth".

He also wrote the lyrics to "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

There's some more here-

http://www.preaching.com/resources/past_masters/11548006/

With regrets, several hundred local worshippers leave Episcopal Church

If you have to leave this is the way to do it. From near my wife's hometown of North Tonawanda, not to be confused with Tonawanda or in this case the Town of Tonawanda.

Don and Gladys Miller worshipped weekly for 53 years in the sanctuary at 1064 Brighton Road.

But Sunday, the Millers walked away from the Town of Tonawanda church building they’ve known as their spiritual home since 1955.

“We’ve been here a long time, and it’s hard to leave,” said Don Miller, dabbing at tears. “We decided a long time ago that we would move with the church.”

The Millers are joining an expected several hundred parishioners of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in a highly unusual journey: Not only are they moving into a new facility, they’re also leaving the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Western New York.

(snip)

The membership chose not to contest ownership of the property in court and instead purchased the former Temple Beth El for $750,000. The congregation will celebrate its first liturgy in the new sanctuary this Sunday.

The Episcopal diocese will continue to operate a parish called Church of the Holy Apostles at 1064 Brighton Road. Bishop J. Michael Garrison will host a meeting and compline service at 7 p.m. today.

http://www.buffalonews.com/494/story/523522.html

All you need is love, archbishop tells the regulars

ARCHBISHOP of Canterbury Rowan Williams has declared a desire for people of different religions to unite to tackle global environmental crises.

He further said that Christian Christmas decorations in city centres will not cause offence to people of other faiths.

Dr Williams presented a vision of a multi-faith society based on tolerance and respect during a visit to a Cardiff church which meets in the upper room of a bar.

The Swansea-born nominal leader of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion said religious decorations were rarely removed at the request of people of faith.

He said: “[It’s] hardly ever because Muslims or Hindus are complaining. It’s usually because uncomfortable agnostics in the council offices think: ‘Oh, panic! It’s a multi-religious society. We’ve got to be careful, otherwise we’ll offend people.’”

He continued: “I have yet to hear any real-life Muslim, Jew, Buddhist or Hindu complain about the public presence of Christian symbols. They know they are in a country whose history is Christian... Most of them are happy to live with that if they feel, too, that their convictions are fully respected.”

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/2008/12/15/all-you-need-is-love-archbishop-tells-the-regulars-91466-22476459/

33 bishops, deacons ordained in Breakaway Province

Apparently North America is not the only place dealing with an Anglican schism. From Africa-

THE Anglican Province of Zimbabwe yesterday ordained 33 bishops and deacons to serve in its dioceses.

The province is made up of dioceses that broke from the Church of the Province of Central Africa early this year following disagreements over homosexuality.

Of those ordained, 23 were serving deacons with the remainder being new office-bearers.

Archbishop Nolbert Kunonga said the deacons and bishops should truthfully serve the province and not tolerate homosexuality within the church.

"This is confirmation that we are going ahead with the building of the new province after breaking away from the Province of Central Africa.

http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=1652&cat=1

Good Stuff in TEC: Mississippi

Priest turns broken glass from church into a cross

The Rev. Bruce Cheney worked a year to create a stained-glass cross for Holy Cross Episcopal Church's building. Using pieces from windows broken at Christ Episcopal Church in Bay St. Louis during the storm, Cheney didn't just place colorful glass into an eye-catching pattern.

He told a story.

One section of blue glass symbolizes the surge. Nine red pieces - three circular, three rectangular and then three more circular ones - reflect the international Morse code distress signal of dot, dot, dot; dash, dash, dash; dot, dot, dot.

Silvery-white chunks arranged in a swirl represent the hurricane. More blue glass represents sky, and at the top, using yellow-orange pieces, Cheney made a cross.

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20081215/FEAT05/812150313/1023

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Bishop faces rebellion over women clergy

From the Telegraph. (Looks like he's wearing the same hat Peter Cooke did in The Princess Bride.)

On one side of the row is the Rt Rev John Hind, the Bishop of Chichester, who has a black belt in judo and a staunch opponent of the ordination of women.

In the opposing corner is a growing group of clergy and worshippers in his diocese, who are dismayed by the bishop's intransigence.

Bishop Hind has told his diocesan synod that when he appoints a new junior bishop, they will not be permitted to ordain women.

He has been bombarded with letters of protest against his stance, and faces a growing revolt. Behind closed doors, influential figures in the diocese are holding clandestine meetings to consider what action to take. Several of his priests have also already written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, believing that the bishop's attitude discriminates against women.

One senior cleric in the diocese has accused the bishop of trying to establish a refuge for anti-women priests. He claimed that the decision to block the appointment of a new bishop who would ordain women was an attempt to create a haven for traditionalists opposed to female priests.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/3740980/Bishop-faces-rebellion-over-women-clergy.html

Avery Dulles, 90; Prominent Catholic Cardinal, Theologian

I think it was Dulles who said of Fletcher's Situation Ethics that the problem wasn't the situational aspect the problem was that the concept of "love" ran through the book like a greased pig. From the Washington Post. (That's Avery in the nifty hat along side the President of Fordham College.)

Cardinal Avery Dulles, 90, a former professor at Catholic University who was born into a family of elite Protestant diplomats and became one of the country's most prominent Catholic theologians, died Dec. 12 at an infirmary at Fordham University in New York. Stricken with polio when young, he had post-polio syndrome, which led to progressive muscular and pulmonary deterioration.

Cardinal Dulles, who was appointed to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II in 2001, was the first academic to be named to the Catholic Church's highest advisory council, as well as the first who had never served as a bishop.

Cardinal Dulles, a very tall and thin figure, was known for his unusual spiritual journey and came to be considered a calm statesman of Catholicism during a time of great turmoil.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/13/AR2008121301911.html

Non-seceding Episcopalians hold South Hills convention

Post-Gazette report on the convention in The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh yesterday.

Tribune Review Report is the second link below-

Leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh that remained in the Episcopal Church after a majority of the diocese seceded, named retired Bishop Robert Hodges Johnson, formerly of the Diocese of Western North Carolina, to serve as its interim spiritual leader with limited powers.

"He is, we believe, the right person at the right time," the Rev. James Simons, president of the diocesan Standing Committee which governs the diocese, told a convention of 71 laity and 42 clergy yesterday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Mt. Lebanon.

Bishop Johnson, who did not attend, is expected to arrive soon, and serve two weeks per month through July.

The announcement came at a special convention to elect new leaders to replace the many who voted Oct. 4 to realign with the more theologically conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America. It represented 27 churches.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08349/935122-85.stm

From the Trib

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_602943.html

Diocese of Pittsburgh Convention Address

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven"

These familiar words, from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, are often read at funerals and were turned into a popular song in the 1960’s. The preacher, Koheloth, begins to pair opposites such as in "a time to be born and time to die, a time to weep and a time to laugh." Of the fourteen pairings, one has always troubled me, or, I should say, didn’t make a lot of sense to me and seemed to be out of place with the others. It occurs in the fifth verse: " A time to cast stones and a time to gather stones together".

(snip)

As we seek to rebuild the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, we are not starting with a clean slate. As we move forward we carry the burden and scars of our recent past history. In short, we have developed a culture over the past several years that has not been one of grace and charity. We bring with us patterns of behavior which sought to categorize and judge others by what were in many cases arbitrary measures. We have not thought the best of each other and we have assigned motives for others’ actions, often without speaking to that person or seeking to obtain accurate information. It was a culture of fear and control, and many in this room, including myself, cooperated in the creation of that culture. It was a culture of throwing stones, and I stand before you now to say, "Today that culture ends."

It's all here-

http://www.episcopalpgh.org/simons-state-of-the-diocese/

Robert H. Johnson - Assisting Bishop in Pittsburgh

From the Diocesan web site.

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh has asked a respected senior bishop in The Episcopal Church to be its spiritual leader for the near future.

The Rt. Rev. Robert Hodges Johnson, the retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, has accepted a call to serve as Assisting Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Johnson’s appointment was made public today at the Special Convention of the Pittsburgh Diocese, which was called to reorganize the Diocese following the decision in October by many diocesan leaders and clergy to leave The Episcopal Church.

“Bishop Johnson will help us begin the healing we so badly need. He is, we believe, the right person at the right time,” the Rev. Dr. James Simons told the convention. Simons is President of the Standing Committee which has led the Diocese since October and chose Johnson.

http://www.episcopalpgh.org/bishop-johnson-named/

From "Breaking News" in the Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08348/935061-100.stm

News Release About Saturday's Convention in Pittsburgh

A Special Convention to reorganize a diocese with an increasing numbers remaining in The Episcopal Church is set for this weekend, Friday and Saturday, December 12 and 13, 2008. Beyond business, the event offers a celebration of vitality for The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, culminating with the priestly ordination of the Rev. Kristian Opat.

At least 27 congregations will take part in the convention. That number is substantially higher than the 18 parishes that said they would remain in The Episcopal Church when a majority of diocesan leaders and clergy opted to leave the church in early October 2008.

This higher participation represents 40% of both the number of parishes and total membership — as measured by the benchmark Average Sunday Attendance — in the Pittsburgh Diocese prior to October.

“Our numbers will grow higher over the next months, even years,” said the Rev. Dr. James Simons, President of the Standing Committee, the current diocesan leader. “We never set a deadline for anyone to say whether they remain with us or not. All are welcome at anytime”

http://www.episcopalpgh.org/news-release-12112008/

ERD receives historic $300,000 pledge from Puerto Rico diocese

From Episcopal Life Online. (I wouldn't mind being on that beach right now)

The Diocese of Puerto Rico has made a three-year commitment to Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) to contribute a total of $300,000 to the organization in support of the Millennium Development Goals Inspiration Fund. "This will be the largest gift ever received from a single diocese in Episcopal Relief and Development's history," an ERD news release said.
In 2007, the Millennium Development Goals Inspiration Fund was launched by ERD, Jubilee Ministries and the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church to stop the spread of malaria in Africa, develop a pilot project in Asia and promote health in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"We are proud to support Episcopal Relief and Development in their work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals," said Bishop David Alvarez of the Diocese of Puerto Rico. "We hope that our gift will inspire other dioceses and Episcopalians to partner with Episcopal Relief and Development in their work towards alleviating poverty and disease."

"This historic gift from the Dioceses of Puerto Rico will significantly help Episcopal Relief and Development in their work towards achieving the Millennium Development goals. This support truly represents Christianity in action," said Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_103691_ENG_HTM.htm

Religious leaders worry that faith is being marginalised

From the Church Times (England)

RELIGIOUS faith in Britain is more marginal to society than ever before, faith leaders believe, says a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) published this week. The report, Faith in the Nation: Religion, identity and the public realm in Britain today, is a collection of essays by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh religious leaders.

In his foreword, Gordon Brown says that Britain has had a strong Christian tradition, but is now “resolutely multifaith”. The debate about the place of faith in British society is “a national conversation” from which people should not “shy away”.

But contributors to the report say that there are signs “of a growing consensus . . . that the position of faith within the national public culture has become more marginal”.
In the name of multiculturalism, politicians had responded to new religions and cultures that came to Britain as though each had a fixed identity. They saw them as “static silos rather than dynamic communities possessing complex and changeable identities”, Professor Michael Kenny says in the report’s conclusion.

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=67501

An Hysterically Relevant Cartoon

If you can't read it here's the link-

http://www.arcamax.com/agnes/s-453235-526030

In the name of God, sod off

The Guardian on the Letter that Bishop Chane sent to Rowan. The article also has a link to the New York Times article about the "new province".

Here is the Bishop of Washington explaining the Anglican schism to his flock. To understand what follows, you have to know something that none of the British press actually reported last week, which was the latest stage in the Anglican schism. A number of splinter groups, with perhaps 350 congregations between them, in the USA and Canada announced they were leaving the Episcopal church there and forming their own, which they hope will be recognised eventually by the rest of the Anglican Communion, whatever that may be. In the first place, they want recognition from the Gafcon grouping, some of whose members have already consecrated some of the new splinter groups' bishops.

Anyway, it all made a front page story in the New York Times.

The bishop of Washington, Dr John Chane, is one of the more important leaders of the majority church and he was worried that his flock might be confused by the newspaper. So he explained the story from his angle:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2008/dec/11/religion-anglicanism-schism

From physicist to priest - John Polkinghorne talks about science and religion

An interesting piece in which science and religion's interface is talked about. Also has a link to an audio interview. (I have a feeling the "Quark" he discovered isn't the one pictured.)

John Polkinghorne truly was a great physicist. His work helped lead us to the discovery of the quark. Quarks are a type of subatomic particle that do not occur on their own in nature. They are always found together in composite particles known as hadrons, the best known of which are protons and neutrons, the particles that make up the nucleus of atoms.

It is not much of a leap of faith to say that someone who is involved in this type of research is a rational, reasonable person with more than average intellectual abilities. So, when someone like John Polkinghorne decides to become a Christian believer, one listens, and one listens very attentively.

John Polkinghorne was recently interviewed by Mary Hynes on CBC radio and that interview has now been posted on the Internet. A friend brought it to my attention and I strongly encourage everyone to listen to it. I cannot describe the entire interview here, as it is more than 40 minutes long. I must confess that I am thoroughly disappointed in what I heard. While it is certainly his inalienable right to believe in whatever he wants to, I had thought and hoped to hear some convincing arguments for the belief in the Christian God he claims to believe in. However, his arguments weren’t even remotely convincing.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/263342