'Cast into the Tiber and told to swim.'

From the London Times-

I've been very moved by Sunday's blog posting at De Cura Animarum by Jeffrey Steel, pictured here in Rome at Easter. Father Jeffrey, a friend of the Anglican Bishop of Durham Dr Tom Wright, has resigned from his ministry as a Church of England clergyman in the Durham diocese and is in the process of becoming a Roman Catholic, along with his wife and six children. He writes, 'Sometimes crossing the Tiber looks like an easier swim than it really is. I told my Catholic bishop that I sometimes feel like the Tiber has stretched as wide as the Atlantic and I've been cast into the middle and told to swim. He said, 'Yes, Jeffrey but there are devices out there to keep you above water, grab onto them and do not fear.'


Father Jeffrey is one of my Facebook friends and has been keeping us all up to date on his journey.

Most recently he posted:

'Time clears up all errors: the untruth of today is driven out by the contrary untruth of tomorrow, and the many-coloured impressions of particular minds are all eventually absorbed by the consistent light of truth.' John Henry Newman. Received on book mark today in post from my former PEV Bishop Martyn.'

On his blog he writes:

'My PhD studies really set me on my Catholic journey in a deep theological way though I did not realise it at the time. I have been looking at Bishop Lancelot Andrewes as a catalyst for ecumenism with the Catholic Church in the area of Eucharistic sacrifice. Andrewes was in regular dialogue with S. Robert Bellarmine SJ and it is in this dialogue and Andrewes’ other writings that I saw how Catholic he was with regards to the Eucharist being the Christian offering which consisted of more than a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. It was and is propitiatory as well as other things.

More here-

http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/06/cast-into-thetiber-and-told-to-swim.html

£32,000 for a piece of Scottish history

A RARE copy of one of Scottish history’s most important documents has been saved by an ex-pat in America – for six times its value.

Known as “a contract with God”, only 12 copies of the National Covenant are known to exist in library records.

Experts expected it to fetch around £5,000, but the new owner forked out a whopping £32,137 for the 370 year-old document.

Bidders from across the globe battled it out in a bid to take it away from Scotland.
But the auction winner, who is based in America, vowed to ensure the book’s Scottish roots remained intact.

The new owner, who wished to remain annonymous, is a former St Andrews university student.
They said: “It is a hugely important historical document and my main interest in it lies from me having studied for my Phd in Church History at St Andrew’s University in Fife.
“I am looking forward to studying the document in more detail.

“It will remain in Scotland for the time being in the care of my son who lives in the country.”
Church leaders drew up the “contracts” to document Scotland’s opposition to a bid by King Charles I to introduce a controversial Anglican prayer book into the Scottish Kirk.
It is signed by over 100 Covenanters including the Earls of Montrose, Cassillis, Eglinton, Wemyss, Rothes, Lindsay, Lothian and Lord Blamerno.

Simon Vickers, a book expert at auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull said: “This is an incredibly good price for a copy of the National Covenant, we had a lot of interest in it with phone bidders from around the world.”

more here-

http://deadlinescotland.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/6554-1191/

This time, Rev. Armstrong makes a court appearance

The Rev. Donald Armstrong today made his first appearance in 4th Judicial District Court, where he faces 20 counts of felony theft.

The brief hearing went without the hitch that occurred last month when a communications mix-up led to a bench warrant being issued briefly for Armstrong, who failed to appear at a hearing he thought had been rescheduled.

This time, Judge Greg Werner set a July 22 date for Armstrong's next court hearing.

Armstrong's lawyer Dennis Hartley said that will give the judge time to review the transcript of the grand jury proceedings that led to an indictment.

The indictment accuses Armstrong of committing theft while he was rector at Grace Church & St. Stephens in downtown Colorado Springs, a position he held from 1987 to 2007.

In March 2007, the Grace vestry voted to leave the Episcopal Church to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America with Armstrong as rector. The CANA parish, now called St. George's Anglican Church, meets in the Mountain Shadows area.

Hartley said he hasn't seen the evidence against his client yet, but added he's not aware of anything Armstrong did that was wrong.

"I think the case is defensible," he said outside the courtroom.

God is Back author: 'They do not see their job as bums on seats.'

Author interview from the London Times-

Clergy have a lot in common with journalists, which might explain why so many children of the cloth are to be found in my 'profession'. I use that word advisedly, to grace my hackery with a status some might feel it lacks. One of the things we perhaps have in common with clergy is the busyness of lives which stop us writing that best-selling novel, or Bible commentary. How many clergy quietly kick themselves when the Archbishop of Canterbury announces the latest Michael Ramsey prize for theological writing, as he just has to Richard Bauckham, that they haven't found the time to pen the epistle that would get them a nice reception at Lambeth Palace in the company of true grace?


Kicking myself is what I've been doing with John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge's book 'God is Back'. This book is of the moment, the zeitgeist, whatever. I was fortunate to have the chance to review it for The Times but why didn't I, couldn't I, write that book?

For a start, even had I thought of it, I could never have found the time within the daily turnover of religious news and the sheer pleasure of blogging - God could have invented blogs to reward me for the hard times - to do the sheer depth of research that these two authors have put in to their compelling 375 pages. But also, immersed for years in the doings of his representatives on earth, I have for years taken it as a given that God was back. It just never occurred to me for a moment that to millions of others, this thesis might come as something of a surprise. For me, as probably for a lot of you reading this, He never left.

What is particularly great about God is Back is that it is grounded in fact, a substance that can be in short supply in the competing doctrines of world religions, which is the matter of their work.

More here-

http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/06/god-is-back-author-they-do-not-see-their-job-as-bums-on-seats.html

Covenant review group named

The Archbishop of Canterbury has announced the composition of a Working Group to review section 4 of the Ridley Draft of the Anglican Covenant. On May 28, Dr Rowan Williams named the Archbishop of Dublin, the Archbishop of Singapore, the Bishop of St Asaph and Dr Eileen Scully of the Anglican Church of Canada to the team.

However, the selection of two liberals and two conservatives for the working group, and with only two days allotted for review of the material make it likely that few changes will be made to the disciplinary sections of the proposed Anglican Covenant.

The mandate for the working group arose from the failed debate on the Anglican Covenant at ACC-14 in Kingston. Disquiet with the management of ACC-14 has also been voiced by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, who contrasted the transparent and thorough deliberative processes of her church’s General Convention, with the opaque and confused workings of the ACC.

Birthed in the confusion of the May 8 debate on the Anglican Covenant, ACC-14 asked that a “small working group” be appointed by Dr. Williams to “consider and consult with the provinces” on Section 4 of the Ridley draft “and its possible revision,” and report its findings to the members of the Primates and ACC joint standing committee for action.

Copies of the Ridley Draft have been circulated amongst the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion seeking comments on section 4. Dr Williams has requested that these responses be submitted by Nov 13 for the working group to review on Nov 20-21 in London. Their recommendations will then be presented to the Dec 15-18 meeting of the joint standing committee.

In a pastoral letter released on May 26, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori stated the ACC’s deliberative structure was far from ideal or efficient.


The rest is here-

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=4545

ANGLICAN-CATHOLIC DIALOGUE EXAMINES CONTRACEPTION

Debt relief and contraception were the two topics of the latest session of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States (ARC-USA). Theresa Notare, assistant director of the Natural Family Planning Program at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, presented a paper entitled “The Moral Regulation of Birth: Roman Catholic Teaching on Conjugal Love and Responsible Parenthood.”

In October, participants “will explore the fact that while the two churches share a range of convictions regarding the moral aspects of many questions of social justice, there are serious differences regarding issues in personal morality, especially those pertaining to sexuality.”

Eight decades ago, the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion were united in teaching that contraception was immoral. The Anglican Communion changed its position at the Lambeth Conference of 1930, prompting Pope Pius XI to write:

Since, therefore, openly departing from the uninterrupted Christian tradition some recently have judged it possible solemnly to declare another doctrine regarding this question, the Catholic Church, to whom God has entrusted the defense of the integrity and purity of morals, standing erect in the midst of the moral ruin which surrounds her, in order that she may preserve the chastity of the nuptial union from being defiled by this foul stain, raises her voice in token of her divine ambassadorship and through Our mouth proclaims anew: any use whatsoever of matrimony exercised in such a way that the act is deliberately frustrated in its natural power to generate life is an offense against the law of God and of nature, and those who indulge in such are branded with the guilt of a grave sin.

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=3170

Bishop Packard to retire; search begins for next bishop suffragan for federal ministries

Military bases, federal hospitals and prisons, and armed forces chaplains wherever they may be – that has been Bishop George Packard's world-spanning ministry for nearly a decade.
He has announced his retirement, effective May 31, 2010, and the Episcopal Church has begun a search for candidates willing to accept a call to be the sixth bishop suffragan for federal ministries.

Beginning with the formation of a discernment committee with representatives of the various ministries, and a special committee of bishops, the process will include the posting of a “call for nominations” form on September 1.

After interviews with a nominating committee in the fall, a list of nominees will be announced in January 2010. The new bishop suffragan is scheduled to be elected at the March 2010 meeting of the House of Bishops. Consecration is scheduled for June 2010 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

For detailed information regarding the search process and election, including the timeline and committee members, click here.

Packard brought both military and pastoral experience to the post. Shortly after graduating from college in 1966, he enlisted in the Army and served as a lieutenant with the 1st infantry division in Vietnam. He was awarded the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars for valor.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_109571_ENG_HTM.htm

Breakaway congregation returns building to Episcopal Church

A Petaluma congregation that split from the Episcopal Church over the issue of gay ordination but retained a 118-year-old church building has agreed to return the property to the church, ending a nearly three-year stalemate.

Under terms of a settlement, St. John’s Anglican Church will move out of the building at 5th and C streets by July 1 and give up claim to about $450,000 in endowments.

In exchange, its leader, the Rev. David Miller, will receive a greater share of ownership of his family’s Petaluma house, which was purchased in part with church money.

The Rev. Norman Cram, whose Episcopol congregation has been waiting in borrowed space to take over the building, said he looked forward to “a focus on ministry.” His first service in the church is July 1.

“It’s been a tough struggle,” said Cram, leader of St. John’s Episcopal, who sued Miller’s congregation last year over rights to the property. “It’s so nice to have the litigious process behind us.”

A spokesman for St. John’s Anglican, administrator Mike McIntosh, declined to comment beyond saying a new location for his group has not been selected. The congregation’s last service in the building will be Sunday, June 28.

More here-

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090609/COMMUNITY/906099901?Title=Breakaway-congregation-returns-building-to-Episcopal-Church

The original Rock of Ages, Burrington Combe, Somerset

Might be different from the one pictured.

From the "Rock of Ages", said to be the inspiration for the hymn of that name, you climb steeply out of Burrington Combe, skirt the northern side of the combe (valley) and then cross it. You walk along the flank of Black Down moor and enter the Mendip Forest for lunch in the village of Rowberrow. Then pass Rowberrow church and return over Dolebury Warren, stopping at the iron age hill fort to admire the view across the Vale of Wrington to the Bristol Channel and south Wales, and Crook Peak, the most prominent summit in the Mendips, with Bridgwater Bay and the Quantocks beyond.


Why it's special
According to a famous (but unsubstantiated) story, the Reverend Augustus Montague Toplady, a preacher in the nearby village of Blagdon, was inspired to write Rock of Ages in 1763, while sheltering from a storm in a cleft of rock in Burrington Combe. Struck by the title, he scribbled down the initial lyrics on a playing card. Regarded as one of the four great Anglican hymns of the 19th century, Rock of Ages was a favourite of Prince Albert, who asked it to be played to him on his deathbed.

Keep your eyes peeled for
Knotted pearlwort and slender bedstraw, two rare plants found at Dolebury Warren. Open areas of this walk are blessed with a profusion of flowers. If you are lucky you might see black and red six-spot burnet moths in summer. There are also a number of bronze age burial barrows on Black Down, and one at Rowberrow.
But bear in mind
Don't get caught out on the moor in bad weather or you might be looking for a cleft of your own to hide in.

Recover afterwards
The Burrington Inn at the bottom of the combe serves standard pub fare all day. burringtoninn.co.uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/jun/07/rock-ages-walking-guides

Millions wiped out by church gambles

THE world's richest and largest Anglican diocese has lost more than $100 million on the stockmarket and is investigating ways to cut programs and ministries across Sydney.

Two years ago the Anglican diocese of Sydney was able to allocate $30 million to educate new ministers, spread the Gospel and reach out to young people. But returns from investments have plummeted so steeply that the funds available next year have been slashed to $5.6 million.

The cuts will probably jeopardise funding for places at the ministry training institution, Moore College - causing either lower student numbers or higher fees - and Youthworks, which recruits young people for mission work.

They will also eat into allocations for clergy, including the archbishop, bishops and regional offices, and some resources have already been restructured.

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, has written to clergy warning that the global financial crisis has caused significant losses. He said the diocese had borrowed money to invest and used the profits to build churches in 2007.

"In the extraordinary conditions at the end of 2008, as the whole market fell, this strategy also accentuated our losses," Dr Jensen said.

"As a result, our investments have fallen by more than half and distribution of money from our investments has been cut by 50 per cent."

More here-

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/millions-wiped-out-by-church-gambles-20090609-c29m.html

Top Episcopalian returns to Oregon to listen, learn, hang out

The national leader of 2.4 million Episcopalians -- including 20,600 in Oregon -- hung out Sunday at a Northeast Portland church, participating in what she defines as old-school conversation.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who's been at the center of an often-tense conversation about the ordination of gay clergy, told a full house on Sunday at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church that the word "conversation" slipped into English usage in the 1300s.

"From the Latin, conversatio, it meant 'to turn about with,'" she said, "'to live with, to spend time with.' We'd say, 'to hang out with.' It didn't mean to talk." And so the first woman elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States shared some impressions of the church in the 21st century and then hung out as audience members reflected on interfaith partnerships, support for the military and the role of religious schools.

A scientist educated at Oregon State University and a former assistant rector at a Corvallis church, Jefferts Schori visited Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland on Saturday morning and then spent time with teenagers at Camp Magruder, near Rockaway Beach. On Sunday, she also confirmed 15 people at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem and marked Grace Memorial's centennial. She was scheduled to meet on Monday with Eugene-area clergy.

More here-

http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2009/06/top_episcopalian_returns_to_or.html

Sri Lanka: Anglican bishop seeks crisis aid for Sri Lanka war refugees

The Anglican Bishop of Kurunagala in Sri Lanka, the Rt Revd Kumara lllangasinghe, has written to Anglican churches throughout the world to appeal for crisis aid for refugee casualties following the bloody end to the war there.

Explaining that the situation in Northern Sri Lanka has reached crisis point, the bishop writes from the the North Western Province of the country:

"I have just returned to the island after the 14th Meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Kingston. Jamaica. I have had to return to a very disturbing situation, which we will try to explain below. I am sure that you have already heard about the worsening situation of the innocent casualties of the civilian population, due to the conflict in the North East of the Country.

"The situation in Northern Sri Lanka has reached crisis point. As fighting continued, thousands of civilians were caught in the crossfire trying to escape to safety. Civilian casualties increased daily and hospitals have gone beyond their breaking point. Hospitals on the border and in the refugee camps do not have sufficient staff, medicines, food or beds to treat the daily arrivals. The injured are now being evacuated to hospitals across the country, (Places such as Anuradhapura, Kandy, Gampola. Hingurakgoda, Polonnanruwa and Kurunagala which are in the area that comes under the Diocese of Kurunagala) to try to share the burden and deliver the necessary emergency treatment

"Here in Kurunagala, a large town in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka, we have received over one thousand (1000) evacuated patients and internally displaced people to our hospital in the last few days and are imminently expecting more. Resources here are now stretched beyond capacity. There are severe shortages of medicines, particularly pain relief and antibiotics, a lack of staff, beds and mosquito nets and not enough food or clean drinking water. The evacuees arriving are in need not only of medical care. They have been forced to leave everything behind, are separated from their families and have no clothing, money or belongings,

More here-

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/9600

ERD Responds to Renewed Violence in the Congo

Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is partnering with the Diocese of Bukavu in the Anglican Church of the Congo after renewed violence between government and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo caused massive displacement in the eastern part of the African country.

According to the Rt. Rev. Bahati Bali-Busane Sylvestre, Bishop of Bukavu, the rebel soldiers have focused their attacks on civilians in the form of rape and murder. An estimated 7,000 families have been forced to flee their homes in the city of Goma and surrounding areas. The majority of the evacuees are women and children, many of whom are vulnerable to disease and malnutrition made worse by the poor sanitation and crowded conditions in the camps.

In partnership with the Diocese of Bukavu, ERD is providing food and sanitation supplies.

“The threat of attack persists in the regions surrounding Goma and it is uncertain when families will be able to safely return to their homes,” said Janette O’Neill, senior director of Africa programs for ERD. “We remain in close contact with our partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo and ask for people around the church join us in prayer for a peaceful end to the conflict.”

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/6/8/erd-responds-to-renewed-violence-in-the-congo

Episcopal Church buys downtown block for archives

The Episcopal Church has bought a block in downtown Austin where it plans to build a facility to house its national archives and provide space for meetings, exhibits, research and other purposes.

The church purchased the block, now a parking lot bounded by Seventh, Eighth, Trinity and Neches streets, from Jimmy Nassour, an Austin real estate attorney. The purchase price was $9.5 million, said Mark Duffy, director of the Archives of the Episcopal Church.

The church, which borrowed against its endowment to buy the land, plans to launch a capital campaign next year to raise money to repay that loan and pay for the new facility. The cost of the project, which is in the "very preliminary" planning stages, will be almost $40 million, Duffy said.

The building probably will be five stories, with up to 70,000 square feet and a garage with some public spaces. Duffy said the start of construction is at least two years away.

In addition to archives and meeting space, the building will be a place "for Episcopalians nationally to gather and to study, reflect on and feel proud of their heritage," Duffy said.

"The idea is to build something that will be a visible presence for the Episcopal Church in the community, as well as a place where church members and the public can explore issues of vital importance to the church today," Duffy said.

The archives — the official repository for the church's papers, electronic records, photographs, memorabilia and artifacts — are now housed in three locations in Austin, including leased space at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, and at one site in New York City.

More here-

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/realestate/2009/06/09/0609block87.html

The Open Episcopal Church's wafer wheeze

From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" department (England Bureau)

No more haven't-got-time-to-get-to-Mass misery! Bishop Jonathan Blake of the Open Episcopal Church is offering "Host in the post", the genuine body and blood of Christ on your doormat for just £2 to cover postage and packing.

The theologian John Drane has written about "the McDonaldisation of the church", so maybe the Dominos Pizza-ization of the church was only a matter of time. Delightfully whacky as home delivery eucharist sounds, it's only the latest step in experiments in adapting Christianity to a changing world.

Time was, of course, when church was somewhere you generally had to go to get the benefit of it – unless you could persuade the priest you were close enough to death to bring it to you. But since the early days of radio we've had hymns and sermons beamed into our houses.

More recently websites have experimented with online confession, and offering a "sacred space" for communal prayer from the convenience of your own desk. The Blessed Sacrament Webcam allowed visitors to look at pictures, updated once a minute, of a chalice in a box in Florida whenever they felt the need.

There are now churches that only exist on the internet, such as St Pixels, where, as you would expect services focus more on prayers, short sermons and liturgy than on sacraments or singing.

But every technology has its limitations, and its likely to be a good while before we can download wafers. The internet maybe making us all into consumers, but there are limits. So it's back to the postbag.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/jun/09/communion-wafer-post

and here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5483394/Church-leaders-offer-communion-wafers-in-the-post.html

Too Unorthodox Even for the Episcopal Church?

From Christianity Today-

Barring a last minute change of heart by opponents, it appears certain that Episcopal Church leaders have rejected the consecration of a bishop-elect who denies traditional Christian teachings about sin, salvation, and Christ's atoning death at Calvary.

Evangelicals inside and outside the Episcopal Church say they would have been concerned if Kevin Thew Forrester had been given a ceremonial shepherd's staff and a sacred charge to "feed and tend the flock of Christ" in the Diocese of Northern Michigan, where he was elected on February 21. But few are seeing the rejection as a cause to celebrate.

According to church rules, elections of bishops must be confirmed by a majority of the church's House of Bishops (though not all members are allowed to vote) and a majority of its 111 diocesan governing boards, known as standing committees. While the results will not be official until mid-July, a majority of standing committees have voted to withhold consent, according to a survey by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Unofficial surveys show the bishop-elect trailing badly among bishops as well.

The rest is here-

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/juneweb-only/123-11.0.html

Malawi- Church must walk the talk on unity

Church must walk the talk on unity
BY The Daily Times
18:38:09 - 08 June 2009

The consecration of Brighton Malasa as Bishop of the Upper Diocese of Anglican Church is a positive development in as far as recent events in the church are concerned.

Members of the church should now a heave a sign of relief that a new chapter has been open in their church, looking at the not-so-pleasant past that they have gone through.

We recall that not so long ago, some members of the Anglican Church in the country were engaged in running battles and spat venom at one another over who should be consecrated their bishop.

It would be understating facts to claim that the fights were a family matter and therefore only affected the church. However, the bare bone truth is that the fights were a dent on the entire Christian church and it shook the very foundation of the country’s unity.

This is why President Bingu wa Mutharika’s call for unity when he joined the consecrated service of Bishop Malasa in Mangochi had come at such a very right time.

There is much more need for unity in the country now probably than ever before; and as the president rightly noted, it must start within the church itself which has the privilege to position itself at the grassroots level in society.

The call for care, support and love of one another should not just come from the lips of the clergy just as a matter of duty as churchmen, but should be seen to exist within the rank and file of the church.

It is not healthy for men of the pulpit to be engaging in open fights and public outbursts over leadership issues when politicians who themselves have their own leadership problems look up to the church for guidance and inspiration.

More here-

http://www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=13379

Debaptism the Latest Trend for Atheists

With a slogan like "Liberate yourself from the Original Mumbo-Jumbo that liberated you from the Original Sin you never had!", what more could the everyday atheist ask for? Debaptism it is.
A new badge of honor has been introduced for Atheists in the United Kingdom and it is called "debaptism". The National Secular Society is leading the charge to get debaptism recognized and registered in churches across the UK

After becoming the "Word of the Week" on the Macmillan English Dictionary website, the National Secular Society says that over 100,000 people have downloaded a debaptism certificate from their website.

John Hunt is a 50-year-old Brit who was baptized by the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopalian). He wanted his baptism cancelled because he views the church as a "hypocritical organisation." However, as the Bishop of Croydon, the Right Reverend Nick Baines, recently told the BBC:

You can't remove from the record something that actually happened. Whether we agree whether it should have happened or not is a different matter. But it's a bit like trying to expunge Trotsky from the photos. Mr Hunt was baptised and that's a matter of public record.

This particular diocese has suggested that those who want to renounce their baptism could run an advertisement it in the London Gazette, and then the Bishop will have those notices inserted into the baptismal roll. However, the Church of England was quick to note that this is not an official policy.

The Church of England has no reason from its point of view for maintaining a formal record of those who have renounced their baptism: it is content simply to accept that those who have explicitly repudiated their baptism and take no part in the life of the Church should not be regarded as members of it in the more general sense.

More here-

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/273823

Nairobi bids Nzimbi farewell

A farewell service for outgoing Anglican Church Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi was held on Sunday in Nairobi with calls on the church leadership to remain focused.

Reverend Stanley Ntagali who delivered the sermon at the All Saints Cathedral said church leaders were accountable to the people they served and to God, hence the need to be responsible.

He urged the clergy to emulate Archbishop Nzimbi whom he termed as a true servant of God.

“You preach the gospel with no compromise, your Grace you will always be remembered for that and you are one of the few leaders in the global south preaching the gospel to transform the Anglican Church,” Rev. Ntagali said.

“You led the house of Bishops here in Kenya and the clergy and Christians of the church of Kenya to stand in truth and to reject and condemn sin.”

Archbishop Nzimbi who will officially retire at the end of this month after 31 years of service to the church said he was not retiring as a minister and would continue to serve the church in his new capacity as a retired archbishop.

“The spirit of poverty is killing this nation. We are all looking for gold and silver and because of that the spirit of poverty is there and many people have become corrupt. This corruption is killing this nation. This nation should rise above corruption,” he said.

More here-

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Local/Nairobi-bids-Nzimbi-farewell-4674.html#

Drop the comic altar ego, clergy told

From Australia-

LAUGHTER may be the best medicine, but God is no joke, according to an Anglican bishop who has chided Christian church leaders who think of themselves as stand-up comedians and resort to making jokes during sermons.

The Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, says there is nothing funny in "lame-fisted attempts" to crack jokes and be funny during services and church meetings. Humour has its place, but God and church, he says, is no laughing matter.

"I am frankly sick of 'leaders' ruining the atmosphere of the meeting/service and disrupting the focus on God with half-baked comic lines," he wrote for a Sydney Anglican online ministry resource guide. "Or they detract from my reflection upon some important point made in the sermon with smart cracks or attempts to make funny comments about the preacher or the sermon."

This, he said, interfered with the congregation's relationship with God.

Bishop Forsyth came to public prominence as the minister who wittily crossed words with the publican Arthur Elliot across from St Barnabas Anglican Church in Broadway. While humour was a good tool to connect with a congregation, it should not compromise the message of salvation, he said.

The rest is here-

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/drop-the-comic-altar-ego-clergy-told-20090608-c0we.html

Boats get priest's blessing in the annual 'Blessing of the Boats'

St. Brendan may be the patron saint of sailors and navigators, but the boats and boaters in Muskegon have been blessed by Father Tom.

The Rev. Thomas C.H. Scott, that is, the priest at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, which on Sunday held its sixth "Blessing of the Boats" in Muskegon's outer harbor.

It was the first of the series to be officiated by Scott, who was formally installed as rector of the downtown church on May 19 after taking over 11 months ago.

The event took place aboard the Port City Princess, a former Mackinac Island ferry that Ralph Precious brought to Muskegon for conversion into an excursion boat. Ralph's widow Sylvia and son Randy began the annual event in part to honor him, and Sunday's boat-blessing was preceded by a prayer in his memory.

The Precious family are longtime members of the church. All told, about 80 people from St. Paul's went aboard for the two-hour cruise, which included brunch.

Although there weren't many boats in the vicinity, one or two got close enough to receive a shouted blessing and a few drops of holy water flung from Scott's silver aspergillum, something that looks like a long-handled ice cream scoop.

Nevertheless, the blessings were intended equally for all Muskegon watercraft, including the now-retired USS Silversides and Milwaukee Clipper.

"Absolutely," said Scott, standing fully robed in the bow of the Princess. "And every drop of water that lands in the channel just makes this a holier place."

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/06/boats_get_priests_blessing_in.html

Once, a bishop brought newspapers peace

From the Boston Globe-

Monday is a big day here at the Globe: the paper’s largest union, the Newspaper Guild, is scheduled to vote on proposed wage and benefits cuts that the company says are neeeded to keep the struggling paper afloat. As the prospect of labor unrest at the paper looms, a friend who works for the Episcopal Church called my attention to the memoir of Bishop William Lawrence (right), the so-called banker-bishop, who claims to have brokered peace between Boston’s newspaper publishers and their employees a century ago.

Lawrence, who served as the Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts from 1893 to 1927, was cut from a different cloth than most of today’s prelates. He was the scion of an immensely wealthy, influential and philanthropic Boston family that made a fortune in textiles, founded the cities of Lawrence, Mass. and Lawrence, Kansas, and had a long association with Harvard University and the Episcopal Church. Bishop Lawrence travelled in elite circles – he was a familiar of Theodore Roosevelt and a visitor to Buckingham Palace. So when he was called in to arbitrate the pay dispute in the newspaper industry, he immersed himself in the unfamiliar workplace before working out a deal.

More here-

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/06/how_a_bishop_br.html

Episcopalians' budget takes hit

From the Washington Times-

The Episcopal Diocese of Washington has drastically revised its 2009 budget, largely because of paltry giving from the bulk of its congregations plus a drop in its investment income.

In an approximately $3.9 million budget approved in May by its diocesan council, the diocese made a series of staff and budget cuts to make up for a shortfall of more than $400,000 from initial revenue projections. The income projections included $357,800 less in pledges than the diocese anticipated from its 93 churches, plus an estimated $26,400 the diocese could lose in investment and interest income.

The 40,000-member Washington Diocese will undergo "an aggressive and rapid reduction in staff, across all levels," according to Paul Cooney, canon to the ordinary for the diocese. Three staff members were let go in February.

The diocese also chopped off a $126,000 gift to denominational headquarters in New York by eliminating an annual contribution from the $21 million Ruth Gregory Soper Trust fund; overall, it plans to give $649,230 to the national church.

Part of the problem is that less than a quarter of the diocese's 93 congregations tithe - or give 10 percent of their money to the diocese - according to diocesan spokesman Jim Naughton. The diocese does not mandate a set amount churches must give.

More here-

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/08/episcopalians-budget-takes-hit/

Bishop who took in Rev. Cutié unafraid of making waves

From the Miami Herald

It was the made-for-TV ending to a weeks-long saga of fame and faith: Alberto Cutié, the telegenic priest embroiled in a magazine-photo scandal, would leave the Roman Catholic church to become an Episcopalian -- and would marry his girlfriend of two years.

But when Cutié's new bishop, the Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, stood inside Miami's Trinity Cathedral to announce the news to dozens of international reporters, he created his own waves.

The ''Inquisition is over,'' Frade said in widely broadcast remarks after Catholic Archbishop John C. Favalora admonished him for a disrespectful ``public display.''

The style is typical of Frade's nine-year tenure, say those who know him well: casual, off-the-cuff and, to some, a bit too in-your-face.

For three weeks in May, the 65-year-old Cuban American became the face of the traditionally white Episcopal church, granting dozens of interviews about Cutié, who has kept a low profile since preaching at an Episcopal church in Biscayne Park last month.

The first Hispanic to lead the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, Frade has campaigned for gay rights, expanded church missions to the Caribbean and the Americas and, as his courtship of Cutié shows, is intent on recruiting Hispanics to the Episcopal fold.

''He has an entirely different personality,'' says Calvin O. Schofield Jr., a former Navy chaplain who preceded Frade as South Florida bishop. ``He's expanded the influence of the church.''

More here-

http://www.miamiherald.com/living/religion-values/story/1086748.html?asset_id=1086662&asset_type=gallery

Remaining Legal Issues Dropped in Colorado Springs Dispute

Following a marathon court-ordered mediation session June 2, the Diocese of Colorado and the leadership of St. George’s Anglican Church in Colorado Springs agreed to drop all outstanding legal issues.

“The diocese believed it would be good to agree to end this,” said Martin Nussbaum as reported by the Colorado Springs Gazette. Mr. Nussbaum, the lawyer who headed the diocese’s successful legal claim to ownership of the $17 million church campus of Grace and St. Stephen’s Church in Colorado Springs, added that the agreement stipulates that “All Grace Church property interests will remain with the diocese.”

During negotiations at a neutral location, the Rt. Rev. Rob O’Neill, Bishop of Colorado, other diocesan officials and their lawyers remained in one room while the Rev. Don Armstrong, rector of St. George’s, other leaders from the congregation and their lawyers remained in another room. Shuttling between the two rooms was Bill Neighbors, a mediator with the Judicial Arbiter Group in Denver and a former state supreme court justice.

Judge Larry Schwartz recommended mediation to resolve a number of issues remaining after his March 24 order. These included $5 million in claims for damages against the individual volunteer leadership at St. George’s and the possibility of an appeal of the March 24 decision by the Anglican congregation.

“Our only remaining obligation is to pay final operational expenses we had incurred during our possession of the property, but were unauthorized to pay until this settled agreement was reached,” said Kelly Oliver, a spokeswoman for the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA).

As part of the settlement, the diocese agreed to assume all costs of maintaining the church property, including repayment of a $2.5 million mortgage.

The property dispute began in March 2007 when the vestry and a majority of the congregation at Grace and St. Stephen’s voted to join CANA and recall Fr. Armstrong as rector.

Fr. Armstrong, who was indicted in May on 20 felony theft counts and is awaiting trial, had been deposed from the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church by Bishop O’Neill after a forensic audit of parish finances. Fr. Armstrong has pled not guilty and denies all charges.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/6/7/remaining-legal-issues-dropped-in-colorado-springs-dispute

Bishop Robinson: No Clergy Permission to Perform Same-Sex Weddings

Contrary to a published report, the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, has not given permission for diocesan clergy to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed legislation June 4 that made the state the sixth to legalize same-sex marriage.

The website of the North Andover, Mass., Eagle-Tribune newspaper had quoted the Rev. Carolyn Stevenson, rector of St. David’s Church in Salem, N.H., as saying that Bishop Robinson had changed his policy with the new law, giving pastors “the option of performing a religious blessing or a regular marriage ceremony” and that she would choose to marry the couples.

“She totally misrepresented [Bishop Robinson’s] position and the Bishop has spoken with her about this,” said Paula A. Biber, executive assistant to Bishop Robinson. Ms. Biber is the diocese’s contact person for information about permission to officiate at weddings in Episcopal churches in the state.

In statement published on the Diocese of New Hampshire website Bishop Robinson explained that the current policy is that “any civil union is to be presided over by a secular magistrate of the State and not, by our clergy. When pastorally appropriate and only if the clergyperson is so inclined, may the church’s blessing of that union be offered.”

Civil marriage of same-gender couples does not become law until Jan. 1, 2010.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/6/5/bishop-robinson-no-clergy-permission-to-perform-same-sex-weddings

Good Stuff: St. Michael's Fair a Great Success

Yesterday's fair was a great success. Nice crowds and perfect weather. Over $11,000 was raised and will be given away to local charities. Thanks to all who volunteered and to all who came.

Nigeria- Anglicans Elects Five Bishops

AT the end of its one-week Economic Empowerment Summit in Lokoja, the House of Bishops has elected five new Bishops.

They are Venerable Humphrey E. Olumakaiye, provost of the Cathedral Church of St. Mathew's Ijebu-jesa, who will be the pioneer Bishop of the newly created Osun North East missionary diocese; while Venerable Emmanuel Maduwike of Owerri Anglican Diocese, is the elected Bishop of the newly created Ikeduru Missionary Diocese.

The Venerable Innocent Ordu of the Diocese of Niger Delta North, is the new Bishop of Evo Missionary Diocese while Ven Uriah Kolo of Minna Anglican Diocese has been elected Bishop of Doko Missionary Diocese. The Very Revd Samson Adekunle of the Cathedral Church Ilajo, Yewa Diocese is elected Bishop of the new Ile-oluji Missionary Diocese.

The consecration of the new Bishops-elect shall take place at Yenegoa, Bayelsa State on Sunday, July 5, 2009.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/ibru_center/article01/indexn2_html?pdate=070609&ptitle=Anglican%20Elects%20Five%20Bishops

Unfinished - but not unadorned - cathedral

On Dec. 18, 2001, fire destroyed the gift shop of the storied Cathedral of St. John the Divine and smoke severely damaged the interior of the Morningside Heights landmark.

Late last year the cathedral, restored and cleaned, was rededicated amid much fanfare. Its 8,500-pipe grand organ was ushered back into service. Visitors can once again stroll the entire 121,000-square-foot church, seat of the Episcopal bishop of New York and widely thought to be the world's largest Gothic cathedral.

More than a century after its cornerstone was laid, St. John the Divine remains unfinished. Construction began in 1892 and continued until 1941 when it was halted after the United States joined World War II, not to be resumed for about 40 years. Work began again in 1981, but the 2001 fire delivered another setback. It is difficult to say when its transepts and crossing and western tower will be completed.

The cathedral has been cleaned not only of smoke residue but also of a century of use. Its 40-foot rose window, comprising more than 10,000 pieces of glass, is the largest in the country. The bronze doors were cast by the same Paris craftsman who cast the Statue of Liberty. The dozen Barberini Tapestries date from the 17th century. The intricately carved choir is considered one of the best pieces of Romanesque architecture in the nation.

http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/us/newyork/articles/2009/06/07/unfinished___but_not_unadorned___cathedral/

California- Calvary Episcopal seeks balance between serving the homeless and serving congregation

Rone'e Curry wasn't expecting to nourish the multitudes when she opened up Calvary Episcopal Church on Monday nights last year to homeless youth for food and fellowship.

A former "street kid" herself, Curry had run a "coffee house ministry" at the Elm Street Mission for a few years prior. About 40 homeless people, most under 30, stopped in each week for a warm meal and comforting word. When that program ended about a year ago, Curry said, she walked into downtown's landmark red church and asked the pastor if she could move it there.

"They took us in," Curry said.

But what looks like a miracle to Curry, her supporters and those she feeds is seen by others as mayhem in the making. The dinner grew rapidly and larger than anyone predicted, to more than 140 people on some Monday nights. Many who come began to see the church and its wide lawn as a haven during the rest of the week, all sides agreed.

As a result, the weekly meal has divided a church congregation between those who see the event as another opportunity to serve the less fortunate and others who no longer feel comfortable in their spiritual home.

The "coffee house" also has taken heat from those fed up with what is seen as increased panhandling, loitering, drug use and other illegal activity in downtown Santa Cruz. Critics contend the Monday night meal draws diners who then stick around the neighborhood for unsavory activities.

More here-

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_12538829