Human bones scattered in churchyard by rabbits

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

AN ANGLICAN minister told of his horror yesterday after he discovered human bones scattered in the grounds of a historic Scottish monastery.

The Rev David Fox said he had been confronted by the "stuff of nightmares" when he visited the ancient graveyard at Kinloss Abbey near his home at Forres in Moray.

Scattered across the grass on the surface of the cemetery - once a Cistercian monastery - were pieces of skulls, arms, ribs and even teeth.

Rabbits are believed to have been responsible for the gruesome desecration of the graves, some dating back to the 1700s. The graveyard is one of four separate cemeteries in the vicinity of the ancient abbey, close to the air base at RAF Kinloss. There are also two municipal cemeteries and one military cemetery in the area.

Mr Fox, 37, who alerted Moray Council to his gruesome discovery, declared: "It's the stuff of nightmares. Dead servicemen have been buried here. Potentially, their bones could be strewn across the graveyard in years to come. It's horrific. This is not something that has happened overnight. The more I looked around, the more I saw.

More here-

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Human-bones-scattered-in-churchyard.6835936.jp

Lawyers Summoned Over Anglican Church Feud

From Zimbabwe-

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku has summoned lawyers representing the feuding Anglican Church factions to a meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Chidyausiku on Tuesday ordered lawyers representing the Bishop Chad Gandiya-led Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) and those aligned to ex-communicated Anglican Bishop Nolbert Kunonga to report to his chambers at 12:00 on Wednesday.

Although the agenda of the meeting was not clear, informed sources indicated that Chidyausiku wanted to engage the lawyers over the church feud which escalated following a ruling which he delivered last month in favour of Kunonga and giving him custody and entitlement to some Anglican church property.

“Please be advised that the Honourable Chief Justice will see the parties’ legal practitioners at 12:00 noon on Wednesday 14th September 2011,” reads part of the brief letter written by Supreme Court Registrar, Nomonde Mazabane.

More here-

http://www.radiovop.com/index.php/national-news/7090-lawyers-summoned-over-anglican-church-feud.html

House of Deputies president presents award to family of Church Army pioneer

From ENS-

Episcopal Church House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson recently presented an award to the family of late Sister Margaret Hawk, a missionary and church leader, to honor her pioneering ministry posthumously.

The presentation came Sept. 10 during the Diocese of South Dakota's annual diocesan convention in Pierre. The President of the House of Deputies Award for Distinguished Service honors "individuals and communities who have exhibited an exceptional commitment to the work of reconciling a broken world," according to a press release.

Hawk was a native of Red Shirt, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Oglala Sioux. In 1963, at the age of 50, she joined the Church Army, a society of lay missionaries in the Anglican Communion. After training in New York and missionary work in Buffalo, New York, she returned home to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations where she served for 18 years, the release said.

Anderson presented the award to Hawk's granddaughter Alice Testerman and her family. Anderson said she was especially struck by Hawk's commitment to seek training and education in New York, 1,700 miles from her home in South Dakota.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80263_129759_ENG_HTM.htm

South Bend church tries to fight crime after shootings in the area

From Northern Indiana-

People who live in one South Bend neighborhood are taking matters into their own hands to increase safety around their homes.

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church hosted a community meeting and invited neighbors to come together to speak out about the violence in the area.

“Years ago, there wasn't the shootings and the problems we have now,” said John Zanka, a member of the congregation. “I just feel bad for the people that live around here that have children and the older people that are afraid to come outside.”

The glare of police lights is a sight that has become all too familiar for the residents along Olive and Fredrickson streets.

In August, a 19-year-old man was shot and killed on the corner of those two streets. The South Bend Police Department reports that there have been about six shootings in the past six months in this area.

“If something happens on that street, the cops are all over this part,” Rosetta Hamilton said.

Hamilton has lived in the neighborhood for 14 years and said she has seen the violence escalate over time.

“If there's shootings over there anybody’s kid can get hurt and that's just not right,” she said.

More here-

http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headlines/South_Bend_church_tries_to_fight_crime__129763468.html

9/11 Revisited

From Canada-

This is a day of mixed emotion for churchgoers in North America. On the one hand, many parishes are celebrating some form of “Round Up Sunday” – when the congregation comes together after the summer hiatus. Sunday school registration takes place, a parish luncheon is served and ministries rev up again.

And yet, today happens to be September 11 – and ten years ago on a bright, sunny Tuesday morning the worst attack on any country in the western hemisphere happened in New York City, in Washington, D.C. and in the skies over Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Many of us know where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news of the first attack. It was about 6:00 am in San Diego and I was in the bathroom shaving when Heather called out about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I immediately thought it was the pilot error of a small aircraft. Only when I saw the images on the television did I realize something far more terrible was happening.

The horrors of hell – how else do you describe that day? The 9/11 attack was an act of unmitigated evil designed to inflict the maximum number of casualties possible in the most shocking way possible.

More here-

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/news-update-items/article/911-revisited-10035.html

Archbishop of Canterbury may quit in 2012

From UPI-

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has told friends he wants to step down next year as head of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Sources told The Daily Telegraph Williams said he would leave after Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee in June 2012, the 60th year of her reign. He said he would like to remain in office until the Church of England votes to consecrate women as bishops, the report said.

Williams, 61, was installed as the 104th archbishop of Canterbury in 2003 and would be eligible to serve until he turns 70. But he told friends he would like to return to academic life at Cambridge University.

Richard Chartres, the bishop of London, has been saying privately it is time for Williams to leave, suggesting other bishops should get a chance to head the church, the Telegraph reported Sunday. Chartres has denied the report.

Williams, who was archbishop of Wales when he was named to Canterbury, has presided over the church during a time of turmoil in England and globally. Issues have included the ordination of women and gays.

Read more:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/09/13/Archbishop-of-Canterbury-may-quit-in-2012/UPI-63551315893541/#ixzz1Xph0xOqa

Bishop Walter Righter / His 'pastoral heart' moved Episcopal Church beyond old prejudices

From The Post-Gazette-

Bishop Walter Righter, whose 1990 ordination of a gay deacon opened the Episcopal Church to partnered gay clergy after a church court dismissed heresy charges against him, died Sunday at his home in Export. The retired bishop of Iowa, who was first ordained in Pittsburgh, was 87.

"Bishop Righter is one of the giants on whose shoulders gay and lesbian Christians stand," said Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who in 2003 became the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. "Long before it became popular, Walter became a straight ally of the gay Christian community, putting his life and ecclesiastical career on the line for us."

"The Episcopal Church can give thanks for the life of a faithful and prophetic servant," said Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. "His ministry will be remembered for his pastoral heart and his steadfast willingness to help the church move beyond old prejudices into new possibilities."

The heresy charge stemmed from his early retirement, when he became an assisting bishop to the firebrand liberal Bishop John Spong of Newark, N.J. Until then, Bishop Righter had been known as an unassuming centrist. But the conservative attempt to declare him a heretic ricocheted, and many conservatives ultimately left the Episcopal Church.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11256/1174247-122-0.stm#ixzz1XperOdzR

LA Times-

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-walter-righter-20110913-1,0,4375979.story

Washington Post-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/walter-c-righter-dies-episcopal-bishop-played-role-in-gay-rights-in-church/2011/09/12/gIQAAcbuNK_story.html

Retired Iowa Bishop Walter Righter dies

From ENS-

Retired Diocese of Iowa Bishop Walter C. Righter, 87, died Sept. 11. He had lived just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"The Episcopal Church can give thanks for the life of a faithful and prophetic servant. He proclaimed the gospel for more than 60 years in this church, through trials and great joys," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said Sept. 12. "His ministry will be remembered for his pastoral heart and his steadfast willingness to help the church move beyond old prejudices into new possibilities. He embodied the one of whom it is said, 'well done, good and faithful servant.'

"May Walter rest in peace and rise in glory, and may all who mourn be comforted."

He will be remembered at a service Sept. 15 at 11:00 a.m. at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh diocese said in a press release that "we can uniquely recall his time of youthful service, as well as years of reserved retirement, in southwestern Pennsylvania."

Entering the ministry from St. Stephen's Church in Sewickley, he was sent to Ligonier to help organize what would later become the parish church of St. Michael's of the Valley, the diocese said. After ordination, Righter led congregations in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, for a while simultaneously serving the people of Aliquippa and Georgetown.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_129748_ENG_HTM.htm

VIDEO: St. Paul's Chapel Pays Tribute to 9/11 Victims

From New York

Manhattan's St. Paul's Chapel held an early morning service to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.

The chapel, an Episcopal church located at 209 Broadway, was a haven for first responders following the attacks.

Check out Patch's coverage of the early morning service on Sunday and the scene in front of St. Paul's.

http://foresthills.patch.com/articles/video-st-pauls-chapel-pays-tribute-to-911-victims#video-7709070

'Remember What The American Spirit Is'

From New Jersey-

There are no words, yet Jonathan Clifford had to find them.

Ten years after a series of coordinated terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and both horrified and united an entire nation, Clifford, 22, took to the lectern at Trinity Episcopal Church Sunday to encapsulate as best he could the emotion and the significance of Sept. 11.

“There’s no combination of words in the English language that can aptly describe the feeling that day,” said Clifford, the featured speaker at the Burlington County 200 Club’s annual 9/11 memorial service. “It was nerve-racking, cause I don’t think words can do it justice ... I wanted to do the victims justice.”

A crowd of police officers, firefighters and paramedics, along with everyday citizens and several politicians, including Mayor John Button and U.S. Rep. John Runyan, filled the church to hear Clifford speak.

At 13, Clifford had gone to Ground Zero only months after the attacks to volunteer at St. Paul’s Chapel, an Episcopal church a block from the World Trade Center towers that became both a memorial and a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers in the days after the attacks.

More here-

http://moorestown.patch.com/articles/remember-what-the-american-spirit-is

Priest Recalls the First Days After Flight 93 Crash

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

On the sunny morning of Sept. 12 , 2001, a Catholic priest and FBI chaplain from Pittsburgh stood on an overlook where a command post had been established above the Flight 93 crash site, said the prayers for burial and consecration and cast holy water toward the crater.

"By the Lord's own three days in the tomb he hallowed the graves of all who believe in him and made the grave a sign of hope and a promise of the resurrection, even as it claims our mortal bodies," the Rev. Joseph McCaffrey prayed at the first official consecration of the Sacred Ground where the Flight 93 National Memorial was dedicated Saturday.

"We pray that all who lost their lives here may live forever in the mercy of God."

Father McCaffrey, who became a law enforcement liaison to the Flight 93 families of the 40 passengers and crew who lost their lives, returned for the dedication in Somerset County. He spent hours stuck in traffic and wasn't able to speak with them prior to the ceremony. But he had a sense that his ministry at the site had come full circle, even as he worried that the nation wasn't practicing the lessons of unity and moral courage that the passengers and crew gave their lives to demonstrate.

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11254/1173883-84.stm#ixzz1XdjSBTN4

'Remember To Love': A Sept. 11 Concert From Trinity Church, NYC

From NPR- (with video)

Located just blocks from the World Trade Center, Trinity Church and its St. Paul's Chapel have been part of New York's spiritual and musical life for centuries. Trinity was chartered as an Episcopalian church in 1697; George Washington worshiped at St. Paul's.

After Sept. 11, the church became an even more beloved focal point for its community. Although it is located just across the street from the World Trade Center, St. Paul's somehow escaped any physical damage. It quickly became an integral part of the recovery effort, and the chapel was a physical and spiritual refuge for rescue workers in the aftermath of the attacks.

The chapel was offered to first responders as a place to eat, rest, sleep and pray. A dedicated roster of hundreds of professional musicians took turns playing for the firefighters, police, emergency workers, construction workers and other professionals and volunteers who gathered there day and night. This musical ministry lasted for eight full months after Sept. 11.

More here-

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2011/09/06/140221544/remembering-sept-11-at-trinity-church-nyc

Anglican Archbishop desires to meet Mugabe

From Zimbabwe-

Dismissing rumours of political motives, the Archbishop of Canterbury has made a request to meet the country’s president Robert Mugabe on his upcoming trip.

It was announced the Bishop Rowan William’s aim for visiting Zimbabwe has nothing to do with politics and is a purely religious one, despite bitter issues parishioners await to inform him which have to do with the ousted ZANU PF aligned bishop Bishop Kunonga.

“The aim of the trip as a whole is a pastoral visit and it’s to show solidarity with Anglicans there, that’s really the aim of the trip,” Dr Williams’ spokeswoman was quoted saying.

“[Dr Williams] will meet with bishops, clergy, and is going to be looking at church development initiatives in all three countries.

No political motives at all...Rowan Williams

The Foreign Office said: “The archbishop’s visit is in a pastoral capacity as the head of the Anglican Church – he is not a representative of the government.

More here-

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=35182

Forty-eight Hour Eviction Notice To Anglicans And Orphanage

From Central Africa-

The Deputy Sheriff has issued a 48 hour notice to occupants at a Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) Anglican Church and an orphanage here to vacate their premises and make way for sympathisers of ex-communicated Anglican Bishop, Nolbert Kunonga.

In a notice of ejectment dated 6 September 2011, the Deputy Sheriff for Murewa, only identified as Mzingwina, gave tenants at St John’s Anglican Church Mission in Chikwaka including administrators at Shearley Cripps Home, an orphanage housing more than 100 orphans and located about 100 kilometres outside Harare, 48 hours to vacate the premises.

The notice of ejectment came after Kunonga caused the Registrar of the High Court to issue a writ of ejectment against the CPCA from their properties in a fresh assault on the Bishop Chad Gandiya-led church.

Through the writ of ejectment dated 2 September 2011, Kunonga through his Diocesan Trustees for the Diocese of Harare wants the CPCA and occupants at all CPCA Anglican Diocese of Harare properties to vacate the premises and make way for his Diocesan Trustees for the Diocese of Harare.

More here-

http://www.radiovop.com/index.php/national-news/7060-forty-eight-hour-eviction-notice-to-anglicans-and-orphanage.html

Services in memory of 9/11 held in US and across the world

From The Church Times-

CHURCHES in the United States and around the world will hold memorial services on Sunday to mark the tenth anniversary of the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, said that the anniversary will be “above all an opportunity for re­flection”.

Dr Jefferts Schori is scheduled to preach twice on Sunday in New York, where 2606 people died in the World Trade Center and on the ground after two hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the Center. She will preach at St Paul’s Chapel at 7.30 a.m., and at the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine at 11 a.m.

In a statement last month, Dr Jefferts Schori said: “This tenth anniversary is above all an oppor­tunity for reflection. Have we be­come more effective reconcilers as a result? Are we more committed to peacemaking? The greatest mem­orial to those who died ten years ago will be a world more inclined toward peace.”

On Sunday evening, President Obama will speak at Washington National Cathedral during “A Concert for Hope”. The Dean, the Very Revd Samuel Lloyd, said: “Ten years ago at the Cathedral, the nation gathered after tragedy with President Bush; at the Cathedral this year, we mark the passing of a decade since a day that changed the life of every American.”

The Bishop of Washington, the Rt Revd John Chane, will lead an interfaith prayer-vigil at Washington National Cathedral; the Cathedral’s largest bell, the Bourdon bell, will be tolled at the exact moment that the planes struck.

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=117655

Texas wildfires prompt voluntary evacuation of Camp Allen

From ENS-

Before voluntarily evacuating on Sept. 8, Camp Allen staff moved resident horses, snakes, and birds to safety, installed sprinklers on roofs and closed up buildings in hopes that the beloved Episcopal Diocese of Texas campground would be spared damage from a devastating wildfire burning a few miles away.

"The smoke is rolling in. All the guests have left. We've moved all the animals off the property for their safety. The staff is outside now, watering down the buildings and closing up, preparing to shut down the camp until Monday," according to Kathy, an employee who asked that her last name be withheld.

"I'm kind of nervous," added the employee, who estimated the fire to be about three to five miles away from the 90-year-old campground, retreat and conference center in Navasota. "I'd hate for something to happen to Camp Allen, it's such a wonderful place.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_129707_ENG_HTM.htm

Washington National Cathedral moves 9/11 events

From Washington DC-

Washington National Cathedral officials scrambled Thursday to move and reschedule some of the nation’s most high-profile Sept. 11 commemoration events after a towering crane toppled over on the historic grounds a day earlier.

The crane, with a lifting capacity of 500 tons, had been brought in to help reconstruct the more than 100-year-old iconic Episcopal structure after it was badly damaged in the Aug. 23 earthquake. But the machine toppled over just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, and officials say they still have no indication what caused it to fall.

On Thursday, two workers were hospitalizedafter another accident, but church officials said they could not elaborate on what happened.

Events at the cathedral are scheduled to begin Friday. Church officials said they quickly pivoted and started looking for other host sites. The cathedral was not damaged further by the falling crane, officials said, but events were moved because the crane had played a key role in stabilizing spires and statues atop the church that had been broken during the earthquake.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washington-national-cathedral-moves-911-events/2011/09/08/gIQAqgwODK_story.html

An ecumenical aftershock of the August earthquake

From South Carolina-

Charlestonians felt last month's 5.8-magnitude Virginia earthquake as a fleeting tremor, if they felt it at all. But at Grace Episcopal Church, the minor temblor appears to have been enough to push the congregation out of its 165-year-old sanctuary at 98 Wentworth St. — at least temporarily.

Church leaders began to take safety precautions two years ago, putting in 20 electronic sensors to monitor motion in the walls. One of the sensors alerted them to a problem last Friday: A clerestory wall (an interior wall held up by columns) was getting thicker, indicating that bricks were delaminating, or separating from each other. If the delamination continues, the wall could collapse.

Grace Church has survived worse: Union bombardment of the peninsula in 1863, the great Charleston Earthquake of 1886, and Hurricane Hugo in 1989. In recent years, the congregation funded a renovation project called Saving Grace, and now it looks like the bill for fixing the clerestory wall is up to them again. The Rev. Michael Wright, rector at the church, says he hasn't found any help from historical preservation societies, "but boy, we're open to suggestions."

More here-

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/an-ecumenical-aftershock-of-the-august-earthquake/Content?oid=3581175

Archbishop of Canterbury seeks Robert Mugabe meeting

From The BBC

Dr Rowan Williams is visiting Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia in October.

His spokeswoman said the "pastoral visit" was to "show solidarity" with Anglicans in central Africa.

The Foreign Office said as head of the church, Dr Williams' "desire to support them was understandable".

Dr Williams will become the first prominent British representative to visit Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, in a decade.

The country's violent regime has previously come under criticism from the Church.

In 2007, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, cut up his clerical dog collar in protest at President Mugabe's regime, saying he would not wear it again until the president had left office.

More here-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14833205

First quake, now crane damages Washington cathedra

From AFP-

A crane used to help repair the main tower of the earthquake-struck Washington National Cathedral, toppled over Wednesday, inflicting fresh damage at the site of the US capital's best-known house of worship.

A spokeswoman for the cathedral told AFP that the crane fell over at around 10:55 am, crashing into two adjacent buildings: the church house, which is the headquarters of the Episcopal diocese, and the cathedral's Herb Cottage, a popular gift shop on the church grounds.
There were no injuries in the accident, church officials said, and church officials could not provide an immediate estimate of the cost of the damage.

The crane was at the cathedral to repair the roof, which had been damaged in last month's earthquake.

The famed century-old cathedral, situated on Washington's highest point, has been the site for presidential inaugural services and funerals, and hosts prayer services following national tragedies.

More here-

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hWXtZOWZIJaMTxSiGyVxSOj2MwTw?docId=CNG.1ed529f5773eca2a7522d667c5bbf188.5c1

Spirituality forged in smoke and fire

From ENS-

As the senior military chaplain for U.S. Joint Forces Command, I was in Arlington, Virginia, with my colleagues for an annual meeting of the senior Armed Forces chaplains assigned to the command staffs of our nation's Joint, or unified commands. On the morning of Tuesday, the 11th of September, we were riding in a small bus going down the hill from our hotel to the Pentagon where our meeting would be held in an E-ring conference room near the Pentagon Athletic Center entrance.

As stated in the opening sentence of the 9/11 Commission Report, the day "...dawned temperate and nearly cloudless in the eastern United States" (p. 1). Driving past Arlington National Cemetery I recall thinking how placid a place that was. Then I came back into reality and remembered the funerals I had done there as a Navy chaplain who had worked next door in the Navy Annex (to the Pentagon) a couple of years earlier.

We were a few minutes late getting to our meeting because our driver, a man with Middle Eastern features, had missed the turnoff to the Pentagon. We had to go into the District of Columbia, turn around and come back for the correct turn into the Pentagon parking lot.

All in all, it was a pretty normal morning -- until American Airlines flight #77, still almost full of fuel, came in over the northern horizon and slammed into the side of the building. It was only after we had been evacuated from the building that my life began to change. After being sequestered for a few minutes near the Potomac River, it was apparent that what some of us at first thought was an emergency drill had actually been a sizable explosion on the far side of the building. Collectively we knew that the explosion called for a response. We had been called to action.

Through the leadership of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chaplain we were organized into small teams headed by the senior medical officer present. Since all of us had been trained in immediate first aid, we were eager to use our combined medical training and pastoral skills to give aid to the injured and comfort to the dying.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_129692_ENG_HTM.htm

'Gleaners' from South Hadley church raise awareness about hunger and water

From Mass.

On Sept. 25, volunteers from All Saints’ Episcopal Church will take part for the third year in an eye-opening effort to combat hunger in the region.

They will spend a Sunday afternoon collecting produce from a farmer’s field, to be distributed to the needy.

It will cost nothing, except for the labor of the volunteers and the generosity of a local grower.

The veggies are all leftovers, destined to provide a rich fertilizer as they sink into the earth were it not for “gleaners” like those from All Saints’.

“After mechanical harvesters go through the field, we go in and pick what’s left,” said Cynthia Lambert, parish administrator at All Saints’.

Lambert said last year’s expedition, to a farm in Whately, resulted in more than $5,000 worth of organic produce, which was distributed to seven community kitchens – not only in South Hadley, where the church is located, but in such communities as Chicopee, Holyoke and Northampton.

“Not a single tomato was rejected,” said Lambert.

more here-

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/gleaners_from_south_hadley_chu.html

Episcopal priest: 10 lessons learned in the decade since 9/11

From Minnesota-

It's been 10 years since 9/11, and of the countless lessons we've learned since then, here are 10 of the most important:

1. An open society invites attack. Not only do we present an abundance of targets that we cannot possibly defend, but America's openness is offensive to the repressive, the insular, and the intolerant.

2. An open society won't be easily intimidated or vanquished. Terrorists deeply wounded New York City, but here we are, 10 years later, more alive, more confident, more open than ever. Democracy is a durable system.

3. The issue isn't Islam, but rather religious extremism in any form — Muslim, Christian or otherwise. When one group claims absolute certainty and the belief that all others are infidels or pagans who do not deserve freedom, then the inevitable next steps will be repression and destruction.

4. Common sense is the antidote to such religious extremism. Dueling faiths are not the answer, but rather an awareness that life has many struggles and no easy answers, that more people are decent than not and that things tend to work out when people are free to make choices. Mutual respect will accomplish more than victory in any sandbox.

More here-

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/otherviews/129322103.html

Episcopal Diocese of Texas helps with fire relief

From Texas-

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas has been rallying church members to confront a wave of wildfires that have destroyed a 1,000 homes near Austin and are moving closer to Houston suburbs like Tomball.

According to a report by the diocese:

Several parishioners of Good Shepherd, Tomball have had to evacuate from fires northwest of Houston, and parishes in northeast Texas have also felt the effects of fires. In Longview, St. Michael and All Angels’ as well as Trinity Episcopal have reported smoke-filled skies from fires burning near Gladewater.

“Most of us woke up this morning with ash-covered cars,” said Donna Armstrong, Trinity’s parish administrator. “Its a little unnerving, but so far none of our parishioners have been directly affected.”

More here-

http://blog.chron.com/believeitornot/2011/09/episcopal-diocese-of-texas-helps-with-fire-relief/v

Leeds gets first church minister to its night-time clubs and bars

From England-

Leeds is making an interesting name for itself in religious circles by appointing 'Pioneering Ministers' to a range of communities which the Anglican diocese sees as today's equivalents of the traditional parish.

We've already got Rev Rob Hinton pioneering away in the Business Community – a post created in 2009 – and Rev James Barnett has been doing the same in New Communities since last year.

Now Pastor Beth Tash takes on the most eye-catching job yet, as Pioneering Minister to the Night Time Economy. She'll be commissioned on Wednesday evening, 7 September, appropriately as twilight gathers over the hotspots in The Calls, Lower Briggate and elsewhere.

Tash is 27 and has previously worked as youth pastor at St George's church, famous for its crypt shelter and an immense amount of outreach in central Leeds. She's lived in the city for nine years, initially as a student and latterly in her pastoral role.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/sep/06/beth-tash-leeds-clubbing-st-george-s-crypt-bishop-knaresborough-james-bell-ripon

Nigeria: Clergy Sues for Peace

From Nigeria-

Following the spate of violence in some parts of the country, Rev. Ikechi Nwosu, the Arch-Bishop of the Anglican Ecclesiastical Province of Aba, has advised Nigerians to embrace peace.

Nwosu gave the advice in a sermon on Sunday in Umuahia to mark the 20th Anniversary of Abia, and Gov. Theodore Orji's 100 days in office.

He said the spate of violence had militarised the country, adding that Nigerians were no longer free in their homes.

The Clergy expressed regret that some well-placed individuals were using their wealth to oppress the down-trodden, adding: "until we repent, expose wickedness, good things will continue to elude us."

He urged Nigerians to eschew sectional interest and rise to the challenge of being their brothers' keeper, stressing that it was time to "tight the ties that bound us together."

Nwosu said Abia had not done well in its 20 years of existence, and expressed the hope that the state would witness a new dawn of development in the coming years.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201109060210.html

Anglican church in Qatar to be fully operational next year

From Qatar-

The Anglican Centre in Doha's church complex will be fully operational by the end of next year, the church rector has said.

According to Father Bill Schwartz, the 35 million Qatari riyal complex, under construction since 2008, will be ready by the end of 2012 and will offer Christian Protestant denominational groups a location to worship.

"Building is moving ahead apace, and moving ahead in line with our expectations. The building should be usable by Christmas next year," he said, quoted by Qatari daily Gulf Times.

The centre is currently providing space for some 42 different groups, who use the variety of permanent and temporary buildings on a regular basis.

"On a Friday, we have all the groups using the rooms on a rotational basis," the rector said. "Every week we have around between 4,000 and 5,000 people using the centre."

The centre is part of the church complex which was opened in 2008 with the aim of providing a space to worship for the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Coptic denominational groups, as well as the inter-denominational centre which hosts a number of Indian church groups.

More here-

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/anglican-church-in-qatar-to-be-fully-operational-next-year-1.862090

Safety nets going up in DC's National Cathedral

From Washington DC-

Safety nets are being installed beneath the ceiling of the Washington National Cathedral to guard against falling debris after the landmark building was damaged by the earthquake that rattled the East Coast last week.

Putting up the netting will allow the world's sixth-largest cathedral to be used for events marking the tenth anniversary of 9/11, including a concert that evening at which President Barack Obama will speak.

The cathedral's head stone mason, Joe Alonso, said Thursday that when workers entered the building after the 5.8-magnitude quake on Aug. 23, they found the floor speckled in places with small pieces of mortar that had rained down from the ceiling. The chips of mortar came from between the stones in the gothic cathedral's vaulted ceiling, which is about 100 feet high.

More here-

http://www.9news.com/news/world/217487/347/Safety-nets-going-up-in-DCs-National-Cathedral-

Signs signs everywhere signs #33

Actually "Deliverance Temple" is pretty funny too.

Songs replace sermon as Searsport churches remember favorite hymns

From Miane-

The first time Lois Malisk walked into a church sanctuary instead of going to Sunday school, “Onward Christian Soldiers” was being played by the organist.

Malisk, 86, of Stockton Springs sang the hymn again Sunday at a combined service of the Searsport and North Searsport United Methodist churches.

“It always inspires me,” she said after the service, which instead of a sermon featured hymns selected by worshippers at the church in north Searsport, located at the intersection of Mount Ephram and Loop roads.

The words to the famous hymn were written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865, and the music was composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1871, according to the Center for Church Music in Grand Haven, Mich. The composer was the same Sullivan who composed 14 operettas with librettist W.S. Gilbert, Frank Wareham, 72, of Belfast, who is the pianist for both churches, told worshippers.

Malisk, who first heard what would become her favorite hymn at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Stamford, Conn., had it played at her wedding to Wes Malisk, who was unable to attend Sunday’s service.

More here-

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/09/04/religion/songs-replace-sermon-as-searsport-churches-remember-favorite-hymns/