Australia's Anglican church still divided over women's ordination

From Australia- (Christian Century)

Australia's Anglican Church has its third female bishop, Genieve Blackwell, but her March 31 consecration was boycotted by her archbishop, Sydney's Peter Jensen, a strong opponent of women clergy.

Blackwell, the first Anglican woman bishop in the state of New South Wales, was appointed regional bishop of Wagga Wagga, located between Sydney and Melbourne, by Bishop Stuart Robinson of the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. Jensen is archbishop of the region, which also includes Sydney, one of the most conservative dioceses in the Anglican Communion.

Of her new role, Blackwood told ENInews, "It is about promoting Christ's church in the world, and encouraging parishes in what they are doing now and in the future." She told the Sydney Morning Herald that she was "a bit nervous but I look on this as meeting a great challenge that faces the rural and regional church ... It is a great thing that the gifts of women are being recognized and confirmed as being able to be used in Christ's service."

A daughter of a Methodist minister, raised in the Uniting Church, Blackwell joined the Anglican Church while studying at university. She undertook further study at Moore Theological Anglican College from 1989 to 1992 under Jensen, and was ordained as a deacon in Sydney in 1993. (Deacons may not celebrate the Eucharist and have been ordained in Sydney since 1989.)

More here-

http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-04/australias-anglican-church-still-divided-over-womens-ordination

Trinity Church Goes to the Polls Amid Controversy Over Leadership

From New York-

Congregants at Downtown's troubled Trinity Church slammed the church's leadership Tuesday as they cast ballots for a new vestry, or board of directors.

Congregants criticized the Rev. James Cooper, the church's rector, for lavishly overspending on music programs while neglecting the poor, and some accused the church of rigging the annual election to quash a grassroots push for change.

Tom Mazza, a member of the 314-year-old Episcopal church for nearly five decades, called the election undemocratic and said he voted against the slate of 22 vestry members because they were chosen at a closed-door meeting and are largely loyal to Cooper.

"I wanted to send a message that you shouldn't rig elections," said Mazza, a retired lawyer and West Village resident.

Despite Mazza and others' complaints, Trinity announced Tuesday evening that the slate of vestry members had been confirmed by a majority vote. The vestry is now about evenly split between veterans and the newcomers who replaced the 10 former vestry members who resigned in protest of Cooper's leadership over the past eight months.

Jeremy Bates, past president of Trinity's Congregational Council, also voted "no" to all 22 of the vestry candidates.


Read more:

http://www.dnainfo.com/20120411/downtown/trinity-church-goes-polls-admid-controversy-over-leadership#ixzz1rp20pZI6

Hope, Despair: Student’s Exhibit Focuses on Genocide in Rwanda

From Boston-

Confronting a paradox often gives one pause for thought, but in the case of senior Seth Woody the experience did more: It changed the course of his life at, and beyond, Boston College.

The summer after his freshman year at BC, Woody and his family went to Rwanda with his father, an Episcopal priest, to meet missionaries and others working to help the country continue recovering from the genocide of 1994 that resulted in an estimated 800,000 deaths.

Although Woody knew — or thought he did — about the genocide, witnessing its impact even more than 15 years later was at times overwhelming. But despite the pall, many people Woody encountered expressed hope for Rwanda’s future.

“I hadn’t expected to find this contradiction,” recalls Woody, a San Antonio native. “As a Christian, I was familiar with the idea that there is hope in suffering, but in Rwanda it just seemed unfathomable. When we came back, all I could think was, ‘How do I resolve this dilemma of hope and despair I saw?’”

The visit to Rwanda compelled Woody to make some important decisions. One was to change his major, from political science to theology. The other was to seek a way back to Rwanda and try to find out how such optimism about the human condition could flower in this unlikely setting.

Woody will share the discoveries and impressions from his quest via a weeklong exhibition that opens tomorrow in the Bapst Library Student Art Gallery. The exhibition includes photos taken by Woody and audio excerpts of interviews he conducted during his return to Rwanda last summer with people involved in reconciliation and social justice efforts.

More here-

http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/publications/chronicle/FeaturesNewsTopstories/2012/features/woody041212.html

Catholic, Episcopal congregations come together

From Miami-

The spirit of Easter will continue in South Miami as the Roman Catholic congregation of Christ the King and the Episcopal congregation at the Church of the Ascension join forces to present a revival April 16 through 18.

The theme of the revival is "Your condition is not your conclusion," and the revival will begin at 7 p.m. with gospel hymns, followed at 7:30 p.m. with the revival services at Christ the King Catholic Church, 16000 SW 112th Ave. on April 16; at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 11201 SW 160th St. on April 17, and back to Christ the King Catholic Church on April 18.

The Rev. Maurice J. Nutt will lead the revival. He is a member of the Redemptorist Parish Mission Preaching Team; a faculty member of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans, and a nationally known revivalist and author.

According to a press release, Nutt’s retreats, revivals, missions and lectures are always "overflowing with people hungry for the Word of God and eager and ready to be inspired, loved ad a pat of a joyful celebration. He specializes in preaching and evangelization, African American culture, spirituality, and community and church development."

The revival is open to everyone, regardless of religion or faith. For more information call the Rev. William Mason at 305-238-2485 or at bmasonomi@aol.com.

Read more here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/12/2739413/catholic-episcopal-congregations.html#storylink=cpy

Church and state: Tough question for court

From Savannah-

Once again, Savannah is at the epicenter of the critical constitutional issue of separation of church and state, with far reaching implications to many religious organizations and their members throughout the country.

The recent petition of Christ Church to the U.S. Supreme Court sets the stage for a landmark decision testing the wall of separation between church and state. The issue is whether a national church can claim exclusive rights to local church property based on provisions of national church documents, despite changes in doctrine adopted by the national church.

Since the establishment of the colony, Georgia courts followed the English common law, and consistently held that the right to property in a dispute between a local congregation and a hierarchical, or nationally governed church, was to be decided by a jury based on whether the national church had abandoned or departed from the tenets of faith and practice it held at the time the local church affiliated with it.

This was known as the “departure from doctrine” rule. In 1969, in a landmark case which originated in Savannah involving Hull Memorial Presbyterian Church, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Georgia law, holding that Georgia’s “departure from doctrine” rule violated the First Amendment and that property disputes involving churches could not be based on “ecclesiastical determination.”

Following that decision, Georgia adopted what it styled as a “neutral principles of law” approach to church property ownership, examining four elements relating to church property: Deeds, state statutes, local church charters and national church constitutions.

More here-

http://savannahnow.com/column/2012-04-11/nash-church-and-state-tough-question-court#.T4Vn8piOyfQ

Church pledges $6K to warming shelter

From Vermont-

Immanuel Episcopal Church recently pledged a four-figure donation to the Greater Falls Warming Shelter to assist the area’s homeless.

The Rev. Steven G. Fuller Sr., the church’s outreach leader, said Immanuel will provide the shelter with $6,000 to be used as seed money to make sure there it secures a permanent residence in Bellows Falls. The money will be given on the condition that other churches and organizations match it to create a fund for this purpose.

The GFWS operated in the basement of Athens Pizza House in 2010/2011 in Bellows Falls with a temporary permit but was denied a permanent one late last year by the Rockingham Planning Commission & Zoning Board of Adjustment, which became deadlocked in a 3-3 vote. The shelter’s board of directors started the process of appealing the non-opinion to the state’s environmental court but recently decided against it.

Fuller, as well as the wardens and vestry of Immanuel Episcopal Church, wrote a letter to the Reformer’s editors, stating that they became greatly concerned when the shelter was denied a permit.

Though the GFWS has been renting private apartments to help homeless individuals, it can accommodate only eight people. GFWS Chairwoman Louise Luring said the shelter has in the past assisted many more people at once.

More here-

http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_20368927/church-pledges-6k-warming-shelter

The women at the heart of the divine

From The London Telegraph-

I know the relationship between women and religion is contentious, because some of our best evidence for it is hidden, buried deep underground.

Beneath the frenetic streets of Rome twist and turn the rock-cut catacombs of Priscilla. Here, there are a series of beautiful, faded wall‑paintings. In one side chapel, women sit around a dining table breaking bread and offering wine – apparently giving communion. On the flanking walls, draped in pale cloth, they raise their arms to worship God. In another chamber, a praying woman – hands and eyes lifted to the sky – dominates the scene. To her side a bishop lays his hand on a woman’s shoulder. She is wearing an alb, the marker of an ordained priest. These catacombs were home to early Christians escaping persecution and plying their faith, when Christianity was first becoming a fully fledged religion. High on one ceiling is a picture of a young mother nursing her chubby baby. Discovered only a few years ago, it is the first extant image we have of the Virgin Mary and the Christ child. Unlike the modern world of faith, women here are conspicuous not by their absence but their presence.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9183357/The-women-at-the-heart-of-the-divine.html

A Church Divided: Ruling Ends Va.'s Episcopal Battle

From NPR- (with broadcast audio)

On a bright Sunday morning in the tiny town of Heathsville, Va., Jeffrey Cerar surveys the church he's preached in for the past 15 years — its 130-year-old wooden pews, its stained glass windows, its paschal candles, its cross.

"Virtually everything you see here is going to stay; the high altar, the credence table, the hymnals and books of common prayer will all stay," he says. "The Bibles will go with us."

Cerar, rector of St. Stephen's Anglican Church, is leaving, along with his congregation. They're handing the keys over to their theological rivals, the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. Earlier this year, a judge ruled that seven conservative Virginia congregations that had split with the Episcopal Church must hand over almost everything they own. It's like the end of a marriage, with people moving out and splitting up assets — even its own long, ugly battle.

More here-

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/10/150351713/a-church-divided-ruling-ends-va-s-episcopal-battle

Archbishop panel member believes gay people can 'change' sexual desire

From England- (The Guardian)

A leading member of the Church of England who believes some gay people can be counselled to suppress or possibly change their sexual orientation is helping to select the next archbishop of Canterbury.

Glynn Harrison, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Bristol University, is on the Crown Nominations Commission, which will recommend a successor to Rowan Williams, to be approved by the prime minister and the Queen. His role on the 16-strong commission has alarmed some liberal Anglicans who fear it could deepen divisions over homosexuality in a church riven by the issues of holding gay civil ceremonies in churches and the consecration of gay bishops.

In a statement through the church, Harrison stated that he did not believe in a "gay cure" and had himself never offered formal counselling or therapy.

The Rev Colin Coward, director of Changing Attitude, the campaign for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the Anglican communion, said Harrison's position on the commission appeared "cranky in the extreme".

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/09/archbishop-of-canterbury-crown-nominations-commission?newsfeed=true

New Anglican Bishop To Preside Over Annual Synod

From Jamaica-

Newly-elected Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the Rt Reverend Dr Howard Gregory is slated to undertake his first major assignment in that capacity this week when he presides over the 142nd annual Synod of the Anglican Church.

The Synod, taking place at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort Spa and Conference Centre, in Ocho Rios, St Ann starting today and ending on Friday, is to be attended by some 300 clergy and lay representatives from Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

Focusing on the theme "Lord, renew the Church for its mission and ministry in the nation", it will officially open at 4.30 p.m. with a service at the St Ann's Bay Parish Church.

Inaugural charge

The high point of the service will be Gregory's inaugural charge to the Church and the nation, in which he is expected to address contemporary challenges and the mission imperatives confronting the Church.

More here-

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120410/lead/lead2.html

Hearts for Honduras

From Ohio-

From the moment he stepped onto the tarmac at the airport at the foot of the central mountains of Honduras, Ironton businessman Robert Slagel entered a world of shocking contrasts.

“As soon as we got off the plane, there was a guard with a machine gun,” he said. “In the lobby of the airport, there were private individuals guarding luggage with machine guns.”

The Ironton entrepreneur was part of three-person team from Christ Episcopal Church going as first-time missionaries to the poverty-stricken Central American country of Honduras. Joining Slagel were Laurel Baise of Ironton and the Rev. Sallie Schisler, vicar of the church.

They left on a dreary, overcast Sunday, just before the start of Lent, the season of repentance and contemplation for Christians. Now as the culmination of that season dawns today on Easter Sunday, their journey shows the message of service to those in need that is the hallmark of their faith.

“To be honest, I never thought in a million years that I would go on a mission trip,” Slagel said.

More here-

http://www.irontontribune.com/2012/04/09/hearts-for-honduras/

Who's Afraid of Female Priests?

From Huffington-

In Christian art, including Michelangelo and Hollywood biblical films, the maleness of God has long been highlighted. Seldom has there been a depiction of deity or spiritual strength that remotely suggested a woman like Eleanor Roosevelt or Marian Anderson, Helen Keller or Barbara Jordan.

However, extraordinary change was in the air in July 1974 when 11 women shattered tradition by being ordained Episcopal priests. Ironically, I became involved when invited -- as a male -- to write a cover story about it for groundbreaking Ms. Magazine. From my perspective, by following the anthropomorphism that depicted God as male, the church failed in its witness to God and came close to committing institutional suicide. The idea of receiving the Host from the hand of a woman apparently confronts some people with grave difficulties. Could this stem from the life experience of praying "Our Father who art in heaven" while one was mentally on one's knees before a male God? Was the male priest before whom one knelt in church to receive Holy Communion a surrogate figure of a familiar bearded and patriarchal God?

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-malcolm-boyd/whos-afraid-of-female-priests_b_1401278.html

Former General Seminary dean James Corner Fenhagen dies at 82

From ENS-

A funeral service was held April 9 for the Rev. James Corner Fenhagen, 82, who died at Tidelands Community Hospice in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, on April 5.

The service for Fenhagen was held at Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church. A committal service will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Georgetown Parish, Washington, D.C., at a later date.

Fenhagen, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, was named president and dean of the General Theological Seminary in New York in 1978 and retired from there in 1992. While at General, he taught in areas related to Christian spirituality and the practice of ministry. He was well known for having helped develop the concept of mutual ministry.

He then became director of the Cornerstone Project of the Episcopal Church Foundation, retiring in 1995. Cornerstone explored issues of clergy and congregational health, wholeness and holiness.

Fenhagen served as president and warden of the College of Preachers at Washington National Cathedral from 2001-2004.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/04/09/former-general-seminary-dean-james-corner-fenhagen-dies-at-82/

Bay Area Episcopal Clergy Don Hoodies in Response to Trayvon Martin Shooting

From California-

Last Tuesday, clergy members of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of California donned hoodies in front of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to make a statement related to the Trayvon Martin case. The hoodie, one of which the 17-year-old African-American Martin was wearing the night he was shot to death by George Zimmerman, has become a symbol of the tragedy.

Sean McConnell, who does communications work for the diocese, said the photo is intended to "make a statement about generalizations that lead to young men, mostly, being victims of violence."

Everyone in the photo is either a deacon or a priest.

More here-

http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2012/04/09/bay-area-episcopal-clergy-hoodies-photo/

Episcopalians Return to Historic Falls Church To Pack Chapel for Easter Service

From Virginia-

The historic chapel on the campus of The Falls Church was filled to overflowing today, marking the homecoming of persevering Episcopalian worshipers who had been banished from the site for over five years.

It was a moving and joyous occasion for many who attended today, having endured the years of an occupation of the historic site by a breakaway congregation that left the Episcopal Diocese in 2006 to protest, among other things, the Episcopal Church's election of an openly gay bishop. In January, a Fairfax Circuit judge ordered the property, and that of other Episcopal churches in Virginia where the same thing happened, back to the Episcopal diocese.

Today's marked the first return of the "continuing Episcopalians," who had persisted in their faith by worshiping in the fellowship hall of a church across the street. On a beautiful Easter morning, the chapel dating to 1732 was filled to capacity, with folding chairs added to any and all available open spaces, for a rousing celebration of Easter and the return to the sanctuary.

"You may notice some leading this service having breaks in their voices," the Rev. Cathy Tibbetts, who led the service, told the congregation. "That's because of the momentous occasion today represents. It is a wonderful day."

Preaching on a Resurrection theme, Tibbets told the congregation, "We have come home to do God's work."

Read more

http://www.fcnp.com/news/11532-episcopalians-return-to-historic-falls-church-to-pack-chapel-for-easter-service.html#ixzz1rYJ3EheN

Anglican Primate Warns Jonathan's Critics Over Church Gift

From Nigeria-

PRIMATE of All Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, Sunday challenged critics of President Goodluck Jonathan over the renovation of Otuoke Anglican Church by Ghitto Construction Company to remove the log in their eyes first before looking for the specks in another person's, warning them to stop making provocative remarks.

The Primate also in his Easter message, expressed optimism that Nigerians and Nigeria will indeed, rise and conquer the Boko Haram's activities in the country.

Okoh, in an interview with newsmen, shortly after the Easter Service at Cathedral of Advents, Life Camp, Abuja, said those heating up the polity, because of the renovation that could be done by anybody, were not being fair, advising them not to allow their sense of reasoning to be beclouded by such trivial issue, when there were much more serious issues confronting the country.

He said: "It is not an issue, that church, I can renovate it myself, it was already built and the renovation of church can be done by either Ghitto or anybody; people are looking for problem where there is none. The President doesn't have to have a friend to renovate that church, since if anybody volunteered to do it, those people will receive blessing from God.

"Those who are pointing to the renovation of the church, let them search their midst, there are logs in their eyes, not the speck in somebody's eye."

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201204090513.html

Divestment Revisionist

From The American Spectator-

The anti-Israel Religious Left has a new target for its fury, and it's not anybody like old nemeses like evangelical Zionists Pat Robertson or John Hagee. It is Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who recently dared to criticize anti-Israel divestment schemes.

"The Episcopal Church does not endorse divestment or boycott," Jefferts Schori recently told a Los Angeles "peacemakers" luncheon. "It's not going to be helpful to endorse divestment or boycotts of Israel. It will only end in punishing Palestinians economically."

Although reliably liberal and politically correct, Jefferts Schori and most of her denomination don't identify with anti-Israel zealotry. In contrast, zealous activists within the United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church (USA) are trying to persuade their upcoming governing conventions to target Israel for divestment. Episcopal Church opposition makes their argument more difficult.

So understandably, anti-Israel groups like Sabeel are distressed. "If the church is afraid to cry out against injustice and oppression, the living stones, the common people will cry out," warned Sabeel chief Naim Ateek in a letter to Jefferts Schori. Based in Jerusalem, Sabeel is a nexus for anti-Israel organizing between Palestinian churches and Western church activists. Guided by the last remaining vestiges of Liberation Theology, which shook the world in the 1970s by linking Christianity with Marxist revolution, Sabeel summons churches to rally for Palestinian "liberation" from Israeli oppression. Ateek is himself an Anglican priest and frequent speaker in the U.S.

More here-

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/04/09/divestment-revisionist

Shaken from Church, members celebrate Easter in Synagogue

From South Carolina-

On Easter Sunday, the great hall of Grace Episcopal Church was quiet. The choir wasn't singing, the Rector wasn't preaching and Sunday school wasn't ending because it hadn't begun in the 166-year-old building in almost a year.

Last August, an earthquake centered in Virginia shook the congregation out of their home at Grace Episcopal in downtown Charleston.

Instead of pews, there's scaffolding. Red 'danger, do not enter' tape covers the hall instead Easter decorations.

"It just hurts," said Virginia Donehue, Sunday morning. "It would be like your house caught fire and you had to live somewhere else until you get it fixed up. We just want to go home."

Donehue says the 5.8 magnitude earthquake weakened the limestone mortar holding bricks in the walls together. The re-construction of the Church goes back to the years after the great earthquake of 1886.

That earthquake did much more damage than the most recent shake but because of safety reasons, church members were forced to worship elsewhere until renovations to support the structure are complete.

That's why on Easter Sunday 2012, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) Synagogue two blocks away was filled with grace.

More here-

http://www.live5news.com/story/17361674/shaken-from-church-members-celebrate-easter-in-synagogue

President Obama And Family Go To Church

From Huffington-

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

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

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

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

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

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

More here-

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

Easter blessing brings varied denominations together here

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

Afterward Bishop Kenneth Price Jr., of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, said he prayed that the friendship among the city's ecclesiastical leaders would set an example for others.

"In my life, I've never been in a city where the ecumenical community is as strong and the bonds between its leaders so genuine. May it afford a model to the city as a whole," he said.

He was standing a few feet from Archbishop Duncan, with whom his diocese has been in a painful property dispute since Archbishop Duncan led the majority of local Episcopalians out of the Episcopal Church in 2008. But after the blessing they were talking and laughing together.

"It's important to be together," Archbishop Duncan began.

"It is," Bishop Price said.

"Despite the ways in which we experience wounds, Christ is capable of healing those wounds," Archbishop Duncan said.

"Despite the differences between us, we share a common faith in our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ," Bishop Price added.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/holiday/easter-blessing-brings-varied-denominations-together-here-630429/

Alleluia!

An Easter Message From Bishop Price

From The Diocese of Pittsburgh-


Easter brings to mind thoughts of new life. It has not been hard to think those happy thoughts this year as unseasonably warm weather has yielded an early blooming of flowers and a general positive spirit among the people. It truly feels that God is alive!

That same feeling of new life is evident in our own beloved Diocese of Pittsburgh. There have been many signs to this effect recently. I think most people will agree that God has provided us with truly sterling nominees for the next bishop of our diocese. Their presence among us for the walk-about generated much excitement and to a person each of them expressed genuine enthusiasm at the prospect of coming among us.

More here-

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=l57sh8cab&v=001lit4Td5f-aXDdcMAq2BFv7jEsb2tQ0fUHoFyB3eP1ngJS7RJ51zjQTDPI4S3iPR86nsUVmnZ_d-kyucWQpLzoLJnWCFVmSnY9RxDLGwpiorUcwuTYpplH9O-AAua1I-9kjHPB8z5_u3UZCCfNqcZbuUPkl2a80cvQyLj3iAoZgYUUDrP21VJIH35DAOHrYF5kw9CRiiwR5gm3bv5CfugjWm81bXkvYkaAp5A4e1A94F56Mug8pabdpsHgbeZjQaU44r-IWTYbRlFiNei-K52moHHpC7VsiToTef1kDWR6hoaaai_a8LHZK-aif48s8IA2y-UH4jF524V3r71VUig7w%3D%3D

Anglican bishops call for fairness in pipeline environmental hearings

From Canada-

Six Anglican bishops from across British Columbia and Yukon came together on Good Friday in a call for the environ-mental review hearings on the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline to remain fair and free from political pressure.

"There's some concern that the decision's already been made and that the review process is just a rubber stamp," said Bishop Michael Ingham, of the Diocese of New West-minster. "I think what we're trying to do is call upon the panel itself to resist pressure - political pressure, industry pressure - and to come to a fair, balanced and thorough set of recommendations."

Ingham signed the statement, which he said was prompted by bishops being inundated with concern for the process from members of their dioceses.

"We're not directing this at any one group - except the panel itself," Ingham said. "We hope they might receive it as a supportive thing, to maintain their independence and, there-fore, credibility."

Read more:

http://www.vancouversun.com/Anglican+bishops+call+fairness+pipeline+environmental+hearings/6425014/story.html#ixzz1rM3j0WGA

African archbishop John Sentamu tipped as next Anglican leader

From Australia-

OUTSIDE of the west end of York Minster today, 13 willing volunteers from local churches will be submerged in a tank of water in a series of open-air baptisms that have become a hallmark of John Sentamu's time in the Church of England's northern province.

The Archbishop of York, who will preside, said: "These people are very brave - not just because they're getting baptised outdoors in the Yorkshire spring but because they are publicly declaring that they are making a U-turn from sin, evil and the ways of the world and becoming followers of Christ.

"From now on they will, by the help of the Holy Spirit and members of the church, do things differently."

He may have been speaking of the hardy souls braving the water, but could just as readily have been thinking of his own journey. Since the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, announced his resignation, Dr Sentamu has emerged as the frontrunner.

The "Anyone But York" campaign, disseminated by liberal opponents in the immediate aftermath of Dr Williams's announcement, shows signs of running out of steam.

More here-

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/african-archbishop-john-sentamu-tipped-as-next-anglican-leader/story-fnb64oi6-1226320661085

Church blends music of U2 in traditional service

From Missouri-

I have run

I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls

These city walls

Only to be with you

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

Is the singer of these lyrics proclaiming his feelings toward a romantic or a spiritual relationship?

Twelve years after the song’s release, in 1999, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” was used in the opening scene of the Julia Roberts’ movie “Runaway Bride” as she runs away, on horseback, from a wedding.

But for Mitch Jarvis, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church in Independence, the song’s spiritual connection is clear.

More here-

http://www.examiner.net/news/x586055828/Church-blends-music-of-U2-in-traditional-service

Christ Episcopal members plant vegetables to feed poor

From Alabama-

Christ Episcopal Church is celebrating the season of Lent in a new way.

A “Glory Garden” has been set up in the courtyard of the church. Vegetables grown in the garden will be donated to people in need, and church members have planted the seeds and nurtured the plants’ growth.

“God’s people were always connected to the land,” said the Rev. David Meginniss, the church’s pastor. “Those of us who are not part of that small group of people still working the land have lost that connection.

“We should always be connecting to God in this way, and maybe in the future we will be able to share our experience with the community,” Meginniss said.

Ashley Ferry, a coordinator of the garden event, said members will also forge a connection with their community.

More here-

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120407/NEWS/120409834/1291/sports?Title=Christ-Episcopal-members-plant-vegetables-to-feed-poor

Steps taken to move St. Philip's

From North Carolina-

An Episcopal church in Chapel Hill is clearing the way for St. Philip's Church to move 160 miles east of its longtime home in Germanton.

The town of Chapel Hill recently approved a modification to a special-use permit needed to relocate the 120-year old church to 15 acres owned by The Advocate, a small congregation in Chapel Hill.

The decision sets in motion The Advocate's plan to have the church on its property by late 2012, said the Rev. Lisa Fischbeck.

The proposed move has upset some current and former residents of Germanton, who consider the architecturally important church a crucial part of the town's character.

Located on Germanton's main strip, the church was built in a Gothic Revival style that features pointed arched windows and board-and-batten siding. But the church never flourished, reaching its peak of 22 members in 1890, and closed in the early 1980s.

A group of citizens has formed Friends of St. Philip's Church of Germanton to keep the church in Germanton.

More here-

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/apr/06/2/chapel-hill-church-moves-forward-with-plan-to-move-ar-2134895/

Becoming Episcopalian : Tomorrow night

From Chicago-

How do I feel about reaching this point in my faith journey? It's hard to say. It feels rather anticlimatic. It was what I needed to do. Also, becoming Episcopalian is hardly that big of a change. The Episcopal Church is the via media, the middle way, between Catholicism and Protestantism. As I told someone on Facebook, I still feel Catholic. I'm just not Roman Catholic anymore.

I do feel a little bit sad. It's sad when you end any relationships, even when it's clear it wasn't working out. To end the relationship with my church of second baptism...well, there's definitely a bit of sorrow. (And yes, I did say second baptism. I was baptized as an ELCA Lutheran as a baby, but then my parents thought that wasn't good enough, and baptized me Catholic when I was 2. I asked the pastors if they wanted to baptize me a third time just to make sure, and they thought I was good to go, ha.)

I am happy, too. It's nice to be part of a family that welcomes you even if you disagree--no matter how big the disagreement, or how small. It's nice to be part of a family that doesn't judge you. You won't hear the phrase "cafeteria Episcopalian" uttered except in jest. It's nice to go to church and not be afraid that intolerance, disguised as doctrine, might be printed in the bulletin or talked about during the homily. It's nice to be part of a church that gives you latitude to question, to discern, to grow spiritually, while giving guidance that doesn't hinder growth.

More here-

http://www.chicagonow.com/running-with-a-book-cart/2012/04/becoming-episcopalian-tomorrow-night/

Fire is in Episcopal tradition for Easter

From Missouri-

While Easter is most often associated with sunrise services, lilies, bunnies, and dyed eggs, our family celebrates Easter first with fire.

In the Episcopal Church tradition, a fire is lit on Saturday evening during the Great Vigil service to commemorate Jesus’ passing from death to life. This new fire is blessed with water and is used to light a Pascal (Easter) candle to start the first celebration of Easter with these words:


O God, through your Son you have bestowed upon your people the brightness of your light.

Sanctify this new fire, and grant that in this Pascal feast we may so burn with heavenly desires, that with pure minds we may attain to the festival of everlasting light.

Our family delights in bringing this new fire home in a glass jar candle to illuminate our darkness and to reminds us always that Christ lights the way to eternal life. We keep the flame from the Pascal candle burning safely during the night and throughout Easter Day to recall the words of the Exsultet, one of the oldest songs in Christendom that is sung during the Great Vigil:

More here-

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120407/LIFE07/304070033/Fire-Episcopal-tradition-Easter?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs

Fifty former Anglicans from one parish join Ordinariate

From England-

More than 50 people from a single parish in Darlington, northern England, joined the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham last night.

Led by Fr Ian Grieves, who has served at the Anglican church of St James, Darlington, for 23 years, 58 Anglicans formally joined the Ordinariate at the Catholic church of St Anne, Darlington.

In his homily, Mgr Newton said: “The journey you embarked upon on Ash Wednesday through the days of Lent to your reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church this evening is a model of the whole of your Christian life. It has meant for each of you, in a particular way, leaving behind what has been comfortable and familiar and stepping out in faith,certain in the knowledge that we do so in company of Jesus who prayed the night before he died that his disciples might be one.

“It is a journey that must be total and complete. But like all journeys in the faith it is one leading to joy and fulfilment.”

More here-

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2012/04/05/50-leave-anglicans-leave-their-parish-to-join-the-ordinariate/