The Church of England faithful left to fend for themselves

From London-

Members of the congregation at St Michael and All Angels parish church in Croydon, south London, don’t ask for much. A decent sermon, perhaps a few rousing hymns; clean pews; a tidy garden at the back; someone to help with Sunday school. But this month, they need something rather more important: a new vicar, to replace the one who converted to Catholicism and took 69 of his flock with him to a church up the road.

A “Parish priest: vacant” sign now stands outside the towering red-brick church behind West Croydon train station. Seven weeks ago, it housed 100 parishioners and a vicar who had served there for 16 years. Today, St Michael’s has less than half its original congregation, after the Rev Donald Minchew quit his post and was received into the Catholic faith at St Mary’s, 500 yards away.

This extraordinary leap of faith was prompted by the Rev Minchew’s decision to join the Ordinariate, a structure within the Roman Catholic Church that allows Anglicans to enter into full communion while retaining some of their C of E heritage. The practice started last January, when three former Anglican bishops were ordained as Catholic priests, following a decree from Pope Benedict XVI to heal division between the faiths. Since then, dissatisfaction with aspects of Anglican doctrine – including the Church’s attitude towards homosexuality and its willingness to consider female bishops – has led hundreds to take up the offer of conversion.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9214082/The-Church-of-England-faithful-left-to-fend-for-themselves.html

Church to re-dedicate Napoleonic chandeliers

From North Carolina-

All Saints’ Episcopal Church’s four brilliant chandeliers were first lit at the original downtown Concord church May 9, 1937.

But they had burned long before that – by candlelight – in the Paris palace of Prince deRohan Bonaparte, cousin of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, according to church archives.

At morning worship April 22, a simple ceremony of re-consecration and re-dedication, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the four chandeliers as part of the church, will be observed in the sanctuary of the building on Lake Concord Road that All Saints’ Episcopal erected in 1972.

Leading the service will be the Rev. Nancy Cox and the Rev. Chip Marble, assistant bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. A reception will take place after in the parish hall.

A writer covering the first local lighting for the Concord Tribune wrote that even the royal pomp and ceremony of the coronation of King Edward VI of England couldn’t match the brilliance of those chandeliers

Read more here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/04/20/3184906/church-to-re-dedicate-napoleonic.html#storylink=cpy

Ex-diplomat installed as rector of Trinity Episcopal in Ashland

From Oregon-

Fresh from 25 years as a U.S. diplomat — most of it on the front lines of international political and cultural interactions in China — the Rev. Anthony Hutchinson was installed Thursday as rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Ashland.

Hutchinson, 58, who was ordained in the Hong Kong Anglican Church in 2008, took the Ashland post on Jan. 1. He says he brings a church tradition rooted in thoughtfulness and faith, not "bumper-sticker slogans."

"I bring an international Anglican breadth to the church, a sacramental view," he says, noting the Episcopal Church is rooted in Protestant and Catholic traditions. "It's a prayer made manifest."

From 2009 to 2011, Hutchinson served as assisting pastor and minister of music at the Congregation of the Good Shepherd in Beijing, where his parishioners hailed from a wide spectrum of Christian faiths. He also had served as chaplain at St. John's Cathedral, and taught biblical languages and literature at Minghua Theological Seminary in Hong Kong.

In the Foreign Service, he specialized in public diplomacy in China and also served in Africa. In China, Hutchinson was a right-hand man for ambassadors, sometimes providing the prayers for the embassy's solemn occasions, including on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

More here-

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120420/NEWS/204200335

Five vie to lead Episcopal Diocese of Western Mass.

From Western Massachusetts-

The panel charged with drawing up the slate of nominees to replace retiring Bishop Gordon P. Scruton, the spiritual head of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, which includes Worcester County, apparently cast a wide net — selecting candidates from Connecticut, New York, Idaho and California.

Church officials last night announced that five clerics, one of them a woman, are under consideration to become the diocese’s ninth bishop.

They are: the Very Rev. Richard A. Demarest, 55, the dean at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Boise, Idaho; the Rev. Dr. Douglas John Fisher, 57, the rector at Grace Church in Millbrook, N.Y.; the Rev. Nancy Gossling, 60, the rector of St. James’ Church in Glastonbury, Conn.; the Very Rev. Ron W. Griffin, 58, the rector of Christ Church in Eureka, Calif.; and the Very Rev. Mark B. Pendleton, 49, the dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford.

More here-

http://www.telegram.com/article/20120420/NEWS/104209694/1003/NEWS03

Executive Council looks to future near end of triennium

From ENS-

The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council began its last meeting of the 2010-2012 triennium contemplating its leadership role — and emotional investment — in the church’s journey to its future.

The council has spent much of the last three years exploring how the Episcopal Church must change in response to the challenges facing all mainline churches, including declining memberships and thus declining finances, demographic shifts and cultural changes in the place and authority accorded to religious communities in society. When General Convention convenes in July in Indianapolis, deputies and bishops will grapple with a variety of calls (some of the proposals can be seen here) for changes in the church’s structure that their proposers say will help the church meet those challenges.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson and Bishop Stacy Sauls, Episcopal Church chief operating officer, all addressed the impact and implications of those challenges during their opening remarks April 18.
Jefferts Schori reminded council members that they began the current triennium “just past a major budget cut [made by the previous meeting of Convention] that forced a public and painful reduction in church center staff.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/04/18/executive-council-looks-to-future-near-end-of-triennium/

Pawn-ticket trail leads to suspects

From New York-

From pulpit to pawn shop is a journey few burglars or cops take.

And it's a long trip when the path to pawning religious artifacts leads two alleged criminals on a bus ride to New Haven.

Police in that Connecticut city charged Joseph Plouffe, 32, of 310 25th St., Watervliet, and James Zaremski, 30, of 25 Holland Ave., Albany, with third-degree grand larceny, accusing them of intending to pawn sterling silver items stolen this past weekend from St. John's Episcopal Church in Troy.

Plouffe was apprehended Tuesday at Superior Exchange after the pawn shop notified police of the religious items. Zaremski was collared at the intersection of Chapel and Church streets on the New Haven Green a short time later.

Read more:

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Pawn-ticket-trail-leads-to-suspects-3490695.php#ixzz1sU1Ym8tC

Episcopal Diocese set to announce 5 bishop nominees

From Western Massachusetts-

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, which encompasses Worcester and four other counties, is expected to announce today the five nominees under consideration to replace retiring Bishop Gordon P. Scruton.

Bishop Scruton, who was consecrated in 1996 and who served at one time as rector of St. Francis Church in Holden, announced last June that he would step down as spiritual shepherd of the local church at the end of 2012.

The process to find a replacement formally began last August with the appointment of Search and Transition committees.

“At this point, we’re coming near the end of our search for a new spiritual leader,” said the Rev. Tanya Wallace, the chairman of the Transition Committee and rector of All Saints Church in South Hadley.

More here-

http://www.telegram.com/article/20120419/NEWS/104199805/1003/news03

Seeds for souls: A vegetable garden to feed the poor

From Florida-

Heirloom tomatoes are ripening beautifully in Tim Hadsell’s "give back" garden, just weeks after the Greenacres man planted his first crops in the fertile lot behind his local Elks Lodge.

It was a rather neglected patch of land, overgrown with melaleucas and weeds, but in it Hadsell saw great, green possibilities.

Green like the broccoli, lettuce, zucchini and robust heads of lettuce that are now sprouting in the varied patch he planted in February.

Great like the mission these crops serve: to feed the needy at St. George’s Episcopal Church and Community Center in Riviera Beach.

More here-

http://www.pbpulse.com/dining/2012/04/18/seeds-for-souls-a-vegetable-garden-to-feed-the-poor/

It started in a schoolhouse

From The Diocese of Bethlehem-

A worship area that 100 years ago served as a schoolhouse offers a glimpse of the history and tradition at Church of the Epiphany in Glenburn.

On April 20, as part of the yearlong centennial celebration, the Rt. Rev. Jack Croneberger, Assistant Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, will join the Rev. Craig Sweeney, rector of the Church of the Epiphany, in a rededication of the church’s renovated parish hall and centennial celebration . A catered dinner dance will follow with Big Band and Jazz music provided by the Jim Welsh Band. A host of activities for youngsters, including a movie, games and music catered to their taste will round out the event. Seniors will be treated to a free shuttle service and babysitting for children will be available at no charge.

The formation of the church began on the Festival of the Epiphany, January 6, 1912, at a small gathering of residents of the Abingtons held in the 1876 Centennial Schoolhouse in Glenburn. The meeting was cut short because the potbelly stove provided insufficient heat to encourage extended discussion. Enough interest was expressed though, and the schoolhouse was subsequently purchased and renovated; it serves to this day as the worship area of the Church of the Epiphany.

More here-

http://theabingtonjournal.com/stories/It-started-in-a-schoolhouse,140197

Joint Statement from Truro Anglican Church, Fairfax and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

From Virginia-

Truro Anglican Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia announced today a settlement that concludes five years of litigation that arose after Truro Anglican and other parishes left the Episcopal Church in 2006 to become part of what is now the Anglican Church in North America.

The settlement follows a January ruling in which the Circuit Court of Fairfax County held that all real and personal property held by the parishes at the time they left the denomination belongs to the Diocese.

Under terms of the settlement, the Diocese has given Truro Anglican a rent-free lease of the church buildings at 10520 Main Street in Fairfax, as well as two rectories, until June 30, 2013. Truro Anglican will deed the properties to the Diocese by April 30, 2012, and will pay the operating costs of the properties during the term of the lease. In addition, the Diocese has the option to use a small portion of the church building during the lease, as determined between the Rev. Tory Baucum, rector of Truro Anglican, and the Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston, bishop of the Diocese of Virginia.

http://www.thediocese.net/news/newsView.asp?NewsId=40968233

Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Sends Message to the Archbishop of Sudan On Latest Violence

South Africa and Sudan-

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has written to the Most Revd Dr Daniel Deng Bul Yak, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, expressing the support of his church in the light of increasing tension and violence between Sudan and South Sudan.

Writing in Easter Week, Dr Makgoba highlights his 'reflections on what it means to be each other's neighbours in living out the renewed hope of Eastertide'. He assures Dr Deng of prayers for a successful outcome to negotiations, delivering a settlement between Sudan and South Sudan 'which will bring lasting peace with justice to both nations and all who live within their borders' and also offers prayers for those killed, bereaved, injured or otherwise harmed by the violence.

The full text of the letter follows below.

Letter to the Most Revd Dr Daniel Deng Bul Yak, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan

My Dear Brother in Christ,

The good news of Easter, and my own reflections on what it means to be each other's neighbours in living out the renewed hope of Eastertide, compel me to write to you, to assure you of our continued support and prayers for you and the people of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and indeed all the people of the Sudan and South Sudan, especially in the light of news of increasing tension and violence.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201204170364.html

Anglicans Welcome International Development Select Committee's Report

From Sudan-

UK Parliamentary recommendations on the Church's role in education and peacebuilding have been welcomed by Anglican Alliance partners in the UK and South Sudan.

The recommendations come in the report from the UK Parliament's International Development Select Committee who held an inquiry into prospects for peace and development in the world's newest country.

The Anglican Alliance brought together the Episcopal Church of Sudan, the Diocese of Salisbury and Lambeth Palace to provide evidence to the inquiry.

Rebecca Coleman, representing the Episcopal Church of Sudan, and Canon Ian Woodward of the Diocese of Salisbury, gave oral evidence to the Select Committee, focusing especially on the church's education services in South Sudan, and the role played by the Church, in particular by Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak, in peace-building.

The Select Committee report, which comes against a background of renewed and growing conflict between Sudan and South Sudan, concludes:

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201204170366.html

Silver artifacts taken from Troy church

From Troy NY-

City police are investigating the theft of nine religious artifacts from St. John's Episcopal Church over the weekend.

The theft of the sterling silver pieces occurred Friday evening or Saturday morning from the church at 146 First St., police said Monday.

Stolen from the sanctuary were two chalices (goblets), two lavaboes (which hold water for the washing of hands), two patens (small plates), one cruet (a vessel), one ciborium (a container for the host) and one collection plate.

In an unusual twist, the thief "was able to 'swipe' his way into the church, defeating electronic security measures," Capt. John Cooney said.

Read more:

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Silver-artifacts-taken-from-Troy-church-3485309.php#ixzz1sIHcyigp

When spirituality and religion collide

From USAToday-

Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion, recently announced that he would step down by year's end. A few days later, the Church of England rejected a Williams-backed unity plan for global Anglicanism, a church fractured by issues of gender and sexual identity. The timing of the resignation and the defeat are probably not coincidental. These events signal Anglican's institutional failure.

But why should anyone, other than Anglicans and their American Episcopal cousins, care? The Anglican fight over gay clergy is usually framed as a left and right conflict, part of the larger saga of political division. But this narrative obscures a more significant tension in Western societies: the increasing gap between spirituality and religion, and the failure of traditional religious institutions to learn from the divide.

Until recently, the archbishop of Canterbury was chief pastor for a global church bound by a common liturgy and Anglican religious identity. Expectations for religious leaders were clear: Run the church with courage and vision. Bishops directed the laity, inspiring obedience, sacrifice and heroism; they ordered faith from the top.

More here-

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-04-15/rowan-williams-retires-anglican-church-archbishop-canterbury/54301424/1

Cardboard Anglican cathedral planned in New Zealand’s quake-hit Christchurch

From New Zealand-

New Zealand’s Anglican church will build a temporary cathedral made of cardboard in earthquake-devastated Christchurch as it works towards a permanent replacement for its 131-year old landmark destroyed last year.

The Victorian-era, Gothic-style cathedral, which dominated the city’s central square, was badly damaged in the February 2011 quake, and is being demolished.

The replacement, an A-frame structure designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, will be built on the site of another historic church, which was also destroyed in the 6.3 magnitude quake.

“The Transitional Cathedral is a symbol of hope for the future of this city as well as being sustainable and affordable,” spokesman Richard Gray said.

The temporary cathedral will be made of cardboard tubes, timber beams, structural steel and a concrete pad, and is intended to last more than 20 years. It is expected to be finished in time for Christmas services in December.

More here-

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2012/04/16/cardboard-anglican-cathedral-planned-in-new-zealands-quake-hit-christchurch/

Temple breaks ground at tri-faith campus

From Omaha-

What's special about the project, organizers said, is that it's part of a plan to build a tri-faith campus that will include the synagogue, a mosque, an Episcopal church and a center for all faiths.

The American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture and the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska will join Temple Israel on the campus. The groups heard the others were looking to build and decided to work together.

The mosque, the church and the tri-faith center each will be on about four acres. The remaining nine acres are green space, including the humorously named Hell Creek.

It's expected that the project, when completed, will draw wide attention to Omaha.
"It's amazing that it's going to be right here in Omaha," Sherman said. "We don't know of any other place in the world where this has come together."

Rabbi Aryeh Azriel said the tri-faith center will be a place where all religions can come "to study, to learn and to celebrate. It's going to be a home."

The synagogue is scheduled for completion in August 2013. The mosque, church and center will come later.

More here-

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120416/NEWS01/704169949

Grayslake church distributes clothing, good will

From Chicago-

Elijah’s Mantle is a bible story concerning the transfer of clothing (mantle) from the Prophet Elijah to his son Elisha.

But more than clothing, it’s also about transferring knowledge and spirit.

For the past seven years, a group at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (located at the corner of Lake and Park in Grayslake) has been serving up a generous amount of clothing while also serving up an equal portion of heart-lifting spirit at its Elijah’s Mantle clothing giveaway the second Saturday of every month.

Marjie Jobes, 74, of Grayslake recently led a tour to show how the well-oiled giving machine works.

People in need of children’s clothing come in and fill out a form and get a number. A personal-shopper volunteer takes the person through the well stocked department store that’s set up in the church where each child gets two outfits and a pair of clean underwear if they have the right size. Some sizes are tough to get.

More here-

http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/11878733-418/grayslake-church-distributes-clothing-good-will.html

Ministry is third career for local Episcopal Vicar

From Maryland-

In this day and age, it seems all of us have used the phrase “multitasking,” but few can appreciate the challenges of this skill as well as Vicar Theresa Brion.

At the beginning of this year, Brion accepted the position of vicar at both St. George’s Episcopal Church in Mount Savage and Holy Cross-St. Philip’s in Cumberland. This is in addition to her position as bishops’ deputy for Western Maryland for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

The path that led Brion to this region is as diverse as the families she now serves.

Ministry is not the first career choice for Brion, or even the second. She came to ministry after serving as a professional in both the fields of education and law. She earned her law and teaching degrees at Washington and Lee University School of Law and Longwood University, respectively.

More here-

http://times-news.com/local/x1224383701/Ministry-is-third-career-for-local-Episcopal-vicar

Orthodox Christians take steps toward unity

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

As Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter today, they have resurrected a movement toward unity in America, where they are divided into a hodgepodge of overlapping ethnic jurisdictions. On orders from patriarchs in Constantinople, Russia, Serbia and elsewhere, all Orthodox bishops in this country are working on a plan for one American Church.

The patriarchs say they want to approve such a plan at a yet-unscheduled Great and Holy Council of global Orthodoxy. The last such council was in A.D. 787. In 2010, 66 American bishops formed the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, to devise the plan.

"This has great potential," said Bishop Melchisedek of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania in the Orthodox Church in America, which is self-governing but has Russian roots. He cited existing differences on matters such as divorce or re-baptism of converts.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/orthodox-christians-take-steps-toward-unity-631456/

Clergy issue statement on contraception

From Pittsburgh-

A wide-ranging group of bishops and denominational executives from southwestern Pennsylvania has declared universal health care a moral imperative, but says a mandate for religious agencies to enable access to contraceptives violates the constitutional right to religious liberty.

"Our deep concern over this mandate does not arise from the varying convictions we have on the moral content of this mandate," the statement said. "The Constitution of the United States guarantees every religious institution and its affiliated bodies the inalienable right to define its own identity and ministries and to practice its own beliefs."

Forcing religious agencies to cooperate in providing services they consider sinful could cause their social services to close, the statement said. Most of the religious leaders who signed the statement have no religious objection to contraception.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/clergy-issue-statement-on-contraception-631275/

Cameroon orphanage founder to speak at Redeemer, Morristown

From New Jersey-

Sister Jane Mankaa, founder of the Good Shepherd Home in Cameroon, will preach at the 8 and 10:30 a.m. services and lead the 9 a.m. adult forum on Sunday at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 36 South St., Morristown.

Mankaa will speak about the orphanage, which houses more than 100 children and serves many more in the larger community, and will share her plans to create a clinic to address the health needs of the children in the village. The clinic will be named after a deceased parishioner, Roberto Rovere, who was one of the first at Redeemer to support its partnership with the Good Shepherd Home.

The Good Shepherd Home for Children is located in the North West Province of Cameroon, an area in West Africa where an estimated 50,000 children are orphaned. Sr. Jane never turns a child away, and no child is placed for adoption. The children live in a loving family environment with a hundred brothers and sisters.

More here-

http://morristowngreen.com/2012/04/13/cameroon-orphanage-founder-to-speak-at-redeemer-morristown/

Bishops Expand Pastoral Care

From The Living Church-

The Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops’ Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight plan now makes provisions for individuals seeking ordination.

The bishops made minimal changes to the expanded plan, which was presented by the Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little II, Bishop of Northern Indiana. Bishop Little’s document expanded on “Caring for All the Churches,” an agreement approved by the bishops in March 2002.

“The bishop providing delegated pastoral oversight may also, with the consent of the Bishop Diocesan and his or her own commission on ministry and standing committee, care for persons from the parish receiving delegated oversight in the ordination process,” the expanded statement says. “Thus the person testing his or her vocation seeks ordination through the discernment process of the diocese of the bishop providing delegated oversight, and his or her formation is under the direction of that diocese.”

More here

http://www.livingchurch.org/bishops-expand-pastoral-care

Church joins Titanic remembrances

From ENS-

When people mark the 100th anniversary April 15 of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, Anglicans and Episcopalians will be among them.

Memorial services are planned on both sides of the Atlantic to commemorate the loss of the 1,514 people who died when the ship sank nearly five days after it left Southampton, England on its maiden crossing bound for New York. Seven hundred and ten people survived after the ship struck an iceberg.

In Southampton, Episcopal Diocese of New York Bishop Mark S. Sisk will be a guest of Southampton Bishop Suffragan Jonathan H. Frost at events marking the anniversary. Sisk will preach at the 100th anniversary commemorative service at Southampton’s St. Mary’s Church at 2 p.m. local time on April 15.

On Long Island, New York, at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Sayville the 10 a.m. Eucharist will be dedicated to “in memory of Edith Corse Evans and those aboard the RMS Titanic who perished with her on April 15, 1912,” according to the parish’s website.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/04/13/church-joins-titanic-remembrances/

Titanic Presumption

From National Review-

‘The Titanic, name and thing, will stand for a monument and warning to human presumption.” That was the judgment of Edward Stuart Talbot, the Anglican bishop of Winchester, in the sermon he preached the Sunday after the fabled Atlantic passenger liner Titanic took nearly 1,500 lives with her as she sank after striking an iceberg in mid-ocean on April 14, 1912. “When has such a mighty lesson against our confidence and trust in power, machinery, and money been shot through the nation?”

Talbot could not have known it, but an entire cascade of mighty lessons was about to be visited on human presumption in spades, in the form of two World Wars (Talbot would lose a son at Ypres) and the genocidal sacrifice of millions on the altars of Fascism and Communism. A mid-ocean shipping accident that cost a five-hundredth of the lives Britain lost in the 1914–18 war should seem like small potatoes indeed.

And yet, the Titanic conjures up more vivid images in people’s minds today than Ypres, and images almost as vivid as those of the Holocaust. The ship has been memorialized in six major motion pictures (including the lavish Nazi propaganda film Titanic in 1943, the American Grand Hotel–style melodrama Titanic in 1953, the British docudrama A Night to Remember in 1958, and James Cameron’s Titanic in 1997) and two Broadway musicals. A small industry of Titanic researchers has itemized the ship down to the last rivet; there are seven current Titanic-artifact exhibitions on offer; and the number of books on the Titanic has topped 200, from Walter Lord’s 1955 bestseller A Night to Remember (the foundation for the British movie) to the more mundane 1,912 Facts About the Titanic (1994).

More here-

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/295870/ititanici-presumption-allen-c-guelzo

Anglican parishes in Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Canada join church

From The Georgia Bulletin-

Anglican parishes in Philadelphia and Indianapolis were received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church in early April, and two Anglican bishops in Canada were slated to lead their clergy and congregants into the church later in the month. The Anglicans are joining the new U.S. Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, based in Houston, a structure for Anglicans to become Roman Catholics while retaining some of their Anglican heritage and traditions, including liturgical traditions.

The numbers are not large by Catholic parish standards. At St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Parish in Philadelphia, the congregation numbers 25 plus its rector. The St. Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Use Society in Indianapolis totals 18. In Canada, many parishes have split -- sometimes more than once -- over doctrinal disputes that have roiled the Anglican Communion in recent years, or abandoned the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada altogether.

The head of the ordinariate, Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, is the former Episcopal bishop of the Rio Grande. A married man with children, he was ordained a Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., in 2009, and named to head the ordinariate by Pope Benedict XVI Jan. 1

More here-

http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2012/04/12/NEWS-4/

Dr Williams detects turning of the tide towards religion

From The Church Times-

N HIS final Easter sermon as Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams suggested that the tide might be turning towards a more posi­tive view of religion from those outside it.

Sidesmen reported a higher-than-usual attendance at Canterbury Cat­he­dral for the 11 a.m. eucharist on Easter Day. In his sermon, the Arch­bishop referred to the way in which various secular commentators “surprisingly float the idea that, with­­out some input from religious thinking, our ludicrous and destruc­tive economic habits are more likely to go unchecked”.
Laughter greeted his mention of “Alain de Botton’s recent book on how to hold on to the best bits of religion without the embarrassing beliefs that go with it”. All this sug­gested that, from those outside faith, there was a new “sense that there is some­thing here to take seriously”, he said.

There was also evidence that young people shared this positive view, and, “while still statistically deeply unlikely to be churchgoers, don’t have the hos­til­ity to faith that one might expect”. This makes it “about the worst possible moment to downgrade the status and profes­sional excellence of religious edu­cation in secondary schools”.

Dr Williams went on to preach about the action of God: “Perhaps ‘religion’ is more useful than the pas­sing generation of gurus thought; but is it true. . . ? We are not told that the story of the empty tomb is a beautiful imaginative creation that offers inspiration to all sorts of peo­ple; we are not told that the message of Jesus lives on. We are told that God did something.”

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=127186

Obama and faith issues remain campaign topic

From Greenbay-

President Barack Obama stood before an audience of distinguished Christian clergy and lay leaders and took on the mantle of pastor in chief.

"I have to be careful," he joked at the White House's annual Easter prayer breakfast. "I am not going to stand up here and give a sermon. It's always a bad idea to give a sermon in front of professionals."

With that, he gave a sermon, telling the story of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane and his eventual crucifixion, a sacrifice that "puts in perspective our small problems relative to the big problems he was dealing with."

Few presidents have spoken about their religious faith as often, as deeply or as eloquently as Obama. "We worship an awesome God in the blue states," he declared at the 2004 Democratic convention, and he has sought since then to rebuild ties between the Democratic Party and the world of faith.

More here-

http://greenbayhub.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120413/GPG0406/204130579/0/GPG0101/Obama-faith-issues-remain-campaign-topic?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Unfinished at the Cathedral

From New York City-

For decades, New York City has considered designating the Cathedral of St. John the Divine as a landmark. But city landmark officials wanted to wait until the cathedral—under construction since 1892—was "finished."

But talk about landmark status for the perpetually unfinished Episcopal church is starting to percolate again, as developers ready plans for a new apartment building on leased cathedral property along 113th Street in Morningside Heights.

Real-estate firm Equity Residential hopes to start construction on the 15-story apartment building next year. The new structure's footprint would be some 70 feet north of the cathedral itself, replacing large metal sheds and parking spaces in the area now.

More here-

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023504577321581612779556.html

Rare organ saved by sale

From Iowa-

A rare pipe organ built in Mason City more than a century ago that was headed for the scrap heap has been saved.

The organ, with pipes that soar 26 feet high, has been purchased by a performing arts school in Illinois, the Globe Gazette reported Thursday.

The organ, built by the Verney Organ Co., will be moved to Dixon, Ill, where it will be installed in Philander Hall, one of the performance venues operated by the VIVA! Performing Arts School.
VIVA! officials heard of Verney through the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, said Curt Schmitt, chairman of the board of VIVA!.

Schmitt built organs for 40 years and knew the Dobson people well. Dobson had done some extensive restoration of the Verney.

Schmitt knew less restoration would be needed on the Verney than what would be needed on another organ the school first considered using.

More here-

http://www.thonline.com/news/iowa-illinois-wisconsin/article_73128ea6-ad2c-5c4a-b1e3-f05d55481c5b.html

Episcopalians Return to Property for Worship After Judge Rules Against Breakaway Group

From Virginia- (Christian Post)

A continuing congregation of The Episcopal Church held its first Easter service in a Virginia church since the majority of the members voted to break away from the denomination.

The Falls Church, a piece of ecclesiastical property that traces its origins back to the 18th century, was one of seven church properties that The Episcopal Church won in a court battle back in January.

Henry Burt, secretary of the Diocese of Virginia who grew up as a member of The Falls Church, told The Christian Post that the Episcopal service at The Falls Church last Sunday was well attended.

"There were people there who were members of the continuing congregation who basically had never worshipped in that building. There were lots of people there who had been members of The Falls Church decades ago," said Burt.

"It was a real reunion of a lot of folks."

Meanwhile, the group of Anglicans who severed ties with The Episcopal Church held its service on the same property but in a different building. The breakaway group has been worshipping at the property since it left the denomination.

More here-

http://www.christianpost.com/news/episcopalians-return-to-property-for-worship-after-judge-rules-against-breakaway-group-73134/