Espiscopal Diocese searching for eighth bishop

From Fond du Lac -

The Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac is beginning the process of selecting a new bishop.

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Fond du Lac will accept nominations to succeed retiring Bishop Russell Jacobus until May 15.

Any bishop, priest or deacon of the church is eligible for nomination.

Election of the bishop will be held on Oct. 19 within the context of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Fond du Lac’s Cathedral of St. Paul during the annual Convention of the Diocese. Ordination and consecration is scheduled April 26, 2014.

Jacobus has served as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese, which covers northeast Wisconsin, since 1994. He will retire on Oct. 31 as bishop and from active ordained ministry at that time.


More here-


http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20130425/FON0101/304250095/Espiscopal-Diocese-searching-eighth-bishop

New Website Gives Episcopal Relief & Development a Fresh Look, New URL

From PR Newswire-

Episcopal Relief & Development has launched a new organizational website featuring an updated look and layout, greater integration with social media and a unified donation pathway to boost interactivity and engagement.  In addition to helpful color coding, new icons and special spotlight sections, the redesign also includes improved accessibility and information flow, making it easier for users to learn more and take action to help heal a hurting world.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110421/DC87843LOGO)

The new design was developed in line with industry best practices, input received from Episcopal Relief & Development's staff and board members and feedback from donors and friends of the organization.  The update was co-managed by Malaika Kamunanwire , Episcopal Relief & Development's Senior Director for Marketing & Communications, and Daryn Kobata , the organization's Social Media and Web Officer, in partnership with digital firm Blue Fountain Media.

"During the development of the new site, we were constantly evaluating our process to make sure that it focused on user needs and interests, while at the same time showcasing who we are as an organization," Kamunanwire said.  "The new look and feel of our site matches our ethos, and the content strives to inform and empower our supporters to act and get others involved in our mission."

More here-

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-website-gives-episcopal-relief--development-a-fresh-look-new-url-204559461.html

Ex-bishop's widow wants optional priestly celibacy

From Michigan-

She uses a wheelchair and carries the weight of her 87 years, but

This woman, whose romance with a bishop and eventual marriage became a major scandal in the 1960s, is such a close friend with Pope Francis that he called her every Sunday when he was Argentina's leading cardinal.

Luro's convinced that he will eventually lead the global church to end mandatory priestly celibacy, a requirement she says "the world no longer understands." She believes this could resolve a global shortage of priests, and persuade many Catholics who are no longer practicing to recommit themselves to the church.

"I think that in time priestly celibacy will become optional," Luro said in an interview with The Associated Press in her home in Buenos Aires, after sending an open letter to the pope stating her case. "I'm sure that Francis will suggest it."

John Paul II, Benedict XVI and other popes before them forbade any open discussion of changing the celibacy rule, and Francis hasn't mentioned the topic since becoming pope last month.

Clelia Luro feels powerful enough to make the Roman Catholic Church pay attention to her campaign to end priestly celibacy.

More here-

http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/309992/Ex-bishop-s-widow-wants-optional-priestly-celibacy-.html?isap=1&nav=5016

Anglican blasts 'raid'

From Australia-

The Anglican ambassador to the Vatican, David Richardson, has attacked the Roman Catholic "raid'' on the Anglican Church two years ago as offensive and embarrassing.

Australian Canon Richardson, a former dean of St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, said the special Anglican wing the Vatican set up to provide a home for Anglican dissidents would not last more than 20 years.

Canon Richardson, whose term as ambassador for the Archbishop of Canterbury ended on Friday, said the Vatican told Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams only a fortnight before the announcement.

He told ABC Radio's The Religion Report, in an interview to be broadcast on Wednesday that he and Dr Williams were offended by the manner and timing of the intervention.

Read more:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/anglican-blasts-raid-20130423-2icv0.html#ixzz2RNTxYuKP

Diagnosis of a Stalled Covenant

Book Review from The Living Church-

The Anglican Covenant already binds together one fifth of the Anglican churches, making explicit the basis of their unity and the nature of the common life to which they are committed. But sadly, it has been unable to escape from the context that gave rise to it — the crisis sparked in 2003 when a divorcé in an avowedly sexual same-sex relationship was consecrated to the episcopate despite the primates’ warning that this would put “the future of the Communion itself … in jeopardy.”

Several essays in this important volume point to the mismanagement of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, and subsequent failure to implement its resolutions, as significant contributory causes of the crisis. As Andrew Goddard shows, the Covenant reflects the growth of inter-Anglican structures and responds to needs recognized in the 1980s and ’90s: to identify the limits of acceptable teaching and practice, formulate an expression of shared faith, and balance what the 1908 Conference had called “the just freedom of [the Communion’s] several parts” and “the just claims of the whole Communion upon its every part.” Lambeth 1998 failed to give sufficient consideration and weight to the Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission’s Virginia Report, which addressed these deficits. It also failed to draw on Rowan Williams’s keynote address on “making moral decisions” (outlining themes later developed in his study of Dostoevsky — which, Nathan Humphrey suggests, illuminates Williams’s support for the Covenant). Its botched discussion of homosexuality might also have been mentioned.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/diagnosis-stalled-covenant

Jackie Robinson: How God used two faith-filled believers to desegregate baseball

A "lift" from "T19"-

The biographical film “42” depicts Jackie Robinson’s courageous battle to break the color barrier in major league baseball. At the same time, the film provides a glimpse of his religious faith, which afforded the strength he needed to overcome fierce opposition.
“It took two Christians to pull this off,” says Chris Lamb, the author of “Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Spring Training” (University of Nebraska, 2004). “Robinson was a Christian and Branch Rickey was a Christian,” he notes. “Sometimes we miss this.”

Lamb was blind to it himself until he researched Robinson’s life for his book. “I kept wondering all these years what kept Robinson together,” he says. “Finally I realized what I missed before – the core came from above.”

The film accurately depicts the role of Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey in advancing desegregation in baseball. Rickey, a devout Methodist, was sometimes known as “the deacon” due to his forthright convictions.

More here-

http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2013/s13040084.htm

As National Day of Prayer approaches, how's your prayer life?

From Alabama-

Asked by an interviewer what she said when she prayed to God, Mother Teresa supposedly replied: “I don’t say much. Mostly I just listen.”

The alert interviewer had a follow-up: “And what does God say to you?”

“He doesn’t say much. Mostly, He just listens,” she said.

There’s no question that prayer is integral to a believer’s relationship with God. But how to go about the process – and how to deepen one’s prayer life -- varies widely depending on whom you ask.

The issue is particularly timely as the National Day of Prayer, set for May 2, approaches. Across the nation on that day, many believers will be engaged in prayer, whether together or individually, spoken or unspoken.

“Prayer must be authentic,” asserts Chris George, pastor of First Baptist Church of Mobile. “Emotions, struggles, doubts – all those things are wrapped up in prayer if prayer is authentic.”

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/04/as_national_day_of_prayer_appr.html

Clergy and Hundreds of Christians Gather for Climate

From Sampan-

National leading Christian clergy from many denominations will meet Saturday in Boston for a “Climate Revival,” proclaiming a moral imperative for Christians to take immediate action on climate change.

Billing itself as “An Ecumenical Festival to Embolden the Renewal of Creation,” clergy will call upon all Christians to care for God’s creation by taking steps to curb climate change.

The assembled clergy believe that climate change is one of the most critical moral justice issues of this millennium. They believe that their actions, and the actions of their respective denominations, will shape public, political, and economic policies that move us from dependency on fossil fuels to clean, safe, renewable energy. The gathered leaders are convinced that successfully tackling climate change depends not only on economic, political, and scientific solutions, but also on encouraging moral and spiritual transformation.

“We depend on a Creator God who leads all persons of faith to a deeper love of God’s creation,” said Rt. Rev. Bud Cederholm, Bishop Suffragan (Retired) of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. “God also compels us to advocate strongly and ceaselessly for creation’s protection and renewal.”
Dozens of clergy from around the region and nation will attend and preach, including

The Rev. Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, and

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

More here-

http://sampan.org/2013/04/clergy-and-hundreds-of-christians-gather-for-climate/

Dean follows example of ‘everyman’ Peter in pastoring cathedral

From ENS-

When James Munroe was elected dean of Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in Springfield, Massachusetts, in late 1997, he told his mother his title would change from “the Rev.” to “the Very Rev.”

“She collapsed on the ground in hysterical laughter,” he recounted recently while leading a parish retreat for St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Morristown, New Jersey.

Munroe, 66, takes a humble approach to his job as leader of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts cathedral. During the April 19-21 retreat, held at the Tuscarora Inn and Conference Center in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, he focused on the grace given to the well-meaning but fallible apostle Peter, who he called an “everyman.”

“He’s a model for me of how the Lord connects to us,” Munroe told ENS. “I’m so thankful for this picture of somebody who’s a good guy [with] a wonderful heart for whom there were disasters and who just totally blew it, who comes to the point of no excuses … and found at that lowest point unconditional forgiveness and love.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/04/23/dean-follows-example-of-everyman-peter-in-pastoring-cathedral/

Archbishop of Canterbury calls for introduction of regional banks

From The Guardian-

The archbishop of Canterbury warned on Monday night that Britain was mired in an economic depression and called for major steps to drag the country out of it, including the breakup of a major bank in order to create regional lenders.

The proposal, which has echoes of a policy recently espoused by Labour, was contained in an address that marked one of Justin Welby's most significant forays into public policy since be was enthroned last month as the new leader of the Church of England.

Speaking just days before key GDP data is expected to show the economy remains stalled, Welby told a Westminster discussion on the financial crisis organised by the Bible Society: "Economic crises are a major problem when they are severe. When they are accompanied by a financial crisis and a breakdown in confidence then they become a generational problem.

"Historically, the great failures in banking have led to very, very long periods of recession at best. I would argue that what we are in at the moment is not a recession but essentially some kind of depression. It therefore takes something very, very major to get us out of it in the same way as it took something very major to get us into it."

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/22/justin-welby-labour-regional-banks

Sudan: President Kiir Forms New Committee for National Reconciliation

From Sudan-

South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir , has announced the formation of a new national reconciliation committee in a move seen as a response to public concerns, a week after suspending the process

The public expressed numerous concerns in the media as to why the president decided to suspend the much-needed national reconciliation process, instead of changing the membership and composition of the committee without interruptions.

Kiir on Monday appointed the Archbishop of Episcopal Church, Daniel Deng Bul, to chair the national reconciliation committee, deputized by the Archbishop of Catholic Church, Paride Taban.

This is the second time the president has appointed Archbishop Bul to chair a reconciliation process, after his first appointment to chair the process among the tribes in his home state of Jonglei, last year.

Bul, in the process of reconciling tribes in Jonglei, was accused by the Murle community of allegedly siding with the Dinka Bor, his tribe, prompting the Murle to withdraw from the reconciliation process and demanding for appointment of a neutral person to chair it.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201304230335.html

Episcopalian Actress Reese Witherspoon Apologizes For Drunken Behavior

From Christian Post- (Really ? The fact that she was raised as an Episcopalian is relevant?)

Witherspoon apologized for her behavior Monday. "I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said," the actress said in a statement to media.

Other actresses such as Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan have also had troubles with driving under the influence. However few may have expected Hollywood's good girl to be caught up in similar problems.

Witherspoon was raised in the Episcopal church according to a Reader Digest interview. She was also spotted attending her local church after being injuried in a car accident 2011.

That same year Witherspoon told girls watching the MTV Movie Awards that good girls can be successful in Hollywood.

More here-

http://blogs.christianpost.com/hollywood-lights/episcopalian-actress-reese-witherspoon-apologizes-for-drunken-behavior-15742/

Boston-area Episcopalians gather for prayer, offer solace to neighbors

From ENS-

They all may not have been able to get to their churches, but in the hours after the second of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings was captured April 19, Episcopalians in the Boston area continued to support each other and their neighbors.

Police captured Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, as he holed up in a boat parked in a backyard just blocks away from Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown, Massachusetts. He was weakened by a gunshot wound after fleeing on foot from an overnight shootout with police that left 200 spent rounds behind.

The Rev. Amy McCreath, Good Shepherd’s priest-in-charge, e-mailed her congregation shortly after the capture, calling the capture a “great gift.”

“Your vestry met by conference call while events unfolded tonight, praying for all of you, for your children, and especially for our neighbors on Franklin Street,” she wrote.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/04/22/boston-area-episcopalians-gather-for-prayer-offer-solace-to-neighbors/

'Called or collared?' Sacrifices of the Anglican priesthood

From England-

The first ever study of the lives of Church of England clergy has revealed the personal costs of committing yourself to God.

Written by the Bishop of Brechin and Dr Caroline Gatrell of Lancaster University Management School, the book Managing Clergy Lives (Bloomsbury) is based on in-depth interviews with 46 deans.

The Bishop, the Rt Rev Dr Nigel Peyton, said it was revealing that every interview was interrupted in some way by a caller at the door or on the phone.

“Being a priest is like being a monarch – you can’t resign and your job is your life. You must always be available to people. As the vicar in the very accurate TV sitcom Rev said, there is no such thing as a day off when you are a vicar. You do not have the same opportunities or freedom as other people and this does entail sacrifices.”

One interviewee, Philip, found that when he opened his vicarage for “hunger lunches”, some parishioners took advantage.

http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/news/28143/sacrifices-of-anglican-priesthood/

'A step toward unity' Former Episcopal minister ordained as a Catholic priest

From Boston-

Nothing like it has ever happened at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church before.

On Saturday morning, more than 400 people gathered to see Jurgen Liias join the Catholic priesthood. Included among them were his two children, his grandchildren and his wife, Gloria.

The ceremony was not in defiance of the Vatican policy of celibate priests — rather, Cardinal Sean O’Malley officiated, instituting a policy set during the tenure of Pope Benedict. In 2012, he established the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, welcoming to the Catholic fold Anglican clergy dissatisfied with their own church.

This followed an earlier welcome to their unhappy parishioners from Pope John Paul II.

Liias literally grew up in the Episcopal Church and served as a minister for 40 years, including 14 at Christ Church in Hamilton. He now finds he cannot reconcile with new policies like welcoming homosexual clergy and countenancing abortion.

More here-

http://www.salemnews.com/local/x210921384/A-step-toward-unity

For Boston’s faithful, solace comes with a dose of solidarity

From The Times of Israel-

One example of inter-communal cooperation is the sharing of sacred space. On Sunday, Boston’s Trinity Church in the city’s Copley Square, near the site of the Monday bombing, was forced to relocate its Sunday services and found a willing host in nearby Temple Israel, a large Reform congregation barely 10 minutes’ drive from the church.

In a letter to his congregants, Trinity’s Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III
invited his congregants to “a Sunday adventure” at the synagogue.

“It is clear that we cannot rely on being able to worship in our beloved Trinity Church,” Lloyd wrote. “And so instead we are accepting the wonderful hospitality of Rabbi Ronne Friedman and the people of Temple Israel to worship in their beautiful sanctuary on Sunday morning.”

The letter took a decidedly optimistic tone. “It will be a fine
service,” Lloyd assured, “full of Easter joy and sober reflection, and
following it, we will have ample time in the coffee hour [to] catch up
after these arduous days.”

More here-

http://www.timesofisrael.com/for-bostons-faithful-solace-comes-with-a-dose-of-solidarity/

Episcopal Church Makes Positive Investment in the Palestinian Economy

From The Palestine News Network-

The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation's (HCEF) said in a press release that the main goal of its 14th International Conference and 3rd Business and Investment Conference in Palestine, which was held in November 9-10, 2012, was to promote and identify investment and business opportunities in Palestine. In addition to, encourage the Western Churches and their financial and economic institutions to do positive investment in Palestine for peace.

Mr. N. Kurt Barnes, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Episcopal Church, attended HCEF's 3rd Business and Investment Conference where he was introduced and met with represantatives of Bank of Palestine. As a result, Mr. Barnes announced the decision of the Episcopal Church Economic Justice Loan Committee (EJLC) of the Executive Council to purchase a three-year certificate of deposit for $500,000.00 in the Bank of Palestine as part of its economic justice portfolio.

Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori said, "I am delighted that The Episcopal Church has now made a positive investment in the Palestinian economy, an action which we have encouraged for some time. This is a tangible evidence of our commitment to a healthy economy in the Palestinian territories as a necessary instrument to building a lasting peace."

http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/4542-episcopal-church-makes-positive-investment-in-the-palestinian-economy

Christ Church sides with Diocese of SC

From South Carolina-

When the dust settled after the Diocese of South Carolina voted to leave The Episcopal Church last month during its convention in Florence, there was still one small church in the area that remained undecided about its affiliation.

The conservative Diocese of South Carolina split with the more liberal national Episcopal Church last year over the ordination of gays and a variety of theological issues that has led to an ongoing legal battle surrounded by broken congregations left to decide which group to be a part of going forward.
Four Episcopal churches in the state out of a total of 71 have not chosen a side. In the Pee Dee, that number is zero.

The vestry at Christ Church of Quinby has now voted to remain with the diocese, leaving those in the area who wished to remain with the Episcopal Church without their last hope for a physical meeting place.

That is not stopping the small group of TEC-faithful from moving forward as well.

More here-

http://www.scnow.com/news/local/article_6847bfc4-a93e-11e2-9c9b-0019bb30f31a.html

Delray Beach Episcopal priest interviews for Bishop of New Jersey post

From Florida-

The Rev. William "Chip" Stokes, an Episcopal priest from Delray Beach, could become the next bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey, one of the largest Episcopal districts in the country.

Stokes is one of nine candidates who will interview beginning Monday to replace Bishop George Councell, who is retiring after 10 years leading the diocese's 155 churches.

Stokes, a priest for 22 years, has led St. Paul's Episcopal Church since 1999 but said he also connects with the diversity and struggles of New Jersey's parishes, which include Atlantic City, Camden, Trenton, Princeton and cities along the coast.

"I take seriously the notion of being called," said Stokes, 56, a father of four and grandfather of two. "If I'm called, I'll feel excited. If not, God has called me to St. Paul's. I can't lose."

Stokes also was a candidate for bishop of the Diocese of Newark in 2006. He will spend the coming week visiting churches and meeting with clergy and lay people, taking their questions and sharing his vision for the sprawling network of parishes, which cover two-thirds of the state.

The election will be May 4. Competing candidates come from Washington, Maryland, California, Connecticut and New Jersey.


More here-


http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-04-21/news/fl-stokes-bishop-20130422_1_stokes-assistant-bishop-new-bishop

Anglican school where 75% of the pupils are Muslim drops Christian hymns from assemblies

From The Daily Mail-

Hymns have been dropped from assemblies at a Church of England school which has also introduced separate prayer rooms for girls and boys to cater to its mostly Muslim students.

Daily assemblies at Slough and Eton Church of England Business and Enterprise College, where 75 per cent of pupils are Muslim, are not based specifically on the Bible, but may make reference to it alongside other religious texts.

All of the the meat served at the secondary school, which has over 1,000 pupils aged between 11 and 19, is halal.

Headmaster Paul McAteer said the approach was to be 'sensitive to the fact that we do have many different faiths in the school', but added that Christian values were 'more prevalent here than I have experienced in non-Church of England schools'.

Mr McAteer, who pointed out that the Church of England describes itself as 'a faith for all faiths', told the Sunday Times: 'The values we support are very much Christian values of honesty, integrity, justice.'

More here-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2312420/Anglican-school-75-pupils-Muslim-drops-Christian-hymns-assemblies.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

100-YEAR-OLD CHURCH BURNS DOWN IN SYDNEY

From Australia-

A 100-year-old church in Sydney's inner-west is still smouldering after it burnt down early this morning.

Firefighters were called to the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Dulwich Hill just before 4.00am (AEST).

Inspector Chris Sedgewick says the old architecture made it especially hard to fight the fire.

He says the nearly 100-year old building could not be saved.

"We surrounded the building, protected all other buildings and put the fire out but not before the roof collapsed, I'm afraid," he said.

"The high pitched roof, the slat tiles, with stone or masonry building, we're [trained] in building collapse.

"You're always looking for it and we set up collapse zones."

The church's minister, Father Dave Smith, says the church is beyond repair.

More here-

http://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/latest/a/-/article/16823057/100-year-old-church-burns-down-in-sydney/

African bishops endorse Bishop Mark Lawrence

From South Carolina-

Four Anglican bishops from East Africa announced their support last week for the Diocese of South Carolina’s disassociation from the Episcopal Church and praised Bishop Mark Lawrence, according to a news release.

Lawrence left the Episcopal Church in October because of disagreements over theology and governance. He and others who disassociated from the church contend their diocese predates the national church and is the only real “Diocese of South Carolina.

Both sides have taken to court the question of which has right to the assets, property and diocesan name.

The Rt. Rev. Charles vonRosenberg is recognized by the Episcopal Church as bishop of the “continuing” diocese.

The African bishops on hand, all affiliated with the Anglican Communion, include the Rt. Rev. Abraham Yel Nhial, bishop of the Diocese of Aweil in the Episcopal Church of South Sudan; the Rt. Rev. Robert Martin, Diocese of Marsabit, Anglican Church of Kenya; the Rt. Rev. Nathan Kamusiime Gasatura, Diocese of Butare, Anglican Church of Rwanda; and the Rt. Rev. Elias Mazi Chakupewa, Diocese of Tabora, Anglican Church of Tanzania.

More here-

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130421/PC1204/130429939/1268/african-bishops-endorse-bishop-mark-lawrence&source=RSS

Tanzania: Islamic Persecutors Target Christian Pastors

From The Christian Broadcast Network-

For many years Christians in Tanzania have felt safe worshipping, given the country's Christian majorities.

Now, their security is quickly evaporating following a wave of persecution threatening churches and targeting pastors. Tanzanian churches are growing and witnessing a new unity, but Christians have paid a painful price.

Persecution of Pastors

Generosa Kachila told CBN News she burst into tears when her neighbor stormed in with the nightmarish news,"I shouted, my Jesus, my Jesus, why have you forsaken me?"

February 11, 2013, a Muslim mob brandishing machetes murdered Generosa's husband, Tanzania Assemblies of God Pastor Mathayo Kachila. The brutal attack occurred as the pastor walked to the home of a friend.

The motive? Anger grew after Christians began butchering and selling meat. The lucrative business traditionally belonged to Muslims, who prepare it in their religious way known as halal.

More here-

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/April/Tanzania-Islamic-Persecutors-Target-Christian-Pastors/

Freedom for the captives

From The Economist-

HOW happily can groups motivated by faith co-operate with secular ones to achieve a common goal or defeat a common enemy? On the face of things, this should work best when the foe (be it a disease or a social problem) is so manifestly bad that everybody wants to thwart it. One such enemy, you might think, is human trafficking, especially of minors. But Richard Flory, research director at the University of Southern California's Center for Religion and Civic Culture, told me that global religious bodies, operating in poor countries, sometimes get the problem of trafficking wrong. By concentrating on rescuing individuals, they fail, in his view, to grasp the social and economic forces that drive people into prostitution.

On the other hand, successful examples of secular-religious co-operation certainly exist. I asked Sara Pomeroy what prompted her to start a small NGO that campaigns against human trafficking in the American state of Virginia, and she cited the Book of Isaiah, especially chapter 61 in which the prophet proclaims that he was sent by the Lord to "bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..."

More here-

http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2013/04/religion-and-human-trafficking

More Zimbabwean Anglicans back from exile

From ACNS-


Report by the Revd Fr Abel Joseph Waziweyi, Rector of Mufudzi Wakanaka Parish in the city of Mutare. Fr. Waziweyi and Communication Officer of the diocese of Manicaland.

On the April 6, 2013, all roads in the Zimbabwean city of Mutare led to the cathedral of St John the Baptist in the center of the city, as over 3,000 Christians marched to witness the cleansing and rededication of the cathedral after years of defilement and abuse by the excommunicated bishop Mr Elson Madhodha Jakazi.

Anglicans from all over the diocese came to witness this memorable event. Some came from as far as Nyamaropa, a town which is over two hundred kilometers north of Mutare. Others came from churches dotted around the city. It was a marvel to watch the sea of blue, white and black which is the trademark Mothers’ Union uniform walking up Mutare’s main thoroughfare Herbert Chitepo street.

The rededication service started with an early morning procession at 6am, from the Meikles Park up Herbert Chitepo Street to the Cathedral of St John the Baptist. There was however a lighter moment to the procession as the police tried to stop the procession forgetting that they had granted the church permission to undertake the procession.

More here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2013/4/20/More-Zimbabwe-Anglicans-back-from-exile

Hope and Light for Boston

From The Living Church-

Fewer than 24 hours after bombs wrought havoc on the Boston Marathon, the downtown Cathedral Church of St. Paul opened its doors for prayer and Eucharist in the heart of a heartbroken city.

“Being a church of the community, a place for the homeless, a place where people come to pray during the week … we knew we had to respond” to the bombings, said the Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris, Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts. “To a moment of great sorrow, we needed to provide some sense of hope and light.”

More than 100 worshipers turned out for the 12:15 p.m. vigil on Tuesday. Some were Episcopalians in town for the marathon. Others were Bostonians or visitors from various faith backgrounds. For all, it was a time to seek God — through silence, prayer, hymns, proclamation and sacrament — even as police searched for clues just steps away in what had become a cordoned-off, 15-block crime scene.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/hope-and-light-boston

Va. Supreme Court Rules Against Departing Congregation in Property Dispute

From Christian Post

The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled in favor of The Episcopal Church against a congregation that voted to leave the denomination over its liberal theological views.

In a decision issued Thursday, the Court decided that The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia owned the property of the Falls Church, rather than the approximately 3,000-strong departing Falls Church Anglican congregation.

In the majority opinion written by Justice Cleo E. Powell, the Court stated that while the property belongs to The Episcopal Church and its Diocese, ownership of the funds tied to the property is still undecided.

George Ward, Senior Warden for Falls Church Anglican and spokesman for the congregation, told The Christian Post that the decision was "not the one we had hoped for, but we praise and thank God for his faithfulness to us."

"Our faith and our future do not depend on court decisions. It is difficult to face the prospect of losing things that are precious to us, but ultimately we do not place our hope in land, buildings, or money," said Ward.

Read more at

http://www.christianpost.com/news/va-supreme-court-rules-against-departing-congregation-in-property-dispute-94328/#zk115HFy4bdRG5Yf.99

Episcopal Church wins Virginia Supreme Court ruling

From The Washington Post-

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled for the Episcopal Church on Thursday in a bitter, multi­million-dollar property dispute with a conservative congregation that had left the denomination amid controversies over homosexuality and other issues.

The panel affirmed a lower court’s decision that the 3,000-member congregation, which voted in 2006 to leave the Episcopal Church, did not have the right to keep the sprawling property known as the Falls Church.

The Falls Church property is one of the country’s largest Episcopal churches and is a central landmark in downtown Falls Church.

The breakaway congregation, now called the Falls Church Anglican, has been worshiping in the Bishop O’Connell High School auditorium in Arlington County while it sought to overturn the Fairfax County Circuit Court decision from last year.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court affirmed that the property was rightly given to the mainline denomination but said some of the nearly $3 million in church coffers belongs to the Falls Church Anglican congregation.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2013/04/18/51b9cc04-a82e-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html

Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Decision Conveying Falls Church Property to Diocese

From Falls Church News-

A 42-page ruling issued by the Virginia Supreme Court this morning upholds the ruling of the Fairfax Circuit Court that conveyed the property of the historic Falls Church in downtown Falls Church to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and its congregation of Episcopalians who did not defect from that church in 2006. The Supreme Court decision awarded about $300,000 in funds raised by the breakaway group between its formal split and the court’s ruling in 2012 back to the breakaway group.

The Supreme Court’s conclusion included the following quote: “We will affirm the trial court’s order requiring that The Falls Church convey the property to TEC and the Diocese. With regard to the disposition of personal property acquired by The Falls Church after the vote to disaffiliate, we will reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

The opinion was authored by Supreme Court Judge Cleo E. Powell, with a concurring opinion by Judge McClanahan.

Following the release of the ruling the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia issued the following statement:

“In a dispute over the ownership of The Falls Church, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled today in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church. The decision affirms an earlier ruling returning Episcopalians to their church home at The Falls Church in Falls Church, Va. The Falls Church Anglican had sought to overturn the lower court’s ruling in favor of the Diocese. The court also remanded a portion of the case back to the Fairfax Circuit Court for a decision to determine a minor fractional difference in funds owed to the Diocese of Virginia.

More here-

http://fcnp.com/2013/04/18/virginia-supreme-court-upholds-decision-conveying-falls-church-property-to-diocese/

Committee member writes alternative marriage paper

From The Church Times-

EXTENDING marriage to same-sex couples might be a "redemptive step", a member of the Faith and Order Commission (FAOC) has said, in an article regarded by some as a minority report to the Commission's much-criticised paper on marriage, Men and Women in Marriage, which was published on Wednesday of last week ( News, Leader Comment, 12 April).

The article by the Revd Dr Charlotte Methuen, a lecturer in church history at the University of Glasgow, entitled "Marriage: one man and one woman?", was published on the Open Democracy website last Friday.

After a survey of the biblical and historical understanding of marriage, including observations about polygamy, the submission of women, and inequality, Dr Methuen writes: "I recognise that the Faith and Order Commission's document offers one theological justification for the Church of England's current position on marriage, but I cannot see marriage simply and uncritically as part of the 'goods' of creation. . .

"One of the flaws of our current conception of marriage may be precisely the emphasis on 'one man and one woman', which seems consistently to imply expectations about the role of women and men which tend to be biologically determinist, and which reach beyond the question of who is biologically capable of bearing children."

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/19-april/news/uk/committee-member-writes-alternative-marriage-paper