Confessions of a Gay Jesuit: How I Was Forced To Leave My Church—And Calling

From The Daily Beast-

Today, at 35, I am a gay seminarian who still needs human touch. For me the best place is the Episcopal Church. Some day I will be a priest, hopefully married with children. That’s what I’m looking for, love; it falls under the rubric of modern love. I am a modern gay Christian in search of love, one who still wants to become a priest.

From 2004 to 2014 I was a Jesuit, a member of the Society of Jesus in good standing, an order gone global by the election of Pope Francis I. I left the Jesuits because I left the Roman Catholic Church. I would not be an openly gay priest in a Church that fires LGBTQ employees and volunteers. I left in protest: How could I be an openly gay priest who fires LGBTQ employees and volunteers?

More here-

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/25/confessions-of-a-gay-jesuit-how-i-was-forced-to-leave-my-church-and-calling.html

Young Evangelicals Are Getting High

From Christian Pundit-

A friend of mine attended a Christian college where almost all of the students, including her, grew up in non-denominational, evangelical Protestant churches. A few years after graduation, she is the only person in her graduating class who is not Roman Catholic,  high Anglican or Lutheran. The town I live in has several “evangelical” Protestant colleges: on Ash Wednesday you can tell who studies at them by the ash crosses on their foreheads.

Young Christians are going over to Catholicism and high Anglicanism/Lutheranism in droves, despite growing up in low Protestant churches that told them about Jesus. It’s a trend that is growing, and it looks like it might go that way for a while: people who grew up in stereotypical, casual evangelicalism are running back past their parents’ church to something that looks like it was dug out of Europe a couple hundred years ago at least. It’s encouraged by certain emergent leaders and by other “Christian” authors whose writings promote “high” theology under a Protestant publisher’s cover.

More here-

http://thechristianpundit.org/2013/07/17/young-evangelicals-are-getting-high/

C.S. LEWIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: AN INTERVIEW WITH JOSEPH PEARCE

From World Religion News-

The Catholic News Agency recently published an interview with writer Joseph Pearce. He authored C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, a book that was almost not written if not for the urging of Walter Hooper, the former secretary and literary executer of the C.S. Lewis Estate. The book was initially going to be a simple republish an earlier book by Christopher Derrick, C.S. Lewis and the Church of Rome, however Mr. Hooper wanted a different approach to the subject. “I leapt at the opportunity to grapple with Lewis’ complex and problematic relationship with the Church,” said Pearce, who had converted to Catholicism after being inspired by C.S. Lewis.

More here-

http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/christianity/c-s-lewis-catholic-church-interview-joseph-pearce

Justin Welby ‘embarrassed’ by Church of England pay revelations

From The Financial Times-

The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted that revelations the Church of England was offering jobs that paid below the living wage were “embarrassing”, less than a week after rebuking politicians for not ensuring workers were paid a “modest hourly rate”.

Justin Welby told clergy and business leaders in Birmingham on Monday that the church was implementing plans to ensure the living wage — defined as £7.85 an hour outside London — was paid across the organisation but said it would take time.

More here-


http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8b5a4590-bb6b-11e4-b95c-00144feab7de.html#axzz3SfF7wXNE

SC judge reaffirms ruling against the episcopal church

From South Carolina-

For the second time in less than a month, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Diane S. Goodstein rejected arguments by The Episcopal Church and its subsidiary, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, that the two groups are rightful owners of the churches, symbols and other assets of the Diocese of South Carolina.

In her Order denying the motion for reconsideration she stated, “Large portions of the motion are simply the proposed orders previously submitted to the Court or reiterations of the Defendants' positions at trial.” 

The motion had also argued that because the Diocese had argued legal positions in the All Saints case contrary to those now being presented, that Judicial Estoppel should apply.  In response, Judge Goodstein sharply noted... “The court finds that the Judicial Estoppel argument is without merit....If the Defendants' argument in the instant action was correct, no party previously adjudicated to be wrong would be able to correct their conduct in compliance with a court's holding.  Such a result would be contrary to all sense of justice and order...  With regards all other matters presented in Defendants' Motion for Reconsideration, they are hereby denied.”

More here-

http://www.counton2.com/story/28181235/sc-judge-reaffirms-ruling-against-the-episcopal-church

Quebec Anglican Church facing major challenges in light of fewer parishioners

From Quebec-

As Rev. Yves Samson speaks to his congregation in the Quebec town of Trois-Rivieres, two things stand out: the bilingualism of the sermon and the dearth of parishioners.

Samson holds nothing back when he says that, without radical change, the Anglican Diocese of Quebec could soon be extinct.

"If we want to keep going on (the old) track we will all die," Samson says in an interview after his French and English sermon to a room full of near-empty pews in the St. James Anglican Church.
The fact Samson, 49, preaches in both languages might not sound radical to many Canadians, but to the Anglican Church — the Church of England — it is.

More here-

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/quebec-anglican-church-facing-major-challenges-light-fewer-120008123.html

Pope to mafia: repent and be saved

From The Telegraph-

Pope Francis has urged members of Italy’s organised crime groups to publicly repent, saying the Catholic Church would welcome them if they promised to stop serving the cause of evil.

"Open your hearts to the Lord. The Lord is waiting for you and the Church will welcome you if your willingness to serve good is as clear and public as your choice to serve evil was," he said on Saturday.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/the-pope/11427858/Pope-to-mafia-repent-and-be-saved.html

The 'Pittsburgh Experiment' at 60: Making prayer an everyday presence

From Pittsburgh-

The small group of men gathered over soup, salads and flat-bread sandwiches at their regular Tuesday lunch table at Houlihan’s at the Galleria of Mt. Lebanon.

The waiter filled their coffee and soft-drink orders, which he knows by heart. The men bantered a little about the Pirates’ latest acquisition and had some fun at the expense of one of their regular attendees, absent for a winter sojourn down South.

But without losing its casualness, the conversation held to a purpose. “How’s everyone’s week?” one of them asked. “... Hey, what’s going on with you, anything?”

They shared anxieties about aging parents and grown-up children. They told of searches for new jobs and overflowing inboxes at existing jobs. They committed to praying for each others’ struggles.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2015/02/22/The-Pittsburgh-Experiment-at-60-Making-prayer-an-everyday-presence/stories/201502130196

Don’t condemn the Church. Who else argues for the common good?

From The Guardian-

There are doubts and debates at the highest level of the civil service about the cost of Trident. On balance, officials and chiefs of staff still support it, not least because cancellation would irrevocably remove one of the last props of Britain’s great-power status. But the case is not open and shut. The cost verges on the impossible, with unpalatable and irrational choices forced on the rest of our military capability to pay for a weapon system that will never be used. It is closer to a 51/49 call than the wider debate recognises.

Yet when the Church of England’s bishops urge that the question be publicly discussed as part of a grownup debate about the future of our country and the quest for the common good, they are dismissed by right-of-centre commentators, Tory MPs and some ministers as a bunch of closet leftists making a political statement. They should get out of politics, and stop making unsolicited interventions like last week’s letter, Who is my neighbour?, directed to the people and parishes of the Church of England.

More here-

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/22/church-of-england-language-common-good-listen

Church thieves strike in Carlsbad

From San Diego-

Like it was for most Episcopal priests, Ash Wednesday was a big day for Rev. Doran Stambaugh. He arrived at St. Michael’s at 7:40 a.m., 20 minutes before his first of three services that day. He knew something was wrong the minute he walked in to Carlsbad’s historic church by the sea.

“As I walked down the hall, I saw all the doors were open. I could see someone had taken a crowbar to the hardware on the cabinets.”

As he walked into the main nave, Stambaugh saw the approximately one-square-foot marble “tabernacle” that held the reserve sacraments was missing from the center of the main altar. What he saw, he says, was “spiritually violent…. They took the tabernacle and threw it on the ground.”

More here-

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/feb/21/stringers-carlsbad-church-thieves-st-michaels/#

The Episcopal Church in Okatie moves on after split from Holy Trinity

From South Carolina-

For Nancy Gault and Eve Pinckney, being Episcopalian is part of their identity.

So when the majority of the congregation at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Ridgeland voted to leave the faith in January 2013, the two women decided it was time to move on.

Theological differences had led to a deep-set schism in the church, resulting in dozens of congregations choosing to break away from the National Episcopal Church.

More here-

http://www.blufftontoday.com/bluffton-news/2015-02-22/episcopal-church-okatie-moves-after-split-holy-trinity#.VOncMUuR8ds

Episcopalians elect new bishop for Central Gulf Coast diocese

From The Central Gulf Coast-

The Rev. James "Russell" Kendrick, a Birmingham rector who began his ministry in Dothan, has been elected the fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast to succeed the Rt. Rev. Philip M. Duncan II, who is retiring.

Kendrick, rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Birmingham, received 60 percent of lay votes and 59 percent of clergy votes in the third ballot, cast electronically at Trinity Episcopal Church in Mobile, the site of the diocese's 44th Annual Convention.

The earlier two ballots, which had included three nominees, did not result in an election. For a bishop to be chosen, he or she must receive a majority of lay votes as well as a majority of clergy votes.

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/02/episcopalians_elect_new_bishop.html

Episcopal delegates unanimously approve resolution pressing for reforms in Alabama, Florida prisons

From Central Gulf Coast-

Delegates to the 44th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast approved a resolution Friday to call upon state officials in Alabama and Florida to end inmate abuse in prisons.

The vote was unanimous, said Wayne Verry, a delegate from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Foley, who introduced the resolution. The convention is being held Feb. 19-21 at Trinity Episcopal Church in midtown Mobile.

The resolution calls upon Gov. Robert Bentley, the attorney general, the commissioner of the Department of Corrections, and leaders of both houses of the Legislature in Alabama and Florida to "continue to take necessary actions to end all forms of abuse in prisons, and to uphold the fundamental dignity of every human being." It also urges other Episcopal diocese to take similar action.

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/02/episcopal_delegates_unanimousl.html

On Pilgrimage Together

From The Living Church-

In the heat of a mid-summer afternoon below the town of Assisi, pilgrims make their way to one of the remaining leprosaria, La Santa Maria Maddalena. At the front of the procession are two high school boys, one white, one Puerto Rican, warning in loud voices of the leper following close behind. Micah, an African American high-school sophomore, follows with shuffling feet. He is covered with a black cloth, a makeshift pall, draped over his backpack filled with bottled water, a journal, and packets of Nutella. He carries the tentennella, the traditional wooden clapper that warns the locals of his approach.


More here-


http://www.livingchurch.org/pilgrimage-together

Single churchwomen ‘cry inside’ for lack of men

From The Church Times-

SINGLE Christian women may have to choose between marrying a partner who does not share their beliefs and staying single, a new survey suggests. It found that churches contained large numbers of middle-class single women, but few single men.

The research concluded that Christian women had to face up to the possibility that they would go through life without finding a partner who shared their Christian beliefs.

The survey of more than 7200 adults was carried out by YouGov. It found that half a million more women than men were regular churchgoers, and that these single women were very largely middle class.

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/20-february/news/uk/single-churchwomen-cry-inside-for-lack-of-men

Scottish bishops band together to boost full-time ordination training

From Scotland-

The Scottish Episcopal Church's bishops have this year banded together to appeal to its members to invest in the Church's future.

For this year’s Bishops’ Lent Appeals, all seven diocesan bishops have agreed to support the training and formation of those entering ministerial training in the Scottish Episcopal Church.

2014 saw the creation of the new Scottish Episcopal Institute (SEI), which replaced the former Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church (TISEC).

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2015/02/scottish-bishops-band-together-to-boost-full-time-ordination-training.aspx

Retiring Episcopal Bishop Philip M. Duncan comments on the state of the Church, same-sex blessings and what's needed in his successor

From The Central Gulf Coast-

The first time I met the Rt. Rev. Philip Menzie Duncan II, he was standing outside Trinity Episcopal Church on Dauphin Street on Dec. 26, 2012. An EF-2 tornado had hit midtown Mobile the day before, tearing a hole in Trinity's roof and turning the front of Irving Hall into a pile of rubble.

"Ultimately, property is property," he said at the time. "People are the important thing for me."

After serving for 14 years as the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Gulf Coast, Duncan, 70, is retiring this summer. His successor will be chosen by votes of the clergy and laity on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the diocese's 44th Annual Convention, being held at Trinity.

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2015/02/retiring_episcopal_bishop_phil.html

How a supporter of women’s ordination left the Anglican Church to become a Catholic

From Catholic Herald-

It is always interesting to read the various ways that converts stumble onto the path to Rome. Surely one of the strangest accounts in modern times is that of Dr Una Kroll, whose autobiography, Bread Not Stones, has recently been published by Christian Alternative. Dr Kroll received quite a lot of publicity in the past as an active and vocal Christian feminist. Indeed, she was ordained into the Anglican priesthood as one of the first women priest of the Church of Wales. The title of her book is taken from an incident at the Church of England’s General Synod of 1978. When its members at that time turned down a proposal to prepare women for ordination, Una Kroll shouted from the gallery: “We asked you for bread and you gave us a stone!”

More here-

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/02/19/how-a-supporter-of-womens-ordination-left-the-anglican-church-to-become-a-catholic/

Bishop apologizes for oversights in Cook case

From The Baltimore Sun-

The head of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland apologized Wednesday for failing to recognize "warning signs" that Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook — now facing drunken-driving and other charges in connection with a crash that killed a bicyclist — suffers from alcoholism.

"I regret that my sister in faith, Heather, apparently caused so much damage and suffering due to her disease of alcoholism, and [I'm] sorry I was unable to recognize warning signs of her illness," the Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton said in a message to church members on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, a 40-day season of repentance.

More here-

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-cook-sutton-lent-20150218-story.html

Apartments to Replace 146-Year-Old Brooklyn Church

From Brooklyn-

A 146-year-old Bed-Stuy church is being demolished to make room for “middle-income” apartments, according to investors.

St. Stephen and St. Martin's Episcopal Church on Jefferson Avenue is set to be pulled down by the end of February due to a lack of funds needed to preserve the wooden building.

Audley Donaldson, the church's rector, sold the lot to Notias Construction. He made a agreement with the company that a replacement church will be part of the development.

More here-

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150217/bed-stuy/apartments-replace-146-year-old-brooklyn-church

The Episcopal Church Files Appeal Against Breakaway South Carolina Diocese in Attempt to Takeover $500 Million Property

From Christian Post-

An appeal has been filed on behalf of The Episcopal Church of South Carolina against a diocese that voted to break away from the denomination, and is seeking to takeover the local church's properties that are estimated to be worth $500 million.

A group loyal to the national denomination, called The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, filed the appeal against the Diocese of South Carolina, which earlier this month won a court judgement in which it retained ownership of dozens of church properties.

Although District Court Judge Diane Goodstein ruled on Feb. 4 that the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina rightfully owns the church properties and not The Episcopal Church, it was expected that the national denomination was going to file an appeal in an attempt to gain control of the church's assets.

More here-

http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-episcopal-church-files-appeal-against-breakaway-south-carolina-diocese-in-attempt-to-takeover-500-million-property-134240/

Bishop Made Mission Theologian

From The Living Church-

The Rt. Rev. Graham Kings, Bishop of Sherborne, has accepted a seven-year post as the Anglican Communion’s mission theologian. The new post is a shared venture of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church Mission Society, and Durham University.

His purpose will be to research, stimulate, connect, and publish works of theology in the Anglican Communion, with particular focus on insights from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, in their ecumenical contexts.

Bishop Kings will take up this new post in July. He will be based in London, visiting Durham University as an honorary fellow and traveling across the Communion. He will convene a series of seminars in Anglican Communion Studies for theologians. The website Mission Theology in the Anglican Communion, launched February 16, will publish the papers. Bishop Kings already has sent various tweets from the Twitter handle of @MissioTheology.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/bishop-made-mission-theologian

Uganda President agrees national day to honour Anglican martyr

From Uganda-

Archbishop Stanley Ntagali called today for Archbishop Janani Luwum Day to be declared a national holiday.

His appeal was made before more than 20,000 people gathered in Mucwini, Kitgum, to honour and celebrate the life, ministry, and martyrdom of Archbishop Janani Luwum, the Church of Uganda’s 2nd Ugandan Archbishop.

Former President Idi Amin Dada assassinated Archbishop Janani Luwum on 16th February 1977 after arresting him on false charges. There have been local celebrations of his life and martyrdom around the country since 1977, but today’s commemoration marks the first national and international celebration. His Excellency, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of the Republic of Uganda, was the Guest of Honour.
More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2015/02/uganda-president-agrees-national-day-to-honour-anglican-martyr.aspx

What Would Jesus Do (for Lent)?

From "Mockingbird"-

There is a widely preached theology which tells us that we can somehow identify with Jesus. This lens is all too often used to justify whatever behavior we are interested in spiritualizing. And so we get to be angry because Jesus turned over tables in the temple. We get to invoke righteous indignation at politicians or religious figures because Jesus yelled at the Pharisees and the hypocrites. At Lent, our WWJD theology is allowed to go into overdrive. We must “give up” something in order to identify ourselves with the suffering and self-denial of Jesus in the desert.

While all of this sounds earnest and well-intentioned, this theology misses the point–devastatingly so. Jesus wasn’t just hanging out in the desert, dancing to the beat of a one man drum circle. Jesus was going toe to toe with the Satan himself. And there’s nothing relatable about that for us.

More here-

http://www.mbird.com/2015/02/what-would-jesus-do-for-lent/

POPE FRANCIS DENOUNCES ISIS SLAUGHTER: ‘THEIR BLOOD CONFESSES CHRIST’

From Breibert-

This morning, Pope Francis condemned the brutal slaying of 21 Coptic Christians perpetrated by ISIS in Libya over the weekend, proclaiming them martyrs killed out of hatred of their Christian faith.

At 10:30 am Monday, the Pope met with Rev. John P. Chalmers, Moderator of the Church of Scotland (Reformed), along with other representatives of the Church of Scotland.

At the end of his prepared speech, the Pope switched to his native language and continued off the cuff in Spanish, turning to the events in Libya, and said that the witness of these brother Christians should move all Christian communions to draw closer to one another.

More here-

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/02/16/pope-francis-denounces-isis-slaughter-their-blood-confesses-christ/

Episcopal Church of South Sudan promotes Lent peace initiative

From Ekklesia-

The Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan’s diocese of Wau has developed a course titled “Reconcile – Moving Forward in Peace”, inviting people to be peace-builders during the season of Lent, which begins this week.

This initiative from the church comes amid the conflict in South Sudan which has gravely affected all communities since the country’s independence from Sudan in 2011.

Written by the staff of the Wau diocese of the Episcopal Church of the South Sudan and Sudan, the course engages the community in discussion and prayer. The content gives an African outlook on Christianity and focuses on issues relating to peace. The course tries to stimulate participation, discovery and tackles faith-related issues. Themes include tribalism, causes of friction, domestic violence and the understanding of peace.

More here-

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/21444

Local diocese receives $19K Episcopal Church grant

From South Carolina-

Roanridge Trust Award grants are awarded annually for new and creative models for leadership development in small communities. The 2015 grants, totaling $160,369, were announced by Sam McDonald, deputy chief operating officer and director of mission of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. They will be used in Episcopal dioceses across the United States and in the Dominican Republic and Honduras.

The $19,000 grant to TECSC will be used to start a Lifelong Formation Training Program for clergy and laypeople in the rural sections of the diocese. The program is designed to offer programs for smaller churches to start or enhance Christian formation programs for children, youth and adults.

More here-

http://www.moultrienews.com/article/20150215/MN01/150219911/1014

Continue the mission: St. James' Episcopal Church looks toward future with capital project

From New York-

What started as a project to replace the 140-year-old roof on St. James' Episcopal Church in Skaneateles turned into an endeavor to ensure the mission of the nearly 200-year-old church continues for many more years to come.

The Rev. Becky Coerper, the rector of St. James', said the vestry — the body that oversees church operations — considered replacing the roof, which is original to the building, for about 20 years before finally taking steps to do something.

"It was leaking pretty regularly," she said. "We were doing repairs on it annually, sometimes as much as $10,000 or $12,000 a year. ... It was in pretty bad shape. It does fall down. We find pieces of it in our driveway all the time."

More here-

http://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/continue-the-mission-st-james-episcopal-church-looks-toward-future/article_9218492b-6fef-53be-83b4-5380c64e30d4.html

Apodaca: Split has church looking for new members

From Los Angeles-

How does a new church leader fill the pews again after a contentious legal dispute resulted in the departure of nearly the entire congregation?

That was the challenge faced by the Rev. Cindy Evans Voorhees, who took over as pastor at St. James the Great Episcopal Church on Lido Isle a little over year ago after the parish, formerly St. James Anglican Church, underwent a very public split from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

The exit from the Lido location was prompted by a Superior Court ruling, after nine years of litigation, confirming that the church property belonged to the diocese. The former St. James congregation had sought to stay at the site after disaffiliating with the Episcopal Church primarily because it disagreed with the ordination of a gay bishop.

More here-

http://www.dailypilot.com/opinion/tn-dpt-me-0215-patrice-apodaca-column-20150214,0,1109407.story

Melbourne’s first Anglican female bishop dies

From Australia-

The Right Reverend Barbara Darling, Melbourne's first female bishop and the first woman to be ordained into the Anglican clergy in Australia, died on Sunday aged 67.

Bishop Darling ministerd to the Eastern Region of Melbourne.

She died in hospital at 11.20am on Sunday morning following a sudden stroke on February 7. At the time of her death  she was surrounded by family and friends.

More here-

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbournes-first-anglican-female-bishop-dies-20150215-13f7pk.html