You Want to Make the Visitor Welcome? Twelve Church Website Tips

From Christy Thomas-

In my past role as “mystery worshipper” for a newspaper column, I am offering a few pointers for an effective church website. The number one issue: Never, ever change your normal worship time without splashing it all over your website!

But other than that particular rant, below are some things I have learned after perusing hundreds of church websites.

One: Do not assume that a Facebook page provides adequate electronic presence. You still need an actual, up to date, reasonably professional looking website.

Two: Make sure your website actually shows up using basic keywords in different search engines. There are ways to do this by the good use of metatags. At the very least, your keywords should indicate your city or town, state, and general religious affiliation. Ask multiple people to test how quickly your church site shows up on searches from their own computers and mobile devices. They also need to view it using different browsers.

More here-

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thoughtfulpastor/2018/01/09/make-visitor-welcome-twelve-church-website-tips/#FPm2uUAcEdM5J7XV.01

Our church was named for Robert E. Lee — here is how we changed it

From RNS-

Confederate symbols in churches, especially Episcopal churches in Virginia and the National Cathedral in Washington, have followed a pattern of controversy parallel to, but distinct from, the civic battles over their removal from public spaces.

In Episcopal churches directly associated with Robert E. Lee, the controversy has been a deeply emotional, semiprivate clash of sensibilities, one side claiming to respect the sacredness of history and the other, the history of sacredness.

It has been, under the surface, a re-litigating of Lee’s terms of surrender at Appomattox.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Richmond is the church Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis attended during the Civil War. Five months after the mass shooting in a black church in Charleston, S.C., by a neo-Confederate in June 2015, St. Paul’s began removing images of the Confederate flag from kneelers, bookplates and plaques.

More here-

http://gazette.com/our-church-was-named-for-robert-e.-lee-here-is-how-we-changed-it/article/1618789

The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus

From Christianity Today-

For decades, North Korea has clearly been the world’s worst persecutor of Christians. But now, another nation nearly matches it.

Open Doors released today its 2018 World Watch List (WWL), an annual ranking of the 50 countries where it is most dangerous to follow Jesus. Approximately 215 million Christians now experience high, very high, or extreme levels of persecution; that means 1 in 12 Christians live where Christianity is “illegal, forbidden, or punished,” according to Open Doors researchers.

Kim Jung-un’s country hasn’t moved from the No. 1 spot on the list for 16 years in a row. “With more than 50,000 in prison or labor camps, such a ranking is little surprise for the totalitarian regime that controls every aspect of life in the country and forces worship of the Kim family,” Open Doors reported.

More here-

http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/january/top-50-christian-persecution-open-doors-world-watch-list.html

Diocese rallies to assist stranded West Coast teens

From Newark-

It started with a Facebook post and a chance cross-country friendship. It turned into what became a very long email chain on the Newark list. By the time it was over, a bunch of Episcopalians in northern New Jersey had helped feed a group of high school kids from the West Coast, because the kids had left their shoes in a foreign country. There’s also a Connecticut angle.

Follow closely now.

Last Thursday, as a severe winter snow storm was creating brutal conditions for much of the East Coast, Selene Nesland and four other chaperones were leading a group of 20 kids from five high schools home to Vancouver, Washington, a suburb of Portland, Oregon. The group had traveled to the Dominican Republic with Courts for Kids, a nonprofit organization founded by Nesland and her husband, which brings volunteers to impoverished areas to build or repair courts used for sports.

The group spent more than a week in shirt-sleeve weather at Red Misericordia, a Christian orphanage in Santiago, whose name translates roughly as “Mercy Network.” They built an outdoor basketball/volleyball court – “just a simple, concrete structure, but something [the orphanage] wouldn’t have been able to do on their own,” Nesland said.

More here-

https://dioceseofnewark.org/content/diocese-rallies-assist-stranded-west-coast-teens

How To Make The World A Better Place In 2018, According To Pope Francis

From NPR-

Pope Francis has some surprising things to say about the state of the world.

On Monday, Pope Francis delivered his annual address to his diplomatic corps, ambassadors from 183 nations to the Holy See. The speech outlined a bold vision for a peaceful, free and just world. The pontiff touched on themes that have been in the headlines, like the Syrian war and the Rohingya refugee crisis.

But he also drilled down on development topics like child labor, global inequality and the threat of technological advances that may put millions of people, especially the poorest, out of work.

Here are a few highlights from his speech, delivered at the Vatican Apostolic Palace in Vatican City:

More here-

http://wesa.fm/post/how-make-world-better-place-2018-according-pope-francis#stream/0

Origin Of Life Vs. Origin Of Consciousness: Which Is Harder To Tackle?

From Forbes-

It seems to be the job of theologians to worry more about the limits of science than scientists do themselves. But that doesn't mean they don't enjoy hashing it out together.

You just have to know where to look.

A case in point was the discussion between Michael Ruse, Fraser Watts and Ottoline Leyser at the Ian Ramsey Center's Oxford conference on Religion, Society and the Science of Life which took place last July.

Watts, a retired psychologist and Anglican theologian, has been at the forefront of the debates about religion and science in the UK over the past decade. These tend to be far more interesting than our own U.S. debates--which too often boil down to whether creationism should be taught in the public schools.

More here-

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnfarrell/2018/01/10/origin-of-life-vs-origin-of-consciousness-which-is-harder-to-tackle/#16e3ecd97c33

Scottish Episcopal church defends first woman bishop

From The BBC-

he Scottish Episcopal church has defended the selection of Canon Anne Dyer as the next Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney.

A group within the diocese has called on her to consider standing down.

Canon Dyer is due to be consecrated as the first woman bishop in Scotland at a service in St Andrew's Cathedral, Aberdeen, in March.

The Primus of the church has accused those behind an open letter of trying to "subvert" its processes.

Mark Strange, who is Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, reaffirmed his belief that Canon Dyer is the right person to be bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney.

More here-

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-42629459

also here-

https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Rector-rebuked-over-new-Scottish-Episcopal-bishop-revolt

The Bishop who helps South Sudanese Refugees

From Africa News-

He became their vessel used to help at a very crucial season of their life.

Every week at Parolinya camp in northern Uganda, Bishop Emmanuel Murye’s congregation – made up mostly of South Sudanese refugees, meet under a tree for Sunday service.

They came at the start of 2017 from their homes in Kajo Keji, South Sudan – as the government and two rebel groups battled for control in a war sparked by a feud between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar.

Bishop Murye had been installed as the new Anglican bishop of Kajo Keji county just days before the fighting broke out.

He sheltered dozens of families in his church compound until the fighting died down. Thousands of people fled to Uganda.

Murye stayed and organized trucks to carry over 100 people across the border.

Kajo Keji became a ghost town – almost everyone left and Bishop Murye decided to follow his church.

More here-

http://www.africanews.com/2018/01/09/the-bishop-who-helps-south-sudanese-refugees/

It’s time to wrestle the church’s budget.

From Church Work-

When I started this blog in 2012, one of the first major topics was the Episcopal Church’s 2013-2015 budget. It had to be. That year the draft budget released for comment had math errors and accidentally cut almost all churchwide funding for Christian formation. It was a debacle.

The budget process worked. The math errors were corrected, the formation funding was restored. The Rev. Susan Brown Snook was elected to Executive Council from the floor of General Convention because the entire voting membership of the House of Deputies was grateful for her service. A priest, blogger, and former CPA, she helped a confused church figure out its finances.

Then there was the 2016-2018 budget cycle. It was a relief by comparison, but it was still a challenge. We were having an ecological crisis, yet there was almost no funding for creation care. We were having a crisis of church decline, yet there was not enough funding for new ministry development.

More here-

http://www.churchwork.com/its-time-to-wrestle-the-churchs-budget-deadline-wednesday/

A pastor admitted a past ‘sexual incident’ with a teen. His congregation gave him a standing ovation.

From The Washington Post-

On December 1, as headlines across the country blared with news about Matt Lauer’s surprise firing from the “Today” show for sexual misconduct, a woman named Jules Woodson tapped out a short email. It ran only 78 words but was nearly 20 years in the making. “Do you remember?” the subject line read.

“Do you remember that night that you were supposed to drive me home from church and instead drove me to a deserted back road and sexually assaulted me?” Woodson wrote. “Do you remember how you acted like you loved me and cared about me in order for me to cooperate in such acts, only to run out of the vehicle later and fall to your knees begging for forgiveness and for me not to tell anyone what had just happened?”

She closed with three words and a hashtag. “Well I REMEMBER,” the email said. “#me-too.”

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/01/10/a-pastor-admitted-a-past-sexual-incident-with-a-teen-his-congregation-gave-him-a-standing-ovation/?utm_term=.8c5127b61fda

Provincial and Episcopal delegates named for March 2018 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

From The Episcopal Church-

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry has named the provincial delegate and churchwide delegates to represent him at the 62nd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in New York City, NY, March 12-23, 2018.

The provincial delegate and the churchwide delegates will be able to attend the official UNCSW proceedings at the United Nations and will represent the Presiding Bishop with the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion delegations in their advocacy at the UN, including joint advocacy with the group Ecumenical Women.

The delegates named by Presiding Bishop Curry are: Dr. K. Holly Carter, Diocese of Massachusetts; the Rev. Annalise Castro Pasalo, Diocese of Hawaii; Dr. Damaris De Jesús Carrasquillo, Diocese of Puerto Rico; Lois Frankforter, Diocese of Connecticut; Maria Gonzalez, Diocese of Olympia; Stephanie Gray, Diocese of Arkansas; Claudia Haltom, Diocese of West Tennessee; Dr. John Harris, Diocese of Oklahoma; Clare Hendricks, Diocese of Montana; Pragedes Coromoto Jimenez de Salazar, Diocese of Venezuela; the Rev Deacon Myra Kingsley, Diocese of Arizona; the Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, Diocese of Los Angeles; Annika Lewis, Diocese of Colorado; Maire Powell, Diocese of Iowa; Lydia Simmons, Diocese of South Dakota; the Rev. Stacy Walker, Diocese of Chicago; and Amanda Ziebell Mawanda, Diocese of Minnesota.

More here-

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/posts/publicaffairs/provincial-and-episcopal-delegates-named-march-2018-united-nations-commission

A letter from Archbishop Hiltz on the future of his primacy

From Canada-

January 7, 2018

The Baptism of the Lord

Dear Friends:

On this Sunday, right on the heels of The Feast of the Epiphany we find ourselves at the Jordan River remembering The Baptism of the Lord. We recall how he insisted that John take him into those waters. We hear again that voice from heaven as he rose up from his transitory burial, ”This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased,” (Matthew 3:17) We remember that the Spirit descended and rested upon him like a dove, and then within days drove him out into the wilderness beyond Jordan. There he fasted for forty days and nights. The evangelists speak of that time as His Temptation in the Wilderness. Many biblical scholars speak of it as a time of spiritual discernment as to the nature of his mission. It was clearly a time of spiritual wrestling, marked by a deepening awareness of his identity as the Servant of God, The Anointed One who would announce good tidings and publish peace, saying to Zion, “Your God reigns”. (Isaiah 52:7) From those days in the wilderness, he would come in the power of the Spirit into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God, teaching the people in their synagogues and healing the sick among them. So began his public ministry.

More here-

http://www.anglican.ca/news/letter-archbishop-hiltz-future-primacy/30020594/

An Announcement from Bishop Gibbs

From Michigan-

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Dear Sisters and Brothers of The Diocese of Michigan:

In September of 1999, one of the questions asked of me during the “walk-about” was: “you’re young; you could be a bishop a long time! If you were elected, how long would you be our bishop?” My response was, “as long as I believe God is calling me to be here. I have always been committed to following where God calls me.”

On February 5th of this year, I will begin my 19th year as a bishop in God’s holy Church. I have served as your Bishop Diocesan since November 1, 2000. After much prayerful discernment, I have heard God’s call to move into retirement. Therefore, in consultation with The Standing Committee of the Diocese and in conversation with the Diocesan Staff, I am calling for the election of the 11th Bishop of Michigan. It is my intention to resign effective December 31, 2019; and, in conversation with the Office of the Presiding Bishop, the ordination and consecration of the next Bishop of Michigan is expected to occur in February 2020.

More here-

http://www.edomi.org/an-announcement-from-bishop-gibbs/

Cambodia Anglicans Chart a New Path

From Juicy Ecumenism-

Space is tight in the Phnom Penh chapel where Cambodian Anglican Christians have gathered to worship on a Sunday morning.

“If you can’t find a seat, just stand for a few minutes and seats will open up when the children go to their Sunday school,” advises Pastor Jesse Blaine, a Khmer-speaking American who leads the congregation.

Circulation fans whir in the quaint rented space that offers stained glass windows and a central location in the bustling Southeast Asian city, but no air conditioning. The church has posted significant growth in the past year. A missionary outpost of the worldwide Anglican Communion, it is one piece of the growing Christian community in Cambodia, where church attendees weigh the truth claims of Christianity a generation removed from the Khmer Rouge genocide.

More here-

https://juicyecumenism.com/2018/01/08/cambodia-anglicans/

“Love Like Christ”: Presiding Bishop’s pastoral visit to post-hurricane Puerto Rico

From ACNS-

Bishop Rafael Morales leaves no impression he is still wading into his job. He had led the Diocese of Puerto Rico a mere two months when Hurricane Maria devastated the island in September, and since then he, his staff and clergy around the diocese have mobilised relief efforts with a determination that earned praise from Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the US-based Episcopal Church, during a two-day visit.

Hurricane Maria was and continues to be an unparalleled catastrophe, Morales said, but he is seizing the opportunity for ministry to his fellow Puerto Ricans.

“Our people have a good heart,” he said on the road to the coastal town of Toa Baja accompanied by Curry. Puerto Rico’s culture is one of thanksgiving, Morales said. “This diocese is a diocese of hope.”

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2018/01/love-like-christ-presiding-bishops-pastoral-visit-to-post-hurricane-puerto-rico.aspx

Everything you know about the Gospel of Paul is likely wrong

From Aeon-

This past year, I burdened the English-speaking world with my very own translation of the New Testament – a project that I undertook at the behest of my editor at Yale University Press, but that I agreed to almost in the instant that it was proposed. I had long contemplated attempting a ‘subversively literal’ rendering of the text. Over the years, I had become disenchanted with almost all the standard translations available, and especially with modern versions produced by large committees of scholars, many of whom (it seems to me) have been predisposed by inherited theological habits to see things in the text that are not really there, and to fail to notice other things that most definitely are. Committees are bland affairs, and tend to reinforce our expectations; but the world of late antiquity is so remote from our own that it is almost never what we expect.

Ask, for instance, the average American Christian – say, some genial Presbyterian who attends church regularly and owns a New International Version of the Bible – what gospel the Apostle Paul preached. The reply will fall along predictable lines: human beings, bearing the guilt of original sin and destined for eternal hell, cannot save themselves through good deeds, or make themselves acceptable to God; yet God, in his mercy, sent the eternal Son to offer himself up for our sins, and the righteousness of Christ has been graciously imputed or imparted to all who have faith.

More here-

https://aeon.co/ideas/the-gospels-of-paul-dont-say-what-you-think-they-say

Seeking direction in 2018? Check out the pope’s thought-provoking Epiphany homily

From Aleteia-

Pope Francis today celebrated Mass for the Feast of the Epiphany. Here is the official Vatican translation of his homily:
~
Three actions of the Magi guide our journey towards the Lord, who today is revealed as light and salvation for all peoples. The Magi see the star, they set out and they bring gifts.

Seeing the star. This is where it starts. But why, we might ask, did the Magi alone see the star? Perhaps because few people raised their eyes to heaven. We often make do with looking at the ground: it’s enough to have our health, a little money and a bit of entertainment. I wonder if we still know how to look up at the sky. Do we know how to dream, to long for God, to expect the newness he brings, or do we let ourselves be swept along by life, like dry branches before the wind? The Magi were not content with just getting by, with keeping afloat. They understood that to truly live, we need a lofty goal and we need to keep looking up.

More here-

https://aleteia.org/2018/01/06/seeking-direction-in-2018-check-out-the-popes-thought-provoking-epiphany-homily/

The Episcopal Church’s Budget is a Dim Bulb

From Draughting Theology-

There was a movement afoot in the Episcopal Church.  For the first time in my recollection, people were genuinely excited about the E word: Evangelism.  We had a Presiding Bishop who was comfortable talking about Jesus.  A groundswell of support saw a $2.8 million budget amendment to fund evangelism, especially in the growing and heretofore under-served Latino population.  There were revivals planned.  A new Canon for Evangelism and Racial Reconciliation was hired.  One of the best church planting minds in the church came on board to serve as the Staff Officer for Church Planting Infrastructure.  It was looking like we might finally be living into the prayer we pray every Second Sunday after Epiphany, and taking our responsibility, having been “illumined by Word and Sacrament” to “shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth.”

Things were looking good, until the Executive Council met from October 18-21, 2017, and all the hope and good will came crashing to the ground.  The working budget for the next triennium (2019-2021) shows a 41% cut in evangelism spending.  This cut includes a full 1/3 cut in spending for new congregations from $3 million to $2 million and a cut in total Latino/Hispanic ministry spending of more than 45% from $1,219,400 to $558,000.  Meanwhile, as has been noted by several very learned practitioners, including church planter, Susan Snook, mission re-developer, Everett Lees, and Forward Movement Executive Director and discipleship guru, Scott Gunn, investment in the administrative side of things, has increased by close to $4 million in the Presiding Bishop’s office (a roughly 47% increase) and $5.25 million in Governance (nearly 38%).  All that, and there is still $40 million set aside to pay for operations, finance, and legal fees!

More here-

https://draughtingtheology.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/the-episcopal-churchs-budget-is-a-dim-bulb/

Hell freezes over: how the Church of Satan got cool

From The Guardian-

Disappointingly, Chelsea Clinton has denied she and her husband practise satanism. Her tweet wishing the folks at the Church of Satan a happy new year should not be taken as endorsement of the dark lord’s manifold heresies.

One hopes that, like her father’s denial of having had “sexual relations with that woman”, Chelsea’s disclaimer isn’t for real. Doesn’t she realise that the radical power of Satan is having a moment unparalleled since Milton unwittingly made him the badass rebel hero of Paradise Lost?

According to the LA Times, “a heterodox generation of new self-described satanists is upending old Rosemary’s Baby and Helter Skelter stereotypes in service of radical politics, feminist aesthetics and community unity”.

The paper sent a reporter to investigate a satanic soiree in a California basement where they found a coterie of artists, writers and musicians who chanted “Hail Satan!”, while someone, unacceptably, played minor chords on the organ.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2018/jan/08/chelsea-clinton-church-satan-got-cool

Kissimmee psychotherapist accused of battering patient, police say

From Central Florida-

A pastoral psychotherapist at a behavioral health center is accused of battering a female patient on multiple occasions, according to the Kissimmee Police Department.

The victim contacted police on Dec. 27 and she said that she had been a patient of Gerardo "Jerry" James DeJesus, Ph.D., at Mindful Behavioral Healthcare on East Oak Street for the past three months.

She said DeJesus touched her multiple times in an "unwanted manner, outside of the scope of his care," according to a news release.

He was arrested Friday on three counts of battery.

Mindful Behavioral Healthcare's website lists DeJesus as an adolescent and adult psychotherapist who treats anxiety, depression, dreams and self-destructive behavioral patterns. He is also an Episcopal priest, according to the website.

More here-

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/kissimmee-psychotherapist-accused-of-battering-patient-police-say

Museveni, Religious Leaders Pay Tribute to Archbishop Nkoyoyo

From Uganda-

President Museveni yesterday joined church leaders at All Saints Cathedral, Nakasero in Kampala to pay tribute to former Church of Uganda Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo.

Nkoyoyo, who was archbishop between 1995 and 2005, died last Friday at Kampala Hospital after succumbing to pneumonia aged 80.

The casket carrying his body was brought to the cathedral at about 2pm, with hundreds of mourners in attendance to celebrate the life of a man who many have since described as "loving and caring".

President Museveni praised the late Nkoyoyo for his developmental drives, notably the construction of the Uganda Martyrs Anglican Museum at Namugongo.

His work at Namugongo

"I want to salute him for his passion for Namugongo. We are going to support the completion of the work there. The archbishop died when he was worried about Namugongo. That was a good death and he lived his life on earth about doing good," Mr Museveni said.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/201801080090.html

What is to become of the Confession?

From The Living Church-

As the possibility of prayer book revision is bandied about, one aspect of our liturgy deserves significantly more attention: the General Confession. If it suffers pruning similar to that of the 1928 and 1979 editions of the prayer book, then it might disappear altogether.

The form of the General Confession that was used in the 1928 prayer book, and that is more or less preserved in the extended Rite I options of the 1979 book, remained remarkably similar to the earliest English prayer books. It moved out of the eucharistic prayer, but the words remained mostly unchanged. In the now-ubiquitous Rite II liturgy, however, the General Confession has been bowdlerized, and this has harmed our theology of sin and grace. The historic confession’s language (“We do earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is grievous unto us, the burden of them is intolerable”) has become “We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.”

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/01/08/what-is-to-become-of-the-confession/

Actor Matthew Broderick, cleric sister shimmer with 'A Christmas Memory' reading

From New Jersey-

Actor Matthew Broderick couldn't keep a grin off his face as he watched his sister, the Rev. Janet Broderick, give a credible performance as his whiskey-soused, middle-aged cousin.

The siblings united Friday night as a cast of two in a free, dramatic reading of Truman Capote's short story "A Christmas Memory" in the parish hall of Saint Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown, where Janet Broderick has been rector for nine years.

"The Broderick family players!" church musical director Joshua Stafford announced to the sold-out house as the siblings walked down an aisle to a simple stage set 5 feet from the front-row audience seats.

They sat on chairs beside each other, their scripts before them on music stands, before Matthew Broderick plunged into the opening lines of Capote's endearing, semi-autobiographical story from the 1930s about the bonds of love and companionship between a 7-year-old boy and his dotty, middle-aged cousin.

More here-

http://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/2018/01/06/actor-matthew-broderick-cleric-sister-dazzle-crowd/1001525001/

Keep The Faith: The Rev. Paula J. Toland

From Massachusetts-

Today, January 6th, many Christians celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. It is the day commemorating the arrival of the magi, commonly known as the three wise men, at the stable where they meet the infant Jesus. We are told that these men, perhaps astrologers and the scientists of their time, were guided by a star in the East. It would have taken many days to come from their home west of Bethlehem, which explains the time between Christmas and this day. In many churches, the wise men are an integral part of the Christmas story, which then, in essence, is a combined story of the Nativity and the Epiphany.

The story of the magi is important in and of itself. Their story is our story. It is the story of how real people, going about their daily lives, allow their curiosity, their innate awareness of the need for something beyond themselves, to lead them to an encounter with God. And in that first encounter they are changed. They and their lives are transformed. The grace they received is grace extended to all of us. It is meant for all of us. It is freely given and undeserved. It is, as the saying goes, “ours for the asking.”

More here-

http://www.telegram.com/entertainmentlife/20180105/keep-faith-rev-paula-j-toland

Memphis mega-church pastor admits he molested a minor days before his ‘True Love Waits’ workshop

From Memphis-

Twenty years ago Memphis mega-church teaching pastor Andy Savage sexually assaulted a high school senior who was 17 years old.

According to Fox 13, the Highpoint Church leader admitted to the act on his social media platforms. At the time, Savage was in college and working as a staffer at a Texas Baptist church now known as StoneBridge. He said in his statement that he apologized immediately and asked for forgiveness from the victim.

“I apologized and sought forgiveness from her, her parents, her discipleship group, the church staff, and the church leadership, who informed the congregation,” he said on the church website. “In agreement with wise counsel, I took every step to respond in a biblical way.”

The response from Savage came after the woman came forward with graphic details to The Wartburg Watch, a site started by two Christian women who pursued their faith, but saw “disturbing trends within Christendom.”

More here-

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/memphis-mega-church-pastor-admits-he-molested-a-minor-days-before-his-true-love-waits-workshop/

South Sudanese Anglican Bishop Urges Arrest of Soldiers Accused of Rape

From South Sudan-

A South Sudanese Anglican bishop said the government of South Sudan is not serious about apprehending soldiers who rape women and girls in the country.

The Archbishop of the Internal Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Reverend Paul Yugusuk, said his office has reported a case of a pregnant women who was raped at gunpoint this week by a member of the South Sudan army stationed at Aru conjunction post on the Juba Nimule highway.

Yugusuk told VOA's South Sudan In Focus that military authorities have not yet arrested the accused soldier, who remains at large and might continue raping women in Aru at gunpoint.

The bishop said the woman and her husband were held at gun point by soldiers manning the Aru conjunction."The woman was threatened by gun. The husband was also threatened. One soldier raped the woman.The woman is now in the hospital. She has been in a critical situation.A (police case) has been opened at the Aru conjunction Police post against the SPLA," he said.

More here-

https://www.voanews.com/a/south-sudanese-anglican-bishop-urges-arrest-of-soldiers-accused-of-rape/4194591.html

Earthquake repairs to Washington National Cathedral could last another decade

From ACNS-

The earthquake that struck the Washington DC area in August 2011 caused an estimated $34 million [USD, approximately £25.1 million GBP] in damage to Washington National Cathedral. More than six years later, less than half of those repairs are done, and the remaining work could take another decade to complete. Progress is being made, however, and the Episcopal cathedral last month received a year-end donation from a foundation that will allow it to embark this spring on the next phase of repairs.

This latest $1.5 million project will focus on the structure around an interior courtyard, which is the last part of the cathedral still closed to the public. “It took 83 years to build this place,” Kevin Eckstrom, the cathedral’s chief communications officer, said. “We’ve had scaffolding on the outside of our building more than we have not. In some ways, we’re kind of used to it.”

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2018/01/earthquake-repairs-to-washington-national-cathedral-could-last-another-decade.aspx

Investing in what matters

From Seven Whole Days-

As I write this, it is the Feast of the Epiphany. On this day, we celebrate the manifestation of Jesus Christ to all nations, to all peoples. God gave a sign — in the form of a star — showing that it is God’s desire for all people to know Jesus. Magi traveled at great difficulty over a great distance to offer homage to Christ Jesus, and then they left transformed. Every encounter with Jesus leads to transformation.

In the assigned epistle for today from Ephesians, we read of what we could call Epiphany Work.

…to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Did you catch that? Through the church, the wisdom of God in its rich variety is to be made known to rulers, authorities, and, presumably, all people.

Are we doing that very well? I don’t think so, and if I’m talking more specifically about the Episcopal Church, the answer must surely be a resounding no. The draft churchwide budget for the Episcopal Church contains a staggering 41% cut to evangelism. I want to pause right there.
More here-

https://www.sevenwholedays.org/2018/01/06/investing-in-what-matters/

Is Epiphany plausible?

From Psephizo-

The Feast of the Epiphany in the church’s liturgical calendar is based on the events of Matt 2.1–12, the visit of the ‘wise men’ from the East to the infant Jesus. There are plenty of things about the story which might make us instinctively treat it as just another part of the constellation of Christmas traditions, which does not have very much connection with reality.

The first is the sparseness of the story. As with other parts of the gospels, the details are given to us in bare outline compared with what we are used to in modern literature. We are told little of the historical reality that might interest us, and the temptation is to fill in details for ourselves. This leads to the second issue—the development of sometimes quite elaborate traditions which do the work of filling in for us. So these ‘magoi’ (which gives us our word ‘magic’) became ‘three’ (because of the number of their gifts), then ‘wise men’ and then ‘kings’ (probably under the influence of Ps 72.10. By the time of this Roman mosaic from the church in Ravenna built in 547, they have even acquired names. Christopher Howse comments:

[T]hink how deeply these three men have entered our imagination as part of the Christmas story. “A cold coming they had of it at this time of the year, just the worst time of the year to take a journey, and specially a long journey, in. The ways deep, the weather sharp, the days short, the sun farthest off, in solstitio brumali, the very dead of winter.”

More here-

https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/is-epiphany-plausible/

WHEN A PASTOR CAN’T FORGIVE

From Inheritance-

“OH MY GOD. I feel so white.”

My white friend said this to me during a break at a disastrous anti-racism training at my seminary. I looked at her, incredulous and wondering what exactly I was to do with the information she just presented to me.

Why was she sharing this information with me? Was she feeling so bad internally about her race and her being that she had to share this out loud? Or was she coming to me, a person of color, to confess her sin of racism?

What made this conversation incredibly awkward is that I am not white, and the awful way the training was being handled was actually promoting racism at the seminary. My initial reaction of shock turned into incredible offense as the people of color in the room were feeling not just unwelcome, but that our spiritual well-being and incarnational identity were in jeopardy. Yet she got to express her white guilt to me.

More here-

https://www.inheritancemag.com/stories/when-a-pastor-cant-forgive