Love, Ash Wednesday, and Living Into Lent

From Pittsburgh-

Dear Friends in Christ,

I was raised Episcopalian and, as a youth, I loved Ash Wednesday. What could be cooler than having a huge black cross smeared on your forehead? If I thought the priest hadn't done a decent job, I'd touch it up, while looking in a mirror to make it more emphatic. Of course the thing it stood for — the universe of conviction, grace, repentance and amendment of life — was completely foreign to me. Though I had said them nearly every Sunday while growing up, I never really understood those weighty lines in the old general confession at Morning Prayer about "our manifold sins and wickedness" and that "the remembrance of them is grievous unto us; the burden of them is intolerable." I didn't know who they were talking about; through my teenage years and into my early twenties I felt fine. The only burden I found intolerable was other people, particularly those who would challenge my pride, or who had the temerity to suggest that I wasn't running my world very well.


More here-

https://www.episcopalpgh.org/love-ash-wednesday-and-living-into-lent/

A Catholic priest pens the Anglican Archbishop’s prayer book

From Crux-

For those that have followed the close collaboration and friendship between Pope Francis and Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, it will come as no surprise that the spiritual head of the Church of England selected a Roman Catholic priest’s manuscript for his 2018 Lenten prayer book.

Luigi Gioia, a Benedictine priest and academic scholar, has spent the past two decades bringing together ecumenical thought and spirituality in both the Church and the classroom.

Gioia is a professor of Systematic Theology at the Pontifical University of Sant’Anselmo in Rome and also a research associate at the Von Hügel Institute in Cambridge, England. Along with his academic work, he has also given retreats around the world. His new book, Say it to God: In Search of Prayer, was just released last month and offers practical reflections particularly designed for the Lenten season.

He spoke with Crux about what monastics offer the modern age and how “the more we grow in authentic prayer, the greater our compassion grows.”

More here-

https://cruxnow.com/faith/2018/02/14/catholic-priest-pens-anglican-archbishops-prayer-book/

When Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day, what’s a clergyperson to do?

From RNS-

It’s Valentine’s Day, a time for chocolate, roses and perhaps a dinner date. But it’s also Ash Wednesday, which for many Christians is the start of Lent, a period of penitence that precedes Easter Sunday.

How do clergy reconcile this calendar clash, the first of its kind since 1945? Approaches abound:

An Oregon clergy couple celebrated Valentine’s Day early on a recent road trip because they knew they’d be busy at a United Methodist church’s Ash Wednesday service on Feb. 14.
An Episcopal priest in Maryland has prepared a “Lovesong” service for Ash Wednesday that emphasizes various kinds of love that can be celebrated on Valentine’s Day.
An upstate New York Catholic bishop suggested Mardi Gras might be a good time for romance this year.

More here-

https://religionnews.com/2018/02/14/when-ash-wednesday-falls-on-valentines-day-whats-a-clergyperson-to-do/

Diocese of South Carolina petitions U.S. Supreme Court

From South Carolina-

The disassociated Diocese of South Carolina, which left The Episcopal Church in 2012 and sued to retain its name and property, lost its battle in the state courts in August last year when the Supreme Court issued a set of five opinions that, overall, favored The Episcopal Church and its remaining diocese.

According to that ruling, the disassociated diocese would have to relinquish 29 church buildings. (A separate federal case will determine the fate of intellectual property.)

But Diocese of South Carolina officials soon indicated they would petition the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to overturn the state court decision, and on Friday, Feb. 9, that’s just what they did.

The petition for writ of certiorari asks the nation’s highest court to consider the case and apply “neutral principles of law.”

More here-

https://www.postandcourier.com/features/diocese-of-south-carolina-petitions-u-s-supreme-court/article_ff92300a-1048-11e8-a52f-070458e3d3ec.html

I bring my kids to Ash Wednesday worship. Here’s why.

From Grow Christians-

As a child, I was somewhat confused about death. I blame Star Wars.

The original Star Wars movie came out when I was three; seeing it with my family remains one of my earliest memories. My meditation on the movie continued over a comic-book adaptation of the story that I read over and over until it finally fell apart from over-reading a couple of years later. My first conscious experience of “death” was Obi Wan Kenobi cut down by Darth Vader in a dramatic lightsaber duel—and his subsequent disappearance.

Thus, I thought that’s what everybody did when they died: their body just vanished like Ben Kenobi’s.

Around that time, my maternal grandfather passed away. I was so puzzled when my mom and dad told me that they were going to the viewing; I distinctly remember wondering, “Since he disappeared, what is it that they are going to go see…?”

Parents might be reluctant to take their children to a service like Ash Wednesday because of its thematic content; the two big things on tap are death and sin. If they’re anything like me at that age, your kids have already been exposed to the concept of death, if only in movies. Indeed, if your kids have seen the virtually obligatory Disney canon, they’ve seen death used as a plot device that turns on them understanding something about it. Think of the shooting of Bambi’s mom or the crushing of Ray the Cajun firefly in The Princess and the Frog.

More here-

http://www.growchristians.org/2016/02/08/i-bring-my-kids-to-ash-wednesday-worship-heres-why/

C of E raises serious concerns about Christian Freemasons

From The Guardian-

The Church of England has reiterated “significant concerns” about Christians becoming Freemasons amid renewed controversy about the presence of the secretive organisation at the heart of the British establishment. Christopher Cocksworth, the bishop of Coventry, flagged up a 1987 report issued by the church that highlighted a “number of very fundamental reasons to question the compatibility of Freemasonry and Christianity”.

The bishop was responding to a question tabled at the church’s General Synod, meeting this week in London, which sought information on services celebrating last year’s 300th anniversary of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) held in “a number” of Anglican cathedrals.

Cocksworth said such data was not collected or monitored centrally, but added that cathedral services were required under canon law not to contravene church doctrine.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/feb/08/c-of-e-christian-freemasons-church-england

Youth Leader Stole Donations From Glen Rock Church

From New Jersey-

The youth director at All Saints Episcopal Church and Preschool was arrested Sunday after he allegedly stole nearly $600 in donations from the church.

Church officials went to police headquarters Sunday afternoon with surveillance footage of a man, later identified as Sean M. Massaro, 24, of New Milford, stealing donation envelopes from the church's Sunday collection, said Chief Dean Ackermann.

Massaro, who used to live in Glen Rock, began working for the church part time in September, police said.

The church suspected that money was being taken since the beginning of the year when one collection had no cash donations at all, which was very unusual, Ackermann said.

More here-

https://patch.com/new-jersey/ridgewood/youth-director-stole-donations-glen-rock-church-police

What did Jesus wear?

From The Conversation-

Over the past few decades, the question of what Jesus looked like has cropped up again and again. Much has been made of a digital reconstruction of a Judaean man created for a BBC documentary, Son of God, in 2001. This was based on an ancient skull and, using the latest technology (as it was), shows the head of a stocky fellow with a somewhat worried expression.

Rightly, the skin tone is olive, and the hair and beard black and shortish, but the nose, lips, neck, eyes, eyelids, eyebrows, fat cover and expression are all totally conjectural. Putting flesh on ancient skulls is not an exact science, because the soft tissue and cartilage are unknown.

Nevertheless, for me as a historian, trying to visualise Jesus accurately is a way to understand Jesus more accurately, too.

The Jesus we’ve inherited from centuries of Christian art is not accurate, but it is a powerful brand. A man with long hair parted in the middle and a long beard – often with fair skin, light brown hair and blue eyes – has become the widely accepted likeness. We imagine Jesus in long robes with baggy sleeves, as he is most often depicted in artworks over the centuries. In contemporary films, from Zefirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth (1977) onwards, this styling prevails, even when Jesus’ clothing is considered poorly made.


More here-

https://theconversation.com/what-did-jesus-wear-90783

Atlanta bishop rallies opposition to death penalty with book of articles by faith, legal leaders

From ENS-

The death penalty was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976. Since then, 1,468 convicts have been executed across the country.

And, according to records kept by the Death Penalty Information Center, more than 80 percent of those executions have been carried out in the South, which Diocese of Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright sees as a “terrible irony” for a region known as the Bible Belt.

“People want the love of Jesus for themselves, in terms of redemption, but they want the Old Testament ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ for the people who do these terrible murders,” Wright told Episcopal News Service. “Do we serve a God who can have compassion for the victim and the perpetrator?”

For Wright, the answer is an unequivocal “yes,” and he is heartened by the Episcopal Church’s decades of speaking out against the death penalty while also providing pastoral care to victims’ families.

The Supreme Court’s 1976 decision outlined how states can craft constitutional death penalty laws. Thirty-one states have such laws, and eight of those states carried out executions in 2017, including one in Wright’s state of Georgia. In an effort to renew public attention to the issue and encourage greater advocacy toward abolishing the death penalty, Wright has collected five articles by faith and legal leaders in a book to be released Feb. 15 by the Diocese of Atlanta.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/02/12/atlanta-bishop-rallies-opposition-to-death-penalty-with-book-of-articles-by-faith-legal-leaders/

Megachurch Pastor William Curtis Draws Criticism Over $230K Bentley Bentayga

From Pittsburgh-

Leader of the 10,000-member Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, William H. Curtis, has sparked a vigorous debate online after his $230,000 Bentley Bentayga, which costs nearly twice as much as the median home in the church's Larimer neighborhood, was photographed outside the church.

The photograph of the pastor's Bentayga, which Bentley boasts is the fastest SUV in the world with a top speed of 187 mph, was posted to Facebook Monday by Jarrell Taylor who criticized the pastor's opulent display.

"If ya pastor driving a Bentley truck ... he's sucking ur community dry with hope and tithes," Taylor wrote.

The Christian Post reached out to Curtis for comment about his choice of transportation Thursday and his assistant said she did not believe he would respond to questions about his car but promised to deliver our message to him. She also acknowledged that the church had been getting direct reactions to the vehicle as well but would not confirm the sources of the criticism.

More here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/megachurch-pastor-william-curtis-draws-criticism-over-230k-bentley-bentayga-217166/

Vicar sparks row with parishioners over 'undignified' church toilet plan

From The Telegraph-

Many a churchgoer will be familiar with the long wait for a comfort break during a service in a church with no convenient facilities.

But it seems younger worshippers are less willing to hang on.

And one vicar's efforts to attract more of them to services by installing a convenient loo has been opposed by his parishioners as "undignified". 

Plans to install unisex toilets as part of a refurbishment of St Mary the Virgin in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, met with ire from opponents who said that toilets in churches were a "current fad".

Currently those in need must travel 30 metres to a nearby building which is not accessible to disabled people, said Alicia Collinson, deputy chancellor of the diocese of Gloucester in a court judgment.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/12/vicar-sparks-row-parishioners-undignified-church-toilet-plan/

Racist Bullying? Religious School In Texas Argues Courts Can’t Intervene.

From Texas-

A teenage student and his family have sued a religious private school in Texas after the teen allegedly experienced bullying of a racist nature. The student claims the school did next to nothing to stop the bullying. But the school says its religious doctrine makes it immune from legal repercussions.

Legal experts told HuffPost the school’s argument is highly unusual in this context.

The school’s counsel filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on these grounds in August. A judge is expected to decide whether to move forward with the lawsuit later this month, per public documents obtained by HuffPost.

Maureen Beans and her son, C.R., had a horrible experience at Trinity Episcopal School in Galveston, Texas, according to the lawsuit filed in May.

C.R., who attended Trinity for sixth and seventh grade, starting in 2014, was a black student at the overwhelmingly white private school. He claims he was relentlessly bullied, sometimes in ways that appeared racially motivated.

More here-

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/texas-religious-school-racist-bullying_us_5a7391aae4b01ce33eb12c6c

Greenville First Baptist Senior Pastor Jim Dant says the Bible can’t be credibly used as an argument against same-sex relationships

From South Carolina-

The Bible tells me so.

Those who are against homosexuality often quote Bible verses — Leviticus 18:22, Deuteronomy 22:5, and Genesis 18-19, among others — to “prove” that it is a sin. But Dr. Jim Dant, senior minister at Greenville First Baptist Church, says there is no valid, Christian, biblical argument against same-sex relationships between consenting adults.

“People may argue against homosexuality and LGBTQ identities, relationships, and rights on political, economic, or personal morals, but the Bible cannot credibly be used as a weapon in these fights,” he said. “The minute you bring the Bible into it, there’s no valid argument.”

The impetus for Dant’s recently released book, “This I Know: A Simple Biblical Defense for LGBTQ Christians,” was that some members of Greenville First Baptist Church, which generated headlines in 2015 for how it addressed the LGBTQ community within its walls, asked for a simple-to-understand defense against those Bible verses that had become weapons against them.

More here-

https://greenvillejournal.com/2018/02/08/greenville-first-baptist-senior-pastor-jim-dant-says-bible-cant-credibly-used-argument-sex-relationships/

Diocese of South Carolina Asks US Supreme Court for Review

From Anglican Ink-

Bishop Mark Lawrence and his Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, along with a number of member parishes, having lost a confusing, non-definitive and divided decision in that State's Supreme Court, have filed a petition for writ of certiorari (review) in the United States Supreme Court. The petition (fifty pages, downloadable from this link) asks the Court to bring harmony to the multiple lower court decisions that diverge over the meaning of "neutral principles of law" as used by the Court in its seminal case of Jones v. Wolf, 445 U.S. 595 (1979).

As the petition lays out with masterful clarity, both state and federal courts apply differing standards of "neutral principles" in approaching the resolution of disputes over the ownership of church property:

Nearly 40 years after this Court last addressed the neutral-principles approach in Jones, the courts are deeply divided about what “neutral” means. For many courts, “neutral” means just that—“neutral”: the high courts of seven States, plus the Eighth Circuit and three intermediate state courts, follow Jones’ clear guidance and resolve property disputes between religious organizations by applying well-established state trust and property law. These jurisdictions hold that a disassociating local church’s property is held in trust for the national church only if the alleged trust satisfies ordinary state law requirements for the creation of trusts. Courts and commentators call this the “strict approach” to Jones, because it blinds judges to the religious nature of the parties to the dispute, requiring them to apply the same ordinary state law that would apply to property disputes between any other parties.

More here-

http://anglican.ink/article/episcopal-church-south-carolina-asks-us-supreme-court-review

MEN WITHOUT CONVICTION, CHURCHES WITHOUT PEOPLE

From First Things-

Europe’s wholesale abandonment of its Christian faith is often explained as the inevitable by-product of modern social, economic, and political life. But there is far more to the story of Euro-secularization than that, as three ecclesiastics—a Presbyterian minister and two Italian priests—demonstrated this past Christmas.

The minister in question was the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Derek Browning. In his Yuletide message to his disappearing flock, Dr. Browning confessed that in his “darker moments,” he sometimes wondered whether “the world [would] have been a better place without [Jesus]. If there was no Jesus, and therefore no Christianity, would there have been no Crusades? Would there have been no Spanish Inquisition?” (Dr. Browning didn’t contemplate the possibility that, without Jesus, there would have been no iconoclastic destruction of Scotland’s ancient and beautiful Catholic churches, or no mass burnings of “witches” by his forebears in the kirk; but that, perhaps, would have been cutting a bit too close to the bone.)

More here-

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/02/men-without-conviction-churches-without-people

Justin Welby calls for greater Anglican Communion say in selection of successor

From ACNS-

The Primates of the Anglican Communion should have a greater say in the appointments of future Archbishops of Canterbury, the current Archbishop, Justin Welby, said today. Archbishop Welby made his comments during a debate at the Church of England’s General Synod on the working of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) – the body that recommends appointments to diocesan bishoprics. Appointments of bishops in the Church of England are made by the Queen, as Supreme Governor of the Church, who acts on the advice of the CNC.

The CNC is usually chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury or York, dependent upon the province of the vacancy. Its membership includes central members nominated by the General Synod, and diocesan members, nominated by the diocese in which the vacancy occurs. In the case of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the CNC is chaired by an independent lay member of the Church of England, appointed by the British Prime Minister. And a Primate of the Anglican Communion is selected to join the Commission. Today, Archbishop Welby suggested that in future, the Communion should be represented by five Primates – one from each region.
More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2018/02/justin-welby-calls-for-greater-anglican-communion-involvement-in-selection-of-archbishops-of-canterbury.aspx

Christian: You Are Upset About the Wrong Things

From Patheos-

Sociologist Tony Campolo has been known, when speaking to Christian audiences, to begin by saying something like this:

I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact I just said “shit” than you are that 30,000 kids died last night.
When citing this, I have had people prove his very point by responding something to the effect of, “Yeah, I get it, but I still wish he would make his point some other way…” Ummm, that is his point. His point, in my opinion, isn’t really about the children (although it is, obviously); his point is that we (Christians) get upset over the wrong things. Our moral sense of outrage is often misdirected.

The fact that we notice the language, our being offended, before we really register the fact that children are dying, tells us all we need to know. Any focus on a crude term and not on his greater point that children are dying of starvation or malnutrition and that we might be complicit proves his very point. If there was a tiny gasp from the crowd at that word or an awkward silence—such reactions were misdirected. These people were upset about the wrong thing.


Read more at

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unfundamentalistchristians/2017/06/christian-upset-wrong-things/#Llu6ebrZKtec2IOl.99

Accused counselor now inviting patients to his home

From Central Florida-

Kissimmee police said a pastoral counselor accused of touching one of his patients inappropriately is now inviting some of his patients to his home.

News 6 first reported the arrest of Dr. Gerardo "Jerry" DeJesus -- an Episcopal priest and a pastoral counselor -- in January.

Investigators said one of his patients called police after he "touched her in an unwanted manner outside the scope of his care."

Officers said they arrested DeJesus and charged him with three counts of battery.

Now, police said, they've learned that DeJesus is inviting some of his patients to his home.

"I can't for the life of me fathom why he would be putting himself in that situation," said his accuser, who wished to remain anonymous.

News 6 checked with the Episcopal Diocese of Orlando, where Bishop Gregory Brewer said he immediately "inhibited (DeJesus) from functioning as a priest in any capacity" after his arrest.

More here-

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/accused-counselor-now-inviting-patients-to-his-home

The Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem Transition Committee

From The Diocese of Bethlehem-

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Bethlehem is pleased to announce the approved slate of nominees received from the Search Committee for the IX Bishop of Bethlehem.

The Rev. Canon Kevin D. Nichols 

We live in a time where religious and other institutions are being dismantled. I see this as a moment for us as the Church to recover our purpose for why we are here - for reconciliation and to offer God’s love and healing where there has been painful damage. The Diocese of Bethlehem, in its diverse landscapes, is rich and fertile ground for God’s planting and pruning (John 15). 

The Rev. Canon Ruth Woodliff-Stanley

Six months ago, I refused to look down as we ascended 415 feet on Zumanjaro, the world’s tall-est drop ride. We paused, then plunged 90 miles per hour to the ground in 6 seconds. They say on a clear day you can see Philadelphia from the top. I wouldn’t know, as I didn’t look out. Now, I am a coaster aficionado, but drop rides terrify me. In line, I said, “I’m not doing this….” My sons responded, “You can do this, Mom.” And George recited his courage mantra, “Do scary things.” 

More here-

http://www.bishopsearchdiobeth.org/nominees.html

Episcopal Relief & Development Responds to the Refugee Crisis in Syria

From University Chronicle-

Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC) to respond to the needs of people displaced by the ongoing unrest in Syria.

This FMEEC partnership will provide blankets, clothing, stoves and fuel during the harsh winter months to 2,850 people newly displaced who are living in the Aleppo, Homs and Hama governorates. Aleppo and Homs have been the center of the conflict. Many homes and buildings have been destroyed and people don’t have access to basic services.

With the crisis in its seventh year, Syrians struggle with basic needs, including food, shelter and medicine. Approximately six million people have been displaced and uprooted from their homes in Syria with over five million seeking refuge outside of the country.

“We are are thankful for our partnership with FMEEC, an organization that is particularly knowledgeable and well connected in Syria, during this humanitarian crisis,” said Rob Radtke, President of Episcopal Relief & Development. “After recently visiting the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf outreach centers in Za’atari and Azraq in Jordan and witnessing the impact of displacement, I am grateful to our partners for providing a compassionate and critical response for those uprooted from their homes and who face an uncertain future.”

More here-

http://www.ssuchronicle.com/2018/02/08/episcopal-relief-development-responds-to-the-refugee-crisis-in-syria/

Kay Goldsworthy becomes first female Anglican archbishop in the world

From Australia-

The first time Kay Goldsworthy knelt before the altar of an Anglican church to become a deacon, the solemn ceremony was interrupted by a bomb scare.

Someone who wouldn’t accept a woman in clerical collar thought a death threat might stave off the ordination of women.

Three decades later, Kay Goldsworthy reached the top of the church.

In St George’s cathedral in Perth this week she will become Australia’s first woman archbishop.

But it isn’t all celebration. She’s taking over the Perth diocese because her predecessor, Roger Herft, resigned after admitting he mismanaged sexual abuse cases when he was bishop of Newcastle.

More here-

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/kay-goldsworthy2/9404630

and here-

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/religion-and-belief/perth-woman-kay-goldsworthy-to-be-australias-first-female-archbishop-ng-b88722257z

Nigeria under spiritual darkness, but there is hope, says Okoh

From Nigeria-

Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Nicholas Okoh, yesterday said Nigeria’s current situation could only be possible because Nigerians were spiritually blind and the entire nation operating under spiritual darkness.
His words: “Where spiritual blindness and poverty persist in a nation, it will eventually result in economic poverty, breakdown of social system and emergence of heartless people, who will make the times perilous.

“When leaders lead without the counsel and fear of God, they grope in darkness and won’t see what makes them stumble.”Okoh, who spoke on The Poverty Of The Riches, at a meeting of the Church, said: “The blessings of natural resources with which God has blessed Nigeria, had no impact on the wellbeing of the people.”

The reason for that, he stated, was because Nigerians have forsaken the giver and put their confidence in gifts.He said the Church of Nigeria could not be divorced from the country’s spiritual poverty, as evidenced in the divisions, greed, spiritual shortsightedness and confidence in wealth.Okoh further told members that the Church “has strong connection with the nation,” adding: “It is the members of the Church that make up the state. Therefore, to a large extent, the life of the Church impacts the nation and vice versa”.


More here-

http://guardian.ng/news/nigeria-under-spiritual-darkness-but-there-is-hope-says-okoh/

Should church order prevent church union?

From Psephizo-

Responses to the report Ministry and Mission in Covenant, proposing closer union between the Church of England and the Methodist Church (and discussed in my previous post), have reignited the responses that were made to the earlier scheme in 1969, which was agreed by the Methodists but rejected by the Church of England’s Church Assembly (the precursor of General Synod). In this extract from his biography of Michael Ramsey, then Archbishop of Canterbury, historian Peter Webster highlights the issues and the way that Ramsey engaged with them.

It may be that the most important ecumenical event in twentieth century Britain was the failure of the scheme for reunion between the Church of England and the Methodist Church in 1972. The achievement of unity had taken on immense national and international significance, and the authors of the Scheme were in no doubt as to why. Visible disunity among the churches placed constraints on co-operation at local level, leading to ‘frustration, impatience and the gradual cessation of effort.’ There was reason too to suppose that the decline in numbers in the churches and in new vocations to ordained ministry was also consequent on the same ‘pattern of incompetence which [the churches] present in which disunity is a main feature.’

More here-

https://www.psephizo.com/life-ministry/should-church-order-prevent-church-union/

Me Too founder advocates for community changes

From Pittsburgh-

Tarana Burke remembers the first day she saw “Me Too” used on Twitter — Oct. 15, 2017, when actress Alyssa Milano used the phrase in response to the sexual assault allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein.

Burke, who is known as the first person to use the now-popular phrase, is a supporter of the #MeToo movement on social media, but she doesn’t want people to see the viral slogan as a solution to the problem.

“The solution is listening to the people who’ve had experience, not making more hashtags,” Burke said.

Burke, a civil rights activist and community organizer, stopped by Pittsburgh Tuesday night while traveling around the country to speak about what the movement means to her.

At the event hosted by PublicSource, about 1,000 people gathered in the Calvary Episcopal Church on Shady Avenue to listen to Burke discuss how the movement came about and how it has affected other people. The #MeToo movement spread on social media after sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, but Burke began using the term in 2006.

More here-

https://pittnews.com/article/127418/featured/me-too-founder-advocates-community-change/

Executive Council awards Episcopal Church Evangelism Grants

From The Episcopal Church-

The Episcopal Church Executive Council, at its January meeting in Linthicum Heights, MD, approved the recipients of 15 Evangelism Grants, totaling $37,450.  The new Episcopal Evangelism Grants Program is designed to fund local and regional evangelism efforts in the Episcopal Church.

“This program will encourage our whole Church to share resources, catalyze imagination, and ultimately cultivate a network of evangelists who can learn from each other and connect with each other,” explained the Rev. Canon Susan Brown Snook, Chair of both the Episcopal Evangelism Grants Committee and the Executive Council Committee on Local Mission and Ministry.

The Episcopal Evangelism Grants program is coordinated by the Local Mission and Ministry Committee in collaboration with the Episcopal Church's Evangelism Initiatives Team.

“Evangelism isn’t some scary practice only ‘other’ Christians do,” said the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, Presiding Bishop’s Canon for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care, and a member of the Grants Committee. “Evangelism is the heart of Christian life, and we hope this program will light a fire and connect Episcopalians who are creating unique, authentically Episcopal ways of seeking, naming and celebrating Jesus’ loving presence everywhere.”

More here-

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/posts/publicaffairs/executive-council-awards-episcopal-church-evangelism-grants

To know Donald Trump’s faith is to understand his politics

From The Guardian-

The only surprising feature of Donald Trump’s first year in office is that it has been entirely predictable. So when I mention to colleagues that I have been researching Trump’s religious faith, reactions vary from mild scoffing (“I thought he was his own prosreligion”) to bafflement and surprise. But Trump has a faith. And if you want to know how the next few years of his presidency will pan out, understanding Trump’s religion is an important key.

Start with his inauguration ceremony. Pastor Paula White was one of the clergy nominated to pray for Trump on the day. A televangelist and exponent of the “health, wealth and prosperity” movement, she preaches the “prosperity gospel”, an unorthodox approach to Christianity that says God wants people to be rich, and that he makes them wealthy as a sign of his blessing. So the richer you are, the more obvious it is that God loves you, and the stronger your faith is.

White teaches that God rewards “faithful” people who invest in His promised providence. You invest by making deposits – faith, prayers and gifts of money – to God (the church, naturally, is the “steward” of your financial gifts). So if you want to be healthy and wealthy, all you need to do is give, and then believe, and all your heart’s desires will be realised. The more you invest, the greater the likely rewards.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/06/donald-trump-faith-politics-religious-presidency

‘The Stuff of Tyranny’: Christian Baker Who Refused to Make Gay Wedding Cake Scores Major Victory

From Faith Wire-

A California judge ruled in favor of a Christian baker who has been under fire over her refusal last August to make a same-sex wedding cake, finding that the state cannot force her to act against her sincerely held beliefs.

Cathy Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery, won her victory on Monday, with Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe drawing an interesting distinctive in the case.

Had Miller declined to make a cake that was already made and on display, he said she would have been guilty of discrimination.

But the cake the couple requested had not yet been made, and, according to KBAK, the baker offered the couple another means to get their cake at a different establishment. Lampe went as far as to say that forcing someone to violate his or her religious beliefs would be “the stuff of tyranny,” KGET-TV reported.

More here-

http://www.faithwire.com/2018/02/06/the-stuff-of-tyranny-christian-baker-who-refused-to-make-gay-wedding-cake-scores-major-victory/

God’s Own Music

From The New York Review of Books-

The Anglican choral tradition is one of the great successes of English cultural diffusion, to rank with Association Football (soccer), cricket, and the works of William Shakespeare. It has a cultural heft way beyond its parochial and very specific origins, and it turns up in the oddest places. The most incongruous example must surely be the upmarket gloss that Thomas Tallis’s forty-part motet Spem in Alium lends to a down-and-dirty scene in the film Fifty Shades of Grey.

I’m often surprised by how far this music travels. The transposition of the Anglican sound world into the urban jungle of New York seemed rather miraculous the first time I walked into Saint Thomas Episcopal Church on Fifth Avenue to bathe in the glories of stained glass–inflected light and English-inflected harmonies. On another occasion, I was in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, for a concert, arriving just after a school shooting in next-door Jacksonville that had made me preternaturally alert to the cultural differences between the Old and the New Worlds. But it turned out that the concert was in St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church. Our greenroom was the church vestry, and I felt strangely at home among the cassocks and surplices, The Oxford Book of Tudor Anthems (some nice Tallis there), and the familiar hardcovers of Hymns Ancient and Modern and The English Hymnal, the red and the green.

More here-

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/02/22/english-songs-gods-own-music/

Crooks grab crook: Bishop's staff lost as thieves take holy Territory

From Australia-

An engraved pastoral staff with sentimental and historical value is among the missing items after a Ballarat’s bishop’s car was stolen.

A chaplain drove Anglican Bishop Garry Weatherill to the airport on Friday and then returned to Ballarat, parking the white Ford Territory diesel in a residential street in Ballarat East.

On Saturday morning the only sign of the car was the smashed glass on the road.

Anglican Diocese of Ballarat registrar Peter Jarvis said police had been notified and were investigating,

‘‘A lot of the stuff inside was the bishop’s clerical attire, his robes and what he wears on special occasions, Mr Jarvis said.

More here-

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/crooks-grab-crook-bishop-s-staff-lost-as-thieves-take-holy-territory-20180205-p4yzfp.html

Renewed plans to unite the Church of England and Methodist Church to be scrutinised by the Synod

From The Church Times-

A DEBATE on a report containing proposals for the coming together of the Church of England and the Methodist Church will take place during next month’s meeting of the General Synod.

Members will be asked to welcome the report, produced by the faith and order bodies of the two Churches, which calls for ministers from the two to be made interchangeable (News, 30 June 2017). Proposals for the union of the two Churches, debated periodically since the 1950s, were narrowly defeated in General Synod in 1972.

The present recommendations are different, calling for communion rather than full unity. A note from the Commission says that acceptance would be a “profound sign of reconciliation”, and warns that there would be “serious” implications to not proceeding.

“I won’t hide from you that it’s not completely uncontroversial . . . you will hear voices on both sides in all three houses,” the secretary-general to the General Synod, William Nye, said last Friday. The proposals contained elements that were “challenging to comfortable assumptions in our two Churches”, including the acceptance of bishops in the Methodist Church and a temporary period in which Methodist clergy not ordained by bishops would be treated as such in the C of E. Whether or not this was a “bearable anomaly” in the greater interests of unity was to be debated.

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/26-january/news/uk/methodist-plan-comes-under-synod-s-scrutiny