Good Stuff in TEC: Maine

Church Takes Part In "Operation Christmas Child"

The Trinity Episcopal Church in Saco is taking part in a charity program donating Christmas gifts to disadvantaged kids in foreign countries.

"Operation Christmas Child" is a nationwide program that was started by the Samaritan's Purse International Relief Fund. Gift-givers pack a shoebox full of gifts, and that box is sent to the kids.

The Trinity Episcopal Church has been collecting gifts since September, and the program coordinator has made up a Christmas tree chart to help show their progress. As the boxes come in, a star sticker is added to the tree.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=96044&catid=2

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Big Unit on Cubs' radar

Randy Johnson is being courted by the Cubs. Maybe next year is the one ! For you soccer fans out there the Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908.

CHICAGO -- With Kerry Wood out of the picture and Ryan Dempster and Jake Peavy out in the open, the Cubs are considering another big name -- the Big Unit.

Free agent left-hander Randy Johnson, 45, would draw interest from the Cubs if the club is unable to re-sign the All-Star Dempster or acquire the former Cy Young Award winner Peavy. Johnson, a likely future Hall of Famer, is five wins shy of 300.

The Cubs are one of six teams who have contacted Johnson's Chicago-based agents, Al Nero and Barry Meister. The pitcher is unlikely to re-sign with the Diamondbacks.

Johnson knows Lou Piniella from playing for him in Seattle, and he would prefer to remain in the National League.

"It's very preliminary," Nero said Saturday, two days after Johnson filed for free agency. "Obviously, there is a tremendous amount of mutual respect between Lou and Randy. It would be natural for us to consider this."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081115&content_id=3680965&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp

Diocese in Texas Leaves Episcopal Church

The New York Times report on the Ft. Worth schism. Judy Mayo is a fixture at General Convention. We're going to miss her.

Judy Mayo, director of children’s education at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, spoke in favor of the break, saying she was deeply troubled by an “anything goes” philosophy in which some Episcopal churches perform same-sex unions.

“If something is morally wrong in Texas, my friends, it is wrong in Montana or California or Connecticut or Kentucky,” Ms. Mayo said. “It’s either right or wrong according to God’s word.”

She added: “The train of the Episcopal Church and the apostolic faith are simply on a collision course now. It is time to make a clear and clean break.”

At least five of the Fort Worth diocese’s 55 parishes are expected to remain aligned with the Episcopal Church as they fight to override the separation.

(snip)

The Fort Worth diocese, formed in 1982 as a spinoff of the Dallas diocese, is one of three that refuse to ordain women as priests, a practice the national church voted to accept in 1976.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/16episcopal.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=episcopal&st=nyt&oref=slogin

The Washington Post take is here -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/15/AR2008111501239.html

Church of England Evangelicals dodge homosexuality vote

I find the following interesting and a little curious considering the post below it which would appear to be about the same meeting.

Church of England Evangelicals meeting on Saturday refused to vote to establish their position on homosexuality -- an issue that has caused deep splits within the worldwide Anglican communion.

The Church of England Evangelical Council met in central London but the 300 attendees declined an opportunity to vote. "The opinions expressed were a wide range of opinions," said The Reverend Doctor Richard Turnbull, chairman of the Church of England Evangelical Council. "People decided that they didn't actually want to vote on a resolution.

The disadvantage of that is you then don't exactly know what people think." The council meets again on December 4.

The Lambeth Conference in April, a once-a-decade gathering of bishops from the world's 77-million-strong Anglican Communion, was boycotted by around 200 bishops over the consecration five years ago of the first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, the bishop of New Hampshire in the United States. The issue of homosexuality remains a turbulent matter for the Anglican communion.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gdwVkEfG7xkCeO6GBaF6scC1_JeQ

Anglican Church lacks leadership, say bishops

From the London Telegraph. Dissension in the Episcopal ranks in England.

In a speech to conservative evangelicals, who debated proposals for a new "church within a church", the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali said that there has been a lack of discipline.
Traditionalists have been upset that the Episcopal Church escaped punishment despite consecrating Gene Robinson as Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop.

The Bishop of Rochester told clergy that the new movement was equivalent to the Reformation in the sixteenth century, which led to the establishment of the Church of England.
He said that the Church has become too "wishy-washy" and urged evangelicals to stand against the liberal agenda.

"No Church can be effective without discipline," said Dr Nazir-Ali.
"That is what this situation is about. We are warned in the Bible about false teaching and persistent immorality.

"We are living at a time when the Church must be counter-cultural and strong. If we're not clear what we're about we haven't got a hope."

He added: "Whenever the Church has become worldly or faithless, it has been reformed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/3464612/Anglican-Church-lacks-leadership-say-bishops.html

Good Stuff in TEC: Nebraska/Sudan

From Episcopal Life Online. (Got to love the hat!)

The call took Deacon Robin McNutt on four plane rides and a two-hour walk this time. It took her to a village of war-ravaged Dinka tribal people in Maar, South Sudan, away from the amenities and luxuries of Western life. This call came in the form of one Sudanese refugee.

"The way God calls you is … anytime," said the Rev. Daniel Deng Kuot. He met McNutt in 2002 at the Church of the Resurrection in Omaha, Nebraska, several thousand miles from his home in Lith Payam, Sudan. McNutt worked with Kuot as program administrator for the outreach program in the Omaha Sudanese community, and they became close friends.

"This time opened Robin to the outside world," he said. "She asked about my faith, and I explained stories of life back home and in the States. She felt she could go as far as Sudan to spread the word of God."

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81799_102445_ENG_HTM.htm

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Good Stuff in TEC: Oklahoma

Actor set for Gospel of Mark performance

A bit of the Bible will get a theatrical treatment when actor Wayne S. Turney performs "The Gospel According to St. Mark" 2 p.m. Sunday at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Broken Arrow.
Tickets for the performances are $5 adults, $2 students, and are available at the door. The church is at 4250 W. Houston Ave., on 81st Street between Garnett Road and 129th East Avenue.

Turney will present the King James version of the Gospel of Mark in its entirety in a way that combines storytelling and drama. It's a presentation Turney has done for more than a dozen years, performing in both churches and theaters.

The idea of translating what is believed to be the earliest — and what is certainly the shortest — of the Synoptic Gospels into a piece of theater started with the English actor Sir Alec McCowen, who performed "St. Mark's Gospel" for more than two decades, earning a Tony nomination in the process.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/spot/article.aspx?articleID=20081116_272_D5_Abitof211095


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MONEY IN, MONEY OUT: Testing Faith

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

You don't have to be an economist to tell which way the financial winds are blowing.

You could just as well be a minister, rabbi or imam, all of whom are waiting to see how a roiling economy might affect both their flocks and their ability to minister to them.

Local clergy already have noticed spillover effects from the economic uncertainty. For example, several say they've seen an increase in requests for assistance -- food pantry distributions and help with rent payments -- from congregants.

The Rev. Eldwin Lovelady, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, says members of his church -- which includes Filipino and Hispanic communities -- now are being asked to pledge contributions for the coming year.

http://www.lvrj.com/living/34543409.html

Presiding Bshop's Statement on Ft. Worth Schism

From the Dallas Morning News -

Office of Public Affairs
November 15, 2008

Statement from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on the actions of the Diocese of Fort Worth

November 15, 2008

The Episcopal Church grieves the departures of a number of persons from the Diocese of Fort. Worth. We remind those former Episcopalians that the door is open if they wish to return. We will work with Episcopalians in the Diocese of Fort Worth to elect new leadership and continue the work of the gospel in that part of Texas. The gospel work to which Jesus calls us demands the best efforts of faithful people from many theological and social perspectives, and The Episcopal Church will continue to welcome that diversity.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/11/presiding-bishop-comments-on-f.html

Fort Worth Diocese officially breaks away from Episcopal Church

This just in...the last one, Ft. Worth, votes to leave.

The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth broke away from the Episcopal Church today, becoming the fourth U.S. diocese to withdraw since late last year.

Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker championed the move, arguing that the Episcopal Church has strayed from orthodox Christian faith in various ways, including allowing women priests and approving an openly gay bishop.

'“The Episcopal Church we once knew no longer exists. It’s been hijacked,” Bishop Iker said.

Clergy and lay delegates, by about an 80 percent margin, approved the secession at the diocese's annual convention, held in a packed school gym in Bedford.

They were to decide later today on whether to realign with a conservative, Argentina-based province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Bishop Iker has said that five to six of the diocese’s 55 churches, and perhaps 4,000 of its 19,000 congregants, will remain with the Episcopal Church.

A legal showdown with the Episcopal Church is likely over church buildings and other assets.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/111608dnmetepiscopal.1b608ed19.html

Communion Partner Rectors Meeting

Chris Seitz reports on the Communion Partners meeting in Texas, The Communion Partners is a group of clergy (Priests and Bishops) who are committed to staying in the Episcopal Church and working for orthodoxy.

The Communion Partner Rectors met at St Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston 5-7 November. Forty Rectors were able to be present. We were supported by the Bishops of Texas, Western Louisiana, Western Kansas and Central Florida, who were able to be present as representatives of the fifteen Bishops involved with Communion Partners.

The spirit of our gathering was high and encouraging. We are aware of the latitude that is afforded to us to differentiate from trends in the Episcopal Church we do not share. We rejoice in the mission linkages we have nurtured in the past and that we will work to forge in our present season. Our main concern is building up these mission links, reinforcing our Anglican theological identity, and identifying ways to build up the next generation of theological leadership.

http://covenant-communion.com/?p=979

Bishop Bennison: ‘A Monstrous Sin,’ But ‘Charges Are Not True’

The Charles Bennison saga continues. From the Living Church-

The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., Bishop of Pennsylvania, has expressed remorse for the emotional trauma inflicted on a teenage girl who was sexually abused by his brother at a California parish where Bishop Bennison served as the rector in the 1970s. But he maintains the charges against him “are not fair and are not true.”

A nine-member church court ruled unanimously in October that Bishop Bennison should be deposed from ministry in The Episcopal Church for failure to report his brother and to protect the girl.

“This was a terrible, monstrous sin,” Bishop Bennison told The Living Church. “I have always expressed remorse for my direct responsibility in this tragedy, especially hiring my brother as the youth director, inadequately supervising him and not thoroughly investigating the situation when it was first brought to my attention in 1976.”

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2008/11/14/bishop-bennison-a-monstrous-sin-but-charges-are-not-true

LOS ANGELES: Dangerous 'sundowner' winds fan flames, destroy Episcopal monastery

From Episcopal News Service. Wildfires in California.

Dangerous 70-mile-an-hour winds known as "sundowners" exploded fire across parts of Southern California on November 13-14, injuring at least four people, destroying an estimated 100 homes, and leveling an internationally known monastery of the Episcopal Order of the Holy Cross.

Residents of the picturesque Montecito area of Santa Barbara were evacuated as firefighters battled flames after the winds had died down. The "sundowner" effect results from the violent clash of hot air from the Santa Ynez Mountains and the cool air of the Pacific Ocean.

Property losses were estimated in the millions and climbing in the scenic area, where many celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey and others, have homes.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_102524_ENG_HTM.htm

Good Stuff in TEC: Chicago

Lombard church buys mosquito nets to fight malaria in Africa

The numbers are staggering.

Each year, as many as 500 million people will contract malaria. About a million of them will die. Most of the victims will be children - as many as 3,000 children a day.

And just about all of it is preventable.

Malaria is rampant in sub-Saharan Africa, where a huge population of mosquitoes carry the parasites that cause the disease. The mosquitoes do their damage at night, biting and infecting victims while they sleep.

The first line of defense is nets that have been treated with a long-lasting insecticide. The nets are hung around beds and sleep mats, protecting three people for five years and helping to dramatically cut the number of mosquitoes in the community.

Calvary Episcopal Church in Lombard, as part of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, helps raise money to buy mosquito nets through the NetsforLife program.

"We are a healing community. Providing malaria nets is a tangible and real way to provide assistance, save lives and contribute to the healing of the world," said Joyce Crowe, who is helping run Calvary's NetsforLife drive.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=250439&src=2

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Good Stuff in TEC: California

Nothing says love like a Water Buffalo

The economy is tight and as the holidays approach, every penny becomes more valuable as shoppers try to find just the right gift for loved ones.

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Santa Clarita is giving locals an opportunity to buy gifts that carry some extra this weekend at an "Alternative Gift Fair" from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at 24901 Orchard Village Road.

"We all have a need, a capacity, a yearning to give and help somebody," said Mary Jo Higginbotham, gift fair chairperson. "The Alternative Gift Fair is a celebration of our abundance and in our generosity we can give to people who need it most."

Whether it's a water well, shelter, a tree, food package, beehive or water buffalo, the fair will offer numerous gifts of "peace and justice" that can be bought for the less fortunate in honor of a purchaser's loved one.

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/5972/

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If we are fortunate, much good might come from doing without

An Interesting Opinion piece on the possible spiritual benefits of the current financial crisis. Tom Ehrich is an Episcopal Priest in Indianapolis.

I am telling church leaders that it is time to let go of old anxieties, especially self-centered fussing and stale traditions, and to focus instead on being lean, efficient and self-sacrificial enterprises that are dedicated to serving others. Too many congregations are strangling on yesterday's bickering and priorities.

There are so are many families and businesses with arguments that don't end and business models that don't work. We all need fresh starts.

In fact, when we stand back, I think we will see why we ran up $2.3 trillion in personal debts: We were trying to escape ourselves and the difficult decisions that we needed to make in order to have peace and meaning in our lives.

We have tried to live without God. We have tried not to see our skills, blessings -- indeed, our very existence -- as God-given assets entrusted to our care, but rather as economic engines for amassing worldly wealth. In our world-view, we weren't engaged in a dynamic transaction with a living God. We were living as we chose, and if we turned to God at all, it was only as a last resort.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20081115/LIVING09/811150381/1007/LIVING

Fort Worth Diocese to officially split from Episcopal Church today over social issues

From the Dallas Morning News - I think this is interesting mostly for the quotes from neighboring Dallas Bishop Jim Stanton a conservative who says leaving is not the right thing to do. Ft. Worth will be the last diocese to leave TEC.

"There's been this huge disinformation campaign," said Ms. Sherrod, a Fort Worth writer active in local groups advocating loyalty to the Episcopal Church. "Voices that would offer a counterpoint have not been heard."

Ms. Sherrod points to Bishop James Stanton of the Diocese of Dallas as a conservative leader who, after a survey and listening tour of the diocese, decided against secession.

Bishop Stanton, who has sided with Bishop Iker in many church controversies, said that 80 percent of his parishioners had concerns about the direction of the national church. But 80 percent of them weren't troubled enough to want to leave.

The Dallas Diocese has seen some conservative churches leave on their own, including the large, influential Christ Church in Plano. But Bishop Stanton is disinclined to follow the lead of his close friend Bishop Iker.

"We're not going anywhere," Bishop Stanton said. "If I've heard it said once, I've heard it said a thousand times: You don't win a battle by leaving the battlefield."

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-episcopal_15met.ART.State.Edition2.4a4bed4.html

Group Calls For Bishop's Resignation

More trouble in the Anglican Church in Africa-

Last Friday afternoon, the Anglican Cathedral in Gaborone was turned into hostile territory as disgruntled faithful demanded the resignation of Bishop Trevor Mwamba (pictured).

The congregation's planned march from the South Ring Mall to the cathedral did not materialise as they failed to secure the required police escort.

However, the determined placard-waving group assembled in the church premises and chanted anti-Mwamba slogans. After about 20 minutes of song and dance, they handed a petition to churchwardens, Lorato Manthe and John Melamu because Mwamba was not available.

In the petition, the group talks about 'dirty dealings' with church finances. They say how the handling of money in the church is a closely guarded secret as the last audit report was done for the 2005 financial year.

They demanded answers for P8.8 million which the church failed to account for when the qualified audit report was held at the last diocesan Synod in 2006. The group alleges that the bishop has not shared information on the sale of a church residence for around P1 million and the subsequent purchase of another in excess of P3 million. "The sales of church property seems to be on the rise and we are concerned at the rationale and authority for these transactions which are suspect," the petition said.

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=9&dir=2008/November/Monday10

Conservative clergy unveil new plan

The Canadian take on the proposed parallel province. The Toronto Star reports what others have that it will not be recognized by Canterbury.

Breakaway conservative Anglicans hope to set up a new entity within the church to rival the established power structure in Canada and the U.S. within the next three months. And they say failure to recognize their efforts could irrevocably divide the communion.

"If this new province doesn't work, there's probably going to be a much bigger split than just North America," Bishop Don Harvey told a news conference yesterday.

Harvey, moderator of the conservative Anglican Network in Canada, said the new entity would offer a conservative alternative to the liberal national churches in Canada and the U.S. While provinces in the Anglican communion are traditionally set up along geographic boundaries, the Network is working with dozens of U.S. congregations to break new ground by setting up a new North American province along theological lines.

Harvey concedes the communion has no process in place for the Network's request. Nonetheless, he hopes the proposal will be on the agenda of a meeting of the church's 38 primates, representing 75 million Anglicans worldwide, this February in Egypt.

Leaders of the church in both countries, as well as Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Anglicanism's spiritual leader, have said they oppose such a new province being part of the Anglican Communion.

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/536542

Herb Score, Indians Pitcher Dies at 75

Herb Score died a few days ago. His career was so promising until Gil McDougald lined a ball into his face. Another reason to root for anyone but the Yankees. For you soccer fans out there, there is one rookie of the year in each league each year.


Herb Score, the Cleveland Indians pitcher and former broadcaster whose promise on the mound was shattered by a line drive, died Tuesday. He was 75.

Score died at his home in Rocky River, Ohio, the team said in a statement. He had been in a wheelchair since suffering a stroke in 2002, four years after he was seriously injured in a car accident.

A hard-throwing left-hander with a big fastball and big heart, Score pitched for the Indians from 1955-59. He was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1955 after going 16-10. He went 20-9 in 1956 and was twice named to the All-Star team.

However, Score's career took a sad and nearly tragic turn on May 7, 1957, when Gil McDougald of the New York Yankees lined a ball off Score's right eye, breaking his nose and a number of bones in his face. As Score lay fallen on the field covered in blood, the public address announcer asked the crowd at Municipal Stadium, "If there is a doctor in the stands, will he please report to the playing field."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iAVYwajXQpGEyP-9kJTKs3kASrYAD94CRKQ00

Fort Worth on verge of secession

This will be last diocese to make the decision to realign. That makes it four out of 110 dioceses. Of the four three are opposed to women's ordination.

Delegates to the Diocese of Fort Worth’s annual synod will decide this Saturday whether to quit the Episcopal Church, a move which would make it the fourth American diocese to secede and affiliate with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.

The stronghold of the Anglo-Catholic movement in the Episcopal Church, Fort Worth has long been at odds with the Episcopal Church over innovations of doctrine and discipline championed by its liberal hierarchy. One of only three dioceses that did not ordain or license women clergy, Fort Worth now remains alone within the American church in rejecting women’s orders, after Quincy quit this past week and San Joaquin left in 2007.

Fort Worth bishop the Rt Rev Jack L Iker said he was “confident” the second reading of the secession bill would pass this week’s synod on Nov 15. The “only question is by how much” he told ReligiousIntelligence.com.

At its 2007 synod Fort Worth passed the first reading by a four to one majority of six constitutional amendments that ended its accession to the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church. Canon lawyer and Assistant Bishop of Fort Worth, the Rt Rev William Wantland told the 2007 synod that claims proffered by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori that people could leave the Episcopal Church, but dioceses could not lack historical or legal foundation.

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=3296

Suspended bishop asks church court to reverse ruling

From the Philadelphia Inquirer - the saga continues.

In hopes of salvaging his career, suspended Episcopal Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. yesterday asked a special church court convened in Philadelphia to reverse its recent sentence removing him from holy orders.

Defrocking a priest or bishop is "the ecclesiastical equivalent of the death penalty," Bennison's attorney, James A. Pabarue, told the nine judges. Their sentence, he said, was "unduly harsh and unsupported by the evidence."

In June, following a four-day trial here, the Court for the Trial of a Bishop unanimously found Bennison, head of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, guilty of failing to intervene in his brother John's sexual abuse of a teenage girl more than 30 years ago in a California parish where Bennison was rector.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/34383709.html

Stewardship in a time of financial crisis challenges congregations

From Episcopal News Service-

Stewardship season, the time when Episcopal congregations ask their members to decide how much of their income they will give to support the church's mission, coincided this year with a global economic crisis that caused layoffs, home foreclosures, shrunken investment portfolios and retirement accounts, and mostly dire predictions about the future.

While some Episcopal congregations advocate the biblical tithe of 10 percent and others suggest proportional giving (setting an initial percentage of income to pledge and then increasing it each year), both models – and all the variations in between – depend upon givers knowing or being able reasonably to predict the income upon which to pledge. The current uncertainty makes that predicting harder.

Yet the Rev. Brad Whitaker, rector of Christ Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, said, "I don't feel it's appropriate to go into panic mode." He won't be preaching "arm-twisting" stewardship sermons, he added.

Grosse Pointe Farms is close enough to Detroit to be feeling the downturn in the automobile industry and some of Christ Church's more than 350 pledging members have lost their jobs – or are worried about them. In the midst of that anxiety, Whitaker's message is that pledging must be "an honest reflection of my thankfulness for what God has already given me."

Tom Gossen, executive director of the Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS), said in an interview that a traditional stewardship message of "what I believe, why I give and what difference it makes" is still the best way to approach the season, no matter its context. "It's got to be giving out of love," he said.

http://www.episcopal-life.org/79901_102453_ENG_HTM.htm

Cleveland Indians pitcher Cliff Lee wins AL Cy Young

Lee was the favorite going into the voting. For you soccer fans out there, the Cy Young award is named after Cy Young. He pitched from 1890 to 1911 and holds the record for most wins at 511. Today 300 wins is considered extraordinary. Coincidentally he pitched in Cleveland from 1890-1898 but the team was called the "Spiders".

Indians pitching coach Carl Willis saw it in Cliff Lee's first bullpen session in spring training at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla. Every pitch Lee threw -- fastball, cutter, curveball, slider and change up -- came from the same motion and the same release point.

"I told Cliff after that session, 'That's what we're talking about,'" said Willis.

Today, 10 months later, it's one of the biggest reasons why the Baseball Writers Association of America voted Lee the American League 2008 Cy Young winner this afternoon. Lee finished with 132 points, followed by Toronto's Roy Halladay.

Lee received 24 of 28 first-place votes. Halladay received four first-place votes and 71 points. Two BBWAA members in every AL city voted for the top three pitchers in the league.

More here-

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2008/11/not_ready_lee.html

The "E" is gone

I received the following email today. Those of you who are trying to contact the seminary after December 1 should take note. I wonder if the TESM sweatshirts are on markdown?

On November 26 from 7:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., Trinity will be changing the web address from www.tesm.edu to www.tsm.edu and the email address from tesm.edu to @tsm.edu. During this time period, the network will be down for a couple of hours as the changes occur. With the change, you will still be able to receive email at your current email address, so no email should be lost.

If individuals from outside of Trinity try to contact you at @tesm.edu you will still receive this email. If people try to go to www.tesm.edu they will still go to our current web site. However, to make things uniform, starting on December 1, when giving out the web site address please use www.tsm.edu and when giving out your email address please use your new email address, with the @tsm.edu ending. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Russian Orthodox church stolen — brick by brick

From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department.

MOSCOW – Wanted: One missing Russian church. Last seen in July. Reward for its return.

Orthodox officials in a central Russian region say an abandoned church building that was to be put back into use has been stolen by local villagers.

Orthodox priest Vitaly of the Ivanovo-Voskresenskaya diocese says officials last saw the two-story Church of Resurrection intact in late July. Sometime in early October, however, people from the nearby village of Komarovo, northeast of Moscow, dismantled the building, he said.

Villagers apparently sold it to a local businessman, one ruble (about 4 cents) per brick, Vitaly said. Orthodox priests use only one name.

"Of course, this is blasphemy," he told The Associated Press. "These people have to realize they committed a grave sin."

Vitaly said police were investigating the theft.

The 200-year-old building, which no longer had its icons and other religious valuables, was a school for disabled children during the Soviet era before it was closed down in 1998 and turned over to the church.

Vitaly said the diocese was thinking of reopening it for services.
The Orthodox church has experienced a major resurgence in Russia and has restored or built thousands of churches.

In poorer, rural regions, vandals or petty thieves regularly steal gilded icons or donations from churches and sell them for alcohol or drugs.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081113/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_stolen_church_1;_ylt=AnRUJtorS4Ym9oiksiZCLIJbbBAF

Dr Rowan Williams to visit Auschwitz with Chief Rabbi

From the London Times-

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams will tomorrow visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp for the first time, accompanied by the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks.

The Archbishop and Chief Rabbi will be joined also by leaders of the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Baha’i, Sikh and Zoroastrian faiths for the day-long visit, the first of its kind.

The faith leaders will visit the site of one of the worst mass exterminations carried out against the Jewish people as guests of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project. They will accompany a group of 180 school students aged 16 or more along with their teacher.

“The visit by the UK’s faith leaders will demonstrate their solidarity in standing against the extremes of hostility and genocide which Auschwitz – Birkenau represents and which are represented in Cambodia, Bosnia and Rwanda in modern times,” said a spokesman for the trust.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5141311.ece

Related article on the Chief Rabbi Sir Johnathan Sacks and his perspective is here-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5146339.ece

Catholic bishops unveil new prayer for babies in the womb

From Religous Intellengence -

A new prayer of blessing has been approved by American Bishops for babies in the womb, commenting that the new prayer filled a gap in existing prayer books.

The new liturgical service, which is in both English and Spanish, was approved overwhelmingly yesterday.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., praised the new blessing as "a tangible way to witness pastorally and sacramentally to the life of the unborn child" and said it could also serve as an opportunity for parishes to bring together expectant couples for mutual support.

Bishop Michael D Pfeifer of San Angelo, Texas, said the document could present "a great catechetical moment for all of us." He said he hoped it might lead the bishops to declare an annual day of prayer for the unborn in the future. The document required the approval of two-thirds of the Latin-rite members of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and must be sent to the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments for "recognitio," or confirmation. The English-language version was approved 223-1 and the Spanish-language version 224-0.

Bishop Arthur J Serratelli of Paterson, NJ, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Divine Worship, introduced the document Nov 10, the first day of the USCCB fall general assembly in Baltimore.

http://www.religiousintelligence.com/news/?NewsID=3291

Good Stuff in TEC: Minnesota

Making a difference

Another local example of giving will touch people miles away from Borderland. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church of International Falls, with the help of the larger Borderland community, led the state in a shoe drive.

Soles4Souls distributes the shoes to victims of impoverished areas of the world. This year, it will concentrate on victims of the hurricane season.

Diocesan organizer Wendy Johnson said shoes are a basic element of humanity. She’s right. Shoes are an important aspect of every life. Having a pair of shoes can provide the confidence to get someone to a job interview or get a child to school.
Providing a pair of shoes that didn’t fit or weren’t the right style is a small action that can have meaningful impact on someone who has no shoes, regardless of fit or style.

Small actions by Borderland residents have influenced and changed lives, making a difference in the world and in our view of it.

http://www.ifallsdailyjournal.com/news/editorials/making-difference-11711

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Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Preacher Roe dies

Preacher Roe best known as a Dodger but who also played with my beloved if hapless Pirates has died. For you soccer fans out there, the spit ball was declared illegal in 1920. Preacher is on the far right with Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese. From Newsday-

Preacher Roe, a five-time All-Star and central character on Brooklyn's storied "Boys of Summer" teams, who was known for a pitching resourcefulness that included use of the banned spitball, died Sunday. He was 93, according to most sources, though his Web site listed him as 92. Roe, who long ago settled in West Plains, Mo., near his childhood home of Viola, Ark., had undergone colon surgery recently and never fully recovered.

For years, he operated a small grocery store in West Plains on Preacher Roe Boulevard. A skinny 6-foot-2, 170-pound lefthander, Roe starred for the Dodgers in the late 1940s and early 1950s alongside such familiar greats as Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges. He pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates before joining Brooklyn in 1948, Roe had a 127-84 record in 12 major league seasons.

He pitched in three World Series games, all against the Yankees, winning two. He prided himself in keeping hitters off balance by throwing a slider and a "Beech-Nut slider." Players regularly chewed Beech-Nut gum at the time, and Roe used the juice to illegally wet the ball, causing it to dip dramatically. Roe acknowledged using the spitter in a Sports Illustrated story a year after his retirement, saying he had no regrets and wanted to see the pitch legalized.

http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/news/ny-sproe125923409nov12,0,3768728.story