Diocese tries to help Swat refugees

THE UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, has warned that the humanitarian crisis in Pakistan has become “one of the most dramatic of recent times”. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been fleeing from fighting in the Swat valley, northern Pakistan (News, 15 May).

Ron Redmond, a UNHCR spokes man, said on Monday: “It’s like trying to catch something that’s moving ahead of us, because the number of people on the move every day is so big and the response is never enough.”

He estimated that it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to keep up with the influx. A financial appeal for the region was expected soon. It was reported that large numbers of civilians remain in the disputed areas, some of whom cannot afford to leave, and are at risk as the fighting intensified.

Dr David Gosling, Principal of Edwardes College, University of Peshawar, said on Monday that students from the college, both Christian and Muslim, were working with the refugees.

Last week, the Bishop of Peshawar, the Rt Revd Mano Rumalshah, said that 200 people walked the 100 miles to the diocesan relief camp set up at the Christian Vocational Centre in Mardan. Among them were three pregnant women. The diocesan weekly paper reported that two of the women had given birth and were being cared for by the diocesan medical team.

“Most [of the refugees] are arriv ing on foot with little or no money at all. In view of the prevailing security situation in their home towns, af fected families will require rehab ilitation through employment opportunities and education.”

The diocesan relief camp needed bedding, medicines, food, clothes, and prayers, it said.

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=75572

Detroit Cathedral Seeks Prayer, Aid for Plight

The landmark Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit has cash reserves for only six to eight weeks of operation and needs a cash infusion of some $200,000 in order to balance the 2009 budget, according to the Very Rev. Scott Hunter, dean of St. Paul’s, who met with diocesan council on May 9.

“I pulled no punches with them,” Dean Hunter told The Living Church. “The cathedral belongs to the entire diocese and we are facing either a hard landing zone or a high mountain, take your pick.”

Dean Hunter said that the cathedral began trying to bring expenses more in line with income about two years ago and that “painful sacrifices” by the entire congregation helped reduce its annual operating budget by $225,000. But the state’s rapidly declining economic situation and the sharp downturn in the financial markets brought the cathedral’s situation to a crisis stage within a relatively short time beginning last fall. The sudden nature of the downturn was the chief reason the cathedral leadership was not able to give diocesan council more advance notice of its plight.

“The gap has to close,” Dean Hunter said. “We will have to identify ways to generate additional revenue because it will be difficult to make more cuts that will have an immediate impact on finances for this year. These decisions will not be made without pain.”

During the past two years, the cathedral eliminated two full-time staff positions and reduced two other full-time positions to part time. When asked during the council meeting if there were more staff cuts that could assist the cathedral in reducing the financial shortfall, Dean Hunter was pessimistic.

“Even if we release people this year, their departure expenses will equal what we would be paying for them for the rest of the year,” he said. “The bottom line is, if this doesn’t happen, my brothers and sisters of council, what are your plans for selling and closing the complex and ceasing the ministry of the cathedral that is 100 years old and is by congregational age, older than the diocese itself?”

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/5/23/detroit-cathedral-seeks-prayer-aid-for-financial-plight

An act of faith restores church

POTTERSVILLE A simple cross, blackened by an arsonist's flames, has a new home atop a new church.

Almost three years to the date after a zealot set fire to Christ Episcopal Church, Bishop William Howard Love, the leader of the Albany Episcopal Diocese, will consecrate the new church Saturday.

It is nothing less than remarkable that the small, elderly congregation persevered to see their church rebuilt, said Richie Henzler, a musician who plays the recorder at services. The dozen or so active members of the congregation never doubted it would happen, he said, even though at a time when new Episcopal churches are rarely built, there was no full-time priest to advocate for them because pastors rotate among the small North Country churches.

"We couldn't leave in ashes something burned in hate," Henzler said.

June Watson, whose husband, John, is the lay leader of the congregation, said the little church is important in the history of the Warren County community and its residents, even if they don't attend services there.

Coin drops popped up in local stores, the Hometown Deli and the Nice 'n' Easy gas station down the road. Donations and expressions of support came in from as far away as Alaska.

The rest is here-

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=803237

The Episcopal Bishop of Virginia recalls Episcopal priest from her missionary position in the Sudan

The Diocese of Virginia reports today that Bishop Peter James Lee recalled the Rev'd Lauren Stanley from her missionary position in the Diocese of Renk in the Sudan following a request from the Archbishop of the Sudan for her removal last March.

The Diocese in an official statement released today stated that the Archbishop of Sudan, the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak, requested that she be removed from her position after her public comments at the most recent Annual Council of the Diocese of Virginia "were deemed offensive to partners of the Diocese in the Episcopal Church of Sudan."

Bishop Lee complied and ordered Lauren Stanley in March to return to Virginia.
Last January a resolution came came before the Annual Council that opened the door to the blessing of same sex unions in the Diocese of Virginia. It included an amendment that was moved from the floor stating that the Annual Council "affirms the inherent integrity of and blessedness of committed Christian relationships ..."

Russ Randel, a long-time advocate for overseas mission in the southern Sudan, rose in opposition to the amendment, warning that such an amendment would do irreparable harm to the long-standing mission relationship between the Diocese of Renk and the Diocese of Virginia.


More here-


http://www.examiner.com/x-4775-DC-Episcopal-Examiner~y2009m5d23-The-Episcopal-Bishop-of-Virginia-recalls-Episcopal-priest-from-her-missionary-position-in-the-Sudan

Non-Debate Between Godless Humanists and Religious Kooks

From an Episcopal Priest in Kansas-

This week, National Public Radio has been doing a series of stories about “the Science of Spirituality.” The stories focus on the ways that our brains work in regard to such things as spiritual visions, near-death experiences and the impact of prayer on health and well-being. Emphasis is put on the fact that our brains are electro-chemical organs that are the very basis of human experience. But the stories have been intentional about not dismissing the real possibility of God. Instead, the journalists present the idea that perhaps the electro-chemical processes are what make it possible for us to comprehend and connect to something more than ourselves.

As an Episcopal priest, I find such stories interesting because they address issues that I deal with directly within my vocation. They also appeal to me because as an Episcopalian, I come from the Anglican branch of Christianity that buried Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton front and center within the confines of one of our most sacred shrines, Westminster Abbey. I appreciate such an approach because my religious belief is based upon the notion of balancing Scripture, Tradition and Reason, especially when it may force me from my own comfort zones and into a deeper encounter with God.

But recently I have come to appreciate such an approach to science and religion because of the mostly non-fruitful and downright derogatory ways that a few scientists and religious apologists have carried on in the public forum. Unfortunately, where science and religion are concerned, real dialogue is usually bypassed in favor of posted agendas.

All too often scientific method is used to justify an academic skepticism that degrades into a belittlement of all things having to do with faith and spirituality. While in the other camp, religion is often used in both silly and tragic ways to justify forms of ignorance about, and prejudice towards, the reality of the human condition and the cosmos as a whole.

More here-

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2009/may/22/nondebate_between_godless_humanists_and_religious_/

LOUISIANA: Bishop Jenkins calls for better case management for Hurricane Katrina’s most vulnerable victims

From Episcopal Life Online-

During a May 22 hearing on Capitol Hill, Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana Charles E. Jenkins urged state and government agencies to employ better case management strategies to solve lingering post-Hurricane Katrina housing problems in Louisiana.

Jenkins was part of a four-person panel addressing the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which is chaired by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).

Other panel members were David Garratt, acting deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Fred Tombar III, senior advisor to the Secretary for Disaster and Recovery Programs, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

The purpose of the three-hour hearing, titled, “Still Post-Katrina: How FEMA Decides When Housing Responsibilities End,” was to receive testimony on the status of housing assistance provided after the August 29, 2005, hurricane hit the Gulf Coast.

Of particular concern were FEMA’s thrice-extended Katrina Housing Program, which formally ended on May 1, and HUD’s Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP), also extended, which ended in March and will cease making rental payments to participants on August 31.

The rest is here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_107952_ENG_HTM.htm

Grand Jury returns 20-count indictment of felony theft charges against Rev. Armstrong

More news from Colorado Springs-

A Fourth Judicial District grand jury Wednesday indicted the Rev. Donald Armstrong on 20 felony counts of theft charges, concluding a months-long investigation by Colorado Springs police and the Pueblo District Attorney's Office into Armstrong's financial conduct while he was rector of Grace Church & St. Stephen's parish.

Armstrong, who ministers to about 600 people a week, surrendered to police Thursday and was jailed at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center until posting $20,000 bail later in the day.

If convicted on all 20 felony counts, Armstrong, 60, could spend the rest of his life in prison. Each count comes with a possible prison sentence of four to 12 years, said Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut. Fines against Armstrong could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The DA's office did not provide a breakdown of the 20 counts. But in a search warrant executed by police in November on Grace Church & St. Stephen's, Colorado Springs police Detective Michael Flynn sought evidence suggesting Armstrong had funneled money from the church to pay for his two children's college educations.

On Friday, Armstrong was upbeat about the indictment, saying it was expected and that he is confident he will be cleared of the charges.

"I will, after years of unbridled false accusations, have my day in court, so this is a good step in that direction," said Armstrong, whose Anglican parish is now called St. George's Anglican Church.

Much more-

http://www.gazette.com/news/armstrong-54699-indictment-theft.html

Episcopal bishop to visit the Gulf Coast

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is no stranger to headlines.

The first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, she has shepherded the United States' branch of the Anglican Communion during days of controversy.


Chief pastor of the Episcopal Church's 2.4 million members in 16 countries and 110 dioceses, she's also the author of "A Wing and a Prayer" and former bishop of Nevada.

Still, many may know Jefferts Schori simply as a name. Perhaps a photograph. Maybe a statement.

Next weekend, Gulf Coast residents will have the opportunity to get to know her as a person.

Invited by Bishop Philip M. Duncan II of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast,

Jefferts Schori is visiting diocesan agencies and parishes May 29-31.

"She's coming down just to get to know our people and for our people to get to know her," said the Rev. Albert Kennington, coordinator for the presiding bishop's visit here.

"She is not coming here to deal with national and international issues. That's not what this visit is about," Kennington said.

"What I hope will come out of this is that number one, people will get to know her better, she gets to know us better. That we become human beings to each other in a way that it's all title and photographs now," he said.

"And I would also hope that when we get back into the next controversy -- whatever it's about, it will come -- that maybe there's a memory that this is a disagreement among real people and real friends and not its and images."

More here-

http://blog.al.com/forthelove/2009/05/episcopal_bishop_to_visit_the.html

Cardinal Cormac: 'Atheism the greatest of evils.'

The outgoing Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, made a contribution at the end of Archbishop Vincent Nichols' installation that was at once touching, funny, serious and extreme. He said, rather controversially perhaps, that a lack of faith is 'the greatest of evils.' He blamed atheism for war and destruction, and implied it was a greater evil even than sin itself. Read the report running as a page lead in today's paper. Bess Twiston-Davies wrote a nice At Your Service for online.

One of the first people to criticise Archbishop Nichols after his installation was, as we report, none other than another Catholic bishop! What times we live in. The Right Rev Diarmuid Martin of Dublin issued his unprecedented public rebuke to Nichols through the pages of the Irish Independent. Even the loyal Catholic, Madeleine Bunting of The Guardian, wonders whether the Irish scandal is 'an abuse too far' and believes Nichols' response 'beggars belief.' Incidentally, Archbishop Nichols was himself educated by the Christian Brothers in Crosby.

You can read our early online report here of why the abuse story has threatened to engulf the installation ceremony. Archbishop Nichols praised the courage of those priests in the wake of the Irish child abuse scandal who had owned up to the abuse - even though none actually have. Instead, and quite incredibly, they managed to secure protection from the Government against their identities actually being known - even the dead ones. Nichols also urged us not to forget, in the rucus, the 'good' they had done.

Archbishop Nichols also defended faith against the rise of secularism. In his homily he said: 'Faith in God is not, as some would portray it today, a narrowing of the human mind or spirit. It is precisely the opposite. Faith in God is the gift that takes us beyond our limited self, with all its incessant demands....Some today propose that faith and reason are crudely opposed, with the fervour of faith replacing good reason. This reduction of both faith and reason inhibits not only our search for truth but also the possibility of real dialogue.'

More here-

http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/05/cardinal-cormac-atheism-the-greatest-of-evils.html

Generous Gift Given to Trinity

Trinity School for Ministry is delighted to announce that an anonymous donor has made a gift of $500,000 to the School. Of these monies, $100,000 will go to the Trinity Annual Fund, and $400,000 will go directly into the student scholarship fund, available for immediate disbursement. As a result, we can now offer full-tuition scholarships to new full-time residential students who demonstrate financial need.

The Very Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry, Trinity's Dean and President, remarked, "We are so thankful to this long-time member of the Board for this generous gift to the School. It is especially encouraging, in this current financial climate, to be affirmed in such a tangible way in our commitment to train and support gospel-centered ministers for the church."

Trinity School for Ministry is an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition that is com-mitted to forming Christian leaders for mission. Begun in 1976, and located 30 minutes from Pittsburgh, Trinity has trained over 900 students from throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion.

http://www.tsm.edu/News_and_Events/Generous_Gift.html

Charles Wesley wrote 8,900 hymns

8900 ? Now that would be a hymnal!

Even though he wrote more than 8,900 hymns in his career, Charles Wesley (1707-1788) never heard them sung on Sunday morning. Charles was an Anglican minister (the Methodists, thoguh founded, did not split off from the Church of England until after his death), and the Anglican church did not allow "new hymns" in the service until the 1820s. Charles did hear his music sung at midweek gatherings, though. In his prolific career, he averaged 10 lines of verse a day for 56 years. Not only did he write, he wrote enduring hymns. In fact, the Methodist hymnal Hymns and Praises still contains 150 of his works. What makes his works so good?

One reason is that music ran in his family. His father wrote hymns, and all three sons wrote them. His daughter was a gifted poet, and his grandson Samuel Sebastian was recognized as the greatest English composer of the 1800s. Charles had a natural talent for verse and put it to use glorifying God. Add to his natural talent the fact that his endebted father insisted he attend Westminster for a classical education, and Charles received the best training available for his gift.

Also important for a Christian hymn writer, Charles had his mind steeped in Scripture. While at Westminster, he started memorizing the New Testament in Greek. God's word was so ingrained in Charles that it had to come out.

The rest is here-

http://www.examiner.com/x-9320-Christian-History-Examiner~y2009m5d21-Charles-Wesley-wrote-8900-hymns

Forrester vote count

If you're wondering how the vote by Bishops and Standing Committees is going on the Kevin Thew Forrester election in Northern Michigan, Stand Firm is keeping a tally which you can find here-

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/22575/

Diocese of Texas Faces $45-Million Lawsuit

The Diocese of Texas is a defendant in a $45-million class-action lawsuit which alleges that for more than 40 years, diocesan officials have tried to hide the fact that one of the priests on staff at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin sexually abused students at the residential school.

According to the transcript from a pre-trial hearing in 2008, James Lydell Tucker served as chaplain at St. Stephen’s from 1958 to1968. The diocese transferred him to another school in 1968 after receiving misconduct complaints about him. He retired from active ministry in 1994. He was deposed from the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church in 2008.

“The world was a bizarre place,” said Bob Haslanger, as reported by the Houston Press. “Having to deal with this person who was perhaps the most popular faculty member on campus in public, who acted as though nothing was odd, and then once a month or more he would come into my room and molest me. Well, wow, that’s more than my little, young, teenage brain could handle.”

Mr. Haslanger first reported the sexual abuse in 1966 during a meeting with Allen Becker, the headmaster at St. Stephen’s. After a second student complained to Mr. Becker in 1968, the school announced that Mr. Tucker was leaving St. Stephen’s because of heart problems.

David Evert, one of the plaintiffs who complained to Mr. Becker in 1968, said that the headmaster ordered him and the other student, not to tell anyone about Mr. Tucker, not even their parents. The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Becker did not object two years later when Mr. Tucker became rector of St. James’, Houston. Some of the plaintiffs to the class-action lawsuit claim that Mr. Tucker abused children at St. James’ as well.


The rest is here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/5/21/diocese-of-texas-faces-45-million-lawsuit

The Catholic church: faith and reason

From the London Guardian-

It should be the among the best of times to take over the leadership of the Catholic church in England and Wales. In the face of the collapse of establishment authority, both political and economic, there is an appetite for a conversation about ethics to which nearly all would accept that religious leaders might contribute. But by the time of his installation in the early afternoon yesterday, the new Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, must have been wondering if it was instead the worst of times. The enormity of the story detailed in the Ryan report about the years of abuse in Irish children's homes was a bleak backdrop to the service introducing the 11th archbishop. But that was all it was until he praised the "courage" of the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy for facing their past – and put himself smack into the heart of it.

The plea from both Westminster and Lambeth – Rowan Williams was a prominent guest yesterday – is for space for faith in the public discourse. In his homily, the new archbishop called for "respectful dialogue" and "creative conversation" conducted in a spirit of generosity. But although friends say he is a warm and compassionate individual, his recent record is that of a zealous defender of the status quo. No one can doubt his skill as a campaigner: he defeated the government on faith school quotas and wounded it on legislation allowing same-sex adoption. Lambeth's highbrow opacity was going to be translated into straightforward syntax by Westminster, however uncomfortable. For Vincent Nichols said from the start that he was not seeking to be friends with everyone.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/21/vincent-nichols-irish-child-abuse

Americans 'shopping for religion'

William Lobdell has followed four different religions. Now he's an atheist.

Raised Episcopalian, the 48-year-old Orange County, Calif. man switched to a non-denominational parish and then a Presbyterian one. After going through a year of Catholic conversion classes he eventually realized that he is “a reluctant atheist.”

“I wish I believed,” said the former Los Angeles Times reporter and author of the memoir “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America – And Found Unexpected Peace.” “I’d like to believe that someone is watching over me and protecting me, but I just don’t believe that.”

He may be an extreme example, but approximately half of Americans change religions at least once in their lives, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The forum recently released a report, "The U.S. Religious Landscape: Exploring Religion in America," based on surveys of 35,000 people.

Pew found that Catholicism has seen the sharpest decrease in membership among all religions in the U.S. About 10 percent of all Americans are former Catholics, according to the survey. The Archdiocese of Chicago declined to interview for this article.

The Rest is here-

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=130559

Bishops say rival group can’t represent churches

The Canadian house of bishops, at the end of its five-day spring meeting, issued a “Message to the Church,” reflecting on a range of topics including mission, the effects of the current economic crisis in their communities, residential schools, and, in the lead up to the 2010 General Synod, same-sex blessings.

The bishops also stated “with regret” that clergy and laity who are members of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) “should not be given permission to exercise a leadership role in the Cursillo movement of the Anglican Church of Canada.” (The ANiC includes clergy and laity who have left the Canadian Anglican church because of theological differences over sexuality and other issues.)

The bishops said they were responding to a “call for clarification” from the national Cursillo secretariat. “It was noted that diocesan bishops have the authority to decide who may serve on Cursillo teams,” they said.

The Archbishop of Canterbury “has stated in writing that his office and the Anglican Communion Office recognize one ecclesial body in Canada as a constitutive member of the communion, the Anglican Church of Canada,” they added. “We affirm this statement. We cherish our communion with the See of Canterbury and remain committed to the life and witness of the Anglican Communion in the service of the Gospel.”

The Rest

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/issues/2009/135/june/06/article/bishops-say-rival-group-cant-represent-churches/?cHash=272e522707

Anglican Episcopate reflects on 105 bishops

In case you're having trouble sleeping at night this might be just the thing-

“IT’S NOT A dream book for a publisher,” said Archbishop Michael Peers, former primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, of his latest book, the fourth volume of The Anglican Episcopate in Canada.

Still, he acknowledged that the book, launched at the spring meeting of the House of Bishops, is one that will be invaluable to libraries, diocesan offices and researchers interested in hard archival data about Canadian Anglican bishops over the past 33 years.

Published by the Anglican Book Centre (ABC), the book provides details on 105 bishops elected into office between 1976 to 2008 and also includes what Archbishop Peers calls his observations on Episcopal ministry over a 27-year period, or from the time he became a bishop in 1977 up to his retirement as primate in 2004.

“I decided that I’m not qualified to write a theological reflection on Episcopal ministry. I’m not a theologian,” said Archbishop Peers. “I didn’t want to get into the business of too much interpretation of what was going on because, 25 years later, long after you’re dead, you’ll be sorry you wrote that. So I call them ‘observations’ because they are things I have seen over the passage of time.” And “they are fair,” he added, drawing laughter from the bishops at the launch held at the Mt. Carmel Spiritual Centre.

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/culture/books/041/article/anglican-episcopate-reflects-on-105-bishops/?cHash=bdcee228dd

Most liberal Protestant clergy don’t support gay marriage

Mainline Protestantism is usually depicted in the news media as the politically liberal analogue to the conservative evangelical movement. But it’s more complicated than that.

For instance, mainliners split their support evenly between George W. Bush and John Kerry in 2004, a year when nearly 80 percent of white evangelicals pulled the lever for Bush. Last November, Obama got only 44 percent of the white nonevangelical Protestant vote—mainliners, mostly—the same share Kerry got.

And USA Today’s Cathy Lynn Grossman blogs about a new survey of mainline Protestant clergy, the most comprehensive ever conducted, that finds that most do not support legalizing same-sex marriage, even if they wouldn’t be required to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies.
This division helps to explain why mainline denominations like the Episcopal Church—and let’s not forget the Methodists and the Lutherans—have been so torn up by a disagreement over the biblical treatment—acceptance, condemnation or ambivalence—of homosexuality.

The study was performed by Public Religion Research. Here are some highlights:

More here-

http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/most_liberal_protestant_clergy_dont_support_gay_marriage_20090521/

Zimbabwe diocese breaks chains of dictatorship

For Anglicans in the Diocese of Harare, Zimbabwe, Holy Week and Eastertide have been a time of new beginnings, and interim Bishop Sebastian Bakare has a bag of chains in his office as proof.
The chains, now broken, once locked the doors to the Harare cathedral preventing Anglicans from worshipping in their church. Bakare led worship in the cathedral on Easter Sunday for the first time since coming to the diocese in December 2007. It was, he told Episcopal News Service, "our resurrection Sunday."

That feeling of new life continues to deepen in the embattled diocese that is recovering from the effects of Bishop Nolbert Kunonga's episcopacy and finding ways to minister in a country being ruined by a dictatorial president.

The Rev. Canon Chad Nicholas Gandiya, Africa regional desk officer for USPG: Anglicans in Mission, was elected May 2 to be the diocese's next bishop, and on May 26, the Zimbabwe high court will hear arguments in the long-standing dispute over who owns the diocese's assets.

Kunonga was deposed in 2007 after illegally separating from the Anglican Province of Central Africa and installing himself as archbishop of Zimbabwe. He had said that he left because the province failed to condemn the ordination of homosexual bishops, an excuse that Ruth Bakare called a "pretext" and a "gimmick."

Kunonga is an avid supporter of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who has let the country slide into ruin during his 28-year rule. Kunonga has also supported the intimidation and persecution of Anglicans in Zimbabwe for opposing his and Mugabe's leadership.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_107913_ENG_HTM.htm

At Your Service: Mass of Installation of the 11th Archbishop of Westminster

From the London Times-

On the stroke of 12, the West Door swings open, and for the first time, Vincent Gerard Nichols, soon to be installed as the 11th Archbishop of Westminster enters his Cathedral.

Small in size though large in numbers, Westminster is home to more than 400,000 of the estimated four and half million Catholics in England and Wales. Many are recent migrants from other parts of the Catholic world: amongst others the Philippines, Poland and Brasil. Their diversity is reflected among the 2,200 worshippers crammed today into the spacious neo-Byzantine Cathedral, to see Nichols formally installed as Archbishop.

While not the precise equivalent to the Archbishop of Canterbury in terms of leadership – the leader of England and Wales’s Roman Catholics is technically the President of the Bishops’ Conference, a title already bestowed upon Nichols – the Archbishop of Westminster is usually made a Cardinal and will often give the Roman Catholic view on matters of national import. This is reflected in the greeting given him by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

“The Roman Catholic and Anglican communities in England and Wales have the God-given task… of making the Good News of Jesus compelling and attractive to a generation deeply in need of hope,” he says.

For inspiration, the new Archbishop has turned to St Paul, who illustrates, he explains in a homily delivered from a stone pulpit bedded in lilies, the “true nature of belief in God.”

“Paul was open to the things of God, ready to recognise the touch of the divine in the unexpected.” “Faith in God,” he explains “is not a narrowing of the human mind” but “precisely the opposite.”

He puts forth, in a few brief paragraphs, a blueprint for Faith’s place in the public square, drawing on St Paul’s attempts to evangelise the Greeks.

Much more-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6337041.ece

Convention Plans Varied Lineup of Preachers

A wide-ranging lineup of clergy and laity has been scheduled to preach at the daily Eucharists celebrated during the General Convention, July 8-17, in Anaheim, Calif.

A bishop will serve as celebrant at each Eucharist, and preachers will be asked to address a theme designated for that day. The themes were developed by the Liturgy and Worship Subcommittee of the Planning and Arrangements Committee.

The schedule:

July 8—Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, celebrant and preacher at the opening Eucharist.

July 9—Bishop Jon J. Bruno of Los Angeles, celebrant. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will conduct a Bible study during the Eucharist on the theme “God’s People.”

July 10—Bishop Steven A. Miller of Milwaukee, co-celebrant with a member of the Moravian clergy. House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson will preach on the theme “Unity.”

July 11—Bishop Frank Brookhart of Montana, celebrant, joined by a member of the Methodist clergy. Ray Suarez, senior correspondent for PBS’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” will preach on the theme “Hospitality.”

July 12—Bishop Jefferts Schori will be celebrant and preacher at the main convention Eucharist and Ingathering of the United Thank Offering.

July 13—Bishop Prince Singh of Rochester, celebrant. Courtney Cowart, director of advocacy and community affairs for the Office of Disaster Response in the Diocese of Louisiana will preach on the theme “Domestic Poverty.”

July 14—Bishop Robert O’Neill of Colorado, celebrant. Abagail Nelson, senior vice president of programs for Episcopal Relief & Development will preach of the theme “The Millennium Development Goals.”

July 15—Bishop Greg Rickel of Olympia, celebrant. Bishop Steven Charleston, former dean of Episcopal Divinity School will preach on the theme “Creation and the Environment.”

July 16—Bishop Wilfrido Ramos of Ecuador Central, celebrant. Brian McLaren, author and activist, will preach on the theme “Evangelism.”

July 17—Bishop Jefferts Schori, celebrant and preacher at the closing Eucharist.

Eucharists will be held daily at 11:30 a.m. (Pacific) except for the Sunday Eucharist, to be held at 10 a.m. Sermons will be available for viewing on the internet on the Episcopal Church website.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/5/21/convention-plans-varied-lineup-of-preachers

'Battle won, war not ended,' says Sri Lankan bishop

From the Anglican Journal in Canada. (And I thought the Hmong had great hats!)

Sri Lankan church leaders say the end of the country’s 26-year civil war announced by the government is a signal to address grievances and to ensure citizens from all ethnic and religious groups can feel proud of their nation.

The island nation's President Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 19 declared the end of the bloody and protracted civil war, in which fighters seeking autonomy for the country's minority Tamil population introduced to the world the concept of suicide bombers with explosives strapped to their bodies.

Anglican Bishop Duleep de Chickera said, “We must become a nation in which every woman, man and child, regardless of religion or ethnicity is made to feel equal, free and proud to call themselves Sri Lankan. Now is the time … to take prayerful, purposeful and collective steps towards an integrated, united and just Sri Lanka that has eluded us for decades.”

The process, Bishop Chickera said, "must begin with our children, and in our schools, [Buddhist] temples, kovils [Hindu temples], mosques and churches."

More here-

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/100/article/battle-won-war-not-ended-says-sri-lankan-bishop/?cHash=afb31c5c00

Archbishop of Canterbury welcomes new Archbishop of Westminster

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has today given a greeting to Archbishop Vincent Nichols at his Installation Mass as the new Archbishop of Westminster.
Dr Williams’ full greeting given at Westminster Cathedral is below:

In recent years, the relations between the churches in this country have become closer and warmer than perhaps ever before. The fact that the Anglican and Roman Catholic Bishops in England have been able to meet more than once for prayer and reflection, as well as for discussion of the challenges we share in witnessing to the Christian faith in our nation, is a welcome development, and a sign that we all recognise common challenges and a need to pray and act together.

The Roman Catholic and Anglican communities in England and Wales have the God-given task, along with all our other brothers and sisters in the faith, of making the Good News of Jesus compelling and attractive to a generation deeply in need of hope and meaning, in need of something they can trust with all their hearts.

Dear Vincent, I hope that as you join us as a co-president of the Churches Together in England we may work together at this task: as I had the privilege and delight of working with your predecessor, who was and is such a friend and example to us all.

May God give you the strength, the vision and the wisdom you need for the great responsibility he has laid upon you. Be sure of the love and prayers of all your colleagues in the churches of England and Wales as you take up the yoke of Christ in this fresh ministry. We give God thanks for you, and hope for many years of fruitful and exciting work together for Our Lord, in the service of his Kingdom and his justice.

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2009/5/21/Archbishop-of-Canterbury-welcomes-new-Archbishop-of-Westminster

Catholics, Anglicans sign covenant

THE signing of a covenant between the Anglican diocese of Brisbane and the Catholic dioceses of Brisbane and Toowoomba next Friday (May 29) will celebrate a Queensland relationship between the two Churches that goes back to this State’s foundation.

Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane Phillip Aspinall, and Catholic Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane and Bishop William Morris of Toowoomba will be joint signatories to the covenant at a combined act of worship at St Stephen’s Cathedral starting 7.30pm.

Catholics throughout Brisbane archdiocese have been invited to the historical event known as “A Celebration of Our Common Sesquicentenary and a Signing of the Anglican and Roman Catholic Covenant” .

The event will also mark the 25th anniversary of Archbishop Francis Rush and Anglican Archbishop John Grindrod’s signing of a Common Declaration in support of ecumenical co-operation in St John’s Cathedral on the same date in 1984.

Dean of St Stephen’s Cathedral and member of the covenant’s organising committee Fr Ken Howell said he “vividly remembered being present at this ceremony”.

“All present were filled with hope and optimism for the greater working together of Anglicans and Catholics as a result of the agreement,” Fr Howell said.

“It also seems very appropriate to renew this agreement in the sesquicentenary year of both dioceses.”

Project officer for the archdiocese’s sesquicentenary celebrations Catherine Newell said heads of many major churches throughout Queensland, as well as public dignitaries, have been invited to “this significant ecumenical event which will take place during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”.


More here-

http://www.catholicleader.com.au/index.php?id=4893

A statement by The Rt. Rev. Barry Beisner, Bishop of Northern California

Regarding Consent to the Election of Kevin Thew Forrester
as Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Michigan:

I have waited until very late in the consent process to finalize my decision. In part this is because it has been a complex and challenging matter, with many questions –procedural, canonical, theological, ecclesiastical, etc.— involved, and with many layers to each question. In addition, there has been considerable confusion as to just what the facts are; Kevin’s actual views and actions weighed heavily in the decision before me. And so I have utilized all of the time available to me to complete this decision, reading the relevant documents, consulting with fellow bishops, and discussing the matter with our Standing Committee –who, after our discussion on April 17, voted to withhold consent.

I sympathized with that decision but took additional time to speak with Kevin personally, to read some further material from him that he did not publish until the following week. Throughout this time, my constant prayer has been for right discernment for all involved.

I have great respect for Kevin, and great regard for the Diocese of Northern Michigan. It saddens me greatly, therefore, to tell you that I am unable to consent to this election. As I have said, many issues have been raised; I will name only one: Kevin’s revision of our liturgy of Holy Baptism.

More here-

http://www.dncweb.org/403856.ihtml

Bishop Mouneer's Reflection on the ACC-14 Meeting in Jamaica, May 2009

With hope and anticipation we went to Jamaica to participate in the ACC 14 meeting. The Anglican Covenant was the most important item in our agenda. Its importance arises from fact that it is the only hope left to keep the unity of the Anglican Communion. It was very encouraging seeing the Archbishop of Canterbury, many other participants, and our ecumenical partners supporting the Covenant wholeheartedly. All that was required from the ACC was to agree to send the whole text of the Covenant to the Provinces for discussion and adoption.

In his first presidential address Archbishop Rowan Williams appealed to the ACC members by these words: "Before we say goodbye to each other we owe it to the Lord of the church to make that effort to have those conversations and take each other seriously in the gospel. My hope is that this report[1] will help us to do this." It is worth mentioning that the report of the Windsor Continuation Group (WCG) has affirmed the importance of the Covenant, recommended the continuation of the moratoria, and the establishing of the pastoral form.

Strenuous opposition:

Unfortunately, the Episcopal Church in America (TEC) and a few other churches were strongly opposing the idea of the Covenant especially section 4[2]. Their excuse was that this section is new and has not been studied enough by the Provinces as the other sections have been. They have forgotten that this particular section of the Covenant is in fact the outcome of many deliberations and responses that came from dioceses as well as bishops who attended the Lambeth Conference in 2008. In addition to this, section 4 was already present in the commentary of the St. Andrews draft of the Covenant that was sent to the provinces after the Lambeth Conference. I personal believe that we will never have a perfect Covenant that could be accepted by all, even if we spend another 10 years working in it. TEC also described section 4 as "punitive." In response to this, it was clarified that the Covenant gives guidance to the Provinces which are responsible for making their own decisions. The Covenant also does not require any changes in the constitutions of the Provinces. In addition to this, section 4 allows Provinces to make amendments to the Covenant after it is accepted. In fact, it is because that section 4 is not strong enough many conservatives described the Covenant as very weak and useless.

Much more here-

http://www.dioceseofegypt.org/english/reflectionsACC-14

A charity can't sell a pie? Ban jostles Pa. Legislature

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

The squeaky wheel gets the ... Crisco?

As the wrangling over ways to fill a $3 billion hole in the state budget gets under way in Harrisburg, some lawmakers are hoping to make a little noise about home-baked pies.

Lawmakers introduced bills in the House and Senate recently that would prevent Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspectors from citing churches and other community groups for serving food that was prepared in home kitchens, a practice against the law in Pennsylvania.

"If church members can't prepare a home-cooked meal or dessert and take it to the church for fellow members or the local community to enjoy, what's next?" said Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., a Republican representing portions of Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties, who introduced the Senate bill.

A similar bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Deberah Kula, a Democrat representing parts of Fayette and Westmoreland counties.

An Agriculture Department inspector fired the first salvo in the baked goods battle during Lent after spotting home-baked pies in St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Rochester. The church was told it's against the law to sell pies, cookies and cakes baked at home.

The rest is here-

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_625879.html

Archbishop Tutu launches Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the Solomon Islands

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has launched in Honiara a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Solomon Islands – which is modelled closely on the body he chaired in South Africa after the apartheid regime fell.

Solomon Islands collapsed into chaos and violence from 1997-2003, chiefly as a result of conflict between gangs from the islands of Malaita and Guadalcanal, during which it was widely dubbed a “failed state.”

More than 100 people were killed – including seven members of the Anglican Melanesian Brothers order - and 20,000 were displaced in the fighting.

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) led by Australia then intervened, at the invitation of the fraught Solomons government. Australia is paying $A 500,000 towards the cost of the new commission.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Tutu flew in to Honiara in late April and launched the commission in front of an audience of thousands at the Lawson Tama stadium.

He said: “There are many places around the world where there is conflict, but after a while peace comes. We in South Africa just want to say to you, if it can happen in our country, it can and will happen here.”

The 77 year old Anglican bishop also spoke at a conference named Winds of Change that brought together former fighters from Malaita and Guadalcanal, the latter being the island of the capital, Honiara.

More here-

http://www.melbourne.anglican.com.au/main.php?pg=news&news_id=20678&s=157

Anglican head, Akinola, seeks end to ‘creek war

THE Primate of the Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Peter Akinola, yesterday, in Lokoja warned against the continued aerial attacks by the Joint Task Force on the Niger Delta, saying that unless urgent steps are taken to remedy the situation, Nigeria’s democracy was heading for a doom.

The cleric said reports of renewed fighting in the last few days between the troops of the JTF and militants which has led to loss of lives and displaced many was capable of sending a wrong signal to the nation's democracy.

The Anglican primate was in Lokoja to attend the church's provincial economic empowerment seminar which has attracted over 150 bishops of the diocese from within and outside the country.

According to him, the situation in the Niger Delta is one that needed to be addressed very quickly and it is high time that government began to live to its billings by making good its promises to the people of the region by providing employment to the unemployed young men in the area.

Government, he said, must be able to do that to the people directly and not through some middlemen or through some bureaucratic civil servants.

It was also high time for the government to give the people of the region a sense of belonging because, as he put it, “a situation were somebody with a diploma holder on religious studies from somewhere is made a General Manager over someone with a first class degree in a related field in the oil industry is not acceptable."


http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36198&Itemid=47

Good Stuf in TEC: Oregon

He's hired hundreds, now let him help you find work

One day, while sitting inside St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in northeast Portland, George DeWitz was listening to people complain about the economy when he got an idea.

“I’m listening to what is being said, and nobody is doing anything about it,” said DeWitz, who will turn 82 this month. “They’re talking the talk, but they’re not walking the walk.”

With his job-training background, he knew he could - and should - do something.

"I have this experience and know-how, and I know how to make it work," he said. "I’ve hired people. I’ve trained people. I’ve been a very fortunate person. I’ve made my life very comfortable financially, so I thought, 'Well, you’ve got to do it.' "

What DeWitz did was design a seminar for people looking for work. The seminar, which is free and ongoing, will start Thursday, May 21, at the church, where he has been a member for 20 years.

The seminar will include information on how to look at the hiring process from the employer’s point of view, which DeWitz knows a lot about.

During his 40-year career, he owned an ad agency, two radio stations (KRDR, a country western station in Gresham, and KAAR, an FM country music station in Yakima, Wash.), trained potential job hunters and hired about 600 people.

The rest-

http://www.komonews.com/economy/45370377.html