Communion wafers come gluten-free

For eight years, Robert Snow crossed himself as he approached his priest during communion instead of receiving the wafer he desperately wanted.

Snow, of Deerfield Beach, was diagnosed in 2001 with celiac disease, which prevents him from eating foods containing gluten, including communion wafers.

But Snow's church, St. Gregory's Episcopal in Boca Raton, recently began offering wheat-free communion wafers for people who cannot digest grains. And Snow says he finally feels part of the Mass.

"I feel more into what I'm doing," said Snow, 60. "I feel included."

About one in 133 Americans has celiac disease, an inability to process wheat, barley and rye, said Elaine Monarch, executive director of the Celiac Disease Foundation in Studio City, Calif. Celiacs who eat these grains can develop severe problems, such as headaches, anemia, canker sores, osteoporosis and cancer.

There is no cure; celiacs must follow a gluten-free diet, Monarch said.

Recent publicity campaigns have made Americans increasingly aware of celiac. An abundance of gluten-free products, including pastas and cookies, is flooding the food market; a gluten-free restaurant community opened recently in Philadelphia; Celebrity Apprentice contestant Jesse James recently made a gluten-free meal on the show to increase awareness of the condition.

More here-

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-wheat-free-communion-b060209sbjun02,0,2374187.story

ATLANTA: 'Faithful telling' conference seeks racial reconciliation

The Diocese of Atlanta explored paths to racial reconciliation May 30, in a special conference at the Cathedral of St. Philip. Participants shared stories about segregation, discrimination, and slavery; speakers such as human rights advocate Ruby Sales offered inspiration, and some 100 participants searched for ways to breach the alienation that continues among races.

Ideas generated by the conference, which was called "Toward a Full and Faithful Telling," will be shared at the Episcopal Church's 2009 General Convention, scheduled to take place July 8-17 in Anaheim, California.
"We are too quick to tout the progress we've made toward racial reconciliation as though the work is finished," explained Bishop Neil Alexander of the Diocese of Atlanta. "Such thinking blinds us to the reality. In so many ways, we have only just begun. This must demand of us fresh energy and renewed commitment."

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_108803_ENG_HTM.htm

Fr. Armstrong: Misunderstanding Led to Missed Court Date

Despite his failure to appear for a court appearance on May 27, the Rev. Don Armstrong is not a fugitive from justice. A bench warrant, issued shortly after his failure to appear, was quashed, according to Fr. Armstrong. The priest said his absence was because of a misunderstanding.

“Apparently, there was some confusion and miscommunication about my appearance date, which resulted in a warrant being issued,” he told The Living Church. “My attorney and I went down and spoke with the judge, who immediately straightened everything out and quashed the warrant.”

Fr. Armstrong served as rector of Grace and St. Stephen’s Church, Colorado Springs, from 1987 until 2006, when he was deposed following a diocesan investigation of parish finances. He is now rector of St. George’s Anglican Church, which is comprised of a majority of members from the Episcopal congregation.

The Diocese of Colorado initiated an investigation of parish finances and turned over the results to the Colorado Springs district attorney, who executed a search warrant of the church and rectory in November. Fr. Armstrong was indicted on 20 felony theft counts and voluntarily surrendered to police on May 21. He was freed after posting $20,000 bound later that day. Fr. Armstrong denies all charges and said he is looking forward to the opportunity to clear his name “of unbridled false accusations” in a court of law.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/5/29/fr-armstrong-misunderstanding-led-to-missed-court-date

Nigeria: Mark Accuses Religious Leaders of Extorting Money From Politicians

SENATE president, Senator David Mark, says religious leaders in the country have abandoned their primary responsibilities and resorted to extorting money from politicians, employing blackmail.

Mark speaking at the opening session of the 19th Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Kaduna, said, "the corruption scourge that has blighted our country would have been non existent.

The truth of the matter is that our religious sermons on Fridays and Sundays have become mere messages of convenience.

"Parishioners often leave their places of worship looking more with their mouths while listening with their eyes.

Sometimes and without fear of being labeled heretic or uncharitable, public officials and politicians in Nigeria have been at the receiving end of an apparent blackmail emanating from our clergy. Daily, such officials are inundated with requests for financial aid which is way beyond our personal incomes and even where so provided, are above approved budgetary limits. And this demand cut across all religious bodies.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/200906010020.html

Rwanda: Church Leaders Protest Religious Bill

As the dust on the media bill settles, the religious denominations bill seems set to raise its own. Religious leaders from different denominations have converged and made a statement to be presented to the Local Government Ministry and the speaker of parliament for possible amendments to the bill.

The statement which The Sunday Times has seen has suggested that four articles; 21, 32, 36 be amended in order to facilitate their operation in the country. It also says that the above articles make it difficult to start a religious organisation and their proper functioning.

"The bill articulates that for someone to start a church, one must have at least 100 associates to sign in your statute while he/she must be a graduate," the statement reads in part.

Religious leaders protest that starting a church does not require someone to be academically upright but a calling of which most cases follows people with integrity.

"We have found out that because those articles, freedom of worship is dishonoured," the religious leaders state.


Bishop Emmanuel Koline of the Anglican Church yesterday told the Sunday Times that the bill is putting churches in the category of NGOs and associations yet they differ from the two.

More here-

http://allafrica.com/stories/200906010532.html

Namirembe Bishop Luwalira consecrated

From Uganda. Interesting that the issue of "child sacrifice" makes the fifth paragraph.

BISHOP Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira was consecrated yesterday as the fifth bishop of Namirembe diocese in a colourful ceremony attended by President Yoweri Museveni and his wife, Janet.

The President congratulated the new bishop and told the congregation that the NRM is a strong up-holder of the Christian tenets of no vengeance.

He, however, expressed dismay at the failure to embrace the commandment of “loving your neighbour like you love yourself” by Christians.

Museveni also criticised the habit of bad-mouthing, abuses and hatred in religious institutions which, he said, are primarily supposed to be peaceful institutions.

Regarding the issue of child sacrifice, the President said some culprits had been apprehended but “what is needed is to amend the law so that such offenders do not get discretion bail.”

Museveni also asked the public to support a proposal denying bail to suspects of defilement, murder and armed robbery.

The consecration at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Namirembe, the oldest Anglican diocese in Uganda, was led by the Archbishop, Henry Luke Orombi and assisted by several Anglican bishops, including Bishop James Stanton from the diocese of Dallas in the US.

More here-

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/683217

Anglican Priest accused of stoning cop

More on the schism in the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe.

AS the rift in the Anglican Church continues, a priest at St Columbus Parish in Kuwadzana allegedly stoned a policeman trying to restrain the two factions involved in the fight for control the church.

Constable Lancelot Kanaveti of Kuwadzana Police Station sustained a cut on the head and was taken to hospital for treatment.

Reverend Augustine Dizara (39) of the Bakare faction last Friday appeared before Mbare magistrate Ms Marehwanazvo Gofa charged with assault.

He was remanded out of custody to June 3 for trial on US$20 bail after he pleaded not guilty to the charge. Officials at the Mbare court told The Herald that more than 20 church members from the Bakare faction were fined at Kuwadzana Police Station in connection with the same incident before Dizara was taken to court.

Prosecutor Mr Kudakwashe Tagwirei alleges that on May 21, some women from the Kunonga faction were conducting Thursday prayer meetings at the church.

At around 2pm, it is alleged, women from the Bakare faction arrived at the church with the intention of holding a prayer meeting after the Kunonga faction had finished theirs.

More here-

http://www.zimdiaspora.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1316:anglican-priest-accused-of-stoning-cop&catid=73:music&Itemid=299

Provisional bishop named to diocese

The Rev. Bavi Edna Rivera was affirmed as provisional bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon earlier this month. A convention of about 275 Episcopalians - including a delegation from Hermiston's St. John's Episcopal Church - made the decision at a convention in Cove on May 23.

Rivera also serves as bishop suffragan, or assistant to the bishop, in the Diocese of Olympia. She plans to devote about one-third of her time to Eastern Oregon, which has been without a bishop since 2007 when the Rev. William Gregg resigned to become an assistant bishop in North Carolina.

Rivera addressed the convention after the decision, saying her first priority would be getting to know the diocese.

"We are nothing if we are not together," Rivera said.

She added: "God will be with us."

Rivera was first ordained to priesthood in 1976, and is the first Hispanic woman bishop in the Episcopal Church. She is a third-generation priest and second-generation bishop, after her father Victor Manuel Rivera served as bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin in California from 1968 to 1989.

The Diocese of Eastern Oregon encompasses the entire state east of the Cascade Mountains, plus Klickitat County in Washington. The diocese includes 22 parishes and more than 2,600 Episcopalians.

http://eastoregonian.com/main.asp?FromHome=1&TypeID=1&ArticleID=93329&SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48

Episcopal Split

Episcopal priests here in the valley who recently found themselves deposed by the church, still held mass as planned this morning

At Saint James Cathedral in Central Fresno, it was hard to tell the difference between today's Anglican service, and the Episcopal service that would've taken place a year and a half ago.

But the sign out front reflects the change and the priests inside have now lost their positions with the Episcopal Church.

Van McCalister, Anglican Priest, said "It's very disappointing. Extremely disappointing. Because I love the church."

Jim Stickney, Epispocal Priest, said "I'm hopeful that this theological division will come to a resolve before too long."

Bishop Jerry Lamb ousted 61 priests and deacons who followed their former bishop, John-David Schofield, away from the church in a dispute over what to preach.

The fight reached its tipping point when the Episcopal's appointed an openly gay bishop.

The priests are now involved in a legal battle over whether they get to stay in the buildings they use for service.

Video here-

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=6840498

Fla.'s 'Father Oprah': Church is about forgiveness

From the AP. Girl friend in the picture.

A popular Miami priest nicknamed "Father Oprah" said Sunday that "church is about forgiveness" during his first sermon since leaving the Roman Catholic Church to become Episcopalian amid an uproar over published photos of him kissing his girlfriend on the beach.
The Rev. Alberto Cutie (pronounced KOO'-tee-ay) gave the sermon at the Episcopal Church of The Resurrection in Miami. Episcopal priests can marry, unlike their Catholic counterparts. It will take him at least a year to become a priest in his new church.

The cozy church was overflowing with supporters, most having to stand along the aisles or lean against the walls. Many in the crowd said they were not members but came to support Cutie.
"This little church has been neglected, and membership is not great," said Jackie Fernandez, who attends another Episcopal church in the Miami area. She said within the year that will all change thanks to Cutie.

Cutie said in a TV interview in early May that he was in love with the woman in the photos and that they have been romantically involved for about two years after being friends for much longer. His girlfriend has been identified in local media as 35-year-old Ruhama Buni Canellis. He has not said if he plans to marry her, but noted in a statement this week that as he became an Episcopalian, he "has seen the ways that many of my brothers serve God as married men."

More here-

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hHxMBZpSwvIXA9hbYWvCwVfe0f5AD98HHJ900

Church Attorney to Bishop Bennison: Don't Release Letters

The ecclesiastical Court for the Trial of a Bishop has issued a temporary gag order prohibiting the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., Bishop of Pennsylvania, from making public more than 200 letters that Bishop Bennison claims would exonerate him of charges that he failed to report sexual misconduct committed by his brother, John.

The misconduct occurred while John Bennison was serving on the staff of a California church where Bishop Bennison was rector in the 1970s. John Bennison previously admitted to sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl who was a member of the church youth group. He was deposed from the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church in 2006.

Bishop Bennison maintains that he did not know about his brother’s misconduct until many years later, but in 2008, the court found Bishop Bennison guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy and recommended that he be deposed. He remains under inhibition pending appeal.

In April, John Bennison turned over more than 200 letters the victim wrote to him over the course of several years after the misconduct first began. The letters purportedly reveal that the teenage victim conspired with John Bennison to conceal their sexual relationship from Bishop Bennison.


More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/5/29/church-attorney-issues-temporary-gag-order-on-letters-alleged-to-exonerate-bishop-bennison

Next Bishop of Carlisle announced

Downing Street announced this morning that “The Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend James William Scobie Newcome MA, FRSA, Suffragan Bishop of Penrith, for election as Bishop of Carlisle in succession to the Right Reverend Geoffrey Graham Dow, MA, BSc, MSc, MPhil, who resigned on 30 April 2009.”

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/prbpcarlisle.html

Anglicans damage relations with Catholics by snapping up scandal-hit Fr Cutié

From the London Telegraph-

Fr Alberto Cutié, the Catholic media priest caught cuddling his girlfriend on a Florida beach, has jumped ship and become an Anglican - to the delight of Ruth Gledhill of The Times.

Archbishop John Favalora of Miami is understandably offended. The priest has not been released from his vows or laicised; it is impossible to imagine the Catholic Church snapping up an Anglican clergyman who had left because he was caught breaking his vows. The Archbishop says: "Father Cutié’s actions have caused grave scandal within the Catholic Church, harmed the Archdiocese of Miami − especially our priests – and led to division within the ecumenical community and the community at large. Today’s announcement only deepens those wounds."

And now read this paragraph by Ruth:

If Father Cutié is not eventually dismissed from his orders, but even if he is, and then goes on to become an Episcopal priest, will he need to be ordained again? And whether re-ordained or not, will the Catholic Church then view his orders as 'absolutely null and utterly void' or not? If not, could this apparent tool of ecumenical discord have the potential to bring about eventual healing between our two churches, beginning a line of succession that the Holy See could recognise as Apostolic? Forgive me please for the betrayal of ignorance in these questions, but if any readers have the answers, I would be most interested to know.

I'm sorry, but why should Times readers forgive such a "betrayal of ignorance" from someone who has been their religion correspondent for 20 years?

The rest is here-

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/damian_thompson/blog/2009/05/30/anglicans_damage_relations_with_catholics_by_snapping_up_scandalhit_fr_cuti

Sunday Forum: What kind of Catholics are we?

Interesting op-ed piece in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

All you need to know to diagnose the state of the Catholic Church in America today is that Pope Benedict XVI -- who has a knack for ticking off both Muslims and Jews -- spent a recent week wandering the Middle East, yet Catholics here barely noticed. They were too busy fighting over Barack Obama's appearance as commencement speaker at Notre Dame or arguing about the fate of a popular Miami priest known as "Father Oprah," who was caught on camera sharing a seaside embrace with his girlfriend.

Is this what Catholicism in America has come to? Bickering about whether Notre Dame is really Catholic, or whether a priest can make out on the beach with his gal pal? Well, yes. And that should come as no surprise.

Since the emergence of Catholicism in the 19th century as a counterweight to the United States' reigning Protestant culture, American Catholics have struggled to balance their desire to assimilate into society with the fear of losing their faith in the nation's melting pot. These new controversies show that, in the Catholic saga, assimilation is winning.

That is because American Catholics -- and there are upwards of 65 million of us -- are going their own way on many matters of faith and especially on issues ranging from priestly celibacy to political candidates, and there seems to be little the bishops can do about it. If there is a true swing vote in the U.S. electorate today, it is the Catholic bloc.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09151/973735-109.stm#ixzz0H513ktOc&A

Anglican Catholic Church Primate Declines Invitation to attend ACNA Provincial Assembly Ordination of Women is stumbling block

I don't post much from David Virtue because he's not always accurate. But I thouht this was interesting although I don't know where he might have gotten the letter.

To put matters another way, already now at the beginning of your enterprise, your dioceses and bishops are only in a state of impaired communion with each other. Some of your bishops do not recognize the validity of the priestly ministry of a significant body of clergy in other dioceses. Such divisions and problems at the beginning will not resolve themselves in time, but rather will grow. Ambiguity, or local option, or silence cannot undo the damage of essential disagreement concerning Holy Orders and authority in the Church.

In summary, then, we see in the ACNA the fundamental alterations in traditional Anglican faith, worship, order, and practice that led to the formation of our own Continuing Church in 1978. We would be glad to establish conversations with your ecclesial body in hopes that you may, having freed yourselves of the Episcopal Church, continue further on the same path by decisively breaking from a corrupt Anglican Communion and by returning to the central tradition of Christendom in all matters, including the male character of Holy Orders, the evil of abortion, and the indissolubility of sacramental marriage. We recommend to your prayerful attention the Affirmation of Saint Louis, which we firmly believe provides a sound basis for a renewed and fulfilled Anglicanism on our continent.

We suspect that any Anglican body that permits the ordination of women, or otherwise fails to return to the central tradition of Christendom, will soon move from what we might call neo-Anglicanism, which is already removed in ministry and worship from classical Anglicanism, and will eventually merge into the general stream of evangelical Protestantism. While faithful Protestantism of that sort is far preferable to what the Episcopal Church has become, it is not the Catholic Faith which we hold, it is not the Anglicanism that formed us, and it does not seem to us to have a bright future.

Its all here-

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=10545

Good Stuff in TEC: Iowa

Parishioners rally to educate Sudanese man

Education is a privilege easily taken for granted in the United States where public and private schools offer education for all.

Parishioners at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Davenport are dipping into their pocketbooks and donating funds to make sure Betres Peni, a young man from the Sudan, receives an education.
Peni’s brother, the Rev. Samuel Peni, shared his thoughts about their country’s needs and hopes for the future during a soup supper at the cathedral May 21.

“Samuel came here in December for a visit on a Sunday. I talked to him afterward and he told me a little about himself and his brother, Betres, and Betres’ desire for education,” Trinity Episcopal Deacon Fred Berger said.

The question was how much would it take to make that education possible for Betres, Berger wondered.

Samuel just graduated from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, and plans to use his education to help others in the Anglican Diocese of Yambio, in southern Sudan.

The cost of an education in a neighboring country like Uganda is surprisingly modest, about $350 for tuition, entrance examinations and admission fee, Samuel said. However that does not include room and board and currently Betres walks five miles to school and back on dirt roads.

Rest is here-

http://www.qctimes.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/religion/article_01b2d124-4c98-11de-a86d-001cc4c002e0.html

FORT WORTH: Bishop asks clergy to verify decision to leave

Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth provisional Bishop Edwin F. Gulick Jr. has asked 72 members of the diocesan clergy to meet with him to verify their decision to leave the Episcopal Church with former bishop Jack Iker.

"It is not my intention in writing you this letter to trespass upon your conscience in this matter or to offer any new arguments or words of persuasion," wrote Gulick, who is also bishop of the Diocese of Kentucky, in a May 26 letter. "However, before I begin to exercise certain canonical responsibilities regarding the status of those who have left the Episcopal Church, I feel compelled to offer to meet with you, if you wish, for a conversation related to your own discernment and decision."

The clergy and Iker aligned themselves with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone by way of a series of votes at a November 15 diocesan convention. Six days later Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori inhibited Iker from exercising his ordained ministry and on December 5 announced that she had accepted what she said was Iker's renunciation of his Episcopal Church ordination. Iker has denied that he renounced his orders.

Gulick in his letter thanked the clergy "for your service as a priest or deacon in the Episcopal Church" and acknowledged that "many of you have searched your hearts and conscience and have come to a decision to join with Bishop Iker to realign your allegiance with Anglicans in the Southern Cone."

The letter noted recent meetings of the primates, or leaders, of the Anglican Communion's provinces and the Anglican Consultative Council as well as various state court legal decisions "that may well affect decisions made here in Texas."

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_108349_ENG_HTM.htm

Five things to know about Pentecost

I've heard of "Tiffany" parishes but "Cashmere" ?

As minister of two Cashmere churches — Grace Lutheran Church and St. James Episcopal Church — the Rev. Rob Gohl is well-versed in the liturgical calendar. The Christian holiday of Pentecost, which commemorates the birth of the church, is this Sunday.

"For our churches, Pentecost is probably the third most-celebrated holiday behind Easter and Christmas," says Gohl. "It’s a celebration of the Holy Spirit."

Gohl shares the Pentecost story below:

http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090529/FAM/705299864/1001/NEWS04?Five-things-to-know-about-Pentecost

Good Stuff in TEC: South Carolina

Florence’s Christ Episcopal Church to celebrate 150th year

Christ Episcopal Church will celebrate its 150th anniversary at 10 a.m. June 7.

S.C. Bishop Mark Lawrence of Charleston will lead the service at the quaint church, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Father Michael Burton is the rector of Christ Episcopal, located at 2305 U.S. 327. He is assisted by Deacon Hiram Moseley.

Christ Episcopal’s building is in the shape of a cross, originally painted white. The outside walls are boarded and battened. The boards are 10 inches wide running up and down, every seam covered with a beveled board about four inches wide and two inches in the center.
Florence’s Christ Episcopal Church to celebrate 150th year

The inside walls are hard-finished plaster, while the woodwork is a variety of pines and the pews are heavy heart pine.

A Gothic design door opens into each transept and the rear of the nave. Gothic windows, originally glazed in ground glass, were replaced with clear glass.

The furniture is handmade of walnut, except for the white marble font. Instead of an altar, there is a communion table. The first instrument was a melodeon placed midway in the nave.

The church at first had no heat. Members provided themselves with hot soapstones in little flannel jackets. And the rugs from the carriages — some of them fur — were brought in to ensure comfortable feet during the services.

More here-

http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/florences_christ_episcopal_church_to_celebrate_150th_year/53456/

Good Stuf in TEC: Alabama

Trinity Episcopal Church celebrates 175 years

When Trinity Episcopal Church was founded in 1834, Demopolis was in its 17th year as a city. Andrew Jackson was President, and there were only 24 states in the Union.

On Jan. 31, 1834, Trinity Episcopal Church, one of the oldest churches in Demopolis — if not the oldest church — was founded. The membership decided to mark its 175th anniversary on June 7, which is marked as “Trinity Sunday” on the Episcopal calendar, an appropriate day for a celebration.

“On Sunday, we will have a special service of baptisms and confirmations,” said the Rev. John David Barnes, the rector of the church. “In the Episcopal Church, the bishop has to be present for confirmation services, so this will be his yearly visit.”

Bishop Henry Parsley of the Archdiocese of Alabama will be on hand to help the church mark its anniversary celebration.

The church will have a reception on Saturday and another on Sunday, with the Sabbath reception being an on-grounds picnic.

The rest is here-

http://www.demopolistimes.com/news/2009/may/30/trinity-episcopal-church-celebrates-175-years/

World's 'cutiest' priest becomes an Anglican

From the London Times-

Father Alberto Cutié, the Roman Catholic priest who has been a cause of some international scandal since captured on film cuddling his girlfriend, now his fiancé, on a beach, has been accepted into The Episcopal Church in the US. It is likely he will go on to become an Episcopal priest. As The Lead reports, Father Cutié and his fiance were received into the worldwide Anglican Communion by the Bishop of Southeast Florida, the Right Rev Leo Frade, a fellow Cuban.

Frade explained why he had done this: 'We have been talking to him as friends. We've known each other from the year 2000. We are both Cubans, and dealing in ecumenical and also trying to bring a peaceful change in Cuba. And he became more and more interested in our church, and showed that interest, and with time, about two years, it has been a long search for him, because he did not want to leave the Catholic faith.'

Father Cutié's former Archbishop, Miami's Most Rev John Favalora, is disappointed by his priest's actions. He is also disappointed by TEC's response. He says he was not told by Father Cutie of his intention to defect. He said the new Episcopalian remains a Catholic priest but cannot exercise his ministry as a priest and further, is not released from his vow of celibacy.

In a statement he said: 'Catholic faithful of Saint Francis de Sales Parish, Radio Paz and the entire Archdiocese of Miami, I again say that Father Cutié’s actions cannot be justified, despite his good works as a priest. This is all the more true in light of today’s announcement. Father Cutié may have abandoned the Catholic Church; he may have abandoned you. But I tell you that the Catholic Church will never abandon you; the Archdiocese of Miami is here for you.

More here-

http://timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill/2009/05/worlds-cutiest-priest-becomes-an-anglican.html

Independents ‘can restore credibility’ to political life

TERRY WAITE, the former special envoy to the Archbishop of Canter bury, said this week that he would consider standing as an independent MP.

Writing in The Times on Wednesday, he said that he had been asked to do so “frequently”, but had always so far refused. If he changed his mind, it would be to encourage reform.

Referring to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s warning on Saturday that MPs were being unduly humiliated by the publicity over their expenses claims, Mr Waite said: “Much as I applaud the Archbishop of Canterbury’s personal concern for individuals, he must also be aware that this crisis, no matter how unpleasant, could be just the very thing the country needs.”

On Saturday, Dr Williams said that the issues raised by the controversy over MPs’ expenses were “as grave as could be for our parliamentary democracy”. Writing in The Times, he asked whether the “continuing systematic humiliation of politicians” now threatened to ex tract a heavy price by reducing public confidence in democracy.

Regulating MPs’ expenses, im port ant though it was, could not be the whole answer. Regulation took the place of virtue, and was an excuse for not encouraging intelligence and good will among the MPs (“or bankers or whoever”) in the first place, Dr Williams wrote.

“If we are to recover trust in our political class, we need to know some thing about what they are glad to do for its own sake — because, though we often forget it, this is one of the surest tests of virtue.”

Jonathan Bartley, the co-director of the Christian think tank Ekklesia, said last week that independent politicians could do much to restore credibility to British politics. A survey commissioned by Ekklesia found that 78 per cent of the 1010 voters it questioned said that inde pendent candidates should stand at the next General Election against MPs who had behaved unethically.

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=75892

Covenant Working Group Announced

The task force charged with revising the problematic fourth section of the proposed Anglican Covenant will consist of four members from the previous 12-member task force, according to an announcement made May 28 by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council.

The Most Rev. John Neill, Archbishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland, will serve as chairman. The other three members are: the Most Rev. John Chew, primate of the Church of the Province of South East Asia; Eileen Scully, coordinator for faith, worship and ministry for the Anglican Church of Canada; and the Rt. Rev. Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St. Asaph in the Church of Wales.

In addition to the four appointed members, staff support will be provided by Neil Vigers, administrator for ecumenical affairs for the ACC, and the Rev. Canon Joanna Udal, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s secretary for Anglican Communion affairs.

The proposed covenant failed to pass during the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meeting May 1-13 meeting in Jamaica. Representatives from The Episcopal Church were among the most vocal in expressing concerns about the fourth section during debate on the covenant. Neither of the Episcopalians on the original Covenant Design Group—the Rev. Ephraim Radner, professor of historical theology at Wycliffe College in Toronto, and the Rev. Katherine Grieb, professor of New Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary—was included on the new working group.

Under the timetable proposed in the announcement, the so-called Ridley Cambridge draft text that was rejected by the ACC in Jamaica has been sent to provinces for comment on Section 4. Responses are due by Nov. 13. The working group is scheduled to meet Nov. 20-21 in London and will report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee of the ACC and the primates, which meets Dec. 15-18.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/5/28/covenant-working-group-announced

Priest Accused Of Embezzlement Faces Arrest Again

A local priest, accused of embezzling money from his church, is now wanted again by police, according to court documents. Father Donald Armstrong didn't show up for court Wednesday and an arrest warrant has been issued. It was his first court appearance since he was indicted by a grand jury last week.

Armstrong faces allegations of stealing money from Grace and Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in downtown Colorado Springs. According to the grand jury indictment obtained by 11 News, from July 1999 until March of 2006, court documents say that Father Armstrong used parish money ($392,000) for personal expenses, like his children's college education. He is now facing 20 counts of theft.

11 News stopped by St. George’s Anglican Church, where Armstrong works now, to ask him why he didn’t show up for court. A church worker said he wasn’t there, even though his car was still in the parking lot.

A minute later, his secretary told us Father Armstrong was at the church, but was on the phone. When asked if he forgot about his court date she replied, “No” and went onto say that this was all a misunderstanding.

When leaving the church, Armstrong’s car was gone.

He was indicted last week and had turned himself in to police. Wednesday was supposed to be his first court appearance on the theft charges.

Armstrong and hundreds of his followers left the Episcopal Diocese and became Anglican back in 2007. His congregation continued to practice at Grace and Saint Stephens until they were recently forced out by a court order, which was the result of a lawsuit from the Episcopal Diocese.

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/46425782.html

Bishop returns to birthplace

The first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church arrives in Pensacola today for a three-day Gulf Coast visit.


The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was born in Pensacola, leads the church's 2.4 million members.

She's the first woman to lead one of the 38 worldwide provinces of the Anglican Communion, which originated with the Church of England in the 16th century.

Jefferts Schori, 55, who is based in New York, will lead a retreat for clergy today at St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Gulf Breeze. After that, she will lead an afternoon service at Christ Church in downtown Pensacola. On Saturday and Sunday, she will be at various churches and events in Mobile and Daphne, Ala.

Jefferts Schori is visiting at the invitation of Bishop Philip M. Duncan II, who leads the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, which includes Pensacola and Mobile.

"I've known her for nine years," Duncan said. "She is very bright, and she is a gifted theologian. She is a deeply spiritual person who spends a great amount of time in prayer and meditation each day."

More here-

http://www.pnj.com/article/20090529/NEWS01/905290325

Episcopal leaders oust clergy over Valley split

Leaders of the Episcopal Church have ousted more than 50 clergy members who aligned with a former bishop from the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin leading the movement to break with the national church.

Bishop John-David Schofield led the local Anglican breakaway in December 2007 over differences with the national body's approval of same-sex blessings, the ordination of a gay bishop, the role of women in the church and how to interpret the Bible over such issues.

The Episcopal Church removed Schofield as head of the Fresno-based diocese in 2008 and barred him from performing any religious rites. He is now an Anglican bishop under the worldwide church.

After Schofield's removal, the Episcopal Church named Jerry Lamb as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Stockton. In October, Lamb charged that 36 priests and 16 deacons who aligned with Schofield and an Anglican group in Argentina had abandoned the Episcopal Church. Lamb gave them six months to return to the Episcopal Church or request release from their ordination vows.

Lamb said he took final action this week to depose the clergy who had failed to respond.

More here-

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1431498.html

CANADA: Court begins to consider property issues in Diocese of New Westminster

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has begun hearing arguments to decide who owns disputed church buildings and resources: the Vancouver-based Diocese of New Westminster or parishes that have left the Anglican Church of Canada.

Two lawsuits were filed against the diocese and its bishop, Michael Ingham, by clergy who cut ties with the national church and individuals who say they are the lawful trustees of church properties and resources for several congregations that also voted to leave the church. Other hearings have resulted in decisions about interim possession and sharing of church buildings in British Columbia as well as Ontario, but this trial, which is scheduled to last three weeks, will be the first in Canada to decide who owns the buildings and resources.

The clergy left their ministries with the Anglican Church of Canada in 2008 over theological differences, including issues such as the blessing of same-sex unions, and they were asked to vacate their former parishes. Many of their parishioners voted to leave the church and join the more conservative Anglican Network in Canada(ANiC), which is now a part of the proposed Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).

The proposed new Anglican entity would be comprised of clergy and laity that have left the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church in the U.S. Its leaders hope that the entity will be recognized as a new, theologically-defined province in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Meanwhile, the Canadian churches have aligned themselves with the Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. However, the leaders have not begun the formal process that could lead to such recognition.

Court documents show that the plaintiffs seek a ruling that they should "hold parish property in their trust for their congregations for the purpose of ministry consistent with historic, orthodox Anglican doctrine and practice."

The diocese is arguing that it has not departed from its faith, and in its court documents states that the "current dispute over homosexuality is the latest in a long series of debates within Anglicanism as it adapts to social change. Other recent debates include the remarriage of divorced persons and the ordination of women."

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_108045_ENG_HTM.htm

Cutie joins the Episcopal Church

'Father Oprah' Joins Episcopal Church

Video is here-


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFDBoAv9268

Miami priest joins Episcopal church after scandal

A popular Miami priest and media personality says he is leaving the Catholic Church and joining the Episcopal church after he was photographed cavorting on the beach with his girlfriend.

The Rev. Alberto Cutié (KOO'-tee-ay) was removed from his Miami Beach church after photos of him kissing and embracing a woman appeared in the pages of a Spanish-language magazine earlier this month.

A ceremony will take place at Trinity Cathedral on Thursday afternoon. He is also expected to announce that he will marry his girlfriend, which is allowed in the Episcopal church.

Cutie earned the nickname "Father Oprah" for his relationship advice and previously hosted shows on Telemundo. He is also a syndicated Spanish-language columnist and author.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3781727046490408959

Chinese Calvinism flourishes

John Calvin was a Frenchman, but he is being remembered in Geneva this week because it was here that he built Calvinism. Invited to reform the city in 1541, almost as what would now be called a management consultant, he formed an alliance with the city fathers. Over the next 20 years of preaching and pastoring they turned this tiny city, with a population then of only 10,000, into a model of church government and theology which has changed the world.

His followers now form the third-largest Christian grouping in the world. The world alliance of reformed churches claims 75 million members, and while this is a lower headline figure than the Anglican Communion's 80 million, it is not inflated by 25 million nominal Anglicans in Britain.

Although Calvinism is shrinking in western Europe and North America, it is experiencing an extraordinary success in China. I spent some time on Monday talking to the Rev May Tan, from Singapore, where the overseas Chinese community has close links with mainland China. The story she told of the spread of Calvinist religion as an elite religion in China was quite extraordinary. There may be some parallels with the growth of Calvinism in South Korea, where the biggest presbyterian churches in the world are to be found, but it's absolutely unlike the pattern in Africa and Latin America. There, the fastest growing forms of Christianity are pentecostal, and they are spreading among the poor.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2009/may/27/china-calvin-christianity