Strong ecumenical presence set for Lambeth Conference

From EpiscopalLife Online [boldface mine]:

A strong ecumenical presence is planned at the 2008 Lambeth Conference, where Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will welcome more than 75 representatives from a wide variety of churches and Christian communities.

Two of the principal speakers at the conference come from the ecumenical world.

Cardinal Ivan Dias, who will address the bishops in plenary July 22, is head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, and deeply involved in the mission work of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Dias has served not only in his native India, but also in Denmark, Sweden, Indonesia, Madagascar, Poland, and Albania. A frequent speaker at Vatican-sponsored events, the Cardinal continually stresses the need for a "strong witness to the Christian faith, in every situation.". . .

Humm, the work of evangelism for the Catholic Church has begun, I see. Wonder what Cardinal Dias will talk about now?

The Anglican Communion has a longstanding commitment to the ecumenical movement,

Sure it does.

and is presently involved in dialogues at the international level with the Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic churches. Recent international bilateral ecumenical agreements include The Church of the Triune God with the Orthodox Church, and Growing Together in Unity and Mission with the Roman Catholic Church. Both documents were issued only last year and will be discussed at the Lambeth Conference. . .

How many of these dialogues is the Anglican Communion still involved in? And is it as equals, or as a mission field for other branches of Christianity?

In addition to these ecumenical relationships, some member churches of the Anglican Communion have established full communion agreements with churches of other traditions, involving a complete mutual recognition of ministry and sacraments. Several representatives of these full communion partners will also participate in the conference: Archbishop Joris Vercammen and Bishop Joachim Vobbe, Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht; Bishop Ernst Baasland, Church of Norway; Metropolitan Mar Basilios, Malabar Independent Syrian Church; the Most Rev. Godfredo David, Iglesia Filipina Independiente; Bishop Mark Hanson, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Bishop Susan Johnson, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; Archbishop Jukka Paarma, Finnish Lutheran Church; Bishop Ragnar Persenius, Church of Sweden; Archbishop Karl Sigurbjornsson, Icelandic Lutheran Church. . .

Wait a minute, they don't list the new church, the Reformed Catholic Church of Venezuela, decribed this way by George Conger:

The Bolivarian Church, which models itself on the nationalist catholic church formed in Nineteenth century Mexico that has since become the Anglican Church of Mexico, uses the Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer and has adopted a liberal moral ethos, making clerical celibacy optional, permitting divorce and remarriage, and holding that homosexual conduct is not immoral.

How judgmental and non-inclusive to leave them out!

Read it all.

Catholic radio station to kick Protestants off the air

From The Lead at the Episcopal Cafe [boldface mine]:

The Hartford Courant reports that WJMJ-FM, a station owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford, will end the ecumenical format of its programming and use the station to reach out mainly to Roman Catholics.

The station has included many home-grown programs that reflect the religious diversity of the area. The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut has broadcast Sundays at 6 hosted by Fr. Christopher Rose for 24 years.

There appears to be a difference between how the Archdiocese wants to communicate the change and how the station management understands the upcoming changes.

The Archdiocesan communications officer, Fr. John Gatzak, said in a phone interview with the newspaper that "the identity of the station will be Catholic, yes, but that does not mean we will not reach out to other Christian denominations to invite them to participate."

On the other hand, the station's general manager, John Ellinger, told the Courant that he believed that the archdiocese's plan was to take every Protestant show off the air by May. . .

Read it all. It's a little unclear if anyone knows exactly what's really going on, but all I can think is that maybe the Roman Catholics are starting to shake the dust from their feet as far as giving ECUSA a platform.

Answering God's call: Loving hands of Garden of Innocence take abandoned babies to their final rest

From Saturday's San Diego Union-Tribune, a story by Sandi Dolbee on a true calling [boldface mine]:

Bare branches of trees in winter form slender shadows on the lawn, like fingers reaching out to gently rock a cradle. A raised marker welcomes visitors with these words: “Garden of Innocence. Final resting place for abandoned children.”

Annmarie joins them this morning, when she will become the 100th baby buried by a charity whose founder couldn't bear the thought of infants going unclaimed in death.

“These are human beings,” Elissa Davey said. “They don't deserve that.”

Davey, a 59-year-old Vista woman, formed Garden of Innocence in 1998 and held the first funeral the next year.

“To me, it's giving dignity to somebody who had none, and it's giving love to somebody who had none,” Davey added. “The people who come to these services walk away knowing that that baby is a part of their lives.”

Like many of those buried at the Garden of Innocence, Annmarie was a hospital stillborn. A spokesman for Grossmont Hospital said the family was unable to make any other arrangements. Others were found dead elsewhere, their grim discoveries in a landfill or trash bin, often making the news.

“We don't dwell on that part,” said Georgene Kruzel, a 54-year-old Spring Valley woman who became president of the group in January. “We dwell on making that life recognized. Our agreement with the county is we basically get the child with very little information. We don't need to know.”

Here is what Kruzel and Davey do know: It takes a village to bury these babies.

The initial land was donated by El Camino Memorial Park in Sorrento Valley (donations have subsequently helped buy adjacent property). Volunteers make the caskets and baby blankets, write poems for each child and supply a toy to be tucked into the coffin. The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization, provides the honor guard.

Larry Campitiello, a local Knights of Columbus member, was there in full dress uniform for the first service nearly nine years ago.

“I showed up with six of my brother Knights,” remembers Campitiello, who is 71 now and lives in Rancho Bernardo. “We've had Knights of Columbus at every burial ever since.”

Baby-naming honors are rotated to volunteers, donors and anyone who expresses an interest, according to Davey. Campitiello and his wife named Baby No. 100. “My wife and I had three sons,” he explained. “We decided way back that if we ever got a girl, we would name her Annmarie.”. . .

The lining for Annmarie's casket was made by Alice Busch, a 60-year-old San Marcos resident who learned about the Garden of Innocence through the Mormon church she attends. The cloth is polka-dotted flannel, trimmed in lace. Busch said she wanted something soft and delicate, something that would bring comfort.

“I just have never had anything touch my heart like this has,” Busch said of the Garden of Innocence project. “You hear about these things all the time in the news, but you never hear about what happened to them afterward.”

Howard Sanders, a woodworker who heard about the program through his mother, crafted the coffin out of sapele wood, which has a reddish-brown luster similar to mahogany.

Sanders, a 39-year-old San Marcos resident, said he got involved because he felt it was the right thing – and because it may serve as an example of service to his own children.

“By doing this, I am able to teach my daughters that this is what we do,” he said.

Wally Hobbs, one of several funeral directors who volunteer their services, will deliver Annmarie this morning in his shiny hearse, a specially outfitted black van.

“I take pride in doing the funeral,” said Hobbs, 61, of All Faiths Mortuary and Crematory Services in Rancho Peñasquitos. “When it comes to children, they need to be loved.”

Even with the donated help, each funeral still costs about $400 in fees and other expenses. Those costs are borne by donations to the Garden of Innocence, a registered nonprofit charity.

Davey's hope is to take the program national. Already there is a similar garden in St. Louis, and one in Las Vegas should be finished this summer. . .

John Edwards, deputy public administrator for the county, said there have been no complaints against Garden of Innocence. “Personally, I think it's a wonderful program,” he said. “It's been a godsend to the county.”

Abandoned babies used to be buried in unmarked graves at the city-owned Mount Hope Cemetery. Now, after a certain amount of time elapses in which babies of at least 20 weeks in gestation remain unclaimed, county officials contact Davey.

“We never take aborted fetuses,” Davey said.

The services are open to the public, generally drawing crowds of a handful of people to more than 70. . .

Through the years, a range of clergy have presided over the graveside funerals – from Pentecostal to Religious Science to an American Indian shaman. Today, San Diego Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone will be there. . .

Read it all.
And an update from the San Diego Knights of Columbus, who have been at every burial since the first one nine years ago:

Brothers,

On March 1st we had 70 Knights in colors and 30 other Knights to help AnnMarie to have a dignified Funeral. The Auxiliary Bishop Cordileone presided over the service.

John Ramirez, GK 9710

And from the Garden of Innocence website, a description of how the Knights of Columbus serve this ministry:

Even though we are a non-denominational organization, these wonderful gentlemen from the Catholic Knights of Columbus have made it part of their personal journey to add dignity to every memorial service.

At our first service for Adam there were 7 and we have had as many as 70 show up. We can't tell you how awe inspiring it is to see these gentlemen, some in their late 80's, walking toward the garden escorting a small casket, containing a child that no one else wanted, out to their final resting place.

They stand at attention in their capes, caps, gloves and swords, They salute each child and make the services so much more wonderful by their presence. We are so proud to have them take on this honor. They have been faithful and awesome in their love and care in which they treat each and every child that comes into the Garden of Innocence. You will find this one memorial service that you will want to tell your friends about and return again and again. . .