California parents: Information for those with children in public schools

From the California Catholic Conference, a handy-dandy synopsis of what parents of public schoolers need to know about their rights. Read the entire info here (also available in Spanish).

An excerpt from the two-page brochure [boldface mine]:

. . . By law, at the beginning of each school year, public schools send home many documents. In one of these documents, the school district will be giving notification that the school assumes approval of all of the school’s curriculum and activities.

In other words, if a parent or guardian does not approve of any of the topics mentioned above he or she must notify the school. If the parent or guardian does nothing the school officials can and will assume approval or an “opt-in” to the school’s entire program.

However, the language explaining the school’s policy regarding “opt-in” and “opt-out” is written in “legalese” and can easily be overlooked or misunderstood by families.

In plain words:

• Parents or guardians who object to certain education offered to their children must specifically request that they be excused, i.e., they must “opt-out,” or the school assumes that permission for the students to participate has been granted.


• In order to make that “specific request” a parent or guardian must complete an “opt-out” form. A standard “opt-out” form can be obtained from the school office.


• A signed “opt-out” form must be submitted for each student and for each type of objectionable activity from which that student is to be excused.


• An “opt-out” form for each student is only considered valid for the current school year—and must be resubmitted annually.


• All parents or guardians have the right to be informed of the content and approximate date of presentation of all materials and subjects.


• In addition, all parents or guardians have the right to examine copies of all tests, questionnaires, or surveys that inquire about students’ or their parents’ personal beliefs, family life, religion or sex practices.

Confidential Medical Services

From the time students enter the 7th grade in a public school, they are granted complete freedom for purposes of securing confidential medical services, which may include contraceptives, abortions and psychotropic drugs.

That policy is the result of a 1997 court decision (American Academy of Pediatrics v. Lungren) which extended the “right of privacy” to minors. The California Supreme Court ruled that a minor’s right to privacy superseded the minor’s parents’ rights as guardians.

In addition, in 2004 California’s Attorney General Lockyer wrote an opinion supporting that school policy, saying:

“We conclude that a school district may not adopt a policy pursuant to which the school will notify a parent when a student leaves school to receive confidential medical services.”

Confidential medical services may include abortion, birth control, AIDS treatment and/or psychological analysis.

Ordinarily, parents or guardians must grant written permission for their children to participate in off campus activities or to receive over-the-counter medication from school personnel. However, when a student requests confidential medical services, then he or she can actually be released without parental knowledge or permission during school hours to receive those services.

Like the notification regarding “opt-out” for objectionable educational activities, at the beginning of each school year, parents or guardians are notified of this public school policy for students in grades 7-12.

And like the notification about the availability of an “opt-out,” the information about the policy of releasing students for confidential medical services may also be overlooked or misunderstood. . .

Yale threatens to ban Shvarts’ art project from show

Follow-up on this story from the Yale Daily News [boldface mine]:

The University will not allow Aliza Shvarts ’08 to display her controversial senior art project at its scheduled opening Tuesday unless she confesses in writing that the exhibition is a work of fiction, Yale officials said Sunday.

The University, meanwhile, acknowledged that it has disciplined two faculty members for their role in allowing Shvarts to proceed with a project that she claimed included nine months of repeated artificial inseminations followed by self-induced miscarriages.

As news of Shvarts’ project swept across the Web last week and attracted the ire of students and private citizens alike, Shvarts and the University engaged in a match of he-said/she-said: Shvarts stood by her project as she described it earlier last week in a news release, while the University — claiming Shvarts had privately denied actually committing the acts in question — dismissed it as a hoax that amounted to nothing more than “performance art.”. . .

Two days later, [Yale College Dean Peter] Salovey and [School of Art Dean Robert] Storr announced that an investigation had found “serious errors in judgement” on the part of two unnamed individuals — ostensibly her thesis adviser, School of Art lecturer Pia Lindman, and School of Art Director of Undergraduate Studies Henk van Assen — who had been involved in her project before it incited mass condemnation across campus and across the country and that “appropriate action” had been taken against them. . .

In interviews last week, Shvarts said that Lindman and van Assen had both supported her project before it became the object of public dismay. The Davenport College senior defended her project as “University-sanctioned” because it had received their approval.

“I started out with the University on board with what I was doing, and because of the media frenzy they’ve been trying to dissociate with me,” she said at the time. “Ultimately, I want to get back to a point where they renew their support, because ultimately this was something they supported.”. . .

In his statement Sunday night, Salovey called on Shvarts to produce a written confession admitting that her project did not actually include the graphic acts that she had first described. He added that Shvarts will not be allowed to install her project unless she admits she did not try to inseminate herself and induce miscarriages and promises that no human blood will be displayed in her exhibit. . .

But if the art opening does not continue, the University is likely to face criticism that it has restricted freedom of expression.

In his statement, Storr emphasized that the University “has a profound commitment to freedom of expression” and that he, personally, supports the legality of abortion.

“That said, Yale does not encourage or condone projects that would involve unknown health risks to the student,” Storr said. “Nor does it believe that open discourse and inquiry can exist in an educational and creative community when an individual exercises these rights but evades full intellectual accountability for the strong response he or she may provoke.”

Of course, no mention of the health risks to the baby.
Read it all. And read the comments as well. One example of the Yale student perspective:

aliza = galileo

salovey = grand inquisitioner

And this comment compares writing a novel to having an abortion:

It's very easy to make a commitment to freedom of artistic expression when the art doesn't offend, provoke, or challenge. But while hanging non-controversial projects in the gallery may show the university's ability to instruct in aesthetic and technique, it is not a test of Yale's commitment to freedom of artistic expression. That test only comes when they have the choice between supporting a controversial artist, or bowing to the voices of the crowd. I am disappointed that the administration appears to be saying "We will support the rights of our artists to express themselves, unless..."

Shvarts's piece follows a long tradition of provocative art that causes many to react with disgust. The Tragedy of Medea causes people to react with disgust. The plays of Chris Durang cause people to react with disgust. The novels of Thomas Hardy cause people to react with disgust. Disgust, offense, and revulsion are not sufficient reasons to stifle artistic expression and I would have expected better from Yale than to join a mob in the doing of its work.

It's enough to have me send my child to community college - I think he'd get a better education and hopefully meet more thoughtful people.

I did, however, like this comment:

Here's my submission of performance art. It's titled "He tried".

In act one, I attend grade school, study hard, get good grades, attend a state college, get more good grades,and get a degree.

In act two, I get a job at which I am particularly well suited. I go to this job every day, pay my taxes, and obey the law. I get married and after seeing my wife suffering several miscarriages and a stillborn baby, we have a beautiful daughter - the normal way. We raise her to love others and be thankful for her great gifts.

In act three, I finish my working days, see my daughter become a well-adjusted, non-whining woman. I finally fall into declining health and die. On my tombstone are two words: He tried.

This is my performance art... and it is strong.

Now, that is a grateful heart.
H/t to the Volokh Conspiracy.

Ugandan police arrest 10 over fatal school fire

An update on the Buddo Girls’ School fire in Uganda. From the International Herald Tribune:

A police spokesman says 10 people have been arrested in connection with a fire that killed at least 19 Ugandan school girls.

Judith Nabakooba says the dormitory matron and school guards at Budo school were among those arrested in the investigation into Monday's fire. She did not speculate on motives but said Friday that police were offering US$3,000 for information.

Earlier, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said there were "signs that there was negligence by the school administration."

Thousands of people attended a prayer service for the dead girls in the capital Friday, where Anglican Bishop Samuel Balagadde Sekadde spoke of 10-year-old Yvonne Namaganda, who rescued six of her classmates before being overcome by fumes when she returned help a seventh.

Read it all.

Yale: For senior, abortion a medium for art, political discourse *Updated and Bumped*

UPDATE: More confusion.

First a statement from Yale saying it was all a hoax:

Statement by Helaine S. Klasky — Yale University, Spokesperson
New Haven, Conn. — April 17, 2008

Ms. Shvarts is engaged in performance art. Her art project includes visual representations, a press release and other narrative materials. She stated to three senior Yale University officials today, including two deans, that she did not impregnate herself and that she did not induce any miscarriages. The entire project is an art piece, a creative fiction designed to draw attention to the ambiguity surrounding form and function of a woman’s body.

She is an artist and has the right to express herself through performance art.

Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.

Then a rebuttal by the "artist":

But Shvarts stood by her project, calling the University’s statement “ultimately inaccurate.”. . .

But Shvarts reiterated Thursday that she repeatedly use a needleless syringe to insert semen into herself. At the end of her menstrual cycle, she took abortifacient herbs to induce bleeding, she said. She said she does not know whether or not she was ever pregnant.

“No one can say with 100-percent certainty that anything in the piece did or did not happen,” Shvarts said, “because the nature of the piece is that it did not consist of certainties.”

This afternoon, Shvarts showed the News footage from tapes she plans to play at the exhibit. The tapes depict Shvarts — sometimes naked, sometimes clothed — alone in a shower stall bleeding into a cup.

Pia Lindman, Shvarts’s thesis adviser, and Davenport College Dean Craig Harwood could not be reached for comment Thursday. Art Director of Undergraduate Studies Henk van Assen deferred comment to the Yale Office of Public Affairs. . .

So it's hard to know at this point who is telling the truth and who isn't. But it's obvious Shvart has bought into the mindset that says there is no absolute Truth.

I think this commentary by Warner Todd Huston on LifeNews.com probably states it best [boldface mine]:

. . . What is really the truth with this so-called "art" project, though, is that Shvarts has pulled the wool over the eyes of the Yale Daily News, the willing dupes who claim to be her professors, and anyone reading this story on Drudge and believing she really induced her own miscarriages. It's all a hoax.

Or, if not an outright hoax, it’s a misleading tale of a girl who hasn't a clue about how one becomes pregnant, what the fake drugs she took are really capable of doing, and the psychological pain of a real miscarriage.

It's also proof that our sources of news rarely if ever employ any common sense in how they write up the news. A tiny bit of logic put to this story of "self-induced miscarriages" would reveal it to be all stuff and nonsense.

But, no, what we get instead is the story reported as if it is fact and not the cynical efforts of a kid that just wants her 15 minutes of fame. It is also proof that the liberal side of the abortion debate leads the ideological mindset of the news. . .

Seems very grave and serious, doesn't it? This girl put her body through the repeated physical abuse of impregnation and miscarriage for her "art." If this were true, it would have been quite a physical ordeal.

In fact, if it had really happened, I'd imagine that she might possibly have put her health, or at least her future ability to become pregnant, at risk. But, in truth she was likely never pregnant, she never had any "miscarriages" and there was nothing but common menstrual fluids resulting.

What was her "process?" How did she create these so-called miscarriages?

She asked boys she knew to donate sperm (she claims she also asked them to have tests for sexually transmitted diseases), she supposedly implanted that sperm into herself, and then she took these claimed herbal concoctions misleadingly called "abortifacient drugs" to end the pregnancy with forced miscarriage.

The main question is, was she ever pregnant? I have to say most likely no.

The "turkey baster" method of implanting semen for impregnation is very ineffective, though known to be successful. Sperm does not live for too long once it hits the open air, so implantation would had to have occurred quickly after the issuing of the fluids. So, to assume that this girl had actually impregnated herself is not a good bet. . .

Read it all. As for me, I think Aliza needs our prayers and, hoax or not, this is the product of a very immature and possibly disturbed mind. (And I keep thinking of the boys she said donated sperm. If this is true, did they know what she planned to do with it? And what is their culpability?)

Original: This story in the Yale Daily News appears to be true. If it's not, it's a sick joke. If it is true, it is so incredibly sad. Prayers are desperately needed for this student, the other Yale students that are affected by this, and of course, the babies.

You are so young in college - you think you're an adult and so hip, but you aren't and you won't realize that until years later. Often, you have no idea about the bigger issues of life, even if you do spend all night discussing them in the abstract with your classmates.

We know that Christ can forgive and offer peace, and I pray that this girl has her heart softened so that she can ask for that forgiveness.

From the Yale Daily News:

Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement.

Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.

The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts' project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock . saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.

But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for "shock value."

"I hope it inspires some sort of discourse," Shvarts said. "Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it's not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone."

The "fabricators," or donors, of the sperm were not paid for their services, but Shvarts required them to periodically take tests for sexually transmitted diseases. She said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body. The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages.

Shvarts declined to specify the number of sperm donors she used, as well as the number of times she inseminated herself. . .

"I believe strongly that art should be a medium for politics and ideologies, not just a commodity," Shvarts said. "I think that I'm creating a project that lives up to the standard of what art is supposed to be."

The display of Schvarts' project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts' self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.

Schvarts will then project recorded videos onto the four sides of the cube. These videos, captured on a VHS camcorder, will show her experiencing miscarriages in her bathrooom tub, she said. Similar videos will be projected onto the walls of the room. . .

Read it all.

Grief engulfs Ugandan school

Here's a list of news sources for information on the fire at the Buddo Girls’ School (part of the Church of Uganda) in Kampala, Uganda. From initial reports, the fire does appear to have been deliberately set.

• The BBC - Grief engulfs Ugandan school


• CBS News - 19 Girls Killed In Uganda School Fire


• inthenews.co.uk - Fire at Ugandan school kills at least 19 children


• The Denver Post - 21 die in Uganda dorm fire


• Newstin has a list of additional stories.

Go Wildcats! Davidson beats Wisconsin; now in the final EIGHT!

From ESPN:

Curry's sweet touch continues as Davidson eludes Wisconsin

DETROIT (AP) -- Stephen Curry knocked down yet another 3, thumped his chest and pointed skyward.

Heavens yes, Davidson is marching on.

Curry scored more than 30 points for a third straight game, and the 10th-seeded Wildcats pulled off another stunner Friday night, rolling over third-seeded Wisconsin 73-56 to advance to the Midwest Regional finals.

Davidson (29-6) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 25. The Wildcats will play the winner of the Villanova-Kansas game on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four.

Yes, add another defensive powerhouse to Curry's list of victims. A week after shredding Gonzaga and Georgetown's vaunted defenses, the son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry dismantled the Badgers and defensive specialist Michael Flowers.

Curry outscored the Badgers all by himself in the second half, 22-20.
Wisconsin (31-5) was holding opponents to 53.9 points, best in the nation, and hadn't allowed Kansas State a single 3-point basket in the second round.

But instead of being intimidated by the big stage -- not to mention the monstrous Ford Field venue -- Curry and Davidson played with such ease and attitude they may as well have been in their cozy little gym back home.

And it did feel a little like home with Davidson's rowdy cheering section. The Board of Trustees popped for the trip -- bus fare, tickets and a hotel room -- for students who wanted to make the 11-hour ride from North Carolina, and a few hundred took them up on the offer. . .

Read it all.

Abortionist applauded at NEA conference

From Creative Minority Report (although I have seen this story on numerous blogs this week) [boldface mine]:

This is sickening folks. Students for Life of America (SFLA) released video exposing footage of abortionist Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, KS openly discussing children who “slip out” accidentally during an abortion and are “born alive” or with a “heartbeat” during the Feminist Majority Foundation’s annual Women’s Leadership Conference, held at the National Education Association (NEA).

The worst is how they applaud this monster as a hero.

Dr. Tiller, who currently faces 19 criminal charges for illegal late-term abortions in the state of Kansas, stated “If the baby is born alive, that is sloppy medicine” after addressing the crowd of about 100 feminists during a plenary session titled “Standing with our Sisters” on March 9, 2008.

I warn you that the video reveals Dr. Tiller showcasing graphic pictures of children with fetal abnormalities that he aborted to make the case for late-term abortions as necessary medical procedure. He also admitted to performing abortions on children the day before the mother’s due date. So just so we're all clear - when pro-lifers show aborted infants that's evil and awful but when they do it, it's good. Not sure why but just trust them.

Read it all.

U.S. Episcopal seminaries to close down

From George Conger:

The Episcopal Church’s three most liberal seminaries have announced they will shut their doors or reorganize due to declining enrollments and straightened financial circumstances.

On Feb 20 the dean of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois announced it would “suspend recruitment and admissions to all degree and certificate programs.” Bexley Hall announced on Feb 22 it was closing its Rochester, New York campus and would consolidate operations at shared facilities in Colombus, Ohio, while last week the Dean of Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts announced his resignation after the school voted to sell a portion of its campus to a teacher’s college. . .

Read it all.

California: Ruling seen as a threat to many home-schooling families

Because the state does such a great job of educating our children - from the L.A. Times:

Parents who lack teaching credentials cannot educate their children at home, according to a state appellate court ruling that is sending waves of fear through California's home schooling families.

Advocates for the families vowed to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. Enforcement until then appears unlikely, but if the ruling stands, home-schooling supporters say California will have the most regressive law in the nation.

"This decision is a direct hit against every home schooler in California," said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which represents the Sunland Christian School, which specializes in religious home schooling. "If the state Supreme Court does not reverse this . . . there will be nothing to prevent home-school witch hunts from being implemented in every corner of the state of California."

The institute estimates there are as many as 166,000 California students who are home schooled. State Department of Education officials say there is no way to know the true number.

Unlike at least 30 other states, home schooling is not specifically addressed in California law. Under the state education code, students must be enrolled in a public or private school, or can be taught at home by a credentialed tutor.

The California Department of Education currently allows home schooling as long as parents file paperwork with the state establishing themselves as small private schools, hire credentialed tutors or enroll their children in independent study programs run by charter or private schools or public school districts while still teaching at home.

California does little to enforce those provisions and insists it is the local school districts' responsibility. In addition, state education officials say some parents home school their children without the knowledge of any entity.

Home schoolers and government officials have largely accepted this murky arrangement.

"This works so well, I don't see any reason to change it," said J. Michael Smith, president of the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Assn.

The appellate court ruling stems from a case involving Lynwood parents Phillip and Mary Long, who were repeatedly referred to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services over various allegations, including claims of physical abuse, involving some of their eight children.

All of the children are currently or had been enrolled in Sunland Christian School, where they would occasionally take tests, but were educated in their home by their mother, Phillip Long said.

A lawyer appointed to represent two of the Long's young children requested that the court require them to physically attend a public or private school where adults could monitor their well-being. A trial court disagreed, but the children's lawyer appealed to the 2nd District Court of Appeal, which has jurisdiction over Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

The appellate panel ruled that Sunland officials' occasional monitoring of the Longs' home schooling -- with the children taking some tests at the school -- is insufficient to qualify as being enrolled in a private school. Since Mary Long does not have a teaching credential, the family is violating state laws, the ruling said.

"Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children," wrote Justice H. Walter Croskey in a Feb. 28 opinion signed by the two other members of the district court. "Parents who fail to [comply with school enrollment laws] may be subject to a criminal complaint against them, found guilty of an infraction, and subject to imposition of fines or an order to complete a parent education and counseling program."

Phillip Long said he believes the ruling stems from hostility against Christians and vowed to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

"I have sincerely held religious beliefs," he said. "Public schools conflict with that. I have to go with what my conscience requires me.". . .

Other organizations that plan to get involved include the Pacific Justice Institute, Home School Legal Defense Assn. and the Home School Assn. of California.

Meanwhile, state Department of Education's attorneys are reviewing the ruling.

Teachers union officials will also be closely monitoring the appeal. A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said he agrees with the ruling.

"What's best for a child is to be taught by a credentialed teacher," he said.

While many educators and officials remained unfamiliar with the ruling Tuesday, news about it has been sweeping websites and blogs devoted to home schooling. Organizations have been getting tense phone calls from parents worried that they will be targeted. . .

Glenn and Kathleen, a Sacramento-area couple who requested that their last name not be used for fear of prosecution, home school their 9-year-old son Hunter because their Christian beliefs would be contradicted in a public school setting, Glenn said. He is troubled by the idea that his son would be exposed to teachings about evolution, homosexuality, same-sex marriage and sex education.

"I want to have control over what goes in my son's head, not what's put in there by people who might be on the far left who have their own ideas about indoctrinating kids," he said.

If the ruling takes effect, Glenn vowed to move his family out of state. "If I can't home school my son in California, we're going to have to end up leaving California. That's how important it is to me."

Read it all. I don't homeschool - neither my child nor I would survive such an arrangement, but I know lots of people who do. I think anyone who tries to mess with the right of parents to teach their own children will have a fight of unbelievable proportions on their hands.

Canada: York University blocks abortion debate between pro-abortion atheist and pro-life worker

LifeSiteNews.com has a follow-up to this earlier post on the abortion debate cancellation:

An abortion debate was shut down on February 28 by a student federation at York University on the premiss that abortion is a non-debatable right.

The York University Student Centre cancelled the debate, entitled "Abortion Debate: A Woman's Right or a Moral Wrong?" a mere two hours before it started. As a result, dozens of students were turned away at the door. The debate was to have been between pro-abortion atheist Michael Payton from Freethinkers, Skeptics and Atheists at York, and Jojo Ruba of Calgary's pro-life Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. It was intended to be a balanced debate on abortion, moderated by the York Debating Society.

"We would not have a debate over something that is racist or homophobic," said Gilary Massa, vice-president equity of the York Federation of Students. "This debate is sexist … when it comes to free speech there is a line. … They are talking about taking away women's rights. We would not allow a debate asking if women beating should be allowed.". . .

"The Student Centre has made sure that anyone with different views than theirs can't express themselves, even if both points of view are represented," said [Margaret] Fung, [President of Students for Bioethical Awareness, an official York University club and co-sponsor of the debate]. "They don't seem to understand that we live in a free, democratic society. A university is supposed to be a marketplace of ideas not a propaganda machine for political extremists."

Robert J. Tiffin, vice-president of students, emphasized in his letter to the National Post that the cancellation of the debate was done without the knowledge or consent of York University, but was rather done by students who ran the Student Centre.

"A debate on the subject of abortion was cancelled at York University by the student executive of the Student Centre, without the knowledge or participation of the university," he wrote. "York encourages civic participation and open debate on issues of local, national and international importance. The fact that both sides of the debate wanted to proceed and were prevented from doing so makes the incident all the more regrettable."

The National Post has reported that the York University administration is currently working on a compromise that will allow for students to use some on-campus venue where such a debate can happen in the future. . .

Read it all.
H/t to SoCon or Bust.

Third Annual "Mere Anglicanism" Conference to be held in January

The third annual “MERE ANGLICANISM” conference will be held Thursday, January 31 through Saturday, February 2, 2008, at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul in Charleston, South Carolina.

From their website:

GOD’S TRUSTWORTHY WORD: SCRIPTURE, TRADITION, AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD

The twenty-first century crisis in Anglicanism has arisen out of more than two hundred years of growing hermeneutical suspicion about the eternal trustworthiness of God’s Word Written. This crisis can be resolved only through a faithful re-claiming by the Church of such trust. Analysis and reflection around this issue will constitute the program of this coming year’s conference, led by a roster of internationally renowned speakers.

Dr. Jerry Root -- with a focus on C. S. Lewis
Bishop Robert Duncan – with a focus on developments in the Anglican Communion
Canon Robert Crouse – with a focus on sacramentalism in the Church Fathers and the English Reformers
Bishop (God willing) Mark Lawrence – with a focus on the life and leadership of Charles Henry Brent
Canon Ashley Null – with a focus on Thomas Cranmer for Today
Dr. Paul Moser – with a focus on Jesus as God’s Trustworthy Word
Canon Michael Green – with a focus on “marching orders” for Anglicanism in a New Reformation

Plenary panels and small group opportunities will be interspersed throughout the conference. Networking sessions and gatherings for theological educators and bloggers will be held. Major panelists, discussion leaders and liturgical participants will include Bishop FitzSimons Allison, William Dickson, Gavin Dunbar, Lydia Evans, Leander Harding, Bishop Jack Iker, Kendall Harmon, Gillis Harp, Ann Harrington, Michael Howell, Edith Humphrey, Matt Kennedy, Torrance Kirby, Guy Lytle, William McKeachie, Joe Murphy, Daniel Muth, George Woodliff III, and many other lay leaders, clergy and bishops.

Cost: $80 includes box lunch on Friday and Saturday
Register today at www.MereAnglicanism.com or call Kester Heaton at The Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul: 843-722-7345

Penn State launches study of Episcopal blogs

From the Episcopal Majority:

We have recently received a request from Niyati Kataria, a graduate student at Penn State, to participate in a study of the blogs that are engaging the issues in the Episcopal Church. We have agreed to cooperate with her, and some of the TEM Board members have given her extensive phone interviews.

She will be studying the content of our blog essays and comments. At her request, we are also publishing this announcement to all of you.

We're not feeling like lab rats. And we have confidence that the student and the university are taking appropriate measures to assure confidentiality. But Ms. Kataria and Penn State require that we post the following on our blog during the period of her research. . .

I've also seen this on Fr. Jake's blog, and there may be others out there.

I'm not an academic so I could be totally off base, but it seems to me that as soon as you announce you are conducting a study, you've changed what you are studying. The researcher states on Fr. Jake's:

I would like to use data in the form of your blog posts and comments (posted from October 2004 to the most current entry) on this blog site for my research.

And on Episcopal Majority:

I would like to use data in the form of your blog posts (posted from August 2006 to date) on this blog site for my research.

That's unclear to me whether she is just looking at past posts and comments or whether she will be looking at current postings. I would think any postings or comments from now on out on those blogs that are being studied would not be included, but I could be wrong. Fr. Jake says [boldface mine]:

I had the opportunity to talk with Niyati for about an hour the other day. She is a delightful young lady, so everyone relax and be yourselves. If being quoted makes you nervous, I'd suggest you choose some new catchy nickname. Something with "eccentric" or "heretic" in it would seem appropriate.

That implies to me that he thinks she will be looking at current comments, so I'm not sure. Anyway, it should be interesting.

Gender and the Episcopal Church subject of ISU presentation

From Idaho State University:

Gender and religious issues will be the subject of a free public presentation at Idaho State University on Oct. 18 at noon in the Heritage Room of the ISU Pond Student Union Building.

The Reverend Anne Beatty will present “Why I Didn’t Become the Minister’s Wife.” Beatty’s talk is part of the sixth annual Every Other Thursday Brown Bag Lecture Series: Gender and Religion, presented by the Janet C. Anderson Gender Resource Center.

Beatty has been an Episcopal priest for 14 years, and a rector for the last five, at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Pocatello.

The Every Other Thursday series spotlights gender-related research conducted by ISU faculty, staff, students and, occasionally, Pocatello community members. The lectures are an opportunity for ISU and Pocatello community members to join the ongoing dialogue on a variety of gender issues.

Other scheduled talks will include:

• “Gender and Wicca” presented by Claudia McCoy, assistant director of the ISU Women’s Studies program, on Oct. 31 in the Heritage Room of the PSUB. This will be the only talk scheduled for Wednesday. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes.

• “Gender and Jehovah’s Witnesses” presented by Dee Adair on Nov. 15 in the Heritage Room of the PSUB.

Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student

Thanks to Judith L for pointing me to a new book, Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student by Miriam Grossman, M.D. I haven't read this yet, but plan to as soon as possible. Excerpts from the author's website:

. . . I am here to tell you that radical politics pervades healthcare, and common sense has vanished. Who's paying the highest price? Girls and women.

Not long ago, we physicians could call casual sexual activity "mindless" and "empty." Before political correctness muzzled us in the '90s, a therapist might advise her client that it is love and life-long fidelity that bring liberated sensuality and provide the best insurance against infectious diseases. An unwanted pregnancy, an abortion—these were weighty issues.

We understood that men and women are profoundly different, and weren't afraid to say so. It was clear that liaisons outside a committed relationship could be hazardous. A sexually transmitted infection was a serious matter. Traditional marriage and parenthood were valued milestones. Self-restraint built character, and character was something to strive for. To search for meaning and to make sacrifices for a higher purpose were noble endeavors defining our humanity.

Things have changed. Teens are encouraged to explore and experiment with their sexuality. Self-discipline has been replaced with latex and Plan B. There is tacit approval of promiscuity, and an STI is a rite of passage. Abortion? It's likened to a tonsillectomy.

The health care system has declared war on tobacco and alcohol, tanning salons and transfats, but is silent about the hazards of our hook-up culture. Women's health focuses on preventing pregnancy, but fails to warn that motherhood cannot be delayed indefinitely. Traditional marriage with a mother and father is just one option among others, all equally valid.

Devoted professionals, motivated by altruism, are foisting these agendas on young people. I witness the ramifications daily.

Risky behaviors are a personal choice. Judgments are prohibited—they might offend. Millions of teens have painful, worrisome genital infections—for the rest of their lives. Girls in high school are anxious, not about acne, but about cervical cancer. Women complete their PhDs at 35, and realize the hardest challenge lies ahead: getting their Mrs., and becoming an Mo.M.

The health benefits of church attendance are never discussed. Instead, a past president of the American Psychological Association declares organized religion a major source of social injustice. That organization is also worried about what I think and how I speak. They advise me to avoid thinking of men and women as "opposites," because the term suggests "polarization."

I cannot do my job, my patients are suffering, and I am fed up. . .

Read it all. Also, h/t to The Dawn Patrol.

Dr. Miriam Grossman will be on C-SPAN's BookTV Sunday, 9/9, at 9:15 a.m. and Monday morning at 1:00 a.m., reading the last chapter of her book and taking questions. The event was taped last month at the National Press Club.

Standing-room-only opening at 'La Cage'

From the Orlando Sentinel (and I truly hope that this is the last story on this!):

The thespians of Trinity Preparatory School opened their controversial show Friday night to a full house without the Episcopalian bishop's blessings.

They opened their theatrical season before hundreds at the Orlando Repertory Theatre, playfully prancing around in blond wigs and patent leather heels. Some were girls. Some were boys in drag. And for the Episcopal bishop, that was the problem.

The high schoolers hoped to perform La Cage aux Folles, a musical comedy that features a gay couple and drag queens, on their Christian campus last week.

But Bishop John Howe, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, asked the school's headmaster to cancel the on-campus performance on Aug. 31, just hours before the show was to debut. Howe thought the PG-13 show was inappropriate for the school near Winter Park.

But attendees thought it was inappropriate for the bishop to cancel the students' show. "It was unfortunate that it just got canceled at the last minute. That was an uncalled for reaction," said Doug Truelsen, who attended the opening night Friday.

"They just got the rug whipped right out from under them," said Darby Ballard, an attendee who graduated from Trinity in 1990. "When I went to school we didn't have those guidelines. We had a different administration that was more accepting."

The students took the show to Orlando Repertory Theatre after a week of debate about whether the bishop overstepped his bounds or held his moral ground. At least three other community theaters also opened their doors to the group.

At least 300 parents, peers and neighbors arrived for the opening night, laughing at the jokes, smiling during the solos and whistling as grinning drag queens danced across the stage. . .

. . . Janine Papin, Trinity Prep's fine-arts department chairwoman, said earlier that she wanted do the show to "push the limits." She said the play is about family and tolerance, not about homosexuality.

Fred Trabold, a 32-year-old attorney who graduated from Trinity in 1993, agreed with the bishop's decision.

"The issue is whether the Trinity Preparatory School, which is an Episcopalian school, should honor the bishop of the Episcopalian church," Trabold said. "It's not a matter of homophobia. I saw the movie The Birdcage and it was hilarious."

Howe had no further comment Friday night two hours before curtain."I really have said all I want to about it," he said. . .

H/t to TitusOneNine.
Read it all.

Trinity Prep School play moves to Orlando Repertory Theatre

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Trinity Preparatory School's production of La Cage aux Folles will be performed off campus at a local theatre this weekend, billed as an independent show with no ties to the Episcopal school.

Headmaster Craig Maughan announced the decision in press release this morning. There will be four performances of the musical at the Orlando Repertory Theatre.

The production was to open last weekend at the private school near Winter Park but was cancelled at the request of Bishop John Howe, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. Howe, a leader among the nation's conservative Episcopal bishops, thought the comedy featuring a gay couple and actors dressed in drag was inappropriate for a Christian school.

"We regret the scheduling of this performance has been interpreted as a departure from our 40-year history as an Episcopal school," Maughan said in his statement Thursday. "The students who worked hard to prepare for this play had neither a political nor social agenda."

But the artistic director sure did!

The decision to cancel the show -- a culmination of Trinity Prep's summer theatre program -- angered some students, parents and alumni who questioned why Howe should dictate shows at the independent school. They also said the award-winning musical, which opened on Broadway in 1983, promoted tolerance and family values, even if not of the traditional sort.

So will the school be disaffiliating itself from the Episcopal Church? Or will they continue to receive whatever benefits they might get from that association while ignoring their bishop?

See previous stories here and here.

H/t to TitusOneNine.
Read it all.

New Episcopal chaplain seeks to expand faith boundaries [Austin, Texas]

From the Austin [Texas] American-Statesman:

Chaplain plans to introduce Episcopal school students to other faiths.

The Rev. Cathy Boyd, who looks a good decade younger than her 49 years, has cropped blonde hair, deep blue eyes and passion for pushing the boundaries of her faith.

Recently ordained, she found a job uniquely suited to her personality: upper school chaplain and diversity officer at Trinity Episcopal School, which opened in 1999 for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Her goal: to bring diversity to the daily chapel services required of the school's roughly 400 students. She plans to invite faith leaders from Jewish, Muslim and other religious communities to share their experiences on the West Austin campus.

With only about a third of Trinity students belonging to the Episcopal Church, Boyd finds herself in what she calls a "post-denominational opportunity," a chance to expose kids to a wide range of religious thought. . .

. . . Boyd didn't imagine her seminary training would land her in an Episcopal school, but she said she knew she wanted to do something meaningful. "I really was concerned about getting into ordained ministry and doing nothing but propping up the institution (of the church)," she said. "I want to do work that really matters. And this really matters."

Right now, the grand plans — impressing upon students the importance of social justice and respecting the dignity of others — reside in her mind. But Boyd says she's ready to put them into action. In addition to bringing people from other faith backgrounds to address the students, she will identify diversity training for teachers and encourage campus discussions on racial and cultural prejudice.

Though most of the students are white, she said, the school's values will help them be "diverse thinkers." "This right here is an intentional community," she said before chapel service, "which is here because of the academic excellence of course but also because there's something intangible that an Episcopal school offers to non-Episcopalians and non-Christians."

Liz Powell, a lay person who has overseen chapel services at Trinity for six years and is now the lower school chaplain, laid some of the groundwork by showing students the "wisdom of other seekers." "I'm not hoping, at the end of the day, that there are a bunch of small Episcopalians walking out the door," she said.

What is it about Episcopal schools and their reluctance to proclaim the faith and their adherence to whatever the prevailing culture happens to be? Read it all.