Personal encounters: The church's future depends on missionaries, not mission work

A personal story by the Rev. Richard Lindsley Walton Jr., in EpiscopalLife Online:

In our relationship with the Anglican Communion today, particularly with those in the Global South, it appears we Episcopalians are reaping what we so often have sown by the aloofness of our wired money transfers: the deep division of alienation.

With all due respect to our archbishops, diocesan bishops and professional theologians, the essential point is this: It is much harder to dismiss the other when we have lived, worked and worshipped together, when we have shared a common meal. This is especially true about those with whom we have the most profound disagreements. Living together is still the best way to discover what we truly have in common and what it means to be in communion.

From the first hour Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, she made it clear that she believes the church is currently being forced to neglect its most urgent mission. A few months later, on the day Jefferts Schori was officially invested, when addressing in her sermon those who "disdain" the Episcopal Church's theological position on human sexuality, she proclaimed the great importance of making poverty history, of funding AIDS work in Africa, of distributing anti-malarial mosquito nets around the developing world. And yet, as laudable as those aims and projects are, the question is not the importance of mission; it is the means by which we do it.

In 1933, close to 500 Episcopal missionaries were serving outside the United States. By the late '70s, however, there were fewer than 70. And the trend continued to decline, or to show unstable improvement, until the 1990s. . .

. . . The decline in Episcopal mission is a complicated story, but much of it had to do with a trend toward sending money to fund development projects rather than sending missionaries themselves. That trend often was motivated by guilt about colonialism, both political and religious, and by fears of current economic and cultural imperialism.

Yet, when compared to other Christian relief agencies, the Episcopal Church was not even notably generous. That is the bad news. The good news is that by the dawn of the new century, Episcopal Church mission work began a remarkable renewal. The future of that renewal, however, is very much in question. . .

. . . For decades, dioceses around the communion consistently have requested large numbers of educators along with medical personnel, and more specifically theology instructors, but the Episcopal Church often has shied away from education, especially theological education, as seemingly nonessential. . .

Unfortunately, Walton's suggestion for mission is to export ECUSA's brand of theological chaos, but read it all for yourself.

Diocese of Quincy announces synod plans

From TitusOneNine (but no link to wherever the original is):

The Diocese of Quincy, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, announced today that it will consider proposals at its October Synod that would cut its ties with the General Convention of the Episcopal Church if leaders of that Church continue to pull away from mainstream Anglicanism.

The Archbishops of the Anglican Communion have set September 30th as the deadline for the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops to give “unequivocal” assurance that they will stop advocating teaching and practices that are incompatible with Holy Scripture.

“We’re praying the House of Bishops will have a change of heart when they meet in New Orleans September 20th-25th,” said Bishop Keith Ackerman of Quincy. “As a diocese, our goal has always been to uphold the historic faith and order of the Church. This is reflected in our diocesan Constitution. If the Episcopal Church refuses to turn back, we will be forced to make a decision."

Fr. John Spencer, President of the Quincy Standing Committee, made it clear that the Diocese is not trying to preempt the upcoming meeting of the House of Bishops. "We’re required to finalize proposed Synod resolutions now to meet canonical deadlines. It’s not our intention to prejudge what the House of Bishops may or may not do when they meet later this month.”

Spencer also stressed that Quincy is not acting alone. “Other dioceses will consider similar proposals this fall,” he said. “They will announce their plans in due course. If the Episcopal Church continues to reject the pleas and counsel of the Anglican Communion, we’ll be compelled to seek a home in a different Province of the Communion where we can practice the Christian faith in good conscience.”

Read it all, and check here for my interview with Bishop Ackerman for AnglicanTV from March.

Revelation 2:2-5 & Galatians 6:7-10

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

I need this as a reminder, because I think it is very wearying to be a member of a church that denies at various levels, by words and actions, the divinity of Christ and the understanding of His Word. Which leads me to Galatians 6:7-10:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Of course, I still don't know whether to go or stay, so I suppose that means stay for now (at least until September 30 - the last and final chance for definitive action).

Anglicans turn inside out

From Christianity Today:

Since its founding in 2004, the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) has worked for renewal within the Episcopal Church. Now it is focused on getting conservatives out and keeping them united.

At a July meeting in London with members of the Global South steering committee, Bishop Robert Duncan, moderator of ACN, said he and three other American bishops were asked whether they believed the Episcopal Church (TEC) could be turned back toward orthodoxy. "All of us registered our assessment that the answer to that question was no," he said.

ACN represents 10 dioceses and an estimated 900 congregations, some within TEC and others that have already affiliated or emerged under new alliances or Anglican jurisdictions.

Ephraim Radner, a key leader in ACN, resigned in July over the shift. "My sense is, if you say you are working within the structures of TEC and the [global, 70 million-member] Anglican Communion, then you need to build the structures up, not work in the opposite direction," he said. "They've exported the seeds of division that exist in this country into the larger communion, so holding things together in the global communion has become more difficult."

Christopher Seitz, president of the Anglican Communion Institute, agrees. "Those of us who believe that Canterbury and the communion are precious gifts of God to the church and the world don't want to squander that just yet," he said. "The missionary success of the communion has relied on our instruments [of unity] for the proclamation of the gospel."

But where conservatives like Radner and Seitz see a tragic rift, other conservatives see realignment and reformation.

"The gospel has always been a global movement," said the Rev. Martyn Minns, who heads the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, which is under the Anglican Church of Nigeria. "We're actually rediscovering an essentially non-hierarchical view of the church and what it means to be part of a global communion."

Duncan stressed that orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans are divided not over theology, but over tactics. He said some of the division is between priests and academics.

"They want everything to be clear and black and white before new decisions or new courses are taken," Duncan said. "[As a bishop,] my major responsibilities are to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and to protect the sheep, and anything that gets in the way of that is something I have to find a way past."

At least 250 congregations have broken away from TEC since 2003, including more than 40 in 2006 alone. . .

Read it all.

Archbishop Orombi talks to AnglicanTV (and others)

After the consecration of Bishop Guernsey, Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi of Uganda held an informal press conference/interview with the International press. Kevin Kallsen of AnglicanTV was joined by the BBC and the Wall Street Journal.

Go AnglicanTV here to see it.

Also, see here the interview I did with the Archbishop in May for AnglicanTV when he was visiting in southern California.

Bishop Howe writes to Archbishop Williams

From BabyBlueOnline, via email, a letter from Bishop Howe of the Diocese of Central Florida to Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams:

My Dear Archbishop Rowan,

I have just seen the preposterous diatribe sent to you by Bishop Jack Spong, and, as one of his fellow Bishops, I send my deepest apology.

I am saddened that in his very first sentences he has disparaged you for "not coming alone" to the meeting of the American House of Bishops later this month The invitation, which I personally composed, was, of course, to you AND the members of the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates.

Bishop Spong has systematically denied virtually every tenet of the Christian Faith, and he presided over the near-destruction of the Diocese of Newark. During his tenure (1978 - 2000) the number of baptized members in the Diocese of Newark declined from 64,323 to 36,674, a loss of 27,649 or 43 percent. Eighteen congregations were closed between 1978 and 1997, and a further nine in 2000. . .

Read it all.

Parishes of the International Conference of the Anglican Communion Network

From Anglican Mainstream:

The Anglican Communion Network provides a list of the parishes that come under the oversight of overseas provinces and their American-based bishops.

Read here

Interesting list--check it out!

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.

Diocese of South Carolina awaits completed consent forms

From the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (my home diocese), round two:

On Friday, August 31, the forms requesting the consent to the Election of Mark Lawrence as our next Diocesan Bishop were mailed to the Standing Committees of the Episcopal Church. The letter, accompanying the forms, explained the process to date and said, in part, “Throughout this process, we have operated within the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church, in consultation with the Presiding Bishop’s Office. It is our prayerful hope that you will see in this election the work of the Holy Spirit, as do we, and give your consent to Fr. Lawrence’s election.”

The letter may be viewed in its entirety on-line.

Your prayers are coveted as we wait, with hope, for a positive outcome.

The Rev. J. Haden McCormick
President of the Standing Committee
Diocese of South Carolina

Check it out.
My only question is what is the deadline for all consents to be in? The letter posted is a cover letter to the Standing Committees but has no date for completion in it. Perhaps the forms attached include a date? Huummmmm. . .
H/t to TitusOneNine.

Protest against Archbishop Akinola scheduled in Wheaton

From a new website (first posting dated Sept. 5) called Akinola, Repudiate Anti-Gay Violence, run by Josh Thomas, a lay minister in the Episcopal Church, comes a call to picket Archbishop Akinola of Nigeria on Sunday, Sept. 23, outside Chicago:

Archbishop Peter Akinola, the infamous anti-Gay bigot and schismatic Anglican, is coming to the Chicago area later this month to celebrate the Eucharist with five local breakaway churches which are part of the Anglican Mission in America. He will be greeted by a picket line in protest of his ongoing campaign of intimidation and violence against LGBT Africans. . .

. . . Akinola will appear at the chapel of fundamentalist Wheaton College at 10:30 a.m. The chapel is located at the corner of Washington and Franklin Streets in Wheaton, Illinois, about 30 miles west of downtown Chicago.

The demonstration will be peaceful and will not disrupt the church service. It is aimed not only at the archbishop but at his American enablers, former Episcopalians with a particular antipathy for Gay people who are splitting the Church to keep Gay people out.

Gay and Straight Episcopalians will gather at 8 a.m. for Mass at St. James’s Cathedral, 65 E. Huron St., Chicago, then drive to Wheaton for the demonstration, which will last one hour, from 10-11 a.m. Protesters will march in procession on the sidewalk opposite the Wheaton College Chapel and will not interfere with those attending the church service.

The demonstration is co-sponsored by dailyoffice.org, a prayer website serving the Episcopal Church, and the Gay Liberation Network of Chicago. . .

Check it out. As for me, I will be adding this visit by Archbishop Akinola to my prayers that his presence be a joy to those churches he is visiting and that all protests are truly peaceful and safe.

Bishop O'Neill of Colorado writes Church of the Holy Comforter

From TitusOneNine:

Church of the Holy Comforter

Dear Friends,

This past Monday I was sorry to learn that your rector, The Reverend Chuck Reeder, has tendered his resignation effective October 1 and that simultaneously the members of your vestry have also resigned effective October 1. These actions follow soon after a meeting I had with your rector, wardens, and treasurer on August 8 during which I was informed that The Church of the Holy Comforter is currently facing significant financial challenges. These difficulties, I am told, stem from the fact that 42% of pledge income to the parish is currently being withheld by members of the parish who are unhappy with The Episcopal Church—members who, as it was explained to me, have no intention of contributing to ministry of The Church of the Holy Comforter so long as it remains a member of The Episcopal Church.

During that same meeting, I explained to your parish leadership that our Diocesan Canons have a provision by which my office will work with the leadership of any parish that is so “imperiled” to thoroughly assess the situation and to develop a viable plan for the future of the congregation. Over the past several weeks, my office, working with your Senior Warden, John Bosio, began taking steps to put that process in place. Subsequently your rector and vestry decided to resign. Even so, you should know that this process of assessing the life of the parish and developing a plan for recovery will continue to move forward under the direction of my office. For those of you that have concerns about the buildings and property, they belong as always to the Episcopal Church, and I am committed to seeing that the Episcopal Church continues to exercise its ministry in that location in the days and years to come. Moreover, your parish leadership has graciously expressed their intent to work with my office to that end without engaging in any disputes over the ownership of property. For their thoughtfulness and good will, I am indeed grateful.

You should know too, that although they have already tendered their resignations, your wardens and vestry have stated their desire and commitment to cooperate with my office to provide for a smooth transition as we identify the steps that will be necessary to provide The Church of the Holy Comforter with new pastoral leadership and guidance in the days ahead.

Over the next week, I will be in conversation with your rector and wardens to identify the specific steps and the timetable for the upcoming transition. Just as soon as that work has been done, you can expect to hear directly from me. To that end, I have scheduled a parish meeting for Thursday, September 6, at 7:30 p.m. at The Church of the Holy Comforter to update you on the situation and to outline the next steps that will be taken to reorganize and redevelop The Church of the Holy Comforter.

Although I am indeed saddened to know that some members of your congregation have expressed a desire to leave The Episcopal Church, I trust that they do so in good faith and out of a heartfelt desire to respond faithfully to the call of God in their lives. I want you to know that I continue to hold those individuals in my prayers and to ask God’s blessing on them in the same way I hold all of you in my prayers during these difficult days.

Just as The Church of the Holy Comforter has had a wonderful and vibrant history of ministry in the Broomfield area and in The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado in the past, I am confident that it will continue to do so in the days ahead. I am committed to working with you to that end, and, as always, I am confident in the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit working within us and among us to bear the fruit of God’s purpose in our lives. For now, God’s peace and blessing be with you. I will look forward to speaking with you soon.

Yours faithfully in Christ,

--(The Rt. Rev) Robert O’Neill is Bishop of Colorado

See earlier post on this here.

And now… an EU day against the death penalty

From Cranmer, a posting on the EU's newest proposal, "European day against the Death Penalty":

The European Commission has proposed the creation of a 'European day against the death Penalty', to be commemorated annually on 10th October. It is intended that this day should fuse with the 'World Day against the Death Penalty', which has taken place on 10th October every year since 2003. . .

. . . However, the ‘justice experts’ who met in Brussels to decree our new commemorative day have clashed with Poland, which is increasingly supplanting the United Kingdom as the nation most likely to save Europe from herself. Poland argues that the issue ‘should form part of a broader discussion on life and death – including abortion and euthanasia’. It is admirable indeed that Roman Catholic Poland should seek to raise the temperature on the whole Sanctity of Life issue: why, indeed, should society tolerate the termination of the lives of millions of unborn, yet protest at the ‘infinite worth’ of the ‘human dignity’ of murderers, paedophiles or rapists?

Poland argues that the idea of the right to life cannot be reduced to the death penalty problem alone: ‘We think that when anybody wants to discuss a problem of death in the context of the law it is also worth to discuss on euthanasia and abortion in this context’.

But the European Commission rejects any such link between the death penalty and other ‘right to life’ issues, saying: ‘In our view the context of the discussion is limited and clear. The subject of the debate is the death penalty’.

Why? On what authority? By whose limitation?

If the right to life is violated and the moral order offended by capital punishment, then a fortiori are they violated and offended by the termination of life in the womb. If the dignity due to every individual is sufficient to end the death penalty, then a fortiori might it be used to make the case against abortion or euthanasia. After all, the one who is under sentence of death is an aggressor against society: he or she has already violated the dignity of others, and might therefore justly forfeit their own in retribution. But a child in its mother's womb is innocent of any wrongdoing, and the termination of the defenceless is infinitely more barbarous than the execution of the guilty. . .

. . . Ultimately, for all its violence and offence, capital punishment may be justified both for its deterrence and its retributive effect. Just very occasionally, the defence of the realm may be better served by the elimination of an individual who seeks to corrupt, contaminate, or destroy it. If, as the EU asserts, the dignity of human life means that life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil, then society surrenders the ultimate penalty from its criminal justice system.

Capital punishment might offend the European Commission, but abortion offends God. If human life belongs only to God, then whoever violates that life must surely violate God.

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.

It's time for Shoe Thursday

In honor of autumn, some low heel boots:


or maybe these:



I don't know why, but plaid always seems a fall fashion to me - so enjoy!

Korean Christians murdered because they refused to convert

From Gateway Pundit:

The reason the two Korean Christian missionaries in Afghanistan were murdered was because...they refused the Taliban’s demand to convert to Islam.

. . . The youth pastor who was leading the group of 23 South Korean aid volunteers in Afghanistan was killed for refusing to convert to Islam, the head pastor of the church revealed after the final 19 former hostages arrived home.

“Among the 19 hostages who returned on the second (of September), some were asked by the Taliban to convert and when they rejected, they were assaulted and severely beaten,” reported Park Eun-jo, pastor of the hostages’ home church, Saemmul Presbyterian Church in Bundang, just south of the South Korean capital Seoul.

“I heard from the hostages that they were threatened with death,” he added, according to Christian Today Korea. “Especially it is known that the reason Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu was murdered was because he refused the Taliban’s demand to convert.”. . .

Read it all.

Anglican TV Uganda 2007 Consecration stream

From AnglicanTV

ECUSA satellite offices: resistance is futile

From EpiscopalLife Online:

Service, collaboration central in reorganization set for Church Center: Presiding Bishop, colleagues outline recommendations; plan includes satellite offices

Raising levels of service to dioceses, congregations, and individuals -- "equipping people to use their gifts" -- is at the heart of recommendations to reorganize work based at the Episcopal Church Center, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in a September 5 presentation to staff.

The goal "is to use the gifts and skills of the staff for the good of the whole Church," she noted, inviting participants in the staff-wide assembly to contemplate in new ways what it means to take on the "role of servant leaders" for the Episcopal Church, formed of 110 dioceses configured in some 16 nations and territories.

"This is about being the body of Christ," Jefferts Schori added, underscoring that healthy bodies are capable of demonstrating flexibility, adaptability, and "building new connections." Every member of Christ's body is valued and essential, she said.

The Presiding Bishop said the reorganization would facilitate "excellence in management," encourage "churchwide thinking in all mission programs," and be "responsive and supportive of those who lead ministries." She emphasized that the reorganization "is not about budget cutting" but about establishing the best possible deployment of personnel; "it is about effectiveness and servant leadership.". . .

. . . Other highlights include steps to create "an inspired workforce," and satellite offices launched in several cities to operate in collaboration with the Church Center, located at 815 Second Avenue in New York City. . .

. . . [Linda Watt, the Episcopal Church's chief operating officer and a vice president of the DFMS] said satellite offices -- with staffs of about three persons each -- are planned for Los Angeles and Atlanta, with conversations continuing with regard to a Midwest location, and to explore opportunities in Seattle. The plan leaves room for consideration designation of other sites in the future.

The Los Angeles office will be strategic for media work, ethnic ministries and preparations for the 2009 General Convention meeting in nearby Anaheim, Watt said, noting that the Atlanta office is envisioned to specialize in evangelism and growth, as well as seminary partnerships. Congregational life, ecumenical partners, and philanthropy are focus areas for the Midwest location, while a Seattle site would afford connections with local environmental advocacy work and Pacific Rim relationships.

The satellite offices are to be "co-located" with diocesan or parish facilities, she said. The Los Angeles office, for example, is planned for the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, located in the Echo Park district with an on-site, 14-room retreat center to support overnight conferences. Location for the Atlanta site is yet to be confirmed.

Satellite office staff members are meant to be "out and about in the region," serving as "church diplomats," Watt said. . .

. . . The Presiding Bishop also acknowledged that she is "aware of the anxiety" created by the reorganization plan, but encouraged staff members to "stay open" to the opportunities created by change. She also added her "abundant thanks" for each Church Center staff member and "all that each of you contribute.". . .

Read it all, but it definitely sounds like some budget cutting to me.

Syracuse Congregation, Bishop Reach Separation Terms

From the Living Church:

The congregation of the Free Church of St. Andrew’s in the Valley, Syracuse, N.Y., will not “invite or permit” any Anglican bishop to perform any episcopal functions at its regular place of worship for at least the next six months after reaching a court-approved settlement Aug. 28 with the Diocese of Central New York.

The agreement permits the former Episcopal congregation to continue worshiping in its current building without charge while the parish leadership attempts to locate another worship site. The lease may be extended on a month-to-month basis at the court’s discretion for an additional six months if the congregation is unsuccessful finding another location after making a good-faith effort. Under terms of the agreement approved by state Supreme Court Justice James Murphy, the congregation of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church will be dissolved once a new location is obtained.

“We are satisfied with the terms,” the Rev. Robert Hackendorf, rector, told a reporter from The Living Church. “We never wanted this to be decided by a court and this facility is no longer adequate to our needs anyway.”

In July 2006 the diocese sued the leadership of St. Andrew’s after it declared itself under the spiritual authority of the Archbishop of Rwanda and called Fr. Hackendorf, who was not licensed to officiate, as rector. . .

Read it all.

Rwanda Announces Election of Three New AMiA Bishops

A Communiqué FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF RWANDA

The House of Bishops of the Province of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda (PEER) met in Kigali, Rwanda on the 4th day of September 2007. Acknowledging the significant growth of the missionary outreach initiated by PEER in the USA, the House of Bishops considered nominations for additional missionary Bishops to further the work of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA). The House of Bishops elected three bishops and appointed them to serve in PEER’s missionary jurisdiction in North America committed to extending God’s kingdom. The bishops-elect are the Rev. Terrell Glenn, the Rev. Philip Jones and the Rev. John Miller. The date for the consecrations has been set for the 26th day of January in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 2008 following the Anglican Mission’s Winter Conference (January 23 – 26, 2008) in Dallas, Texas.

Provincial Secretary

PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF RWANDA

H/t to Stand Firm.
[boldface mine]

Threat to take new-born over emotional abuse

From the Telegraph (U.K.) :

A pregnant woman has been told that her baby will be taken from her at birth because she is deemed capable of "emotional abuse", even though psychiatrists treating her say there is no evidence to suggest that she will harm her child in any way.

Social services' recommendation that the baby should be taken from Fran Lyon, a 22-year-old charity worker who has five A-levels and a degree in neuroscience, was based in part on a letter from a paediatrician she has never met.

Hexham children's services, part of Northumberland County Council, said the decision had been made because Miss Lyon was likely to suffer from Munchausen's Syndrome by proxy, a condition unproven by science in which a mother will make up an illness in her child, or harm it, to draw attention to herself.

Under the plan, a doctor will hand the newborn to a social worker, provided there are no medical complications. Social services' request for an emergency protection order - these are usually granted - will be heard in secret in the family court at Hexham magistrates on the same day.

From then on, anyone discussing the case, including Miss Lyon, will be deemed to be in contempt of the court.

Miss Lyon, from Hexham, who is five months pregnant, is seeking a judicial review of the decision about Molly, as she calls her baby. She described it as "barbaric and draconian", and said it was "scandalous" that social services had not accepted submissions supporting her case.

"The paediatrician has never met me," she said. "He is not a psychiatrist and cannot possibly make assertions about my current or future mental health. Yet his letter was the only one considered in the case conference on August 16 which lasted just 10 minutes."

Northumberland County Council insists that two highly experienced doctors - another consultant paediatrician and a medical consultant - attended the case conference.

The case adds to growing concern, highlighted in a series of articles in The Sunday Telegraph, over a huge rise in the number of babies under a year old being taken from parents. The figure was 2,000 last year, three times the number 10 years ago.

Critics say councils are taking more babies from parents to help them meet adoption "targets". . .

And a throw-away line at the end of the story:

A recording of social workers threatening to take a newborn into care has been removed from the YouTube website after Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire started legal action, claiming the Data Protection Act was breached.

Vanessa Brookes, 34, taped social workers telling her and her husband that they would seek to place the baby, due next month, in care, while admitting there was "no immediate risk to the child."

H/t to Relapsed Catholic.

Read it all. Somehow, I can't help but think that the abortion and birth-control culture has contributed to children as commodities, as well as increased fertility difficulties, thereby necessitating "adoption targets."

New bishop in the Diocese of Olympia

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Sounding as if he were a missionary, an accurate job description in the least churchgoing corner of America, the Rev. Gregory Rickel speaks of being called to "a great challenge and exciting one."

"It's a chance for us to be a model -- if we figure it out -- on how to do church in inhospitable terrain," said Rickel, who will be installed next week as the eighth Episcopal bishop of Olympia. Rickel, 44, may help provide the fresh air badly needed by declining Seattle-area mainline religious denominations.

The Diocese of Olympia, which covers Western Washington, is parched for leadership. Its membership, currently 34,000, has slightly declined during a time when more than a million people moved to the region. Other so-called "mainline" denominations have declined as well. It has prompted a less-than-charitable reaction by some fundamentalists. . .

. . . The new bishop has some tricky moves to make, beginning at the hour of his installation Sept. 15. The outgoing regime at the Diocese of Olympia spent $15,000 to rent Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, despite strong feelings among clergy that the ceremony belonged in a "sacred space," i.e., a church.

Rickel has finessed the ceremony. A big question in the diocese was whether its second-ranking figure, Bishop Suffragen Nedi Rivera, would stay on. Rivera lost in May's voting for diocesan bishop. "She's staying and preaching at my ordination," Rickel said.

Rickel faces another immediate challenge. The conservative leadership at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Oak Harbor voted to leave the diocese and affiliate with an Anglican diocese in Recife, Brazil.

In what's widely viewed as a shortchanging of parishioners who stayed loyal, the Diocese of Olympia signed a covenant that leaves the dissidents in control of the building. Loyalists are confined to a small chapel.

"I'm going to give it attention," Rickel said. "I want to discern the differences between the covenant and what's actually on the ground.". . .

. . . The new bishop brings wit to the job. Brought up a Methodist, he attended a Catholic high school in Little Rock, whose principal tried to interest him in becoming a Roman Catholic priest.

"I told him, 'I like girls. I think the pope is sometimes silly. And I don't like it at communion when you send me to the end of the row.'

"He replied, 'You sound like a damned Episcopalian.' "

Read it all. I don't know anything about the situation at St. Stephen's in Oak Harbor, but it sounds as if their covenant with the diocese might be short-lived. In an earlier story in the Post-Intelligencer, Rickel is quoted as saying:

. . . The Rev. Gregory Rickel, rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, said a separation between the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion may be inevitable.

"It may be for our time that we have to be a prophetic witness in the world," reflected Rickel "If we must spend time apart, so be it."

Rickel recalled that the church split in the Civil War -- "fighting bishop" Leonidas Polk led Confederate troops -- but, like the Union, was reunited.

In Rickel's view, however, the church must move beyond the gay issue. "We cannot spend all of our energy on our pathologies," he argued.

How the Experts Do It

From Touchstone Magazine's Mere Comments, S. M. Hutchens writes:

Looking today at the glossy alumni magazine of a school I used to attend, I was reminded of a time-honored technique of the sectarian Christianity it represents, used when one wishes to overrule scripture and several thousand years of church authority with some obnoxious innovation. The formula is nearly infallible, and is as follows:

(1) Use an attractive person, “telling [his or her] story.” Women work best. On the whole they elicit more sympathy than men.

(2) Connect their decision to do the untoward thing with tragic events in their life, through which they have been graciously led by the Lord, a journeyman innovator himself, who is all the while urging them to go ahead and do what they wanted to do anyway, but haven’t because people (typically family and “good Christian” (we knowingly read “reactionary”) friends) they love and respect might not like it. If you can make it something they think on some level they don’t want to do, all the better. (“I didn’t really want to divorce my husband . . . become a lady pastor . . . etc., but in my time of crisis the Lord kept urging me forward . . . .”) In any event, it is important to remember that for people schooled in the Oprahite faith, itself a secularized form of religious enthusiasm, tragedy validates nonsense.

(3) Add to the pathos plenty of Bible, referred to in the tribal patois: “During this difficult time, Hezekiah 9:12 and Colossonians 4: 9 became especially precious to me, as did the story of [some biblical character who broke the rules].

That should do the trick; the lemmings will rise up and follow, for they sense here the very freedom they need to move forward in their own lives.

Those who take on themselves the burden of truth would do well to remember that one is not bound to become popular by dealing with this sort of thing appropriately. Indeed, that is an important part of the scheme: make anyone who opposes you look mean, backwards, or stupid.

This all sounds familiar, doesn't it?

153 Pittsburgh Leaders Sign Compact

From the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh:

For several months, orthodox clergy and lay leaders in the Diocese of Pittsburgh have been meeting in various formats to take counsel together, and to place matters of our Church before God in prayer. We find ourselves in a season where fundamental differences of faith and practice have torn our Church and our Communion, perhaps beyond mending. Decisions of great consequence are now upon us.

As we finish this season of discernment, God has made us aware that ‘how we now walk’ is linked to ‘where we shall walk.’ Indeed, we believe that God is reshaping and repositioning us for a new season of ministry ahead. Discernment of our future is still unfolding, and perhaps there is a fork in the road ahead that may divide our fellowship. How we act in the next months is important to our ability to navigate even more difficult moments further down the road.

In this light, we affirm the following principles to guide our actions:

Believing: We will follow the leading and live in the faith of Jesus Christ.

Our primary concern has been to understand what the Lord has been doing in these events so that we can follow His lead and serve His purposes. Hearing His voice is neither simple nor easy, especially when our passions, fears and opinions are deeply stirred and can cloud our discernment. So we are spending extended time in prayer and fasting, study and council, listening above all for His voice. We will continue to do so.

As we listen, we remain fully confident in the Holy Scriptures. We will repeatedly test all things in the light of ‘God’s Word written’. (Article XX – Articles of Religion) We happily live in ‘the faith once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3) and affirmed in the historic Creeds of the church. We will also listen carefully and receptively to the guidance of our own Bishops (and of our other Bishops and Primates) whose leadership has remained true to the historic faith of the church.

Belonging: We will work for the health and unity of the Church.

We have come to a deepened appreciation of our worldwide fellowship in Christ. We see the Anglican Communion as a precious gift of the Gospel, a fruit of the Holy Spirit living within His Church. We believe that the Church’s health and unity are linked by God in the life of His church, that His truth and love are essential partners in maintaining this unity, that ‘clarity and charity’ go together. We will pursue them both.

Tragically, it appears to us that our Church is choosing to ‘walk apart’ from the fellowship and life of the Anglican Communion. In response, God appears to be calling many of us to disassociate from the Episcopal Church while at the same time He is calling others to remain as missionaries within an increasingly hostile ecclesiastical culture. We believe both actions to be prompted by the Holy Spirit for the healing of the Church and the future of the Gospel. We will respect, honor, and support one another in these matters, acting together whenever possible, speaking well of each other always. We trust God to bring us together, in His due time, in a biblically-rooted, mission-minded jurisdiction of the Anglican Communion. We long and look for that day, and will work towards it.

Behaving: We will walk in humility and grace.

We are concerned that the history of the church is littered with the wreckage of strife and division, and we do not wish to add to the ruins. We are mindful that our own hands are not clean in the development of this history, and we are particularly brokenhearted over the pride that has too often accompanied our witness. Even as we stand in the shadow of emerging divisions, we beg God for the forgiveness we need and the opportunity for a different future than the one we fear is rapidly coming upon us.

We are mindful of God’s weakness displayed in Christ’s Cross, and of the Apostle Paul’s consistent advocacy of the weakness of the Cross as the way of Christian life and ministry. Because of this, we forsake the spirit of condemnation and the opportunity for litigation. We look instead for clarity and charity towards all, and will work towards any prospect for just mediation. We pray to God for the heart to bear any difficulties with joyful grace, peaceful spirits, and confidence in His provision.

H/t to TitusOneNine.
Read it all.

A Little Stone Bridge in Southern California

Wherever you go, there you are.

I know the summer reading lists are done, but if you're looking for some thought-provoking reading for the fall, I can recommend Little Stone Bridges: A Battle Plan for Christians in a Faith Under Siege by Sarah Hey of Stand Firm fame. (And treat yourself to a t-shirt, too!)

And yes, that's the beautiful Pacific Ocean - try not to be too jealous!

Bishop Minns reports on the Anglican consecrations

From BabyBlueOnline, a report from Bishop Martyn Minns on the Anglican consecrations in Kenya and Uganda:

Over the past few days Angela, Rachel and I have had the joyful privilege of taking part in the consecration of three new bishops from Kenya and Uganda to serve in the USA. We were there, along with representatives from most of the provinces of the Global South, to demonstrate our solidarity with each of these new bishops and their families as they begin their ministries. The actual services were exuberant celebrations attended by thousands and both lasted approximately five hours! They were also important milestones in our effort to build a united, biblically-based, missionary-minded expression of Anglicanism in the USA.

Bishops Bill Atwood, John Guernsey and Bill Murdock are personal friends of many years and we are looking forward to working with them in the coming months as part of the Common Cause Partnership.These new initiatives are a dramatic demonstration that we are not alone as we seek to bear witness to the transforming love of Jesus Christ that is rooted in the 'faith once and for all delivered to the saints.'. . .

Read it all.

AnglicanTV competition?

From EpiscopalLife Online:

"Episcopal Life Focus," a new monthly half-hour video "multicast" featuring church mission, ministries and news, is scheduled to debut on Thursday, September 13, at 8 p.m. EDT on Episcopal Life Online.

The program will remain available online for on-demand viewing, and for placement on local community access cable stations that make air time available free of charge, said Canon Robert Williams, director of the Episcopal Church's Communication Office, which is providing the new resource.

"Many clergy and laypersons have commented over time that they would like to see more of the Episcopal Church and its mission, ministries, liturgies and music on television," Williams said. "Episcopal Life Focus is an efficient and low-cost way to begin to create that niche."

Williams said the program is part of the new integrated "Episcopal Life Media" initiative that complements the churchwide monthly newspaper with its "Episcopal Life Online" website, weekday email releases, regular streaming video reports, and weekly inserts for Sunday parish bulletins. Top stories are featured from the Episcopal News Service. . .

. . . The new multicast joins this effort to strengthen print and electronic communication resources serving Episcopalians and seekers, Williams said, noting that all new programming is provided economically within existing Episcopal Life and communication budgetary resources.

Mike Collins, director of video and multicast communication for the Episcopal Church, is the producer of Episcopal Life Focus. The Rev. Jan Nunley, deputy for communication, will anchor the show and serve as its executive editor. Both have extensive broadcast experience, Collins in production, and Nunley as a former television news reporter and radio producer and commentator.

"The idea for Episcopal Life Focus came out of our nightly closed-circuit and webcast news programs at General Convention in Columbus last summer," Nunley said. "But of course General Convention is a specific event, and we wanted to present more of the day-to-day life and mission of the Episcopal Church. Through this new program, we'll bring in more voices and visions of the church and the Anglican Communion than we've ever been able to do before.". . .

. . . "Our first report is largely focused on the continued plight of New Orleans after the hurricanes," Collins said. "While we will be covering the House of Bishops meeting on Episcopal Life Online, we wanted to use the first edition of Episcopal Life Focus to really show people that things haven't improved in New Orleans all that much. With a 30-minute program we can do that."

The first program will also preview the upcoming meeting of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops, set for September 20-25 in New Orleans.

Each monthly program includes a sponsorship opportunity, with the September edition featuring Episcopal Books and Resources. . .

Read it all.
H/t to Admiral of Morality.

Word from AnglicanTV

From Kevin Kallsen at AnglicanTV on the Uganda video:

Sadly there is just enough internet infrastructure here to get the stream up. When I did find and internet cafe with broadband they were closing in ten minutes.

So, set you[r] clocks. At 9pm est Wednesday I will be broadcasting the consecration of Bishop Guernsey. Witness 10 thousand people welcome an American Bishop. Plus the additional 200 pictures I took.

A Tale of Two (Potential) Bishops

From Ralph Webb at Anglican Action, a very telling post on the difference in treatment between Mark Lawrence+, elected bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, whose consents were declared invalid, and Tracey Lind+, candidate for bishop of the Diocese of Chicago:

. . . In a 2004 essay in the progressive publication The Witness, Lind argued that if the Anglican Communion were to stand against the "full inclusion" of gays and lesbians, then faithfulness to Jesus might require leaving the Communion:

"My sisters and brothers in this enterprise we call Anglicanism ... if the conversation does not shift to the real issues [and, from Lind's perspective, away from the "scapegoating" of gays and lesbians], then perhaps the words of Jesus about leaving house, fields and families behind might even come to include the Anglican Communion. For in the end, it's not about the church; it's about the Gospel."

Let's see here. Lind at minimum foresaw the possibility of, and arguably advocated for, people leaving the Anglican Communion if the Communion ultimately proved rejecting of the Episcopal Church's stance in favor of "full inclusion."

That leads me to a question: How is Lind's view concerning leaving the Anglican Communion substantially different from the view concerning leaving the Episcopal Church allegedly held by Mark Lawrence at the time of his first election as Bishop of South Carolina -- the view that lead to the smear campaign against Lawrence?. . .

Read it all. And here's background on the Mark Lawrence+ election.

Uganda consecrates U.S. conservative as bishop

From Evangelicals.org:

Reuters Africa and the BBC reported on Sunday that the Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi has consecrated an American bishop to lead a new branch of the Ugandan Church in the US, serving parishes in the state of Virginia that no longer feel able to tolerate the American Church's liberal stance on homosexuality.

The archbishop has called John Guernsey to lead 33 congregations in the United States that will recognise the Church of Uganda's authority.

The ceremony took place in the open air because the local cathedral was not large enough to accommodate the thousands due to attend.

The consecration came just three days after Kenya's Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi consecrated two American priests as bishops.

Rational Atheism: An open letter to Messrs. Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens

From Michael Shermer at Scientific American.com:

Since the turn of the millennium, a new militancy has arisen among religious skeptics in response to three threats to science and freedom: (1) attacks against evolution education and stem cell research; (2) breaks in the barrier separating church and state leading to political preferences for some faiths over others; and (3) fundamentalist terrorism here and abroad. Among many metrics available to track this skeptical movement is the ascension of four books to the august heights of the New York Times best-seller list—Sam Harris’s Letter to a Christian Nation (Knopf, 2006), Daniel Dennett’s Breaking the Spell (Viking, 2006), Christopher Hitchens’s God Is Not Great (Hachette Book Group, 2007) and Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)—that together, in Dawkins’s always poignant prose, “raise consciousness to the fact that to be an atheist is a realistic aspiration, and a brave and splendid one. You can be an atheist who is happy, balanced, moral and intellectually fulfilled.” Amen, brother.

Whenever religious beliefs conflict with scientific facts or violate principles of political liberty, we must respond with appropriate aplomb. Nevertheless, we should be cautious about irrational exuberance. I suggest that we raise our consciousness one tier higher for the following reasons.

1. Anti-something movements by themselves will fail. . .

. . . 3. Rational is as rational does. If it is our goal to raise people’s consciousness to the wonders of science and the power of reason, then we must apply science and reason to our own actions. It is irrational to take a hostile or condescending attitude toward religion because by doing so we virtually guarantee that religious people will respond in kind. . .

. . . 5. Promote freedom of belief and disbelief. A higher moral principle that encompasses both science and religion is the freedom to think, believe and act as we choose, so long as our thoughts, beliefs and actions do not infringe on the equal freedom of others. As long as religion does not threaten science and freedom, we should be respectful and tolerant because our freedom to disbelieve is inextricably bound to the freedom of others to believe. . .

Of course, the person most quoted in the article is Martin Luther King, Jr., especially in invoking the "golden rule" to everyday life (something atheists usually seem to assume is a given). I always wonder where atheists really think this anti-self-interest idea came from if not from a higher being (aka God). But I learned a while ago that atheism is almost as strong a faith as theism, but with a higher dose of frustration and hopelessness, so I leave them to it. Read it all.

The Diocese of Central New York and St. Andrew’s, Syracuse “split up legally”

And this is what happens when as Christians, we ignore Paul's admonition in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 on lawsuits among believers:

A Syracuse church and the local Episcopal diocese are legally splitting up - and, as with court-approved divorces, much of the settlement involves the division of property.

The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York retains ownership of St. Andrew's Church, but members of the breakaway parish will get to use the building rent-free for up to a year, according to the settlement.

The settlement - accepted Tuesday by state Supreme Court Justice James Murphy - will result in the court-ordered dissolution of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 5013 S. Salina St., at the end of the year. . .

. . . After St. Andrew's designated the bishop of Rwanda its leader and hired a pastor who was not licensed to minister here, the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York sued the church in July 2006. The diocese said it owns the church building, rectory and parish assets. Similar legal battles are taking place all over the country.

In June, members of another church in the local diocese, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Vestal, voted to leave the Episcopal Church and join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, an Orthodox group of churches. And the pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Binghamton has indicated his parish intends to leave the Episcopal Church, said the Rev. Karen C. Lewis, assistant to Bishop Gladstone "Skip" Adams.

The diocese has not taken legal action against those two parishes, Lewis said. . .

H/t to Stand Firm.

Read it all from The [Syracuse] Post Standard.

Kampala, Uganda Update from AnglicanTV

Kevin at AnglicanTV posts on his video of the consecration of the Rev. Guernsey in Uganda:

I will try streaming yesterday's service tonight at 8pm est. No promises. If this doesn't work you will have to wait until I return to America on Wednesday morning.

We'll keep you posted here!

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.

Preliminary Report of the Program Budget & Review Cmte Regarding the Funding Mechanism for the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia

Given the situation here in the Diocese of San Diego, I found interesting Sarah Hey's posting at Stand Firm on the preliminary budget report from the Diocese of Southern Virginia:

. . . As these issues continue diocese by diocese, parish by parish, the "Funding Mechanism" of each diocese will be revised and tinkered with, since dioceses, of course, must be maintained . . . particularly staff salaries and national church pledges. Those two things in particular are vital to the mission of the church, I'm told often.

With the above as background, a layperson in the Diocese of Southern Virginia emailed me the preliminary report from the Diocese of Southern Virginia and I'm posting it below for your perusal. . .

From the preliminary report itself:

. . . Over the past few years, the pledge amount has declined. The services that once were provided have been reduced or eliminated. Most colleges in our Diocese do not have chaplains. The Diocese provides minimum support to St. Paul’s College. The support for the outreach charities has dwindled; funding has dropped from $99,241 in 2002 to $50,745 in 2007. Small congregations and missions have not been supported fully. Youth and formation ministries have suffered.

As a result, Council delegates have asked the Executive Board to recommend an equitable mandatory assessment.

In considering various alternatives, this Report considered two components. One component is the “base” used to determine the pledge amount and the other component is the multiplier (i.e., the percentage). Further, any recommendation to amending the Canons should include a provision for “enforcement” of the Canon, as well as a means to excuse a parish that cannot afford to pledge the mandatory amount. The Canons need to answer the question: “What happens if a parish cannot afford or declines to comply with the Canon?”. . .

The report then lists five alternative funding alternatives, and ends with this delightful and godly section entitled "Failure to Comply."

Any revisions to the Canons also need to address this issue: failure of a parish to remit the amount due. Related to this, the Canons need to address “what if a parish can’t remit the mandatory amount?”

Typically, the penalty is the loss of voice and vote at Annual Council. Rather than setting a specific “punishment”, the Canons could require that the parish file an explanation with the Executive Board or a committee of the Executive Board that would recommend what action to take.

Canon VII Of Finances would include:

“Any Parish or Mission that fails to pledge and/ or remit its pledge based on this Canon must submit to a committee, established solely for this purpose, of the Executive Board a report on why it cannot comply. This committee shall review the facts and issue a recommendation to the Executive Board as to what actions the Diocese should take. The Executive Board, by a majority vote, then will determine the action to take against such parish or mission.”

Read it all.

Follow-up on Trinity Prep's theater production

From the Orlando Sentinel, a follow-up to the decision of Bishop Howe of the Diocese of Central Florida to ask Trinity Prep school (an Episcopal school) to cancel their scheduled performance of La Cage aux Folles:

Two Orlando theaters Saturday offered stages for a prep-school production of La Cage aux Folles that was halted after an Episcopal bishop complained about the show's themes.Both the Orlando Shakespeare Theater and the Orlando Repertory Theatre -- a group for youngsters -- offered Saturday to provide a venue next weekend for Trinity Preparatory School's performances.

"We do it with enthusiasm," said Jim Helsinger, artistic director of the Orlando Shakespeare Theater.

Trinity Prep's fine-arts director, Janine Papin, who directs the show, said Saturday that she would keep her promise to let the school's board of directors decide this week whether to let students resume performances at the school's auditorium.

"I do believe things will turn out well," she said. "I am an optimist, and I believe there is a learning lesson in all of this for us. "But if the board votes no, an outpouring of community support suggests that the show will go on. . .

. . . Both the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando and the Orlando Gay Chorus said they would help find space, actors and anything else the teens need this week if the school permanently cancels the play.

"We're willing and able to do anything to help her put on the production," said Mark W. Hardin, artistic director of the Orlando Gay Chorus. . .

. . . Papin said that the musical wasn't meant to be a tacit endorsement of a gay lifestyle. She and her supporters said it is instead a lesson in "family values" and one of tolerance.

Papin said previously that she was "pushing the limits" with La Cage."But I wasn't pushing gay issues," she said Saturday. . .

Read it all.
H/t to TitusOneNine.

Uganda open-air consecration attended by thousands

From Anglican Mainstream via the BBC and Reuters:

Uganda’s Anglican Church has appointed a bishop to serve in the US, against the wishes of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church’s US arm. It is the latest in a series of interventions by African Churches following the US decision to appoint an openly gay bishop in 2003.

Correspondents say the move is expected to bring closer the fragmentation of the worldwide Anglican communion. It ignores pleas from Anglican leaders to preserve unity. But the thriving Ugandan Church says it is defending orthodox Christianity. . .

. . . Orombi spokeswoman Alison Barfoot said the archbishop had called Guernsey to lead 33 congregations in the United States that will recognise the Church of Uganda’s authority.

“He’s an ecclesiastical refugee,” she told Reuters by telephone from the ceremony, referring to Guernsey. “We thought the crisis in the Anglican Church would be resolved by now. We expected the Episcopal Church to repent … but they have prolonged the crisis.” . . .

Read it all.

Word from Mbarara, Uganda

From Kevin at AnglicanTV:

Greetings.

Inoculations for African Travel -
three Airport Parking - $60
Pounds suitcase was overweight - 10
Tickets to Kenya and Uganda - $2044
Broadband Internet - $40 an hour
Bottles of water - 10 a day
Consecrations - 6 hours a piece
Number of channels on tv - almost 1

Witnessing the resurrection of the Anglican Communion - priceless.

The hotel internet is about 28.8k. If you recognize the number it is because it was probably the speed of your first modem in the early 1990s. This speed is shared by the hotel "internet cafe" of six computers.

Pictures should be up in about an hour. --

AnglicanTV pictures from Uganda

Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, morieris

From John Donne's Meditation XVII from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions :

PERCHANCE he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill as that he knows not it tolls for him. And perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that. The church is catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does, belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that head which is my head too, and ingraffed into that body, whereof I am a member. And when she buries a man, that action concerns me; all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again, for that library where every book shall lie open to one another; as therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come; so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness. . .

. . . No man is an island. entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. . .

John Donne
(English, 1572 - 1631)

Read it all.
(Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, morieris. Now this bell tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.)

AnglicanTV update

Kevin Kallsen posts at AnglicanTV:

On location Mbarara Uganda
Posted At : September 1, 2007 3:14 PM

Tomorrow Rev Guernsey becomes a Bishop and AnglicanTV will be there. The problem I forsee is getting the internet online. When I find a internet node fast enough I will upload the video and pictures. I will try to give ATV, Standfirm, and Kendall at least an hours warning.

Bishop nixes Trinity Prep play [Updated]

Update: Check out here and here on Stand Firm for more on this production and the Trinity board of trustees.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Trinity Preparatory School canceled its opening-night performance of La Cage aux Folles on Friday at the request of Bishop John Howe, head of the Diocese of Central Florida.

"His request was not to stage the production, and we decided to honor his request," said Headmaster Craig Maughan, who called off Friday's and tonight's planned performances. "I met with the cast and all the people involved in the production and announced the decision and explained it to them."

"There was disappointment among students, but I would say they understood."

The award-winning musical comedy, which opened on Broadway in 1983, features a middle-aged gay couple and actors dressed in drag. . .

. . . The bishop was surprised "that any high school would sponsor this particular production," he wrote. "Having to put a 'PG-13' warning label on a dramatic production certainly seems an unusual decision for a Christian preparatory school.". . .

. . . "I'm very sad," said Janine Papin, chairwoman of Trinity Prep's fine-arts program and director of the show.

But she also hoped for "a happy outcome" -- perhaps off-campus performances -- and had "faith in some very strong leaders" at the school where she has worked for eight years.

Mostly, she said she was sorry misconceptions about the musical had brought problems to Trinity.

"La Cage really isn't about a gay couple. It's about family," Papin said. "It's funny and endearing, and there's a wonderful message about being comfortable with who we are. And it really doesn't have to deal with sexuality."

In the show, one partner runs a French nightclub and the other performs there as a drag queen. Their life is upended when one man's son brings home his fiancee and her ultraconservative parents. The musical, which won several Tony Awards, was also made into an American movie, The Birdcage, staring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

Last week, Papin told the Sentinel she picked the show because she wants "to push the limits so that there are very few shows that are off-limits for the kids because of sexual orientation or because of religious differences or whatever it is.". . .

. . . One mother said her child was "absolutely furious" about the cancellation.

The mother asked not to be identified after the headmaster asked parents and students not to comment to the press.

"I would like the show to go on. It has absolutely nothing to do with the bishop," the mother said. "I don't think it has anything to do with the church."

The mother noted the musical ran on Broadway for many years and preaches a message of tolerance, a message that many students take to heart.

The cast was mostly students from the prep school, though it included a few from public high schools and 20-year-old Benjamin Rush. He stepped in to play one of the leading men when the student actor was injured.

"I understand this is a private school, a religious school," Rush said, but that didn't make the decision easier for the cast. "I'm upset because of the censorship of the arts.". . .

H/t to Oak Leaves.

Read it all. I think there are so many misconceptions and PC inspired cultural statements in this story, it's hard to know where to start.

I respect Bishop Howe for dealing with this in a forthright manner, and I dont' see how the director can say, on the one hand, "La Cage really isn't about a gay couple. It's about family," and on the other, state that she picked the show because she wants "to push the limits so that there are very few shows that are off-limits for the kids because of sexual orientation or because of religious differences or whatever it is." Obviously, the play's emphasis on sexual orientation is one reason why she picked this - to push the limits.

And I'm sorry - but censorship? Where do people pick this stuff up? This play has been made in to a Broadway show and a movie - and I don't see the government shutting it down.