Some churches are objecting to Alabama’s tough new law that aims to clamp down on illegal immigration, saying it violates Christian principles in the heart of the Bible Belt.

Leaders of the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church all have criticized the law as running counter to biblical teachings about caring for neighbors, helping visitors and showing hospitality to strangers. Episcopal Bishop Henry N. Parsley of Birmingham said the law “will make it impossible to love and be hospitable to our neighbors as we ought to be.”

“It is a profoundly disappointing decision and a sad moment for our state,” he said in a statement late Wednesday.

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Some church members believe the number of members who leave ultimately will be much higher. The official membership at Trinity sits at about 1,500, and Jensen said the average Sunday attendance was about 350.

“I think history will tell whether it was a good decision or a bad decision,” [Bishop Larry] Benfield said. “We’ll have to look to the future to see.”

Benfield did acknowledge his surprise upon hearing of the vestry’s vote.

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What a thrill it was to be in that beautiful place, standing only a few feet away from the shrine of St. Alban himself, England’s oldest saint and patron.

It was a trip were I literally “got in touch” with some powerful things””the 1,000 year old tower at Glendalough; the pages of a Bible handled in 597 by the founder of our Anglican church; the pages of an original King James Bible (of which we are marking the 400th anniversary).

But more important, it was a chance to also be touched by the spirit of our heritage as Anglican Christians through the mysterious “high crosses” in the Irish countryside: the deeply moving experience of Evensong at Kings College Cambridge; the stillness of Sunday worship at a little parish church; bracing intellectual conversation at a Cambridge college “high table” dinner; bookcases full of leather-bound books at Lambeth.

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In the Anglican tradition, the Holy Bible is revered as central to God’s self-revelation to the world. It is the divinely inspired, revealed Word of God, unchanged from the time of the first Apostles. It expresses the unchanging Gospel of the Lord Jesus for ever-changing times ”“ for, though times may change, the Truth does not. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings.” (Hebrews 13:8) Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, tells us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”(John 14:6) When certain bishops deny these words, they are no longer true guardians and defenders of the faith, unity and discipline of the Church, as held by Anglicans around the world. Those who abandon the teachings of the Bible also abandon the Anglican way. Such innovators are free to start a new church, but do not call it Anglican if it does not abide by the clear standards and teachings revealed in Holy Writ.

While being clear that the Bible is basic and fundamental to all that Forward in Faith stands for, that it is the foundation upon which everything stands, we must hasten to add that our faith is not in the Bible, but in Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible, because it is the Written Word that bears witness to the Incarnate Word. We are saved by our faith in Jesus, not the Scriptures. So while we affirm that Anglicanism rests on a firm Biblical foundation, we confess that Jesus Christ Himself is that one foundation upon which the Church of God is built. As St. Paul reminded the Church in Corinth, “No other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I Cor. 3:11) Historic, orthodox Anglicanism is built upon nothing less than the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, and everything else rests upon Him. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul states it in a slightly different way: “You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:20)

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St. Luke’s Church will make a pilgrimage from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism without leaving its historic location at 53rd Street and Annapolis Road in Bladensburg, Md.

The Rev. Mark Lewis, rector of St. Luke’s since 2006, praises the Rt. Rev. John B. Chane, Bishop of Washington, for the arrangement, in which St. Luke’s will lease the facilities from the Diocese of Washington and has an option to buy the property.

“We have a relationship that is mutually respectful,” Lewis said in an interview with The Living Church. He appreciates where I am theologically, and I know he appreciates the parish.”

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The idea of his becoming COO “began with some colleagues at the House of Bishops meeting who approached me and said they thought I would be good at this,” he said.

Leaving behind his ministry in Lexington “was a huge part of the questions I had for myself,” the bishop said. “I am going to miss Lexington more than I can express.”

Sauls said he believes the diocese has done groundbreaking work through two programs: the Small Church Ministry Consortium and the Network for Pastoral Leadership and Congregational Development.

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Episcopal Bishop Prince Singh was at the pro-rally and said his Church is wrestling with the same sex marriage issue. In his Church role, he cannot marry a same sex couple. But he’s hoping a dialogue will lead to change. “It is something that is part of their inherent gift as God has made them. And this is an engagement of science and religion that people have been grappling with for a long time, but we are becoming a little more honest about it.”

On the other side Tuesday morning, members of Citizens for a Decent Community staged the latest in a series of gay marriage protests in the area in front of City Hall.

Baptist Minister Vince Giardino led the group in prayer. “We pray for Sen. Alesi, Lord, that he would change his mind. That his conscience would be leading toward the Scriptures.”

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Our faith traditions teach us that all people are children of God, deserving of love, dignity and equal treatment, and we, the undersigned therefore believe that gay and lesbian New Yorkers in committed, loving relationships should be able to protect each other with the critical safety-net provided by civil marriage. The performing of marriage ceremonies is one of the most important facets of our work as ministers and rabbis. We take this work extremely seriously and are grateful to have “the power vested in us” by the State of New York as we bring couples together in marriage through our civil and religious laws.

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Beginning Sunday, Episcopal priests in the San Joaquin Diocese can “perform blessings of same gender civil marriages, domestic partnerships and relationships which are lifelong committed relationships characterized by fidelity, monogamy” and “holy love.”

The change doesn’t mean Episcopal priests will begin marrying same-sex couples, Bishop Chester Talton said. Such marriages are forbidden by state law, although that is under review by the courts.

Instead, Talton said, “what is being authorized is a blessing of relationships, which we’ve chosen to call sacred unions.”

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He left Arkansas in 1911, obsessed with the idea that he held the key to world salvation. He and Ella came back to Galion, where he had a nervous breakdown. He was granted a year’s leave of absence from his duties in Arkansas. During his recuperation, the bishop began reading the works of Karl Marx and Charles Darwin.

He resigned his position in April 1912 with the understanding that he could keep his seat in the House of Bishops.

From 1912 to 1920, Brown underwent a startling conversion process and embraced Marxism and socialism. Brown’s acceptance of socialism and Marxism led him to communism. It was during this time that the prominent socialist Eugene Debs visited often.

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The Rev. J. Scott Barker was walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain ”” a historic pilgrimage route ”” about a year ago when he had an epiphany.

On his pilgrimage to the site where St. James the Apostle is said to be buried, Barker, the rector of Christ Church in the Village of Warwick, realized he aspired to be a bishop with the Episcopal Church.

Little did he know that a year later, he’d be tapped as bishop of the Nebraska Diocese.

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Effective on Pentecost, June 12, 2011, clergy in the Diocese of San Joaquin may perform blessings of same gender civil marriages, domestic partnerships, and relationships which are lifelong committed relationships characterized by “fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God.” Said relationships shall be called “Sacred Unions” for purposes of the blessing and recognition of these relationships. A liturgy authorized for use within the Diocese will be published separately.

It must also be recognized that the Canons of the Church currently limit marriages to opposite sex couples, as does California law. Accordingly, until such time as both the Canons and state law permit the solemnization of the marriage of a same gender couple, and specific authorization of the bishop is given, no priest of this Diocese shall
attempt to solemnize a marriage between two persons of the same gender.

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A New Yorker would return to some deep Omaha roots if he ends up the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska.

The Rev. J. Scott Barker was elected Saturday during a special diocesan council at St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral in Hastings, Neb.

Barker is among the sixth generation of the Barker family in Omaha. The prominent family at one time owned thousands of acres of prime Omaha real estate. One of those locations became the site of the Barker Building on the southwest corner of 15th and Farnam Streets.

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Go here for some information about him released by the diocese as part of the process.

From here:

On Wednesday, June 1, attorneys for the Diocese initiated our direct appeal to the Texas State Supreme Court, arguing that the high court should review the trial court’s Feb. 8 judgment in favor of local Episcopal Church (TEC) parties without the delay of an intermediate appeal.

The Statement of Jurisdiction asks for the Supreme Court’s immediate attention to what it describes as ”the largest church property dispute in Texas history,” involving ”60 churches and over $100 million in property.”

The Statement shows that the case meets all the statutory requirements for a direct appeal. Foremost among these is the requirement that the lower court’s decision challenges “the constitutionality of a state statute.” It explains that the trial court order, if allowed to stand, would overturn trust law in the state and set a precedent against the use of neutral principles to decide church property cases. The neutral principles approach has been established in Texas and most other states since 1979 and has been upheld in five Texas courts of appeal, as well as the state Supreme Court, as recently as 2007. The effect on trust law would extend to virtually every non-profit organization in the state, making it difficult or impossible for them to hold bank accounts, take loans, or conduct other business anywhere in Texas.

TEC supporters have 10 days in which to respond to the filing. Diocesan attorney Scott Brister explains that “the Court holds conference and takes votes every Monday in June; thereafter, it does not convene again until August.” Attorneys for the Diocese hope the court will accept the appeal before its summer recess and set a hearing date for early fall.

Illinois’ civil union law not only empowers clergy to officiate same-sex civil unions, it has inspired a long-awaited formal rite in Chicago’s Episcopal Church and now compels many clergy in committed same-sex relationships to make them legal.

Chicago’s Episcopal and Lutheran bishops this week unveiled new policies for openly gay pastors in committed relationships and those who want to officiate same-sex civil unions. Many clergy already informally blessed same-gender partnerships.

“Now with the possibility of civil recognition of lifelong unions, the blessing of unions from a Christian perspective will have a different character, where before it has been purely a pastoral matter,” said Chicago Episcopal Bishop Jeffrey Lee.

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I will take comments on this submitted by email only to at KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

When a new state law goes into effect June 1 that grants legal recognition to same-sex couples, clergy in the Diocese of Chicago are permitted to use a rite called “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Holy Union” [PDF].

The rite also has its roots in General Convention’s Resolution C056 in 2009, which said that bishops, “particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church.”

The diocese has sent its clergy a 29-page document consisting of a theological reflection by the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Bishop of Chicago; guidelines for solemnizing holy matrimony and holy unions; a question-and-answer discussion; and the rite itself.

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Some see few positive consequences of signing on to the proposed Covenant. True, it would perhaps show some institutional humility and a willingness to “continue the conversation” with other member churches of the Communion. But we are continuing to do this now without the Covenant: Bishop Councell noted that there were three archbishops from other Communion members in attendance at the recent House of Bishops meeting. And Episcopal Church dioceses continue companion-diocese and other relationships with other dioceses throughout the Communion. Perhaps endorsing the Covenant would only furnish a perception of willingness to stay in the Communion -a willingness that is already there in actuality.

Many are worried about the negative consequences of endorsing the Covenant. Among these consequences are the establishment of a new unnecessary hierarchy, the loss of diversity within the Communion, the loss of connection to churches that may not endorse the Covenant, destruction of the Anglican ethos, the forced abandonment of GLBTQ Anglicans, attenuation of the voice of the laity in the life of the Communion, and by putting decision-making in the hands of the Standing Committee, the hierarchical structure will reduce the incentive for churches with differing views to communicate one-to-one, as they do now. And finally, to the extent that representatives from The Episcopal Church may end up on the Standing Committee acting under Covenant Section 4.2, we may participate in being an instrument of oppression of another church within the Communion.

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The Episcopal Church in the United States (EC), like other denominations, has been in crisis over human sexuality. What is different for the EC is that it faces, in its debates, the question of whether or not its vocation is to be an American Protestant denomination or to be part of the worldwide Anglican Communion in which national particularity is submerged for the sake of common witness.

In June 2010 EC Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori issued a pastoral letter that was a direct challenge to the archbishop of Canterbury and by extension to the Anglican Communion, of which Archbishop Rowan Williams is at least titular head. At stake is whether or not his headship can, or ought, to be more than titular; and if so, what would that mean?…

In truth, some EC leaders (some bishops, cathedral deans and theology professors) have in recent years largely eschewed the heavy lifting of systematic and moral theology, preferring the more applied genres in which the key matters turn toward the psychological, therapeutic and pastoral, as well as toward calls for social justice. A few years ago a book was published with the title The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, which said that the evangelical movement in the U.S. had not so much forgotten how to think, but that it was intended to do without deep thinking. If there were a new book, “The Scandal of the Episcopal Mind,” the conclusions might be disarmingly similar. The rise to prominence of liberal theology in the EC came along with disinclination toward theological depth, as well as a desire to ally the denomination with the more “progressive” American denominations. As one senior bishop told me, in choosing “justice” as the talisman for all actions and featuring inclusiveness as the badge of this new orthodoxy, the EC had taken a thin slice of theology””and of justice.

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Lord God, in whose providence Jackson Kemper was chosen first missionary bishop in this land, that by his arduous labor and travel congregations might be established in scattered settlements of the West: Grant that the Church may always be faithful to its mission, and have the vision, courage, and perseverance to make known to all peoples the Good News of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

It was a celebration of faith in the area, allowing members of different religions to come together in support of a new bishop.

The Episcopalian Diocese of Northern Michigan ordained its 11th bishop at Vandament Arena in Marquette [this past] Saturday morning. [The] Reverend Rayford Jeffrey Ray has been serving Episcopal churches in the southern U.P. for more than 20 years.

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…anyone surveying the cultural and political scene with a dispassionate eye would surely have to come to other conclusions: the general erosion of the instance of life-long marriage in North America and Europe, the rise in divorce rates, and the concomitant upsurge in the number of single-parent families, are all well-known to us in secular discussions, but are by no means absent from church-attending, or indeed Protestant clerical, families.

Only a short time ago, for instance, the clergy of the Diocese of Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts received a mailing calmly announcing that one of their suffragan bishops was undergoing a divorce.

One could not but be struck by the air of enforced “normalcy” and psychological adjudication that hung over this letter – no regrets, no confessions, no distress even, and certainly no reference to either bible or Christian tradition: just an insistence that the couple had been “faithful in caring for … each other” in the past, but were now “clear” about the fact that their marriage was “ending.”

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What brought 100 parishioners to a Sunday Adult Forum at St. Paul, Chattanooga, for three Sundays in Advent?

“Reasonable and holy conversations” about sexuality, facilitated by members of the Bishop’s Committee on Inclusivity, were the big draw. In the course of three Sundays in December, more than 100 adult parishioners came together for plenary sessions and for 14 small group discussions each Sunday.

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Lower courts disagreed over whether that opinion constituted a final ruling; the trial court thought it had a trial to hear, the appeals court said no, it was over, and Thursday, the Supreme Court reversed the appeals court.

In its ruling, the high court said that it never meant to establish ownership of the property two years ago.

“Based on the arguments the parties presented, we did conclude ‘on this record,’ that the general church owns the disputed property.”

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Effective immediately, clergy in the Diocese of San Joaquin may, at their discretion and in accordance with the conscience of each priest, perform blessings of same sex civil marriages, domestic partnerships, and relationships which are lifelong committed relationships characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God. Said relationships shall be called Holy Unions for purposes of blessing these relationships and purposes of recognition of said relationships. For those same sex couples who are legally married, the blessing performed may be termed the Blessing of a Civil Marriage.

It must also be recognized that the Canons of the Church currently limit marriages to opposite sex couples, as does California law. Accordingly, until such time as both the Canons and state law permit the solemnization of the marriage of a same sex couple, and specific authorization of the bishop is given, no priest of this Diocese shall attempt to solemnize a marriage between two persons of the same sex.

Specific policies, as well as liturgies authorized for use within the Diocese, will be published separately. Clergy are encouraged to engage in open discussion of this matter, as well as the policies and liturgies, with members of their congregations, particularly those who are members of Vestries or Bishop’s Committees.

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