“Entertainment for the sake of entertainment is missing the point,” said Cameron Cole, director of youth ministries at [Cathedral Church of the] Advent. “A lot of youth ministry focuses on entertainment and behavior modification, not on long-term spiritual formation. If there’s no belief system that undergirds it, there’s not much foundation on which to stand.”

Anglican theologian Ashley Null, a chaplain for the U.S. Olympic team, led a discussion about pressures on youth ministers to entertain, draw numbers and “fix kids.”

The push to perfection for both youth ministers and youth can be destructive, he said. “Are you pursuing perfection to your own harm?” he asked. He urged ministers to embrace God’s grace and love of imperfection.

“Love does strange things to us,” he said. “We gladly make changes out of love.”

Read it all and enjoy thew lovely picture of Ashley Null.

The Rev. Cathi Bencken managed to crack a joke Monday after an apparent lightning strike zapped an iron cross and crumbled the steeple of Trinity Episcopal Church.

“I don’t think it was (because) of anything I said,” she said of the sermon she delivered Sunday.

Neighbors in a nearby downtown apartment told Bencken and other church leaders that lightning hit the church about 3:30 a.m.

Read it all.

The battle over same-sex marriage has been fought at the ballot box and in the courtroom, but it remains to be seen if it will continue to be waged in pulpits throughout the region, as ministers on both sides of the debate consider weighing in on the issue while it makes its way up the legal ladder.

“One of the things I saw this week in the overturning of Proposition 8 was an inbreaking of the kingdom of God, which is a place where all people are treated equally in the eyes of God,” said The Rev. David Starr of St. John’s Episcopal Church in San Bernardino.

Starr, who officiated the wedding between his son and another man two years ago, applauded U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision Wednesday to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Starr said he would consider speaking on the issue as he teaches about God’s kingdom in the Gospel of Luke.

Read it all.

…so, Jesus exposes that this man in the crowd, and in fact all of us with him, are not simply covetous, but idolatrous, seeking from things or situations of our own making the soul-level satisfaction that only God can provide. For the man in the parable, the idol he was seeking to give him rest for his soul was financial security. For me that day in college, as just one example among thousands I could give you, it was a relationship (which, in retrospect, thankfully didn’t work out).

In a recent article, NY Times columnist David Brooks spoke candidly about his own unquenched desire for success, saying, “The thirst for public admiration is like the thirst for money””it’s never-ending; you never get to the point where you say, I’ve had enough.”

My guess is that for most of us here this morning, not only can we name the idols we hope will bring peace to our souls, but, like Mr. Brooks, we can also admit that those things never actually bring the peace and satisfaction we think they promise ”“ only more anxiety and more searching for peace.

And yet there is a simple reason for the fact that our souls search for rest and peace under every rock like hungry hyenas on the prowl; and the reason is that our souls were made by God for rest and peace in God….

Read it all.

It has survived floods, a national schism, a local split, and countless smaller blows.

But in an economic climate that has placed Yuba-Sutter on the map of most financially desperate places, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Marysville now faces one of its greatest challenges.

Outstanding debts to its parent diocese, a $20,000 budget deficit, and ongoing building maintenance costs currently dwarf what the church takes in from its parishioners, said Pastor Dorothy “Dori” Torrey.

“We could find ourselves on the brink if we can’t turn this around by the first of the year,” Torrey said of the balance sheet that, among other things, threatens her ability to lead St. John’s on a full-time basis.

Read it all.

About 20 people who gather at St. David’s in Pepperell on Sundays embrace and support each other just the way the 30 people at Trinity do. And, together, the two churches have enough parishioners to do missionary work outside the Episcopal church.

“I felt like people were excited about the growth in a sense that we can share our community with other communities to do bigger things,” says Linda Hammill of Townsend, a St. David’s parishioner, about the two churches’ collaboration — which includes sharing their priest, [Marsha] Hoecker.

Hoecker has kept busy over the past 10 months, doubling as the priest for Trinity Chapel Episcopal Church in Shirley as well as for St. David’s Episcopal Church in Pepperell, after
the two parishes agreed to share resources.

Read it all.

The rector of a Grosse Pointe Farms church has resigned after being removed because of allegations about an inappropriate sexual relationship with a woman who was a not a church member.

Church leaders are to call an interim rector in the coming weeks and begin the search process for a new rector.

The Rev. Bradford Whitaker resigned from Christ Church Grosse Pointe effective July 17 after a complaint was made to the church, according to the office of the Rt. Rev. Wendell N. Gibbs, Jr., bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, which gave no further comment.

Read it all.

The resignation of the Rev. Bradford Whitaker, senior pastor at Christ Church Grosse Pointe, was read to the Episcopal congregation members at a parish meeting Tuesday night.

Whitaker, a popular leader of the church for the past eight years, had been on suspension since April. The congregation was stunned by news the Michigan Episcopal diocese was investigating “a serious allegation” that was not immediately specified. Whitaker was banned from the church or from communicating with church leaders during the inquiry. It was later revealed that the diocese was looking into claims that Whitaker had an affair while serving in a previous church. Whitaker and his wife Harriet, a teacher, and three children live in a home on the church grounds on Grosse Pointe Boulevard in the Farms.

Whitaker apparently will retain his ordination status, but will not be allowed to preach in an Episcopal Church for at least three years, according to church members.

Read it all.

People begin to stroll out of Trinity Chapel in Shirley after a service on a Sunday morning. The Rev. Marsha Hoecker jumps into her car and drives away.

In a few minutes, the spacious 110-year-old country chapel with a large gable roof disappears in the rear-view mirror. Hoecker drives several more miles and pulls into a small parking lot on the side of busy Route 119 in Pepperell, in front of a Colonial house with an antique shop in its annex. The two-story-tall cross hanging on the side of the structure is the only indication that it’s a house of God.

As she walks in, though, she says she finds the same enthusiasm among the parishioners to celebrate God with her as she does at Trinity.

Hoecker has kept busy during the past 10 months, serving Trinity Chapel Episcopal Church in Shirley and St. David’s Episcopal Church in Pepperell, after the parishes agreed to share resources.

Read it all.

Dear Members of Trinity Parish:

As your bishop, I am inviting you to attend a confidential meeting at which I will provide you with additional information concerning my reasons for inhibiting the exercise of the priestly office by Dean Philip C. Linder.

I am convening this meeting because in my pastoral judgment, and in my exercise of the ministry of oversight as an ordained episcopal leader in our church, it is my conclusion that sharing additional information with you is necessary. I hope to assure you of the deliberate and careful way in which decisions have been made, and the factual justification for them. The ultimate goal of the meeting is to ensure that the health and wellness of the parish are preserved.

Read it all.

There were prayers for the Very Rev. Philip C. Linder and his family Sunday and a call for members of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral “to seek out God in prayer” as the congregation gathered for the first time since the extraordinary suspension last week of its longtime leader.

“The events of this past week have brought us to a place where we never expected to be,” the Rev. Charles M. Davis Jr., who was named interim dean, told the packed congregation gathered in Averyt Hall for the 10 a.m. service.

Read it all.

You can find the announcement here.

In its storied 99-year history, Christ Episcopal Church has fashioned itself into a pillar of orthodox beliefs, Anglican heritage and charismatic fervor for spreading Christian salvation worldwide.

But in recent years, a gut-wrenching question has tested the bonds of this spiritual family.

Should it leave its parent organization, the Episcopal Church, for making unwelcome liberal changes by accepting openly gay and lesbian clergy and modernizing time-honored theology?

One group had enough.

Read it all.

A letter from the Bishop of Upper South Carolina may be found here and a resolution from the parish vestry may be found there. Read them both.

The top leaders of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral were preparing to oust their now-suspended dean, the Very Rev. Philip C. Linder, triggering a chain of events that led to the dramatic intervention by the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, the bishop said in a statement Friday.

“Those of you who are puzzled or angered by my decision to suspend the Dean are asking many questions, some of which can only be answered with replies we are unable to give you for privacy reasons,” Bishop W. Andrew Waldo said in the letter posted on Trinity’s website.

“What must firmly be said, however, is that your wardens and chancellor came to me with a call for a special vestry meeting, signed by themselves and 16 vestry members, to consider the dissolution of the pastoral relationship between the Cathedral and Philip Linder.”

Waldo said he ordered Linder, 50, not to speak to parishioners of the historic downtown congregation while the dispute was under mediation, an order Linder violated, Waldo said. The root causes of the conflict between the vestry and Linder have not been made public and remain unclear.

Read it all.

Facing an uncertain future, seven Episcopal parishes in central Wisconsin are exploring a regional approach to ministry designed to provide stability for each congregation.

All seven congregations are staring at aging and shrinking memberships and declining financial resources. Only two have full-time priests.

Many of the specifics haven’t even been discussed yet. But the regional ministry would afford each congregation more access to a priest — parishioners in some of the smaller ones now receive the Eucharist only two or three times a month — with churches sharing a priest and making more use of retired clergy in the area. The regional ministry also could pool financial and human resources, which could help save money in the long run.

Read the whole article.

The sun beat down on Uphams Corner yesterday; by midmorning it was more than 90 degrees. But a few blocks away, in cool shade beneath tall trees, children frolicked on a brand-new playground. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, which sits in the heart of a neighborhood often torn by shootings and stabbings, offered its backyard yesterday as a safe space for children to play.

“I think, honestly, it’s a sanctuary,’’ said Liz Meffen, 23, who serves as teen staff coordinator for the B-SAFE summer program, run by St. Stephen’s in the South End, a mission church of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

For years the church’s backyard was littered with dirt, broken glass, and matted patches of grass. The playground equipment was so old and broken that the children in the preschool housed in the church basement could not use it, said the Rev. Cathy H. George, the priest in charge of St. Mary’s.

George, who two years ago left her affluent suburban parish in Lincoln, St. Anne’s in the Fields Episcopal Church, to spend three years in Dorchester, resolved to fix it.

Read it all.

Heard a sermon from a layman on the conversion of Paul, and saw a new couple about to be married welcomed into the church. They even had a moment in the middle where people were offered the opportunity to say what they were thankful with the rest of the family of God if they so desired–KSH.

Recently I was in Richmond, Va. for continuing education. Since my course spanned two weeks, I found myself in a strange place on Sunday morning. When I’m out of town on Sunday, I like to look for unique places to worship. So this Lutheran pastor when to St. Johns Episcopal Church in one of the oldest sections of the city. In this very sanctuary, Patrick Henry spoke his famous words ”“ give me liberty or give me death. With great anticipation I was looking forward to being in that sacred space that was instrumental in our nation’s fight for independence.

As something of a history “buff,” I love worshiping in historic houses of worship. There is something exciting for me to attend old churches: A delight to sing the old hymns in old spaces; a pleasure to confess ancient words of faith as others have in different centuries; a joy to partake in the meal from aged vessels that have fed generations.

As much as I look forward to worshiping in old churches, if the truth is to be told, my experience hasn’t been always satisfying….

Read it all.

Check it out and see what you make of it.

We also appreciate his gracious clarity in defining current divisions within the Anglican Communion as well as suggesting consequences of the continuing actions by The Episcopal Church that have “not brought us nearer to full reconciliation” as the body of Christ. As members of The Episcopal Church, we humbly accept the consequences that may result, such as our provincial representatives and leaders being asked to step down from various roles on Communion bodies and commissions. Furthermore, as members of The Episcopal Church, we are not seeking escape from these thoughtful and loving judgments long-contemplated as far back as the Windsor Report and clearly held forth before the Communion in recent years. Rather we stand firmly with the Archbishop of Canterbury in desiring to safeguard the integrity and witness of the Communion. With him and with Anglicans throughout the world, we also yearn for a “more coherent Anglican identity.” We are steadfastly committed to the principles of the Windsor Report and Lambeth Resolution 1.10 for the parishes and dioceses we serve. In addition we continue to call for the adoption of the Anglican Communion Covenant as a means of deepening our ties to one another and furthering Christ’s mission for the world.

Read it all.

Most of the lay leaders of the largest and most influential Episcopal church in South Texas said Friday they will resign next week as they contemplate whether to leave the denomination ”” a move that could lead to a split in the church as well.

Ten of the 16 people on Christ Episcopal Church’s vestry informed the congregation they no longer in good conscience can be leaders in a denomination they believe has strayed from Scripture. One example is the national church’s approval of gay and lesbian clergy.

The vestry members’ decision comes about a month after the church’s rector, the Rev. Chuck Collins, announced his retirement for the same reason.

Read it all.

Reacting to the ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court issued… [yesterday] morning, the Rev. John Yates, leader of the breakaway congregation at The Falls Church, sent a letter to his followers calling the ruling “a very disappointing result, to be sure.” He added that by having the case remanded to the Fairfax Circuit Court where “the Episcopal Church and the Diocese must still carry the burden of showing, apart from the division statute (which the Supreme Court ruled did not apply in this case — ed.) that they are the rightful owners of this property.”

The “property” referenced is the historic Falls Church in the center of the City of Falls Church, which Yates and his breakaway group has held onto since voting to defect from the Episcopal denomination in December 2006.

Meanwhile today, in an exclusive interview with the News-Press, the Rev. Michael Pipkin, leader of the “continuing Episcopalians,” members of The Falls Church who did not chose to defect and who’ve been locked out of The Falls Church by the defectors, said he hoped that while the case has been remanded back to the lower court, that a reconciliation between the two congregations could occur, and that arrangements could be made for his “continuing Episcopalians” to also worship on the campus of The Falls Church, specifically at 10 a.m. on Sundays in the historic chapel of the church, which is now not being used for any other purpose.

He noted, however, that Yates’ letter today made no mention of such matters, but that he was open to working something out for both congregations to share the property while the court matter is being finally resolved.

Read it all.

Facing a reduced budget and a third round of layoffs, officials at Washington National Cathedral are considering disposing of priceless treasures — including a trove of rare books — that are no longer considered part of its central mission.

The cathedral has begun tentative talks with the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., as it reorients itself as an Episcopal congregation, tourist landmark and promoter of interfaith dialogue.

The cathedral’s rare book library, which dates to 1964, can no longer be considered a “core function” in the current economic climate, said Kathleen Cox, the cathedral’s chief operating officer.

Read it all.

Episcopal Village, a grass-roots community organization, offers training and practical resources to help parishes and dioceses become, among other things, missionaries in their own backyards, said Ward, abbess and vicar of Church of the Apostles, an Episcopal and Lutheran “contextual” mission congregation.

Herself a church planter, Ward said the event aims to draw on local experience and expertise to assist congregations in connecting and reconnecting with their locale. It will be held at St. David of Wales Church in Portland and hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon. A similar event is planned for Sept. 24-25 in Baltimore, said Ward, EpV director.

Among other things, the agency teaches both clergy and laity to do “neighborhood field reconnaissance” as a way of syncing the church with the community’s rhythm of life. “A lot of churches aren’t really connected to those in their own zip codes,” she explained.

Also key is the question of how the church might speak to whatever its context is, whether homelessness, prostitution, or even the isolation wrought by modern technology.

Read it all.

It’s a story that loses a lot in translation: Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in St. Paul is working on a Hmong version of the Book of Common Prayer. This simple-sounding endeavor goes far beyond just replacing one word with another.

It’s a story about a church that was in danger of dying joining forces with a culture that was worried about the same thing. It’s a story about finding just the right words in a language that didn’t even exist in written form until the 1950s. It’s a story about a book from a St. Paul neighborhood that will spread around the world.

Five years in the making, the first Hmong translation of the most important book in the …[Episcopal] service might be completed by fall.

Read it all.

Those are his words, not mine–see what you think; KSH.

Nine years ago Clancy Wolliver called for the vestry and search committee to invite me to be your rector. It was a dream come true, and Ellen, our children and I all felt it was God’s calling. Ministering among you at Christ Church has been the most spiritually demanding and fulfilling years of my 29 years as an Episcopal priest. Thank you for your amazing and generous support when my family and I needed you, for your patience when I failed you, and for your steadfast commitment to God and his Word. It has been an honor to serve one of the really great congregations in The Episcopal Church. For my failures and successes, I have loved you, the people of Christ Church.

I’m sure it will not surprise anyone that my decision to take early retirement is because of a crisis of conscience. Even though I was born and raised in The Episcopal Church, it has moved further and further away from the Gospel to which I committed my life and I have concluded that there is no future for me in this spiritual environment.

Read it all.

After five years without a rector, Ascension Episcopal Church in Amherst has come up with a novel plan ”“”“ the church has installed a ministry team of three clergy for the congregation’s pastoral care.

The Rev. Kathy Chase, who was ordained in 2006 and has provided pastoral care for the congregation, now will be joined by two veteran clergy members who were installed Sunday ”“”“ the Rev. Glenn Busch and the Rev. Christine Payden-Travers.

Chase now has the title of parish coordinator, which recognizes the tasks she has been performing as a vocational deacon. The Episcopal Church has three orders of clergy: deacon, priest and bishop.

The innovation is a new solution for this church that has not been attempted previously in the Roanoke-based Diocese of Southwest Virginia, as far as she knows, Chase said.

Read it all.

From the second to last pew at All Souls’ Episcopal Church in Harlem on a recent Sunday morning, Sylvia Lynch, 80, lifted a hand toward the rafters and sang praises through a haze of burnt incense.

Her voice was steady and strong, as was her grip on the cane she leaned on as she stood and sang and peered over the sparsely populated pews, peppered mostly with older women with fancy hats and hair as gray as her own.

“I came up through Sunday school, and I’m still here,” Ms. Lynch said, taking a step into an aisle at the 104-year-old church after the last hymn. “Back then, it was packed. You couldn’t get a seat.”

All Souls’ Church, on St. Nicholas Avenue, and any number of the traditional neighborhood churches in Harlem that had for generations boasted strong memberships ”” built on and sustained by familial loyalty and neighborhood ties ”” are now struggling to hold on to their congregations.

Read it all.