Watch it all. It is a horrible story, but there is a beautiful plaque shown at the end. Prayers for all involved–KSH.

What these past few weeks have taught us about the Church in North America is interesting, if painful. First, our parishes are filled with friendly, welcoming, loving people””people who really mean well, and want to do the right thing, the loving thing, as they believe God would have them do. Second, we are essentially Congregationalists, and then perhaps “diocesanists”, and finally, maybe, members of our national church. There is no real sense of being one church with other Anglicans throughout the world, no sense that we are truly closer, more truly related, to an Anglican in Botswana or Beijing than to a Baptist down the street. Oh, we may have companion dioceses in Africa or South America, but we don’t really think of them as part of us, nor do we feel responsible to them. There’s no need to ask what they think about decisions we make as a church in the U.S., because it has nothing to do with them””sure, we send them some money every year, but that doesn’t make them “us”.

But they are us. If the Anglican Communion is truly to be a single Communion, then we must recognize that the national, man-made boundaries which separate us mean nothing, for we are truly a single Church, a single Communion, whether we’re in New York or Nairobi, Arlington or Addis Ababa. What we do in one part of the Communion directly effects every other part of the Communion, and we ignore that fact to the Church’s, and our own, peril.

Pray for the Church, that we may be One.

Read it all (scroll down to second item).

“We are a very vibrant, dedicated church that is extremely active in carrying out Christ’s mission, and we feel that the Episcopal Church is going in a very different direction than we are,” he said.

[The Rev. Bill] Cobb said more than 200 congregations have left the Episcopal church since 2003 because they believe the church has moved away from tradition and Scripture and because a new prayer book was adopted.

Also highly controversial was the 2003 ordination in New Hampshire of the first openly gay bishop, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson.

Cobb said the vast majority of Anglican bishops agreed that Anglican churches should not ordain those who are in same-gender unions.

“This is the official teaching for the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, and the Episcopal Church has rejected this position. I believe that the Bible teaches that Christians should should either be married or abstain from sex, and that leaders should be an example to the church,” he said.

Read it all.

In his own diocese, [Alabama Bishop Henry] Parsley said, between 500 and 600 people, including clergy groups, four convocational gatherings, the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council discussed the document and considered its reflection questions.

In the Diocese of Vermont, Bishop Thomas Ely hosted six “Communion Matters” conversations which he said were attended by close to 225 people from more than 30 congregations.

“Communion Matters conversations here in Vermont were marked by a spirit of respectful listening and sharing of information, ideas, concerns, hopes and fears,” Ely wrote in his column for the Mountain Echo, the monthly diocesan newspaper.

He reported that others talked with him privately, especially those whom he said felt uncomfortable expressing their opinion in a large group, and others emailed him.

“What I take away from them and what I take with me to New Orleans is the clear desire of the members of our diocese to remain as part of the Anglican Communion family, while at the same time continuing to welcome, celebrate and cherish the presence and ministry of all members of our diocese — our gay and lesbian members as well as our members who disagree with many of the recent actions of the General Convention,” Ely wrote. “I heard much in these conversations about justice, acceptance, tolerance, respect, living with tension, waiting in the moment, not rushing to judgment, betrayal, fear, ”˜scapegoating,’ unity, diversity, certainty, ambiguity, hope and confidence in God.”

He wrote that none of the problems were solved, “but maybe — just maybe — like those disciples on the road to Emmaus we now see the whole picture a little more clearly.”

Read it all.

The Episcopal Church has suspended one of its priests, Anne Holmes Redding, for one year after her announcement this summer that she is both a Christian and a Muslim. A local Muslim leader’s speech to Redding’s church two years ago inspired her to begin attending Muslim prayer services while she was still serving her local diocese.

Listen to it all from NPR’s Day to Day Program. Pay particular attention to what she says she believes about Jesus.

Read it carefully and read it all.

We are ordained leaders in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and we write to our fellow Anglicans across this Church in this season of great importance concerning our future. We are glad followers of Jesus Christ, working for the mission of his Gospel, and have for decades labored for the reform and renewal of the Episcopal Church under Holy Scripture and through the Holy Spirit. We are deeply thankful for this call upon our lives; we love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we love this Church.
We write in a season where it is evident that differences of faith and practice have torn our Church and our Communion, perhaps beyond mending. We have all experienced this rending in painful and personal ways.
The presenting issue is the question of human sexuality, but underlying issues go deeper, to the very heart of our faith, including our understanding of the Triune God, the devastating impact of the fall upon human nature, the unique work of Jesus as the only Savior of the world, our understanding of God’s Gospel mission to the world, the interdependence of our Communion, and ”“ above it all ”“ the final authority and full trustworthiness of Holy Scripture guiding us through these matters. Though our faith is in concert with the majority of our Communion and the historical roots of our Church, we now find ourselves fundamentally divided from the majority of the leadership in the Episcopal Church over these issues of first importance.

We have noticed a widespread and growing trend in The Episcopal Church: in many places congregations and dioceses are no longer free to recruit, develop or choose leaders who share their faith and values; mandatory diocesan assessments are used to fund causes that many believe are in opposition to their own principles; and, if the trend continues, acceptance of behavior Scripture reveals to be immoral and destructive will be soon required. Litigation and presentments are being widely used against congregations and their leaders who in conscience resist or who seek the freedom to realign with other parts of our Communion. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that opposition to classical, creedal, biblical theology and to our ministries is being orchestrated from the highest levels of the Episcopal Church. We wonder if we really are welcome here.
Mindful of Jesus’ guidance we have worked to bring our concerns to the leadership of the Anglican Communion. We have been heartened by the broad attention and support we have received. We hoped that the Lambeth Conference, the Windsor Report, and the Tanzania Communiqué would provide a workable way forward for our ministries and the Anglican Communion itself.
We were stunned by the rapid, summary dismissal of the Tanzania Communiqué by our House of Bishops and Executive Council early this year. We understood this to signal a decided rejection of Communion authority, of our most deeply held values, and of our future ministries. We believe there shall be no viable long term future for our ministries in this church unless we make unacceptable compromises on matters of first importance. Many of us sense we are being compelled to realign. All of us believe we must act to protect the churches and people we serve. We now fear for the future of the Anglican Communion itself.
We do not want to act in haste or in a spirit of judgment. 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 are particularly brokenhearted over the pride that has too often accompanied our witness. We beg God and others across our Church for the forgiveness we need and for the opportunity for a different future than the one we fear is rapidly coming upon us. More than anything we wish to see God’s Gospel healing upon our Church.

We have an urgent request for our leaders as they take counsel in the months to come.
In all humility, with all prayer, and with great respect for the importance of your leadership in God’s Church, we beg you, implore you, to reconsider and comply with the unanimous requests of the Anglican Primates in the Tanzania Communiqué.
We believe this plan to offer the greatest and perhaps last opportunity for a much needed halt in the rending of our Church and for the ”˜grace space’ that might offer us a different, ordered, and hopeful way forward.
We shall be much in prayer in the coming weeks, seeking the leading and help of Him whose grace upholds us all.
Signed
The Rev. John P. Bailey, Vicar, St. Andrew’s Church, New Kensington
The Rev. Ronald J. Baillie, Vicar, Church of the Good Samaritan, Liberty Boro
The Rev. Dr. James Bauer, Priest, Indiana
The Rev. Douglas R. Blakelock, Rector, St. Mark’s Church, Johnstown
The Rev. Dr. Dennett Buettner, Priest in Charge, Church of the Savior, Ambridge
The Rev. Stanley Burdock, Rector, Christ Church, Brownsville
The Rev. Donald W. Bushyager, Assistant Rector, St. David’s Church, Peters Twp
The Rev. Geoffrey W. Chapman, Rector, St Stephen’s Church, Sewickley
The Rev. James Chester, Deacon, Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Dr. Ruth E. Correll, Assistant & Chaplain, St. Francis Church and Day School, Potomac, MD
The Rev. Dr. Daniel F. Crawford, Rector, St. Thomas-in-the-Fields Church, Gibsonia
The Rev. John T. Cruikshank, Rector, All Saints Church, Brighton Heights, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Dallam G. Ferneyhough, Priest-in-Charge, St. Luke’s Church, Georgetown
The Rev. John E. Fierro, Rector, St. Paul’s Church, Monongahela
The Rev. James Forrest, Associate Rector, St. David’s Church, Peters Twp
The Rev. Matthew Frey, Rector, Church of the Advent, Brookline
The Rev. Dr. Jack Gabig, Director of the Children &Youth Initiative, Anglican Communion Network, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Canon Mary M Hays, Canon Missioner, Diocese of Pittsburgh
The Rev. John Heidengren, Rector, Prince of Peace Church, Aliquippa
The Rev. Marc Jacobson, Priest, Manila, Philippines
The Rev. Sam Jampetro, Church Planter, Coraopolis
The Rev. Paul Johnson, Assistant, Trinity Cathedral, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Carrie Klukas, Deacon in Residence, Trinity Cathedral, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Christopher M. Klukas, Rector, St. Martin’s Church, Monroeville
The Rev. Dr. Grant LeMarquand, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies & Mission, Trinity School for Ministry, Ambridge
The Rev. Canon John A. Macdonald, Director of the Stanway Institute for World Mission & Evangelism and Assistant Professor of Mission & Evangelism, Trinity School for Ministry, Ambridge
The Rev. Canon Dr. J. Douglas McGlynn, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Parish Ministry, Nashotah House Theological Seminary, Nashotah WI
The Rev. Christine McIlvain, Deacon, Christ Church, North Hills
The Rev. Peggy Means, Assistant Rector, Christ Church Greensburg and Associate Priest, Seeds of Hope Church, Bloomfield
The Rev. Jonathan N. Millard, Rector, Church of the Ascension, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Gary D. Miller, Rector, Church of the Holy Innocents, Leechburg
The Rev. James C. Morehead, Assistant Rector, Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship, Pittsburgh
The Very Rev. Dr. Peter C. Moore, Dean Emeritus, Trinity School for Ministry, Ambridge
The Rev. James C. Morehead, Assistant Rector, Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Jeffrey Murph, Rector, St. Thomas Church, Oakmont
The Rev. Andrew Ray, Assistant Rector, Fox Chapel Church
The Rev. David B. Rucker, Rector, All Saints Church, Rosedale
The Rev. Rebecca C. Spanos, Deacon, Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Elaine Storm, Assistant Rector, St. Philip’s Church Moon Twp
The Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity School for Ministry, Ambridge
The Rev. David D. Wilson, Rector, St. Paul’s Church, Kittanning
The Rev. Karen Woods, Deacon, Seeds of Hope Missionary Fellowship, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Michael D. Wurschmidt, Rector, Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship, Pittsburgh
The Rev. Dr. Mark Zimmerman, Rector, St. Francis-in-the-Field Church, Somerset

The Rev. Scott Hayashi, a diocesan representative, read a letter from Bishop William Persell, who thanked the congregation for carrying out its decision “with grace and integrity.”

“We will continue to hold you in our prayers,” the letter said.

Afterward, Hayashi and Koch hugged.

Resurrection is a young, multi-racial congregation where hugs flow as easily as peals of laughter. Dress is casual, worship is informal. Often, members rest a hand on a neighbor’s shoulder when in prayer.

“We’re a close family,” said Catherine Clark, 66, of Batavia. “Anyone can come here — black, white, gay, straight — and be loved.”

Lynne Bowman, 59, a lifelong Episcopalian from Barrington, called the move bittersweet.

“We have tried to allow the love of God to be part of everything,” she said. “But it’s still painful.”

The new worship space was a quarter mile walk from the church. As the worshippers processed, a guitarist strummed, while others yelled Nigerian warrior cries.

Longtime members said leaving the Episcopal Church was tough but that the walk of faith is never easy.

Read it all.

Take the time to read it all. Make sure to check this out as well (especially page 7 and following).

Inquiring minds will want to read further on this.

The failure leading to the sale of the cathedral lies with the lack of a serious commitment to evangelism. There is no growth strategy into which the cathedral would fit. Such a strategy has little to do with the current inflammatory issues of homosexuality or church polity. Rather the inability of the people in the pews to speak convincingly about three key questions resulted in a great silence about the mission of The Episcopal Church.

The first question about which people should speak with friends and neighbors is simple: Why Jesus? Why do people need and benefit from a personal relationship with the risen Lord? Can we share with them how that leads to “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7)? Can we demonstrate both in word and deed how that relationship has changed our lives?

The second question also is simple: Why the Church? Why do Christians need to assemble together? Why is it not possible to be a faithful Christian alone? Can we speak convincingly about how our participating in congregational life strengthens and expands our faith? It is in the assembly of disciples that we learn to love one another as Christ has loved us, that we learn to forgive one another 70 times seven, that we learn to pray and worship as our Lord taught us to do, and that we learn to serve one another and persons in need like good Samaritans.

Third: Why this church? Why The Episcopal Church and this particular congregation? The diversity of the congregations, the search for meaning in relationship to crucial questions of life and culture, the significant exposure to scripture in the lectionary, community and world service in Christ’s name, the awesome nature of good worship with joyful hymns of praise ”“ these are but a few of the reasons why this church.

Read it all.

The Rev. Kenneth Brannon wandered onto the national Episcopalian Web site last year and found something he didn’t know he was looking for.

At the time Brannon, 39 tomorrow, was an associate rector at St. Barnabas in Sleepy Hollow, Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y. With two children (Lucy, 10 and Isaac, 6) in school and his wife, Rachel, a psychotherapist studying to be a Jungian analyst, the idea of moving out West wasn’t on his radar. But Brannon saw the Web site for St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ketchum, which was in the process of a new minister search.

Brannon was immediately intrigued, and continues feeling that way a month after moving to the valley to fill the large shoes left at St. Thomas by the departures of Rev. Brian Baker and more recently Bishop Craig Anderson.

“We weren’t looking to move to Idaho. But the program and the St. Thomas Playhouse were compelling,” he said. Brannon’s second degree (out of three) is from New York University in drama therapy.

Read it all.

Here are some of the elements:

–Meetings will begin and end on time, with consent and discussion agendas planned to maximize time for effective discussion and decision-making.
–A detailed agenda and all documents pertaining to agenda items will be mailed to members sufficiently in advance of the meeting date to allow for thorough study. –It is the responsibility of each member to familiarize themselves with the materials prior to the meeting.
–I will come to the meeting on time and stay the entire time. If I am unable to attend, or must leave before the end of the meeting, I will notify the leader in advance.
–I will use “I” messages when I address the meeting: “I believe;” “I think;” “I want;” etc.
–I will listen respectfully to what others have to say without interrupting. I will not engage in side conversations when another speaker has the floor.

Read it all (hat tip: Bible Belt Blogger)

Read it all.

After a yearlong national search, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Dallas has called the Rev. Robert S. Dannals as rector, the priest in charge of the parish.

He has been rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Greenville, S.C., for the last 10 years.

“Dr. Dannals has a passion for evangelism and teaching, an impressive record of visionary leadership, and a proven ability to lead large, complex organizations,” David Martin, senior warden at St. Michael and All Angels, said in a written statement.

Dr. Dannals, 51, is a graduate of Florida State University and Virginia Theological Seminary.

Read it all.

Teaching authors how to write, sell and promote works toward change is the focus of Grace Cathedral’s first writer’s conference.

“Writing-For-Change,” sponsored by Grace Cathedral and the San Francisco Writers Conference, will be held August 24-25 in the Wilsey Conference Center on the lower level of the 100-year-old San Francisco, California cathedral. Organizers plan to hold the event annually.

Read it all.

St. Mary Senior War-den William Haines said of the new assistant rector, “This is important for both Episcopal Churches in Cape May County to help expand the ministry of the church. We are excited to have Pastor Debra here. She is the first woman clergy at St. Mary’s. That is a significant milestone for this church, which will mark its 100th year in 2010.”

Bullock worked at the Church of the Transfiguration in Palos Park, Illinois, about 25 miles southwest of Chicago. “She was doing the kind of work we were looked for,” Sosnowski said.

Bullock was working under a grant from the Lilly Endowment; a private foundation founded by family of the founders of Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceuticals.
New to the ministry, Bullock was ordained in 2006. She was interviewed at St. Mary’s and St. Barnabas. “We are convinced she is the right person for the job and so we hired her together,” Sosnowski said.

Read it all.

[Kenneth] Swanson, has who led the church and its 2,000 members for the past decade, “is dealing with some personal issues,” Bauerschmidt said.

Court records show that Swanson filed for divorce from Barbara Swanson, his wife of almost 37 years, last week, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce would not have disqualified him from holding a leadership position in the church, Bauerschmidt said, noting that the decision to resign was Swanson’s.

Read it all.

Monday night in London’s Westminster Abbey, Atlanta’s St. Philip’s Episcopal Cathedral will help celebrate one of the landmark events in history: 200 years ago, or nearly six decades before the United States settled the Civil War and ended slavery, the British Parliament voted to outlaw human bondage.

For the Britons, it was the culmination of a contentious debate, as much about human rights and justice as about the economics of empire. One member of Parliament, William Wilberforce, spoke with a moral authority that would be accepted as fact only by future generations.

The oracular thunder by Wilberforce, backed by an influential band of allies, made the abolition of slavery seem inevitable ”” a history depicted in the recent film “Amazing Grace.”

Atlanta, too, knows something about how the struggle for basic civil rights can be achieved by many people but galvanized by one man.

So it seems fitting that the choir from St. Philip’s will help celebrate the 200th anniversary of Wilberforce and the British act ending slavery.

Read it all.

From here:

The Standing Committee [of Alabama] and Bishop Parsley hosted a Diocesan Forum on “Communion Matters: A Study Document for the Episcopal Church”, at All Saints’ Church in Homewood, on July 24th, 2007. Here are the comments offered by Mr. George Elliott, our Senior Warden:

“Bishop Parsley, Mr. President, I am George Elliott, Senior Warden of the Cathedral Church of the Advent. I am joined by our Junior Warden and the members of the Vestry who stand here with me. I speak on behalf of this Vestry and have good reason to believe that I also speak for at least 70% of our 3,800+ member parish. As a friend in Christ, I am here to speak to you in love and with all due respect about the document, ‘Communion Matters’.

“We at the Advent are disappointed with the document because it does not lead us even to consider repentance and compliance with the clear advice and requests of the Primates; actually, it leads us down the path of attempting to justify the current direction of the Episcopal Church. We do not believe this is the course that God intends for us as Christians to follow. We humbly and respectfully implore the leadership of the Diocese of Alabama to stand up and do the right thing. Tell the leaders of the Episcopal Church to turn back from their current direction and comply with the recent demands of the Primates of the Anglican Communion.

“Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you.”

But recent cost-cutting steps are meant to ensure better financial management of the spiritual seat for some 9,500 Episcopalians in 35 parishes spread out over 21 counties.
“There’s a myth that the cathedral is crashing and burning, but it’s not going under, it’s not closing, and it’s not for sale,” Bishop Don Johnson said recently in an exclusive interview.

“We’re in a very methodical process of assessing the strengths of the cathedral to determine areas where we need to improve. It’s in solid financial shape, but we have to tighten up and live within our budget.”

The situation is not because of any fiscal malfeasance, Johnson said. Instead, the problem arose as yearly budgets remained stable or increased while funding decreased.

At issue is an aging and shrinking congregation, resulting in diminished annual giving.

Read it all.

Some things you should know about Father Major:

He was once pulled off a plane in Minneapolis as a suspected terrorist and questioned for three hours. Turns out an air marshal got suspicious when he peeked at Father Major’s laptop and saw he was writing about Afghanistan and God. Imagine how friendly all the other passengers were to him when they were finally able to get back on the plane. They, too, were detained, he explained, because “I could have had an accomplice.”

Despite the British accent, he was born and raised in New Zealand. He can do a passable accent from there but says it hurts after awhile.

He is a rugby player.

He once lived in a 15th century palazzo — with a ballroom — in Florence, but gave it up to move to Iowa. It was love, not corn, that propelled him: His wife was teaching at Iowa State and her bi-continental commute was getting to be too much. “It makes me one of the great romantic heroes,” he noted.

Read it all.

Dick Tracy isn’t concerned that he’s learning about theology from an agnostic.

Tracy is in the Adult Forum Sunday school class at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 Vt. The class is working its way through a 24-part video series by Bart Ehrman (at right), a noted theologian at the University of North Carolina who grew up attending Trinity.

“I have heard that he is an agnostic now,” Tracy says. “Of course I’m not, so we disagree on that point. However, I don’t think that affects what he presents. Maybe it just makes his point of view less slanted in favor of one or another sect.”

The video series is called “The Great Courses,” and Ehrman’s portion talks about the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Read it all.

Attendance records at St. Paul’s shows that there are approximately 200 members at St. Paul’s and the average Sunday attendance is 90-95 people. This is just under the average size of an Episcopal Church today. However, on July 1, Miller’s first Sunday, attendance was 133, which is the highest attendance in years that the church has seen, not including Christmas Eve services and Easter Services. Then, on Miller’s second Sunday, attendance was still over 100. “The attendance the past two weeks has amazed me. I know that a lot of people have just come out to see the “new guy”, but I hope they will continue to attend Sunday services. To put the attendance in perspective, normal average Sunday attendance at St. Paul’s in June and July is around 60 to 65 people because a lot of people in this are flee to the beach on the weekends. So to have attendance over 100 at this time of year is amazing for this church. I can’t wait to see what the fall attendance will be which is traditionally when attendance goes back up.”

Miller, age 34 and originally from Bristol, Virginia is a 1991 graduate of Virginia High School. He attended King College in Bristol, Tennessee where he earned a B.A. in Mathematics in 1995. He then worked in the secular world for a number of years before attending seminary at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia where he graduated in 2005. He and his family then moved to Wichita, Kansas where he served as Assistant Rector at St. James. Miller also served as the Executive Director of the St. James After School Program, a non-profit program that taught choral music to at-risk elementary school children. Over the last two years, Miller helped to grow the After School Program from an outreach program with a $20,000 budget to a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation with an annual budget of almost $90,000 with one full-time staff member, one part-time staff member, and more than 10 volunteers.

Read it all.

Martins, 55, has taken a pastorate in Warsaw, Ind., a town of 12,000 along the historic Lincoln Highway, about two hours south of Chicago. His final service at St. John’s is set for 9:30 a.m. Sunday, after which congregants will throw him a farewell brunch.

Parishioners say Martins leaves a legacy that includes daily prayer times, Lenten services that incorporate Taizé (music and meditation with a French origin), a deep and conservative understanding of Scripture and strong sermons.

He also leaves a classical music program. The St. John’s Chamber Orchestra Festival, which is held each January and will be honored by the Stockton Arts Commission in October, started under Martins’ watch.

“It’s going to be tough without him,” said Teri Wantland, a member who said Martins helped her and her family through many personal difficulties over the years. “He’s gone beyond the call of duty as a minister of God.”

Read it all.

An inn keeper who hoped to rescue a National Register of Historic Places building in Swanton from demolition says her efforts have failed and the 1876 American Gothic church hall is headed for the wrecking ball.

Jennifer Bright said last week that she is disappointed and sad the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church parish hall that she had hoped to move to her nearby inn is now slated for tear-down.

“I think there is an intrinsic value in the preservation of historic properties,” she said. “This is not some shed that was in someone’s back yard. This is a church. This is the first Episcopal church in Swanton.”

The parishioners of Holy Trinity want the building removed so they can replace it with a new, larger hall that will sit in the same spot and connect to the adjacent marble church where they currently worship. After the marble church was built in 1909, parishioners began using the 1876 church as an auxiliary structure and parish hall for Sunday school, receptions and other functions.

Read it all from the Burlington Free Press.

A Superior Court jury decided a Monterey Episcopal church and priest must pay $149,500 for defaming a parishioner in what was described as church gossip run amok.

Rayn Random, 73, sued the Rev. William Martin and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Monterey for telling other church members she pursued him sexually and that she was really a man with fake breasts.

“I’m so glad it’s over. It’s been a long four and a half years,” Random said after Wednesday’s verdict.

Read it all.

From the Palm Beach Post:

The Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida recognized the growth of the western communities and anticipated the establishment of the Callery-Judge Grove community, so it committed her to the area to establish a ministry.

She is living in a home bought by the church that also serves as her office and meeting space for the congregation.

A group she calls The 15:58 is helping her to get a church established in the community. “They are named after Corinthians 15:58,” Ostlund said. “Basically, the Scripture says that if you keep working, your work will pay off.”

Even though the county voted against the development of Callery-Judge Grove, their future in the area is uncertain, but their faith remains strong.

“It’s in God’s hands,” Ostlund said. “We don’t know what will unfold, but we’re still planning on launching the church next February.”

Read it all.

From the Seattle Times:

Some religious scholars understand Redding’s thinking.

While the popular Christian view is that Jesus is God and that he came to Earth and took on a human body, other Christians believe his divinity means that he embodied the spirit of God in his life and work, said Eugene Webb, professor emeritus of comparative religion at the University of Washington.

Webb says it’s possible to be both Muslim and Christian: “It’s a matter of interpretation. But a lot of people on both sides do not believe in interpretation. ”

Ihsan Bagby, associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky, agrees with Webb, and adds that Islam tends to be a little more flexible. Muslims can have faith in Jesus, he said, as long as they believe in Mohammed’s message.

Other scholars are skeptical.

“The theological beliefs are irreconcilable,” said Mahmoud Ayoub, professor of Islamic studies and comparative religion at Temple University in Philadelphia. Islam holds that God is one, unique, indivisible. “For Muslims to say Jesus is God would be blasphemy.”

Frank Spina, an Episcopal priest and also a professor of Old Testament and biblical theology at Seattle Pacific University, puts it bluntly.

“I just do not think this sort of thing works,” he said. “I think you have to give up what is essential to Christianity to make the moves that she has done.

“The essence of Christianity was not that Jesus was a great rabbi or even a great prophet, but that he is the very incarnation of the God that created the world…. Christianity stands or falls on who Jesus is.”

Spina also says that as priests, he and Redding have taken vows of commitment to the doctrines of the church. “That means none of us get to work out what we think all by ourselves.”

Redding knows there are many Christians and Muslims who will not accept her as both.

“I don’t care,” she says. “They can’t take away my baptism.” And as she understands it, once she’s made her profession of faith to become a Muslim, no one can say she isn’t that, either.

Read the whole article.

Update: A previous thread on this story (an interview with Anne Redding in the Diocese of Olympia “Episcopal Voice”) is here.

From the Daily News of Newburyport:

West Newbury’s All Saints Episcopal Church may move to a spot just down the street from Amesbury’s existing Episcopal church, but the two churches are unlikely to merge, the assistant rector at All Saints Church said yesterday.

All Saints Episcopal Church wants to buy and move into the Sacred Heart parish building on Friend Street, which the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has offered for sale. It’s almost within sight of Amesbury’s St. James Episcopal Church, on Main Street.

The Rev. Michael Morse of All Saints said yesterday a merger of the two Episcopal churches is unlikely if the move happens. The leaders of All Saints have had “cordial” discussions with St. James officials about their possible move, he said.

Contacted yesterday, the Rev. Susan Esco Chandler of St. James declined to comment on the situation, saying she doesn’t know much information about it.

Read it all.