….let me tell you why I think the lectionary is insufficient for shaping “Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age” or whatever your vision of discipleship is:

1. The whole Bible is not read in the Sunday lectionary.

2. Difficult texts are eliminated from the lectionary.

3. Controversial texts are eliminated from the lectionary.

4. Lectionary texts are a set up for preachers to think isogetically about preaching; in the same way, lectionary reading also allows the congregation to go for years without hearing biblical texts in their contexts.

5. The traditional idea of lectionary preaching from the previous generation makes one of two mistakes. It either only preaches from the Gospel texts thus eliminating the 2 Tim. 3:16 understanding of Scripture. There are people who can go for years or a lifetime without hearing a sermon on the Old Testament. The other mistake of lectionary preaching is to try and force a common thread through the four (or three) readings that does not exist exegetically. For every sermon I preach on a biblical text, there are supporting texts. The lectionary readings tend to force the preacher towards finding that support in the appointed texts.

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Maggie Thompson, the ex-wife of John Bennison, was instrumental in sharing information that resulted in the presentment. She underwent grueling hours of testimony at the original trial, and was present along with other persons mentioned in the trial briefs at the hearing held in May by the Court of Review.

The Court of Review, while acknowledging that Charles Bennison was guilty of Conduct Unbecoming a Member of the Clergy, overturned the conviction because the statute of limitations had expired.

The victims of the Brothers Bennison were victimized once. Now they’ve been victimized yet again by the judgment of the Court of Review. Fortunately, John Bennison is no longer a priest. Unfortunately, Charles Bennison is free to once again resume the reigns of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

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At 33, [Ryan] Wright is young compared to most priests, yet his vision is clearer than many who have been in the clergy for decades.

“I don’t think my age is really a factor,” he said. That is unless you count intense passion as an age-thing.

“As Christians we are called to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, but that is only the beginning,” he said. “The fruits of that relationship are a desire to live and share the Gospel with our neighbors and to enjoy fellowship with our community to experience the transformative power of being in a relationship with Christ within this world.”

When asked what he finds most rewarding in his new cure thus far, Wright comes forth immediately with his response, “From the joy of grandkids to the death of a loved one, the whole church community can come together to share and bear hard places as well as celebrate the positive. It is my pleasure to invite God into those places.”

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When I was in seminary, I wrote a killer essay on baptism. The assignment was to write a detailed parish newsletter column explaining baptism and the process for preparing infants, children and adults for the sacrament. I pulled out all the stops, wrote just what my liturgics professor wanted to read, and, had the essay actually been printed in the newsletter, I would’ve had to officiate at far more funerals than baptisms as a result of boring parishioners to death.

It’s safe to say there’s a difference between theory and practice, between seminary and ministry. I know this because the past few baptisms I’ve celebrated haven’t exactly followed the outline I dazzled my professor with. They’ve been better.

Working as a chaplain for Hospice at Home has reminded me that at life’s end, people think about tying up loose ends, and for some that loose end is baptism. I was working with a family and two of the daughters of a man who was dying said that he, his wife and another daughter hadn’t been baptized and they thought that the three of them should receive the sacrament before their father died. One thing that’s very important in providing spiritual care for the dying and their families is not to push any agenda or bias I (or the family) may have; rather it is to explore what’s meaningful for the patient and assist him or her in finding it. So we talked about baptism for a few minutes, and they decided they wanted to be baptized; and with the patient in bed and his wife and their daughter at his bedside, I asked the other daughters to find the nicest bowl in the kitchen and fill it with water from the tap. Then we gathered in a circle, and I blessed the water and baptized them.

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The decision of the Appellate Tri­bunal rejecting lay and diaconal presidency at the eucharist is the latest setback for the diocese of Sydney in its quest to find a means of allowing lay people and deacons to fulfil this function.

Since the 1990s, numerous at­tempts have failed, but this decision is the most serious, because the dio­cese’s current ordination policy is based on the premise that deacons can (in Sydney’s preferred termin­ology) administer the Lord’s Supper.

Under the policy that has been introduced in recent years, ordination as priests (or presbyters, as Sydney calls them) is restricted only to rec­tors of parishes. At least one newly appointed rector has been ordained priest in the same service in which he was inducted into his first parish.

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Read it carefully and read it all.

Here is one (please note the author):

G. Jeffrey MacDonald ascribes clergy burnout to “congregational pressure to forsake one’s highest calling.” The real problem is the provider versus consumer mentality.

Ministry is not solely the work of professionally trained clergy. Rather it is a shared enterprise in which lay people are equal partners. Clergy burnout occurs because both parties lose sight of this fact. The result is clergy who believe that they must meet everyone’s needs while playing the role of a lone superhero, and members of the laity who are either infantilized or embittered because they cannot make meaningful contributions to their church.

Embracing a circular ministry model that values and uses the gifts of laity and clergy while sharing power and authority engages everyone in the work of reconciliation. The big questions are: Will the clergy be able to give up their ascribed power? And will the laity be able to step up to the challenge of their baptism?

Bonnie Anderson
New York, Aug. 9, 2010

Read them all.

Through analysis articulated in the Clergy Wellness Report (2006) and the initial findings of the Emotional Health of Clergy Report (2010), we have observed that there is more to the challenge of clergy stress than fickleness of congregations and the cultural pressures of increased consumerism among churchgoers.

This research points to interesting conclusions that differ slightly from the research Vitello noted, as well. CREDO’ s research found that the only major health factor for which Episcopal clergy are at greater risk than the larger population is stress. Yet, remarkably, work-related stress, which frequently leads the general population to employment dissatisfaction, job loss or job change, exists alongside notably lower “turnover intent” for Episcopal clergy. Compared to the general population, Episcopal clergy report significant levels of well-being, self-efficacy and meaning in their work.

“Clergy are both very happy and satisfied and very stressed,” concludes the Rev. Joseph Stewart-Sicking, who continues to study clergy emotional health. “These two dimensions are somewhat independent and are influenced by different factors. In order to help clergy achieve a healthy balance of emotions, it is not enough to reduce stressors or capitalize on the positive things in ministry; it will take both. Moreover, just helping clergy cope with problems is insufficient to help them flourish.”

Read it all and please note that both of the initial articles Mr. Gunn mentions were published here on the blog–KSH.

See what you make of it.

I think (and this is my interpretation) Ms. Rice is expressing her exasperation over denominational practice that seeks to direct, rather than to lead. To control rather than encourage. “This is the way it has always been, this is the way it is, and this is the way you must be in the world.”

My take on matters of faith is that faith is a matter of prayerful discernment: Listening to the wisdom of others (including Jesus, the Buddha, and countless prophets and wise people who have come before us – and are among us now), taking time for silence (in which we can simply be with God), talking with others who are on a spiritual journey, and carefully, sometimes tentatively, coming to our own conclusions of the heart and mind.

One of my favorite expressions is OCICBW. Of Course I Could Be Wrong. And that’s the way my faith leads me. My faith is bedrocked upon the wisdom teachings of Jesus; my faith rests in the comfort of the Resurrection; my faith leads me to love God and to love humankind. But when it comes to specific doctrines, or specific teachings of the institutional church, I need to discern. I need to weigh tradition, Scripture, reason, and my own experience (and that of others) before expressing my thoughts. And even then: OCICBW.

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The Rev. Bill Gandenberger, assistant to Bishop John-David Schofield of the breakaway Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, is leaving his post to become rector of Christ Church Vero Beach in Vero Beach, Fla.

Gandenberger’s final day in Fresno is Sunday.

He served as Schofield’s assistant for eight years, including in 2007 when Schofield led a secession movement out of the U.S. Episcopal Church over differences such as the ordination of a [non-celibate] gay bishop and the supreme authority of Scripture.

The breakaway diocese is now part of the Anglican Church in North America.

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Now that the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop has overturned your sentence of deposition, and you may continue to be a Bishop in the Episcopal Church, you have the right to return as Bishop of Pennsylvania. But is it right to do so?

I urge you to give this question the deepest consideration with your best advisers before making your final decision on returning August 16.

Let me tell you my advice, so you know.

To be Bishop is to unify the Church, but your return would further divide our diocese. To be Bishop is to build up the Church, but your return would tear down the fragile foundations of trust and hope that have been built these past two years. My strong belief is that your return will do more harm than good, create more anger and less reconciliation, and hinder, not advance, the Church’s mission in our diocese. These realities may be unfair and unjust, but I believe them to be true.

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When her marriage fell apart and her sister died, Amanda Machin was left on the verge of suicide.

In her hour of darkness, the 50-year-old turned to someone she believed she could trust ”“ her local Anglican vicar.

But, Mrs Machin alleged, the Rev Steve Rankin persuaded her to part with £160,000 and left her ”˜penniless’.

Ugh–Read it all.

The American clergy is suffering from burnout, several new studies show. And part of the problem, as researchers have observed, is that pastors work too much. Many of them need vacations, it’s true. But there’s a more fundamental problem that no amount of rest and relaxation can help solve: congregational pressure to forsake one’s highest calling.

The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them. It’s apparent in the theater-style seating and giant projection screens in churches and in mission trips that involve more sightseeing than listening to the local people.

As a result, pastors are constantly forced to choose, as they work through congregants’ daily wish lists in their e-mail and voice mail, between paths of personal integrity and those that portend greater job security. As religion becomes a consumer experience, the clergy become more unhappy and unhealthy.

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…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….

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An Anglican vicar has been convicted of conducting hundreds of bogus marriages in a scam aimed at helping African immigrants gain illegal entry into Britain.

A jury at Lewes Crown Court, in southern England, on Thursday (July 29) found the Rev. Alex Brown had violated immigration laws by “marrying” 383 couples over a four-year period at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in the village of St. Leonards-on-Sea.

In testimony during the seven-week trial, the prosecution said Brown, who denied conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration, “knew full well that the vast majority of the marriages were shams.”

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…victim advocates say that church law still allows offenders in ministry.

“The Episcopalians, like most denominations, have a long way to go,” said David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “It’s alarming that the denomination hasn’t even committed to a ‘one-strike’ policy on paper.”

But Bishop Kenneth Price of Pittsburgh believes that the policies dioceses are required to enact create a de facto one-strike rule that keeps offenders out.

“Over the years this has become a much more public concern. The House of Bishops is very concerned for the protection of alleged victims … and the canons are very clear on what to do,” said Bishop Price, who is also secretary of the House of Bishops.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10214/1077004-455.stm#ixzz0vS3iD2jy

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The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.

Public health experts who have led the studies caution that there is no simple explanation of why so many members of a profession once associated with rosy-cheeked longevity have become so unhealthy and unhappy.

But while research continues, a growing number of health care experts and religious leaders have settled on one simple remedy that has long been a touchy subject with many clerics: taking more time off.

“We had a pastor in our study group who hadn’t taken a vacation in 18 years,” said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, an assistant professor of health research at Duke University who directs one of the studies. “These people tend to be driven by a sense of a duty to God to answer every call for help from anybody, and they are virtually called upon all the time, 24/7.”

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Neither the Report of the Revision Committee nor the legislation itself shows a proper understanding of our reservations, however carefully these have been presented through the consultation process and in the College and House of bishops. It remains a deep disappointment to us that the Church at large did not engage with the excellent Rochester Report and paid scant attention to the Consecrated Women report sponsored by Forward in Faith.

We must now accept that a majority of the members of the Church of England believe it is right to proceed with the ordination of women as bishops, and that a significant percentage of those in authority will not encourage or embrace with enthusiasm the traditional integrity or vocations within it. Nor is it their intention or desire to create a structure which genuinely allows the possibility of a flourishing mission beyond this generation.

However, the closeness of the vote on the Archbishops’ amendment for co ordinate jurisdiction, concerns though there are about its adequacy, suggest at least a measure of disquiet in the majority about proceeding without a provision acceptable to traditionalists. The Catholic group fought valiantly on the floor of synod and we are grateful for that, and while many in the Church and press are speaking as if the legislation is now passed, final synodical approval is still some way off.

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A former Roman Catholic priest now serving in the Episcopal Church was enthusiastically embraced by members of an Oklahoma City Hispanic congregation during his recent visit.

The Rev. Alberto Cutie preached and led discussions July 22-25 at Santa Maria Virgen Episcopal Church, 5500 S Western.

At a church dinner July 22 at Imperial Banquet Hall, 4701 S Shields, Cutie spoke candidly about the controversy that swirled around him a little more than a year ago.

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An Anglican church in Canada has caused an outcry after a dog was given holy communion. The Revd Marguerite Rea gave a consecrated wafer to an Alsatian-cross breed named Trapper, at St Peter’s, Toronto, last month.

It was the first time the dog and his owner, Donald Keith, had attended a service there. The Bishop of York Scarborough, the Rt Revd Patrick Yu, who oversees St Peter’s, emphasised that it was against the policy of the Anglican Church of Canada. “I can see why people would be offended. It is a strange and shocking thing, and I have never heard of it happening before.”

He said he believed Ms Rea was overcome by “a misguided gesture of welcoming”. He has received assurances from her that it will never happen again. The matter was now closed, he said, as “we are, after all, in the forgiveness-and-repair business.”

On Sunday, Ms Rea apologised for her action, which had been a “simple act of reaching out”.

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SDR: Where do you go when you die?

RG: Something endures, I believe, whether it endures in a physical form as scripture suggests, or as a contribution of some little intelligence to the universe or whether there’s memory, I’m not really sure. I’m pretty faithful to preach what scripture teaches, but as far as how that is actually going to be manifest for us, I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t really care. Whatever it is, I’m confident that God is good, and if it’s to be nothing, so be it”¦. One of the best metaphors for articulating what I think is from C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. Hell is a state of continuing refusal toward God, which one can leave at any time. In his telling of the story, the torment is more from the consequence of continuing disconnection from the brightness and reality and graciousness of God. One gets stuck in one’s own narcissism or selfishness or fear or dread or some kind of addictive pattern of refusal, and that is the hell.

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Meeting others who were sexually abused by clergy can help victims heal, says a leader of a support group for survivors.

“We hope they will try and talk with others and find they are not alone. They didn’t do anything wrong,” said Barbara Dorris, outreach director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

She didn’t know whether victims of a local Episcopal bishop had contacted S.N.A.P., but said they would be just as welcome by the Chicago-based nonprofit as the more highly publicized victims of Roman Catholic priests.

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The Rev. Stockton Wulsin, pastor of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Evanston, resigned effective Sept. 30.

He told his congregation in a letter dated July 19 – the same day the church’s Vestry issued a letter to church members confirming that it had accepted the resignation.

In his letter, which Wulsin said was not intended for the public, the priest cited two reasons for his decision. “The Anglican Communion has been in a state of crisis for several years over the choice of the American Episcopal Church to ordain bishops living in openly homosexual relationships and to pronounce liturgical blessings on people living in same sex relationships.”

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.

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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.

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With a laying on of hands, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Sunday welcomed into its fold seven openly gay pastors who had until recently been barred from the church’s ministry.

The ceremony at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco was the first of several planned since the denomination took a watershed vote at its convention last year to allow noncelibate gay ministers in committed relationships to serve the church.

“Today the church is speaking with a clear voice,” the Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, one of the seven gay pastors participating in the ceremony, said at a news conference just before it began. “All people are welcome here, all people are invited to help lead this church, and all people are loved unconditionally by God.”

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, known as the E.L.C.A., with 4.6 million members, is now the largest Protestant church in the United States to permit noncelibate gay ministers to serve in the ranks of its clergy ”” an issue that has caused wrenching divisions for it as well as for many other denominations.

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Garramone-Rohr, the new rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church, said more women are definitely getting into her profession.

“I think they’re able to and are more accepted,” she said.

Garramone-Rohr, who was raised a Roman Catholic, said one of the reasons there are more female pastors and rectors is that churches have changed and become more open to women. That church change can parallel societal changes, she said. She has had some uncomfortable experiences as the female leader of an Episcopalian church, but she said she understands people’s feelings sometimes.

“The walls are still firmly up in some areas,” Garramone-Rohr said. “I’m not offended by it.”

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Seven pastors who work in the San Francisco Bay area and were barred from serving in the nation’s largest Lutheran group because of a policy that required gay clergy to be celibate are being welcomed into the denomination.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will add six of the pastors to its clergy roster at a service at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco on Sunday. Another pastor who was expelled from the church, but was later reinstated, will participate in the service.

The group is among the first gay, bisexual or transgender Lutheran pastors to be reinstated or added to the rolls of the ELCA since the organization voted last year to lift the policy requiring celibacy.

Churches can now hire noncelibate gay clergy who are in committed relationships.

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The 70-million strong Lutheran World Federation has struggled to live up to its own vision of inclusiveness regarding the role of women, the general secretary of the church grouping, the Rev. Ishmael Noko, has told LWF members.

“Equitable participation in God’s mission is the hallmark of an inclusive communion. Member churches are therefore urged to take appropriate steps towards the ordination of women, and, where it is not the case, to put in place policies of equality,” Noko said in his address to the LWF’s highest governing body on 21 July in Stuttgart, Germany.

Noko, who is set to retire from his position in November after 16 years, was delivering his report to the Lutheran grouping’s 11th assembly, taking place from 20 to 27 July.

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