There are no crosses in Makoto Fujimura’s paintings. No images of Jesus gazing into the distance, or serene scenes of churches in a snow-cloaked wood.

Fujimura’s abstract works speak to his evangelical Christian faith. But to find it takes some digging.

After the 2001 terrorist strikes on the World Trade Center, three blocks from Fujimura’s home, his work explored the power of fire to both destroy and purify, themes drawn from the Christian Gospels and Dante’s “The Divine Comedy.”

“I am a Christian,” says Fujimura, 46, who founded the nonprofit International Arts Movement to help bridge the gap between the religious and art communities. “I am also an artist and creative, and what I do is driven by my faith experience.

“But I am also a human being living in the 21st century, struggling with a lot of brokenness — my own, as well as the world’s. I don’t want to use the term ‘Christian’ to shield me away from the suffering or evil that I see, or to escape in some nice ghetto where everyone thinks the same.”

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The openly gay bishop whose ordination sparked the crisis in the Anglican Communion has claimed the Church of England would be close to shutting down if it was forced to manage without its gay clergy.

The Bishop of New Hampshire in the US, the Right Rev Gene Robinson, who is divorced and lives openly in partnership with a gay man, said he found it “mystifying” that the mother church of the Anglican Communion was unable to be honest about the number of gay clergy in its ranks.

He said many of the English church’s clergy lived openly in their rectories with gay partners, with the full knowledge of their bishops. But he criticised the stance of bishops who threaten the clergy with emnity should their relationships become public.

Speaking in an interview in London, Bishop Gene said: “I have met so many gay partnered clergy here and it is so troubling to hear them tell me that their bishop comes to their house for dinner, knows fully about their relationship, is wonderfully supportive but has also said if this ever becomes public then I’m your worst enemy.

Read it all and peruse this also.

My co-worker at the parish where I serve was scheduled to travel this week, and the day before he left there were two deaths, so two funerals in two days fell to me.

I thought I would list their obituaries:

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Corbin Jr., James

CORBIN, James James Edward Ted Corbin, Jr., 80, of Yonges Island, husband of Patricia Browning Corbin died Tuesday morning, July 24, 2007 at St. Francis Hospital. Funeral service will be held Thursday, July 26, 2007 at 12 o’clock at Christ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Hollywood. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Friends may call at James A. Dyal Funeral Home, Summerville from 6 until 8 o’clock this evening. Flowers will be accepted or donations may be made to: Christ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Building Fund, PO Box 426, Hollywood, SC 29449. Ted was born July 27, 1926 in Macon, Georgia, son of the late James E. Corbin, Sr. and Martha Bass Corbin. He was a loving father and husband for sixty one years. He was a graduate of Columbia High School, Columbia, South Carolina. His hobbies included fishing, golfing, flying and was happiest when he was operating his heavy equipment. He was a member of Christ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He was the owner and founder of Metal Trades Inc., a metal fabrication company established in 1962. The company’s success is credited to his work ethic as he preferred the hands on approach toiling alongside fellow laborers while his sons ran the day to day business. He remained active in the company until his death. Ted was very civic minded, playing a role in the construction of St. Paul’s Academy and most recently sponsoring a School to Work welding program in Hollywood, SC. He enjoyed helping others, especially those in need. Ted would rather give than receive. Survivors including his wife are: Sons and daughters: James Edward Corbin III (Marvia) of Meggett, Russell B. Corbin (Margaux) of Yonges Island, William David Corbin (Winnie) of Yonges Island, Richard Frederick Corbin (Patsy) of Yonges Island, Theodore Patrick Corbin of Yonges Island, Patricia Corbin Crites (Kenny) of Ravenel and Angela Ann Corbin of Yonges Island. Grandchildren: James Edward Corbin, IV, Richard Gregory Corbin (Lori), Randall Mikell Corbin (Sara), Morgan Taylor Corbin, Leslie Corbin Savage(Todd), Melissa Corbin Barton (Jeb), Dustin Russell Corbin, Christopher David Corbin, Alicia Laine Corbin, Brittany Kathleen Corbin, Kristi Corbin Rowe (Thomas), William Walton Corbin, Britton David Corbin (Meggan), Theodore Patrick Corbin, Jr., Julia Nichole Corbin, Ashleigh Crites Lambert (Chris), Katheryn Grojean Crites, Gregory Paul Crites, Elizabeth Patricia Crites, Corbin Thomas Collier and Krista Dawn Collier. Great grandchildren: Lauren Alyce Corbin, Brooke Lorraine Corbin, Savannah Rae Corbin, Blaire Kathleen Corbin, McKenzie Lorraine Corbin, Christian Brewer Savage, Talyn Ivy Savage, Sydney Renee Barton, Gannon O’Neil Barton, Meredith Hutton Rowe, Brantley Grace Rowe, Regan Britton Corbin, Jack Henry Corbin, Preston Taylor Lambert, Henry Durand Lambert. Sister: Martha Corbin Banks of Yonges Island ARRANGEMENTS BY JAMES A. DYAL FUNERAL HOME, 303 SOUTH MAIN STREET, SUMMERVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA 29483. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.

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Paulling Jr., Robert

PAULLING, JR., Robert Dr. Robert Paulling, Jr. was born July 8, 1920 in Charleston. He was son of Robert Murray Paulling and Caroline Cuthbert Paulling. He was First Honor Graduate at the High School of Charleston in 1938, and he graduated from College of Charleston. He continued with his education, and graduated from Medical College of SC. He took his internship and orthopedic residency at Roper Hospital, and practiced orthopedic surgery in Charleston for 39 years. He was a member of SC. Medical Association; a member of the Medical Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons; a member of the Southern Orthopedic Medical Association, the Widows and Orphans Association and the Crippled Children’s Society of SC. He was an avid outdoorsman and a member of numerous wildlife conservation organizations. Dr. Paulling was a charter member and past president of the Sertoma Club of Charleston, and a member of the Carolina Yacht Club. He was a member of Christ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Yonges Island. He is survived by his wife, Marcia, of 57 years, and four sons: Robert Murray and wife Rose Marie, Dudley Randolph and wife Emily, Richard Cuthbert and wife Joanie, and Ronald Porcher and wife Teri. He has six grandchildren: Joseph, Brockman, Marcia, Caroline, Audrey, and Claire Paulling. The relatives and friends of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Murray Paulling are invited to attend the funeral service of the former, Friday, July 27, 2007 at eleven o’clock at the graveside in Christ-St. Paul’s Episcopal Churchyard, Meggett, SC. Visitation will be held at J. Henry Stuhr Funeral Home on Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston Thursday between five and seven o’clock. The family welcomes memorial contributions to the Coastal Carolina Alzheimer’s Chapter Association P.O. Box 80459 Charleston, SC 29416 or the Walk for Autism-Charleston, 1487 Cooper’s Hawk Drive, Charleston, SC 29445. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.

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Interesting that both men were in their 80’s.

–KSH.

Same-sex couples from New Mexico are now eligible to marry in Massachusetts, state officials ruled this month, after determining that the Southwestern state does not explicitly ban gay marriage.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which oversees the state’s Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, issued the ruling after a gay rights group in Massachusetts asked the agency to clarify whether the state would authorize the marriage of gay couples from New Mexico.

Rhode Island, which also does not explicitly ban same-sex marriage, had been the only other state whose gay residents can marry legally in Massachusetts.

Neither state has agreed to recognize the marriages.

On July 18, Stanley E. Nyberg, the state’s registrar of Vital Records and Statistics, issued a notice to city and town clerks that a Supreme Judicial Court ruling last year does not prohibit gay couples from New Mexico from marrying in Massachusetts.

The court ruled that gay couples from other states could not marry in Massachusetts if their state explicitly banned same-sex marriage.

“Effective immediately, Intentions to Marry completed by same-sex couples from New Mexico who seek licenses to marry in Massachusetts may be accepted,” Nyberg wrote. “Under applicable Massachusetts law . . . New Mexico’s laws do not prohibit marriage between parties of the same gender.”

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Liz Wells( Eurhythmy teacher from Glenaeon): Eurhythmy brings forth into the visible what would otherwise usually be audial and would usually be internalised, so it is a medium by which the viewer is able to perceive and see visually aspects which are otherwise not visible.

Geraldine Doogue: Steiner education progresses according to how a child evolves, physically, spiritually, and intellectually. In the early years, emphasis was placed on actively developing physical and mental skills through making things, and mental arithmetic. We were unable to show children in these kindergarten rooms because younger children aren’t exposed to technology such as computers and TV.

Stephen Crittenden: A grab from the ‘Compass’ program on ABC-TV in 2002.

The Victorian Education Department is in the middle of a growing controversy about the Steiner method. In recent years, Steiner has been adopted as an alternative curriculum strand in a number of the State’s public schools. At first it happened under the radar and against Education Department policy. But last year the Department’s Deputy Director, Daryl Fraser, released new guidelines approving Steiner as an optional stream in some schools.

But some parents say the Steiner method is really concealing a spiritualist philosophy, and that it’s not appropriate for inclusion in a secular public system.

Steiner’s educational ideas are based on the spiritualist philosophy he founded, called Anthroposophy. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church defines Anthroposophy as ‘a system based on the premises that the human soul can, of its own power, contact the spiritual world’, and says the concepts of reincarnation and karma are central to it.

The 20th century Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge is less kind. It says Anthroposophy is ‘reminiscent of the decadent intellectualism of the Weimar Republic’.

Some schools, such as Footscray City Primary School in Melbourne are now deeply divided. Jenni Lans is a parent at the school who has kept her children out of the program.

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NO one should be surprised by the news that federal officials are investigating whether Tim Donaghy, a referee for the National Basketball Association, bet on N.B.A. games and may have used his position to manipulate game scores so that he or his associates could profit from their wagers. David Stern, the commissioner of the N.B.A., characterized Donaghy as “an isolated case,” but this both misrepresents history and misses the point.

Stern may be correct that Donaghy is the only bad apple in the current crop of N.B.A. refs, but sports betting scandals are fairly common. They are the result of persistent economic incentives that can be traced to the structure of sports gambling markets. And these incentives can be changed.

The activity known as “point shaving” gets at the heart of the problem: a corrupt player or official is rarely asked to throw a game to one team or the other. Instead he is asked to influence something rather immaterial, like the winning margin. This is profitable because gamblers typically bet on whether a team will exceed some point differential ”” the “Vegas Spread” ”” rather than whether a certain team will win.

Because basketball can be affected significantly by the actions of a single player, coach or referee, it is extremely susceptible to gambling-related corruption. But we have seen similar scandals in other sports, including football, soccer and cricket. The common thread in each case has been the existence of large-scale betting on immaterial outcomes, like the point spread, or how many combined points the two teams will score, or the winner of a meaningless “dead rubber” in cricket, a game that takes place at the end of a best-of-five series after one team has already won three games. The exception is the Chicago “Black Sox” scandal, when White Sox players threw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.

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Take the time to read it all.

1. Because The Episcopal Church (USA and other regions) is more accepting than most provinces of lesbians and gay people, including those in loving partnerships, it has been accused of failing to act in accord with the clear teaching of the Bible and the agreed position of the Communion, being too heavily influenced by the dominant culture and acting in an imperialist manner. Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference is often mentioned: though its position on homosexuality was not binding, TEC has been condemned for breaching ‘bonds of affection’ by not conforming.

2. However it is unjust to punish TEC when senior clergy in certain other provinces have to a far greater extent failed to act in line with Scripture and Anglican consensus, to examine their own cultures critically and to oppose imperialism. These include the primate and bishops of the Church of Nigeria, who have acted in ways contrary to key Biblical teachings, the 1998 Lambeth Resolution on homosexuality and over thirty resolutions agreed by Lambeth or the Anglican Consultative Council, as well as several recommendations of the Windsor Report.

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Many jihadis seek to create a global caliphate, ruled by Sharia. At best, Christians, Hindus, and Jews would live in a state of submission tantamount to second-class citizenship. If they got above themselves, they would suffer the persecutions Islamists visited on the Coptic Christians of Egypt. The rule of Islamists has resulted in murderous chaos ”“ 150,000 died in Algeria during the 1990s when madmen decided that most of the Muslim population were apostates. The Taleban anti-state so ruined Afghanistan that Americans joked that they had to bomb it forwards to the Stone Age. There are significant numbers of people living in Britain who wish to visit such chaos on us.

This is the backdrop to the debate about anti-terrorism legislation. As usual lawyers talk to lawyers, including those overrepresented in our political class. Overlooking that our greatest right is to life, civil libertarians are exercised about proposals to extend detention of suspects from 28 to 56 days.

Shami Chakrabarti, the barrister whom the BBC assiduously promotes as the voice of a presumed liberal consensus, will widen her Diana-like eyes in outrage, while Amnesty will mutter darkly about internment.

Read the whole thing.

Last month, Pope Benedict XVI addressed what he called “the delicate situation” in the Middle East. He told a Vatican meeting of the Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches that “peace, much awaited and implored, is unfortunately greatly offended.” Although the pope’s words were meant to refer to strife in Iraq and Israel, they also may be taken to describe the delicate, oft-broken peace in Christianity’s own holiest site in the region.

Ever since it was built by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine in 335 on the hill of Golgotha, where his mother, Helena, claimed to have found the remains of the True Cross, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s Old City has enjoyed little peace. The historian Eusebius records that the original structure, “an extraordinary work,” was crowned by a roof “overlaid throughout with radiant gold.” But Constantine’s marvel was razed by the Persians in 614, reconstructed, and then destroyed again by Caliph Hakim of Egypt in 1009. Rebuilt by Crusaders in the 11th and 12th centuries, the building evolved into the motley collection of shrines, chapels and grottos that greet–and sometimes disappoint–the visitor today. The critic Edmund Wilson said it “probably contains more bad taste, certainly more kinds of bad taste, than any other church in the world.”

The architectural mishmash reflects the overlapping theological resonances of the spots contained under one roof. As Amos Elon notes in his book “Jerusalem: City of Mirrors,” the church marks the site of “Christ’s alleged prison, Adam’s tomb, the Pillar of Flagellation [to which Jesus was bound], ‘Mount’ Calvary [the Latin name for the hill where Jesus was crucified], the Stone of Unction [where his body was washed in preparation for burial], Christ’s sepulcher and the Center of the Earth, as well as the site of the resurrected Christ’s meeting with Mary Magdalene.” No wonder Pope John Paul II called it “the mother of all churches.”

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Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the complicated situation in the world is largely due to the position of the United States, which suffers from
“winner complex.”

“The U.S. is always anxious to win. The fact that they suffer from this disorder, the winner complex, is the main reason why things are so complicated in the world,” Gorbachev said at a press conference at Interfax on Friday.

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At Gavin Brown’s 4th birthday party, the usual detritus lined the edges of the backyard: sippy cups, sunscreen, water shoes, stuffed animals. There were 44 guests and as many buns on the grill, in addition to an elaborate ice cream cake adorned with a fire truck. For the adults, there was sangria and savory corn salsa.

Glenn Johnson lifted his daughter Mia, 3, up to drop money into the donation box.

But the only gift in sight was a little red Matchbox hook and ladder rig. All the bounty from Gavin’s birthday ”” $240 in checks and cash collected in a red box next to a plastic fire helmet ”” went to the Cranford Fire Department.

“Thanks, buddy,” Lt. Frank Genova said on Sunday when Gavin handed over the loot, after which he took a tour of the pumper truck and tried on a real captain’s helmet. With the party proceeds, the birthday boy suggested, the firefighters “can buy new fire trucks, new equipment, and more food.”

In part to teach philanthropy and altruism, and in part as a defense against swarms of random plastic objects destined to clutter every square foot of their living space, a number of families are experimenting with gift-free birthday parties, suggesting that guests donate money or specified items to the charity of the child’s choice instead.

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During a high-level meeting in Riyadh in January, Saudi officials confronted a top American envoy with documents that seemed to suggest that Iraq’s prime minister could not be trusted.

One purported to be an early alert from the prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr warning him to lie low during the coming American troop increase, which was aimed in part at Mr. Sadr’s militia. Another document purported to offer proof that Mr. Maliki was an agent of Iran.

The American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, immediately protested to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, contending that the documents were forged. But, said administration officials who provided an account of the exchange, the Saudis remained skeptical, adding to the deep rift between America’s most powerful Sunni Arab ally, Saudi Arabia, and its Shiite-run neighbor, Iraq.

Now, Bush administration officials are voicing increasing anger at what they say has been Saudi Arabia’s counterproductive role in the Iraq war. They say that beyond regarding Mr. Maliki as an Iranian agent, the Saudis have offered financial support to Sunni groups in Iraq. Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia and that the Saudis have not done enough to stem the flow.

One senior administration official says he has seen evidence that Saudi Arabia is providing financial support to opponents of Mr. Maliki. He declined to say whether that support was going to Sunni insurgents because, he said, “That would get into disagreements over who is an insurgent and who is not.”

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Jim Rosenthal describes himself as an “ardent Anglican,” “a faithful catholic” and a “prayerful … but not too pious … bureaucrat.” In fact, this gregarious, cheerful, hail-fellow-well-met who left the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago 18 years ago to become director of communications for the Anglican Communion, is far more than that, and his friends — many of them in high places — will tell you so.

“He is an incarnation of the bonds of affection of the Anglican Communion,” says Bishop Peter Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

“He interprets the church to the world and the world to the church,” says former Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold.

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THE BISHOP of Jos, Nigeria, the Rt Revd Benjamin Kwashi, was frogmarched out of his house at knifepoint and gunpoint on Tuesday, by a gang who threatened him with murder and beat up his teenage son, Rinji. They ransacked the house and stole what was initially estimated at about £3000-worth of possessions, including a laptop and mobile phones.

The gang overpowered the two security guards at the gates of the Bishop’s compound and locked up the four domestic staff. It is the second attack on the Bishop’s household in 18 months. In February 2006, in his absence from home, a gang beat up Bishop Kwashi’s wife, Gloria, and left her temporarily blinded (News, 24 February 2006).

The Bishop said on Wednesday morning: “The shock has gone, but now the reality is dawning, and we are discovering what was lost and what was destroyed. It is more than we thought ”” terrible. But we thank the Lord for life. I never thought that someone would negotiate my life so cheaply,” he said.

The attack was calculated and deliberate. “They came with ladders, a hacksaw, a sledgehammer, diggers ”” they came to remove the door. No ordinary thief who wants to steal would collect the stuff that way.”

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From the Irish Gazette:

Following the debate on the Anglican covenant process at the meeting of the Church of England General Synod earlier this month in York, the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, told the Gazette that if the bishops of The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the United States do not meet the demands of the Dar es Salaam Primates’ Meeting required by next September’s deadline, and if the bishops of the Global South decline to attend next year’s Lambeth Conference, as many as six in ten Church of England bishops could be considering their own positions about attending the ten-yearly episcopal gathering.

However, Bishop Scott- Joynt added that such bishops would feel “constrained” by their loyalty to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who personally invites the bishops.

Bishop Scott-Joynt also said that if the US bishops were not attending and the Global South bishops were, his estimated four in ten minority among the English bishops would be facing similar considerations to those of the majority in the opposite situation.

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From this Living Church article:

A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is on sabbatical until September, said Archbishop John Sentamu was not speaking on behalf of Archbishop Rowan Williams, but instead offering his own reflections on current events.

THE FORMER Bishop of Harare and Mashonaland Peter Hatendi (pictured) has accused his successor Dr Nolbert Kunonga of banning him from functioning as a priest.

In an open letter published on July 10 in the Zimbabwean, Bishop Hatendi, denied rumours that he had left the Anglican Church. His absence from the pulpit was due to a ban issued by Dr Kunonga, he explained.

“Not long after his consecration as Bishop Dr Kunonga let it be known that he had decided to deprive me indefinitely of my divine right to celebrate, officiate, preach and administer sacraments in the Diocese of Harare. The Diocese in which I was baptised when I was three weeks old, confirmed, ordained and consecrated Bishop.”

No reason for the ban had been given, he said.

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I participated in the Committee of the 100 leaders (C-100) of the World Economic Forum in Amman, Jordan. Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, chaired this committee. The Grand Mufti of Egypt participated for the first time. It was an excellent interfaith event.

I also participated in the Global South Primate’s Steering Committee Meeting from the 16th to the 18th of July in London, England. We produced a very important communiqué, that you can find it here.

I also enjoyed participating in the Wycliffe Hall conference in Oxford that focused on the Covenant and the mission of the Anglican Communion. This was an eye-opening opportunity and it was very helpful.

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A letter to the editor of the Church of England Newspaper.

Obesity can spread from person to person, much like a virus, researchers are reporting today. When one person gains weight, close friends tend to gain weight, too.

Their study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, involved a detailed analysis of a large social network of 12,067 people who had been closely followed for 32 years, from 1971 to 2003.

The investigators knew who was friends with whom as well as who was a spouse or sibling or neighbor, and they knew how much each person weighed at various times over three decades. That let them reconstruct what happened over the years as individuals became obese. Did their friends also become obese? Did family members? Or neighbors?

The answer, the researchers report, was that people were most likely to become obese when a friend became obese. That increased a person’s chances of becoming obese by 57 percent. There was no effect when a neighbor gained or lost weight, however, and family members had less influence than friends.

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Muslims around the world increasingly reject suicide bombings and other violence against civilians, according to a new international poll dealing with how the world’s population judges their lives, countries and national institutions.

A wide ranging survey of international attitudes in 47 countries by the Pew Research Center also reported that in many of the countries where support for suicide attacks has declined, there has also has been decreasing support for Al Qaeda leader Usama Bin Laden.

The 95-page survey found that surging economic growth in many developing countries has encouraged people in these countries to express satisfaction with their personal lives, family income and national conditions, said Andrew Kohut, the center’s director.

“It’s a pro-globalization set of findings,” Kohut said.

Most notably, the survey finds large and growing number of Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere rejecting Islamic extremism. Ten mainly Muslim countries were surveyed along with the Palestinian territories, as well as five African nations with large Muslim populations.

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Six out of ten senior Church of England bishops could boycott next year’s Lambeth Conference of more than 800 Anglican bishops and archbishops from around the world because of the row over gays.

Such a boycott would be unprecedented in the history of the Anglican Church and would be an indication of how deep the divisions go, in England as well as in the rest of the communion.

The fifth most senior bishop in the mother church of the Anglican Communion warns today that a majority of English diocesan bishops could consider a boycott if the US does not row back on its pro-gay agenda.

A UK boycott would confirm the gravity of the splits within even the Church of England, traditionally the model for Anglicanism’s “via media”. It would effectively spell the end of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s dream of maintaining unity.

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Update: there is more here.

Fareed Siddiq is a successful businessman and a father of two. He lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio””a 19th-century mill town built on a river and known for its scenic waterfalls and dams””in a five-bedroom house he recently paid for, in cash, with his savings. Prominent in local civic and religious organizations, including the Red Cross and the chamber of commerce, Siddiq was invited to the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Cleveland earlier this month along with about 400 other business leaders to hear President George W. Bush speak.

He was moved to ask his president a question: “What,” he asked, hauling his 6-foot-5, 245-pound frame to the microphone, “are we doing with public diplomacy to change the hearts and minds of a billion and a half Muslims around the world?” What should he tell his friends and relatives in Pakistan about why he continues to live in the United States?

“Great question,” answered the president. “I’m confident your answer is, ‘I love living in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, the country where you can come and ask the president a question and a country where””’ Are you a Muslim?”

“Yes,” answered Siddiq.

“Where you can worship your religion freely. It’s a great country where you can do that.”

It was a good answer, says Siddiq, but not enough for him””not when he, a financial adviser at a major investment bank, is afraid to use the bathroom on flights because he doesn’t want to frighten his fellow passengers as he walks down the aisle. He thinks anti-Muslim sentiment in the country is getting worse, not better.

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Marking 50 years since a prominent ecumenical gathering in Oberlin, Ohio, representatives from a host of Christian denominations this week wrapped up a five-day conference promoting a new wave of interdenominational unity.

Speaking to 300 attendees from 80 different Christian denominations and organizations, the Rev. James Forbes compared the effort, which was organized by the National Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission, to a revival.

“If there ever was a time for a new Great Awakening to happen in our nation, the time is now,” Forbes said, telling ecumenists that they were “the salt of the earth.”

According to the National Council of Churches, the modern ecumenical movement can be traced to a 1957 conference in Oberlin, the first to include Catholic representatives.

This year’s conference gained a special urgency after the Vatican’s recent assertion that Protestant denominations are not churches “in the proper sense.”

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Wall Street suffered its second-biggest plunge of the year Thursday, leading global markets lower as investors fled stocks amid increasing uneasiness about the mortgage and corporate lending markets. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 350 points, while Treasury yields plunged as investors moved money into bonds.
Investors who had been able to shrug off discomfort about subprime mortgage problems and a more difficult environment for corporate borrowing appeared to finally succumb to those concerns. The Dow’s drop is the biggest since it plummeted 416 points on Feb. 27 after a nearly 10 percent decline in Chinese stock markets.

Feeding the selling were concerns that higher corporate borrowing costs will curb the rapid pace of takeovers that have driven major indexes this year. Investors also feared the sluggish environment for home sales and continued defaults in subprime loans would spur debt defaults and weigh on corporate earnings.

“Worries that have been out there for the past couple of years are coming to a head right now,” said investment strategist Edward Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research Inc. “It’s show time.”

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From the Christian Science Monitor:

Warm waves lapped a Cape Cod beach just a few blocks away, but pastor Liz Magill spent much of a July day in a dining hall among the staples of her unusual week off: a laptop computer and a group discussion about suffering.

“This is supposed to be a vacation,” laughed Ms. Magill, pastor of Worcester Fellowship, a ministry among homeless people in Worcester, Mass. “I’m going to go home exhausted.”

In her uncommon reprieve, Magill had plenty of company ”“ about 80 preachers, lay people, and theologians from at least five denominations. Together, they grappled with a problem facing modern American churches: People in the pews want to know why, if God is loving, the innocent suffer ”“ and they aren’t always happy with the answers from the pulpit.

The occasion was the annual Craigville Colloquy, a theological conference of Christians. Attendance this year was unusually high, organizers said, because the collective effect of tragic events ”“ from 9/11 to hurricane Katrina to April’s massacre at Virginia Tech ”“ has made the issue more urgent in the faith community.

“It’s getting harder to give answers that do in fact satisfy,” says Richard Coleman, a United Church of Christ minister from Pembroke, Mass. Events are producing “a whole rash of dying, killing, and suffering that for us just doesn’t add up. That makes the old question more intense because we want someone’s life, when it ends in death, to have some meaning” and not simply succumb to the inexplicable.

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Tania Rolland has always been fascinated with old churches.

Their character, the way they feel inside, the warm atmosphere, beautiful wood, open ceilings, simple construction and history have all drawn her to churches and created a burning desire to renovate and live in one some day.

That day has come and Ms. Rolland is living her dream.

She and her family are now living in the newly renovated St. Albans Anglican Church in Lequille, Annapolis County, a small rural community just south of Annapolis Royal.

“It has an absolutely wonderful feel to it,” she said in an interview inside the building.

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The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has appointed a new secretary general.

The Rev Peter Karanja Mwangi, an Anglican priest currently serving as the provost of All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, takes over from the Rev Mutava Musyimi, who opted for early retirement.

Karanja’s appointment comes four months after a search committee was mandated to fill the position.

On Wednesday, Musyimi said the search committee presented Karanja as the appropriate candidate.

“The executive committee has duly endorsed the recommendation of the search committee. The Rev Karanja will assume office on October 1,” Musyimi said.

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