Two long-time members of Christ Church explain how the recent decision to break ties with Episcopalians has caused them to take an honest look at what they believe.

Read it all.

The way the individual Orthodox churches have handled international disagreements between them is unfamiliar to Anglicans but well known to the Orthodox.7 The disagreements have often been concerned with rival jurisdictions, which might seem trivial compared with the doctrinal and ethical problems facing Anglicans. Nevertheless, the serious way the Orthodox have handled them is illuminating. Since the various Orthodox churches are independent of each other, irreconcilable disagreements between them have tended to result in excommunication, though this is not necessarily mutual. In 1870 Constantinople excommunicated the Church of Bulgaria for insisting on intruding a Bulgarian bishop into the territory of Constantinople, to minister to its own nationals. The two churches remained out of communion until 1945. Since the Oecumenical Patriarch is only a first among equals, however, his action did not exclude the Church of Bulgaria from the Orthodox Church, and the Church of Russia remained in communion with both contestants.8 In 1996-7 the Oecumenical Patriarch was himself excommunicated for a short time by Moscow for restoring the autocephalous Church of Estonia without Moscow’s consent. Obviously, excommunication is a very serious step to take, expressing not just difference of opinion but the gravest disapproval””a step which needs to be withdrawn as soon as it properly can be; but the experience of the Orthodox is that it does not destroy the church, and may sometimes bring about the necessary change of heart without a long delay.

If, therefore, after the latest Primates’ Meeting, following whatever time for reflection the Meeting has decided to allow, there has been no sign of repentance on the part of the Episcopal Church, and it seems that nothing short of excommunication can bring home to that Church the error of its ways, the individual Anglican churches should not hesitate to take this unprecedented step and the more of them that do so the better, as their action will not be irreversible. If there is disagreement within a province whether to take this step, some of its dioceses may want to take action individually, and
there does not seem to be any reason why they should not do so: in that case, the archbishop will be in the same position as any other diocesan bishop. Provision will obviously need to be made for those who are the victims rather than the culprits in the American tragedy, and determined efforts made to reunite all the scattered fragments of faithful American Anglicanism which exist outside as well as inside the Episcopal Church. It is a task which seems likely to require much patience and understanding, but in the changed situation might be achievable.

Read it all.

Elected representatives of the Episcopal Diocese of California today approved use of rites for the blessing of same gender couples by an overwhelming margin. The action opens the way for Diocesan Bishop Marc Andrus to allow these services to be used on a trial basis by Episcopal churches across the Bay Area.

Clergy and lay delegates also approved by a broad majority a resolution countering recent opinions voiced by the Episcopal House of Bishops in New Orleans. Drafted by the Rev. John Kirkley, the resolution both affirmed “the unanimous decision of the (Diocesan) Standing Committee to refuse to discriminate against partnered gay and lesbian bishops-elect” and deplored
“the lack of access to adequate pastoral and ritual care for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in large parts of the Episcopal Church and the refusal of the majority of our bishops to make provision for it.

“Today we took two important steps toward full inclusion of LGBT people and their families into the Episcopal Church,” Oasis California President Thomas C. Jackson said. Oasis is the LGBT ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of California. “With broad support from our straight allies, we placed LGBT couples on an equal footing with heterosexual couples when they ask the church to bless their relationship. Our elected representatives also made clear our collective commitment to including LGBT people as full members of the Episcopal Church.”

Read it all.

The annual Synod of the Diocese of Quincy meeting in Moline on Friday and Saturday remained focused on moving forward with mission and ministry inside the diocese, around the county and around the world, even as it seeks to secure its relationship to the wider Anglican Communion.

Presentations were made about continuing relief efforts coordinated with the Free Church of the Annunciation in New Orleans, earthquake relief for Peru, an upcoming medical mission to the Dominican Republic, and new outreach work in Haiti and Quincy’s companion Diocese of the Upper Shire in Malawi.

During the synod banquet Friday evening, Deacon Phil Fleming, the diocese’s disaster and relief coordinator, received a national recognition award for his Katrina relief work in New Orleans, and also received the St. Paul’s award for meritorious service to the diocese.

The synod took steps to consider possible relationships with other branches of the Anglican Communion. Quincy is presently affiliated with the Episcopal Church in the US. A number of decisions were made that open the door for possible alignment with a different branch of the world-wide Communion.

“As a Diocese our goal is to remain in fellowship with the wider Anglican Communion,” said the Rt. Rev. Keith L. Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy. “Over a year ago we asked for alternative oversight from an archbishop outside the US. We re-affirmed that request at this synod.”

“No final decisions were made about our affiliation at this synod,” according to Fr. John Spencer, press officer for the Diocese. Spencer said a number of decisions are currently being made in various parts of the Anglican Communion that will affect not only the US church, but all 38 provinces of the Communion. “Decisions will be made in the next few weeks about who will or will not attend next year’s Lambeth Conference,” a meeting of all Anglican bishops held every 10 years. Many bishops, including a significant number of bishops in the Church of England, have indicated they may not attend if American bishops are present who have continued to reject the scriptural and moral teaching standards of the Communion.

“Also, several of our sister dioceses in the Anglican Communion Network will be considering canonical changes in the coming weeks, ” Spencer said. “We want to discern a way forward together in a reasoned and prayerful manner over the coming months.”

PASSED by voice vote
Resolution 2007-01 “Pledge to National Church”
Be it resolved, by the 133rd Annual Convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, that the system used for 2007 to adjust our pledge to the national church through individual restrictions be continued for 2008, and
Be it further resolved that subsequent to the calculation of the ‘restricted’ pledge, that ten percent of the non-restricted operating diocesan income for 2006 become our pledge to the national church for 2008

PASSED by orders
Resolution 2007-02 “Proposed Anglican Covenant”
Be it resolved, by the 133rd Annual Convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, that
1. The Diocese of Fond du Lac welcomes such a Covenant process as the development of a document of what has hitherto been unwritten.
2. The Diocese of Fond du Lac believes that the draft from Dar es Salaam is a worthy beginning and encourages its further development along the lines suggested as the Covenant describes the limits of autonomy, while encouraging interdependence in Communion.
3. The Diocese of Fond du Lac believes that autonomy is limited by interdependence and so commits itself to be subject to the wisdom of the Communion and its instruments of unity and Communion.
4. The Diocese of Fond du Lac commits itself to work with the Anglican Communion in the development of an effective interdependent and accountable membership in the Anglican Communion.
5. The Diocese of Fond du Lac commits itself to working within the structures of the Episcopal Church, USA.
And,
Be it further resolved, that a copy of this resolution certified by the Secretary of this Convention, be forwarded to the Presiding Bishop, the Secretary of the House of Bishops for distribution to the House of Bishops, the President and Secretary of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church for distribution to the members of the Executive Council and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

PASSED by orders
Resolution 2007-03 “Anglican Pastoral Scheme”
Be it resolved, by the 133rd Annual Convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, that
1. The Diocese of Fond du Lac, expresses its regret that the leadership of the Episcopal Church has rejected this pastoral scheme, and
2. The Diocese of Fond du Lac, asks the leadership of the Episcopal Church to provide meaningful pastoral support and oversight to the dissenting minority, having involved persons from that dissenting minority in discussion,
And,
Be it further resolved, that a copy of this resolution certified by the Secretary of this Convention, be forwarded to the Presiding Bishop, the Secretary of the House of Bishops for distribution to the House of Bishops, the President and Secretary of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church for distribution to the members of the Executive Council and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

PASSED by orders
Resolution 2007-04 “Regarding National Church Litigation”
Be it resolved, by the 133rd Annual Convention of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, that
The Diocese of Fond du Lac, asks that the National Church cease its participation in the litigation that is at present before the courts and any future such litigation of the type referenced in the Dar es Salaam communique.
And, Be it further resolved, that a copy of this resolution certified by the Secretary of this Convention, be forwarded to the Presiding Bishop, the Secretary of the House of Bishops for distribution to the House of Bishops, the President and Secretary of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church for distribution to the members of the Executive Council and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

=

One widespread source of concern is that parishes already have substantial investment in a variety of materials, from gospel books to text-inserts to Sunday school curricula, all for the BCP lectionary. Even if budgets permit the acquisition of new materials, Church Publishing, while surely doing its best to make materials available in a timely way, still does not have most of the relevant offerings available for delivery as of this writing. And it will be a long time before the whole apparatus of the church’s liturgical and musical resources geared to the lectionary has managed the conversion mandated by General Convention.

Surely in time, these issues will work themselves out, and materials will be available to support the ministry of the word. While that work goes forward, if you take the RCL transition into your own hands, the Liturgy and Music Office of The Episcopal Church has prepared a BCP-formatted version of the RCL: just follow the links from here.

In fact, alarming as it may sound, the conversion to the RCL may prove to be not a bang, but a whimper. Parishes opting for the thematic track for the weeks after Pentecost will notice relatively few differences from the lectionary they already use. And even those opting for the other track will hear much that is familiar. It is in the season after Pentecost that the challenges and opportunities will come, as preachers, musicians, and listeners alike seek to make the most sense out of the heretofore marginalized texts we will now be able to hear from the Hebrew Bible.

I suspect that the transition will bring out its best results in the ways that it invites (and compels) us all, clergy, musicians, and lay people alike, to re-engage with scripture, to hear many neglected stories again ”” or perhaps for the first time. My hope is that it will, in the long run, help us all to transform telling “the old, old story” into singing a new song.

Read it all.

Multiculturalism has run its course, and it is time to move on. It was a fine, even noble idea in its time. It was designed to make ethnic and religious minorities feel more at home, more appreciated and respected, and therefore better able to mesh with the larger society. It affirmed their culture. It gave dignity to difference. And in many ways it achieved its aims. Britain is a more open, diverse, energising, cosmopolitan environment than it was when I was growing up.

But there has been a price to pay, and it grows year by year. Multiculturalism has led not to integration but to segregation. It has allowed groups to live separately, with no incentive to integrate and every incentive not to. It was intended to promote tolerance. Instead the result has been, in countries where it has been tried, societies more abrasive, fractured and intolerant than they once were.

Liberal democracy is in danger. Britain is becoming a place where free speech is at risk, non-political institutions are becoming politicised, and a combination of political correctness and ethnic-religious separatism is eroding the graciousness of civil society. Religious groups are becoming pressure groups. Boycotts and political campaigns are infecting professional bodies. Culture is fragmenting into systems of belief in which civil discourse ends and reasoned argument becomes impossible. The political process is in danger of being abandoned in favour of the media-attention-grabbing gesture. The politics of freedom risks descending into the politics of fear.

Read it all.

In a remarkable article in the London-based Church Times (13th April), Canon Gregory Cameron, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion, publicly distanced Anglicanism from Protestantism. Canon Cameron spoke of an Anglican “dialogue with the Protestant traditions,” making it clear that he regarded Anglicanism as lying beyond the pale of Protestantism. Many in Ireland will regard his views with puzzlement, and perhaps not a little concern. So will many historians.

We need to appreciate that the sixteenth-century Reformation was a complex phenomenon. There was no single Protestant ”˜template’. Rather, a variety of reforming movements emerged during the sixteenth century, whose specific forms were shaped by local politics and personalities, as much as by the broader commitment to a recognizably Protestant agenda. The forms of Protestantism which emerged in the great imperial cities (such as Strasbourg), territories (such as Saxony) and nations (such as England or Sweden) had their own distinct characteristics. Some, for example, retained the episcopacy and a fixed liturgy; others discarded one or both. Yet each represented a local implementation of the Protestant agenda.

Historians generally consider that one of the most remarkable and influential forms of Protestantism emerged in England, and has come to be known as ”˜Anglicanism’. Reformers in the reign of Henry VIII did not refer to themselves as ”˜Protestants’, partly because this was seen to have foreign associations at the time. (Henry VIII, it will be recalled, disliked foreigners having influence over English affairs.) Yet from the reign of Edward VI onwards, English Church leaders began to use this term to refer to themselves, and see themselves as being connected with the great reforming movements and individuals on the continent of Europe.

Read it all.

Outside subway stops and bars in parts of this blighted city, slouching hustlers mutter “loosies, loosies” to passers-by, offering quick transactions, 50 cents a stick or three for a dollar.

Their illegal, if rarely prosecuted vocation: selling loose Newport cigarettes to those who do not have $4.50 to buy a pack.

In small corner markets, customers sometimes use code words like “bubble gum” or “napkins” to receive individual cigarettes wrapped in a napkin. Or they buy a flavored Black and Mild, the latest smoking craze here, from an opened five-pack.

Out-of-package sales are common in the poor areas of many cities, an adaptation to meager, erratic incomes and rising cigarette taxes. But researchers say they are just one facet of a high smoking rate among low-income urban blacks.

Even as antismoking campaigns have sharply reduced tobacco use in society at large, smoking has remained far more common among the poor of all races.

What a crying shame. Where are the churches on this matter? Read it all.

Those without the privilege of mobility must learn instead the rigid disciplines of standing still, that is, of making a stand. There are things we do in this house and things we don’t do, things the rednecks do or the gringos do that are not for us. Often those engaged in this kind of struggle will turn to religion. Though I served a small and not very moralistic (Episcopal) church, I saw this more than once. People go to church for all kinds of reasons, but the main reason that people of a certain age will start going to church is that their kids are starting to overdose on the dominant culture. They go to church hoping to find solid ground. Sometimes they go to the polls hoping for the same thing….

“The real problem of our time” George Orwell wrote in 1944, “is to restore the sense of absolute right and wrong when the belief that it used to rest on — that is, the belief in personal immortality — has been destroyed. This demands faith, which is a different thing from credulity.” It also demands conviction, which is a different thing from wanting to win at any price. The real problem of the left in our time is to restore those absolutes and to find that faith.

—Read it all.

Check it out.

Update: To look for statistics for your parish or diocese click here.

Listen to the “Report from FiF North America” by the Bishop of Forth Worth, Jack Iker, at the Forward in Faith International Assembly.

Click here and then use the audio link which may be found in the middle of the page (a little over 13 minutes long).

Though polygamy is illegal and uncommon in the United States, some Americans practice it, including some Muslims. One Muslim family living San Diego says the drama depicted in shows like Big Love on HBO is more fiction than fact.

Bartolone is a fellow with the Knight-Carnegie News21 Initiative.

Listen to it all.

It is sometimes said, mostly by Protestants but sometimes by Catholics and Anglicans, that there exists such a thing as “the plain meaning of Scripture” (PMS) and this thing ought to serve as the normative criterion for the acceptance or rejection of any proposed assertion about Christianity in particular but sometimes of any assertion at all. Some Catholics will say that, while there is such a thing as “the plain meaning of Scripture”, the “final meaning”, that is, the interpretation given to Scripture by the Tradition and the Magisterium, is more important than “the plain meaning”. I shall argue that there is no such thing as “the plain meaning of scripture”, at least as it is used by most Protestants, and hence, a fortiori, it cannot serve as a normative criterion for the interpretation of scripture.

First of all it must be admitted by all sides that, whatever else one must mean by the expression “the plain meaning of scripture”, it means, first and foremost, a certain kind of interpretation of scripture. This is because, in spite of the fact that some passages of Scripture may be taken literally, at their “face-value”, so to speak, there are certain very obvious exceptions to this. For example, when we read, in Revelation, “I am the Alpha and the Omega”, we cannot take this literally, unless we sincerely believe that God is identical to two letters of the Greek alphabet. No one, including severe literalists (SL) who think that the world was created in six 24-hour periods, will suggest that God is nothing more than a letter of the Greek alphabet. The language is quite obviously metaphorical, and presumably other cases such as this one would be sufficient to show that in at least some passages the Scriptures must be interpreted in light of their metaphorical content, and that to interpret them in a literal way in every instance would be to reduce Christianity to nonsense.

So, if every reading of the Scriptures, including a literal one, is in reality an interpretation of the Scriptures, we must take some pains to distinguish the interpretation of the Scriptures that is called “the plain meaning of the Scriptures” from that set of interpretations that is favored by the Church. The non-Catholic view is essentially connected to the criterion of private judgment that I criticized in this post. According to the non-Catholic view, PMS is something that is equally available to any well-informed, rationally competent reader. No one denies that different well-informed, rationally competent readers often come up with different interpretations of the Scriptures–that is why there are so very many Protestant denominations, after all–but the central idea is that disputes of this sort can be settled by well-intentioned and jointly cooperative searches for the truth, in which rational agents rely on their own rational powers, their own private judgment, and a cooperative examination of all available empirical evidence. The fact that this has rarely, if ever, succeeded, for some reason, gives no one pause, but it is not my intention here to examine the psychological underpinnings of PMS, as interesting as such an inquiry would be.

The Catholic view is rather different. Catholic practice has traditionally been to privilege certain readings of the Scriptures over others.

Read it all.

The annual synod of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal has become the second to urge its bishop to allow clergy to bless previously solemnized civil marriages between same-sex couples.

Bishop Barry Clarke, who himself concurred in the Oct. 19 vote, told reporters after the vote that he is “glad we came to a place where we made a decision.”

He said some Anglicans in the diocese may not he happy with the decision, “but at least we can say we are out there and we can say that’s where we stand.” He told delegates at the close of the debate that, “I want to say how impressed I am with all of you.” He added, “I will consider seriously what I have heard today. I will take it into serious and prayerful consideration. I am a pastor at heart.”

However, he said in a statement that the decision makes no immediate change in the policies and practice of the diocese. He would bring the results of the vote to a meeting of the Canadian house of bishops Oct.25-30 in London, Ont.

Read it all.

In the end, repentance, not love, has come to symbolise Cranmer himself, his life’s work being interpreted by his last days. In the eyes of his critics, Cranmer’s recantations prove that at best he was weak and vacillating. In the hearts of his admirers, however, Cranmer’s last-minute renunciation of his recantations proved his true commitment to the Protestant faith. But what of Cranmer himself, how did he interpret his last days and the meaning they gave to his life? According to a contemporary account, having previously been distraught, Cranmer came to the stake with a cheerful countenance and willing mind.

Fire being now put to him, he stretched out his right Hand, and thrust it into the Flame, and held it there a good space, before the Fire came to any other Part of his Body; where his Hand was seen of every Man sensibly burning, crying with a loud Voice, This Hand hath offended. As soon as the Fire got up, he was very soon Dead, never stirring or crying all the while.

His Catholic executioners surely thought Cranmer was making satisfaction to his Protestant God. Yet his doctrine of repentance would have taught him otherwise, for the God he served saved the unworthy.

Read it all.

Next week, the eight finalists for bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago meet their potential flock at a series of gatherings throughout the region: St. Mark’s in Glen Ellyn on Tuesday; Church of the Redeemer in Elgin on Wednesday; Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest on Thursday; Church of the Transfiguration in Palos Park on Oct. 26; St. Edmund’s in Chicago on Oct. 27, and St. Luke’s in Dixon on Oct. 28.

The slate of nominees reflects the changing face of the nation’s Episcopal church, with three women and two Africans among those running. Before this election, no woman had been nominated for Episcopal bishop of Chicago.

Tribune religion reporters Margaret Ramirez and Manya A. Brachear compiled information on the eight nominees from personal statements and interviews with Episcopal scholars. The election will be held Nov. 10 at the diocese’s annual convention in Wheeling. The new bishop will succeed Bishop William Persell, who has led the diocese since 1999.

Read it all.

If you believe the headlines, schism is imminent in one of the oldest Christian denominations because the American branch of the church, caught up in the latest civil rights movement, approved an openly gay man as bishop.

Not so, said that bishop, who was in Honolulu this week, giving a small audience at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church some political, philosophical and pastoral insights into the issue that put the U.S. Episcopal Church at odds with some other branches of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

“I don’t think there are many bishops in the Episcopal Church who believe that 20 years from now we won’t have an authorized same-sex blessing, and that the issue of an openly gay bishop won’t be an issue any more,” said Bishop V. Gene Robinson, head of the New Hampshire Episcopal Diocese. About 60 members of the Hawaii Episcopal Diocese and a few from other denominations attended his unpublicized appearance at a meeting of Integrity, an organization for homosexual Episcopalians.

Read it all.

Years ago, I was in the hospital room when a beloved parishioner was disconnected from the machines that were keeping her alive. I prayed at the bedside with her family, anointed her with oil, then stepped back to the corner of the room, trying to be both present and unobtrusive during those sacred last moments of life.

The mood in the room was somber, filled with tears and hushed voices. So I was a bit disconcerted when a man I didn’t know came up to me and heartily introduced himself as a cousin of the dying woman.

“Are you the preacher?” he asked.

I nodded yes.

“Does your church believe in the Bible?” he demanded to know.

I was both stunned and offended at the question. Out of respect for the circumstances, I quietly assured him we did indeed, then quickly stepped away to speak to someone else.

Read it all.

Priests and lay leaders from nine Episcopal churches – including two with Polk County ties – have begun talks with the Diocese of Central Florida that could lead to them breaking away from the denomination.

Among the nine priests are the Rev. Andrew Doan, rector of Holy Cross Church in Winter Haven, and the Rev. Geoffrey Boland, who leads St. Nicholas, a newly planted church that meets at Liberty High School in Poinciana in Osceola County but draws members from Polk County. The group has been critical of increasingly liberal policies in the Episcopal Church toward the role of homosexuals, including ordaining them as priests or bishops and using liturgies to bless same-sex unions.

On Friday, Boland would say only that the priests and lay leaders had met Thursday with Bishop John Howe and other diocesan leaders and entered into “a process of conversation and negotiation.”

A statement released Thursday said the two sides discussed “possible scenarios by which all or part of the congregations may disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church.”

Doan said no decisions have been reached.

“We’re still in wait-and-see mode. There’s a lot of talking to do,” he said.

Read it all.

“It just makes it clearer that the group of bishops is finding that the number of congregations in The Episcopal Church who want to affiliate in that way is shrinking and they are looking for partners with similar philosophy and theology outside The Episcopal Church. I think it would be remarkable if they could all gather into one body. They have such a history of splitting that it would be a sign of the Spirit’s moving if they could gather into a coherent whole…”

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori speaking of Common Cause.

1. Some dioceses will proceed with public same-sex blessings if they are so inclined. This commission’s report was authorized by the diocese’s 156th convention in 2005, and once the gears are turning it’s unrealistic to expect that they will stop suddenly because of a statement from the House of Bishops, a resolution from the Lambeth Conference, or even a resolution of General Convention (peace be upon it). The diocese’s 158th convention, which meets for its day of business on Saturday, Oct. 20, could table the report or receive for a year of study or otherwise kill it with kindness. Still, does anyone seriously expect such a vote from this convention?

2. This discussion is, and always has been, about marriage. Three times the commission members express their hope “for the day when ”˜marriage equality’ will be the reality in our Church and State.”

Set aside the oft-heard and, to my mind, patronizing arguments that the church should bless same-sex couples because it blesses houses, pets, and fishing boats. Human beings are not houses, pets, or fishing boats, and for the church to pronounce the blessings of God on a covenanted and sexual relationship is a far more weighty and consequential matter. Two of these three recommended rites specifically adapt existing marriage services ”” one from The Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer, 1979, and the other from A New Zealand Prayer Book. The third service is the Diocese of New Westminster’s custom-designed “Rite for the Celebration of Gay and Lesbian Covenants.”

Read it all.

The College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) recently petitioned for “full, corporate, sacramental union” with the Roman Catholic Church recently.

The appeal for union was debated during a meeting of bishops in Portsmouth, England during the first week of October. It was delivered in a letter, which was signed by all the bishops present. The letter was delivered personally to the Holy See by the Most Rev. John Hepworth, Primate of TAC, and two other bishops selected by the college.

Read it all.

Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church was dismissed from the Pittsburgh Presbytery yesterday so it could join a more conservative denomination — the first of what could be several votes over divisive theological and ecclesiastical questions.

The dismissal was the culmination of six months of discussions precipitated by the Mt. Lebanon church’s overwhelming vote in April to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

The vote by the presbytery’s clergy and elders was 174 for dismissal and 73 against, with two abstentions.

The action takes effect immediately.

According to the settlement between the presbytery and the 400-member church, Beverly Heights will keep its building and land — together valued at more than $1 million — and the rights to its name.

In exchange, it will pay the presbytery $250,000 over 10 years and forfeit $46,655 in a trust account.

Read it all.

If the success of a fledgling cable channel can be predicted by cute tchotchkes and dancing fuzzy robots, then God is likely to keep blessing the three-year-old Gospel Music Channel (or GMC). When I received publicity materials from GMC, what drew my attention immediately was a lamb wearing a choir robe and cross necklace. Upon pressing his hoof, the channel’s stuffed icon exhorts listeners to “put your hands together, let’s have a Holy Ghost party,” as a gospel choir backs him up and the lamb waves his arms and sways like the backup singers for Ray Charles. Thelonious the Gospel Lamb (so I dubbed him) entertained the house cats until his battery ran out–unlike GMC, which has been broadcasting 24/7 since October 2004 and now reaches more than 20 million households.

GMC sprang from the inspiration of Charley Humbard, best known as the son of Rex Humbard, the pioneering Pentecostal television evangelist who died last month at age 88. It boasts of being the “first-ever advertiser-supported music channel dedicated to the broad spectrum of gospel and Christian music.”

Those who do not follow gospel may be puzzled by the GMC’s capacious slogan: “Rock, Pop, Country, Soul. It’s All Gospel.” Weeknights, prime time on GMC is divided by genre, and implicitly by race. Monday is “Country and Southern Night,” Wednesday features “Soul,” and Friday is “Pop, Rock, and Hip Hop.” Primetime artists range from Ricky Skaggs (a bluegrass gospel performer) to Kirk Franklin and Yolanda Adams (well-known contemporary black gospel singers). This motley medley of musical forms, so rarely heard on genre-specific radio formats, is true to the biracial heritage of gospel music in America.

Read it all.

To the Members of St Stephens Church, Sewickley

A Letter about Denominational Realignment

From your Rector and Vestry

October 12, 2007

Dear Friends in Christ,

I write to you as your pastor and brother in Christ in a season of great importance concerning our future, and I write with the unanimous support of our Vestry. For decades under multiple generations of leaders this parish has been filled with glad followers of Jesus Christ, working for the mission of his Gospel, and laboring for the reform and renewal of the Episcopal Church -under Holy Scripture and through the Holy Spirit. At St Stephens we have been deeply thankful for this call upon our lives; we love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we love this Church.

As we enter the latter part of this decade, it is now evident that differences of faith and practice have torn the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, probably beyond mending. The challenges we face are rooted in longstanding developments inside western culture that are spreading worldwide. These challenges cannot be avoided, for we face them everywhere. I thank God for your endurance, your courage, and your clarity in this important struggle.

We have come to a moment of decision. After years of effort and much personal anguish, I now believe that the Episcopal Church has clarified and hardened its opposition to the historic and biblical Christian faith to such an extent that we cannot pursue our gospel mission fruitfully while remaining under its authority. Your Vestry concurs. For the sake of our health and future mission, we believe that we must now partner with our diocese to realign our congregation and affiliate with a different Province of the Anglican Communion.

Read it all.

On Thursday, October 18, 2007, the Rectors and Senior Wardens of seven parishes of the Diocese of Central Florida and two church planters met with Bishop John W. Howe and representatives of the Diocese to discuss the possible scenarios by which all or part of the congregations may disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church.

Each parish will now enter a process of conversation and negotiation with the Diocese based on its particular circumstances. Bishop Howe reiterated his commitment to provide pastoral care both to those who leave and to those who wish to remain.

All parties agreed to enter into these negotiations in good faith using Biblical principles in an effort to avoid litigation and scandal to the Church of Christ.

The parishes are:

Cocoa, Gloria Dei Church
The Reverend Paul Young, Rector
Frank Travassos, Senior Warden

Crystal River, St. Anne’s Church
The Reverend Kevin Holsapple, Rector
Victor Hernandez, Senior Warden

Maitland, Church of the Good Shepherd
The Reverend John P. Nyhan, Rector
George C. Madill, Senior Warden

Mount Dora, St. Edward’s Church
The Reverend Woodleigh Volland, Rector
Charles Cronebaugh, Senior Warden

Ocala, Grace Church
The Reverend Donald J. Curran, Jr., Rector
Dr. Jim Wilkerson, Senior Warden

Vero Beach, Trinity Church
The Reverend D. Lorne Coyle, Rector
Mrs. Nancy N. Reichardt, Senior Warden

Winter Haven, Holy Cross Church
The Reverend Andrew S. Doan, Rector
Bill Johnson, Senior Warden

The church planters are from:

Lake Nona, St. Philip’s
The Reverend Paul Jagoe, Church Planter
Melinda Tedder, Lay Representative

Poinciana, St. Nicholas
The Reverend Geoffrey Boland, Church Planter
Charles Secord, Lay Representative

Media contacts:

Mr. Joe Thoma, Communications Officer , Diocese of Central Florida
The Reverend Donald Curran, Rector, Grace Church, Ocala

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, met in Dublin last week with the leaders of the Porvoo Communion of Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches for private talks. However Dr Williams’ Irish excursion did not bring him a change of scene as the vexing issue of gay clergy followed him to Dublin. While a spokesman for the Church of Ireland told The Church of England Newspaper there would be no formal statement of the gathering of Anglican and Lutheran bishops, sources familiar with the deliberations, held every two years, tell CEN that issues of common national and ecclesial concern were raised at the gathering.

The Lutheran Churches of the Porvoo Group: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are sharply divided over the Swedish church’s decision to authorise rites for the blessing of same-sex unions. The Swedish move has opened a split within the Lutheran World Federation akin the divide in Anglicanism, with the Lutheran Churches of the Global South threatening to break with their Northern counterparts over the issue of gay blessings and clergy. The controversy intensified last week when on Oct 2 by a vote of six to five, the Church of Norway’s Bishops’ Conference voted to recommend to the church’s general synod that non-celibate homosexuals be permitted to serve as bishops, priests and deacons.

The moderator of the Norwegian Bishop’s Conference, Bishop Olav Skjevesland of Agder and Telemark, who attended the Dublin meeting, voted to reject the licensing of gay clergy.

The Church of Norway has three openly gay ministers serving in parochial ministry under the licence of their bishops. The issue will now go before the Church’s Nov 12-17 meeting of General Synod for resolution. In 1995 and 1997 the Norwegian Synod stated that people in registered same-sex partnerships could hold lay positions in the Church, but could not be ordained as clergy.

On Sept 13 the Church’s National Council stated that it believed the consensus within the church over gay clergy had shifted in the past 10 years. It recommended that Synod revise the church’s canons, allowing bishops the local option of whether or not to ordain and licence gay clergy.

The National Council encouraged dialogue saying that ”˜many members of the church are touched directly by this issue and that there are many who feel that their place in the church is at stake’. “Church leaders should work continuously on attitudes and forms of communication, so that fellowship in the church is felt to be open, clear and inclusive,” it said.

–This article appears in the Church of England Newspaper edition of October 19, 2007, on page 8

ANGLICANS in Harare run the risk of excommunication by default, if they agree meekly to be banished from the province of Central Africa, Robert Stumbles, Chancellor of the diocese of Harare and Deputy Chancellor of the province, has warned.

His wake-up call includes urgent advice that a “special synod” that the discredited Bishop of Harare, the Rt Revd Nolbert Kunonga, has hastily planned for tomorrow cannot legitimately be held without 90 days’ notice. The meeting follows the Bishop’s announcement last month that his synod had “unanimously mandated” him at its August meeting to withdraw the diocese from the province of Central Africa, supposedly because the province held liberal views on homosexuality (News, 21 September).

The Bishop, an apologist for Robert Mugabe, lives on a white farm from which he evicted black workers. He is still answerable to the Church on 38 serious charges, including incitement to murder, following a farcical non-trial in September 2005 and closure of the case by the Archbishop of Central Africa, the Most Revd Bernard Malango (News, 25 November 2005).

After the move to form his own province, he is now being pursued by lawyers for the province of Central Africa for the return of assets, including three vehicles, and for surrender of his authority as signatory to two bank accounts.

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A not-so-funny thing happened last month while I was on a business trip to Austria and Sweden: My country started to resemble a second-rate power. I saw it in three different places ”” at an international conference at the Benedictine Abbey at Melk in Austria, at a quiet public square in Stockholm and at the Los Angeles International Airport, when I got home.

At the Austria gathering, the Waldzell Institute held its annual meeting aimed at the spiritual development of society. The theme on the stage with the Dalai Lama was legacy, but the conversation among participants during breaks turned to America. The questions came not as accusations, but as laments: “What’s the matter with your country?”

The Europeans who come to this conference are worldly people who track what’s happening globally with an impartial eye. To them, China’s growth and dynamism is the most compelling story of the 21st century. “Dynamism” was the sort of word people once used when talking about the United States. Now, they watch us like rubberneckers driving past a car wreck. “You used to be such a great country,” they say. “Not even a country. What happened to the great idea that once defined America?”

It’s more than a fair question, and one that you can appreciate only when you are outside the bubble that passes for media and public discourse in the USA today. Because when you’re outside the bubble, only then do you realize how far the United States has drifted from its promise, how large the gap is between what we profess and what we do. What is important is how far short we are falling and, in some important ways, falling apart. From afar, you see how closed our once-open society has become; how diminished our economic superiority has become; and how worn our once impeccable image has become.

The Danish have a saying that translates into “home blind,” which is a malady that appears to be striking Americans.

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