The group charged with “designing” a covenant that could be used as a unifying set of principles among the provinces of the Anglican Communion met March 30-April 3 in Cambridge, England to work on a new revision of the text.

“A completed revision of the proposed covenant has been finished, along with a commentary explaining our work,” the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, one of two Episcopal Church members on the Covenant Design Group, told ENS at the conclusion of the meeting. “We have taken seriously the array of responses received from the provinces and from around the communion and larger church.”

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The Anglican Consultative Council, made up of lay people, clergy and bishops from the 38 Anglican Provinces of the Communion, meets in Kingston Jamaica May 1 – 13, to consider among other things, mission in the 21st century, the future structure of the worldwide Church, and theological education.

The ACC meets approximately every three years under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will give a presidential address on May 11.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings in the name of our merciful Savior Jesus Christ whom the Father has exalted to the place of all authority and who now lives to make intercession on behalf of his church: I write this Post-Convention Letter during the Sabbath pause of the Spring House of Bishops Meeting. I awoke early, the morning after the convention at first troubled. As I reflected on the events of our 218th Diocesan Convention there were those things I wished I hadn’t done, and those things I wished I had. Certainly I have been in such a place many times before as a parish rector””actually, as a Christian, for that matter””for it is the human condition isn’t it. As a young rector I used to stew about such things for quite some time. Now, I find the new challenges come so quickly, that after giving whatever time I can to self-examination, proper confession and absolution, (it is Lent isn’t it!), it seems best to just move on in grace-filled trust.

By the time this letter is sent to you I will have returned from the House of Bishops. We, in the diocese, have a lot of work to do. I am eager to get on with it. The two main dimensions of my vision for this diocese, as I described it in the Bishop’s Address, is my overriding commitment. It was my hope as I prepared for our convention that the Gospel Mandate and the call to make Biblical Anglicans for a Global Age would dominate the landscape throughout all of our sessions. Yet as we entered into the debate on resolutions several things came to the forefront: 1) The controversies in our “National Church” *(see below) quickly took center stage. 2) These issues afoot in TEC have the power to threaten our ability to do the two key dimensions of the vision I have committed myself to and believe the diocese should fully embrace. 3) The parliamentary model is an inadequate process for a diocese to have the conversation which is needed at this time. 4) Resolutions from the floor, when not necessitated by recent developments, are not the preferable way to initiate serious debate. I write this last comment without pointing fingers, for the Standing Committee and I brought the first resolution to the floor and without sufficient time for the body to be able to fully understand its implications and reflect upon it. A layperson asked the question from the floor if the resolution (that the Standing Committee and I brought to the floor) was an attempt to unbolt the sidecar from the motorcycle””referring to the metaphor used in my Bishop’s Address. Had I excused myself from the chair I would have answered by saying, “It is a resolution to make sure the back wheel is not removed from the motorcycle!” But, back to the matter of resolutions from the floor, may I suggest that sometimes churches like families try to avoid needed conversations. When, however, the issues are brought up, albeit hastily, blame is assigned to the person who sought to have the needed conversation.

Of course we are in the middle of Lent. I remember well what that can be like for those of you who are rectors or vicars. So, while recognizing this, nevertheless, I will commit myself to find ways to have the conversations with many of you; first, in more intimate settings; then in more inclusive forums. Should anyone infer that these are primarily conversations to leave The Episcopal Church they would be mistaken. While nothing will be forbidden from the conversation, the purpose of our gatherings will be to discuss what it means to be””as our diocesan Constitution puts it””“The Church in the Diocese of South Carolina”¦.”

Faithfully Yours,

–(The Rt. Rev.) Mark Joseph Lawrence is Bishop of South Carolina

A gunman opened fire at an immigration services center in downtown Binghamton on Friday, killing as many as 13 people before authorities found him dead, officials said.

Gov. David Paterson said at a news conference that 12 or 13 people had been killed.

A law enforcement official said the body of the man believed to be the gunman was found in an office of the American Civic Association building. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the details of an ongoing hostage situation and was talking on condition of anonymity.

Makes the heart very sad–read it all.

U.S. Rep. John Campbell readily admits something not often heard from politicians in this economic crisis. When it comes to rewriting the rules of the financial system, the California lawmaker says he’s not sure where he stands.

“I’m not sure even in my own mind,” he says. “If I were king, I’m not sure what I would do at this point. And I don’t think I’m alone. This stuff is not easy.”

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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. ”” Boat owners are abandoning ship.

They often sandpaper over the names and file off the registry numbers, doing their best to render the boats, and themselves, untraceable. Then they casually ditch the vessels in the middle of busy harbors, beach them at low tide on the banks of creeks or occasionally scuttle them outright.

The bad economy is creating a flotilla of forsaken boats. While there is no national census of abandoned boats, officials in coastal states are worried the problem will only grow worse as unemployment and financial stress continue to rise. Several states are even drafting laws against derelicts and say they are aggressively starting to pursue delinquent owners.

“Our waters have become dumping grounds,” said Maj. Paul R. Ouellette of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “It’s got to the point where something has to be done.”

This was on the front page of Wednesday’s Times–I had no idea this was going on. Read it all.

According to Talmudic calculations, every 28 years the sun is in the exact position it occupied at the time of Creation. As it happens, that moment falls on Wednesday, April 8, of this year, at sunrise — just hours before Passover begins. There is a brief blessing for the occasion, too. It is called Birchat Hachamah, Hebrew for “blessing of the sun.” But the sun is a hot topic these days, not least because of global warming, and this time around the blessing, in itself, is not enough: A whole environmental message is being attached to what was once a simple ceremony.

Thus Jews who wish to mark the occasion will find a variety of options, including a Manhattan rooftop service that supplements the blessing with yoga sun salutations and environmental speeches; a beachfront “mystical” service in Seattle; and an arts, music and “healing” festival in Safed, Israel. This year’s ritual has even inspired two Facebook groups: The “Birkat HaChama” group had 256 members at last count, while the “Birchat HaChama one had 165. There is also a commemorative T-shirt being sold online, available in two colors and styles, emblazoned with the words: “Here Comes the Sun.”

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Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops in Northern Ireland have united to condemn the recent paramilitary-style shootings in Londonderry.

In a joint statement the Most Rev Seamus Hegarty, Catholic Bishop of Derry, and the Rt Rev Ken Good, Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, said: “The recent shootings in our city must be outrightly condemned as immoral and indefensible.

“The Christian Church teaches that life is sacred. An attack on the person is a rejection of the teachings of Christ. It is also an offence against the dignity of a person created by God….

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Two mainline Protestant denominations, after decades of wrestling over the place of homosexuality in the church, are considering allowing local congregations to select pastors who are in long-term, monogamous, same-gender relationships.

The church council of the largest Lutheran body in the US, the 5-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), decided this week to send such a recommendation to its national assembly. The proposal would take effect if supported by majority vote at the assembly’s biennial meeting in August.

The 2.3-million-member Presbyterian Church (USA) approved the idea at its national assembly last summer, but a majority of the church’s 173 district bodies, called presbyteries, must vote in favor by June for it to become church policy.

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The Democratic-controlled House approved a budget blueprint drawn to President Barack Obama’s specifications Thursday and the Senate hastened to follow suit after administration allies rejected alternatives from liberals and conservatives alike.

The vote in the House was 233-196, largely along party lines, for a $3.6 trillion plan that includes a deficit of $1.2 trillion.

The country wants “real change, and we have come here to make a difference,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said as both chambers worked on plans to boost spending on domestic programs, raise taxes on the wealthy in two years’ time and clear the way for action later in the year on Obama’s priority items of health care, energy and education.

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The key element in President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan strategy is getting Pakistan to fight the Taliban on its side of the border. But despite the Administration’s demanding a more concerted effort against militants on Pakistani soil as a condition for further aid to Pakistan’s military ”” and warnings by Centcom commander General David Petraeus and others that the Taliban threatens to destroy Pakistan as a state ”” many in Washington and beyond are skeptical that Pakistan will cooperate.

U.S. military officials have recently made clear that more than seven years after America went to war against the Taliban, Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency continues to provide active support to Taliban forces fighting in Afghanistan. “Fundamentally, the strategic approach with the ISI must change,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen told CNN last Friday, “and [its] support … for militants [on both its Afghanistan and India borders] has to fundamentally shift.” But the problem is not confined to the ISI or elements within it. In a recent truce between the Pakistani army and local Taliban groups in the Pakistani region of Bajaur, militants recanted their hostility to Pakistani security forces but vowed to concentrate on fighting NATO forces in Afghanistan. And Pakistan has been far more tolerant of Taliban forces on its soil who conduct operations in Afghanistan than of those who fight the Pakistani government.

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Without a doubt, this crisis is now Ben Bernanke’s war.

Bernanke has become the country’s economist in chief, the banker for the United States and perhaps the world, and has employed every weapon in the Federal Reserve’s arsenal. He has overseen the broadest use of the Fed’s powers since World War II, and the regulation proposals working their way through Congress seem likely to empower the institution even further. Although his actions may be justified under today’s circumstances, Bernanke’s willingness to pump money into the economy risks unleashing the most serious bout of U.S. inflation since the early 1980s, in a nation already battered by rising unemployment and negative growth.

If he succeeds in restarting growth while avoiding high inflation, Bernanke may well become the most revered economist in modern history. But for the moment, he is operating in uncharted territory.

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In September 2005, Timothy Geithner made one of his most visible moves as a supervisor of the U.S. banking system. He summoned the nation’s top financial firms and their regulators to streamline an antiquated system that threatened Wall Street’s boom.

Billions of dollars worth of financial instruments known as credit derivatives were being traded daily, as banks and investors worldwide tried to protect against losses on increasingly complex and risky financial bets. But the buying and selling of these exotic instruments was stuck in a pencil-and-paper era. Geithner, then head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, pressed 14 major financial firms to build an electronic network that would cut backlogs and make the market easier to monitor.

Geithner’s summit, held at the New York Fed’s fortress-like headquarters near Wall Street, was a success. By fall 2006, the new system had all but eliminated the logjam, helping derivatives trade more efficiently. One financial industry newsletter honored Geithner as part of a “Dream Team” for his leadership of the effort.

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What can this commitment to place and community mean for those not living in an agrarian countryside? Are there institutions that can serve as substitutes? The authors think so: “the flourishing of placed and peopled churches within local cultures.”

By flourishing, they mean the opposite of the wild growth of placeless megachurches. They mean churches like the ones they belong to, ones rooted in particular spots for long periods, measuring faithfulness not by membership size but by their very rootedness and deep work. They suggest we name churches once more for places, not abstractions…

But the real power of their thinking is for those churches we have long thought in decline. Their chapter “Household and House of God” contains some of the most hopeful pages on the future of local churches I’ve read in years.”

Read it carefully and read it all.

Rick Richardson is a professor at Wheaton College and the author of a book called Evangelism Outside the Box. He tells the story of a pastor named Dan who realized that his preaching was getting stale. So, with the support of his pastoral team, he took a part-time job at a nearby Starbucks coffee shop. And before anyone even thinks to suggest it, I am NOT taking a part-time job at The Pampered Palate!

So Pastor Dan when to work at the local Starbucks. Much to his surprise, all 21 people he worked with believed in God. Not one of them was an atheist. They were all very positive toward God and toward spirituality.

Yet Pastor Dan was surprised to discover that while they believed in God and were interested in things “spiritual,” he also discovered that they were NOT interested in Christians, Christianity, or the church. No one wanted to hear Dan’s proofs for God, his invitations to church, or his ideas about salvation. Most of them thought they knew what Christianity was all about and had decided they didn’t want it. They were what some people call “post-Christian.”

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The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, has announced his resignation. He is leaving to under­take a new global ministry in places where the Church is under pressure and Christians are in a minority. The Archbishop of Canter­bury has described his move as “a courageous initiative and a timely one”.

The news, which was announced in a statement on Saturday, appears to have come as a complete surprise to many.

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Low expectations have been met. Divisions on how to deal with the financial crisis remain. Imbalances in the global economy lie uncorrected. But the G20 summit took important steps in improving the machinery for coping with the financial crisis. The mere fact of agreement will have expanded, in Gordon Brown’s phrase, the oxygen of confidence in the global economy.

To judge a summit primarily by its contribution to psychology may appear to trivialise a crisis that is widely compared to the Great Depression. Yet confidence is the crucial missing ingredient. Its absence has directly caused the collapse of the Western financial system….

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Rod R. Blagojevich, this state’s ousted governor, was charged on Thursday with 16 felony counts, among them racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud and extortion conspiracy in a wide-ranging scheme to deprive residents of “honest government,” prosecutors said, including trying to leverage his authority to pick someone to fill President Obama’s former Senate seat.

Five of his closest advisers, including his brother, Robert, a top fundraiser, and two former chiefs of staff, were also charged in the 19-count indictment.

Prosecutors said Mr. Blagojevich used numerous elements of his state work ”” including appointing people to state boards, investing state money and signing legislation ”” as a way to seek money, campaign contributions and jobs for himself and others.

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The diocese…[in and around Quebec City]…reported 50 requests for apostasy — the renunciation of one’s faith — in the past month; usually it receives about 20 such requests in an entire year.

Two issues appear to have spurred the reaction.

The first was the excommunication last month of the family of a nine-year-old Brazilian girl who had an abortion after being raped by her stepfather. A high-ranking Vatican official initially supported the ex-communications — which also covered the doctors who performed the abortion, but not the stepfather. The Vatican’s top bioethics official later criticized the excommunications.

The second spur was Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Africa last month, when he said abstinence was the answer to the AIDS epidemic ravaging the continent. Condoms, he said, “can even increase the problem,” adding that traditional Catholic teachings were “the only failsafe way” to prevent the disease’s spread.

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Here are some initial thoughts about recovering a better understanding and application of the Bishop’s role in our midst….

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Britain, like many other countries, is debating assisted suicide and euthanasia. In Britain, the more common term is “assisted dying,” which appears to reflect a strategy to avoid using “suicide” to describe ending one’s own life. Then again, the distinction between assisted suicide and murder is itself hard to define.

In any event, proposals for the legalization of “assisted dying” are back in play and Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (also known as Llora Finlay) has entered the debate. Writing in The Times [London], Dr. Finlay argues that this world is simply too imperfect to sustain any ethical system of assisted dying.

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By acting together to fulfil these pledges we will bring the world economy out of recession and prevent a crisis like this from recurring in the future.

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Attempting to bridge deep divides in policy and financial philosophy, the leaders of nearly two dozen of the world’s largest economies agreed Thursday to a broad array of new fiscal and regulatory steps, in a desperate effort to revive the paralyzed global economy.

At the conclusion of the first economic summit meeting to rivet world attention in decades, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain announced that the leaders had committed to $1.1 trillion in additional loans and guarantees to finance trade and bail out troubled countries.

But the funds he announced are well short of a direct injection of stimulus into the world’s economic bloodstream ”” the result of a continuing division between continental Europe and much of the rest of the world over whether to act now or wait see how current spending measures take effect.

“This is the day the world came together to fight against the global recession,” Mr. Brown declared. “Our message today is clear and certain: we believe global problems require global solutions.”

Read it all. The IMF nes in particular is most welcome..

So, presented with an eviscerated version of Christianity on the one hand, and a sincere expression of Buddhism and Islam on the other hand–in the midst of a pluralistically, multiculturally-oriented church where merely being a “spiritual person” is enough to become a priest, and you have what we are seeing in Kevin Thew Forrester and Ann Holmes Redding.

But the ultimate responsibility for these two examples (and, to repeat myself, countless others like them that aren’t in the spotlight) lies with the parishes that raised them up, the clergy who mentored them, the discernment process that sent them toward ordination, the seminaries that trained them, and the Bishops who ordained them. You cannot raise up true leaders in a faith that you yourselves do not possess. And that is the real tragedy of this whole affair.

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The nation’s accounting board agreed today to give more leeway to banks when assigning a dollar value to distressed assets, following an aggressive lobbying campaign by lawmakers and the financial industry to change the rules.

The move by the Financial Accounting Standards Board revises fair value, or mark-to-market, accounting, which has been blamed for exacerbating the financial crisis by forcing banks to value home loans and other assets below their worth.

But defenders of fair value accounting say it gives investors a transparent accounting of the real value of assets held by banks. Changing the rules, some say, will only give banks the chance to conceal how bad their financial conditions are.

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It was a dramatic show of muscle, targeting two of the erstwhile Big Three, and the economic mainstay of the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan, which rank among the top five political pillars of the Democratic Party. Michigan’s Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm, protested that Wagoner was being made a scapegoat. But Sen. Carl Levin commented that when Obama met with members of the Michigan delegation, he made plain that “there wasn’t much point in arguing whether or not it was fair or unfair, wise or unwise. It was a decision that he didn’t ask us about; he informed us.”

You can hear in the comments of Levin and other members of Congress the sounds of grudging admiration for a fellow politician who has shown them he has more backbone than they expected.

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Britain predicted on Thursday that world leaders would bridge their differences on steps to recover from the deepest global economic downturn since World War II, as President Obama and his counterparts from more than 20 industrial and developing countries began a day of talks here.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who greeted Mr. Obama and the other leaders in a seemingly endless cavalcade of motorcades, said the Group of 20 had agreed to tough language against protectionism, including a pledge to “name and shame” countries that erect trade barriers.

Negotiators from the United States and Europe worked frantically to hash out an agreement on new regulations, a day after France and Germany signaled a rift over the level of scrutiny that regulators should have over hedge funds and global financial institutions.

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When Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders in Omaha, Neb., broached the idea of trying to construct a shared facility, they shared one common early fear. It wasn’t politics, fundamentalism or even doctrinal differences.

“It turned out the biggest fear they all had was evangelism,” said Nancy Kirk, director of the two-year-old Tri-Faith Initiative, “that one group would try to get another group to cross the line.”

Yet once a “no proselytizing” rule was in place, leaders from the three congregations gave the green light toward creating a space where all three groups could grow to appreciate””and even respect””each other’s traditions.

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The outgoing Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev Graham Dow, delivers the broadside at the non-believers in the April issue of his diocesan news. And as he sounds the triumphant note about the truth of Christianity, he asserts that over half a century of living “in touch with Jesus” has brought him “untold joy”. Bishop Dow, who will be 67 in July, makes the declaration in an article headed “Get A Life! – the Atheists’ Way or the Christian Way?”

He declares: “The notion that science has disproved – or will one daydisprove – the existence of God is one of the great lies of our generation.

“Even if it is remotely possible that the perfect conditions on earth for human existence could have happened by sheer statistical luck – in a system with many universes and with billions of billions of planets – there is no sign of any scientific explanation as to why the raw materials of the universe existed at all.”

Read it all.