The Lords last night rejected a bid to allow relatives to help terminally ill people travel abroad to die, following an impassioned plea by a severely disabled peer.
Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, who was born with the wasting disease spinal muscular atrophy, told how doctors had persuaded her her life was at an end.
She said many would come under similar pressure from loved ones if the law was relaxed.
Let other capitals go all weak-kneed when President Obama visits. Moscow has greeted Mr. Obama, who on Tuesday night concluded a two-day Russian-American summit meeting, as if he were just another dignitary passing through.
Crowds did not clamor for a glimpse of him. Headlines offered only glancing or flippant notice of his activities. Television programming was uninterrupted; devotees of the Russian Judge Judy had nothing to fear. Even many students and alumni of the Western-oriented business school where Mr. Obama gave the graduation address on Tuesday seemed merely respectful, but hardly enthralled.
“We don’t really understand why Obama is such a star,” said Kirill Zagorodnov, 25, one of the graduates. “It’s a question of trust, how he behaves, how he positions himself, that typical charisma, which in Russia is often parodied. Russians really are not accustomed to it. It is like he is trying to manipulate the public.”
For more than ten years the Church has argued for “a period of silence” to enable complex theological and biblical issues to be weighed and resolved, but sadly this “mind of the Church” has been ignored by those pressing for a revision of orthodoxy. Time and again, unilateral decisions have been taken by the revisionists and those seeking to uphold orthodoxy have been marginalised. In consequence, the Church is in turmoil ”” no longer is it a light to the communities it is called to serve; it has largely lost its confidence in the Gospel it is called to proclaim.
As leaders of the world’s industrialized nations gather in Italy, the Pope is calling on them to reject the mantra of deregulation that has guided economic policy and bring in new rules to temper the excesses of the past.
“The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly,” the Pope wrote in his encyclical Charity in Truth released this week.
It’s a point Benedict XVI is expected to stress in meetings with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama after the G8 summit, which begins today.
“The conviction that the economy must be autonomous, that it must be shielded from ‘influences’ of a moral character, has led man to abuse the economic process in a thoroughly destructive way,” he wrote.
A vocation is a call that requires a free and responsible answer. Integral human development presupposes the responsible freedom of the individual and of peoples: no structure can guarantee this development over and above human responsibility. The “types of messianism which give promises but create illusions” always build their case on a denial of the transcendent dimension of development, in the conviction that it lies entirely at their disposal. This false security becomes a weakness, because it involves reducing man to subservience, to a mere means for development, while the humility of those who accept a vocation is transformed into true autonomy, because it sets them free.
We might sum up the Pope’s thinking on the economy this way: Each of us must answer Christ’s question, “Who do you say that I am?” If we, with Peter, answer “The Messiah,” then that should direct the axis of our life. Our most important reality must be the truth of our relationships. In this way, we can understand how the law and prophets could be summed up in Christ’s two commandments: That we love God totally, and love our neighbors as ourselves. Thus we are able to speak of “caritas in veritate.”
Once we accept Christ and these two commandments, we can no longer ask Cain’s question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Instead, we must realize that our exercise of freedom cannot take the form of simply amassing the most wealth that we can. Rather, all that we do in freedom must reflect that reality and all our actions must take into account the effects of those actions on others….
The Pope’s thesis makes clear that an ethical foundation must transcend politics, and as the document makes explicit, the technical solutions belong to policy makers.
Greetings to the Anglican Church in North America
from
the Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
The Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship includes in its membership lay people, clergy and bishops in the Church of Ireland. Our committee, meeting on 28th May 2009, unanimously resolved that we should write to encourage you in the formation of the Anglican Church in North America.
We have followed with sadness the unfolding developments in The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. We know that many of you have suffered great loss (personal, parochial and diocesan) for upholding the orthodox faith in the face of radical innovation, and we want you to know that you have our full support.
We are glad to affirm you fully as fellow-Anglicans and we hope and pray that your new Province will be officially recognised by the Anglican Communion before long. We would like to share with you some words of the hymn known as St Patrick’s Breastplate*:
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.
Of whom all nature hath creation;
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
We assure you of our love and prayers in these times of testing.
Yours sincerely in Christ
Dermot O’Callaghan
(Chair of the Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship)
Some conservatives who stayed with the Episcopal Church even though they disagreed on gay bishops and blessing same-sex marriage are concerned that sexuality issues interfere with the church’s missions and development in Third World countries. Since 2003, some African and South American Anglican archbishops have refused to take communion with Episcopal Church leaders or partner with the church on projects.
“There is a whole swath of the Episcopal Church struggling to make their way forward to do missions and the work of the church,” says Kendall Harmon, canon theologian for the Diocese of South Carolina.
He opposes gay bishops and gay blessings, but Harmon calls the current moratoriums a “fig leaf” that should be lifted so the church can be “honest” about its theological direction.
Still, both efforts may stall, says supporter Jim Naughton, canon for communications for the Diocese of Washington, D.C
The Right Rev. Thomas C. Ely, the bishop of the Episcopal Church in Vermont, is one of six bishops from states recognizing same-sex marriage to offer a resolution urging the church to allow them to extend a key marriage ritual to gay and lesbian couples.
The resolution will be introduced and debated at the Episcopal Church’s General Convention, which begins today in Anaheim, Calif., an event held every three years that features hundreds of church leaders and members debating the future of their faith.
Ely, who testified in favor of Vermont’s same-sex marriage law during legislative hearings this year, said he and the other supportive bishops hope the church will allow them to adapt a marriage prayer book to include same-sex married couples.
“Starting in September, how Vermont defines marriage will be a lot different than how the church defines marriage,” Ely said during a telephone interview from California on Tuesday. “What we are seeking is some flexibility so that same-gender married couples can have their unions blessed.”
Resolution: D020
Title: Provincial Acceptance of Anglican Covenant
Topic: Covenant
Committee: 08 – World Mission
House of Initial Action: Deputies
Proposer: Father Daniel H. Martins
Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church make a provisional commitment to abide by the terms of the Anglican Covenant proposed in the most recent text of the Covenant Design Group (the “Cambridge-Ridley” draft); and be it further
Resolved, That the text of the proposed covenant be commended to the various dioceses of this church for study and comment during the coming triennium; and be it further
Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies appoint a Special Task Force to determine what constitutional and/or canonical measures may be necessary in order to make a permanent commitment to the Covenant; and be it further
Resolved, That this Special Task Force prepare a report to the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church that includes draft legislation that could be considered should the convention decide to make a permanent commitment to the Covenant.
EXPLANATION
The 75th General Convention passed resolution A166, which supports the participation of the Episcopal Church in the development of an Anglican Covenant. Since then, the Covenant Design Group has produced several drafts, culminating in what the members of the CDG believe is the final product of their work, the Cambridge-Ridley Draft.
The 75th General Convention also passed resolution A159, which affirms not only our commitment to interdependence in the Anglican Communion, but a desire to live in “the highest degree of communion possible.” The same convention also passed resolution A160, which offers an apology that “our failure to accord sufficient importance to the impact of our actions on our
church and other parts of the Communion” has “strained the bonds of affection” between the provinces of the Communion.
Since 2006, these strains have only grown more severe. Given our share in their creation, and in keeping with our long-held ecumenical position that for the greater good of the larger Church’s unity, “this Church is ready in the spirit of love and humility to forego all preferences of her own,” and as a sign of good faith toward our sisters and brothers across the Communion, it seems appropriate that we voluntarily and temporarily agree to order our life according to the terms of the Cambridge-Ridley Draft until such time as we can ascertain the level of its acceptance by other churches, and consider more fully the nature of our identity as a constituent member of the Anglican Communion of churches.
Resolution: C009
Title: Develop Rites for Same Gender Unions
Topic: Liturgy
Committee: 13 – Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music
House of Initial Action: Bishops
Proposer: Diocese of Atlanta
Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church authorize the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop appropriate rites for the celebration and blessing of the sacred unions of gay and lesbian persons, taking into account the variety of civil arrangements for such unions available in the regions served by the church; and be it further
Resolved, That such rite or rites shall be presented at the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
EXPLANATION
In light of events following the Lambeth Conference of 2008, it is clear that our charitable restraint and response to the Windsor Report in the matter of our declining to develop a rite or rites to allow the celebration and blessing of sacred unions for people of the same gender has not had the effect of preserving unity and civility between those who believe such unions may be good and moral and those who cannot conceive as such a possibility being within the bounds of Christian faith and the Anglican Tradition. It is also clear that while a great many Episcopalians remain undecided about their own beliefs in these matters, they recognize both the desirability of allowing those who seek to make such commitments in the midst of their community of faith to do so; and that the reality that the cost of our charity has been at the expense of one clear minority within our church; and further that there is no compelling reason that these brothers and sisters should have to continue to bear the burden of that charity.
The development of such a rite or rites by and for the whole church will allow a restoration of decency and order from diocese to diocese under the guidance of each bishop, the ensuring of theological integrity to such rites and the capacity of the church to ‘sanction’ and declare such committed relationships among people of the same gender to be both moral and fully within the bounds of our common life.
Resolution C067 (From the Diocese of West Texas and assigned to the Committee on Stewardship and Development–KSH)
Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church direct the office of the Presiding Bishop and the Executive Council to provide the following information to each Diocese of the Church:
(a) The dollar amount spent by TEC on litigation against dioceses, parishes, groups of churches and individuals since General Convention, 2006;
(b) A list of the church accounts and/or budget items from which these funds were taken;
(c) An explanation of the line item described in the Domestic & Foreign Missionary Society Budgetary Summary as: Additional Draw from short-term reserve for legal support to dioceses exceeding budget for 2008-$1,520.000.00;
(d) The amount of money budgeted for litigation for the next Triennium;
(e) An estimate of the amount of property value retained and expected to be retained by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA) because of pending and completed litigation as of General Convention 2009.
EXPLANATION
The Episcopal Church has engaged in litigation in numerous dioceses across the country in cases involving property disputes with local parishes which have elected to depart TEC. This litigation has been initiated by either the local diocese or the parish against the other party. TEC intervened as a party in interest aligned with the local diocese. Substantial legal fees and related expenses have been incurred on behalf of TEC. Beginning in 2007, requests have been made by various parties to the Executive Council which is responsible for the governance of TEC between General Conventions for financial disclosure of the source of funds and the amounts expended. However no response has been made to date.
Saw Steve Wood and Roades Hollowell (he introduced himself when he saw I was from SC – very friendly — was expecting a different sort of reaction to “SC”, but I guess that’ll come with time. His parents and my mom grew up in Mt. Pleasant together). Haven’t touched base with John Burwell yet this morning but we texted last night — it was great to have a welcome as I rode in from the airport.
I am blogging because I thought my voice might be a bit different from the other voices you will no doubt want to hear (Burwell, Wood, Kendall Harmon – from SC, Lydia Evans, etc.) as I am a lay person who’s never been to GC. I hope to write about things from a personal as well as as a leadership perspective — we shall see.
Jacksonville’s Carole Adams said she and her lesbian partner of 40 years will not return to the Episcopal Church even if its bishops and deputies approve liturgies for same-sex unions during their triennial convention beginning today in California.
Adams, 65, said she was heartened by the 2003 election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire but left in disgust in 2005 during the resulting protest and exodus of conservatives from the denomination, including her former Southside parish.
“Why would you ever want to turn back to that controversy?” Adams said.
Nine priests and six deacons were, yesterday, ordained by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Oleh Diocese, Delta State with a charge on them to affirm their loyalty to the Christian faith.
Giving the charge while ordaining the clergies at the Cathedral of St. Pual, Oleh, Bishop of the Diocese, Rt. Revd Jonathan Edewor told them to uphold their ministries, adding that they were ordained for the service of God.
He told them to help converts in order to bring about peace through the teaching of the word of God and said the diocese, which was created about 10 years ago, was growing to the glory of God.
Things went smoothly for the first hour of the Twitter experiment at Trinity Church in Manhattan on Good Friday in April.
While hundreds of worshipers watched the traditional dramatization of the Crucifixion from pews in the church, one of New York’s oldest, thousands more around the world followed along on smartphones and computers as a staff member tweeted short bursts of dialogue and setting (“Darkness and earthquake,” “Crucify him!”).
The trouble began in the second hour….
The list includes:
Archbishop Phillip Aspinall of Brisbane, Bishop Suheil Dawani of Jeruselem, Bishop Jonathan Hart of Liberia, Archbishop Frederick Hiltz of Canada, Archbishop Henri Isingoma of the Congo, Kenneth Kearon of the Anglican Communion Office, Archbishop Paul Kwong of Hong Kong, Presiding Bishop Solomon Jongmo Yoon of Korea, Bishop Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu of Japan, Bishop Jonathan Hart of Liberia, Bishop Mauricio J.A. de Andrade of Brazil, and Canon Grace Kaiso of CAPA, and of course, Rowan Williams of Canterbury – along with some international clergy and provincial secretaries. Archbishop Daniel Deng Bull of the Sudan is also listed, but with lots of question marks.
A conference called ”˜Christianity in the Digital Space”˜ will take place at St John’s College, Durham, England from 13th -15th July. This conference is trying to answer all sorts of questions such as what discipleship looks like in a digital world and what the church may look like as a result of us being in a digital age.
Sixty Christians who are engaged with online ministry will listen to keynote speeches from Rt Rev NT Wright, Bishop of Durham; Mark Brown (Arkin Ariantho in SL), CEO of Bible Society in NZ; Andrew Graystone, Director of the Churches’ Media Council. There will also be short talks given by practitioners including Mark Howe of St Pixel’s, Pam Smith of i-church, and me, Ailsa Wright (Helene Milena in SL) of AoSL.
A few statistics tell the story.
A majority of seminary students now carry educational debt, and they’re borrowing larger amounts than in the past. Graduates confirm that their debt affects their career choices, holds them back from purchasing homes, prevents them from saving for their children’s education, limits their retirement savings, delays health care and creates distress.
Christian Century magazine recently reported that “churches are paying their clergy proportionately lower salaries today then they did a generation ago, making it more difficult for ministerial candidates to justify the high cost of a graduate degree.”
Fewer than 7 percent of clergy in most Protestant and Catholic denominations today are under age 35.
During the July 6 gathering PB&F members said that Episcopalians have told them they expect the General Convention, the church’s triennial policy-making gathering, to pass a three-year budget that reflects the realities of the economy they live with each day. The members also said they sense a commitment to mission and openness to creative responses to the crisis.
“What I am hearing is that we’d better be realistic about our income projections,” said Diocese of New Jersey Bishop and PB&F member George Councell, who predicted his diocese’s income will be 25 percent less in 2010.
“To continue to go on as if nothing’s changed will send a completely wrong message to everyone,” agreed Diocese of West Virginia Bishop Mike Klusmeyer.
The Rev. Canon John Floberg (North Dakota) said Episcopalians in his diocese are “wondering how we make it through these tougher economic times as a whole church without losing the least and the marginalized.”
Discussions will continue this week at the general convention in Anaheim, Calif., about the possibility of joining together the dioceses of Eau Claire and Fond du Lac.
Fond du Lac Bishop Russell Jacobus said although the local membership may have concerns about the future of St. Paul’s Cathedral if a new diocese is formed, the cathedral would remain a center of local religious activity.
“Both St. Paul’s and Christ Church in Eau Claire are seats for the bishop’s throne. I would not want to give up either,” Jacobus said.
Eau Claire’s diocese has been without a bishop since April 2008. Jacobus has performed some Episcopal functions in the diocese, including an ordination and confirmations.
“They could elect another bishop, which they can’t afford, or junction with another diocese. They are in the process of discerning what to do,” he said.
La Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur has grown by “leaps and bounds” over the past decade the Bishop of Bolivia, the Rt Rev Frank Lyons told delegates to the founding convocation of the ACNA in Fort Worth last week, with many dioceses doubling in size.
Bishop Lyons reported that at the March 28 meeting of the South American House of Bishops in Asuncion, the province authorized the creation of four auxiliary bishops for the Diocese of Chile, three auxiliary bishops for the Diocese of Peru, one suffragan bishop for the Diocese of Uruguay, and one suffragan bishop for the Diocese of Northern Argentina.