The General Synod of the Church of England will consider a report on its ecumenical relationship with the Church of Scotland (the CoE is established (entangled with the government) and observes an episcopal polity (government with bishops) whereas the CoS is a national church (largely disentangled from government) and observes presbyterian polity (government with councils of elders)). That is all to the good; the relationship of these two ecclesial bodies has long been vexed, and rapprochement would count as a very good thing.

On the other hand, the report in question minimises ”” almost ignores ”” the relation of these two dominant groups to the middle term, the Scottish Episcopal Church (and I suppose it ignores English Presbyterians, too).

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“The Episcopal Church is vibrantly engaged in missions in most places that I go. It is not growing numerically in most parts of the United States, but it is growing in most of our overseas dioceses,” Schori told WRAL’s David Crabtree.

Read it all and follow the link to the whole interview.

Castlight Health, financed by the Cleveland Clinic and other investors, is one of a number of companies that have started publishing health care prices charged by doctors and hospitals. Others include Aetna life insurance company and the state of New Hampshire.

Employers who have shifted workers toward high-deductible insurance policies that require them to pay larger out-of-pocket costs are one spur for better health care cost information. Patients with more information about prices often spend less. The state of Indiana found that in 2009, patients with high-deducible plans spent 25 percent less than patients with a more traditional plan, the Times reported.

In another example of the variability of health care prices, Castlight found that colonoscopy prices in the San Francisco area ranged from $500 to $3,000.

While there are many medical emergencies for which patients have no time for comparison shopping, health care consumers should be encouraged to shop around for many routine medical procedures, examinations and tests, and to be aware of the costs of overusing emergency medical services.

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The idea of a tax on financial transactions championed by France and Germany is unlikely to gain much traction at the next meeting of leaders of the world’s 20 largest countries because it faces opposition both within the European Union as well as from countries such as the U.S. and Canada.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Thursday said the EU will propose a tax on financial transactions to the G-20 when it gathers at the end of next week in Toronto, stressing that France and Germany would work together to make this a “major issue” and are even ready to implement it without the support of others.

Sarkozy didn’t specify, however, what the proceeds of such a tax would be used for, but France has said in the past it favors using it to fund efforts to control climate change, foster innovation or fight poverty. Germany, on the other hand, sees such a tax as a way to curb speculation….

A person close to the IMF said the report to be submitted to G-20 leaders next week will mention the idea of a financial transaction tax, while making clear it isn’t the best way to make the banking sector cover the cost of future crises or to limit systemic vulnerabilities. The report will also point out the concern that the cost of such a tax would be passed on to clients, and that it doesn’t necessarily target the riskiest types of trades.

Read the whole article.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are planning to force the General Synod to offer safeguards to traditionalists unhappy with women bishops. And I do mean force, since the Synod had already decided not to offer those safeguards.

Whatever. Although it’s none of my business, and if I was a supporter of women bishops I’d be outraged, I sort of hope that Dr Williams and Dr Sentamu get their way. As Fr Ed Tomlinson SSC notes on his blog, the Primates’ plan would separate worshippers who are serious about belonging to a Catholic Church as it was understood by the founders of Anglo-Catholicism ”“ none of whom would countenance any degree of communion, however remote, with women bishops ”“ from those prepared to turn a blind eye to the DIY ecclesiology of “alternative oversight”.

Fr Tomlinson, a supporter of the Ordinariate, makes a neat (if mischievous) distinction between those who want to be part of the “Catholic faith” and those who want to be part of “Catholic tradition”.

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5.The amendments we intend to propose involve neither delegation nor depriving a diocesan of any part of his or her jurisdiction. Instead we seek to give effect to the idea of a ‘co-ordinate’ jurisdiction.

6. What this would mean is that:

the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop ”“ whether male or female ”“ remains intact; he or she would remain the bishop of the whole area of the diocese and would be legally entitled to exercise any episcopal function in any parish of the diocese;
*
*
* where a parish had requested arrangements, by issuing a Letter of Request, the diocesan would in practice refrain from exercising certain of his or her functions in such a parishand would leave the nominated bishop to exercise those functions in the parish in question;

*
* the legal authority of the nominated bishop to minister in this way would derive from the Measure itself ”“ and would not, therefore, be conferred by way of delegation; but the identity of such a bishop and the scope of his functions would be defined by the scheme made by the diocesan for his or her diocese, in the light of the provisions contained in the national statutory Code of Practice drawn up by the House of Bishops and agreed by General Synod;
*

* thus both the diocesan and the nominated bishop would possess ‘ordinary jurisdiction’; the diocesan would retain the complete jurisdiction of a diocesan in law, and the nominated bishop would have jurisdiction by virtue of the Measure to the extent provided for in the diocesan scheme ”“ in effect holding jurisdiction by the decision of the Church as a whole, as expressed in the Measure;
*

* in respect of the aspects of episcopal ministry for which the diocesan scheme made provision, the diocesan and the nominated bishop would be ‘co-ordinaries’, and to that extent, their jurisdiction could be described as co-ordinate ”“ that is to say, each would have an ordinary jurisdiction in relation to those matters; and
*

* the Code of Practice would contain guidelines for effective co-ordination of episcopal functions so as to avoid duplication or conflict in the exercise of episcopal ministry.

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CHARLIE ROSE: And soccer’s popularity or football as they say everywhere else, grows like crazy?

TOMMY SMYTH: Yes, it’s continuing to grow, there is no question about it. I mean, you travel the streets of any major city in the United States now and you will find kids wearing the jerseys of Barcelona–

CHARLIE ROSE: And every bar’s got it turned on along with baseball.

TOMMY SMYTH: Yeah, everybody’s watching it now, and the ratings on ESPN have been tremendous, through the roof.

CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah, and high-definition television, unbelievable.

TOMMY SMYTH: It’s almost like you were on the field, Charlie. You have to look out or somebody will kick you.

Read or watch it all (click on the picture to start the video).

Apple Inc. is now collecting the “precise,” “real-time geographic location” of its users’ iPhones, iPads and computers.

In an updated version of its privacy policy, the company added a paragraph noting that once users agree, Apple and unspecified “partners and licensees” may collect and store user location data.

When users attempt to download apps or media from the iTunes store, they are prompted to agree to the new terms and conditions. Until they agree, they cannot download anything through the store.

The company says the data is anonymous and does not personally identify users. Analysts have shown, however, that large, specific data sets can be used to identify people based on behavior patterns.

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In his address, Archbishop Marchetto noted that “in the cultural realm a mentality is beginning to unfold that is increasingly ‘transnational’ — we can describe it as ‘intercultural’ because, thanks also to the continuous technological innovations, we are able to ‘live’ at the same time in different social environments.”

He stated that “the urgency of today and the secret of the future lies in the dialogue between persons, communities, authorities and civil organizations, peoples, cultures and religions, to counteract the blockage and intolerance that at the bottom is born from the idolatry of oneself, of one’s group and of one’s socio-cultural tradition.”

He added that “a dialoguing acceptance is expressed in an authentic meeting, which serves the difficult and never exhausted art of combining the personal and group aspect, of articulating identity, complementarity, co-responsibility and creativity, moving from multi-culturality to inter-culturality, offering dynamic areas to reciprocity and fruitfulness.”

This does not mean having one man “‘over,’ ‘against’ or ‘without’ the other man, but all together, for a new society, beginning from Europe, so that it will be in line with its original humanism,” the prelate said.

“Tolerance is no longer sufficient,” he noted. It is necessary to move to the “coexistence of differences.”

Read the whole thing.

Supposedly, young adults don’t have much of an attention span ”” except when it comes to love.

That’s when it seems this generation of young people is giving new meaning to the words “long-term relationship.” Many are “a couple” for years, and some approach a decade of dating. They’re just shy of the altar for so long that parents and grandparents are a bit bewildered.

“It’s good to get to know your partner before marrying, but one wonders how long you need?” says sociologist Andrew Cherlin, 61, of Johns Hopkins University.

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Teaching stroke patients to sing “rewires” their brains, helping them recover their speech, say scientists.

By singing, patients use a different area of the brain from the area involved in speech.

If a person’s “speech centre” is damaged by a stroke, they can learn to use their “singing centre” instead.

Researchers presented these findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego.

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As followers of Christ, our lives have the same cruciform pattern. We embrace the cross, confident of the new life that comes to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We know that God’s love of us is shown forth most clearly in those situations where we are most needy; those situations where we are revealed to have no power of our own and are most reliant on God. So when we are weak, we are actually strong (2 Cor. 12:10), because we rely on God who gives the strength. In our poverty, we actually become rich (2 Cor. 5:9), because it is God who gives abundance. It’s paradoxical but also true.

What’s true in our lives is also true in the life of the Church. When things go well in the life of the community we begin to think that perhaps we are the source of the blessing; can begin to think that it’s our own cleverness or faithfulness or strength that has brought about the increase. So it’s precisely in times of deprivation that the power of God is shown forth; precisely in times of death that the triumph song of resurrection sounds forth: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

This final service at St. Bernard’s vividly illustrates the Church in deprivation, our weakness and our need. The life of the Church, however, runs far beyond the life of any single congregation. Because Jesus is the source of our life, the Church is stretched out in time and space, rooted in the past and growing into the future, in every place where the Gospel is preached. There is new life for God’s People, always and everywhere (as we say at the Eucharist). God’s praises are sung, not just in one place, but in all places and at all times. Our song of praise, the ceaseless “alleluia” that ever goes up, is never extinguished or obscured.

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Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia media officer Lloyd Ashton said she was a controversial visitor. “Nobody makes any bones about the fact that she does represent tension. From the outset, her visit has always been intended as low key, informal and unofficial.

“There is not going to be an endorsement of where the…[Episcopal] Church is going. We have got our own process, we are working through that and it will be at least two years before that is complete.

“We are not hiding it, but neither are we exacerbating any tensions by making a statement … It is an acknowledgement that there are sensitivities both ways.”

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Almighty God, by whose grace and power thy holy martyr Alban triumphed over suffering and was faithful even unto death: Grant to us, who now remember him with thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to thee in this world, that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

–Matthew 19: 24-26

O God, the King eternal, who dividest the day from the darkness and turnest the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep thy law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done thy will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may when the night cometh rejoice to give thee thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Working Americans aged 60-69 have slightly better emotional health than those who do not work, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. This relationship is primarily evident among the relatively small numbers of Americans aged 60-69 who have fair or poor health. Among the 75% of the 60- to 69-year-old population who have excellent, very good, or good health, however, there is virtually no difference in emotional health by work status.

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Eventually sexual adventure, often rendered with graphic directness, would become a staple of Updike’s fiction, as his mission to record the Protestant ethic met the upheavals of the sexual revolution. This was a conflict he explored in “Couples” (1968), with its ritual spouse swapping, and in the Maples short stories, with their intimate picture of a dissolving first marriage. Some of Updike’s last letters, written when his two sons and two daughters were grown, weigh the painful cost those closest to him paid for his high ambition and remorseless work habits.

But he had chosen his course early and at the end had few regrets. At 75, in a reply to questions sent to him by the novelist Nicholas Delbanco, Updike summed up his journey: “I set out to make a living with my pen, in privacy, in the commercial literary world as it then existed, and am grateful that I managed. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure; and it goes without saying that I’ve been lucky. No impairing disease. No war I was asked to help fight. No stupefying poverty yet no family wealth or business to limit my freedom.”

For all his self-sufficiency, Updike acknowledged, he had received much help, above all from “The New Yorker when it still published many pages of fiction and Alfred A. Knopf Inc. when publishing was still a gambit for sensible gentlemen who trusted their own taste.” These advantages reflected “a world where books were a common currency of an enlightened citizenry,” he wrote. “Who wouldn’t, thus conditioned, want to keep writing forever, and try to make books that deserve to last?”

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Ann Marlowe, a visiting fellow of the Hudson Institute who has been embedded with U.S. forces in Afghanistan six times, says there have been successes at the local and even provincial levels “but nothing that has lasted even a year.” And the election fraud last August that secured Karzai another five-year term was symptomatic: His “government has become more egregiously corrupt and incompetent in the last three or four years.” Last month Marlowe reported: “The Pentagon’s map of Afghanistan’s 80 most key districts shows only five ‘sympathetic’ to the Afghan government — and none supporting it.” She suggests that Karzai might believe that President Obama’s announced intention to begin withdrawing U.S. troops next summer “is a bluff.” Those Americans who say that Afghanistan is a test of America’s “staying power” are saying that we must stay there because we are there. This is steady work, but it treats perseverance as a virtue regardless of context or consequences and makes futility into a reason for persevering.

Obama has counted on his 2011 run-up to reelection being smoothed by three developments in 2010 — the health-care legislation becoming popular after enactment, job creation accelerating briskly and Afghanistan conditions improving significantly. The first two are not happening. He can decisively influence only the third, and only by adhering to his timetable for disentangling U.S. forces from this misadventure.

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The Council of The Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission (APLM), meeting in New Jersey, expresses its grave concern at the distressing news of the dismissal of the Episcopal Church´s members of Anglican international ecumenical dialogues on the basis of the Archbishop of Canterbury´s Pentecost letter. Our alarm, however, goes much deeper than the presenting issues.

It should now be clear to all that the result of the proposed “Covenant” is not only to control those Churches that ordain openly gay and lesbian persons. Rather, the Archbishop has finally come out about the ramifications of the proposed “Covenant:” reshaping the structure of the Anglican Communion into a hierarchically-centralized Communion.

As an association historically dedicated to renewing the liturgy and mission of the Church, APLM is amazed by the Archbishop´s lack of respect for the Constitution and worship of the Episcopal Church, a duly constituted member province of the Communion. Other member Churches should take note.

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In Iraq, the pullout of U.S. troops is picking up pace. By Sept. 1, the number of U.S. forces in Iraq will be pared to about 50,000 troops, part of a massive drawdown to continue in 2011 under an agreement negotiated with Baghdad.

But many Iraqi soldiers, especially at installations recently placed in their control by the U.S. military, have come to rely on American largesse to keep the facilities running.

And as U.S. troops withdraw, many Iraqis feel a growing mistrust of the Iraq security forces that are supposed to protect them. Some of the Iraqi forces behave with impunity, and as a result, Iraqis say, they are now more afraid of them than the insurgency.

That has some Iraqi security officials wondering whether they can trust their government to fund the army and police as the Americans have. And the situation has some Iraqis wondering if they can rely on their own Iraqi forces.

Read or listen to the whole thing from NPR.

Exhibit A: The deeply flawed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that have yet to be overhauled despite endless calls for an overhaul.

As Deal Journal pointed out post earlier today, Washington is seemingly paralyzed by a fear that ending the government guarantee of Fannie and Freddie would bring the housing recovery to a screeching halt.

Well, Exhibit B has to be an amendment to a bill winding its way through Congress. The bill is called the “Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010,” and it would extend $30 billion to small banks to facilitate small-business lending. But the last minute amendment, which was sponsored by Democratic Reps. Brad Miller (N.C.), Joe Baca (Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.), would allow builders to tap into the $30 billion to build more houses.

For more than two years, banks have practically shut off all financing to small and mid-size home builders as they pare back their exposure to construction and development loans. The National Association of Home Builders lobbied hard for the amendment to be included in the bill. “The Miller/Baca amendment will expand the flow of credit to residential builders and help promote the sustained growth and vitality of the nation,” the NAHB said in a letter sent to all House members.

The amendment passed 418 to 3.

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Months after Morocco deported nearly 100 Christian foreigners, the US Congress and Morocco are sparring over religious freedom, with both countries opening investigations that could strain relations between the two allies.

On Thursday, a congressional human rights commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on the status of religious freedom in Morocco, which receives nearly $700 million of American aid through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Rep. Tom Wolf (R) of Virginia, co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, urged suspension of MCC funding “to a nation which blatantly disregards the rights of American citizens residing in Morocco and forcibly expels American citizens without due process of law” in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

That’s unlikely to happen, since the US closely cooperates in military and antiterrorist programs with Morocco and has a long-standing free trade agreement with the country.

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Ever since the 1994 World Cup was played in the United States, we have been reading reports that Americans are no longer thinking of soccer as an amateur game for women and children ”” there are more than three million kids registered with the U.S. Youth Soccer Association ”” but are joining the rest of the world as big-time fans of men’s soccer. And yet, the day when Americans massively embrace the most global sport has yet to come.

But there are signs that, at long last, soccer is catching on in America. Shortly before the start of the World Cup, the Fox network pushed back its usual Saturday afternoon major league baseball coverage for three hours to broadcast the European Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. It may have been the first time in American TV history that a soccer match not involving the U.S. team or outside the World Cup displaced a baseball game.

Simultaneously, Vanity Fair magazine’s May cover featured Portugal’s national team star Cristiano Ronaldo and Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba in underpants, and shortly thereafter, Sports Illustrated carried a World Cup cover story under the title, “The beautiful game.”

As the World Cup started in South Africa last Friday, FIFA ”” the tournament’s organizers ”” said that 130,000 U.S. residents had flown to Johannesburg to watch the games, more than had come from any other country.

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Internet users are complaining that the privacy settings on Facebook are confusing, and lawmakers are questioning Google about its gathering of e-mail and other personal data from Wi-Fi residential networks. The boundary between private and public information is becoming murkier every day, a blurring that is perhaps inevitable in the world of online surfing and social networking.

But how about religious communities? The boundaries are shifting there as well, because of a growing emphasis in congregations on honest and open sharing in small groups.

Vibrant churches today have Bible studies and support groups for every demographic, and congregational vitality is found in the relationships that develop among people in these groups. I am pushing my own church in this direction, after spending a sabbatical studying Christian hospitality while visiting congregations that are skilled at welcoming and including people.

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