10 Days and Counting…

Pray for the election of our Bishop Coadjutor

In an attempt to allow for social distancing our Electing Convention will look a little different, but we’re meeting live and in-person at Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant, October 16. We will begin at 10 a.m. with a service of Holy Eucharist, followed by the Electing Convention. Watch the Live-Stream here.

Find information about each of the candidates on our Diocesan website. In addition to brief bios, spiritual autobiographies, and resumes you’ll find introductory videos and links to the walkabout videos.

Read it all.

Voting line at Christ Church, Hwy 17, Mount Pleasant, SC ##chsnews #GoVote #VoteToday 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/s2Klge41Tn

— That Camera Guy (@VideoCraig) November 6, 2018

Episcopalians took a major hit in the year 2020, not only in attendance but also in membership and – unusually – in the pocketbook of the historically affluent denomination.

Statistics released today by the Office of the General Convention show domestic membership in an uninterrupted drop of 61,243 persons to 1,576,702 (-4%) from 1,637,945, while average Sunday attendance declined 60,232 persons to 458,179 (-12%) from 518,411.

These numbers indicate a doubling in the rate of membership decline and a tripling in the rate of attendance decline over the previous year. Median Average Sunday Attendance in the denomination has dropped from 57 persons in 2016 to 50 persons in 2020. Long-term, 61% of Episcopal parishes saw their attendance decline 10% or greater in the past five years.

The statistics cover the year 2020 and are the first affected by COVID-19 restrictions, although the church only reported attendance data for the pre-pandemic period January 1 through and March 1 (missing the traditionally high-attendance periods of Christmas and Easter), similar to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Membership and giving, in contrast, were reported across the entire calendar year.

Read it all.

60,232 souls just don’t vanish.

“These numbers indicate a doubling in the rate of membership decline and a tripling in the rate of attendance decline over the previous year.”#episcopal #anglican #religion #church https://t.co/JGye1PTkZ3

— Dennis Lennox (@dennislennox) October 6, 2021

It took three weeks of scheduled meetings, at least three law firms, dozens of statements, hours of closed-door briefings, and extensive back-and-forth debates across boardooms, social media, and Zoom calls for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee (EC) to agree to the terms of a third-party investigation into its response to abuse. But on Tuesday, it did.

The EC voted 44–31 on in favor of waiving attorney-client privilege in the investigation, after a half dozen members resigned and several switched their position in favor of the waiver. For a moment, it felt like the conclusion of a long and heated process, though the decision is only the start of a long investigative process.

EC chairman Rolland Slade, who oversaw the proceedings, expressed his relief after the tally was announced. Then he remarked, “I want to express sorrow over the conduct we have displayed as Southern Baptists.”

For the EC—the denominational body tasked with Southern Baptist business outside the annual meeting—the debate pitted the desire to open fully to the investigation against concerns that such transparency would threaten its financial solvency, insurance coverage, and other fiduciary duties to protect the entity.

Read it all.

The Southern Baptist Executive Committee voted today to waive attorney-client privilege in an upcoming investigation into its abuse response.

The committee had been at an impasse on the issue for weeks, with pressure mounting from leaders and pastors. https://t.co/ZIQCEjq6qy

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) October 5, 2021

As for the Americans who have found a leader in Cardinal Burke, many are unhappy with the radical economic view that underpins the synod: one that blames greedy extractive industries and agri-businesses based in the northern hemisphere for the felling and burning of trees whose existence is crucial to the planet.

However, in recent weeks the 82-year-old pope has shown every sign of fighting back hard. On last month’s African tour, he was encouraged by the warm response of ordinary people in Mozambique and Madagascar, counterbalancing the unhappiness over his liberal stance among some African prelates. On the flight out, a French journalist presented him with a book that sets out to document the economic and political interests lined up against him in the United States. The pontiff accepted with a smile, saying: “For me it is an honour if the Americans attack me.” Francis added that, although an outright schism in the church would be highly undesirable, he is not scared of that prospect.

The very fact that Francis mentioned the s-word was seen as a sign of intra-church arguments moving into new territory. In the most extreme scenario, traditionalist prelates might formally declare that Francis had lost all moral authority and start consecrating like-minded bishops without papal approval, as Marcel Lefebvre, an ultra-conservative French archbishop, did in the 1980s. The breakaway group would then be excommunicated. But for now, that still seems far-fetched. In the assessment of Francis himself, “today we have pockets of rigidity which aren’t a schism, but they are [in] semi-schismatic ways of life that will end badly.”

Read it all.

Most countries are ill-equipped to handle what the United Nations said Tuesday is a “looming” global water crisis caused by climate change and population growth.

Floods, droughts and other water-related disasters are on the rise due to global warming, the World Meteorological Organization said in a new report published Tuesday.

At the same time, swelling populations and dwindling resources around the globe have led to increased water scarcity in multiple regions, the U.N. agency said.

“But management, monitoring, forecasting and early warnings are fragmented and inadequate,” said the report, which included input from more than 20 global development agencies and scientific institutions.

“We need to wake up to the looming water crisis,” said WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas.

Read it all.

Currently, more than 2 billion people live in "water-stressed countries” where they lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation, according to the report “The State of Climate Services 2021: Water.”https://t.co/OBX1CPQuKx

— Winthrop Rodgers (@wrodgers2) October 6, 2021

Almighty God, who didst plant in the heart of thy servants William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale a consuming passion to bring the Scriptures to people in their native tongue, and didst endow them with the gift of powerful and graceful expression and with strength to persevere against all obstacles: Reveal to us, we pray thee, thy saving Word, as we read and study the Scriptures, and hear them calling us to repentance and life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

On this day, in 1536, William Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake for translating the Scriptures into English for the common man.

His final words, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”

How we need such bold and courageous men and women in our own day. pic.twitter.com/eILWOONmFb

— Dustin Benge (@DustinBenge) October 6, 2021

God, our judge and saviour,
by the power your Spirit teach us to be open to your truth
and to trust in your love,
that we may live each day
with confidence in the salvation which is given
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen (slightly edited–KSH).

Morning !#morning #sunrise #SanDiego pic.twitter.com/a5GZ07vAhV

— Sandro (@RomainSandro) October 6, 2021

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

–1 Corinthians 11:23-34

Wednesday Wishes. Have a great day #Finland #photography #StormHour #travel #Photograph #weather #nature #Sunrise #morning #landscape #WednesdayMotivation pic.twitter.com/K8nhtXBKYT

— Laku_Lance (@Laku_Lance) October 6, 2021