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Daily Archives: January 14, 2022

(Telegraph) Mother gives up baby for adoption over dishonest sperm donor

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

A Japanese woman has given up her baby for adoption after discovering the sperm donor lied about his education and ethnicity.

The woman, identified only as a Tokyo resident in her 30s, is suing the man in a case that has cast light on Japan’s widely unregulated sperm donation industry.

She is seeking around 330 million yen (£2m) for emotional distress, claiming he lied in order to have sex with her, in the first legal case of its kind, according to Japanese media.

The woman and her husband reportedly came into contact with the man, who is in his 20s, via a social media sperm donation account while trying to conceive their second child.

Read it all (registration).

Posted in Anthropology, Children, Ethics / Moral Theology, Japan, Law & Legal Issues, Life Ethics, Marriage & Family, Science & Technology

More Music for Epiphany–Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning [Thrupp]

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

Words: Bishop Reginald Heber
Tune: ‘Epiphany’ – Joseph Thrupp

Posted in Epiphany, Liturgy, Music, Worship

(Gallup) U.S. Charitable Donations Rebound; Volunteering Still Down

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

Eighty-one percent of Americans say they donated money to a religious or other charitable organization in the past year, and 56% volunteered time to such an organization. After dipping in April 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic, charitable donations have rebounded and are essentially back to the level measured in 2013 and 2017 surveys.

Volunteer activity also dropped in 2020 but, in contrast to charitable giving, remains lower than it was in pre-pandemic surveys. While lower today than in recent years, the rate of volunteering has been at its current level in the past, most notably during the Great Recession.

The decline in donations was seen among all income groups in 2020, but more so among those in lower- and middle-income households. Charitable donations are back up among those in all income brackets, with upper-income Americans now returning to pre-pandemic rates. Giving rates among lower- and middle-income Americans are only slightly below where they were in 2017.

Volunteer activity is also lower now among all income groups than before the pandemic.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, America/U.S.A., Anthropology, Charities/Non-Profit Organizations, Religion & Culture, Sociology

South Carolina And Anic Elections Consented To By ACNA College Of Bishops

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

Prior to serving in Columbia, he served as the Rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Glen Ellyn, Illinois from 1997 -2004; as the Canon Pastor at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida from 1994 – 1997 and as the Curate at St. Paul’s Church, Chattanooga, Tennessee from 1993 – 1994. Edgar and his wife, Beth, have been married for 32 years. They have five grown children and a new granddaughter.

“When the Archbishop told me that the College had consented to my election, I thought of the words from King David, ‘Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?’” said Edgar. “I am humbled by the trust that has been invested in me. By God’s grace, I will serve His church to the best of my ability to prove worthy of this call.”

Bishop Mark Lawrence, retiring diocesan bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, stated, “This is most heartening to me on multiple accounts. I’m giving thanks to God for Bishop Edgar’s election and for what it heralds for the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina.”

God willing, Bishop-elect Edgar will be consecrated on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul in Charleston, South Carolina.

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Posted in Anglican Church in North America (ACNA)

(LR) Your Pastor Cares When You Don’t Care

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

Pastors face unique difficulties inherent in their career, but what are their greatest needs? Pastors themselves say they’re most concerned about seeing their churchgoers grow spiritually and making connections with those outside of their churches.

After speaking directly with pastors to gather their perspectives on their ministry and personal challenges, Lifeway Research surveyed 1,000 US pastors for the 2022 Greatest Needs of Pastors study to discover what they see as their most pressing issues.

“The pre-existing challenges of ministry were amplified by COVID, and it’s important we lean in and listen closely to pastors,” said Ben Mandrell, president of Lifeway Christian Resources. “This project has shed light on critical needs they have and will point the way forward in how we partner with them to fuel their ministries and improve their health in multiple areas.”

Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said his team began the study by speaking with more than 200 pastors, asking them to think beyond the current pandemic-related struggles and share some of the enduring needs of pastors and their churches today.

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Posted in Ministry of the Ordained, Parish Ministry, Pastoral Care, Pastoral Theology

(NYT Op-ed) America Is Falling Apart at the Seams

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

In June a statistic floated across my desk that startled me. In 2020, the number of miles Americans drove fell 13 percent because of the pandemic, but the number of traffic deaths rose 7 percent.

I couldn’t figure it out. Why would Americans be driving so much more recklessly during the pandemic? But then in the first half of 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle deaths were up 18.4 percent even over 2020. Contributing factors, according to the agency, included driving under the influence, speeding and failure to wear a seatbelt.

Why are so many Americans driving irresponsibly?

While gloomy numbers like these were rattling around in my brain, a Substack article from Matthew Yglesias hit my inbox this week. It was titled, “All Kinds of Bad Behavior Is on the Rise.” Not only is reckless driving on the rise, Yglesias pointed out, but the number of altercations on airplanes has exploded, the murder rate is surging in cities, drug overdoses are increasing, Americans are drinking more, nurses say patients are getting more abusive, and so on and so on.

Yglesias is right.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, America/U.S.A.

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Richard Meux Benson and Charles Gore

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

Gracious God, who hast inspired a rich variety of ministries in thy Church: We offer thanks for Richard Meux Benson and Charles Gore, instruments in the revival of Anglican monasticism. Grant that we, following their example, may call for perennial renewal in thy Church through conscious union with Christ, witnessing to the social justice that is a mark of the reign of our Savior Jesus, who is the light of the world; and who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Posted in Church History, Spirituality/Prayer

A Prayer to begin the day from William Knight

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

O Thou, in whom we live and move and have our being: We offer and present unto thee ourselves, all that we are and have, our thoughts and our desires, our words and our deeds, to be a living and continual sacrifice. We are not our own; therefore we would glorify thee in our bodies and our spirits, which are thine; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Posted in Epiphany, Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Scripture Readings

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Kendall Harmon

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved….Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

–Psalm 16:7-8;11

Posted in Theology: Scripture