The organ at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sandusky is the voice of the church, according to Nicholas Schmelter.

“My experience playing on the instrument … the instrument has a very sweet, unforced, mellow sound that is almost ... unheard of these days,” he said.

Schmelter is the dean of the Saginaw Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and director of music ministries at First Congregational Church in Saginaw. He will be playing St. John’s 1898 Moller tracker organ during a special Evensong service at 3 p.m today....

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship

Anthony J. Burton, Rector of The Church of the Incarnation, said in a statement that despite the encouraging numbers his congregation's focus "is not about growth, but changed lives."

"Size does not make a church better, but if its clergy and parishioners are sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, God can cause their work in His name to grow a parish that is a resource of great blessing to its community and denomination," said Burton.

Based in the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas, The Incarnation is looking to add three new buildings: another worship facility, a welcome center, and an educational facility.

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Molly Ethridge, a Winnetka resident of 25 years, feels at home sitting on the church steps.

Yes, Christ Church at 470 Maple St. has been a home away from home for the 23 years she’s worked here as parish administrator.

Fittingly, at Easter this year, Ethridge celebrated her retirement among friends, colleagues and loved ones. Her accomplishments include comforting parishioners at very difficult times, often during devastating situations such as the death of a child. She has received several national awards through Episcopal Communicators, a professional organization. Her graphics art skills have assisted in the publishing of two Christ Church books with author and historian Bob Bradner.

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There has never been any doubt that Trinity Church is wealthy. But the extent of its wealth has long been a mystery; guessed at by many, known by few.

Now, however, after a lawsuit filed by a disenchanted parishioner, the church has offered an estimate of the value of its assets: more than $2 billion.

The Episcopal parish, known as Trinity Wall Street, traces its holdings to a gift of 215 acres of prime Manhattan farmland donated in 1705 by Queen Anne of England. Since then, the church has parlayed that gift into a rich portfolio of office buildings, stock investments and, soon, mixed-use residential development.

Read it all from today's New York Times.

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St. Peter's by-the-Sea's commanding bell tower overlooking Shore Road in Cape Neddick is shrouded behind scaffolding as contractors work to replace rotting timber against a bride's June deadline.

The summer Episcopal chapel will open for its first service of the year Sunday, June 2, and must be ready for its first wedding of the season by Saturday, June 1, according to Norman Storrs, president of the St. Peter's board of trustees.

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After the closure of Christ Episcopal Church in Avon, the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut is beginning the process of deciding what to do with the property.

And that all starts with a community conversation Wednesday night.

“The purpose of tomorrow night’s meeting is not to decide what to do with the church at all," Audrey Scanlan, the state diocese's canon for mission collaboration, said Tuesday morning. "The purpose of tomorrow night’s meeting is to have a conversation about Avon.”

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Allahpundit is obviously right about the ceremonial deism part. And I’ll be the first to admit that this strange American habit is bad for church and state alike.

But it’s absurd to suggest that the National Cathedral is only “nominally Episcopal.” It’s the seat of the Bishop of Washington, who leads a large diocese. It’s the seat of the presiding bishop as well. A whole lot of people worship there each week, at services that would be hard to mistake for blandly nondenominational....

...the construction of the cathedral was a joint effort between the Episcopalians and civil authorities. It’s an institution that has long had both a sectarian function and a secular one.

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David Bains, a religion professor at Samford University in Alabama who has researched and written extensively about the cathedral, said the church’s leaders have worked for years to balance serving their congregation in the nation’s capital, where gay marriage has been legal since 2009, and being a beacon for Episcopalians across the country....

In almost three decades as dean of the cathedral, he said, the Rev. Francis B. Sayre Jr. sermonized until his retirement in 1978 on subjects such as racial injustice and the Vietnam War. More recently, the Rev. Gary Hall, current dean of the cathedral, declared that “enough is enough” after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December, and said it was time for the church to take up the issue of gun control.

“This current action, however, is probably the most potentially divisive act the cathedral’s leadership has taken in its history,” Mr. Bains said.

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Bishop Michael L. Vono of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, which includes El Paso, said the liturgy is an issue of human dignity that breaks barriers for the gay community.

"I'm very positive about it," he said. "We live in an age where there is still a lot of judgment, still a lot of discrimination that happens within Christianity. We exclude people that are not like ourselves.

"So this may be the Jesus thing to do in our age because Jesus forced the issue that no one is rejected by God and that all people are loved. And if you have two responsible people, whether heterosexual or gay, who love in a Christian way -- which is responsibly and exclusively monogamous and help each other and forgive each other -- what more can we ask for?"

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Borough resident Shirley Gerhardt, 88, remembers her early days at the Christ Episcopal Church on Totowa Road. She started going there as a teenager.

"My father used to say I spent more time there than I spent at home because I used to do yard work in the garden, planted plants and all kinds of stuff, in addition to actually worshiping there," Gerhardt said.

She would go on to represent the church before the Diocese Council, which with the working group that governs the church, and last week recalled some of the outreach efforts that the church conducted in its prime.

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“Catholic teaching maintains that marriage is a faithful, exclusive and lifelong union between one man and one woman joined in an intimate partnership of life and love—a union instituted by God for the mutual fulfillment of the husband and wife as well as for the procreation and education of children.

“Partnerships of committed same-sex individuals are already legal in California. Our state has also granted domestic partners spousal-type rights and responsibilities which facilitate their relationships with each other and any children they bring to the partnership. Every person involved in the family of domestic partners is a child of God and deserves respect in the eyes of the law and their community. However, those partnerships are not marriage—and can never be marriage—as it has been understood since the founding of the United States. Today’s decision of California’s high court opens the door for policymakers to deconstruct traditional marriage and create another institution under the guise of equal protection.

Read it all (note it is my emphasis) and check out the comments and look at the related postings here,here, here and there. Also, check out this valuable posting and the comments also.

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The above is quoted from an email received today in reference to the decision of the Washington National Cathedral--KSH.

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The Washington National Cathedral had been ready to embrace same-sex marriage for some time, though it took a series of recent events and a new leader for the prominent, 106-year-old church to announce Wednesday that it would begin hosting such nuptials.

The key development came last July when the Episcopal Church approved a ceremony for same-sex unions at its General Convention in Indianapolis, followed by the legalization of gay marriage in Maryland, which joined the District of Columbia. The national church made a special allowance for marriage ceremonies in states where gay marriage is legal.

Longtime same-sex marriage advocate the Very Rev. Gary Hall took over as the cathedral’s dean in October. Conversations began even before he arrived to clear the way for the ceremonies at the church that so often serves as a symbolic house of prayer for national celebrations and tragedies.

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Update: An LA Times article is there also.

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St. Matthias Episcopal Church property, including two buildings and a half-acre lot, has been offered to the town for free.

The church's dwindling congregation voted last May to cease holding services at the church at 15 Spruce St., according to a spokeswoman for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine.

Church officials said they offered the church and another building on the same lot to the town, hoping the property could continue to serve the community. One possibility might be as a food pantry, for which it has been used previously, said Heidi Shott, a diocese spokeswoman.

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You can read the notice here and check some statistics there.

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Two long-established Episcopal congregations have become one in an effort to continue their South County ministries and eventually build a new church.

St. George's Episcopal Church of Lee and St. James Episcopal Church of Great Barrington have merged, spiritually and financially, to become Grace Church.

The Rev. Frances A. Hill is the church rector, having been St. James' rector for nearly five years and vicar of St. George's for two years.

On Jan. 20, the newly formed 91-member congregation is scheduled to hold its inaugural meeting to elect lay leaders and conduct other church business.

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The announcement comes six months after the General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved a liturgy enabling priests to bless same-sex relationships with the approval of their bishops. The blessings are allowed both in states where same-sex marriages are legal or, as in the case of New Mexico, where they are not.

“It’s not a marriage in any way,” Vono said in an interview Sunday. “It’s not a legal marriage. It’s not a marriage in the church. This is a recognition of a commitment, which is a covenant, of two people who vow to live their lives in a monogamous relationship.”

The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande includes close to 60 congregations in New Mexico and part of western Texas.

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The trust and conviction behind these pastoral guidelines reflect the belief that the faithful, loving, and lifelong union of two persons of the same sex is capable of signifying the unconditional and never-failing love of God in Christ. I have come to both trust and believe that such unions can be sources and signs of grace and reconciliation not only for the church and the world, but also for a faithful couple seeking a covenanted spiritual life together in Christ. All baptized persons who confess the faith of Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior appropriately need to be surrounded by the prayers, witness, love, and fellowship of the Christian community. The body of Christ is one in witness to the Church’s baptismal promises. Diversity of perspectives and contrary mindedness on any particular contemporary or historic church issue does not divide us, but rather reveals the unique Christian charisma of our oneness in Christ within our diversity. As St. Paul teaches, the body can only function as wholeness within its unique differences.

For more than a century an historic shift and change, not unlike others in Church History in discerning Scripture, Tradition, and Reason, intentionally has been under way. Holy Scripture and human sciences have been in serious dialogue in addressing the mystery of human nature, human relationships, and the moral and ethical dignity of Christian intimate behaviors. The blessing of same-sex unions represents a shift from centuries of what the church and various societies in their cultural contexts have judged to be unacceptable. Yet, as we are all well aware, there have been several other highly historic controversial shifts in our church and world culture. In hindsight, these shifts have come to be seen as faithful responses to a deepening understanding and revelation of what it means to be human. These shifts revealed how God in Christ is reflected in loving human relationships and in community.

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While the Anniston church is a local architectural and historical treasure and it has some endowment money for help with the upkeep and preservation, the church’s spiritual presence faces a more challenging future.

Not only are mainline denominations like the Episcopal church facing declining attendance numbers, but the Anniston church is located in a secluded and not as fashionable location away from suburban growth or a main downtown street.

Dr. [Hugh] Jones said the church averages about 80 in attendance on an average Sunday, although it had a good crowd on Christmas Eve. Besides catering to its regular worshipers, the church also has some outreach ministries that involve even better its immediate neighbors who may be struggling financially or in other ways.

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The parishioners at St. George's Spesutia Church were not celebrating Christmas on Sunday morning, the Rev. Bill Smith told them amid poinsettias and holiday decorations, but rather The Incarnation.

"We tell it over and over and over again for one reason: so we can become part of the story," he said about the tale of Christmas.

But for those gathered at the Perryman church, the oldest Episcopal parish in Maryland, Sunday's service was the end of one part of their story.

The Eucharist service is expected to be the last one to be held at St. George's, after The Right Rev. Eugene Sutton, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, ordered an end to the parish's services earlier this year.

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Is the primary problem TEC faces today a “structural problem?” While we clearly have structural issues, I do not think we have yet come up with the right diagnosis. I would point to two issues that are symptomatic of our situation.

First, we have been involved in serious conflict for the past decade that has held the attention of our leadership, led to an acceleration of our decline and costs us millions of dollars in litigation. Like it or not, this conflict is related directly to our theological and missional identity, namely who are we and what we are called to do. I would caution that just because one side in the conflict seems to have won, this does not mean that we have determined an identity and way forward, especially a way that is significant to our wider cultural context. If the Episcopal Church is to have a future other than shrinking numbers, budgets, and congregations, we must be able to reach people in our society and draw them into this part of the body of Christ.

Second, there continues to be a major disconnect between our corporate structures and the local congregation. We continue to hear from denominational leaders that recent decisions have made us more viable to new generations and new ethnic groups which is making us a more inclusive and multi-cultural church. However, the numbers of declining congregations and the reality in the field is that local congregations are not, nor are most becoming, the kind of church that General Convention and the Executive Council say we are. Of course, we have some congregations that reflect this, but they are far from the norm of our local congregational life. I have spent much time over the last ten years visiting Episcopal Churches and making presentations on congregational development. I observe that many of our congregations are struggling with basic survival issues.

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What do you find most discouraging in trying to follow those models and goals?
I get discouraged when I see people who think that the way of the future in the Church is to abandon the past. I find it enormously discouraging to encounter the idea that progress somehow means perpetual revolution. I think that our programs here have shown me that people are yearning — deeply yearning — to touch something authentic. They don’t want one more place that “markets” to them.

And what makes you hopeful?
What makes me hopeful is the number of young people bringing so much energy into the church. When you come to Compline at Christ Church and see 150 young adults sitting there praying, engaged in adoration, you can’t help but be hopeful about the future of the Church.

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Focusing Wednesday afternoon's service on the victims is a way for some to get through the tragedy, [the Rev. Stephen] McKee said.

"Lighting a candle, there's something tactile about that," he said. "After we leave, those candles will go on. Religion is supposed to bring people together."

He noted that one thing the service at Trinity - or any service or vigil - can't do is explain why it happened.

A important thing to remember is that death and violence didn't just happen on Friday in a small town in Connecticut. Acts of violence occur often, and he noted everyone should work together to prevent them.

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The insurance company that represents Trinity Episcopal Cathedral will pay $75,000 to the wife of former Dean Philip C. Linder, to settle a civil lawsuit related to his ouster from the cathedral’s top post in July 2010.

Ellen Linder filed suit in Richland County in October 2011 against the cathedral and Bishop W. Andrew Waldo of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, claiming the church and bishop had inflicted emotional distress and defamed her during the Linders’ painful and public departure from the church.

The cathedral and the bishop had maintained there was no merit to the case.

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Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church is ready to begin the final stages of its move to Chapel Hill from its original historic location in Germanton, North Carolina and will now be named the Episcopal Church of the Advocate.

The vicar of the Episcopal Church of the Advocate Lisa Fischbeck speaks about the churches arrival.

“The church left Germanton on Thursday the 29th of November and it arrived in Chapel Hill on Saturday December the eighth,” Fischbeck says. “That was a big day for us.”

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This is a difficult time for the wider church, not just St. George's. The diocese is looking at all of our ministries and what our response might be to the world in which we now find ourselves witnessing. One thing is certain, the way we have done church the past 200 years is not working now.

Given your family history at Spesutia Parish, I can only imagine how this must feel. Just as your ancestors were the leaders who made decisions in their time, this is our time. We are the leaders who have been entrusted with the stewardship of the church. As the chief steward of the diocese, the bishop takes very seriously his charge.

That episcopal stewardship extends to all property in the diocese. Each parish holds its property in trust for the diocese and each diocese, in turn, holds all church property in trust for The Episcopal Church. That is a matter of canon law.

Read both letters carefully.

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Christ Episcopal Church in Avon has announced it will be closing its doors for good at the end of this month.

According to Marge Griffin, senior warden at Christ Church, 35 members in good standing of the church voted at a special meeting on Nov. 18 to dissolve the parish. Years of declining membership, financial issues and changing demographics were given as the reasons for the closure.

David Paye, Christ Church assistant treasurer, said that in the beginning of 2012, membership totaled 110 people. That number has dropped throughout the year to below 100 people, he said. Griffin said 64 members left in 2010-2011 – many of them with children in search of a church with more young families. At one point in the church’s history, said Karin Hamilton, director of communications for the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, membership was as high as 223 families.

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The decision to allow same-sex blessings did not surprise St. James Episcopal Reverend John Mark Wiggers.

"Our church was moving in this direction for a while and so I expected this to happen, that we would approve a rite of same-sex blessing," he said.

He said the church's evolution has also impacted whether some of it members stay loyal to its teachings.

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A committee has been formed to create recommendations for how Oklahoma Episcopalians will respond to a same-sex liturgical blessing approved by the Episcopal Church USA earlier this year.

The Rt. Rev. Edward Konieczny, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, said he created the committee of clergy and lay people to ensure that Episcopal parishioners across the state have a say in how the same-sex rites are administered in the diocese. The committee is set to meet for the first time in a retreat Friday through Dec. 15....

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Louis C. Tiffany is perhaps best known for his intricate glass lamps, but a new exhibit at the Museum of Biblical Art reveals a spiritual side to the master designer and craftsman whose studio single-handedly shaped the image of American churches.

"Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion," which runs through Jan. 20, 2013, centers on the religious memorials and decorations that Tiffany and his firm created for American congregations for about a half century, beginning in the 1880s.

"We know Tiffany for his lamps, but what we overlook is that Tiffany was most prolific for his work in houses of worship," said curator Patricia Pongracz, the museum's acting director.

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Gay couples who seek spiritual affirmation of their relationships can now sanctify their unions with special blessings at South Florida's Episcopal churches.

Priests in the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida have been given permission to perform a distinct rite, different from the marriage between a man and a woman. Called "The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant," the ceremony, to be introduced this month, was approved by national convention delegates over the summer.

South Florida's Episcopal priests had been performing a locally approved liturgy for the past two years for couples who have been married in other states, Bishop Leo Frade said. Florida law does not recognize same-sex marriages.

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Check out all the links noting especially this one.

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This morning, if all goes as planned, the new old church of the Episcopal Church of the Advocate will begin its journey from Germanton to Chapel Hill. Built in the early 1890s, the historic St. Philip’s Episcopal Church will take nine days to get here, traveling mostly rural roads.

Blake Moving Company is moving the building, which is scheduled to arrive on Dec. 8. Episcopal Church of the Advocate member Sam Laurent will be there to greet it. He’s a founding member of ECOTA, which, with the arrival of the chapel, will have its first real home.

“We call ourselves a nomadic church a lot of the time,” Laurent said.

Read more: The Herald-Sun - Episcopal Church of the Advocate gets a new old church

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When the Rev. Harold T. Lewis became rector of the mostly white and wealthy Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside in 1996, the city was reeling from racial turmoil, and Father Lewis, who is African-American, was expected to be a leader in addressing social injustice.
But circumstances have led him to retire as a renowned advocate for Episcopal canon law.
Five years before the 2008 schism in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, he filed a lawsuit to stop anyone from taking property out of the Episcopal Church.
"If you had asked me when I was ordained ... if I would ever sue my bishop, I would have said you were crazy," said Father Lewis, 65, who retired Sunday.

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According to the U.S.Census Bureau's figures, the state of Missouri has grown in population from 5,595,211 in 2000 to 5,988,927 in 2010. This represents a population growth of approximately 6.6% in this time frame. Please note, however, that there are two Episcopal dioceses in Missouri and that this one encompasses the eastern portion of the state and its see city is Saint Louis. According to the U.S.Census Bureau's figures, Saint Louis as a city went from a population of 348,189 in 2000 to a population of 318,069 in 2010, a decline of about 9.5%.

According to Episcopal Church statistics, the Diocese of Missouri went from Average Sunday Attendance (or ASA) of 5185 in 2000 to 4128 in 2010. This represents a decline of 20.4% during this decade. Doing some historical digging, I noticed that the Average Sunday Attendance (or ASA) in 1994 for Missouri was 5644.

To see a pictorial representation of some of the statistics for the diocese of Missouri you may examine the graph here.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Data • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry

This is crucial. We, as a Church, need to get leaner (though not necessarily meaner). The days of top heavy corporate-style hierarchies are over. We must be focused on mission, not governance. We must be outward focused at every level of the Church, having enough governance for the marshaling of resources, enough committees for organizing ministry, enough hierarchy for holy decision making . . . but no more!

The Church must be — from congregations to General Convention — committed to God’s Mission, not our favorite political agenda. God’s Vision for the world; not business as usual.

God has blessed his Episcopal Church with abundant resources, and through the years the Church has tried to be faithful. The time is now upon us to renew faithfulness and be a leaner, more mission-focused Church.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Bishops • TEC Diocesan Conventions/Diocesan Councils • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

It's a rare occurrence when a church ceases to be the site of regular worship services, and it is even less frequent that a congregation with centuries of continuous history ends up being dispersed.

That, however, is what is happening to St. George's Spesutia Parish in Perryman, a congregation that has been in continuous operation since 1671, the same year Scottish folk hero Robert Roy MacGregor was born.

That's a long time, so long that the church sanctuary has been rebuilt twice, most recently in 1851, a decade before the start of the Civil War.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • Parish Ministry

St. George's Spesutia Parish in Perryman, the oldest Episcopal parish in Maryland, will suspend holding worship services effective at the end of the year, the Bishop of Maryland has informed parishioners.

In a letter dated Nov. 1, the Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, explained the decision to members of the parish, which has been in continuous operation since 1671.

Sutton's letter, a copy of which was provided to The Aegis by a parishioner, cited a lack of attendance at Sunday worship services, a lack of income from the collection plate and pledges "to sustain a parish financially with your buildings and grounds, let alone to sustain a thriving ministry" and the likelihood that the parish's investments would be depleted within four years if the financial situation continued.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry

A 123-year-old church is close to reopening after it sustained significant damage during Tropical Storm Irene last year. According to church officials, doors might open at the Gethsemane Episcopal Church in Cavendish by Christmas.

“The builders are working very hard on it. The target date is Christmas, but it will open when it opens,” said Barbara Dickey, the church treasurer. “Because of regulations of public buildings, we can’t open until the handicap bathroom is ready to go among other things. So we’re hoping it will open up very soon.”

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: Virginia • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues

Read it all and then take the time to go through the numbers here and also a summation there.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • TEC Data • TEC Parishes

It’s been 140 years since the Right Rev. Henry H. Whipple, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, established St. Luke’s Church in Detroit Lakes — and the congregation is getting ready to celebrate.

This Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m., the church will host a special evening prayer service, followed by a reception where the 140th anniversary cake and refreshments will be served. The service is being held in conjunction with the Feast Day of St. Luke, the church’s namesake.

Read it all and you may find the parish website here.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • Parish Ministry

The United States Postal Service chose Washington National Cathedral’s Bethlehem Chapel to issue its Holy Family Forever stamp on Oct. 10. The stamp depicts the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt after Christ’s birth. The family appears in silhouette against a deep orange sky with the brightly shining Christmas star ahead of them. Joseph leads a donkey on which Mary and the infant Jesus ride.

The contemporary artwork on the stamp, now available nationwide, is a departure from some of previous Christmas stamps featuring traditional artwork of Mary and Jesus. Indeed, the 1980 USPS Christmas stamp showed the Madonna and Child in Bethlehem Chapel’s Epiphany stained-glass window.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • The U.S. Government • * International News & Commentary • Middle East • Israel

As Trinity Episcopal Cathedral begins a year-long bicentennial celebration Sunday, the new dean said he believes the congregation is ready to embark on a new chapter, mindful of its history but focused on a third century devoted to spiritual formation and Christian outreach.

The Very Rev. Timothy “Tim” Jones arrived in July in Columbia after seven years as the senior associate rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Nashville and already is immersed in the life of one of the city’s most visible and prominent congregations. He was installed formally on Sept. 15.

A native Californian who has spent much of his pastoral life in the South, Jones said he was drawn to Trinity because he felt an “instant sense of warmth” from members of the search committee.

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That way forward must be deeply rooted in the evangelical imperative, and it must engage scripture, tradition and reason — both in the very pastoral and human dimensions that have challenged the church to address same-sex relationships and, more rigorously, in the theological dimensions that have given a moral grounding for the church over many centuries through the received tradition. Our task will be to help me articulate the boundaries within which we might live together that includes same-sex relationships and those who struggle with the church’s decisions with clarity and substance.

This will be hard work. But it will also be work with unexpected blessings....

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(Please note that you can find a map of all New Jersey counties here. You may know that I grew up in Lawrenceville, which is in Mercer County--KSH).

Just 30 minutes outside Philadelphia, amid the rolling farmland that produces some of the nation's largest peach and bell pepper crops, more Gloucester County parents are seeking help to feed their children, while others live in tents in the wooded areas near major shopping centers.

From 2010 to 2011, the rate of child poverty in Gloucester County more than doubled, a shocking statistic in a county where the median income is more than $72,000, according to census data. In 2011, 7,395 children in Gloucester County were living in families earning about $22,000 a year or less, up from 4,687 children in 2010, according to census figures.

"Gloucester County is a distinctly middle-class place," said Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D., Gloucester). "When you see those kind of numbers, it's a reflection of what's happening with the national economy."

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Children • Dieting/Food/Nutrition • Marriage & Family • Poverty • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market • Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007-- • Politics in General • City Government

Those eager to hear the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh can do so Sunday, Sept. 16, when Bishop-elect Dorsey McConnell preaches at an evensong in St. Andrew Episcopal Church, Highland Park.

The service begins at 4:30 p.m. and features the music of Ralph Vaughn Williams, Richard Runciman Terry and other composers associated with traditional British choral anthems and chant. St. Andrew’s Schola Cantorum, featuring members of the congregation and professional singers, will sing in the context of evening worship.

But the highlight is expected to be Bishop-elect McConnell’s sermon. There is more than the usual level of curiosity about the man from Massachusetts, who will be consecrated and installed Oct. 20 at 11 a.m. in Calvary Episcopal Church, Shadyside. The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh split in October 2008 when the majority of its members and clergy followed Bishop Robert Duncan out of the Episcopal Church into what eventually became the Anglican Church in North America. The remaining Episcopal diocese had to be restructured, and has been under the guidance of two different interim bishops. In April it became the first of four such split dioceses to elect a permanent bishop when Bishop-elect McConnell was chosen.

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A local church slated for closure is getting heat from parishioners who say church officials hid information about the closure and that in closing the church they are violating the Episcopal Cannons that govern it.

St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, 15717 Stephens, will hold its last service on June 24 before completely closing down at the end of the month. For many longtime parishioners, the news came as a surprise.

They say it was first announced less than a month ago, but church representatives say the closure has been a long time coming.

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President and Mrs. Bush, I want to say a personal word on behalf of many people. Thank you, Mr. President, for calling this day of prayer and remembrance. We needed it at this time.

We come together today to affirm our conviction that God cares for us, whatever our ethnic, religious, or political background may be. The Bible says that He’s the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles. No matter how hard we try, words simply cannot express the horror, the shock, and the revulsion we all feel over what took place in this nation on Tuesday morning. September eleven will go down in our history as a day to remember.

Today we say to those who masterminded this cruel plot, and to those who carried it out, that the spirit of this nation will not be defeated by their twisted and diabolical schemes. Someday, those responsible will be brought to justice, as President Bush and our Congress have so forcefully stated. But today we especially come together in this service to confess our need of God.

Today we say to those who masterminded this cruel plot, and to those who carried it out, that the spirit of this nation will not be defeated by their twisted and diabolical schemes. Someday, those responsible will be brought to justice, as President Bush and our Congress have so forcefully stated. But today we especially come together in this service to confess our need of God.

We’ve always needed God from the very beginning of this nation, but today we need Him especially. We’re facing a new kind of enemy. We’re involved in a new kind of warfare. And we need the help of the Spirit of God. The Bible words are our hope: God is our refuge and strength; an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

But how do we understand something like this? Why does God allow evil like this to take place? Perhaps that is what you are asking now. You may even be angry at God. I want to assure you that God understands these feelings that you may have. We’ve seen so much on our television, on our — heard on our radio, stories that bring tears to our eyes and make us all feel a sense of anger. But God can be trusted, even when life seems at its darkest.

But what are some of the lessons we can learn? First, we are reminded of the mystery and reality of evil. I’ve been asked hundreds of times in my life why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I really do not know the answer totally, even to my own satisfaction. I have to accept by faith that God is sovereign, and He’s a God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering. The Bible says that God is not the author of evil. It speaks of evil as a mystery. In 1st Thessalonians 2:7 it talks about the mystery of iniquity. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” Who can understand it?” He asked that question, ‘Who can understand it?’ And that’s one reason we each need God in our lives.

The lesson of this event is not only about the mystery of iniquity and evil, but secondly it’s a lesson about our need for each other. What an example New York and Washington have been to the world these past few days. None of us will ever forget the pictures of our courageous firefighters and police, many of whom have lost friends and colleagues; or the hundreds of people attending or standing patiently in line to donate blood. A tragedy like this could have torn our country apart. But instead it has united us, and we’ve become a family. So those perpetrators who took this on to tear us apart, it has worked the other way — it’s back lashed. It’s backfired. We are more united than ever before. I think this was exemplified in a very moving way when the members of our Congress stood shoulder to shoulder the other day and sang “God Bless America.”

Finally, difficult as it may be for us to see right now, this event can give a message of hope — hope for the present, and hope for the future. Yes, there is hope. There’s hope for the present, because I believe the stage has already been set for a new spirit in our nation. One of the things we desperately need is a spiritual renewal in this country. We need a spiritual revival in America. And God has told us in His word, time after time, that we are to repent of our sins and return to Him, and He will bless us in a new way. But there’s also hope for the future because of God’s promises. As a Christian, I hope not for just this life, but for heaven and the life to come. And many of those people who died this past week are in heaven right now. And they wouldn’t want to come back. It’s so glorious and so wonderful. And that’s the hope for all of us who put our faith in God. I pray that you will have this hope in your heart.

This event reminds us of the brevity and the uncertainty of life. We never know when we too will be called into eternity. I doubt if even one those people who got on those planes, or walked into the World Trade Center or the Pentagon last Tuesday morning thought it would be the last day of their lives. It didn’t occur to them. And that’s why each of us needs to face our own spiritual need and commit ourselves to God and His will now.

Here in this majestic National Cathedral we see all around us symbols of the cross. For the Christian — I’m speaking for the Christian now — the cross tells us that God understands our sin and our suffering. For He took upon himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, our sins and our suffering. And from the cross, God declares “I love you. I know the heart aches, and the sorrows, and the pains that you feel, but I love you.” The story does not end with the cross, for Easter points us beyond the tragedy of the cross to the empty tomb. It tells us that there is hope for eternal life, for Christ has conquered evil, and death, and hell. Yes, there’s hope.

I’ve become an old man now. And I’ve preached all over the world. And the older I get, the more I cling to that hope that I started with many years ago, and proclaimed it in many languages to many parts of the world. Several years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast here in Washington, Ambassador Andrew Young, who had just gone through the tragic death of his wife, closed his talk with a quote from the old hymn, “How Firm A Foundation.” We all watched in horror as planes crashed into the steel and glass of the World Trade Center. Those majestic towers, built on solid foundations, were examples of the prosperity and creativity of America. When damaged, those buildings eventually plummeted to the ground, imploding in upon themselves. Yet underneath the debris is a foundation that was not destroyed. Therein lies the truth of that old hymn that Andrew Young quoted: “How firm a foundation.”

Yes, our nation has been attacked. Buildings destroyed. Lives lost. But now we have a choice: Whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people, and a nation, or, whether we choose to become stronger through all of the struggle to rebuild on a solid foundation. And I believe that we’re in the process of starting to rebuild on that foundation. That foundation is our trust in God. That’s what this service is all about. And in that faith we have the strength to endure something as difficult and horrendous as what we’ve experienced this week.

This has been a terrible week with many tears. But also it’s been a week of great faith. Churches all across the country have called prayer meetings. And today is a day that they’re celebrating not only in this country, but in many parts of the world. And the words of that familiar hymn that Andrew Young quoted, it says, “Fear not, I am with thee. Oh be not dismayed for I am thy God and will give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand upon” my righteous — on “thy righteous, omnipotent hand.”

My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us and will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us as we trust in Him. We also know that God is going to give wisdom, and courage, and strength to the President, and those around him. And this is going to be a day that we will remember as a day of victory. May God bless you all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • Preaching / Homiletics • * Culture-Watch • History • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Terrorism • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Evangelicals • * Theology • Pastoral Theology • Theodicy

Episcopal clergy along the Mississippi coast agreed that the devastation caused by Hurricane Isaac could have been much worse.

From Pascagoula to Bay St. Louis, a 50-mile stretch, the Diocese of Mississippi’s six coastal churches sustained little damage from the category-1 hurricane that drenched the Gulf Coast between Aug. 28 to 30.

“We are very happy to report that all our churches made it through Hurricane Isaac intact,” said Diocese of Mississippi Bishop Duncan Gray III.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Pastoral Care • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc.

Charles Large has sat through a lot of Sunday services in 79 years as a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
In 1933, at 10 years old, Large joined St. Luke's renowned boys choir, and this year, he and the rest of the congregation will celebrate the church's 175th anniversary.
The church plans to commemorate the milestone in September with a concert, a workshop and a celebration of the Holy Communion followed by a reception.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes

Born and raised an Episcopalian, [Bruce] Baker, 71, became a married deacon in the Catholic Church in 1982. Following his first wife's death in 1990, he was ordained a priest and served as executive director of an ecumenical retreat center in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

In 2006, he requested a leave of absence from his religious community and moved to Reading to study hospital chaplaincy at Reading Hospital and Medical Center. In 2007, he returned to the Episcopal Church and was married. Bishop Paul V. Marshall of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem received him as a priest of the Episcopal Church in 2008.

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[DEBORAH] POTTER: Twenty million dollars to repair a building is a lot of money. Is it worth it? Is there a real value to having cathedrals in the 21st century?

[FRANK] WADE: Cathedrals are part of where our culture restores its spiritual values and its sense of mystery. That’s really important. We need places like that, and the Washington National Cathedral plays that role in a peculiar way, in a particular way on the national scene—a great church for national purposes. So I think it’s very, very important. We would lose a great deal if we had no place to turn at key moments in our life when we want to remember God, remember mystery in the larger context of life.

POTTER: The Cathedral has always been a place where dialogue happens, and most recently, you’ve opened up the pages of your magazine to a dialogue, or at least a Q and A with the two presidential candidates about their faith. Why was that important?

WADE: It’s important because there’s no—while we separate church and state, there is no separation of faith and state. Faith is how you figure out life. It’s how you set priorities. The faith of our leaders is a very, very important part of the conversation. It’s how they will approach their job. So it’s a legitimate part of what goes on.

Read or watch it all and please note the link to the Cathedral Age issue which asks each of the parties' prospective presidential nominees questions about their faith.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • Urban/City Life and Issues • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

[John] Herring said it wasn’t necessarily a huge leap, going from working with youth and street ministry to becoming rector at St. Peter’s. “The gospel doesn’t change,” he said, “but ultimately — whether you’re dealing with homeless, or you’re dealing with youth or you’re dealing with young adults or you’re dealing with parents — ultimately, you’re dealing with people who have a story and who are struggling to be faithful and who want to learn. That doesn’t ever change.”

When asked if he had a personal philosophy, Herring’s eyes lit up with a warm recollection.

“I read a book when I was in junior high school,” he said. “An autobiography by Gale Sayers, who was a running back for the Chicago Bears. He said that God is first, my family is second and I am third. That’s something that’s always stuck with me. It’s ultimately not about me, it’s about God. Whatever I can do to help people on their way, that’s where the satisfaction comes from.”

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained

In the 1960s, St. Andrew’s purchased the property where our church stands from the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee with its own money. St. Andrew’s also chose to have a relationship with the diocese. Because it is an Anglo-Catholic church, though, the relationship was never intended to be the same as other Episcopal churches. The diocese and its bishop at the time, John Vander Horst, not only knew this, they encouraged St. Andrew’s and its rector, Edwin Conly, to grow their unique church.

In exchange for the purchase price, Bishop Vander Horst gave us a warranty deed. The deed conveyed the property to St. Andrew’s free and clear, with no trust in favor of the diocese. The diocese also asked St. Andrew’s to formalize the parties’ special relationship through modified language in its corporate charter.

But the story does not end there. When St. Andrew’s arrived at the property, it found a dilapidated mansion and other poorly maintained buildings. St. Andrew’s parishioners built a new church building, later razed the mansion and built a new parish hall. Over the years, St. Andrew’s alone has paid to maintain its buildings and operate its church.

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[The Rev. Eric] Greenwood, rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Nashville, says his denomination has its troubles. But it is still a force for good in the world.

“Everybody gets all excited about sex in the church,” he said. “But the good work that gets done in the name of God and our lord Jesus Christ, it will take your breath away.”

Nationwide, the numbers don’t look good for the Episcopal Church and other mainline Protestant denominations, most of which tend to hold more liberal beliefs. From 2000 to 2010, most suffered double-digit percentage declines in membership, leading some to wonder if those denominations can be saved in the future.

But in Nashville, those mainline churches have showed surprising strength and have grown in membership over the past decade.

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Since the presumptive Republican nominee for president is a Mormon, St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church in Cupertino sees that as a hot topic among both liberal and conservative voters this election year.

In an effort to educate the community on the subject, The Rev. Maly Carswell Hughes is hosting a forum on Aug. 26 to discuss Christianity and Mormonism as part of its adult education series. Church organizers already see an intense interest in Mitt Romney's religion. The interest is drawing comparison to John F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, and his election in 1960.

Hughes is looking to talk with church members and guests about Mormonism and discuss the religion's similarities to, and differences from, Christianity. The forum will not be a critique of either religion nor will it be political, but instead focus on the many similarities and differences between the two faiths.

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In the tidal pool off the coast of Hawaii, a young girl diving was nothing unusual. Even the brightly colored fish probably didn’t take any notice as she and her family spent another afternoon exploring the cool, crystal blue. Neither could have predicted she would one day grow up to be a seaside priest on another faraway island.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, the Rev. Meredith Holt will be installed as the 26th rector of Galveston’s Grace Episcopal Church, 1115 36th St. She might work at church, but the sea still remains a second home to her.

“I am thrilled to call the island of Galveston my home,” she said. “Coming from a family of Navy seaman, oceanographers and scuba divers, a part of me will always belong near the water.”

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Click here to see a pictorial representation of some of the statistics for the parish where the diocese of Upper South Carolina is holding its diocesan convention this fall. You may also be interested to examine the parish website here.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Data • TEC Parishes • * South Carolina

"O, worship the Lord, in the beauty of holiness." The theme of the text is CONSECRATED BEAUTY. It is the beauty which was consummated, in the full perfection of its kind, and set apart for sacred uses, that the Psalmist speaks of. This was a household and familiar theme, to Jewish ears and hearts. The tabernacle, with its gold and silver, its blue, and purple, and scarlet; the mercy-seat, of pure gold; the very candlesticks, with their almonds, and knops, and branches, and flowers, one beaten work of pure gold; all made after the pattern which was showed to Moses, in the Mount. The priest's robes, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, ouches of gold, and chains of wreathen work in gold, and settings of onyx-stone. The sacred breast-plate, radiant with ruby, and sapphire, and amethyst, and diamond. Every thing, in all the holy service of God's appointment, like that vision of Himself; when, "there was under His feet, as it were, a paved-work of a sapphire stone, and as it were, the body of heaven, in his clearness." And, then, in its time, the Temple, of hewn stone, and cedar beams, and olive, and palm, enriched with carving, and overlaid with gold, and splendid with jewels; the very bowls, and basins, and spoons, and snuffers, of purest gold. The sea and land all compassed, the stores of nature ravished, art in its utmost consummation; that the house, builded for the Lord, in David's own expressive phrase, might be "exceeding magnifical." These leave no doubt of his conception of the use of consecrated beauty. Nor was it only for the Jews, to know, and feel, its power, and make it bear upon the instincts of the nature; which He gave to us, Who first make us like Himself. The holy Jerusalem, the Church of Christ, is revealed to the beloved John, as it comes out of heaven, from God: her light, like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; the foundations, sapphire, and emerald, and chrysolite, and chrysoprase, and amethyst; the gates, twelve pears; the streets, pure gold, as of transparent glass. Who wonders, that, with models such as these, before them, Christians, in other years, when all the aid, that science lent to art, in the comparison with us, was, as the twilight to the noon, reared the Cathedrals, and the Chapels, and the Chantries, whose mere ruins mock at our magnificence? Why, even the heathen show the instinct of the heart, to lay its powers all out, and work them to the last perfection, in results of consecrated beauty. Look at the Parthenon. Look at the Coliseum. Look at the Pantheon. What is the Venus, "that enchants the world?" What is the Belvidere Apollo? What are the Dians, and the Hebes, and the Graces? What is the majesty of Jupiter? What the magnificence of Juno? What is the "Niobe, all tears?" What are the writhings of Laocoon? What is the utmost reach and range of ancient architecture, sculpture, poetry, in all its forms of grace, and dignity, and power, but still the working out of the instinctive and inwrought idea of consecrated beauty? See it, in Raphael, and Michael Angelo, and Rubens. Feel it, in the serene and holy beauty of the Blessed Mother; and in the infant loveliness and purity of that God-child. Hear it, in all that music has achieved, of tenderest, sweetest, most subduing, yet most elevating, to the soul; till even Milton loses all the Puritan, while he brings more than all the Poet, to the praise of consecrated beauty, in its blended forms of sacred structure, and of sacred song:

“Let my due feet never fail
To walk the studious cloister's pale;
And love the high embowed roof,
With antique pillars massy proof:
And storied windows, richly dight,
Casting a dim religious light.
There, let the pealing organ blow,
To the full-voiced choir below,
In service high, and anthems clear,
As may, with sweetness, through mine ear,
Dissolve me into ecstacies,
And bring all heaven before mine eyes.”

Read it all but do guess the year before you do.

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The last time Christ Episcopal Church couldn’t ring its bell, it was because the massive chime had been melted into Confederate bullets.

The church’s 1868 replacement bell served Macon’s oldest congregation for almost 150 years. Following a bell that had been donated to war, this bell was inscribed to peace.

But it has been silent since Easter Sunday, when the biggest Christian celebration of the year caused it to ring, well, right off its rocker.

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[MARK] LEWIS (St. Luke’s Parish): We left the Episcopal Church not because we were running away from the issues of the Episcopal Church. We left the Episcopal Church because we were running to the Catholic Church. We came to the point where we realized the theology of the Episcopal Church is what was lacking. The theology of Rome, the authority of Rome, the unity in the Holy See and in the bishops: that was appealing to us.

[BOB] FAW: Former Episcopal priest, Father Scott Hurd, married with three children, also found the move to Catholicism seamless. He was ordained into the Catholic Church in 2000 and acted as the chaplain here while Father Lewis waited to be ordained.

FATHER SCOTT HURD (US Ordinariate): There is a real hunger amongst some Episcopalians and Anglicans for authority. It was the question of where can true Christian authority be found that was a key element in this community’s journey.

Read or watch it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • * Religion News & Commentary • Ecumenical Relations • Other Churches • Roman Catholic • Pope Benedict XVI • * Theology • Ecclesiology

In the contemporary culture of sexual partnerships, both homosexual and heterosexual, it is considered intolerable that the Word of God should deny consenting adults the gratification of their emotional and erotic drives, which are identified as "civil rights". To non-Christians, of course, the teaching of the Bible and the Christian tradition is irrelevant; but to many Christians the idea that the Word of God and the contemporary culture are in contradiction is simply too painful to contemplate. It must be explained away, or denied outright. The theological difficulties, however, remain and are not abstract unless the Word of God and the will of God are mere abstractions. To treat any of them as though they were is to be cut off from the doctrinal core of one's religion.

That is not to say that there are not real difficulties in the current understanding and practice of Christian marriage, even among "conservatives". The advance of a "liberal" moral agenda in matters sexual has been made on the basis of a persistent and unaddressed weakness in the understanding and practice of Christian marriage. A legalistic crackdown will get us nowhere. There will be no real progress on this front, and nothing to be expected but continuing impasse both in the churches and in society in general, until there is a theological and practical recovery of the institution.

--The Rev. Gavin Dunbar is rector Saint John's, Savannah, and this appeared in a recent parish newsletter.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • * Culture-Watch • Marriage & Family • Sexuality • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Pastoral Theology • Theology: Scripture

From here:

On Sunday, July 29, the Rev. Will McQueen resigned as Rector of St. John's, Moultrie. That evening, all seven members of the vestry resigned. They worked out an orderly transition of the property back to the Diocese of Georgia. Bishop Benhase accepted the resignations and has named the Rev. Walter Hobgood as Vicar.

Also, you may find the parish website there.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: Georgia • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Theology

The Cathedral Chapter is pleased to announce the nomination of the Rev. Canon Gary R. Hall as the tenth dean of Washington National Cathedral. Hall has been an ordained minister for more than 35 years and currently is serving as rector of Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. A search committee recommended him from among a diverse pool of candidates from across the country in a process that spanned more than seven months....

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained

About a half-dozen churches in Baltimore County lease to cell carriers, assessment officials said.

Church towers provide good opportunities to transmit wireless signals because of their height, said Larry Taylor, director of sales for AT&T in Maryland....

At the Episcopal Church of the Messiah on Harford Road in Northeast Baltimore, cell equipment is not hidden inside a steeple but mounted on top of the tower, between crosses.

In an era of declining church attendance, money from the leases with AT&T and Clearwire helps the church keep a presence in the Hamilton neighborhood, said the Rev. Timothy Grayson, the church's rector. "That need and that benefit trumps any considerations about detracting from the aesthetic look of the church tower."

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Science & Technology • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts will allow its clergy to bless same-sex couples, beginning the first Sunday of Advent.

Bishop Gordon P. Scruton and Bishop Elect Douglas J. Fisher made the announcement in a recent letter to clergy and laity.

“Our church has prayed, debated, and sought guidance for this decision for a number of years,” wrote the two bishops. “Same gender couples, committed in love, may now be blessed to enter into a lifelong covenant of fidelity with one another and the living God.”

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Parishes • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings • * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Parish Ministry

The Diocese of Central Florida is committed to making disciples of all nations and loving one another as Christ loves us.

The Deputation from the Diocese of Central Florida has an extraordinary sense of sadness and disappointment that the Episcopal Church has chosen to adopt a provisional rite for same-sex blessings.

We recognize that to the vast majority of those members participating in the councils of General Convention, this represents progress. To us, it represents a step back from the clear teachings of Holy Scripture and a disregard for the unity and teaching of the Church.

Our Lord Jesus Christ emphasized marriage between a man and a woman as a divine ordinance for the ordering human relationships. For that reason, he sternly warned against human interference with marriages. Jesus said, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matt. 19:4-6)

The 77th General Convention’s decision represents denominationalism. In matters of ethics and morals, we have shown blatant disregard for the unity of the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. However, we in the Diocese of Central Florida stand in solidarity with our communion partners within the Episcopal Church and within the Worldwide Anglican Communion who “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) . We deeply lament the costly repercussions that these decisions will have within the Episcopal Church and for Anglican Christians around the world especially those under anti-Christian totalitarian regimes.

The actions of General Convention also represent a departure from the rubrics and worship of the Book of Common Prayer and the stated Canons of the Episcopal Church. These liturgies are not recognized in the Diocese of Central Florida as being consistent with either the laws of the State or the canons of this Church on Marriage. The Book of Common Prayer says, “Christian marriage is a solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman in the presence of God. In the Episcopal Church it is required that … the marriage conform to the laws of the State and the canons of this Church.” (p. 422)

While we are greatly saddened by the General Convention’s action, we are not discouraged. We know that we are called by God to “stand firm”. If any are discouraged, let us bear one another’s burdens and cast our cares on the Lord in prayer for one another. Our faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord gives the strength and hope needed to serve without compromise within the Episcopal Church and the world, “for our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh”. (Ephesians 6:12) Our faith is not in the human institutions of the Church, but in the unwavering faithfulness of Jesus Christ our Lord—his grace is sufficient.

We stand behind our Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Gregory Orrin Brewer, in his endorsement of the minority report known as the Indianapolis Statement.

The Rev. Charles Holt, Chair
The Rev. Phylis Bartle
The Rev. Danielle Morris
The Rev. James Sorvillo
The Rev. Eric Turner
Mr. Charles Armstrong
Mrs. Anneke Bertsch
Mr. Sid Glynn
Mr. William Grimm, esq.
Mrs. Sonya Shannon

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Bishops • TEC Parishes • TEC Polity & Canons • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings • * Theology • Ecclesiology • Ethics / Moral Theology

[Resolution] A049...specifies that the liturgy will not be authorized for use until the first Sunday in Advent 2012, which is December 2nd of this year. Due to Bishop Wolf’s retirement and Bishop Elect Nicholas Knisely’s consecration November 17th, the implementation of this liturgy will be at his direction in consultation with others.

Bishop Elect Nicholas Knisely did not have vote at this year’s General Convention, but during his election process this past May he spoke publically in support of authorizing a blessing of same-sex relationships while at the same time honoring the diversity of opinion on this subject in Rhode Island Episcopal Parishes.

Bishop Elect Knisely reminds Rhode Island Episcopalians of Roger William’s legacy of religious tolerance. He said this week “How do we live into a world where people disagree? We are Episcopalians. We understand and fully expect that we won’t agree. That would be a “pure” church – and we have historically rejected that understanding of how to live as God’s people in the world. We find our unity in common prayer.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Bishops • TEC Parishes • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings • * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Parish Ministry

The diocese announced in April that if approved, St. Stephen’s in Montrose and another church in Austin would be the first in the area to offer the blessings, as early as December of this year.

St. Stephen’s Facebook page announced the news of the blessings’ approval with exclamation-laden posts. Parishioner Carvel Glen attended the convention and will share his experience with the congregation in between services on Sunday.

The liturgy is designed to affirm covenant relationships between gay and lesbian couples, and many advocates of GLBT rights within the church see it as a precursor to same-sex marriages.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Parishes • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry

Even more troubling is the Episcopal Church’s official embrace of transgenderism. Here is essentially a Gnostic faith that mental and emotional self-realization trumps physical reality. Each self-actualized individual can in fact perpetually reinvent himself or herself into endlessly possible new sexual identities. Male today, female tomorrow, then some yet to be determined new gender next week. The Christian hope and understanding that the human body is called to be a sacred temple of the Holy Spirit that will ultimately resurrect, as Christ resurrected, for all eternity is largely lost or ignored under the transgender ideology.

What is the ultimate ceiling or floor of this strange new course upon which the Episcopal Church is launched? Only God knows.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Parishes • TEC Polity & Canons • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Theology • Anthropology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Pastoral Theology • Theology: Scripture

(Please note--directly related to the preceding blog entry--KSH).

Read the original here and check the amended version there. The explanation follows:

The Report of the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church presents a church in where key statistical areas from 2000–2010 show significant decline (Average Sunday Attendance -23%, Easter Attendance -21%, Baptized Members -16%, Communicants in Good Standing -16%). There are significant places of hope and vision where significant efforts are being made to turn this around. These include the Office of Congregational Vitality and the Office of Emergent Church and Church Planting. This resolution seeks to give these ministries solid budgetary support to allow this work to continue and by doing so to bring vitality and growth back to the Episcopal Church.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Data • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Evangelism and Church Growth

Now [for Episcopalians] the apt word seems "life support".
The average Episcopal Church attendance dropped a staggering 23% in the ten year period between 2000 and 2010 (via Whispers) In 2010, just under 700,000 attended TEC Churches in the whole world.
In the Seattle area, (Diocese of Olympia) where St. Mark's Cathedral still looms and KING FM has broadcast their lovely Sunday evening Compline for many years, average attendance in the whole diocese was 9,500. 9,500? I've worked in Catholic parishes with larger weekly attendance than that.
The Episcopalian Diocese of Quincy, IL attendance has dropped 71% and averages 363 people in attendance at 9 parishes. I've taught Called & Gifted workshops that were larger. No wonder they are openly talking about reuniting with the Diocese of Chicago (attendance: 12,925).

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Data • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Evangelism and Church Growth

...average Sunday attendance in Episcopal churches has plunged 23% in the past decade to 657,831. In the Michigan diocese -- which includes southeast Michigan, Lansing and Jackson -- attendance has dropped 31% from 2000 to 2010. During the same time period, the number of baptized Episcopal members in the diocese dropped 30% to 20,825; nationally, it dropped 16% to 1,951,907.

Some say the drop is because the Episcopal Church has drifted too much to the left on social and political issues. But [Bonnie] Anderson notes that other mainline Protestant denominations have also seen declines in membership; regardless, the church won't shift its views because people are leaving, she said.

"We're prayerful, we're careful, and we pay attention to what we believe the Holy Spirit is calling us to do. And if we lose members because of that, it's still the right thing to do."

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Evangelism and Church Growth

The site was the home of an Episcopal congregation that shut down last summer. Cathy Black, canon for administration for the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, said the congregation had been struggling "for a while now."

"The financial support was lacking, and it never seemed to get off the ground" in its almost 50 years of existence.

The site includes a church building, a multipurpose building that was the original worship space, and a smaller building that could be used for offices.

"We are thrilled it has found a new life in the church business," Black said.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Evangelicals

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Theology • Pastoral Theology

[THE] REV. MICHAEL] TANNER: What I see coming to us and joining us is a group of people who have been knocked down all their lives and who are just remarkably joyous and remarkably full of faith. They get it that God loves them and that their suffering is just part of life, and God loves them through it, and they love each other through it.

[DEBORAH] POTTER: One out of every ten people will experience a severe and persistent mental illness at some point in life, experts say. For decades society shut those people away in institutions. But now they’re more visible on the streets and in group homes, and faith communities have been challenged to respond.

Holy Comforter responded 15 years ago when a group home opened nearby and the priest at the time invited the residents to church. Today, almost two-thirds of the congregation is made up of people with mental illness—including bipolar disorder, clinical depression, and schizophrenia—who worship together…

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Psychology • Mental Illness • * Theology • Pastoral Theology

[This past]... Sunday, the consecration of the new Christ Episcopal Church celebrated the two-year journey that began with the Albertville tornado of April 25, 2010. Their church was hit hard by a tree and was torn down shortly after. Since that time, a new church has been in the making.

Members of Christ Church have been worshiping in the new church since Easter Sunday earlier this year. Church members spoke with WHNT News 19 about the consecration and how thankful they are to be in their new church home.

Watch it all (video).

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc.

Sitting in the choir section of Grace and St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Marianna McJimsey can’t help but get excited when she talks about the history of the place.

The former Colorado College professor and head of the church’s archival project can spout off facts for hours if given the prompt. She’s not the only one who finds the church significant.

The church was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places....

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • * Culture-Watch • History • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church now has the ability to harness the sun.

In recent days, the church, located in Southeastern Athens-Clarke County, installed a 7.5-kilowatt solar array that will be used to generate energy that will help to significantly lower the church’s energy costs.

A main purpose of the solar array, though, is to make the church a better steward of the environment. And it also will allow more of the church’s resources to go toward helping those in need instead of toward power bills, said Andrew Lane — also known as “Captain Planet” — chairman of the Green Guild/Creation Keepers at St. Gregory the Great.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Energy, Natural Resources • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral received approval Friday to demolish two historic buildings in the 3700 block of Chestnut Street, clearing the way for construction of a 25-story apartment tower.

At a lengthy hearing of the city Historical Commission, the cathedral and its private development partner agreed to conditions imposed by the commission that seek to insure that a portion of development profits flow into repair and renovation of the historic cathedral's bell tower.

"We are committed to preserving the church itself," the Rev. Judith Sullivan, cathedral dean, told the commission. "We are all about preservation."

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Urban/City Life and Issues • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market • Politics in General • City Government

According to the U.S.Census Bureau's figures, West Virginia has grown in population from 1,808,344 in 2000 to 1,852,994 in 2010. This represents a population growth of approximately 2.5% in this time frame. (Of passing interest, please note that the population of the United States as a whole went from 281,421,906 in 2000 to 308,745,538 in 2010, an overall American growth for the decade of 9.7%).

According to Episcopal Church statistics, the Diocese of West Virginia went from Average Sunday Attendance (or ASA) of 3,983 in 2000 to 3,015 in 2010. This represents a decline of 24.3% during this decade. Doing some historical digging, I noticed that the Average Sunday Attendance (or ASA) in 1994 for West Virginia was 4,511.

To see a pictorial representation of some of the statistics for the diocese of West Virginia you may examine the graph here.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Data • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry

...the idea of having leisurely conversations about Jesus is just, well, too slow. The only adult formation things that have been in any way successful are sermon podcasts and daily e-mailed bits of wisdom, prayer or scripture.

A mentor once gave me some good advice: stop doing things that aren’t working. This makes all the sense in the world, but it’s hard to do. It is hard to give up the picture I have in my head about what a church is supposed to look like: people sitting around on couches in the parish hall, Bibles open.

But at least in my ministry context, that just isn’t working anymore. And personally, I’m done with the roller coaster of getting seduced by the latest thing that’s supposed to work, putting mountains of energy into making it really good and then getting cranky with people because they don’t come. So we stopped it all.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Adult Education • Ministry of the Ordained • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending

The Rev. Tom Eklo of Richfield’s St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, after voicing his opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota, went even further recently, saying he’d like to get out of the marriage business altogether.

“I don’t think clergy should be doing marriages," he said. "We’re basically puppets of the state in that regard."

According to Eklo the state is responsible for marrying individuals—and because marriage is thus a civil, rather than religious contract—religious organizations, of any denomination, should not be tasked with performing marriages.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • Church/State Matters • Marriage & Family • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • State Government

Should the Episcopal Cathedral of Philadelphia be allowed to destroy two historically recognized buildings it owns, and build a 25-story apartment, office, and retail complex in their place, in order to finance cathedral repairs and expand its ministry?

That is the question coming Friday before the Philadelphia Historical Commission, which deadlocked on the issue May 11 when it first arose. The four representatives of the Nutter administration voted in favor of demolition of the properties on the 3700 block of Chestnut Street, while all four independent members opposed the plan.

In an unusual step, Alan Greenberger, deputy mayor for economic development, endorsed the demolition and development in a letter passed out to commissioners just before the hearing.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • Urban/City Life and Issues • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • City Government • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

Click here to see a pictorial representation of some of the statistics for the parish mentioned in the previous posting.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Data • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry

[Former rector Jay] Lawlor, 42, who was cleared in a jury trial of the assault charge, served at St. Luke's for 21 months. The payout was equivalent to more than a three-year severance package.

Lawlor’s 2010 compensation was $125,000, which included $85,000 in salary, plus housing and benefits.

That year, the church had a $630,650 operating budget and $1.9 milllion in investments at the end of the year, according to records shared last year with the Gazette.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues

Bookmark it and then follow the links and read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Parish Ministry • * Theology • Anthropology • Ecclesiology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Sacramental Theology • Eucharist • Soteriology

Listen to it all if you care to, and note there are links to a number of the handouts used.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • TEC Parishes • * By Kendall • Sermons & Teachings • * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Marriage & Family • Sexuality • --Civil Unions & Partnerships • * South Carolina • * Theology • Anthropology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Theology: Scripture

A Letter From The Rector (James Cooper)

Dear Trinity Family,

I am writing today to inform you of a decision undertaken by the current Vestry. After extensive study, conversation, and deliberation, it has been decided that the Trinity Conference Center in West Cornwall, Connecticut, will cease operations effective in November.

The Trinity Conference Center was created so that non-profit and religious organizations could have access to a first-class site for conferences and retreats at reduced and accessible rates. For countless vestries, parishioners, grassroots organizations, and non-profit leaders, the center was a place where excellence in hospitality and beautiful surroundings inspired reflection, conversation, and the kind of being together that truly brought people together....

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

Watch it all.

Note carefully the contention that The Episcopal Church's General Convention is expected to approve these first same-sex union blessings in July, and that St. David's hopes to perform the first such blessing in late December or just after the first of the year 2013--KSH.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • TEC Parishes • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings

Dear Fellow Trinity Parishioners,

On behalf of the Vestry and the Search Committee, I am pleased to announce today that Trinity Cathedral Parish has called The Reverend Timothy Jones to serve as our next Dean. This exciting news is the culmination of an extensive search under the guidance of the Search Committee, led by Vance Bettis and Bishop Waldo. Tim accepted the call to Trinity following unanimous decisions by the Search Committee and Vestry last week. He will assume his new position on July 16, 2012.

Since 2005, Tim has served as Senior Associate Rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee. St. George’s is comparable to Trinity in both membership and budget, with 3,200 members, 715 in Average Sunday Attendance, and an Operating Fund Budget of $3,400,000. Tim’s emphasis while serving at St. George’s has been on adult formation, newcomers, and mission and outreach....

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • * South Carolina

If you’re in the market for a property filled with colorful stained glass windows, decorative mahogany wood, plenty of reading materials and an entertainment center, Steven Metcalfe has got just the thing.

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, which closed for services in August 2009, is up for sale.

“We would love for somebody to come in and operate a church here. We’re open to whoever can see the possibilities,” the Rev. Metcalfe said Tuesday at the South Main Street site.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market

Since Lexington has an upcoming Diocesan election, I decided to look at some history and and lo and behold the statistics for that diocese were discussed in a post and spirited discussion on August 14, 2009 with the title "Kendall Harmon: Significant Subsurface Deterioration in the Episcopal Church". For starters, that whole blog post and all the comments are well worth the time to reread.

Since that blog post was nearly three years ago, the statistics in view were those from 2007--

If you look at baptized membership, Lexington shrank from 8949 in 1997 to 8002 in 2007. That is a decline of 10.6%. Now, however, consider the more meaningful number, Average Sunday Attendance. In this category, Lexington fell from 3905 to 2973 in the period from 1997-2007. That is a decline of 24%.

If you now go to the research and statistics website of the Episcopal Church, you can look at an update of these numbers for 2010. These figures show 2010 baptized membership of the diocese of Lexington at 7504 and Average Sunday Attendance at 2,693. If you now consider the 13 year trend, note that the decline in baptized membership from 1997 to 2010 is 16.15% and that of Average Sunday Attendance is just over 31%.

Also note that according to the U.S.Census Bureau's figures, Lexington, the see city of the diocese, has grown in population from 260,512 in 2000 to 295,803 in 2010. This represents a population growth of approximately 13.5% in this time frame (the growth for the whole state of Kentucky's population was 7.4% during this period).

Now, consider all this and ask yourself this question--given these trends and numbers, what is the one question you really must ask of each finalist to be next bishop in Lexington? Why something about their vision and strategy for growth and for reversing the precipitous decline, surely. And yet was such a question asked in the published profiles? No. This is what I mean by deep denial--KSH.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • TEC Data • TEC Diocesan Conventions/Diocesan Councils • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry

After 36 years, it was the end for Holy Family Episcopal Church in Rohnert Park, which fell victim to finances weakened beyond repair by a declining church membership.

"Heartbroken would be a good way to put it," Pastor Gail Cafferata said of the small and now-disbanding fellowship, which expects to scatter to churches in Santa Rosa, Kenwood and Petaluma.

"It's just been a really tough thing for everyone involved," said Leslie Manning, 49, who joined the church four years ago.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry

On May 8, 1837 – 175 years ago -- St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Penn Yan was officially incorporated under the laws of the State of New York.

The parish celebrated this historic event on the weekend May 5-6, beginning with a concert on Saturday evening featuring Mitzie Collins and Striking Strings Hammered Dulcimer Ensemble from Rochester, as well as St. Mark’s singers Chris Holder, Craig Sandberg, and Deb Henderson.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • Parish Ministry

Many years ago I was the warden—the senior lay­person—of a small suburban Episcopal church in northern Virginia. During that time, the bishop assigned to our parish an elderly priest, in some kind of distress and in need of a parish, to serve as an assistant pastor. I never knew the ­nature of his problem. We just welcomed him into the church, treated him as one of us, and ministered to him, just as we ministered to one another. He was with us for a year. On his last Sunday, he was assigned the ­sermon. As he finished, he looked out over the congregation and with a smile on his face quietly concluded, “Always show more kindness than seems necessary, ­because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.” That sentence hit me with a special force that has remained with me for four ­decades. His lesson was clear: Kindness is not just about being nice; it’s about recognizing another human being who deserves care and respect.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Laity

When George Washington was in Philadelphia for the Continental Congress, he attended services at a relatively new Episcopal church called St. Peter's in what's now known as Society Hill.

Now, more than 250 years after it was built, the same church still stands at Third and Pine streets. It serves more than 400 families and educates children at its elementary school across the street.

The stalwart church, however, is in danger after so many years.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • Parish Ministry

The Episcopal Church of the Advent in Kennett Square has a new pastor, and he knows he has big shoes to fill.

Michael Bullock was recently named pastor of the church and its 1,200 members. He succeeds Rev. David P. Thomas, who died in 2010. Thomas was very active in the community, helping to form Kennett Consolidated School District’s After-The-Bell program, and was a board member of the Kennett Area YMCA and Jennersville Hospital.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained