Imagine your company has more than 16,000 buildings in the UK alone, many built years before energy efficiency became a hot topic for corporates, and some that predate the industrial age altogether.

How would you even begin to start lowering their energy consumption given that each and every one of those buildings is an independent entity in control of its own operation and finances?

This is the precise challenge facing David Shreeve, environmental adviser to the Church of England, who has to steer the Church towards meeting its self-imposed goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 42 per cent by 2020, before then delivering an 80 per cent reduction by the middle of the century.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Energy, Natural Resources • * International News & Commentary • England / UK • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

Washington National Cathedral and George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate each won $100,000 grants Monday, among 24 sites around the nation’s capital competing for historic preservation funds.

The earthquake-damaged National Cathedral won the most votes from the public over the past three weeks, earning nearly 1.4 million points in the Partners in Preservation program. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express announced the winners, awarding $1 million in preservation funds to sites in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture

I have always believed in a threefold way of looking at the journey of life. I need to acknowledge the past, live in the present and anticipate the future.

In relation to the cathedral building I acknowledge the forebears. I go further and honour them, because for many years I have been a beneficiary of their efforts.

When it comes to living in the present, my life, like so many others, has been drastically changed by the seismic activity. Life cannot return to what it was. I live in a house which is to be demolished and hopefully rebuilt. This is just one of the constant reminders of the change that has and is occurring for so many.

The present situation, dominated as it is by change, is forcing me to think more and more about the future and try to anticipate what that might look like.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia • * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc. • * International News & Commentary • Australia / NZ

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.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • Urban/City Life and Issues • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Credit Markets • Currency Markets • Housing/Real Estate Market • Stock Market • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A. • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Pastoral Theology

The Anglican diocese will tomorrow release detailed information on how it arrived at cost estimates for three design options for the Christ Church Cathedral.

Gavin Holley, of the Church Property Trustees, told last night's Press-hosted public forum on the proposals for the city's Gothic landmark that he hoped to have the information up on its website by late tomorrow afternoon.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Urban/City Life and Issues • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc.

At first, Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., could see itself as exempt from the economic forces shaking seminaries and theological schools nationwide. Luther is the biggest seminary for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. Among its peers, it had a reputation for being innovative. Individual donors continued to give, and its local area -- in one of the country’s most Lutheran states -- was supportive.

Last fall, though, it all came crashing down. Enrollments were dropping. The seminary found it was running multimillion-dollar deficits, spending down its endowment and relying on loans. In December, its president, the Rev. Dr. Richard Bliese, resigned, as the seminary’s board began to look at options to trim at least $4 million from the seminary’s $27 million annual budget.

The results were announced...[not long ago]: layoffs for 18 of its 125 staff members, many effective within a few weeks; the voluntary departure of 8 of 44 faculty members at the end of the academic year, who will not be replaced; the termination of a master’s program in sacred music; and the decision to no longer admit Ph.D students for at least three years.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Education • Religion & Culture • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Lutheran • Methodist • Presbyterian • United Church of Christ • * Theology • Seminary / Theological Education

Episcopalians along the South Carolina coast are battling in court to determine which of two factions owns an estimated $500 million in church buildings, grounds and cemeteries, following an acrimonious split last year over social issues.

Read it all.

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

A longtime Nashville daycare operation is being evicted, leaving dozens of families in the lurch, after it found itself caught in the middle of a brutal legal battle over the role of sexuality in the Episcopal Church.

The fight over sexuality and the Bible seemed like a legal disagreement between the Diocese of Tennessee and St. Andrew's Parish, but the innocent victim in all this is the daycare that sits on church property in Green Hills.

Cooperative Child Care has had a successful model - no scandals, no issues and 30 years of quality service - but now it has been given six months to get out.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: Tennessee • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Children • Law & Legal Issues • Marriage & Family • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending

Watch it all and you can find out more at their website there..

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Children • Dieting/Food/Nutrition • Marriage & Family • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

A large and growing share of American workers are tapping their retirement savings accounts for non-retirement needs, raising broad questions about the effectiveness of one of the most important savings vehicles for old age.

More than one in four American workers with 401(k) and other retirement savings accounts use them to pay current expenses, new data show. The withdrawals, cash-outs and loans drain nearly a quarter of the $293 billion that workers and employers deposit into the accounts each year, undermining already shaky retirement security for millions of Americans.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending • Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market • Personal Finance • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007-- • The U.S. Government • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

It is a fact well known to certain Episcopalians—both those who have left the Episcopal Church (USA) and those who have remained—that ECUSA and its dioceses have followed a pattern of suing any church that chooses to leave for another Anglican jurisdiction. But the full extent of the litigation that has ensued is not well known at all, either in the wider Church, or among the provinces of the Anglican Communion.

Your Curmudgeon proposes to do what he can to rectify this situation, by publishing an annual update on this site of the current status of all past and present cases in which ECUSA or any of its dioceses has been or is involved, from 2000 to date. Feel free to link to this post, to email links to it to other Episcopalians, and to send it to your Bishop -- and feel free to post any updates or corrections in the comments.

The lawsuits initiated by ECUSA and its dioceses to date are first listed below, followed by a list of the six cases begun by a diocese or parish against the Episcopal Church. The listing endeavors to be as complete as I can make it. The first 78 cases, grouped by the State in which they each originated, are the legal actions filed since 2000 (of which I am aware) where the Episcopal Church (USA) and/or one of its dioceses played the role of plaintiff....

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

People put information on Facebook, news outlets did stories on our loss, and we sent emails to our friends.

The outpouring of support was immediate and generous. A contractor who got a tweet from his pastor at Seacoast Church had his own tools stolen several months ago, so he knew how it felt to lose such needed items. He purchased for us some brand new tools and also some used tools, spending over $700 of his own money.

Members of the Charleston Trident Home Builders Association and the Custom Residential Architects Network donated more than $4,000 in a matter of days. One of our board members offered to match donations by other members up to $2,500.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Charities/Non-Profit Organizations • Religion & Culture • * South Carolina • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

This week will be one of the busiest of the year for Church of England cathedrals as they prepare to welcome more than 100,000 people to their Christmas services. And this week 17 Church of England cathedrals have also learned that they will receive grants to help ensure they stay dry, safe and secure for the future. The grants add up to £952,000 and cover 21 key projects of repair, conservation and enhancement to the magnificent cathedrals under the Church of England's stewardship.

A sum of £645,000 will be awarded from the Cathedral Fabric Repair Fund, a partnership between the Wolfson Foundation, the Pilgrim Trust and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (CFCE), all organisations with long records of supporting England's historic church buildings and their contents. Over the past three years the Fund has awarded more than £1.8 million for essential and urgent works to keep cathedrals weatherproof and watertight, including major re-roofing and stonework repairs at cathedrals such as Lincoln, Norwich and Durham.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

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.

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

The recession continued to affect how much Americans gave to charity last year, and the triple whammy of Superstorm Sandy, a national election and the looming fiscal cliff may cut how much we donate in the crucial final month of 2012, experts say.

Charitable giving overall increased by $6 billion in 2011, an increase of almost 4 percent from 2010, according to the 2012 report by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Individuals gave $217 billion, compared with $209 billion in 2010.

“A little less than two years out from the end of the Great Recession, we’re starting to see charitable giving increase modestly each year,” said Geoffrey Brown, executive director of the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes the report.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Charities/Non-Profit Organizations • Religion & Culture • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc. • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A. • * Theology • Anthropology • Ethics / Moral Theology

The holiday season is officially upon us. There are gifts to buy, recipes to perfect, and cards to be addressed. And while we may all spend the next frenzied weeks trying really, really hard not to let what’s important get lost in the shuffle, sometimes things slip through the cracks.

We intend to give back. We intend to get involved. But there are many options to choose from — and before we know it, we’re celebrating the New Year.

I want to make it easy for you. I want to show you how a holiday gift through World Vision can transform lives

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Blogging & the Internet • Globalization • Religion & Culture • * Theology • Christology

Regina’s oldest church is making some changes.
St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral demolished its hall and is updating its style to match the 21st Century.
The hall was knocked down to make room for a new one that will better serve the congregation and the downtown community’s needs.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Canada • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • History • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • Canada

Justin Welby, a former oil executive, may have hoped to have left the problems of Mammon behind on his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, but he could be plunged into an immediate cash crisis.

The Church of England’s pension deficit could reach £500m by the end of this year, putting a huge financial burden on congregations, an independent pensions consultant has warned.

John Ralfe said congregations, who already pay £68m annually to support the Clergy Pensions Scheme’s 24,000 members, will have to find £108m a year if an existing plan to eliminate the deficit over 12 years is not extended.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Credit Markets • Currency Markets • Personal Finance • Pensions • Stock Market

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.

Read it all.

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

At 4.06pm, less than 30 minutes before Synod rose for the year, the first count of this year’s meeting was held on a proposed amendment during a debate on church planting (the establishment of new congregations across Melbourne and Geelong). This time, the amendment was carried.

Synod called on the Diocesan Council to review how the living requirements of clergy in the Melbourne Diocese were met, including the setting of stipends, recompense for travel costs, housing, superannuation, benefits, stipend continuance insurance and retrenchment.

A senior clergyman, the Revd Dr David Powys of St John's Cranbourne, said in his mover's speech that the fundamental way in which clergy remuneration and provisions were conceived had not changed very much in 30 years but "very many other things" about ordained ministry had changed very substantially. These included the dwindling proportion of clergy who were vicars, a reduction in ministry households where the stipend was the main source of income, the decline in clergy living in vicarages and church-owned accommodation, the increasing number of clergy in part-time appointments and the fact that women now made up a significant proportion of clergy ranks.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Australia • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market • * Theology • Ecclesiology • Pastoral Theology

Dependency is woven into human life. We are born needing the care of others, and we die that way. Illness, disability and circumstance often make us dependent on others. The Christian philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre has called human beings “dependent rational animals” to underscore the fact of dependency. Part of becoming “rational” dependent animals, MacIntyre argues, is recognizing that we have an obligation to care for and nurture others just as others have cared for and nurtured us.

--from a Christian Century Editorial, "Giving and Receiving," in the October 17, 2012 edition, page 7

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * Theology • Anthropology • Ethics / Moral Theology

The Adelaide diocese of the Anglican Church must change radically as it faces the tough choice of closing at least a third of its parishes within the next five years.

This was the blunt message from Archbishop Jeffrey Driver to the church last night as he opened its senior decision-making forum, the diocesan synod.

Resources had been drained and the church had endured nine years of turmoil from dealing with the hurt caused by abuse perpetuated by its own ranks.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Australia • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • The Banking System/Sector • * International News & Commentary • Australia / NZ

Read it all.

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

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Canada • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • Canada • * Theology

At its May-June meeting, the college council of the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad in Saskatoon made the decision to suspend college operations effective June 30, 2013. Working with other college stakeholders, the council will develop a plan for restructuring Emmanuel & St. Chad, which since 1967 has been the official accredited theological college for the ecclesiastical province of Rupert's Land.

According to Terry Wiebe, college principal, the college sold its historic buildings to the University of Saskatchewan in 2006. It has since been renting space in the Lutheran seminary and using its chapel.

“This decision, which was not easy, was made only after carefully considering the current financial condition of the college, the ongoing decline in student enrolment, and the current and projected costs of operating the college,” said the Rt. Rev. James Njegovan, bishop of Brandon and college council president, in a statement.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Canada • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • Canada • * Theology • Seminary / Theological Education

While addressing over 50 religious leaders at the Democracy and Peace Week dialogue, Rwaje said some members of the public shun going to church due to disappointment of messages relayed.

"Religious leadership is a calling from God and it is about teaching the word of God, but not looking for money from the faithful. There are biblical principles urging churchgoers to give offerings and tithes, but it should not be used as a platform to squeeze money out of believers," Rwaje advised.

He added: "Religious leaders are allowed to have their personal business ventures besides performing their church duties; therefore, they should act faithfully and please God by keeping the two positions independent of each other. They must separate God's work from their personal work".

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of Rwanda • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market • * International News & Commentary • Africa • Rwanda • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

At Brooklyn's Old First Reformed Church, one of New York City's oldest churches, the sky is falling.

Last year, on the eve of a Jewish high-holiday service—the church has in the past provided a temporary home to nearby Congregation Beth Elohim—a chunk of plaster broke off from the church's ornate ceiling and tumbled to the pews.

A parishioner called the Rev. Daniel Meeter, who was having dinner in the neighborhood, and he rushed to the scene. Services were canceled, and after more plaster shook loose the following day from the area around the church's massive, 60-foot-high chandelier, the church closed.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • History • Religion & Culture • Urban/City Life and Issues • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Pastoral Theology

Anglican leaders from throughout Otago and Southland are in Dunedin,,,discussing a draft plan which will result in major changes for congregations.

The plan proposes reducing the number of parishes in the two regions from 32 to 15, congregations and parishes sharing paid vicars, more pooling of resources, more co-operation with other denominations, and cutting the number of paid vicars from 20 full-time equivalents to about 17, Anglican Diocese of Dunedin Bishop the Rt Rev Dr Kelvin Wright said yesterday.

Some church buildings would also close, although how many and where would not be known until the diocese completed earthquake strengthening inspections, he said.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

A $69.40 offering by a group of homeless Christians in Vermont reminds a local Baptist leader of the widow's two mites that Jesus commended in the Gospels.

Terry Dorsett, director of the Green Mountain Baptist Association, has a new perception of the homeless because of the gift to the association's mission offering for starting new churches and meeting church financial emergencies. Dorsett has asked the financially able among the association's 35 churches to match the donation.

"I think we tend to think of homeless people just as being a bunch of addicts and people with problems," Dorsett said. "And then while that does describe many homeless people, there's a whole subculture of homeless Christians who obviously don't have those problems and they're just trying to live for the Lord in a different lifestyle setting than most of us might choose.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Missions • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Poverty • Religion & Culture • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Baptists • * Theology • Anthropology • Pastoral Theology

They’d been there, in a quiet spot along the back wall of Victoria’s St. Matthias Anglican Church, for decades — possibly since the parish opened the doors of its new home in the B.C. capital nearly 50 years ago.

But two elegantly designed wooden armchairs, their origin unknown to clergy or even the eldest members of the congregation, may prove to be the salvation of the financially-challenged church — nothing less than a “godsend,” according to St. Matthias’s rector, Rev. Robert Arril.

An antique-furniture buff’s fortuitous visit to the church two years ago for a Bible study session has led to the identification of the chairs as rare and valuable Qing dynasty treasures, expertly crafted in 17th-century China before making their way somehow — thanks to a long-forgotten donor evidently unaware of their significance — to the Vancouver Island parish.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Canada • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • History

A church in Worcestershire has been told by the Charity Commissioners that it would be "reasonable" for it to decide not to register chancel-repair liability (CRL) against 30 households in its parish....

The PCC of St Eadburgha's, Broadway, began the process of registering liability during an interregnum, after advice from the legal advisory commission of the General Synod, which encouraged PCCs to "register their interest at HM Land Registry". Parishioners were unhappy about the process.

When the Revd Michelle Massey was appointed Priest-in-Charge, she looked for a way forward. Working with the diocese and the MP for Mid Worcestershire, Peter Luff, she contacted the Charity Commission for "Formal Advice" under Section 110 of the Charities Act 2011, arguing that enforcing their CRL "asset" would impair the mission of the church in their community....

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues

Ever wonder how charitable the people are who live in your state or community? It turns out that lower-income people tend to donate a much bigger share of their discretionary incomes than wealthier people do. And rich people are more generous when they live among those who aren't so rich.

That's according to a new study by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which breaks charitable giving down by ZIP code. It found that generosity varies greatly from one region of the country to another.

Read or listen to it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Charities/Non-Profit Organizations • Psychology • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Personal Finance • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

....rather than scour tarnished Weimar, we should read much deeper into Germany’s incomparably rich history, and in particular the indelible mark left by Martin Luther and the “mighty fortress” he built with his strain of Protestantism. Even today Germany, though religiously diverse and politically secular, defines itself and its mission through the writings and actions of the 16th century reformer, who left a succinct definition of Lutheran society in his treatise “The Freedom of a Christian,” which he summarized in two sentences: “A Christian is a perfectly free Lord of all, subject to none, and a Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all.”

Consider Luther’s view on charity and the poor. He made the care of the poor an organized, civic obligation by proposing that a common chest be put in every German town; rather than skimp along with the traditional practice of almsgiving to the needy and deserving native poor, Luther proposed that they receive grants, or loans, from the chest. Each recipient would pledge to repay the borrowed amount after a timely recovery and return to self-sufficiency, thereby taking responsibility for both his neighbors and himself. This was love of one’s neighbor through shared civic responsibility, what the Lutherans still call “faith begetting charity.”

How little has changed in 500 years. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, a born-and-baptized daughter of an East German Lutheran pastor, clearly believes the age-old moral virtues and remedies are the best medicine for the euro crisis.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Globalization • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending • Corporations/Corporate Life • Credit Markets • Currency Markets • Euro • European Central Bank • The Banking System/Sector • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007-- • Foreign Relations • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • Europe • --European Sovereign Debt Crisis of 2010 • Germany • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Lutheran • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

For anyone who spends time pondering the cost of keeping the lights on and the staff paid at their houses of worship, the Mormon tithing slip has a sort of utilitarian beauty.

Worshipers pick one up at their local chapel, fill it out and hand over their money to a lay leader (having annotated the amounts paid by check, currency or coins, per the instructions on the slip). No annual bill, no passing of the plate. Keep the canary-colored carbon copy for your records.

The fact that the slip looks a bit like something your dry cleaner might give you when you drop off your clothes is part of its appeal. After all, worship is a regular part of many people’s lives. We need to pay for it somehow.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • Science & Technology • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Personal Finance

he Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board have today announced the sale of their shares in News Corporation on the advice of the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG). The total shareholding sold was worth £1.9 million. As a result, none of the three national investing bodies of the Church of England hold shares in the company.

The Church of England first raised concerns with the Board of News Corporation in the aftermath of the phone hacking allegations that surfaced in July 2011. After a year of dialogue between the company and the EIAG, the Church of England was not satisfied that News Corporation had shown, or is likely in the immediate future to show, a commitment to implement necessary corporate governance reform.

Read it all.

Update: One blogger was surprised:

Talking of which, I realised today that I am too much of an idealist. I’m afraid I found myself genuinely shocked by reports that the Church of England is selling its £1.9m stake in News Corp, as a protest against its lack of contrition over phone-hacking. The Church? Shares? In News Corp? A helpful man on Twitter called Paul Harrison furnished me with the info that the Church of England costs £1bn per annum to run, of which three quarters is covered by fundraising and donations, with the shortfall plugged by the stock market. This still shocks me a bit. I must have really thought that churches were funded via the collection plate. What a quaint, unspoiled, John Major-like picture of England I must cling to!

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • Stock Market • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

Run by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, which is affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Orthodox Jewry, “Money Matters” is offered at more than 350 locations in 22 countries this year, and is proving to be one of the most popular courses JLI has ever offered, said Rabbi Efraim Mintz, JLI’s executive director.

“When students first come to the course, they may respect the Torah (the Hebrew Bible) and the Talmud (a 2,000 year-old compendium of Jewish oral law and biblical commentary), but few see it as something relevant to the here and now,” Mintz said.

“But soon, they are mesmerized and surprised by its applicability to the business issues of the day.”

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending • Corporations/Corporate Life • Housing/Real Estate Market • Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market • Personal Finance • Stock Market • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Faiths • Judaism • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

[This one story illustrates the]...crisis facing the custodians of the 12,000 listed Anglican parish churches around the country, two thirds of which are in rural areas with tiny and dwindling congregations struggling to pay maintenance bills. The desperation caused by this funding shortfall has been brought into sharp relief this week by the news that thousands of homeowners living near ancient churches potentially face large bills for the upkeep of their fabric, even if they never set foot inside them.

The Anglican authorities are currently writing to parochial church councils to encourage them to register what are called “chancel repair liabilities”. These date back more than 500 years to the Reformation period and the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Those who took over what had been monks’ land took on the responsibility for repairing the chancel (the area around the altar) in the local church. These remain on the statute book, even though they have fallen into abeyance.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • History • Law & Legal Issues • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

The pause in the demolition of Christ Church Cathedral is a positive sign that the building's fate is not sealed. Its destruction, which had seemed the inevitable outcome of the Anglican Church's stand, is now less certain as the Government and the diocese consider the Greater Christchurch Building Trust's report that sets out a plan for the cathedral's conservation. The result is the sense that, for the first time, the contending parties are in dialogue.

The previous lack of serious dialogue had raised the temperature of the debate, causing unnecessary division in a city in need of unity. Positions had become entrenched, personal accusations were too common and the tone was embittered. The pause to consider eases that tension, at least temporarily. Even if the Anglican hierarchy remains committed to demolition, the advocates of retention will at least have the consolation of knowing that they were listened to.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc.

Read it all and follow the link to the budget.

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

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

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

Friction over shares of a shrinking financial pie has animated the opening days of the 77th General Convention meeting 5-12 July 2012 in Indianapolis. The House of Deputies has called for the sale of the church’s national headquarters at 815 Second Avenue in New York, while deputies have protested proposed cuts in funding for favored projects.

While the Church’s Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) has yet to submit a final budget to convention for approval, competing interest groups have sought to preserve their share of the church pie.

Friction over shares of a shrinking financial pie has animated the opening days of the 77th General Convention meeting 5-12 July 2012 in Indianapolis. The Standing Committee on Structure has called for the sale of the church’s national headquarters at 815 Second Avenue in New York, while deputies have protested proposed cuts in funding for favored projects.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market

Today, we gathered in our opening Eucharist to liturgically open the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Indianapolis. In the room were thousands of Episcopalians, perhaps the largest such gathering since the last Convention three years ago. In this Eucharist we celebrated the lives and ministry of Walter Rauschenbusch, who came to believe that Jesus died “to substitute love for selfishness as the basis of human society” and boldly pointed out our “social sins” which Jesus bore on the cross, which included greed and political power;, and Washington Gladden, who was dedicated to the realization of the Kingdom of God in this world; and Jacob Riis, who did much to awaken the nation to the plight of the urban poor. With those great prophets on our minds and hearts, we celebrated Eucharist. However, this Eucharist was less to me, because in this liturgical expression we once again incarnated the reality of one of, if not our most pressing, spiritual issue for us as Western Christians, and Episcopalians: we failed to take any monetary offering.

I knew there would be many excuses for this, perhaps logistics, there were just so many present that it could not be done, or one I hear often, we are being “nickeled and dimed to death.” In fact, when asked, a few of the worship team stated that they had to “cut time” and this would have added four minutes. Four minutes.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • --Gen. Con. 2012 • TEC Bishops • * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

So is this a more “Anglican” budget, intended to endear ECUSA to the rest of the Anglican Communion?

Yes and no. For one thing, although the Executive Council had proposed a reduction in the Church’s support for the Anglican Communion Office from the past triennium’s $1,160,000 to $850,000, the PB now proposes to give the ACO just $500,000. At the same time, she proposes to use the savings in what would have been given to the ACO to enlarge the budget of the Church’s own Anglican Communion office by some $500,000 over what the EC had proposed for it (see lines 192-97). This will be touted as “a greater commitment” to the Anglican Communion, but it is all in moneys to be spent by the PB in adding new staff and in entertaining visiting primates and other Communion dignitaries.

Then again, the PB proposes to raise $1.5 million in new funds for the relief of Haiti, by getting “faithful Episcopalians” to donate to match, on a 2 for 1 basis, the $774,000 already budgeted for such relief (lines 18 and 83). This will certainly please the clergy and laity who have been working there to help Haiti recover from its catastrophic earthquake—but should something be budgeted which apparently has not even yet been committed, or pledged?

Other money “found” since the EC met has resulted from a refinancing of the Church’s outstanding debt at a lower interest rate (line 329), but achieved by pledging the Church’s donated stocks and bonds as security. This allows the PB to project a payment on principal of $1.5 million per year for the next three years. Indeed, this successful achievement by her Treasurer and his staff may well have contributed to the impetus for a new draft budget.

However, the PB was not content to book just concrete savings. As noted earlier, she decided to put in phantom pledges in order to redress the budget as “mission-oriented,” and thus in the process to offer bread and circuses to her constituency.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Analysis • Episcopal Church (TEC) • Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

The Church of England has today published its latest information both about parish income and expenditure and about trends in ministry numbers in Church Statistics 2010/11.

The attendance statistics included were published in January 2012. This year's financial statistics show that parish giving remained resilient in 2010 despite the general economic situation. With investment income still at the reduced level experienced in recent years overall parish income was marginally ahead of the previous year.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Personal Finance • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

Just more than 41 percent of the Episcopal Church’s dioceses and regional areas have committed to contributing the full amount asked of them to fund the wider church’s 2012 budget.

According to a report posted June 21 here on the website of the church’s Finance Office, 46 of 111 entities reporting will pay 19 percent or more in 2012. Six of those dioceses have pledged to pay more than what is known as “the asking,” and which for this year is 19 percent of diocesan income.

Read it all and make sure to follow the link to the documentation on individual dioceses.

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

The results are quite different from recent years. Average Sunday attendance (ASA) will show an actual increase in 2011 of less than 1,000 persons. However, since Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday in 2011, this essentially adds an extra Sunday to the count. The same thing happened in 2005, when the decline abated, but did not result in an increase. Adjusting for the “Christmas Eve Effect” results in an adjusted loss of slightly less than 12,000 persons or -1.8%. This is less than half the net and percentage loss experienced in 2010 and the smallest percentage loss in average Sunday attendance since 2002 (adjusting for the Christmas Eve effect in 2005).

In terms of active baptized members, the results are similar to ASA, but there is no Christmas Eve Effect to worry about. In 2011 we expect membership to decline by around 27,000 members, or -1.4%. Again, this decline is the lowest in percentage terms since 2002 and about half the loss the Episcopal Church experienced in 2010 when domestic dioceses declined by 54,436 members (-2.7%).

The financial picture is less positive than hoped, but also shows improvement over 2010.

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

Post-recession America is beginning to open its wallet to charities again, but is not giving as generously to religious institutions.

While charitable donations from individuals rose nearly four percent overall in 2011, according to the annual "Giving USA" report, donations to houses of worship and other religious bodies dropped by 1.7 percent -- a decrease for the second year in a row, Religion News Service reports.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Personal Finance • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

Read it all (29 page pdf).

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy

When asked by Episcopal News Service, the Rev. Canon Gregory Straub, General Convention secretary and the church’s executive officer, said that to his knowledge this was the first time a presiding bishop had proposed a budget after Executive Council had sent its draft budget to the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance.

“I didn’t know that Bishop Katharine was preparing her own budget,” House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson said via email June 21.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy

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."

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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

The Anglican Diocese of Dunedin is "two years out from a crisis" and must restructure to become sustainable, its Bishop, the Rt Rev Dr Kelvin Wright, says. He informed ministry units and clergy about the situation by letter late last month, before posting it on his blog on Friday.

"For many years, the diocese has been in decline on any parameter that could be named ... attendances, numbers of families served and the real level of giving have all been steadily dropping over the years to the point where several of our parishes are on the very edge of ceasing to exist altogether," he said in the letter.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

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

[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

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....

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

There is a revolution taking place in the way traditional congregations hire, manage and compensate their staff. Some of it is healthy and overdue, some of it is painful and short-sighted.

As traditional congregations entered the 21st century, they walked into a perfect storm of factors negatively impacting staffing. Attractional, programmatic congregational life was waning in many settings. Missional leadership required a set of skills and a mentality that was foreign to those who had been trained and taught in another era. The Great Recession put unprecedented strain on church operating budgets. Scapegoating among congregational leaders seeking to explain a suddenly clear pattern of plateau and decline became the norm.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Laity • Ministry of the Ordained • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--

I have two main missiological concerns with the proposed 2013-15 triennial budget of the Episcopal Church approved (though there is some dispute about this) by Executive Council at its January meeting and now in the hands of the Program, Budget, and Finance Committee, a joint body of General Convention.

One is the understanding of missiology, or lack thereof, that has guided some of these budgetary decisions. It should be clear to most people that we are living in a time of profound transition in our society and in our churches. There are fundamental shifts in American society and American Christianity affecting all religious organizations. As a result of these and other realities, difficult choices must be made. What kind of structures should we have, what should we be doing, and how should it all be funded? What are the theological and missiological reasons for the choices made?

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

Parents are angry and Roseville City School District officials have plans to sue after St. John's School trustees announced the small private school is broke and will close at the end of the month.

The 32-year-old Episcopal school is more than a half million dollars in debt, including owing more than $170,000 to the Roseville school district for leasing the Barbara Chilton Middle School campus.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Children • Education • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007-- • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

General Conference 2012 approved a budget of $603.1 million for seven general church funds during the 2013-2016 period; that total is 6.03 percent less than the amount apportioned for the previous four-year period –– the first time the assembly has accepted a lower budget than the amount set for the preceding period.

That sounds like a whopping amount, but local churches should not count on huge savings, since only 2 cents out of every dollar in the collection plates goes to support general church ministries. Also, costs of annual conference operations, clergy pension benefits and inflationary costs are likely to increase local church costs.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Methodist

(Via email--KSH):

Christ Church Anglican (CCA) in Savannah, GA has agreed to settle a 4 ½ year legal battle with The Episcopal Church (TEC), and The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. At the heart of the dispute was a lawsuit against CCA, the Senior Pastor and fourteen members of the 2007 Vestry (Board) including money damage claims by the Diocese against these individuals in excess of $1million. “While we never agreed that our people had any personal liability, we are pleased to see these claims dropped as this threat of personal financial loss has hung over our people for more than four years. These parishioners served as volunteer directors on a non-profit 501-C3 board and made decisions to try to stand for their beliefs and fulfill their duty to protect the non-profit corporation they served,” said John Albert, CCA Senior Warden.

In 2007, Christ Church Anglican, established in 1733 and predating the formation of TEC by 56 years and the TEC Diocese of Georgia by 90 years, conducted a congregational vote by which 87% of the congregation supported the Vestry’s decision to disaffiliate from TEC over core theological differences. Subsequently, TEC sued Christ Church Anglican, its pastor, and the 14 individual members of the 2007 board. After the Georgia Supreme Court ruling on November 21, 2011, CCA turned over possession of its three buildings (including the church building on Johnson Square) and the parking lot, all worth in excess of $6 million.

As set forth in the settlement agreement, the Church will adopt the title “Christ Church Anglican.” “We see the addition of ‘Anglican’ to our name as a way of identifying our roots going back to our beginnings in Savannah as a Mission of the Church of England in 1733. God has given us the privilege of living out a truth we have always believed, that the Church is not the building but the people of God. God has blessed us in this struggle, as we have maintained the vast majority of our congregation while adding new members who are excited to be part of a church that seeks to live out its beliefs. Orthodox Anglicanism is alive and well in Savannah and we look forward to a bright future,” commented The Rev. Dr. Marc Robertson, Christ Church Anglican’s senior pastor.

Also included in the agreement, is a requirement that all litigation be dropped including CCA’s appeal to the US Supreme Court which asked the Court to decide whether the “neutral principles”doctrine embodied in the First Amendment permits imposition of a trust on church property when the creation of that trust contradicts the state’s property and trust laws. “It was a hard decision to give up our appeal as we are aware of the pain many other Anglican Churches which are being sued by TEC are experiencing, but we are encouraged by the fact that two other strong cases, (Timberridge Presbyterian Church, McDonough, GA and Bishop Seabury, an Anglican parish in Groton, Conn.) are going forward and feel we have supported their effort with our appeal. However, at this time we feel our primary call is to build a stronger Anglican presence in Savannah,” stated Albert.

Judge Michael Karp’s 2008 decision declared that all church property “was held in trust for the Diocese and the national church”, so other aspects of the settlement provide that CCA will relinquish any claim to the Endowment Funds worth some $2.3 million and return $33,000 of operating funds pursuant to an accounting of funds at the time of disaffiliation. The Diocese however agreed to assume a $33,000 debt obligation from CCA. “We have left all our material possessions on Johnson Square, but that which we have taken with us is far more valuable: our people, the historic faith and the Holy Spirit. We have no regrets,” said CCA senior pastor, Marc Robertson.

On December 11, 2011, two weeks before they were required to vacate, Christ Church held its final service in its historic building on Johnson Square. Following that service, the entire congregation of more than 400 people processed down Bull Street to Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC), where they were welcomed by 500 IPC members and Pastor Terry Johnson who stated “our faith is your faith and our buildings are your buildings.” Christ Church now holds Sunday services at 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and 9 p.m. at IPC and Wednesday and Friday noon services at St. Andrew’s Reformed Episcopal Church.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: Georgia • TEC Departing Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues

In 2009, the Episcopal Church memorialized the Genesis Covenant, which is a national, ecumenical effort by religious communities to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from every facility they maintain by at least 50% within 10 years.
Most congregations find they save money when they implement the Genesis Covenant because they reduce their energy use. But the benefits go far beyond that. Community is built as people work together toward a common goal....

Read it all and follow the links.

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

In a big war, Army Spec. Cherry Maurice believed that one small gesture could make a difference.

Temperatures at her mountain base plunged to 20 degrees below zero in January, and snow covered the ground. Maurice noticed that the eight Afghan workers on the outpost were coming to work in rubber flip-flops. The 35-year-old soldier labored with the men in the outpost’s kitchen, which is not much bigger than a walk-in closet. She dug into her personal savings and spent $135 to buy them eight pairs of boots.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Defense, National Security, Military • Foreign Relations • Politics in General • War in Afghanistan • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A. • Asia • Afghanistan

Q: My cousin took us to her church when we visited her a few weeks ago, and the preacher said something about people today being just as idolatrous as people in ancient times. What do you suppose he meant by that, since we don't worship idols like they did? -- Mrs. J.Y.

A: No, we may not bow down to idols made of stone or metal as people did in ancient times (and some people in the world still do). But does that mean we don't have our own "idols" today -- that is, things we serve just as zealously as they did? I'm afraid we do....

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Evangelicals • * Theology • Pastoral Theology

The reply brief attaches the latest annual report of the Episcopal remnant congregation as an exhibit, and it is very telling. While some 3,250 Anglicans attended Easter services at The Falls Church two weeks ago, the Episcopal parish's report shows that it has a total membership of exactly 178 as of the end of 2010, and that its total annual budget has income of $233,641, but expenses of $249,306 (i.e., it is out-of-balance by some $16,000). That is less than what has to be paid each year just to keep up the property -- let alone pay for salaries, insurance, retirement benefits and all the other expenses of operating a full-time parish.

But that reality does not stop the Episcopal Diocese from asking Judge Bellows to let it have every conceivable benefit from its victory, pending the appeal. Instead of settling simply the amount of the appeal bond, stipulating to a stay and allowing the appeal to go forward (or not, as the Virginia Supreme Court decides), Bishop Johnston and his Diocese are continuing to pay their attorneys to oppose the Anglicans in court every step of the way, by every argument imaginable, whether meritorious or not.

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

Prosecutors have uncovered more financial fraud in church networks than they ever imagined. "It took the financial downturn. Money was drying up—the new investors were not coming in, so Ponzi schemes collapsed," IRS Special Agent in Charge for Criminal Investigations Ken Hines told Christianity Today.

Hines, based in Seattle, has helped expose Ponzis for more than 20 years. He has seen first-hand how the church environment has proven to be an ideal context for affinity fraud. "When you go to church, you don't expect to get lied to or deceived or manipulated into losing your life's savings...."

The sickening net effect of fraud puts a dark cloud over pastors and other leaders in local churches....If a faithful church member cannot trust his or her own pastor, whom can they trust?

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Credit Markets • Currency Markets • Personal Finance • Stock Market • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Pastoral Theology

Almost nine out of 10 charity bosses fear big donations from wealthy backers will be hit by Chancellor George Osborne's cap on tax relief for charitable donations, according to a survey.

The findings of the survey of 120 charity chief executives and senior executives conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) will intensify the pressure on the Government to rethink its plans unveiled in last month's Budget.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Charities/Non-Profit Organizations • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Personal Finance • Taxes • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

The decision to deconstruct Christ Church Cathedral is supported by Canterbury church leaders.

An open letter of support from 70 churches and Christian organisations was presented to the Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, Victoria Matthews, at St Peter's Church in Upper Riccarton yesterday. The letter affirmed that the Anglican Church had the right to decide the fate of its cathedral.

"God's real Church is the people, and people matter more to God than any building," the letter reads. "We pray for the bishop and other leaders as they face the challenges this brings."

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia • * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc.

Debt can limit a person's generosity -- and a church's.

Travis Smalley arrived at the Cincinnati-area Lakota Hills Baptist Church six years ago with a vision to plant churches locally, nationally and internationally. But just in Ohio, with just one Southern Baptist church for every 17,868 people, Smalley knew Lakota Hills couldn't reach everyone.

Yet Smalley's passion to start churches ran up against a major roadblock -- lack of funds.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • Personal Finance • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Baptists

Even as membership remains relatively stable in U.S. churches, the effects of the recession have caused contributions to drop by $1.2 billion.

According to the 2012 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, the almost $29 billion contributed by church members represented a 2.2 percent decrease in terms of per capita giving.

The $1.2 billion decline in 2010 was nearly three times as large as the $431 million in losses reported in 2009, and "provides clear evidence of the impact of the deepening crises in the reporting period," the Yearbook's editor, the Rev. Eileen Lindner, wrote.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Personal Finance • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--

A $7 million renovation project, which should be completed by the summer of 2013, involves restoring its signature organ and delicate stained glass windows and bringing the cathedral’s electrical and structural components up to code — a major undertaking for a building completed in 1925.

The renovation, like many home-repair projects, uncovered something a bit unusual: The marble floor around the altar was held up by concrete, plaster of Paris and straw.

“We were pretty much astounded,’’ said The Very Rev. Douglas Wm McCaleb, who is overseeing the project.

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

[Cardinal Timothy Dolan]...was asked to contrast the restoration of the great cathedral in mid-Manhattan with the archdiocesan policy of closing neighborhood churches — no matter how beloved or beautiful — whose membership has fallen significantly. These have included St. Thomas the Apostle in West Harlem, Our Lady Queen of Angels in East Harlem, and Our Lady of Vilnius in Lower Manhattan.

If we have a church that demographically is now — the people are gone — we have to make a decision. Are we going to utilize our money serving souls and serving people, and expanding the church in areas where the growth is? Or are we going to maintain buildings for — however laudably it might be — artistic and cultural and historic purposes? Sometimes we do. But most of the times we say: ‘Sorry, we’re not in the business of solely museums. We’re a living, dynamic, growing, expanding church and we have to keep up with it.’ So the case can be made that St. Patrick’s is, indeed, living, dynamic and growing. It’s jammed. Every day it’s jammed.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Urban/City Life and Issues • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic

It's where the nation's capital gathers to mourn, to pray and to seek comfort during tragedies. Now the Washington National Cathedral needs help weathering its own financial emergency.

The church has long been a spiritual center for the nation, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors and worshippers each year. It's the burial site of President Woodrow Wilson and for Helen Keller. It's hosted funeral services for Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and other presidents. And during ordeals such as the Sept. 11 attacks, it's been a place for interfaith reflection.

But the Episcopal cathedral is facing one of the worst financial binds of its 105-year-old history. An earthquake in August severely damaged its intricate stone work and architecture, with repair costs estimated at $20 million. Aside from that damage, the structure faces $30 million in preexisting preservation needs.

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

After reading the entire story — roughly 1,000 words — I have two main reactions. The first is a general journalistic reaction. The second relates more specifically to the actual religion content (that’s our purpose at GetReligion, after all).

— Reaction No. 1: The piece lacks perspective....

— Reaction No. 2: The piece lacks theological content.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Media • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending • Corporations/Corporate Life • Personal Finance

In the year since the largest quake in Japan's recorded history, Christians have witnessed more than the walls of buildings come down. During Christianity Today's recent travels through the quake zone, pastors and other Christian leaders said that the cultural and spiritual barriers that have for generations divided Christians from each other and from greater Japanese society have weakened in the aftermath.

"We've been called to remember in these months that the church really is the body of Christ," said Joseph Handley, president of Asian Access, an interdenominational evangelical organization that works throughout Asia to develop Christian leaders.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * General Interest • Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc. • * International News & Commentary • Asia • Japan

A New Jersey church - already a bit different in that its three congregations gather weekly at two hotels and a middle school - put a new spin on the collection plate Sunday by having congregants take cash-filled envelopes from the plate in hopes that the money will be put to charitable use.

"People are cynical about religion and expect to come to church and be shaken down, but really, it's all God's money," Liquid Church pastor Tim Lucas said prior to Sunday services. "Every bill in the U.S. economy says 'In God we trust,' and we're going to put that to the test."

Read it all. Please note that I know churches here both in the Diocese and in the area who have done this; and they have been blessed--KSH.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending • Personal Finance • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Pastoral Theology • Theology: Scripture

A Virginia judge has ordered seven congregations that broke from the Episcopal Church to return all property to the local diocese -- from valuable land to sacred chalices -- by April 30.

The Diocese of Virginia had wanted the properties returned by March 30, a week before Easter. But Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows agreed to give the breakaway congregations more time.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) • CANA • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: Virginia • TEC Departing Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues

The National Council of Churches Executive Committee has created a 15-member task force to “re-envision and restructure” the 62-year-old ecumenical body.

The appointment of the task force came at a three day gathering Feb. 22-24 of more than 30 denominational leaders who have been laying the groundwork for change over the past several months....

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Religion News & Commentary • Ecumenical Relations

Part one is here and part two is there. You are encouraged to take the time to listen to (suffer through?) it all.

Please note--these are both audio files. The time begins with a short Q and A to introduce me to those present before the questions shift to the subject at hand. Note, too that Bishop Kee Sloan of Alabama was invited by the Dean, Frank Limehouse, to come, which he (graciously) chose to do. During the time, Dean Limehouse invited Bishop Sloan to speak, and he chose to do so. This covers a wide range of recent events/developments and will be of broad interest to many blog readers--KSH.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Analysis • - Anglican: Commentary • Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • TEC Data • * By Kendall • Sermons & Teachings • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Adult Education • Ministry of the Laity • Ministry of the Ordained • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Theology • Christology • Ecclesiology • Ethics / Moral Theology

This spring, The Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida will share $175,000 with its member congregations, a result of nearly 100 percent parish giving to the Diocese in 2011.

“We have attained a new culminating point in this ongoing labor towards maintaining a healthy, well-functioning diocese,” said Rt. Rev. Dabney T. Smith in a Feb. 2, 2012 letter to vestries. “In 2011 alone, our congregations prioritized their participation by contributing apportionment on a monthly basis, with all but 2 percent paid by year’s end.”

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

For the fourth year in a row, President Obama is proposing lower tax deductions for the wealthy on donations to churches and other nonprofit organizations. And for the fourth year in a row, nonprofit groups say the change would lead to a dramatic drop in charitable giving.

The reduction, included in Obama's 2013 budget proposal, rankled the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

"We were hoping this would not come up again this year. We asked that they not renew it, but unfortunately the request was not taken," said Nathan Diament, the group's Washington director. "It's a real concern."

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Charities/Non-Profit Organizations • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Taxes • The U.S. Government • Budget • Politics in General • Office of the President • President Barack Obama

The Church of England in Lancashire has launched a county wide debate to make it 'fit for purpose' in a decade of decreasing clergy.

Paid parish priests are set to fall to 106 by 2019, compared with 250 in 2000 and 156 currently. Numbers of unpaid clergy are rising, from 44 to 59 between 2006 and 2011, but such continuing growth cannot be guaranteed.

'We cannot have fewer clergy and continue as we are,' said the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev John Goddard, who chaired the year-long, 15 member task force that drafted a report on the Church's future.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

....compared to other religious Americans, the Romneys and other Mormons are fairly atypical when it comes to passing the plate. Across the rest of the religious landscape, tithing is often preached but rarely realized.

Research into church donations shows a wide range of giving, with Mormons among the most generous relative to income, followed by conservative Christians, mainline Protestants and Catholics last.

Over the past 34 years, Americans' generosity to all churches has been in steady decline, in good times and in bad, said Sylvia Ronsvalle, whose Illinois-based Empty Tomb Inc. tracks donations to Protestant churches.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Personal Finance • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Other Faiths • Mormons

Read it all noting especially the eleven page pdf at the bottom which quotes the Motion documents in full.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • CANA • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: Virginia • TEC Departing Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Pastoral Theology

One tension PB&F members discussed centered on responding to the financial challenges faced by dioceses while deciding how much money needs to be spent in support of the denomination-wide mission, ministry and infrastructure of the Episcopal Church.

Del Glover, chair of council’s financial committee, told the PB&F group that council had also struggled with what he characterized as the tension between “what’s a reasonable expectation to ask of dioceses and what’s a reasonable expectation for the use of the funds by the [church], and those are two separate issues.”

Another tension concerned paying for the costs of the church’s mission and current structure knowing that there have been many proposals to change that structure and, possibly, redefine the direction and focus of the mission and ministry.

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

The budget, which will not be final until General Convention acts in July, proposes to set aside money for a “churchwide consultation” on the Episcopal Church’s future shape and work. It also includes money for pilot projects that Chief Operating Officer Stacy Sauls said could show how the church’s purchasing and organizational power could help congregations and dioceses free up more of their resources for mission work.

Sauls characterized such a cooperative arrangement as one way to bring about “long-term significant change” in how the churchwide staff relates to the rest of the church. Council accepted his proposal and his suggestion that the 2013-2015 budget “should open the door to doing long-term reform of how we do business as a church.”

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • Executive Council • House of Deputies President • Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

Mitt Romney's newly released tax returns provide more than an accounting of the Republican presidential candidate's remarkable personal wealth. The documents also give a rare glimpse into tithing to the Mormon church by one its most prominent members.

Romney reports he will give a total of $4.13 million to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over two years as part of his overall charitable donations. The former Massachusetts governor reported income of about $43 million for the two years. Separately, over the past decade, Romney and his wife, Ann, have given more than $4.7 million to the denomination through the Tyler Charitable Foundation, a multimillion-dollar trust the couple leads.

The LDS church famously seeks a high level of commitment from its members - in prayer, study, service to others and charity. A lifelong Mormon, Romney served as a missionary in France as a young man and as a top Latter-day Saint leader in the Boston area.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Personal Finance • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Faiths • Mormons

Three Episcopal Church leaders challenged members of the church’s Executive Council Jan. 27 to engage in “adaptive change” in response to what they said are changing church and societal environments.

That challenge began immediately as the members received two different budget scenarios developed by council’s Executive Committee upon which to begin formulating a draft 2013-2015 budget. One scenario calls for asking dioceses to contribute 19 percent of their income and the other calls for dioceses contributing 15 percent. The larger income would be $103.6 million and the 15 percent-asking budget would be reduced by approximately $13.5 million, according to Treasurer Kurt Barnes.

In an emailed memo to Episcopal Church Center staff after the scenarios were presented to council, Chief Operating Officer Stacy Sauls noted that the 19-percent version plans on a $5.9 million decrease in income from the current triennium. The 15-percent version’s reduced revenue amounts to $19.3 million less than the current triennium.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • Executive Council • House of Deputies President • Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori • TEC Bishops • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

Broader Measures of Church Vitality

To get a broad-based sense of congregational vitality, we have used a number of measurements including church school enrollment, marriages, funerals, child baptisms, adult baptisms, and confirmations. These speak to a parish's integration in the community and the possibility for future growth:

Change in church school enrollment: -33%
Change in number of marriages performed: -41%
Change in number of burials/funerals: -21%
Change in the number of child baptisms: -36%
Change in the number of adult baptisms: -40%
Change in the number of confirmations: -32%

While these numbers may not capture the totality of what is happening in the Church, we do not have a measure that is moving in a positive direction.

Do take the time to read and consider it all.

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

Delegates of the church will elect officers, approve a 2012 budget and pursue a new capital and congregational development campaign called A New Era of Mission.

The program aims to reverse the declines in membership the Episcopal Church has experienced over the past 40 years, said the Rev. Frank Logue, the assistant to the bishop of the Diocese of Georgia.

“It focuses on nine areas of funding, nine priorities for us,” he said.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • TEC Diocesan Conventions/Diocesan Councils • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Evangelism and Church Growth • Stewardship

The Euclid Avenue Church of God and the Church of the Transfiguration sit empty on Cleveland's former Millionaires' Row, remnants of a heyday when mansions marched east from downtown.

Their congregations have fled. And historic preservationists fear that both churches will disappear, swallowed up by the Cleveland Clinic's appetite for land.

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

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Movies & Television • Religion & Culture

Thus what the Diocese asked Judge Bellows to do is precisely what Judge Bellows did, and now the Diocese has to admit that it will have to sell some of the properties in order to pay off its debts. This is not acting prudently, or even out of a sense of fiduciary duty -- a fiduciary acts to conserve assets, and does not sacrifice them to solve troubles of one's own devising. This is more the story of the dog in the manger, only written on a truly grand scale. Nevertheless, like the proverbial dog, the Episcopal Diocese will now pretend that it really wanted that hay all along, even though it can make no use of it.

And what, in the end, has Judge Bellows accomplished? Did he uphold Virginia law and precedent? Yes, he certainly did -- once he was instructed by his superiors that the division statute did not apply to the facts of this case. But by awarding all the property to the people least able to maintain it and keep using it for church purposes, he took "neutral principles of law" to a truly Pyrrhic level. And in the process, the decision makes a mockery of all the hundreds of years of tradition which it claims to honor and uphold....

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

With continuing Episcopal congregations either ill-prepared to maintain properties or altogether nonexistent, paired with a diocese that is stretched thin financially, there are few options for stewarding church properties awarded by courts. With the diocese indicating that the sale of non-consecrated properties will go to paying off legal costs, the only source of long-term revenue is either to grow the size of the continuing Episcopal parishes or to lease their consecrated property to others.

Having abandoned the practice of church planting, Virginia Episcopalians seem unlikely to grow their financially vulnerable congregations. The Falls Church continuing Episcopal congregation lists only an increase of 10 attendees in the past three years, with few baptisms and confirmations. Diocesan officials may be hoping that a large number of former Episcopalians will stay tethered to the property, thus returning to the Episcopal fold. If only 5 percent of the Anglican congregation remains with the property, it would more than double the attendance at the Episcopal parish.

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

The years-long litigation has been expensive for all involved. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has lost congregations that collectively contributed $10.4 million directly to the diocese in the 20-year period before the dispute erupted.

And the breakaway congregations have spent millions of dollars in legal fees. Warren Thrasher, executive director at Truro, said the 1,200 members of that church alone have spent roughly $2 million on legal bills, raised through a legal defense fund kept separate from the rest of the church’s ministry.

Read it all.

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

The Bible says that God has poured out his mercy and Holy Spirit generously through Jesus Christ so we can be justified by grace (Titus 3:6). Why is mercy and forgiveness described in terms of ‘generosity’? Because God is under no obligation to give us any good gift. In fact, our sin has forfeited any favor or blessing we might have had. Yet, instead of giving us the punishment we deserve, he took that himself and gave us the riches of mercy and grace. He forgave, he was generous with us sinners.

In the book of James there is another way that God is said to be generous. The author urges his readers to become spiritually mature and wise, and if they lack this, they should ask God, “Who gives generously to all without finding fault.” (James 1:5) Here God is generous not in forgiveness but in ministry. He builds people up and shares his wisdom with others, and he is not stingy with his service, only giving to ‘deserving’ people. No, he ministers to others “without finding fault.”

Generosity, then, is basically a matter of the spirit....

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Theology • Pastoral Theology

Twelve cathedrals will learn today that they been awarded fabric repair grants in the run up to Christmas. They each receive amounts varying from £10,000 to £118,000 from the Cathedral Fabric Repair Fund. The total grants amount to £718,000.

The twelve successful applicants were Bradford, Canterbury, Chichester, Coventry, Lincoln, Norwich, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Southwark, Wakefield and Wells cathedrals.

The Fund is a partnership between the Wolfson Foundation, Pilgrim Trust and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (CFCE), all with long records of supporting England's historic church buildings and their contents.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship

Anonymous "layaway angels" are rescuing Christmas for needy families across the nation.

Mystery donors are visiting stores and paying the balance on accounts that allow customers to pay for purchases over several months. Some donors ask the store to apply the money to children's toys or clothing; they aren't told recipients' names. Nor do recipients learn the identities of the donors.

More than 15 layaway accounts totaling almost $4,000 have been paid by strangers at a Kmart in Lafayette, Ind., says store manager Vic Sutherland. "It's pretty awesome," he says. "With the economy the way it is, you wouldn't expect it."

Fantastic stuff--read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Charities/Non-Profit Organizations • * Economics, Politics • Economy • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007-- • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

It is hypocritical and unjust of us to scapegoat bankers and industrialists and fail to notice greed and covetousness in our selves.
A bit of self-examination is in order. St Paul’s cathedral, which receives massive handouts from wealthy people and institutions in the City is ill-placed to condemn its benefactors. And wouldn’t you like a bit more money? I know I would.
At all times, but especially at Christmas, we should see ourselves as the far from perfect creatures we are – the Bible’s word for this is ‘sinners’. The remedy is to be generous, kind and charitable. For, as the Good Book says, ‘Charity covers the multitude of sins.’

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Psychology • Religion & Culture • * Theology • Anthropology • Pastoral Theology

Church foreclosures are at an all-time high. Since 2008 more than 200 churches and other religious organizations have faced foreclosure, according to real estate services firm CoStar Group. In the decade before 2008, church foreclosures were rare, averaging less than 10 per year.

Tim Trainor, a spokesman for CoStar, said 2011 is so far the worst yet, including the "highest dollar volume" ever in the second quarter of 2011, when 20 properties totaling more than $27 million went into foreclosure.

These foreclosures are likely just the tip of the iceberg. No one really knows how many churches not officially in foreclosure are on the brink. Take, for example, The Church at South Las Vegas. The church started in 2001 by Pastor Benny Perez now has more than 4,000 in regular Sunday morning attendance. But the church also has a $53,000 per month mortgage payment, and it can't sell any of its real estate because that real estate is now worth at least $5 million less than what the church paid for it.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market • The Banking System/Sector • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--