Posted by Kendall Harmon

(Via email--KSH).

After discussion and prayer and in accord with its canons the Provincial Executive of the Cono Sur together with its College of Bishops, did not ratify the election of the Ven. Dr. Michael Pollesel as bishop-coadjutor for Uruguay. The meeting took place this past week in Montevideo (21 to 25 May). Pollesel previously had served the Anglican Church of Canada as its Secretary General. At the same time the Province promised its close cooperation with the diocese in its future decisions.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalAnglican ProvincesCono Sur [formerly Southern Cone]* International News & CommentarySouth AmericaUruguay

May 25, 2012 at 4:51 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Christians have often hoped for a time when our racial and economic differences would cease, when in Christ we would all be indistinguishable. Such impulses are earnest but fundamentally misguided.

Many such interpretations emerge from a fervent hope that the specters of racism, sexism, and myriad other destructive “isms” would no longer bind us to cycles of violence and hate. Many such interpretations emerge from a misreading of texts like Galatians 3:28. Such readings imagine that becoming Christians means becoming all the same in all ways. There are no ethnic differences between us (“no longer Jew or Greek”), no differences of class and status between us (“no longer slave or free”), no gendered differences between us (“no longer male and female”).

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church LifeChurch Year / Liturgical SeasonsPentecost* TheologyTheology: Scripture

May 25, 2012 at 4:37 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

(The concept of liquidity is Zygmunt Bauman's and has been noted in numerous blog posts over the years--KSH).

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchChildrenMarriage & FamilyMenPsychologySexualityWomen

May 25, 2012 at 4:28 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Facebook Inc.’s initial public offering, plagued by trading errors and a 16 percent drop in the share price, will push more individual investors out of a stock market they already distrust after the financial crisis.

“This is clearly the latest in a long string of events that is eviscerating the confidence investors have in the market,” said Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago attorney who represents retail investors. “The perception is Wall Street jiggered this IPO so the underwriters made money, Facebook executives made money and the small investor got left holding the bag.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchPsychology* Economics, PoliticsEconomyCorporations/Corporate LifeStock MarketThe Banking System/Sector* International News & CommentaryAmerica/U.S.A.* TheologyEthics / Moral Theology

May 25, 2012 at 4:03 pm - 1 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

The doctor, Steven Leatherman, tends to turn a nose up on South Carolina beaches because of murky ocean waters, but the Kiawah beach routinely makes his top 10. In 2011, Beachwalker was ranked seventh. It also made the list in 2009, 2008 and 2002.

The man is enraptured. Listen to him: “This is certainly a nature lover’s coast, so visitors should pack their canoes and kayaks to paddle through the tidal inlets or walk down Sam’s Inlet to see thousands of birds.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * South Carolina

May 25, 2012 at 3:46 pm - 1 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

The Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate appeared likely to face off against either a former prime minister who served under ousted president Hosni Mubarak or a leftist contender whose popularity surged at the end of the race, according to predictions Friday by political parties based on preliminary results in Egypt’s first free presidential election.

A contest between Mohammed Morsi, a conservative Islamist, and Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak’s last prime minister, would present a stark choice for Egyptians. A win for Morsi would give the venerable Islamist group a near-monopoly on political power, raising fears among secular Egyptians of a state governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic law. If Shafiq were to prevail, many Egyptians would feel that their revolution last year paved the way for a politician with a past and governing philosophy in line with the autocrat they ousted.

“It would be extremely polarizing,” said Shadi Hamid, an Egypt expert at the Brookings Doha Center. “There would be a lot of boycotting. It’s the worst-case scenario.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchHistoryReligion & Culture* Economics, PoliticsPolitics in General* Religion News & CommentaryOther FaithsIslamMuslim-Christian relations

May 25, 2012 at 3:22 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Whether or not Christians will have a voice in the political landscape of Egypt is at stake during the presidential election taking place in the country Wednesday and Thursday. In addition, persecution against Christians may worsen depending on the outcome, said Open Doors USA president Carl Moeller.

"It's very important that given the precarious place the Christian community has in Egyptian society and the variety of political movements that are anti-Christian in that country, that the Christians could potentially be a key and pivotal minor component in sheer numbers, but a very critical component in the political dynamics," Moeller told The Christian Post on Monday.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchReligion & Culture* Economics, PoliticsPolitics in General* International News & CommentaryMiddle EastEgypt

May 25, 2012 at 1:11 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Americans ...share...a collection of core texts that "we the people" regard as authoritative and a long-standing tradition of debating what these texts have to tell us about the meaning of "America." To be an American is to debate whether the business of America really is business. It is to ask about budget deficits or public Christmas displays, "What would Jefferson do?" Whereas Catholics come together to participate in the Mass, Americans come together to argue about the speeches, songs and sayings that compose the "American Bible."

This unofficial canon includes founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as well as songs such as "God Bless America" and speeches by Washington, Lincoln, FDR and Reagan. It also includes novels from "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to "Atlas Shrugged."

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchBooksHistoryReligion & Culture* International News & CommentaryAmerica/U.S.A.

May 25, 2012 at 11:28 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

The Church of England paved the way on Thursday for a final vote on women bishops to go ahead in July, but supporters angry at last-minute concessions to traditionalists who favour an all-male clergy immediately threatened to scupper it.

After more than a decade of bitter wrangling, traditionalists and liberals appeared no closer to finding a workable blueprint this week with the opposing sides predicting future chaos or departures from the Anglican mother church.

Read it all and there are a lot of other stories there as well.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalAnglican ProvincesChurch of England (CoE)CoE Bishops* Culture-WatchWomen

May 25, 2012 at 7:58 am - 2 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

From here:
Staff and students at Wycliffe were told last week that Principal Richard Turnbull is to take a leave of absence from the Hall. The Council wishes to make it clear that the Principal has not been dismissed. The Council and Richard are now in ongoing discussions over his future role at Wycliffe, with Vice-Principal Simon Vibert assuming the position of Acting Principal. We have every confidence in Simon, and in the rest of the staff, to ensure continuity and the efficient functioning of the Hall during this time.

The outcome of the discussions with Richard will be communicated to staff and students in due course. However, our overriding priority is to ensure Wycliffe remains unequivocally committed to equipping men and women as leaders, preachers, church planters and evangelists in the mission of proclaiming and living the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, with a deeply biblical understanding of the nature of the Kingdom of God.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalAnglican ProvincesChurch of England (CoE)* TheologySeminary / Theological Education

May 25, 2012 at 7:00 am - 1 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Check it out via the Telegraph via a Twitter post by @Pawelmorski. Heh.

Update: Here is another image on the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek

Filed under:

May 25, 2012 at 6:35 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that homosexual behavior is a sin, but there are Catholic priests who secretly bless gay unions.
Check out the posts here and also there.

The City Gates has more thoughts to offer in this post as well.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church LifeLiturgy, Music, WorshipParish MinistryMinistry of the Ordained* Culture-WatchMediaReligion & Culture* Religion News & CommentaryOther ChurchesRoman CatholicSexuality Debate (Other denominations and faiths)

May 25, 2012 at 6:10 am - 7 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Pakistani lawyers will appeal the conviction for treason handed to Shakeel Afridi, the surgeon recruited by US intelligence to help find Osama bin Laden.

The archaic form of justice that governs Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt on Wednesday jailed Afridi for 33 years for agreeing to try and collect DNA for US intelligence in their bid to locate bin Laden.

Afridi ran a fake vaccination programme designed to collect bin Laden family DNA from the compound in the town of Abbottabad, where the al-Qaeda leader was shot dead in a US raid in May 2011.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchLaw & Legal Issues* Economics, PoliticsForeign RelationsPolitics in GeneralTerrorism* International News & CommentaryAmerica/U.S.A.AsiaPakistan

May 25, 2012 at 5:48 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Ángel de la Peña, a Spanish government worker, is seriously considering the once unthinkable: converting some of his savings from euros to British pounds.

Alvaro Saavedra Lopez, a senior executive for I.B.M. in Spain, says many of his corporate counterparts across the country are similarly looking for safer havens by transferring their spare cash to stronger euro zone countries like Germany “on a daily basis.”

It is only a trickle so far, and not nearly enough to constitute a classic bank run. But these growing transfers of deposits out of troubled Spanish banks reflect a broader fear that the country’s problems could make it hard for Spaniards to get to their money if banks fail and cannot be supported by the government. In a worst case, some even worry their money will be worth substantially less if Spain is forced to leave the euro currency zone and re-adopt its old currency, the peseta.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Economics, PoliticsEconomyConsumer/consumer spendingCorporations/Corporate LifeCredit MarketsCurrency MarketsEuroEuropean Central BankThe Banking System/SectorThe Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--Foreign RelationsPolitics in General* International News & CommentaryEurope--European Sovereign Debt Crisis of 2010Spain

May 25, 2012 at 5:32 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

The Bishops’ amendment asserts that the diocesan bishop will retain full authority over all parishes, even when he or she has delegated cer­tain functions to an alternate bishop. At the same time, it makes clear that this alternate bishop functions in his own right, and not merely with delegated powers.

The Bishops’ second amendment concerns the Code of Con­duct, which bishops will need to abide by when drawing up a scheme for any parish that makes a formal request for alternate pro­vision in their diocese. The wording of the code cannot be finalised until after the draft Measure be­comes law; but the amendment requires the code to ensure that “the exercise of ministry by those bishops and priests will be con­sistent with the theological con­vic-tions as to the consecration or ordination of women which prompted the issuing of the Letter of Request”....

A statement issued after the House of Bishops’ deliberations was unusual in making clear what they didn’t do as much as what they did. “The House rejected more far- reaching amendments that would have changed the legal basis on which bishops would exercise auth­ority when ministering to parishes unable to receive the ministry of female bishops.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalAnglican ProvincesChurch of England (CoE)CoE Bishops* Culture-WatchWomen

May 25, 2012 at 5:15 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

The challenge is not that we have a ministry of the baptized and Communion as our central act of worship – the challenge is that we have clergy ill-trained in Sacramental theology administering them. We have laity that we have failed to form in Sacramental living. We now have a wide body of our priests that do not believe anything much actually happens in the Sacraments.

Do you believe the Holy Spirit descends upon a person and transforms their very being in Baptism so that they are united with Christ? Do you believe that Christ is truly present in the Body and Blood we receive at the Altar? Are the Sacraments God’s action or ours? I have heard far too many talking of Baptism as an entry rite rather than as transformation just as I have heard too many speak of Communion as a “meal” alone rather than the very Presence of Christ among us.

If you have a clergy addicted to modernism and reformation charged with carrying out the catholic Sacramental life of the Church then you will, indeed, have tension. But the tension should not between upending the Sacraments or administering them faithfully as they have been across the centuries. The tension should be between doing or not doing them. You can choose other ways of ministry that do not involve undoing the historic Sacraments of the Church if you are not comfortable with the faith and order we have been welcomed into as both baptized and ordained leaders.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal- Anglican: Analysis* Christian Life / Church LifeParish MinistryMinistry of the Ordained* TheologyAnthropologySacramental TheologyBaptismSoteriology

May 25, 2012 at 4:59 am - 2 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Heavenly Father, who didst call thy servant Bede, while still a child, to devote his life to thy service in the disciplines of religion and scholarship: Grant that as he labored in the Spirit to bring the riches of thy truth to his generation, so we, in our various vocations, may strive to make thee known in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church LifeChurch HistorySpirituality/Prayer

May 25, 2012 at 4:39 am - 2 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Almighty Father, in whom is no darkness at all: Shine upon our path, we pray thee, that we may walk in thy light. Lift from our hearts all anxiety and fear, and teach us to trust thee both for that which we see and for that which is hidden from us. So evermore lead us in thy way and keep us in thy peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church LifeSpirituality/Prayer

May 25, 2012 at 4:18 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

For the LORD will build up Zion, he will appear in his glory; he will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their supplication.

--Psalm 102:16-17

Filed under: * TheologyTheology: Scripture

May 25, 2012 at 4:00 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

A Senate panel expressed its outrage Thursday over Pakistan's conviction of a doctor who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden, voting to cut aid to Islamabad by $33 million — $1 million for every year of the physician's 33-year sentence for high treason.

The punitive move came on top of deep reductions the Appropriations Committee already had made to President Barack Obama's budget request for Pakistan, a reflection of the growing congressional anger over its cooperation in combatting terrorism. The overall foreign aid budget for next year had slashed more than half of the proposed assistance and threatened further reductions if Islamabad failed to open overland supply routes to U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchLaw & Legal Issues* Economics, PoliticsEconomyThe U.S. GovernmentBudgetForeign RelationsPolitics in GeneralSenateTerrorism* International News & CommentaryAmerica/U.S.A.AsiaPakistan

May 24, 2012 at 4:34 pm - 1 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

New signs of a global slowdown are darkening the economic outlook.

On Thursday, measures of business sentiment in Europe slipped and reports from purchasing managers at manufacturers around the world turned down. Among them, China, the world's second-largest economy, registered its seventh-straight drop in an important index of manufacturing activity. The U.S. reported that businesses were slowing their orders of computers, aircraft, fabricated metals and other durable goods.

With the latest reports, a new worry is emerging among economists and policy makers: that economic activity is slowing in sync around the globe and not just in a few markets with their own isolated problems. Europe—struggling with the risk of a Greek pullout from the euro area and broader fiscal problems—is the epicenter of global economic concerns right now. But reports of economic trouble are turning up in India, South Africa, Brazil and elsewhere.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchGlobalization* Economics, PoliticsEconomyConsumer/consumer spendingCorporations/Corporate Life

May 24, 2012 at 4:09 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

You can find the audio here, it may be listened to directly or downloaded as an MP3 file.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal- Anglican: AnalysisEpiscopal Church (TEC)General Convention * By Kendall* South Carolina

May 24, 2012 at 3:40 pm - 8 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Lord God, in whose providence Jackson Kemper was chosen first missionary bishop in this land, that by his arduous labor and travel congregations might be established in scattered settlements of the West: Grant that the Church may always be faithful to its mission, and have the vision, courage, and perseverance to make known to all peoples the Good News of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalEpiscopal Church (TEC)TEC Bishops* Christian Life / Church LifeChurch HistoryMissionsSpirituality/Prayer

May 24, 2012 at 3:01 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

While it’s easy to focus on this new commencement controversy, Benedict’s address represents another skirmish in more than two decades of conflict between Rome and liberal Catholics entrenched on many college and university campuses. At the heart of the conflict is a 1990 “apostolic constitution” on education issued by Pope John Paul II entitled “Ex Corde Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the Church).”

That document contains numerous statements that trouble American academics, including this one: “Catholic teaching and discipline are to influence all university activities, while the freedom of conscience of each person is to be fully respected. Any official action or commitment of the University is to be in accord with its Catholic identity.”

Read it all and make sure to follow the link to the Pope's full address if you have not yet read it.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchEducationReligion & Culture* Religion News & CommentaryOther ChurchesRoman CatholicPope Benedict XVI

May 24, 2012 at 11:06 am - 2 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

This article, a theologically thick description of opening the eucharistic table to all, is rooted in Aidan Kavanaugh’s conviction that liturgical theology is primarily that “knowledge” of God generated by the encounter of Christian congregations with God in the liturgy. Thus, this work began with a working group of four Open Table Episcopal parishes reflecting together on what they have found of God, Christ, church, and grace within their practice. The vision that emerged from this reflection was centered in a complex theology of grace and response inherent in Christ’s parable of the Prodigal Son. This central commitment was, moreover, structured around intuitions concerning the universal status of all persons as God’s children, the relational character of grace, the communal character of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, a Christocentric ecclesiology defining the church by the commitments at its center, and a missional understanding of baptism.


Read it all carefully.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalEpiscopal Church (TEC)* Christian Life / Church LifeParish MinistryMinistry of the Ordained* TheologySacramental TheologyEucharist

May 24, 2012 at 8:00 am - 19 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

As Christendom was waning, the Episcopal Church ratified a new identity in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. This new identity brought us to practice baptismal ministry and made the Eucharist the central part of our Sunday worship. Now, after living this theology for over 30 years, we are faced with the growing practice of Open Table in the Episcopal Church. The two are not unrelated. Perhaps we did not anticipate that we would arrive at the place where we are considering the reversal of the traditional order of Sacraments. Yet, as more and more congregations practice Open Table, we are called to confront the incongruity between practice and traditional theological thinking.

Read it all carefully (Word document). [Please note if you have any trouble go there, then go down to resolution C040 and you will see the document link on the far right (you can get it as a pdf if you prefer)].

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalEpiscopal Church (TEC)General Convention * TheologySacramental TheologyBaptismEucharist

May 24, 2012 at 7:00 am - 7 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

With Greece’s membership in the euro zone teetering, fears of bank insolvency rising and Europe’s leaders bickering about what to do, the euro crisis is once again intensifying and threatening to undermine fragile growth globally.

At a summit meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, regional leaders failed to signal any significant new steps to stimulate the sputtering regional economy or resolve the competing agendas of President François Hollande of France, who favors stronger action to spur growth, and his German counterpart, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has opposed aggressive moves to ease the pressure on Europe’s weakest economies.

Yet, the urgency for a solution to the region’s debt crisis, now in its third year, may never have been greater.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchGlobalization* Economics, PoliticsEconomyConsumer/consumer spendingCorporations/Corporate LifeCredit MarketsCurrency MarketsEuroEuropean Central BankThe Banking System/SectorThe Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--Foreign RelationsPolitics in General* International News & CommentaryEurope--European Sovereign Debt Crisis of 2010FranceGermanyGreece

May 24, 2012 at 6:15 am - 1 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Baby-boomer retirements are skewing the nation’s unemployment rate, but not enough to disguise a weak economy, according to a new report.

The left-leaning Employment Policy Institute (EPI) says the slow exit of baby boomers is a factor in the declining jobless rate, and its overall conclusion is that the economy is still quite sick.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Economics, PoliticsEconomyCorporations/Corporate LifeLabor/Labor Unions/Labor MarketThe Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--

May 24, 2012 at 5:51 am - 2 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Dear Fellow Trinity Parishioners,

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

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

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalEpiscopal Church (TEC)TEC Parishes* Christian Life / Church LifeParish MinistryMinistry of the Ordained* South Carolina

May 24, 2012 at 5:34 am - 4 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

For a quarter century, Monsignor Ed Lofton has served as one of 86 volunteer chaplains at the Charleston County jail. Bringing calm to inmates and jailers alike is considered essential to his mission.

That endeavor includes Communion, and for Catholics, wine is a necessary component.

But carrying wine into a facility where alcohol is labeled as contraband hasn’t come without controversy. He has fought and won that battle before....

Read it all from the front page of the local paper.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchPrison/Prison MinistryReligion & Culture* Religion News & CommentaryOther ChurchesRoman Catholic* South Carolina

May 24, 2012 at 5:16 am - 11 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

In this true story, Father Eldredge tells how successful efforts at evangelism brought people from all walks in to his church and a relationship with Jesus. One new convert was a former "enforcer" for a "biker gang" who , though well-meaning, sparked a fist fight after Sunday services. Hear how Father Eldredge handled this unexpected consequence of successful evangelism.

Watch it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal* Christian Life / Church LifeParish MinistryEvangelism and Church Growth* Theology

May 24, 2012 at 5:00 am - 4 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

From here:
Forward in Faith welcomes the amendments to the draft legislation on women bishops passed by the House of Bishops on Monday.

The first amendment secures the provision of bishops for traditional catholics and conservative evangelicals who are not simply male, but who share the theological convictions of those to whom they will minister. For traditional catholics, that means bishops ordained into the historic episcopate as we understand it. The draft Measure now recognises that our position is one of legitimate theological conviction for which the Church of England must provide. This principle will be enshrined in law.

The second amendment helpfully clarifies that the charism of episcopal ministry derives from the fact of a bishop’s ordination, and is not by delegation from another bishop.

It was disappointing that the amendment which would have implemented co-ordinate jurisdiction was not passed. The draft Measure stills fails, therefore, to address questions of jurisdiction and authority in the way we need.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalAnglican ProvincesChurch of England (CoE)CoE Bishops* Culture-WatchWomen

May 24, 2012 at 4:38 am - 1 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

O Glorious Christ, who in thy ascension didst enter into thy kingdom: Remember, we pray thee, the countless millions who have not heard of the redemption which thou hast won for them. Grant that they may learn, through thy Church, of the new and living way which thou hast opened for them. Let them draw near in fullness of faith, to enter with thee into the holy place of the Father’s presence, and receive forgiveness and peace. So may they worship, with the innumerable company of angels and with the spirits of just men made perfect, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, blessed for evermore.

--George Appleton

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church LifeSpirituality/Prayer

May 24, 2012 at 4:22 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" --he then said to the Paralytic--"rise, take up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

--Matthew 9:1-8

Filed under: * TheologyTheology: Scripture

May 24, 2012 at 4:00 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Nimuli struggled to rise from a rope bed to greet pastor James Mading Bui at an Episcopal church where she lives in a suburb of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, waiting to travel back home to the newly independent south.

Nimuli is one of as many as 700,000 South Sudanese who have become regarded as dark-skinned, often Christian outsiders in mainly Arabic Sudan since the oil-rich south seceded in July. Verbally abused as “insects” by some Sudanese on the streets, they have no citizenship or residential rights and no idea when they are going to be able to travel to South Sudan.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalAnglican ProvincesEpiscopal Church of the Sudan* International News & CommentaryAfricaSudan--South Sudan

May 23, 2012 at 4:06 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

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

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

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

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalEpiscopal Church (TEC)TEC Parishes* Economics, PoliticsEconomyHousing/Real Estate Market

May 23, 2012 at 3:36 pm - 5 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

[Amber] Cooper had a liver transplant when she was 10. She takes a drug twice a day so her body won't reject her liver.

"Every year my company changes the insurance. And instead of giving us three different choices for insurance plans, they were changing to one, which was a high-deductible plan with no prescription coverage," she said.

Cooper was stunned. Her anti-rejection medicine costs way more than she could afford on her own — more than $1,000 a month.

Read or listen to it all.

Filed under: * Culture-WatchHealth & Medicine* Economics, PoliticsEconomyCorporations/Corporate Life

May 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Over the last few weeks you have received word of a cascade of settlements the Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church have made with six of the seven CANA congregations that remained in the property litigation. In each case, the CANA congregation agreed to return the church property, including personal property and Episcopal funds due the Diocese of Virginia, and to withdraw their appeals. We have sought to be as generous as we can be with these congregations, particularly with regard to items necessary in the very short-term for them to continue in their ministries.

With disappointment, I report to you that we have been unable to reach a final settlement with the CANA congregation now known as the Falls Church Anglican. Their leadership has made it clear that they plan to pursue their appeal before the Supreme Court of Virginia unless the Diocese (with the Episcopal Church’s approval) pays them a significant sum of money; we both are unwilling to do so. As a result, we expect the Falls Church Anglican to file their petition for appeal at the end of this month, asking the Supreme Court of Virginia to hear their case. We must file a responsive brief three weeks later, and the Court will issue its decision on whether to take the case at some point this fall. We remain strongly confident in our legal position.

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Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalAnglican Church in North America (ACNA)Episcopal Church (TEC)TEC ConflictsTEC Conflicts: VirginiaTEC Departing Parishes* Culture-WatchLaw & Legal Issues

May 23, 2012 at 2:04 pm - 11 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

I write to you for two reasons: to thank you for your support, friendship, prayers, challenges, brilliance and love that has inspired and humbled me during these 6 years and second, to let you know that I do not plan to stand for election as President of the House of Deputies for another term.

The reason I am not seeking re-election is a simple one: I want to spend more time with my family. My husband, Glen, is retired. I want to be with him more. Our amazing son, Justin, lives with us and reminds us every single day, by his very existence, that God is a generous miracle maker.

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Filed under: * Anglican - EpiscopalEpiscopal Church (TEC)House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson

May 23, 2012 at 1:25 pm - 7 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Monday's bloodbath underlined a shift in tactics by the jihadists who are busy trying to transform themselves from a fringe group of militants into a fully-fledged domestic insurgency. "A year ago they [al-Qaeda] were numbered in the dozens, armed with light weapons and scattered here and there," Jamal Benomar, the United Nations envoy to Yemen, told TIME in Sana'a last week. "Now they are in their thousands with tanks and heavy weapons. For the first time in history al-Qaeda controls territory."

After pushing out army units and setting up de facto administrations — mini-Islamic fiefdoms — in the south, AQAP, a group the Pentagon claims are the most deadly in the Middle East, are turning their attention to more ambitious pursuits. From the Red Sea coastal plains of Hodeidah to the craggy valleys of the Hadhromout, AQAP have started dispatching teams to assassinate officials, blow up oil pipelines and kidnap foreigners as a means of financing their insurgency. A Swiss woman, one of two foreign aid workers seized from her car near Hodeidah last month — hundreds of miles from al-Qaeda's southern lairs — is now being held in Shabwa province in the south by AQAP fighters who are demanding $60 million for her release. Last week the Bulgarian ambassador's SUV was sprayed with bullets by kidnappers he eluded in the capital.

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Filed under: * Economics, PoliticsTerrorism* International News & CommentaryAsiaYemen

May 23, 2012 at 11:05 am - 0 comments - [link] [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]

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