Links to South Carolina posts - latest first in each section: (Last Updated January 25th 2012 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern)
IMPORTANT NOTE - SEE LATEST NEWS and BISHOP'S LETTER and PRAYER
FURTHER IMPORTANT NOTE - SEE here and here and here

Videos from MERE ANGLICANISM 2012 are here [NEW]

Materials From the Diocese of SC:

South Carolina Standing Committee Responds to Letter of Province IV Bishops December 12, 2011 at 11:33 am

Bishop Lawrence Writes to the Diocese About Disciplinary Board Decision
November 29, 2011 at 3:28 pm

South Carolina Releases Correspondence Relating to Josephine Hicks, Church Attorney
October 13, 2011

S.C. Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese Meet on “Serious Charges” Made Against Bishop Lawrence
October 12, 2011

A look back to a 2006 Mark Lawrence Address – “Who are these birds that can sing in the dark?”
October 8, 2011

****Urgent Message from the Diocese of South Carolina Bishop and Standing Committee****
Originally posted October 5, 2011 - reposted Oct. 10, 2011

South Carolina Bishop and Standing Committee Respond to Actions of Executive Council
October 3, 2011


Analysis and Commentary

Province IV Bishops Release Statement Concerning Meeting with Bishop Lawrence
December 15, 2011 at 11:15 am

A S.C. Layman who worked as a College President Writes Bishop Daniel and the Province IV Bishops
December 13, 2011 at 11:35 am

Shay Gaillard—Purple Shirts Proof-texting in Public
December 8, 2011 at 9:01 am

Province IV Bishops Seek a Meeting with South Carolina Bp. Lawrence
December 5, 2011 at 4:25 pm

Kendall Harmon Answers Media Questions on the Disciplinary Committee—S.C. Bishop Matter
December 5, 2011 at 7:00 am

Anglican Communion Institute—South Carolina: The Disciplinary Board Decides
December 1, 2011 at 11:16 am

Lent and Beyond offers Thanksgiving for the Report from South Carolina
December 1, 2011 at 7:49 am

A Living Church Editorial on the Mark Lawrence News from the Bishops Disciplinary Board
November 29, 2011 at 11:30 am

(Liv. Ch.) Disciplinary Board of Bishops is Unable to Certify Abandonment Against Mark Lawrence
November 28, 2011 at 5:05 pm

GetReligion Critiques the recent Charleston, S. C., Newspaper piece on the Episcopal Fracas
November 25, 2011

(Living Church) Mark Lawrence: ‘The Bishop Brings the Crozier’
November 23, 2011 at 3:50 pm

An AP Article on Bishop Mark Lawrence and the Diocese of South Carolina
November 23, 2011 at 11:40 am

Local paper Article: “S.C. Episcopal Diocese releases property claim”
November 21, 2011 at 12:25 pm

(Church Times) Harriet Baber—The Episcopal Church is alienating its own members
November 20, 2011 at 7:15 am

What was announced at the South Carolina Clergy Conference this past Tuesday Evening
November 19, 2011 at 9:00 am

A Serious Prayer request for the South Carolina Clergy Conference This week
November 14, 2011 at 4:55 am

Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison—Shrinking Jesus and Betraying the Faith
November 11, 2011 at 8:19 am

Leander Harding on the Mark Lawrence Investigation—Choose Inclusive Justice
October 27, 2011 at 6:19 am

Gavin Dunbar on the Mark Lawrence Investigation—Southern Discomfort
October 27, 2011 at 6:00 am

Diocese of Upper South Carolina Convention Passes Resolution on the Mark Lawrence Investigation
October 25, 2011

A.S. Haley—Conflicts Galore on the Disciplinary Board for Bishops with regard to the S.C. Matter
October 22, 2011 at 2:00 pm

The Bishop of Tasmania Writes in Support of Bishop Mark Lawrence
October 21, 2011 at 6:00 am

(Anglican Communion Institute) South Carolina: The Church Needs Transparency
October 20, 2011 at 6:07 pm

(The State) The Bishop of Upper South Carolina on the Mark Lawrence Investigation
October 19, 2011 at 5:22 pm

(Mark McCall)—South Carolina: Upholding The Church’s Discipline By Upholding The Constitution
October 18, 2011 at 7:38 am

A.S. Haley on the Further Revelations in the South Carolina Episcopal Investigation
October 17, 2011 at 9:04 pm

(Living Church) Attorney J.B. Burtch Returns to Bishop Mark Lawrence Case
October 17, 2011

Anglican Unscripted Episode 14
October 17, 2011

A.S. Haley Responds to An Embarrassingly Inaccurate Piece by Andrew Gerns on the S.C. Matter
October 17, 2011

CEN—Evangelical bishop under assault in America
October 14, 2011 at 5:36 pm

(Living Church) Episcopal Church Attorney in South Carolina Matter Recuses Herself
October 14, 2011 at 3:35 pm

A.S. Haley on the Disciplinary Board, Their Chosen Lawyer, and the South Carolina Process
October 14, 2011 at 8:21 am

Charles Alley—The Injustice of it All!
October 14, 2011 at 1:31 pm

Living Church—Bishop: Attorney Never on Disciplinary Board
October 13, 2011

Robert Clawson Chimes in on the Disciplinary Proceedings involving Mark Lawrence
October 13, 2011

A.S. Haley on Bishop Henderson’s Statement regarding procedure in the Bishop Mark Lawrence Matter
October 12, 2011

Anglican Communion Institute on the Continuing S.C. Story—Title IV: Abandonment Without Offense?
October 12, 2011

(Living Church) Bishop Henderson Explains His Understanding of the Disciplinary Board’s Duty
October 12, 2011

Anglican Unscripted Episode 13
October 10, 2011

Dale Matson—Rowan Williams And The Deposition Of Bishop Lawrence
October 7, 2011

ACI says Presiding Bishop Had to be Involved in the S.C. Actions if the Canons Were Followed
October 7, 2011

A.S. Haley—Clearing up Misconceptions about the Diocese of South Carolina 'Charges'
October 6, 2011

A.S. Haley on South Carolina—Episcopal Church Foments Strife and Civil War
October 6, 2011

Living Church—Board Hears Case against Bishop Lawrence
October 5, 2011

(ACI) A Response to the reported Title IV Disciplinary process begun against Bishop Mark Lawrence
October 5, 2011

A.S. Haley—What if the TEC Foundations Were not Designed for the Current Structure?
October 3, 2011

The Dangers of Church Centralization: Some Remarks on the Proposed Changes in the TEC Constitution
October 3, 2011

A.S. Haley—TEC Executive Council Fires on the Diocese of South Carolina
Sept. 30, 2011

Other Resources

South Carolina: Praying for the Diocesan Leadership
October 6, 2011

Prayer Resources for those praying for Bishop Mark Lawrence and South Carolina

Seeing Jesus with Bishop Mark Lawrence
October 16, 2011

Title IV Canons


Press and Other Reports

(ENS) Province IV bishops call meeting with colleague ‘honest, forthright’
December 15, 2011 at 4:02 pm

(Christian Post) Episcopal Church Clears South Carolina Bishop of Violating Principles
December 2, 2011 at 6:15 am

Reuters Article on Disciplinary Board Decisions vis a vis Bishop Mark Lawrence
November 30, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Local Paper Article on Disciplinary Board Decisions vis a vis Bishop Mark Lawrence
30, 2011 at 3:02 pm

The ENS story on the Disciplinary Board dismissing abandonment complaint against Mark Lawrence
November 29, 2011 at 6:15 am

Nicholas Beasley (Upper South Carolina) Chimes In
October 19, 2011 at 4:45 pm

Another (longish) AP article on The Episcopal Church’s South Carolina Investigation
October 16, 2011

(Times and Democrat) Orangeburg, S.C., Area Episcopal clergy: Probe ‘not a healthy situation’
October 14, 2011 at 7:45 am

Another AP Story on the South Carolina Clergy Meeting Tuesday
(AP) Diocese of SC clergy discuss allegations against bishop
October 12, 2011

Local Paper—Episcopal Church investigates Bishop Mark Lawrence
October 6, 2011

An ENS Story—S.C. bishop investigated on charges he has abandoned the Episcopal Church
October 5, 2011

An AP Story—S.C. Bishop said to have abandoned Episcopal church
October 5, 2011

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Latest News • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: South Carolina • TEC Polity & Canons • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Resources & Links • Resources: ACI docs • Resources: blogs / websites • * South Carolina

Between blasts of rockets and mortar fire, Syrians used loudspeakers to call for blood donations and medical supplies Thursday in the stricken city of Homs, where a weeklong government offensive has created a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Government forces are trying to crush pockets of violent resistance in Homs, the epicenter of an 11-month-old uprising that has brought the country ever closer to civil war. The intense shelling in restive neighborhoods such as Baba Amr has made it difficult to get medicine and care to the wounded, and some areas have been without electricity for days, activists say.

"Snipers are on all the roofs in Baba Amr, shooting at people," Abu Muhammad Ibrahim, an activist in Homs, told The Associated Press by phone.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Violence • * Economics, Politics • Defense, National Security, Military • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • Middle East • Syria

After months of painstaking talks, government authorities and five of the nation’s biggest banks have agreed to a $26 billion settlement that could provide relief to nearly two million current and former American homeowners harmed by the bursting of the housing bubble, state and federal officials said in Washington on Thursday.

It is part of a broad national settlement aimed at halting the housing market’s downward slide and holding the banks accountable for foreclosure abuses.

Under the plan, federal officials said, about $5 billion would be cash payments to states and federal authorities, $17 billion would be earmarked for homeowner relief, roughly $3 billion would go for refinancing and a final $1 billion would be paid to the Federal Housing Administration.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market • Personal Finance • The Banking System/Sector • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007-- • The U.S. Government • Politics in General • Office of the President • President Barack Obama • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

Perhaps the gravest under-publicized atrocity in the world is the persecution of Christians. A comprehensive Pew Forum study last year found that Christians are persecuted in 131 countries containing 70 percent of the world’s population, out of 197 countries in the world (if Palestine, Taiwan, South Sudan, and the Vatican are included). Best estimates are that about 200 million Christians are in communities where they are persecuted. There is not the slightest question of the scale and barbarity of this persecution, and a little of it is adequately publicized. But this highlights the second half of the atrocity: the passivity and blasé indifference of most of the West’s media and governments.

It is not generally appreciated that over 100,000 Christians a year are murdered because of their faith. Because Christianity is, by a wide margin, the world’s largest religion, the leading religion in the traditionally most advanced areas of the world, and, despite its many fissures, the best organized, largely because of the relatively tight and authoritarian structure of the Roman Catholic Church, the West is not accustomed to thinking of Christians as a minority, much less a persecuted one.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Globalization • Law & Legal Issues • Religion & Culture • Violence • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * Religion News & Commentary • Inter-Faith Relations • Other Churches • Other Faiths

In a 49-page brief filed today with the Texas State Supreme Court, attorneys for the Diocese, Corporation, and congregations asked the Court to uphold several previous Appellate Court decisions and establish Neutral Principles as the method for resolving church property disputes in the state.

Neutral Principles, accepted in 36 states and approved by the U.S. Supreme Court since 1979, is a method of settling questions of church property ownership using the same rules that govern ownership of other types of private property, and it removes courts from wading into doctrinal disputes.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: Fort Worth • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues

What are the limits to raising our children as we see fit? Every parent, child, teacher and neighbour can relate to the question. It’s by no means a religious issue alone, but Canadians have seen it in the news lately with strong links to faith....

[For example], in Quebec, parents of various stripes have revolted against the province’s mandatory “ethics and religious culture” school course, which is seen as either too respectful of religion or not respectful enough....

Almost every Canadian would agree that parental rights stop short of killing one’s children, no matter what the creed. But clearly there are many grey areas in this debate, which Faith Exchange panelists have convened to discuss.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Children • Law & Legal Issues • Marriage & Family • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • Canada • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Faiths

One of the most senior al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan, Badar Mansoor, has been killed in a US drone strike, local officials say.

The attack took place in Miranshah in North Waziristan tribal area, close to the border with Afghanistan.

Badar Mansoor is suspected of killing dozens of people in attacks in Pakistan and further afield.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Science & Technology • * Economics, Politics • Defense, National Security, Military • Terrorism • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A. • Asia • Pakistan

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Berlin republic is a European Germany, in the rich, positive sense in which the great novelist had come to use the term. It is free, civilized, democratic, law-bound, socially and environmentally conscious.

It’s far from perfect, obviously, but as good as any other big country in Europe – and the best Germany we’ve ever had.

Yet because of the crisis of the euro zone this European Germany finds itself, unwillingly, at the centre of a German Europe. No one can seriously doubt that Germany is calling the shots in the euro zone. The reason there is a fiscal compact treaty agreed by 25 European Union member states is that Berlin wanted it. Desperate, impoverished Greeks are being told “do their homework” by Germans. More extraordinary still, the German Chancellor is now telling French voters who to vote for in their own presidential election, through a series of campaign appearances with President Nicolas Sarkozy. Everyone says Europe is being led by “Merkozy” but the reality is more like “Merkelzy.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * 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

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York suffered a humiliating defeat yesterday when the Church of England’s governing body rejected moves to create male “co-bishops” to work alongside female bishops in an effort to placate traditionalists.
Women bishops will now be given total authority in their dioceses when they begin to be consecrated from 2014, against the wishes of the Archbishops who had wanted traditionalist male bishops to rule alongside them with equal authority.
The vote increases the chances of further defections by dozens of Anglo-Catholic clergy and laity to the Ordinariate, the branch of the Roman Catholic Church created for defecting Anglicans who wish to retain both their Catholic and Anglican identities in the face of the growing liberalisation of the established Church.

Read it all (subscription required).

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • Women • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

The Church of England moved closer to the consecration of women bishops Wednesday when it voted against giving strengthened legal protection to traditionalists who favour an all-male clergy, a decision that could lead more to switch to Rome.

The vote was the last chance for the church's parliament, or synod, to influence the draft legislation in its long legislative process before it heads to the House of Bishops for consideration in May.

The draft will return to synod in July for a final vote - 20 years after it voted in favour of women priests.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • Women • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

The morning session report is here and the afternoon session is there.

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

"Being concerned for each other" also entails being concerned for their spiritual well-being. Here I would like to mention an aspect of the Christian life, which I believe has been quite forgotten:fraternal correction in view of eternal salvation. Today, in general, we are very sensitive to the idea of charity and caring about the physical and material well-being of others, but almost completely silent about our spiritual responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. This was not the case in the early Church or in those communities that are truly mature in faith, those which are concerned not only for the physical health of their brothers and sisters, but also for their spiritual health and ultimate destiny. The Scriptures tell us: "Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it. Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still, teach the upright, he will gain yet more" (Prov 9:8ff). Christ himself commands us to admonish a brother who is committing a sin (cf. Mt 18:15). The verb used to express fraternal correction - elenchein – is the same used to indicate the prophetic mission of Christians to speak out against a generation indulging in evil (cf. Eph 5:11). The Church’s tradition has included "admonishing sinners" among the spiritual works of mercy. It is important to recover this dimension of Christian charity. We must not remain silent before evil. I am thinking of all those Christians who, out of human regard or purely personal convenience, adapt to the prevailing mentality, rather than warning their brothers and sisters against ways of thinking and acting that are contrary to the truth and that do not follow the path of goodness. Christian admonishment, for its part, is never motivated by a spirit of accusation or recrimination. It is always moved by love and mercy, and springs from genuine concern for the good of the other.

Read it all (emphasis mine).

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church Year / Liturgical Seasons • Lent • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic • Pope Benedict XVI

Nigeria's militant Islamists have said they carried out Tuesday's suicide bombing at the army headquarters in the northern city of Kaduna.

A man wearing a military uniform blew himself up outside the barracks - one of Nigeria's most fortified complexes.

A spokesperson for the Boko Haram group also claimed responsibility for an attempted attack on an air force base.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Violence • * Economics, Politics • Defense, National Security, Military • Terrorism • * International News & Commentary • Africa • Nigeria

Michigan Court of Appeals judges will hear arguments Thursday on a case that could have serious repercussions for church members: Can what you confess to your pastor be used against you in a court of law?

A three-judge panel of the court is being asked to decide whether a Baptist pastor in Belleville violated Michigan's priest-penitent privilege by testifying against a church member in a rape case.

"This is a very dangerous case because it could have very serious repercussions for religion," the rape suspect's lawyer, Raymond Cassar of Farmington Hills, said Tuesday. "If a pastor is allowed to testify against a member of his church about privileged communications, no one will want to confess their sins to their pastors anymore."

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Toni Odette argued in court documents that the privilege doesn't apply in this case.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • Religion & Culture • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology • Pastoral Theology

The administration’s response Tuesday came on two tracks — with officials telling liberal groups and lawmakers that they were not backing down, while trying to assure religious groups that a phase-in period will allow the two sides to agree on an approach to putting the rule into practice.

“There are conversations right now to arrange a meeting to talk with folks about how this policy can be nuanced,” said Joel C. Hunter, a Florida megachurch pastor who has grown personally close to Obama and advised his White House on religious issues. “This is so fixable, and we just want to get into the conversation.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Obama is taking the objections of the Catholic leaders “seriously” and will seek to implement the policy in a way that “allays some of those concerns.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Health & Medicine • --The 2009 American Health Care Reform Debate • Life Ethics • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • Office of the President • President Barack Obama • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

White House advisors, including one of President Obama's top faith consultants, are signaling a potential compromise on a controversial new mandate that requires some religious institutions to cover contraception costs for employees.

David Axelrod, a senior campaign adviser for the Obama reelection campaign, said Tuesday that Obama may be open to a compromise that would expand a religious exemption in the new Health & Human Services mandate to satisfy religious groups.

"We certainly don’t want to abridge anyone’s religious freedoms," Axelrod said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe." "So we’re going to look for a way to move forward that both provides women with the preventive care that they need and respects the prerogatives of religious institutions."

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Health & Medicine • --The 2009 American Health Care Reform Debate • Life Ethics • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • Office of the President • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

Bulky, bald and tall, Boisjoly was an imposing figure, especially when armed with data. He found disturbing the data he reviewed about the booster rockets that would lift Challenger into space. Six months before the Challenger explosion, he predicted "a catastrophe of the highest order" involving "loss of human life" in a memo to managers at Thiokol.

The problem, Boisjoly wrote, was the elastic seals at the joints of the multi-stage booster rockets. They tended to stiffen and unseal in cold weather and NASA's ambitious shuttle launch schedule included winter lift-offs with risky temperatures, even in Florida.

Read or listen to it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Death / Burial / Funerals • * Culture-Watch • History • Psychology • Science & Technology • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A. • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

O Lord, who alone canst cast out the evil passions and desires of the soul: Come among us, we pray thee, and by thy mighty power subdue our spiritual enemies, and set us free from the tyranny of sin. We ask it in thy name and for thy glory.

--Henry Alford

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Spirituality/Prayer

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

--Romans 12:9-21

Filed under: * Theology • Theology: Scripture

5. We are concerned about the persistent fragile nature of many of the states in our continent – the rise in post-election violence, deep-seated corruption, dysfunctional economies, all affecting economic, political and social development. We urge our political leaders to create frameworks for national multi-stakeholder dialogue as a means of responding to the growing discontent.

6. We are deeply disturbed by the growing tension between Muslims and Christians, resulting in unnecessary loss of lives and property. We offer ourselves to work in collaboration with leaders of other faith communities to lobby respective governments on greater civilian protection towards stabilizing our communities. We call for solidarity with Christians in the Sudan, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Egypt.

7. We are concerned with the destructive impact that small arms in the hands of civilians has on the welfare of people in our communities and sustainable development. We join other stakeholders in a campaign against their proliferation.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Primary Source • -- Reports & Communiques • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Burundi • Global South Churches & Primates • * International News & Commentary • Africa

The difficulty many feel is that to leave the phrase ‘male bishop’ in the draft Measure insufficiently recognises where that particular point comes in the argument people are trying to make. It doesn’t go to the root of it. In other words the theological conviction is not about male bishops as such: it arises from certain other convictions. And one of my questions about the draft Measure is whether anything can be done there, and / or in the Code of Practice, to overcome the resistance that is felt to that phrase, and to do better justice to what it rests upon. If I’m right about the two fundamental principles, that’s not a substantial change in the Measure. But it does of course then raise the question of how, whether in Measure or in Code, we do proper justice to this second point about theological integrity and pastoral continuity and ecclesial integrity; how we do that without over-legislating, over-prescribing in way that creates parallel church identities by default. And that I suppose is what a couple of years ago the Archbishop of York and myself were feeling our way for in the now notorious ‘archbishops’ amendment’. If you look at some of the background literature that was provided at the time with that amendment, precisely the two principles with which I began were enunciated as the principles on which that amendment was based. Whether we were right or not to cast it in that form, I’m not at all sure. But looking forward to the debate later today, I would quite like Synod—no, I’d very much like Synod—to consider whether leaving a door open for the bishops to revisit some of those questions in the light of where we have got to might not a good idea at this juncture.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Culture-Watch • Women

Rick Santorum’s sweep of Mitt Romney in Tuesday’s three Republican presidential contests sets the stage for a new and bitter round of intraparty acrimony as Mr. Romney once again faces a surging conservative challenge to his claim on the party’s nomination.

Mr. Santorum’s rebuke of Mr. Romney could scramble the dynamics of the Republican race even as many in the party’s establishment were urging its most committed activists to finally fall in line behind Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. Voters in three disparate states forcefully refused to do that on Tuesday.

Instead, the most conservative elements of the Republican Party’s base expressed their unease with Mr. Romney by sending a resounding message that they preferred someone else. And they collectively revived the candidacy of Mr. Santorum, who has been languishing in the background since a narrow victory in Iowa’s caucuses at the beginning of the year.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • Office of the President

With millennial children now in their 20s, more helicopter parents are showing up in the workplace, sometimes even phoning human resources managers to advocate on their child's behalf.

Megan Huffnagle, a former human resources manager at a Denver theme park, recalls being shocked several years ago when she received a call from a young job applicant's mother.

"An employee was hired as an IT intern, and the parent called and proceeded to tell me how talented her son was, and how he deserved much more [compensation], and that he could make much more money outside of this position," Huffnagle says.

Read (or better listen to) it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Children • Marriage & Family • Psychology • Young Adults • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market

Consumer confidence jumped in January, with more consumers saying the general economy and their personal finances are improving. The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor, a 4-year-old daily poll tracking economic confidence and spending intentions of nearly 8,200 consumers throughout the month, recorded a 5.5-point jump from the previous month to 90.5. This is the first time since May 2010 that the index has topped 90.

Nearly 30 percent of consumers felt the overall economy is getting better, a jump of more than 6 percentage points from December and the highest figure in the last year. At the same time, those who reported their personal finances were improving rose nearly 5 percentage points to 23 percent – also the highest figure since February 2011.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Psychology • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Consumer/consumer spending • Personal Finance • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--

Dickens is the enemy not so much of an unjust view of human beings, as of a boring view of human beings. He loves the poor and the destitute, not from a sense of duty but from a sense of outrage that their lives are being made flat and dead. He wants them to live. He wants them to expand into the space that should be available for human beings to be what God meant them to be. In Hard Times, he left us, of course, one of the most unforgettable pictures of what education looks like if it forgets that exuberance and excess, and treats human beings as small containers for information and skill.

And that sense of the grotesque is, strange as it may sound to say it, one of the things that makes Dickens a great religious writer. As we’ve heard [in the earlier reading from The Life of Our Lord] he could write simply and movingly about Christ.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • * Culture-Watch • History • Poetry & Literature • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

Try this: place a forkful of food in your mouth. It doesn’t matter what the food is, but make it something you love — let’s say it’s that first nibble from three hot, fragrant, perfectly cooked ravioli.

Now comes the hard part. Put the fork down. This could be a lot more challenging than you imagine, because that first bite was very good and another immediately beckons. You’re hungry....

The concept has roots in Buddhist teachings. Just as there are forms of meditation that involve sitting, breathing, standing and walking, many Buddhist teachers encourage their students to meditate with food, expanding consciousness by paying close attention to the sensation and purpose of each morsel.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Dieting/Food/Nutrition • Religion & Culture • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Faiths • Buddhism

The Syrian city of Homs has come under renewed bombardment for the fifth day running - the heaviest so far, residents have told the BBC.

Activists say more than 40 people have died as a result of the new shelling, but this is difficult to verify.

The attacks come a day after President Bashar al-Assad promised the Russian foreign minister in Damascus that he would end violence and start dialogue.

Read it all and please join me in prayer for the people and situation in Syria.

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A compromise to try to meet objectors' concerns will be presented by the Manchester Diocesan Synod at a meeting of the Church's ruling council later.

It would give a greater measure of autonomy to male bishops appointed to oversee traditionalist parishes.

But many supporters of women bishops oppose the plans, saying they would make women second-class bishops.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Culture-Watch • Women

The full text is now avilable--read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Death / Burial / Funerals • * Culture-Watch • Health & Medicine • Law & Legal Issues • Life Ethics • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • England / UK • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Culture-Watch • Women

This is the link for those of you (like yours truly) who like to follow this sort of thing.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Culture-Watch • Blogging & the Internet • Media

The report on the morning is here and the afternoon report is there.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)

Stunning stuff--listen to it all--KSH (Hat Tip: NPR).

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Music

Reverence for both Scripture and freedom led [Roger] Williams to his position. His mentor was Edward Coke, the great English jurist who ruled, "The house of every one is as his castle," extending the liberties of great lords — and an inviolate refuge where one was free — to the lowest English commoners. Coke pioneered the use of habeas corpus to prevent arbitrary imprisonment. And when Chancellor of England Thomas Egerton said, "Rex est lex loquens; the king is the law speaking," and agreed that the monarch could "suspend any particular law" for "reason of state," Coke decreed instead that the law bound the king. Coke was imprisoned — without charge — for his view of liberty, but that same view ran in Williams' veins.

Equally important to Williams was Scripture. Going beyond the "render unto Caesar" verse in the New Testament, he recognized the difficulty in reconciling contradictory scriptural passages as well as different Bible translations. He even had before him an example of a new translation that served a political purpose. King James had disliked the existing English Bible because in his view it insufficiently taught obedience to authority; the King James Bible would correct that.

Given these complexities, Williams judged it impossible for any human to interpret all Scripture without error. Therefore he considered it "monstrous" for one person to impose any religious belief on another.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • * Culture-Watch • History • Law & Legal Issues • Church/State Matters • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A. • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

There is enough energy - human, the earth’s, the infinite energy of the divine, to cope with the enormous problems of the world today, chiefly climate change and related human poverty and suffering. It is necessary, though for this energy to be applied and applied wisely for the saving effects to be brought forth. It is too bad that the Roman Catholic Church has chosen to expend funds of its available energy (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/us/catholic-church-unveils-order-for-ex-episcopalians.html) including what might be viewed as a kind of low-level creativity on making a national refuge for disaffected Episcopal priests and the lay people who follow them.

Make no mistake, these angry ex-Episcopal priests and their flocks are not victims; they have not suffered persecution of any sort other than that they are repulsed by the stance of The Episcopal Church on the status of women and of lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexual people in the Church and in the world. I can speak with some authority on this, having served in the Episcopal House of Bishops since 2002, a period spanning the explosive events around the election, confirmation, and consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • General Convention • TEC Bishops • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings • * Religion News & Commentary • Ecumenical Relations • Other Churches • Roman Catholic • Pope Benedict XVI

The Most Rev. Bernard Ntahoturi continued reflections on the life of Peter from John 21 v 15-19 focusing on the “double call” of Jesus to follow and be trained by Him. Jesus transformed Peter from fisherman to shepherd and called him to servant leadership. As followers of Jesus we need to remain rooted in Christ through prayer and the Word of God and move outwards in self-giving love so that the lives of individuals, local Churches and local communities are impacted and strengthened.

The review of the CAPA Constitution was presented by the Rt. Rev. Trevor Mwamba from Botswana diocese, the Province of Central Africa. It was agreed that the current Constitution should remain in place so that further discussion can take place in the Provinces.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Burundi • * International News & Commentary • Africa

After months of urging from other Baptists around the country, the Rev. Fred Luter told his African-American congregation that he will seek to become the first black man to lead the predominantly white Southern Baptist Convention.

Several Baptist leaders said Luter becomes the prohibitive favorite for the post, to be filled in a potentially historic election at the Southern Baptists' annual meeting here in June.

SBC Today, a Baptist-focused news website, carried the announcement on Wednesday. Youth pastor Fred "Chip" Luter III separately confirmed Luter's announcement to his church on Sunday.

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Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • Parish Ministry • Ministry of the Ordained • * Culture-Watch • Race/Race Relations • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

O Almighty God, eternal, righteous, and merciful, give us poor sinners to do for thy sake all that we know of thy will, and to will always what pleases thee; so that inwardly purified, enlightened, and kindled by the fire of thy Holy Spirit, we may follow in the steps of thy well-beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

--Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226)

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Spirituality/Prayer

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him.

--Romans 12:1-3

Filed under: * Theology • Theology: Scripture

The Chair’s address noted that there is a process of profound change taking place in Africa as well as other parts of the world and that CAPA is called to be a transforming agent especially in places where people have no voice. Among the many issues that need to be addressed are the proclamation of the Gospel and the nurturing and training of Christians; strengthening organs of management in the provinces of Africa; the role of the Church in nation building and where there is turbulence such as North Africa; mechanisms for conflict management and transformation; accountability of leaders; mechanisms for sharing ideas on issues of concern; the proliferation of arms in the Continent; relationships between Christians and Muslims; and the means to strengthen fellowship, solidarity and unity especially where there are doctrinal and other differences.

The Chair acknowledged the role of the Church in the creation of South Sudan as a new nation. He congratulated the new Primates of Central Africa, DR Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria. He also registered appreciation of the contribution to the life of CAPA from former members who have recently retired.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Burundi • Global South Churches & Primates • * International News & Commentary • Africa

From here:

“We are disappointed by the ruling today by a panel of the Ninth Circuit that would invalidate the action taken by the people of California affirming that marriage unites a woman and a man and any children from their union. However, given the issues involved and the nature of the legal process, it’s always been clear that this case would very likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Marriage between one man and one woman has been—and always will be—the most basic building block of the family and of our society.

“In the end, through sound legal reasoning, we believe the court will see this as well and uphold the will of the voters as expressed in Proposition 8. We continue to pray for that positive outcome.”

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • Marriage & Family • Religion & Culture • Sexuality • --Civil Unions & Partnerships • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • State Government • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic

A federal appeals court panel ruled on Tuesday that a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in California violated the Constitution, all but ensuring that the case will proceed to the United States Supreme Court.

The three-judge panel issued its ruling Tuesday morning in San Francisco, upholding a decision by Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who had been the chief judge of the Federal District Court of the Northern District of California but has since retired. The panel found that Proposition 8 – passed by California voters in November 2008 by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent – violated the equal protection rights of two same-sex couples that brought the suit. The proposition placed a specific prohibition in the State Constitution against marriage between two people of the same sex.

But the 2-1 decision was much more narrowly framed than the sweeping ruling of Judge Walker, who asserted that barring same-sex couples from marrying was a violation of the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution. The two judges in this case stated explicitly they were not deciding whether there was a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry, instead ruling that the disparate treatment of couples under California law since the passage of Proposition 8 violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Children • Law & Legal Issues • Marriage & Family • Religion & Culture • Sexuality • --Civil Unions & Partnerships • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • State Government • * Theology • Anthropology • Ethics / Moral Theology

Growing up in Kuwait, Asif Balbale thought he wanted to become a chemical engineer. He never imagined enlisting in the U.S. Navy, much less becoming an imam.

Balbale got his engineering degree after immigrating to the U.S. at age 21. With jobs hard to come by, he tried to enlist in the Army, but didn't weigh enough. Instead, he met the Navy's minimum requirements.

He was sworn in as a U.S. citizen in 2005 while deployed aboard the USS Boxer. Intending to apply for an officer program, Balbale, 31, mistakenly emailed a recruiter for the chaplain corps.

"God, I think, had better plans for me," Balbale said, looking back.

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Read it all.

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“You could sell your home, owe nothing more on your mortgage and get $30,000,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said in the Aug. 17 letter obtained by Bloomberg News.

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Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market • Personal Finance • The Banking System/Sector • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--

Internet giants Google Inc (GOOG.O) and Facebook removed content from some Indian domain websites on Monday following a court directive warning them of a crackdown "like China" if they did not take steps to protect religious sensibilities.

The two are among 21 companies ordered to develop a mechanism to block material considered religiously offensive after private petitioners took them to court over images deemed offensive to Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

Two cases have been brought by individuals against internet companies in India, stoking fears about censorship in the world's largest democracy.

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Blogging & the Internet • Religion & Culture • Science & Technology • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • * International News & Commentary • Asia • India

At 6.15pm on Tuesday, February 7th the United Reformed Church and the Church of England will both participate in a Service of Reconciliation, Healing of Memories and Mutual Commitment at Westminster Abbey. The service marks the 350th anniversary of the Great Ejectment of 2,000 nonconforming ministers following the 1662 Act of Uniformity...

The historic service marks a significant step forward in the development of a closer working relationship between the two Churches. At the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury will preach and the Archbishop of York, together with Mrs Val Morrison and the Revd Dr Kirsty Thorpe, moderators of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church, will lead a litany of penitence and act of commitment.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • * Religion News & Commentary • Ecumenical Relations • Other Churches • Reformed

Dr Rowan Williams said that giving terminally ill people a “right to die” would put both vulnerable patients and doctors alike under threat.

In an outspoken address to the Church of England General Synod, he drew parallels with the growth of abortion and warned that changing the law would create circumstances in which life would be “legally declared to be not worth living”.

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"The default position on abortion has shifted quite clearly over the past 40 years - and to see the default position shift on the sanctity of life would be a disaster,"... [Rowan Williams] said.

"We are not committed to the notion - the eccentric notion - that Christians believe we should cling to life at all costs.

"We are committed as Christians to the belief that every life in every imaginable situation is infinitely precious in the sight of God.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Death / Burial / Funerals • * Culture-Watch • Health & Medicine • Law & Legal Issues • Life Ethics • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • England / UK • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

Read it all, noting especially the final motion on the Independent Commission on Assisted Dying

Mrs Sarah Finch (London) moved:

'That this Synod express its concern that the Independent Commission on Assisted Dying is insufficiently independent to be able to develop proposals which will properly protect the interests of vulnerable and disabled people.'

Following debate and amendment, the motion was carried in the following form:

'That this Synod

a) express its concern that the Independent Commission on Assisted Dying was insufficiently independent to be able to develop proposals which will properly protect the interests of vulnerable and disabled people;

b) endorse the responses to the Commission on Assisted Dying referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 of GS 1851B;

c) affirm the intrinsic value of every human life and express its support for the current law on assisted suicide as a means of contributing to a just and compassionate society in which vulnerable people are protected; and

d) celebrating the considerable improvement in the quality of care of the dying brought about by the hospice and palliative care movements and by the input of clinicians, clergy and others, encourage the Church's continued involvement in the wider agenda of the care of those approaching the end of their lives and the support of those caring for them.'

In a full count of the Synod, there voted in favour 284, against none, with four abstaining.

Update: Riazat Butt did a liveblog of the proceedings--check it out.

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...the only difference between the current arrangements for “flying” bishops, who are appointed to care for traditionalists, and the new “co-ordinate” bishops proposed by Dr Williams and Dr Sentamu, would be the source of authority.

With delegate bishops, the authority to conduct confirmations and other services would come from the diocesan bishop. With the new “co-ordinate” bishops proposed by the Archbishops, it would come from Synod, giving the traditionalist male equal authority in the diocese with the female diocesan.

But Jamaica-born Ms [Rose] Hudson-Wilkin, the first black woman chaplain to the House of Commons, told The Times that this was unacceptable. “If we are going to have women as bishops then we need to have women bishops. We need to stop moving the goalposts. I am not happy with anything that only begrudgingly makes women bishops.”

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • Archbishop of York John Sentamu • * Culture-Watch • Women

There is now no doubt that the Church of England will consecrate its first woman bishop within the next couple of years. This will happen without any statutory provision for those who in conscience cannot accept women’s episcopacy. The significant minority of clergy and laity who oppose this innovation will simply be told to like it – or lump it and go elsewhere. Thus tens of thousands of traditional and faithful Anglicans will be unchurched.

This stinking fish has been a long time on the slab. Back in 1992, the church voted to admit women to the priesthood, but this was only agreed upon the intervention of the then Archbishop of York, Dr John Habgood, who insisted that there were “two integrities” within the church: the one that could accept women priests and the other that could not. Room must be made for both. If Dr Habgood’s agreeable compromise had not been accepted then there would not have been a majority in favour of the ordination of women.

The radical innovators, illiberal “liberals,” non-believing secularists and intolerant feminists who together govern the church are determined not to make the same mistake again. They are saying to the opponents of women bishops, “Well, get out then!” – except this injunction is not generally put even as politely as that.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Culture-Watch • Women

Police are investigating racist e-mails sent to Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, after he spoke out against gay marriage.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed they are treating e-mails sent to the Ugandan-born Archbishop as potential hate crimes....

A police spokesman said: “We can confirm that a complaint has been received from the office of Archbishop John Sentamu, following the receipt of e-mails containing racially offensive statements. The e-mails are being investigated as a hate crime.”

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We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.

The portrayal of Muslims as victims or heroes is at best partially accurate. In recent years the violent oppression of Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West Africa and the Middle East to South Asia and Oceania. In some countries it is governments and their agents that have burned churches and imprisoned parishioners. In others, rebel groups and vigilantes have taken matters into their own hands, murdering Christians and driving them from regions where their roots go back centuries....

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • Violence • * International News & Commentary • Middle East • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Other Faiths • Islam • Muslim-Christian relations

From here:

Air Serv International, which provides air services to humanitarian organizations in Africa and Asia, has named one of its aircraft “Spirit of John Stott”. This is tribute to John Stott, the late Rector Emeritus of All Souls Langham Place, London, evangelical Christian leader, and author of many well known books, including Basic Christianity and The Cross of Christ. John was also the framer of the Lausanne Covenant and founder of the Langham Partnership that supports a number of initiatives for Christian leaders and pastors, particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The aircraft which has been named “Spirit of John Stott” is a Cessna Caravan 208B.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • * Culture-Watch • Charities/Non-Profit Organizations • * International News & Commentary • Africa • Asia • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Evangelicals

Eliat, Israel--Vacationers in this glittering holiday city by the Israeli-Egyptian border, stroll along a seaside promenade trying to forget their nation's troubles.

"We try not to think about politics too much," said Nikhama Prat, pushing her 3-year-old son in a carriage along the wood-planked walkway. "There is always something happening with Israel. We're threatened all the time."
In a country endemic with strife, there are mixed feelings among Israelis over whether growing threats from Iran, or immediate localized issues, are of greatest concern.

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Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Defense, National Security, Military • Foreign Relations • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • Middle East • Iran • Israel

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Episcopal Church (TEC) • Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori • * International News & Commentary • Asia

"The Diamond Jubilee celebrates much more than the length of Her Majesty's reign, though that is remarkable in itself. She has been our Queen for as long as most of us can remember," Dr Williams told the General Synod.

"None of us can imagine what it would be like to hold the same office for sixty years - Her Majesty's life is one in which the privilege accorded by birth has been richly earned by generous service."

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Culture-Watch • History • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

O God, who by thy Spirit didst call Cornelius the Centurion to be the first Christian among the Gentiles: Grant to thy Church, we beseech thee, such a ready will to go where thou dost send and to do what thou dost command, that under thy guidance it may welcome all who turn to thee in love and faith, and proclaim the Gospel to all nations; 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 Life • Church History • Spirituality/Prayer

O God, who hast bidden us to worship thee with the sound of the trumpet, with psaltery and harp, with stringed instruments and organs, and also to be glad in thee and to shout for joy: Help us to contrive by all means to set forth thy most worthy praise, that the art of man may be tuned to the glory of God; for the sake of him whose voice is as the sound of many waters, Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord.

--J. R. W. Stott (1921-2011)

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Spirituality/Prayer

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

--Hebrews 13:20-21

Filed under: * Theology • Theology: Scripture

Heavy artillery fire has been rocking Homs, as Syrian troops step up an assault on the restive city.

A BBC correspondent there describes almost constant blasts, in the fiercest attack in the 11-month uprising.

US President Barack Obama said it was important to resolve the conflict without outside military intervention.

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Violence • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • Middle East • Syria

Hosted by the Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi, the 11th CAPA Council meeting is bringing together Primates or their representatives, clergy and lay people from the 12 Anglican Provinces of Africa along with partners and other observers from around the world.

The Council of the Anglican Provinces of Africa, whose secretariat is based in Nairobi, Kenya, is a continental body that brings together the twelve Provinces of the Anglican Church in Africa.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Anglican Church of Burundi • Global South Churches & Primates • * International News & Commentary • Africa

On Saturday 5 February Canterbury Diocesan Synod voted in favour of the Anglican Communion Covenant in all three houses (bishops, clergy and laity).

The vote held at the John Wallis Church of England Academy in Ashford, was in response to the General Synod’s decision in 2010 to refer the matter to the dioceses. All 44 dioceses in the Church of England are being asked to “approve the draft Act of Synod adopting the Anglican Communion Covenant.”

Described as the closest thing to a constitution for the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Covenant was first proposed in the Windsor report of 2004, following tensions in relation to same-sex partnerships in North America.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Covenant • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE)

Two of Buffalo's most venerable mainline Protestant churches are in discussions to share space, staff and ministries -- with one of the congregations possibly selling off its buildings and moving into the landmark structure of the other congregation.

Leadership of Trinity Episcopal Church on Delaware Avenue revealed the surprising proposal, which also involves First Presbyterian Church, in a letter this past weekend to Trinity church members.

The proposal calls for First Presbyterian, the city's first congregation, dating from before the War of 1812, to sell its buildings on Symphony Circle and move to the Delaware campus of Trinity, which was formed in 1836.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Urban/City Life and Issues • * Religion News & Commentary • Ecumenical Relations • Other Churches • Presbyterian

Voorhees College will celebrate Absalom Jones, the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church, at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, in St. Philip's Chapel on campus.

The Annual Absalom Jones Feast Day will feature the Right Rev. W. Andrew Waldo, bishop of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, as chief celebrant, and the Right Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, as preacher.

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A combination of fewer people in the workforce and high levels of indebtedness leads to a very adverse economic environment, [Ajay] Kapur warned.

The aging population means that a serious reform of the social security and tax systems will be needed in Japan, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura at a press conference held Monday, according to a Feb. 1 report by the Daily Yomiuri Online.

In 1960 one retiree was supported by 11.2 workers. In 2010, one retiree was supported by only 2.8 workers. By 2060, it is expected there will be just 1.3 workers per retiree.

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Children • Marriage & Family • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • * International News & Commentary • Asia • Japan

Currently our focus and priority is on the identification and creation of stable Ordinariate communities. However, we are also aware that there are individuals or single families who will want to join the Ordinariate. Assigning individuals to the various local communities is going to take time; we first have to see where our communities are going to be located and get them established before we can begin connecting more isolated individuals/families to our existing communities. This mean that our individuals are going to need to be patient with us as these communities are created. We do not want anyone feeling neglected, however with limited time and resources our priority must be getting our communities established and our clergy ordained before we can turn our attention to our individual members. Nevertheless, we are maintaining a database of everyone who desires to join the Ordinariate to keep track of the names and locations of our members so that we will eventually be able to connect individuals with communities in their geographic area.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic

Anglican women clergy are to rally in Westminster later at a march supporting plans to introduce women bishops.

The Church of England's ruling body, the General Synod, is to discuss legislation on women bishops this week.

It will consider a proposal that women bishops should accept intervention in their dioceses by male alternatives if called in by traditionalist parishes.

Progressive Anglicans fiercely oppose the plans, claiming it would make women second-class bishops.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Culture-Watch • Women

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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There were a lot of snickers last summer when Eli Manning had the audacity to inform us that he thought he was an elite quarterback.

It's not like he beat his chest and issued a proclamation. Somebody asked him whether he thought he was an elite quarterback and he responded with a truthful answer.

"What do you expect the guy to say?" Giants coach Tom Coughlin said last night after Eli led New York to its second Super Bowl title in five seasons and also collected his second Super Bowl MVP award with a 30-for-40, 296-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 21-17, come-from-behind win over the Patriots.

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Men • Sports • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

Last week he did it again, wading into a discussion of money — or, rather, of the “very poor” who lack it — and succumbing to yet another pink slip of the tongue. Mitt Romney is forever being tripped up this election cycle by the topic of wealth.

Not, interestingly, religion. That was the angst last time around, and the extent to which the dynamic has changed, with mammon supplanting Mormon as the bejeweled albatross around his neck, was reflected in another recent comment of his, one that prompted less notice and was interpreted in a particular and highly revealing way....

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Faiths • Mormons

Heavy artillery fire has been rocking Homs, as Syrian troops step up an assault on the restive city.

A BBC correspondent there says attacks resumed early on Monday with almost constant explosions.

Rebels say a clinic is being targeted in one of the fiercest assaults on the city in the 11-month uprising.

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • Violence • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • Middle East • Syria

Not surprisingly, the American Catholic bishops have presented a nearly united front in opposition to the rule, scheduled to go into effect in 2013. The website CatholicVote.org lists 140 bishops, more than 70% of the 198 heads of U.S. Catholic dioceses, who have either issued or intend to issue statements opposing the mandate. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York accused the Obama administration of treating pregnancy and women's fertility "as a disease."

What is surprising is that prominent liberal Catholics — people who don't even agree with the church's position on contraception — have joined their voices in protest. One of them was E.J. Dionne, a widely syndicated columnist for the Washington Post. Dionne, who has been an Obama enthusiast since well before the 2008 election, accused the president in a recent column of having "utterly botched" the issue of contraceptive services. Dionne admitted that he wished "the church would show more flexibility on this question," but he also pointed out that the sweeping mandate "encroached upon the church's legitimate prerogatives" to ensure that its employment policies reflected its moral values.

This represents a breakthrough in the long-simmering animosity between conservative and liberal Catholics over how much the church should have changed in the wake of Vatican II....

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Health & Medicine • --The 2009 American Health Care Reform Debate • Law & Legal Issues • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Corporations/Corporate Life • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic

Since the New Year, I've been stopping at the Chicago Temple on Wednesday mornings for communion. For at least 40 years, this downtown United Methodist church has offered communion to city dwellers and commuters during the morning rush. At 7:30, Phil Blackwell--who inherited the tradition--consecrates the elements with whomever happens to be in the room at the moment. For the next 90 minutes, communion and a simple prayer are offered for anyone who walks in.

The communion, offered without a traditional liturgy, could very well have an "express lane" feel. When I first heard about this communal rite, I wondered: theologically, what is communion absent community? Culturally, why do I and others imagine we don't have time for liturgy? Ecclesiastically, what is communion that is all take (on my part) and no give?

But Blackwell and associate pastors Claude King and Wendy Witt all say the early-morning communion is a personal highlight of their ministries....

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Liturgy, Music, Worship • Parish Ministry • * Culture-Watch • Urban/City Life and Issues • * Theology • Sacramental Theology • Eucharist

O God our Father, who art the source of strength to all thy saints, and who didst bring the holy martyrs of Japan through the suffering of the cross to the joys of life eternal: Grant that we, being encouraged by their example, may hold fast the faith that we profess, even unto death; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • Spirituality/Prayer • * International News & Commentary • Asia • Japan

O God, who hast sown in our hearts the precious seed of thy truth: Grant us to nourish it by meditation, prayer and obedience, that it may not only take root, but also bring forth fruit unto holiness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Spirituality/Prayer

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:14-16

Filed under: * Theology • Theology: Scripture

It was a very good and evenly matched game that went all the way down to the wire.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Sports

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams met with Chief Rabbis Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar on Thursday during a week-long personal pilgrimage to Israel and the West Bank.

The office of the Diocese of Jerusalem of the Anglican Church said that during Williams’ visit he emphasized “the importance of constructive dialogue and co-existence between all religions,” and the need to “consolidate the peace process between the people of this region.”

Invited by the head of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem Bishop Suheil Dawani, Williams was on a private tour and so did not make any public statements.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • * International News & Commentary • Middle East • Israel • * Religion News & Commentary • Inter-Faith Relations • Other Faiths • Judaism

In what still remains a determinedly optimistic country, no serious presidential candidate would proffer an entirely negative view. Bleak assessments of the American present invariably come with morale-boosting promises about the American future. Clinton believed in a place called Hope, while Obama vouched for its audacity. From the troughs of the valley, Reagan promised a return to the shining city on a hill.

This kind of rhetoric serves a purpose. Elections, after all, are a diagnostic exercise, where problems are identified and remedies proposed. Had it not been for Eisenhower's fears about the Soviet threat, he might not have pushed so hard for what turned out to be the greatest landmark of his presidency: an interstate highway system.

Problems have arisen, however, when the prognosis has been too grave, at which point a candidate's exaggerated sense of US decline can lead to exaggerated policy responses in office. Kennedy's fears about being bested by the Soviets led in part to the disaster of the Bay of Pigs within months of him taking office. He became a victim of the Cold War machismo that only a short time before had made him look so muscular against Nixon. Pessimism can also nurture isolationism, and a reluctance to project American power abroad.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • History • Psychology • * Economics, Politics • Economy • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007-- • Politics in General • Office of the President • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

(Note that I decided to research these numbers based on the preceding post about the bishop of the diocese--KSH).

According to the U.S.Census Bureau's figures, Springfield, the see city of the diocese, has grown in population from 152,082 in 2000 to 153,060 in 2010. This represents a population growth of approximately 0.6% in this time frame.

According to Episcopal Church statistics, the Diocese of Western Massachusetts went from Average Sunday Attendance (or ASA) of 7,295 in 2000 to 5,208 in 2010. This represents a decline of 28.6% during this decade.

Please note that if you go to the link toward the end of this sentence and enter "Western Massachusetts" as the name of the diocese and then "View Diocese Chart" underneath on the left you can see in pictorial form some of the data from 2000-2010.

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

A heartfelt goodbye Sunday as the St. Peter's Episcopal Church congregation in Springfield held its last high mass with their Bishop Gordon Scruton.

The Episcopal Bishop plans to retire at the end of this year after 16 years as spiritual leader of the Western Massachusetts Diocese made up of 65 churches.

Read it all.

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

Western commentators typically attribute such behavior to Putin's personal paranoia or to attempts to rekindle the nation's wounded pride and assert Russia's superpower status. Look a little closer, however, and Russia's actions seem motivated more by calculated -- albeit sometimes miscalculated -- realpolitik than by psychological impulses.

First, strategic interests are at stake. In Tartus, Syria hosts the sole remaining Russian naval base on the Mediterranean, currently being refurbished by 600 Russian technicians after long disuse. To have to give up this Middle Eastern beachhead would be a shame, as far as the Russians are concerned.

Second, although limited, Russia has real commercial interests in Syria.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Foreign Relations • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • Europe • Russia • Middle East • Syria

[Russell] Blackford's argument is based on a familiar "Just So" story about European history: once upon a time Catholics and Protestants started killing each other over religion. The secular state saved the day by making religion a private matter. Locke is the hero here for conceptualizing this amicable division: the church would stay out of politics, and the state would stay out of religion. And they all lived happily ever after.

Unfortunately, this tale does not become more true simply by being repeated. It is a favourite of liberal political theorists - John Rawls, Richard Rorty and many others - but it can't be found in the work of any respected historian of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • History • Religion & Culture • Violence • * International News & Commentary • Europe

The Egyptian government intends to prosecute at least 40 people, including some U.S. citizens, as part of an investigation into nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funding, state media reported Sunday.

The announcement came a day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned the Egyptian Foreign Ministry that failure to quickly resolve the probe could jeopardize the more than $1.3 billion Egypt expects to get this year in U.S. aid.

“We are very clear that there are problems that arise from this situation that can impact all the rest of our relationship in Egypt,” Clinton told reporters while attending an international conference in Munich in which she met with her Egyptian counterpart. “We don’t want that.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Economics, Politics • Foreign Relations • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A. • Middle East • Egypt

Two penalties from Wayne Rooney brought Manchester United back from the dead to draw 3-3 with Chelsea in a pulsating game at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts were riding high on a three-goal lead shortly before the hour mark, with an own goals from Jonny Evans and a David Luiz header either side of a Juan Mata stunner giving the Blues the advantage.

But United unleashed a second-half onslaught to rescue a point at the Bridge, with Rooney and Javier Hernandez the heroes for the Red Devils.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Men • Sports • * 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

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described as a "travesty" Russia and China's veto of a UN resolution condemning Syria's crackdown against anti-government protesters.

Speaking in Bulgaria, Mrs Clinton said efforts outside the world body to help Syria's people should be redoubled.

The US, she said, would work with "friends of a democratic Syria" to support opponents of Syria's president.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Globalization • Law & Legal Issues • Violence • * Economics, Politics • Foreign Relations • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A. • Asia • China • Europe • Russia • Middle East • Syria

Mitt Romney's decisive victory in Nevada was never much in doubt. He won the state's caucuses four years ago, kept his organization active and he could count on support from Mormons who made up a quarter of caucus goers this year.

But the former Massachusetts governor's win here, coupled with his enormous Florida victory just days ago, proved Republicans have begun to coalesce around his candidacy in earnest. He swept nearly every voting group in Nevada including those that have been slow to come aboard, such as tea party activists and voters who describe themselves as extremely conservative.

And that spells trouble for his remaining rivals who now face a stark question: How do they stop him?

Read it all.

Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • Office of the President

...a sort of evangelistic outreach is planned in conjunction with the rollout of the documentary. Robinson said moviegoers should not expect to see Love Free or Die in many theaters. Instead, the plan is to make a DVD available to individuals and congregations through the film’s website, with an emphasis on group showings for “the movable middle.”

“We are asking that everyone who sees the movie invite a person — a family member, a coworker, a former classmate — who are among that large group of people who for the most part love us — they know us, they think positively about us — but they still go in the voting booth and vote against us,” Robinson said. “You know about that here in California.”

Robinson repeatedly referred to an iconic “Aunt Betty” as the film’s target audience. “Make it your project this year to call them up and say, ‘Aunt Betty, you remember how we had that little altercation at Thanksgiving? Can I get you out for coffee, and let’s talk about that?’” Robinson said. “And then, it looks as if this will be showing on PBS in the fall, and … we’re working on getting it shown on Thanksgiving weekend. So you’ll be at home with Aunt Betty, and you can have a better conversation this time.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • TEC Conflicts • Lambeth 2008 • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • Marriage & Family • Media • Movies & Television • Religion & Culture • Sexuality • --Civil Unions & Partnerships

Watch it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of Nigeria • * Culture-Watch • Violence • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Terrorism • * International News & Commentary • Middle East • Iran • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Faiths • Islam • Muslim-Christian relations

O Almighty God, we pray thee, sow the seed of thy Word in our hearts, and send down upon us thy heavenly grace; that we may bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, and at the great day of harvest may be gathered by thy holy angels into thy garner; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

--Canterbury Convocation

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church Year / Liturgical Seasons • Epiphany • Spirituality/Prayer

The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. Yea, the world is established; it shall never be moved; thy throne is established from of old; thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty! Thy decrees are very sure; holiness befits thy house, O LORD, for evermore.

--Psalm 93

Filed under: * Theology • Theology: Scripture

There is one immediately perceivable flaw in the Diocese's argument, and it also casts doubt on the legitimacy of Judge Bellows' characterization of the evidence as "compelling" and "clear." For at the time of his first ruling in this matter in 2008, which told the CANA congregations that they could keep their properties under the terms of Virginia's Division Statute (§ 57-9), it was then "clear" to Judge Bellows that the Diocese did not have any entitlement to the parish properties or bank accounts.

The only thing that changed the Judge's view was the Virginia Supreme Court's quixotical decision, two years later, to read the statute in such a way that it could never apply to that sacred category of religious institutions defined as "hierarchical" by the courts. From that date on, perhaps, it was now "clear" in Virginia that the Diocese would prevail -- or was it? At any rate, the point is that all of the evidence which the Diocese (leaning on Judge Bellows, to be sure) now characterizes as "compelling" did not amount to anything approaching that description in 2008, and could have become so only after June 2010.

But the principal point here is that with this motion, the Diocese has revealed its truly impecunious state, and hence its inability to maintain and operate all of the properties it has won in the judicial jackpot. Moving for an award of prejudgment interest in these unique circumstances -- secular lawsuits between thousands and thousands of Christians on each side, contrary to the tenets of the Christian religion -- is to rub salt into a gaping wound in the body of Christ.

Read it all.

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

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

The Catholic Church reacted strongly Friday to a White House defense of new rules that will force many religious employers to provide contraception to their workers in government-mandated health insurance plans.

"The White House information about this is a combination of misleading and wrong," said Anthony Picarello, general counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He said the bishops would "pursue every legal mandate available to them to bring an end to this mandate. That means legislation, litigation and public advocacy. All options are on the table...."

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Health & Medicine • --The 2009 American Health Care Reform Debate • Law & Legal Issues • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • House of Representatives • Office of the President • Senate • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

what I tried to convey remains true: There are unbridgeable gaps between traditional Christian orthodoxy and the theological positions taken by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As Brigham Young University professor Robert Millet notes, "Latter-day Saints are not in the line of historic Christianity and … do not accept the concepts concerning God, Christ, and the Godhead that grew out of the post-New Testament councils." The theological affirmations contained in the great creeds of the historic church are held by Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants alike; the Mormon church teaches that all of these branches of the historic Christian family tree are apostate and not authentically Christian.

I know many individual Mormons and historic orthodox Christians who believe people in one another's communities to be genuine followers of Jesus Christ. But the religious movements of historic Christianity on the one hand and Mormonism on the other do not recognize one another's movements as Christian. That doesn't mean individual people within those movements reject one another as citizens, or as political leaders — let alone as friends and colleagues. But it does mean that these religious traditions have things to say about one another.

Read it all but please note that what Mr. Poling attributes to Luther ["With Luther, I would rather be governed by an honest and capable man of a different religious faith than by a corrupt and ineffective politician who attended my church"] is something you often see quoted, but no one has ever been able to show me a reference where this was said in Luther's own works [and I recall the now late Richard John Neuhaus saying much the same]. If any blog readers can find such a reference, do let me know--KSH.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Church History • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Evangelicals • Other Faiths • Mormons • * Theology • Christology • The Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

From here:

The Rev. Randy Alexander
Rector of Christ Church, Pelham
Diocese of New York

The Rev. Canon Susan Goff
Canon to the Ordinary
Diocese of Virginia

The Very Rev. David May
Rector of Grace Church, Kilmarnock
Diocese of Virginia

The Very Rev. Dr. Hilary Smith
Rector of St. Paul's on-the-Hill, Winchester
Diocese of Virginia

The Very Rev. Shirley Smith Graham
Rector of St. Martin's, Williamsburg
Diocese of Southern Virginia

The Rev. Canon Sue Sommer
Subdean and Canon Pastor of Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral
Diocese of West Missouri

You may also find more about the nominees in the committee report there.

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

Romney to win Nevada 99.9, Romney to be the Republican Nominee 87.9, Obama to win the general election 56.7. Check it out.

Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • Office of the President

---

© 2012 Kendall S. Harmon. All rights reserved.

For original material from Titusonenine (such as articles and commentary by Dr. Harmon) permission to copy and distribute free of charge is granted, provided this notice, the logo, and the web site address are visible on all copies. For permission for use in for-profit publications, please email KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com

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