Speaking Justice Versus Living It
2009-09-11 23:07:00 One of my challenges as an activist, and as a Christian, is finding the proper balance between speaking about my values and living them out. Too much discussion keeps me unhealthily engaged with self-justification against opponents, while too little can be a form of selfish quietism in the face of widespread misinformation about what the Bible says.The Epistle of James has a lot to say about closing the gap between hearing and doing God's word. This recent installment of the Human Rights Campaign's Out in Scripture lectionary e-newsletter includes some fruitful reflections on that text (boldface emphasis mine):Our conversation about this week?s lectionary Bible passages began with James 1:17-27. What is the way of God?s wisdom? The book of James suggests that it is the ?law of liberty? (James 2:12). And that law starts with doing. Doers of the law?s basic justice requirements place themselves in risky outreach settings in which we are inevitably challenged to know who we really...
By: Reiter's Block
Upcoming GLBT Conferences: Send Me Your Reports
2009-08-28 17:03:00 Three conferences of interest to GLBT Christians and straight allies are coming up this autumn. My heteronormative family responsibilities are likely to keep me from attending any of them. So I'm counting on you, dear readers, to send me your reports from the field. Write up your impressions and I'll consider them for publication on this blog, or send me a link to your own blog post about any of these events. Why Homosexuality? Religion, Globalization, and the Anglican Schism Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CTOctober 17, 2009This interdisciplinary conference is sponsored by the LGBT Studies Department at Yale. "Rather than restaging the arguments for and against the ordination of openly gay clergy, this day-long conference analyzes the threatened schism in the Anglican Communion in order to examine wide-ranging and interrelated issues of religion, secularism, globalization, nationalism, and modernity. How and why, we ask, has homosexuality come to serve as a flash point for so m...
By: Reiter's Block
Of Women, Gays and Episcopal Rebellions
2008-11-17 16:21:00 There’s a religious war, of sorts, going on in the Episcopal church and, here in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, it has created a parting of the ways between the Fort Worth Diocese and the Dallas Diocese. The first shot in this war came back in 1976 when the Episcopal Church officially allowed women in the ministry. ...
The Episcopal Blessing
2008-05-20 12:00:00 Priest: The Lord be with you.All: And also with you.Priest: Blessed be the name of the Lord.All: Both now and forever.Priest: Our help is in the name of the Lord.All: Who made heaven and earth.Priest: May almighty God bless you, + the Father, + and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit.
By: Catholic Prayers
Open Questions About Open Communion
2008-05-05 16:42:00 A couple of years ago, my church switched from "all baptized Christians" to "all those worshipping with us" being invited to receive the sacraments, a practice that I hear is not uncommon among liberal churches. This change upset some traditionalists while making others, including my multi-religious family, feel more welcome. I'm content with the current policy, though I wouldn't be offended if they invited non-Christians to receive a blessing at the altar rail instead. My personal opinion about communion is similar to how I feel about premarital sex: It's important to reserve certain intimate acts for a fully committed relationship so that those vows represent a real life change and not a mere formality. However, it's hard to point this out to someone without shaming them in a way that is worse than the original offense. A public distinction between people (like not inviting your daughter's live-in boyfriend to Christmas dinner) is less defensible than a pr...
By: Reiter's Block
Northampton Pride 2008
2008-05-04 19:19:00 Yesterday Northampton held its 27th annual Gay Pride March, attended by 7,500 people. My husband and I and one of my moms marched with the good folks from MassEquality, the group that successfully lobbied to preserve equal marriage rights in Massachusetts, and their Connecticut counterpart, Love Makes a Family.MassEquality is currently advocating for the Equality Agenda, a variety of state legislative and funding initiatives including transgender civil rights, "safe schools" programs, and HIV/AIDS prevention. Behind that sign, I'm wearing my rainbow "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You" tank top, available here from Cafe Press. The leopard-print sequined lid is from Mrs. Dewson's Hats in San Francisco. (I received objective proof of my fabulosity when a young gay man asked to buy it from me. I let him try it on.) That's MassEquality organizer Ryan Brown on the left, with other supporters whose names I didn't catch, as we march down Main Street past the courthouse. An appr...
By: Reiter's Block
John McCain Episcopal High School VIDEO
2008-04-04 03:43:00 Service to America: Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VirginiaARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain delivered the following remarks as prepared for delivery during the second stop of his "Service to America" tour at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia at 04/01/08 10:45 a.m. EST:Thank you. I'm happy to be back at Episcopal, my alma mater, which I have many happy memories of, and a few that I'm sure former teachers, school administrators and I would rather forget. Until I enrolled at Episcopal, my education had been constantly disrupted by the demands of my father's naval career, which required us to move so often that I lost track of the number of schools I attended. My parents had resolved finally to put an end to our haphazard education and enrolled my sister, brother and me in boarding schools. I arrived here a pretty rambunctious boy, with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I was always the new kid, and was accustomed to proving myself quickly at each new ...
St. James -- Realtor Says Top Episcopal Church in Dallas
2008-04-01 06:59:00 SAINT JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH, DALLAS -- A GOOD PLACE Most of us consider Dallas and the surrounding area as a significant part of the Texas Bible Belt. And when we're talking about the Bible Belt we primarily consider it composed of the churches of Baptist, Pentecostal, Bible and non-denominational. But even with that in mind, there are twenty-four Episcopal churches in the city of Dallas, and quite a number in the outlining areas like Plano and McKinney. In fact, one of the top three Episcopal churches in the United States when it comes to membership is in Dallas. It's Saint Michael and All Angels. We're all members of the Diocese of Dallas, led by The Right Reverend James M. Stanton. When Patty and I first moved to Dallas, we began our search for the Episcopal church and congregation that was closest in feel to old Trinity Episcopal in Galveston where I was a lifelong member. That was quite a chore, although it shouldn't have been...
Alleluia, Alleluia!
2008-03-23 17:28:00 Alleluia, alleluia! Hearts to heaven and voices raise:Sing to God a hymn of gladness, sing to God a hymn of praise.He, who on the cross a Victim, for the world's salvation bled,Jesus Christ, in holiness and glory, now is risen from the dead.Christ is risen, Christ, the first fruits of the holy harvest field,Which will all its full abundance at Christ's second coming yield:Then the golden ears of harvest will their heads before Christ wave,Ripened by Christ's glorious sunshine from the furrows of the grave.Christ is risen, we are risen! Shed upon us heavenly grace,Rain and dew and gleams of glory from the brightness of God's face;That we, with our hearts in heaven, here on earth may fruitful be,And by angel hands be gathered, and be ever, God, with you.Alleluia, alleluia! Glory be to God on high;Alleluia! to the Savior who has gained the victory;Alleluia! to the Spirit, fount of love and sanctity:Alleluia, alleluia! to the Triune Majesty.Words: Christopher Wordsworth (19thC)Music...
By: Reiter's Block
Holy Week in the Blogosphere
2008-03-17 18:51:00 Yesterday was Palm Sunday, and this weekend, unbelievable as it seems to us in the Northeast who still see snow instead of crocuses on our lawns, will be Easter. Lent is my favorite season of the Christian year, a time when I can get serious about some spiritual problem or slackness of will. Since it's only forty days (and it seemed shorter this year, somehow), I'm not daunted by the prospect of an open-ended vow, the promise to "never do that again" which undermines itself from the start by its very implausibility. It's like Anne Lamott's cure for writer's block: rather than sit down to the monumental task of "writing your novel", she suggests that you resolve every day to write as much as will fit within a one-inch picture frame. Well, I didn't do that, but I did more or less keep my Lenten resolution to stop talking to my novel characters instead of Jesus. What I discovered, when I no longer had my imaginary friend telling me "Girl, you look fabulous, and I love y...
By: Reiter's Block
Sara Miles on the Idolatry of the Family
2008-03-07 17:08:00 Poet and journalist Sara Miles, whose conversion memoir Take This Bread has just been released in paperback, preached this sermon last summer at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church (San Francisco) about an all-too-common misunderstanding of Christian "family values". Just as in Jesus' day, "family" is not merely a sentimental tableau; it is a circle of power that defines who possesses status and purity, and who does not. Jesus says, I?ve come to bring fire to the earth and destroy your family. Do you think I?ve come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. What?s burning up here isn?t just money, as it was in the Gospel last week. It isn?t just religion, as it was two weeks ago when poor Peter tried to make a shrine to the ancestors to protect him from the blazing fire of the transfiguration. What Jesus is burning up in this reading is the past, and the future of the world as we see it in human terms. He?s replacing it with the fire of the perpetual pres...
By: Reiter's Block
Jesus the Oyster-Man
2008-03-03 11:57:00 Today in the Anglican cycle of prayer we commemorate the brothers John and Charles Wesley, whose revival movement within the Anglican Church gave rise to the Methodist denomination. James Kiefer at The Daily Office tells this story of one Wesleyan preacher's creative misreading of the Bible: [A]lthough Wesley found it natural to approach the Gospel with habits of thought formed by a classical education, he was quick to recognize the value of other approaches. The early Methodist meetings were often led by lay preachers with very limited education. On one occasion, such a preacher took as his text Luke 19:21, "Lord, I feared thee, because thou art an austere man." Not knowing the word "austere," he thought that the text spoke of "an oyster man." He spoke about the work of those who retrieve oysters from the sea-bed. The diver plunges down from the surface, cut off from his natural environment, into bone-chilling water. He gropes in the dark, cutting his hands on the sharp ...
By: Reiter's Block
George Herbert: "The Flower"
2008-02-27 12:00:00 Today in the Anglican calendar we commemorate George Herbert, one of the great 17th-century metaphysical poets (1593-1633). According to the thumbnail bio at The Daily Office, he spent most of his short life as an humble and well-loved parish priest in a village near Salisbury, England. His reputation rests on a single book of poems, The Temple, that was published after his death by his friend Nicholas Ferrar. Below, his poem "The Flower" testifies to the dizzying emotional highs and lows of the spiritual life and how God's constancy alone brings peace. I find it comforting that even a great Christian poet like Herbert had the same struggle for equanimity as the rest of us.The Flower H-ow fresh, O Lord, how sweet and clean Are thy returns! even as the flowers in spring; - To which, besides their own demean, The late-past frosts tributes of pleasures bring. &-nbsp; Grief melts away ...
By: Reiter's Block
Painted Prayerbook Sketches Journey of Faith
2008-02-23 18:39:00 Artist Jan Richardson, whom I discovered through the Image Journal e-newsletter, blogs about faith and the creative process at The Painted Prayerbook. Her meditations on Bible readings from the Episcopal lectionary are accompanied by simple yet rich abstract paintings and collages that express her intuitive response to the text. Recent posts that resonated with me include The Red Circle, about setting aside the ego in order to discern when your work is complete; and Transfiguration Sunday: Mum's the Word (Maybe), where Richardson asks how the artist knows when, and in what medium, to tell a story that is important to her:...In the absence of being able to build physical dwellings, the disciples would have wanted, I suspect, to construct a story about their mountaintop experience: a container of words, at least, that would help them hold and convey what had happened to Jesus and to themselves. Perhaps anticipating this, Jesus enjoins them not to tell what has transpir...
By: Reiter's Block
Jill Alexander Essbaum: "Wednesday, Ash"
2008-02-06 19:37:00 Nothing of me will survive.This body that I wear will dieand my mouth--nevermind its loveliness--is set to shut itself into a sorrow the sizeof restlessness and lack.The lips go too. They slackat the corners crying no, no but still they go. They do not talk back.And then for every finger I have counted on--so many times--there is a going, and a gone.They leave to rest in pieces with once sad and pret-ty hands of griefwaiting for an Easter dawn(which no one hears approaching when they're - buried underneath the ground).And my feet cannot quit thinking quickstep, &nb-sp;swing, the soundof toe taps or a waltz. Hush. No dancing for the dead. The ball is done. The slipper? Nowhere to be found. And my belly, full or no is quiet.Then it will feast as a ghost feasts--on nothing, a dietof sediment, sleep, a lily or two.I shall not fuss, I shall not make riotor rivalry any, any more. The eyes are vacant, tenantless,for they hav...
By: Reiter's Block
Great property near Episcopal school in Devon
2008-01-21 03:44:00 European Arts & Crafts by Peter Batchelor on 1.1 flat acre. This home w/ 3" hardwd throughout first flr except tiled mudrm. Kitchen designed w/ real cook in mind, includes all Viking appliances, 2 Bosh dishwasher, dbl ovens, warming draw, newest microwave electronic draw, 6 burner cook top, granite counters, center island seats 4 plus peninsula for extra seating. Gracious Butler Pantry w/ wine cooler, sink & glass cabinets. 3 Fireplaces 1 in each the Living Rm, Family Rm & Master Sitting Rm. Music controlled individually throughout main level, master & mstr ba. Paneled w/ bookcases Library, Master complete w/ marble bath & seperate sitting room. Generous trim packages starting w/ coiffered ceiling in Family Rm, home includes wainscoting, chair rails, two or three piece crown moldings, extensive recessed lighting, 3 car garage, 2x6 construction exterior walls, architectural roof shingles. Finished Third floor w/ an option to finish ad...
Satan Says "What's the Point?"
2008-01-14 20:27:00 I am afflicted with a sort of spiritual far-sightedness. I see the end of things more clearly than their present reality. My inner life is a constant battle between the hunger for joy and the awareness of its transience. This temperament kept me sober and chaste in adolescence, and probably will help me again during my midlife crisis, but it's not enough to build a life upon. Even asceticism, to avoid becoming a perverse form of self-gratification, has to treat renunciation as a means to an end, a clearing away of distractions in search of the greater pleasure of God's presence. The man in the parable sells the field in order to gain the pearl of great price, not because he's bored with the view.Kafka's story "A Hunger Artist" speaks to this dilemma. The title character made his living as a sideshow attraction, impressing and horrifying spectators with his willpower to abstain from food for weeks or months. Finally, fallen out of fashion, ...
By: Reiter's Block
Portavoz de la Conferencia Episcopal: ?el matrimonio homosexual es la cosa
2008-01-11 13:07:00 Un, dos, tres, responda otra vez…etiquetas: matrimonio, familia» noticia original […] […] Ver nota completa en Mename: publicadas Innet Tags: dos,, tres,, responda, otra, vez…etiquetas:, matrimonio,, familia» noticia, original , […]
Episcopal leader defends gay bishops
2008-01-05 16:10:00 LONDON (AP) ? Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says her church has been unfairly singled out for criticism because it is honest about consecrating gay bishops. Jefferts Schori told BBC Radio 4’s PM program that the church, which is the Anglican body in the U.S., is far from the only Anglican province that has ...
Episcopal leader defends gay bishops(AP) (Europe News)
2008-01-02 11:10:00 Episcopal leader defends gay bishops(AP)AP - Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori says her church has been unfairly singled out for criticism because it is honest about consecrating gay bishops. Container ship runs aground in English channel(AFP) AFP - A large container ship ran aground in the English Channel south of Dover on Wednesday, coastguards said, adding ...
Christmas Carol: Sing a Different Song
2007-12-25 10:43:00 Sing a different song now Christmas is here,sing a song of people knowing God's near:The Messiah is born in the face of our scorn,sing a different song to welcome and warn.Shout a different shout now Christmas is here,shout a shout of joy and genuine cheer:Fill the earth and the sky with the news from on high,shout a different shout that all may come by.Love a different love now Christmas is here,love without condition, love without fear:With the humble and poor, with the shy and unsure,love a different love. Let Christ be the cure!Dance a different dance now Christmas is here,dance a dance of war on suffering and fear:Peace and justice are one, in the light of the sun,Dance a different dance, God's reign has begun!Music: Different Song John Bell (20th C)Words: The Iona Community (20th C)Hear the music here. Merry Christmas!
By: Reiter's Block
Readings for Christmas Eve: Darkness and Light
2007-12-24 13:20:00 The Christmas season is a time of contrasts. In a dark cold night, the light of a star offers hope. The King of Kings is born in a humble manger. The church's Advent readings draw this contrast even sharper. When the society around us is celebrating with holly-jolly cartoon characters and piles of presents, we're asked to think about repentance, prophecy and the end times. Why dwell on sin and death as preparation for Christ's birth? Otherwise we would miss the true world-colliding awesomeness of the event. "Peace on earth, goodwill to humankind," we say, as if good intentions made it so. But peace and solidarity are fragile flames, always in danger of being blown out by the dark winds of violence, power struggles and prejudice. Forget this and we forget to shield them against the enemies that arise within and without. God as infant is not merely born into love and cuddles, but into all the vulnerability of being human in a sinful world. Like all of us, he is born to di...
By: Reiter's Block
Former Episcopal Priest Explores Christianity and Druidry in New Novel
2007-12-17 20:15:00 On March 22nd 2005, The Rev Walter William Melnyk was forced out of the priesthood of the US Episcopal Church after facing charges of ?holding private opinions inconsistent with the teachings of the Church.? This allegation, effectively a heresy charge, ended his 23 year-strong vocation as a priest, even though his only transgression was to ...
Support Prisoner Re-entry Programs
2007-12-10 12:38:00 The Episcopal Public Policy Network is urging members to contact their U.S. senators in support of the Second Chance Act (Senate Bill 1060), which would give federal funding to state programs that rehabilitate prisoners and ease their re-entry into the community. These programs offer literacy and job training, drug treatment, and other mental and physical health services. The bill passed the House of Representatives this fall. Read more about it in Episcopal Life Online.In other prison-reform news, Thousand Kites, a dialogue project on the U.S. criminal justice system, tomorrow will host its "Calls From Home" national radio broadcast for prisoners. Call their toll-free line (888-396-1208) Dec. 11 from 3 PM to 11 PM Eastern time to record your message to an incarcerated friend or family member. Messages will be included in a broadcast to over 120 radio stations across the country. Find out more here.
By: Reiter's Block
Another Conservative Attack on the Episcopal Church
2007-12-10 01:05:00 CONSERVATIVE HATRED OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCHI’ve just about had it with “Christian” conservatives who do nothing but rail against ...
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith of the Episcopal Church
2007-12-10 00:31:00 WHAT EPISCOPALIANS BELIEVEThe Episcopal Confession of FaithEpiscopal 39 Articles of ReligionGeneral InformationAs established by the Bishops, ...
Episcopal Diocese Secedes Over Gay Issue
2007-12-09 17:15:00 The Fresno, CA-based Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin yesterday became the first full diocese to split from the national church over disagreements about the Bible's view of homosexuality. The diocese, which is also one of the three US Episcopal dioceses- that rejects the ordination of women, voted to place itself under the authority of a conservative South American congregation. Over 50 Episcopal parishes have seceded from the national church in the past few years to protest the trend toward recognition of gay relationships. CNN.com has the full story here. I find it sad and ironic that in the name of upholding "tradition", certain Episcopal congregations are playing fast and loose with our entire system of church governance, as well as dishonoring their vows to respect the authority of their bishop. There are many Protestant denominations that operate on a more congregationalist model, where individual churches are free to reshuffle their allegian...
By: Reiter's Block
St. James Episcopal Church Cookie Exchange Dexter, Michigan
2007-12-02 23:05:00 Choose unique home baked cookies by the pound December 8th, 2007Serve your guests a huge assortment of cookies this Holiday season. Come to St James Episcopal Church at 3729 Broad Street Dexter, Michigan 48130 on Saturday December 8th starting at 10 am until the cookies are gone. Choose from holiday, ethnic and biscotti classics. I was at the bazaar today picking up some bargain gifts and discovered this upcoming event during the Dexter Victorian Christmas. So take a vacation from holiday baking and support the community. For more Dexter event information, see the Dexter Chamber’s website here.For a Dexter Community Tour click here Click here to search all listings in Michigan with pictures and tours - FREE!Kathy Toth and Teamwww.KathyToth.comReal Estate One
By: Ann Arbor Talks
Saints and Laborers
2007-11-30 18:30:00 One of the pleasures of praying the Daily Office is the juxtaposition of Bible verses, prayers and spiritual readings that makes me reflect on familiar verses in a new way. Yesterday's gospel was the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, in Matthew 20:1-16. That's the one where Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who pays all his workers the same amount, whether they worked all day or only for an hour. This parable sometimes comforts, sometimes outrages, and always fascinates me. To feel validated as a human being, I need to believe two somewhat contradictory things: that God cares about fairness, and that God loves each of us unconditionally, in some way that doesn't depend on our relative merits. The online Daily Office at Mission St. Clare includes brief biographies of saints and great Christian historical figures. To these, also, I have a complex relationship. Sometimes I feel deeply and personally cared for by these people whom I h...
By: Reiter's Block
A Royal Priesthood
2007-11-10 18:41:00 Today is the feast day of Pope Leo the Great, bishop of Rome from 440 to 461 AD, whose writings played a significant role in clarifying the doctrine of the Incarnation. James Kiefer at The Daily Office shares this encouraging passage from one of his sermons: Although the universal Church of God is constituted of distinct orders of members, still, in spite of the many parts of its holy body, the Church subsists as an integral whole, just as the Apostle says: we are all one in Christ. . .For all, regenerated in Christ, are made kings by the sign of the cross; they are consecrated priests by the oil of the Holy Spirit, so that beyond the special service of our ministry as priests, all spiritual and mature Christians know that they are a royal race and are sharers in the office of the priesthood. For what is more king-like that to find yourself ruler over your body after having surrendered your soul to God? And what is more priestly than to promise the Lord a pure conscience and to...
By: Reiter's Block
Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese Votes to Leave the Church
2007-11-03 05:58:00 By more than a two-to-one vote, members of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh voted Friday in favor of separating from the national church because of a theological rift that began with the consecration of an openly gay bishop in 2003. The vote sets the stage for what could become a protracted legal battle between the diocese and the Episcopal Church U.S.A., which had warned Pittsburgh?s bishop not to go forward with the vote. After passionate appeals from both sides of the debate, clergy members and lay people voted 227 to 82 to ?realign? the conservative diocese. If Friday?s vote is approved again in a year, the diocese will begin steps to remove itself from the American church and join with another province in the worldwide Anglican Communion. After the vote, Bishop Robert W. Duncan of Pittsburgh, who is also moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, an alliance of conservative dioceses and parishes, defended the decision. ?What we?re trying to do is state clearly in the...
Interpreting Scripture: A Double Standard on Marriage
2007-10-09 12:06:00 Christians holding the line against recognition of same-sex relationships claim that Bible verses on sexuality must be taken at face value. We're not allowed to point out a particular interpretation's historical track record in fostering abuse and prejudice, as evidence that it's inconsistent with the Bible's overall message of mercy, equality and nonviolence. Nor can we look to history and science to argue that the verse's "plain meaning" may represent an anachronistic reading of words that meant something different in the ancient world. Yet Christians for quite some time have taken a much more flexible, holistic, justice-based view of Bible verses on heterosexual marriage, and the sky has not fallen. Faithful GLBT Christians ask nothing more than that the church apply the same hermeneutic to them as it does to straight partnerships. There's something askew when two straight people who want to break up their family are treated more leniently than two ...
By: Reiter's Block
News & Current Events :: Anglican Panel Says Episcopal Bishops Met Directiv
2007-10-05 12:22:00 Author: Eric Subject: Anglican Panel Says Episcopal Bishops Met DirectivePosted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:22 am (GMT -4) Anglican Panel Says Episcopal Bishops Met Directive Lillian Kwon A high-ranking Anglican panel acknowledged Wednesday the effort of Episcopal bishops to keep the worldwide Anglican family together and said they have complied with a directive by Anglican leaders on gay bishops and same-sex unions. "We believe that The Episcopal Church has clarified all outstanding questions," stated the advisory report from the lay-clergy Joint Standing Committee. The report was written for the Anglican Communions spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, who is struggling to prevent a schism in the 77-million-member global church body. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of Anglicanism and deepened divisions in the Anglican Communion when it consecrated openly gay bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire in 2003. Anglican leaders set a S...
To Whom Does the Church Belong?
2007-10-04 19:21:00 In this post I simply want to raise some questions that I don't know how to answer. As with many of my reflections on ecclesiology these days, it's prompted by the ongoing struggle over gay rights and Biblical authority in the Anglican Communion.The obvious answer to the title question would be "Jesus". To which a beleaguered rector or worshipper might respond, "Yes, but...could you be more specific?"In other words, when conflicting factions differ on many of their basic assumptions, it's not enough to say "we're following Jesus" or "we're following the Bible". Whose Jesus, which Bible?On a more practical level, who gets to set the direction of a particular parish? The global denomination, the country's presiding bishop, the rector, the lay members? I've experienced this conflict from both sides of the fence. Last year, when the then-minister of my Episcopal church was tugging us in a Unitarian/skeptical direction, I felt personally affronted. "...
By: Reiter's Block
Liberal Episcopalians toss gays under bus
2007-09-26 14:54:00 If there’s one thing that ticks the Christians off lately it is what they consider the “unfair” verba-l butt whipping of the alleged “nice” Christians. They often can’t seem to understand why anyone would treat them in the same manner as the explicitly hateful Christians. Well, speaking directly for myself - here’s a pretty damned ...
By: Bligbi
Maybe Reason Has Prevailed in the Episcopal Church
2007-09-26 10:06:00 EPISCOPAL LEADERS VOW RESTRAINT?In a move that may have prevented a schism in the Anglican Communion, Episcopal Church leaders ...
St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Duval Street
2007-08-23 17:24:00 St. Paul's Church is the oldest Episcopal church in the Florida Diocese. The historical marker reads: "St. Paul's Episcopal Church. 1832. Oldest in the Florida Diocese, the present church (1912) is the fourth on this site. John Fleming, one of the four original owners of the island, is buried here. His widow donated the property, stipulating that the church pews be free. Rectory built 1853. The chimes, first installed in a Florida church, were originally in a frame church (1886) destroyed in 1909 hurricane.The glass windows inside of the church - a master piece in artA place of silence - away from the hectic pace of lifeA statue of the Madonna with her Christ child in the backyard
Church of the Holy Cow
2007-08-20 15:15:00 The artist Steve Emery, who blogs over at Color Sweet Tooth, put up a thoughtful post some months ago about taking some time away from the noise, conflict and complications of the church in order to reconnect with God. Commenting on the impending Episcopal schism, he wrote in March: Why do we leave a church? Because we no longer consider the worship of the others to be true? Because we fear our own faith or the faith of our children may be damaged by hearing what we consider to be wrong ideas? Because we no longer believe the Spirit moves in the presider, and the Eucharist is thus somehow invalidated?For now I find these questions beyond me, and not mine to answer. This may change.In my case I did not leave a church in particular, though it was events in a particular church that precipitated my departure. I left organized church in general. I needed to leave, like a man who needs to clear his head at a concert or a party by going outside and breathing some cold fresh air. I was seei...
By: Reiter's Block
Episcopal Endorsements Of Political Partisans
2007-08-18 21:01:00 There's a very interesting discussion arising in a number of places including: Fr. Chris' , Pastor Bob Cornwall's, and "EcuBishop"'s blogs about the appropriatness of religious figures endorsing, or being seen to endorse political candidates.Hmmm . . . . I've been thinking about this for the past day now, and I must confess I've never been comfortable when I've seen religious figures getting too close to, or worse - publically endorsing a politician.My starting point here is not with the "politics" of it all - though I do firmly believe that it is our civic duty to participate in the political process wherever we live, just as I believe that we ought to participate fully in the life of our chosen faith community and its tradition. Rather my starting point is . . . I think. . . . vaguely theological, and largely ecclesiological (I'm not 100% certain that I've thought it through enough yet to fully associate it within these two categories).First, with a nod to Bp. Tim Craven...
By: Bozhe!
Support Mthatha Mission in South Africa
2007-08-05 22:10:00 Jesse Zink, a young man who grew up in our Episcopal parish, preached an amazing sermon today about his upcoming stint as a missionary in South Africa. Jesse will be working at the Itipini medical clinic in a shantytown outside Mthatha, which was the capital of the largest apartheid-era black "homeland" and is still one of the poorest parts of the country with one of the highest rates of HIV and tuberculosis. You can follow his progress (and make donations) at his blog Mthatha Mission. In his sermon, he reflected on the mixed history of Christian missions and how the word "missionary" can be reclaimed for a less colonialist, more service-oriented way of living out the gospel in a foreign culture: I read the Bible as a whole, a complete piece of divinely-inspired literature that ? while contradictory and confusing in many places ? tells a couple consistent messages throughout. The message I hear most frequently is evident in this morning?s Gospel. Jesus says, ?one?s life does not con...
By: Reiter's Block
News & Current Events :: Episcopal Bishop Ejects Clergy
2007-08-03 17:28:00 Author: Eric Subject: Episcopal Bishop Ejects ClergyPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:28 am (GMT -4) Episcopal Bishop Ejects Clergy Julia Duin Virginia Episcopal Bishop Peter J. Lee has ejected 20 of his former clergy from the priesthood after they quit the denomination in December over the 2003 consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who is openly homosexual. In a document signed Aug. 1, the bishop defrocked 18 men and two women, saying they had "abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church." The widely anticipated document came seven months after 11 churches along with their clergy voted to leave the diocese and the denomination. Bishop Lee retaliated Jan. 22 by issuing an "inhibition" order forbidding 21 clergy affiliated with these churches to function in his diocese as Episcopal priests and giving them six months to change their minds. Although their health benefits were terminated Jan. 31, they were allowed to retain their pens...
News & Current Events :: Conservative Anglicans Losing Hope in Episcopal Ch
2007-07-31 14:41:00 Author: Eric Subject: Conservative Anglicans Losing Hope in Episcopal ChurchPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:41 am (GMT -4) Conservative Anglicans Losing Hope in Episcopal Church Lillian Kwon Conservative Anglicans in the United States are finding themselves living through an "extended Good Friday," mourning for The Episcopal Church. The Anglican Communion Network, an orthodox group of Anglicans discontent with The Episcopal Church, began its fourth annual council meeting in Bedford, Texas, on Monday. Over 80 representatives opened the two-day meeting with disappointment in a church many had grown up in. "Because our sense of order is such that we have always sought to be Christian first and Episcopalian next, we find ourselves on this present Way of the Cross," said the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, in his opening address. A growing number of Episcopal parishes and leaders have left The Episcopal Church, citing the ...
News & Current Events :: Episcopal Gay Bishop Says Crisis Not an 'American
2007-07-30 15:00:00 Author: Eric Subject: Episcopal Gay Bishop Says Crisis Not an 'American Problem'Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:00 am (GMT -4) Episcopal Gay Bishop Says Crisis is Not an 'American Problem' Lillian Kwon The openly gay bishop at the heart of the Anglican crisis said this is not "an American problem," but that gay clergy are also in the ranks of the Church of England. "I have met so many gay partnered clergy here (London) and it is so troubling to hear them tell me that their bishop comes to their house for dinner, knows fully about their relationship, is wonderfully supportive but has also said if this ever becomes public then Im your worst enemy," said Bishop of New Hampshire the Right Rev. Gene Robinson in an interview with London's The Times. The Episcopal Churchs 2003 consecration of Robinson, who is divorced and lives in an openly gay relationship, widened rifts within the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. Anglican leaders, called primates, ha...
Proud Anglicans of the Week
2007-07-30 11:14:00 Here's a roundup of some great Anglican "via media" blogs I've discovered this month. All of these folks are thoughtful Christians determined to hold together the compassionate, progressive, dynamic spirit of the church's liberals and the respect for tradition, truth and theological sophistication of the conservatives. They give me hope that the current fundamentalist-secularist impasse won't last forever. Christopher at Betwixt and Between offers a spirited and GLBT-friendly exposition of the Incarnation in his wonderfully titled post A Shitting God. (Hint: If this offends you, you're exactly the person who needs to read it.) We don't want our God to come to us as flesh and blood, bone and sinew. But he did, not deeming equality with God something to be grasped at as did our first parents, but rather relishing simply to be an earthen one--"a shitting god" as one rabbi put it, became truly one of us in all of our comical glory, with our orifices and pleasurable bits, goin...
By: Reiter's Block
An Anglican Hero: William Reed Huntington
2007-07-27 17:59:00 In the Anglican church calendar, today is the feast day of Episcopal theologian William Reed Huntington (1838-1909), whose achievements include spearheading the 1892 revision of the Book of Common Prayer, and formulating what became known as the "Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral," the four-point statement of Anglican/Episcopal identity that is still used today. Huntington cared deeply about Christian unity. His intent was to articulate a few core beliefs that made the church distinctively Christian and Episcopal; beyond those, the church should make room for a wide diversity of views. Those four points were the Holy Scriptures as the word of God; the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds as the rule of faith; the sacraments of baptism and communion, as ordained by Christ; and the historic episcopate (bishops who traced their lineage back to the apostles). Bryan at Creedal Christian provides a nice overview of those principles and their implications in today's post.James Kiefer, who writes the ...
By: Reiter's Block
Why Not Church?
2007-07-26 12:08:00 Yesterday I wrote to a friend who heads my women's Bible study group: It has become quite clear to me that fear of sin is one of the things keeping me from church. The current cultural landscape is such that I will eventually end up offended by something I hear either in the conservative or the liberal church, and I am afraid of being unlikable and conflict-causing when I offer a different viewpoint. Since the whole point of being a Christian is the grace not to be driven by fear of sin any longer, this is obviously a problem. She wrote back:I too feel if I went back to [the evangelical church], I would be screaming You people are crazy don't you see that I am right and you are wrong and if I went back to [the liberal church] I would be screaming You people are crazy don't you see that I am right and you are wrong Once I put that down in writing, it gives [the liberal church] a less compelling pull on me. If I'm likely to be a screeching lunatic wherever I go, migh...
By: Reiter's Block
The One-Room Schoolhouse
2007-07-23 19:00:00 My church is beginning the rector search process, and already we're feeling sorry for this person because of the conflicting expectations he or she will have to manage. We want a firm administrator who's also a gentle pastoral caregiver; someone who can address the unique needs of the elderly, singles, young families, Sunday School kids, and college students; someone to balance our budget without disrespecting any of the programs that our strong lay leadership holds so dear. I'm sure this dilemma is common to any church that can boast of a diverse congregation and a large menu of activities. St. Paul addressed it in several epistles with the reminder that we are members of one body, with Christ as the head. The issue preoccupying me right now is how people who are at different stages of religious commitment can worship together. It takes a skilled minister not to direct his entire attention to one of these groups and treat the others as an obstacle to his agen...
By: Reiter's Block
Pride NYC: June 2007
2007-07-09 20:42:00 I was in NYC the last weekend of June for the Pride March, which I watched from the steps of my former church. The Church of the Ascension is on Fifth Avenue toward the end of the parade route. I was very moved to see members of the parish, in T-shirts reading "Proud Episcopalian," spend hours passing cups of water to the marchers. T-oo many heads in the way for me to get a photo of them, unfortunately.The parade seemed more family-friendly this year than the last time I attended, five or six years ago. Despite the perfect weather, few bared all. I think there were also more religious groups, especially Episcopal ones. One of the grand marshals was Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, where my parents and I used to attend High Holy Days services. If you're ever in NYC on Shabbat, check out CBST -- Rabbi Kleinbaum gives the best sermons around. (Our family is at least three stripes in the diversity flag all by oursel...
By: Reiter's Block
Episcopal priest or Muslim?
2007-07-09 10:42:00 The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding, a local Episcopal priest who announced she is both Muslim and Christian, will not be able to serve as a priest for a year, according to her bishop.
News & Current Events :: Episcopal Priest Suspended after Saying She Also i
2007-07-07 15:24:00 Author: Eric Subject: Episcopal Priest Suspended after Saying She Also is MuslimPosted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 9:24 am (GMT -4) Episcopal Priest Suspended after Saying She Also is Muslim SEATTLE: An Episcopal priest who announced last month that she is also a practicing Muslim has been suspended from the priesthood for a year, according to a media report. The Rev. Ann Holmes Redding must take a year from her position at Seattle's St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral and should "reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and what I see as the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam," the Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island, wrote in an e-mail to church leaders. Redding, a priest for 23 years, was ordained by a former bishop of Rhode Island and remains subject to discipline by that diocese. "I'm deeply saddened, but I've always said I would abide by the rulings of my bishop," Redding... |
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