The Rev. Jane B. Bearden, an Episcopal priest from Massachusetts, is blogging about Hurricane Gustav from Biloxi, Miss. Bearden has been working and living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast helping the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer recover from Hurricane Katrina. An excerpt from her blog, posted (by BlackBerry, which accounts for the typos) on Sunday:

"We had about 55 today for church. There is a sense of relief that we will get minimal hurricane frce winds and only a 15 ft surge - 1/2 of Katrina. But there is great sadness for New Orleans. I cried all the way home. One of the parihsioners had come along I 10 and she said that all she could see for mile after mile were LA plates. I am reminded of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. And now I am crying again. I have got to stop that as I need to go put baptismal records in plastic bags and feed the cats..."

From a later post:

I am finally ready to go. I am spending the next 36 to 72 hours volunteering at a local Red Cross shelter.

The storm continues to veer to the west. Winds are not as strong as they were predicted at this point. The further west it goes the better for us and for NOLA at this point. But they are still predicting 130+ and a 20 ft surge. The good news is that people have responded all over and have evacuated. This is the second evacuation for my son, John and the first for #2 son, Will. Having spent the last two days with John who came to help me get ready, the emotional impact of having to leave home yet again is off the stress charts for people in NOLA. The news is full of predictions for flood depth and number of homes likely to be flooded. Pumping stations are manned though and NOLA seems to have responded well. One glitch (and this could be one of those hurricane rumors) is that only a portion of the buses that FEMA had contracted to move people out actually showed up. They were several hundred buses short. FEMA called for help and LA responded by sending buses from surrounding communities. They say that they will get all people who want to get out. There are some who have not left. All are reluctant to leave, but most are resigned to the necessity of the evacuation. The resignation is apparent in the faces.

Talk at the coffee pot after church and in the lines at the gas station are vivid retellings of Katrina, George, Elena, and Ivan. From a pastoral perspective this seems good to me. It connotes community, shared experience, a remembering that seems to make the current chaos more "ordinary". Hurricanes are a part of life on the coast. There is not doubt about that. Perhaps it is the media coverage that makes these events so frightening. Today the Gospel lesson was "pick up our cross and follow" This is one mean cross. But Rev Harold Roberts (Redeemer rector) who lost everything he had in Katrina was more focused on the power of the relationships we have built with those who have come here to help since Katrina.

See Jane's blog Gulf Coast Partners here.

See also Boston.com: Articles of Faith: Priest blogs from Biloxi as Gustav nears

See yesterday's post on The Lead You got a plan? We will update as we get news. Please keep the people of New Orleans and the Central Gulf Coast in your prayers

Last Sunday someone posted a note on the door of St. John's Episcopal Church, College Park, Georgia, expressing hatred for gays and lesbians and proclaiming God's wrath on the church for having an openly gay priest as Rector.

College Park police are investigating an anti-gay note left on the doors of St. John’s Episcopal Church as a “terroristic threat,” according to a police report.

Father Troy Beecham, the first openly gay rector at the church, said a message stating, “homosexual priest in the pulpit in this church are an abomination! 666” was handwritten on a piece of cardboard and posted on the door for members to see when they came to church Aug. 24.

“It was found by a gay member when he unlocked the doors Sunday morning at 7 a.m. He was going to throw it away but another gay member said that I should see it,” Beecham said. “I’m glad he did.”

College Park is located south of downtown Atlanta near the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and has a population of approximately 21,000.

Beecham has been at the church for two months. He said members were in fear for their physical safety as well as shocked by the message. The church, located on Main Street, has a sizable gay membership and has never been targeted by anti-gay vandalism before, Beecham added.

“The community and congregation has been very supportive as well as shocked,” Beecham said.

Officer George Williams, spokesperson for the College Park Police Department, said officers were taking the matter seriously.

“This is very rare, very rare,” he said of the church vandalism. “We have several churches in the area and this is something we don’t tolerate. We are investigating this very seriously to ascertain who did this.”

Police are treating this as a terroristic threat and Georgia law states a person found guilty of such a crime can face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Southern Voice: College Park church target of anti-gay threat

The Israel Antiquities Authority is digitally photographing every one of the Dead Sea Scrolls so that they may be available on the internet. The Scrolls, which were discovered between 1947 and 1979, contain every one of the books of Hebrew scripture except the book of Esther and details about rich and diverse Jewish community in the second Temple period of Judaism.

The New York Times reports:

In a crowded laboratory painted in gray and cooled like a cave, half a dozen specialists embarked this week on a historic undertaking: digitally photographing every one of the thousands of fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls with the aim of making the entire file — among the most sought-after and examined documents on earth — available to all on the Internet.

Equipped with high-powered cameras with resolution and clarity many times greater than those of conventional models, and with lights that emit neither heat nor ultraviolet rays, the scientists and technicians are uncovering previously illegible sections and letters of the scrolls, discoveries that could have significant scholarly impact....

“The project began as a conservation necessity,” Ms. Shor explained. “We wanted to monitor the deterioration of the scrolls and realized we needed to take precise photographs to watch the process. That’s when we decided to do a comprehensive set of photos, both in color and infrared, to monitor selectively what is happening. We realized then that we could make the entire set of pictures available online to everyone, meaning that anyone will be able to see the scrolls in the kind of detail that no one has until now.”

The process will probably take one to two years — more before it is available online — and is being led by Greg Bearman, who retired from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Data collection is directed by Simon Tanner of Kings College London.

Jonathan Ben-Dov, a professor of biblical studies at the University of Haifa, is taking part in the digitalization project. Watching the technicians gingerly move a fragment into place for a photograph, he said that it had long been very difficult for senior scholars to get access.

Once this project is completed, he said with wonder, “every undergraduate will be able to have a detailed look at them from numerous angles.”

NYTimes: Israel to Display the Dead Sea Scrolls on the Internet

The San Diego Union Tribune took a look at how congregations in San Diego country are dealing with the consequences of the current economy. With falling home prices, a credit crunch, skyrocketing fuel costs and stagflation, congregations must deal with shrinking budgets while helping their members deal with hard times.

Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church has cut its budget, laid off a half-dozen staff members and is being bombarded with requests for prayers by members faced with losing homes and jobs.

North Coast Church in Vista, one of the county's largest evangelical congregations with multiple venues, began holding workshops on how to write résumés and do job interviews after members began mentioning that they were facing downsizing or unemployment.

And at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral near Balboa Park, the congregation is meeting in small groups to study a book about living more simply. Later this year, the church will launch a program on how to budget.

God may be recession-proof, but his flock is another story.

Throughout San Diego County, many religious communities find themselves tightening their own fiscal belts as well as ministering to members squeezed by rising costs, a diminished labor market and escalating home foreclosures.

The Episcopal Cathedral noticed what was happening and decided to take a direct approach:

“We really made an effort to say, 'Look, folks, just let us know if you need to reduce your pledges,' ” said Chris Harris, the cathedral's canon for congregation development.

Others were invited to give more, if they could. It seems to be working. “I think we've righted our ship pretty much,” Harris said.

The cathedral also launched a two-part education program. The first phase, going on now, involves having the congregation meet in small groups at members' homes to study a book about living more spiritually and simply. The next phase will be a nuts-and-bolts budgeting program to teach people how to live within their means.

At a small group session Tuesday night, five cathedral members gathered at a Hillcrest condominium to talk about how their net worth should not equal their self-worth.

Read the rest here.

There are reports in the British media that the Very Rev. Jeffrey John, Dean of St. Albans, will be a nominee for Bishop of Bangor in the Church of Wales.

The Telegraph says:

The Very Rev Jeffrey John was appointed Bishop of Reading five years ago but was forced to stand down by the Archbishop of Canterbury, a personal friend of his, after the election sparked outrage among conservatives.

He was later made the Dean of St Albans but is now being considered for the post of Bishop of Bangor in North Wales, following the death of the previous incumbent from cancer in June.

Insiders believe 55-year-old Dr John is highly likely to be chosen, because he is a Welsh speaker as well as being a respected theologian.

In addition, the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, recently admitted he would support the election of a gay bishop despite opposition among orthodox Anglicans and guidelines stating that practising homosexuals should not become clergy.

Ruth Gledhill at the Times wrote:

The gay cleric whose abortive appointment as Bishop of Reading came close to splitting the Church of England could soon become Britian’s first openly gay diocesan bishop.

Dr Jeffrey John, the Dean of St Albans, who two years ago celebrated a civil partnership ceremony with another priest, is to be nominated as Bishop of Bangor in north Wales.

Liberals welcomed the news but conservatives gave warning that it would exacerbate further the tensions over sexuality threatening to rend the Anglican Communion in two.

Several candidates are likely to be nominated for the post but Dr John has the support of senior figures in the Church in Wales, according to informed sources. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury whose authority does not extend beyond England, would have no power to prevent such an appointment.

The Church in Wales is no longer part of the established Anglican Church in Britain and has a long tradition of liberal catholicism.

In addition, the Church in Wales prefers its senior clergy to be Welsh-speakers, a rare attribute that Dr John possesses. Of the six dioceses, Bangor is vacant and St Asaph is to become vacant soon when the present incumbent retires. The Dean of St David’s, the Very Reverend John Wyn Evans, was elected the new Bishop of St David’s yesterday.

As at St David’s, the main requirement in Bangor and St Asaph is that the new bishops be good pastors. Dr John meets this and is also a noted theologian. He has proved himself a success at St Albans, where the congregation has thrived under his leadership and where many would be loath to see him go....

Dr Morgan will take initial soundings when members of the college for Bangor meet for preliminary discussions next week. The formal election will take place in October, at a highly-secret three-day lock-in at Bangor’s historic cathedral.

There are more than 40 members of the college, including six from each diocese and 12 from Bangor. Each member can nominate as many candidates as they wish. Dr John will not be formally nominated until the members are closeted behind the locked doors of the cathedral. The nominations are confidential.

He would then only become bishop if a two-thirds majority of the college agreed. If elected, he would have 28 days to accept or decline the offer before the appointment was confirmed by a specially-convened Sacred Synod.

In spite of the liberal majority in Bangor, the conservative-liberal break-down of the electoral college means the final outcome will be close. Dr John was put forward to be Bishop of Monmouth four years ago but did not secure enough votes for a two-thirds majority.

Gledhill says

A senior source close to the election told The Times: “One member of the college is going to put Jeffrey John’s name forward. It will be a very close thing.”

Another Church in Wales insider said: “I have heard Jeffrey John’s name mentioned in connection with episcopal elections in Wales. He is Welsh and a Welsh speaker. He has a good pastoral record. He might well be considered.”

Expect strenuous opposition from Anglican Mainstream and other groups. The first hint of both the nomination and the opposition came from a letter written to the American Anglican Council and CANA written by AAC Bishop David Anderson. According to George Conger in Religious Intelligence:

In an Aug 29 letter to members of the American Anglican Council (AAC) and CANA, the Rt Rev David Anderson said the Church in Wales would likely be the first province to break the Lambeth moratorium on gay bishops. “Wales is in an election process for Bishop of Bangor and the election has as one of its still-secret nominees none other than Jeffrey John,” Bishop Anderson said.

Citing “reliable sources” Bishop Anderson said: “Dr Barry Morgan is a man of his word - he previously has said, ‘I [Barry Morgan] would ordain Britain's first gay Bishop’."

Last month Dr Morgan told the Sunday Telegraph he would support the election of a gay bishop in Wales. “If a priest had a [same-sex] partner and someone nominated them that wouldn’t be a bar to them becoming a bishop,” he said in an interview published on July 13.

Gledhill reports that

The Vicar of St Mary’s Putney, the Rev Giles Fraser, a friend of Dr John and founder of the Inclusive Church lobby that champions the gay cause, said: “Jeffrey John would make an absolutely splendid bishop. This is not before time. This is a man who does not contravene the guidelines on human sexuality at all."

But in a joint statement, Canon Chris Sugden and Philip Giddings of Anglican Mainstream, the conservative lobby set up in response to Dr John’s appointment to Reading, said: “If he is being nominated to a Welsh episcopate, the obstacles remain the same as to his previous candidacies for senior appointments.”

Conger reports that Anderson of AAC says that the Archbishop of Canterbury "will not get a pass on this" even though the ABC has no authority in Wales and that the elections process has not even begun.

The Guardian also has the story. Riazat Butt writes: "The clergy of Bangor and bishops of Wales are due to meet next Wednesday to discuss the vacant role. The election of the next bishop will take place on October 10." (Note that the headline is inconsistent with the content of the article.)

Thinking Anglicans has more links here.

In England gangs of thieves are making off with the roofs of Churches which are often made of lead because scrap metal brings in a lot of money. Many parishes would like to replace them with cheaper, less valuable material but are prevented by rules governing historic churches in Britain.

Jonathan Wynne-Jones reports in the Sunday Telegraph:

Thousands of churches have been targeted by gangs over the past year, with more than £1 million worth of metal stolen every month.

The thieves strip lead from the roofs, which they can sell to scrap dealers, cashing in on high metal prices.

Many churches have been targeted repeatedly and now want to stop replacing the stolen lead and start using cheaper alternatives, like stainless steel, felt or tiles, which would be less tempting to thieves.

However, many have been stopped from doing so by English Heritage which has insisted they continue to use the more traditional - and more lucrative - lead.

Some churches have been left with gaping holes in their roofs while planning disputes drag on over what building materials can be used to repair them.

The Rt Rev Nick Baines, the Bishop of Croydon, said: "Anglican churches are facing the greatest threat of attack in their history.

English Heritage have to give greater attention to the real issues faced by parishes and not just see this simply as a case of preserving museums.

Read the rest here.

Besides historically high metals prices, another contributing factor is the economic slowdown in the UK.

We agree with Senator Obama's assertion that candidates' minor children should be off limits in political debate. We agree with the blogger Hilzoy who wrote: "To my mind, this extends to using [Sarah Palin's] daughter as evidence that abstinence-only education doesn't work: presumably, no one thinks that it works 100% of the time, and that's the only claim to which this one counterexample could possibly be relevant." We don't think the issue of whether the Palins' youngest child will be properly cared for if his mother becomes vice president is relevant, either. However, as parents, we wonder at the judgment of the two adults who put a 17-year-old child in the position to have her premarital pregnancy become front page news. And as cynics, we suspect that Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh and others would be handling this matter rather differently if the pregnant teenager were the child of Democrats.

Ruth Gledhill has reposted an interview she did with Dean Jeffrey John in 2003 when John was chosen to be the Bishop of Reading and then forced out by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, before taking office. John, who is gay, has a partner, and they have had their relationship recognized by the state, under the English law that permits civil unions. However, the relationship is a celibate one. Unsurprisingly, that has not mollified critics who, in other instances, argue that it is Bishop Gene Robinson's behavior, not his orientation that is objectionable.

An excerpt:

Through all this, he was battling with the emerging awareness of his sexuality. "I was conscious of it from quite an early age, and that it was probably going to bring problems. I certainly resisted and fought it. I wrestled hugely with it and prayed about it, as I think so many gay people do.

"The issue of celibacy never really arose. I was aware that there was a great deal of homosexuality in the Church, which confused me. I was aware that quite a lot of clergy got into trouble about it and that quite a lot of people led disordered lives. I was determined that I was going to try to work out a viable way of life which would not get me into that kind of mess, a way of life which was honest and which was compatible with faith."

Publicly, however, the Church remained in denial. "There is a great deal of wisdom in the Church about it but it is all in private, mainly through the confessional and through spiritual direction. People would offer celibacy as the safest, most positive, way of living if that was possible. But if it was not, and if it was felt that people were at risk of falling into promiscuity, the next best thing was to find a partner and be faithful and find some security that way.

"But that was the sort of advice that could only be given privately, it could never be stated openly. It seemed there was a private morality, a Christian one, but one that could never be talked about openly. Probably that is the way it has always been dealt with, certainly in the middle Church and with the Anglo-Catholics. But that way of dealing with it has led to the mess we are in now. There have been centuries of double thinking."

Pluralist has some thoughts.

On the Guardian's Web site, Stephen Bates provides an excellent primer on how Anglican conservatives prevailed upon Rowan Williams to sack John the first time around. He notes:

There is no doubt that John would like a bishopric and is qualified for one, but the source of the latest rumour is intriguing. It comes from the Rev David Anderson, one of the American conservatives who led the protests against the election of Gene Robinson and who was assiduous in spreading lies about him. (Did he subsequently apologise for bearing false witness about Robinson – what do you think?) You might ask what the appointment of the bishop of Bangor has to do with someone living in Atlanta, Georgia, especially given the church's supposed agreement not to trespass on events in other provinces, but of course, Anderson is part of an international coalition ever vigilant against gay clergy. One of Anderson's close associates is Canon Chris Sugden of Oxford, one of the campaigners against John in 2003 and now an organiser of the conservative coalition known as Gafcon whose member bishops boycotted Archbishop Williams's recent Lambeth conference. And, funnily enough, Sugden's daughter, Joanna, is employed as deputy to the Times' religion correspondent who broke the story. Of course, this may all be a coincidence.

Anglican Journal: There was wide agreement [at Lambeth] that moratoria on same-sex blessings, the ordination of gay bishops and cross-border interventions by conservative bishops would help to heal the conflict engulfing the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury warned that failure to heed the call would put the Communion “in grave peril.”

Earlier, the Windsor Continuation Group (WCG) suggested that the moratoria be “retrospective.” However, the final document issued by bishops dropped the word “retrospective,” which has further sowed confusion. The WCG was formed last February by Archbishop Rowan Williams to “address outstanding questions arising from the Windsor Report and the various formal responses from provinces and instruments of the Anglican Communion.”

Victoria Matthews, a member of the WCG and bishop of the diocese of Christchurch, New Zealand, said that the body’s proposal for a “retrospective” moratorium on same-sex blessings means that dioceses such as Vancouver-based New Westminster “will be asked to reconsider and withdraw that right. It isn’t just from here on there will be no new ones…”

(snip)

Bishop Michael Ingham, whose diocese – New Westminster – voted to allow same-sex blessings in 2002, reacted strongly to the WCG’s proposals, describing it as “an old-world institutional response to a new-world reality in which people are being set free from hatred and violence.” Bishop Ingham called the WCG proposals “punitive in tone, setting out penalties and the like, instead of inviting us into deeper communion with one another through mutual understanding in the body of Christ.” He added that the suggestion of a pastoral forum “institutionalizes external incursions into the life of our churches.”

(snip)

Bishop Ingham said that if the proposal for a moratorium on same-sex blessings is adopted, “it will put the Anglican Church of Canada in the position of having to support and defend irrational prejudice and bigotry in the eyes of our nation.” (Canada legalized same-sex marriage in 2005.)

(snip)

“Having made a decision at some point in the past has changed the way we live, and you can’t say ‘we’ll just go back where we were,’” said Archbishop Caleb Lawrence, bishop of Moosonee and metropolitan (senior bishop) of Ontario.

(snip)

Bishop Matthews said the WCG’s proposals would be presented to the primates, who will meet early next year, and to Anglican Consultative Council, which meets in May.

Updated: Two weeks ago Palin attended a service at which David Brickner, founder of Jews for Jesus gave the sermon. Hew said that terrorist attacks against Israel were God's "judgment of unbelief" on Jews who had not converted to Christinaity. The American Prospect has more, too.

From Harper's:

During the 2008 campaign the beliefs of various candidates’ spiritual mentors has attracted a great deal of attention, especially those of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and to a lesser extent those of John Hagee, who endorsed John McCain. So now seems an opportune time to examine the viewpoints of Sarah Palin’s two most recent pastors, as expressed in their sermons.

A sampling:

Mike Rose, senior pastor at Juneau Christian Center

From an April 27, 2008 sermon: “If you really want to know where you came from and happen to believe the word of God that you are not a descendant of a chimpanzee, this is what the word of God says. I believe this version.”

From a July 8, 2007 sermon: “Those that die without Christ have a horrible, horrible surprise.”

From a July 28, 2007 sermon: “Do you believe we’re in the last days? After listening to Newt Gingrich and the prime minister of Israel and a number of others at our gathering, I became convinced, and I have been convinced for some time. We are living in the last days. These are incredible times to live in.”

Sarah Posner article at The American Prospect is worth reading, too. As is Andrew Sullivan's item on the candidate's invocation of "God's will" in some peculiar circumstances.

New York Times:

The decision, issued by Justice Lucy A. Billings of State Supreme Court in the Bronx, a trial-level court, is the latest in a string of rulings by state courts that have upheld the right of same-sex couples who were married in other jurisdictions to have their marital status recognized in New York, even though gay couples may not marry within the state. A bill to allow gay unions passed the State Assembly last year but has not come up for a vote in the Senate.
...
[I]n her decision to dismiss the suit, Justice Billings rejected the plaintiffs’ reasoning, finding that Mr. Paterson’s order was consistent with state laws that generally require officials to recognize marriages from other jurisdictions and are silent on whether gay marriages should be excluded from that recognition.

“Furthermore,” she wrote, “when partners manifest the commitment to their relationship and family, by solemnizing that commitment elsewhere, through one of life’s most significant events, and come to New York, whether returning home or setting down roots, to carry on that commitment, nothing is more antithetical to family stability than requiring them to abandon that solemnized commitment.”

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's has written a reflection on the recently concluded Lambeth Conference for Episcopal Life. She concludes as follows:

The challenge for us will be sorting out how we live together in this diverse communion. That is not a new challenge, but it is exacerbated by the rapidity and pervasiveness of today's communication and the need to honestly confront the legacy of colonialism. The coming months and years will bring invitations to enter more deeply into challenging relationships. Those invitations will annoy, sadden or frighten some of us, yet that is where God has always called us to go.

We are a pilgrim people, and we are not invited to settle down in comfort until all God's people are able to do the same. This Lambeth Conference was a profound reminder that we are responsible to and for each other, and that the journey is about being companions of Jesus on the Way. Along the way, we are meant to listen for the call of the Spirit, in seagulls and the stranger.

The media has scrambled to learn more are Sarah Palin's faith. Among those publishing articles: Harpers and BeliefNet.

BeliefNet today posted a God-O-Meter Q&A with her biographer. Some extracts:

Sarah Palin was baptized as a Catholic but became active in the Pentecostal Assemblies of God church while still young. How did she go from one tradition to the other?

It was through her mother, Sally. Sarah was baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church. And her mom discovered a more meaningful experience at an Assemblies of God Church in Wasilla, where Pastor Paul Riley had really formed a community. And Sally enrolled her kids in church camps and Bible school. This was when Sarah was about 12. She asked to be re-baptized. The whole family was baptized at the same time, at a lake right here in Wasilla called Beaver Lake. I don't know that her father was baptized--it was a mom and the kids. It was a milestone that Sarah never really forgot. She knew she claimed a moral compass that would stay with her.

Was that pastor--Pastor Riley--a major influence in her life? Can you talk about him?

Pastor Riley and his wife became lifelong family friends to Sarah because she grew up in that church. Now he is retired and serves as a chaplain in jails. They are known for taking people in, including--sometimes--prisoners that Pastor Riley ministers to. He was at Wasilla Assemblies of God for 44 years.

Harpers:

Since becoming governor in 2006, Palin has attended the Juneau Christian Center, where Mike Rose serves as senior pastor. Her previous pastor was David Pepper of the Church on the Rock in Palin’s hometown of Wasilla — a church that “was kind of a foundation for her.”

Of the two, Rose is certainly the more politically active, both locally and in the broader evangelical community (with ties to Hagee’s Christians United for Israel, for example). Pepper, it should be noted, is outspoken on slavery, racism, and the massacres of Native Americans, all of which he terms “sins” that still cast a long shadow on minority communities.

Sebastian Jones found links to many sermons by Rose and by Pepper. The excerpts below come from his review.

Read it all.

Updated: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A unity event is planned for those in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh who are opposed to constitutional changes that would purportedly take the diocese out of The Episcopal Church. The press release issued by the group Across the Aisle issued today reads, in part:

A coalition of Episcopal clergy and laypeople today invited everyone in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh to an event promoting diocesan unity. “A Hopeful Future for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh: An Alternative Solution” will present the case for rejecting proposals that, purportedly, would remove the diocese from The Episcopal Church. Speakers will explain how continuity of the diocese as a judicatory of The Episcopal Church will be maintained irrespective of the outcome of the vote on “realignment” at the October 4 diocesan convention.

“A Hopeful Future” will be presented at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1066 Washington Rd., Mt. Lebanon, Pa., from 1 to 3 pm on Saturday, September 13, 2008.
...
Most elected leaders of the Episcopal diocese have supported constitutional and canonical changes promoted by Bishop Robert Duncan to remove the diocese from The Episcopal Church. The constitutional changes will be voted on for the second and final time at the October 4 diocesan convention to be held in Monroeville.

The Episcopal Church has taken the position that individuals may leave the church but that parishes and dioceses are integral components that cannot separate. Those who vote for “realignment” and plan to leave The Episcopal Church may neither hold office in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh nor retain control of its assets. If convention approves the proposed measures, vacated leadership positions will have to be filled by Episcopalians staying in the church, and core diocesan functions will be performed under new leadership until the diocese regains control of diocesan assets.

Lionel Deimel explains, "event has two main purposes: (1) to encourage deputies to vote against “realignment” and (2) to explain how the diocese will be reorganized if the vote succeeds."

New York Times:

Even as the increasing Web fluency of religious organizations has flung their doors wide to a new world of potential followers, it has also opened the gates for all to see what may have been intended only for the faithful in the pews. Now, I.R.S. investigators, as well as groups that monitor churches’ political activity, can do much of their work with a simple Google search, or a surfing of YouTube posts.
...
Since the early 1990s, when the revenue service imposed severe penalties in several high-profile cases, including a two-year revocation of the tax exemption for Jerry Falwell’s “Old Time Gospel Hour,” most religious organizations and clergy members have been careful to keep within the I.R.S. limits.
...
If a cleric appears on his or her church’s Web page endorsing or attacking a candidate, she said, that is clearly no different from a sermon in the pulpit.

But links on the same page, to other sites connected directly or indirectly to partisan groups, are a more complicated matter. In one recent I.R.S. memo, the question is addressed with almost Talmudic intensity, urging enforcement agents to explore the issue of "electronic proximity — including the number of ‘clicks’ that separate the objectionable material from the 501(c)(3) organization’s Web site.”

Dan Hotchkiss of the Alban Institute writes:

The classic way to demonstrate loss aversion is to ask two groups of people to choose between alternative plans for vaccinating people against a disease. Without vaccine, the disease will kill 600 people. One group has to choose between a vaccine that definitely will save 200 and another that has only a one-third chance of saving everyone. Most people, given this choice, choose the first vaccine.

The second group is asked to choose between a vaccine that will definitely let 400 people die, and another that has only a two-thirds chance of letting all 600 die. Given these options, most people choose the latter, even though the only difference is that this time the choice is expressed in terms of a loss (letting people die) instead of a gain (saving people). We are more willing to take risks in order to avoid losses than to achieve gains.

This helps explain why new ideas face such an uphill battle for acceptance in most congregations, while old ideas persist unquestioned. Remaining in a familiar building or continuing a cherished worship style does not feel risky even though there may be good reason to believe that doing so may limit our potential to attract new members. Moving to a new location or changing our worship style, by contrast, feels extremely risky because it involves the immediate loss of something we have now. In reality, the risk of clinging to the old may be much greater than the risk of trying something new.

Another related concept is the “sunk-cost fallacy” or “gambler’s mistake.” For a gambler, this is the idea that if you bet a lot of money on a hand, you’d better keep on betting to avoid losing the money you have put into the pot. For congregations, it may be a matter of sticking with a strategy (like browbeating people for their stinginess) long after it has repeatedly proved unsuccessful. In part, this is a simple matter of saving face: so long as you keep on trying, you can blame other people or circumstances for your failure. But as soon as you wise up and quit, you have to admit you’ve made a mistake.

Read it all.

The Bishop of Fort Worth has told the clergy, lay leaders and convention delegates of his diocese that he would like the members of convention to pray and study before they vote to take the diocese out of the Episcopal Church using materials developed and copyrighted by The Falls Church and Truro Church Virginia, both of which have left the Episcopal Church to join CANA, the Convocation of Anglicans in America.

Called "Forty Days of Discernment" the material purports to offer a balanced view allowing people to choose whether to stay in the Episcopal Church or vote to join a new entity. In fact, the material makes a step by step case for separation by assuming that the teachings and actions of the Episcopal Church are entirely of human origin, separated from faithfulness to Christ and ignorant of scripture. The supporting materials only point to conservative and separatist websites, blogs and other writings.

Bishop Iker wrote:

As the date approaches for our momentous Diocesan Convention vote in November, many parish clergy have attempted to make certain that their parishioners understand the issues surrounding the proposal that we separate from the General Convention of The Episcopal Church. In several places parish forums have been held, where outside speakers have been brought in to present the opposing sides on the question of realignment. Some of you have preached sermons on this subject, written articles for your parish newsletter, and even in a couple of places brought in General Convention authorities to speak to your people. In addition, several different groups have been formed in the Diocese, including Remain Episcopal, Via Media, and Remain Faithful, which have attempted to educate, organize, and motivate the laity to take sides on the question: “Should we remain with TEC or with the Diocese?” Legal counsel has been engaged, lawsuits are being anticipated, various steering committees have been formed, and outside assistance from the “815” church headquarters in New York is being sought.

An important factor that has often been forgotten in all of the controversy is the need for prayerful discernment that seeks, above all else, to know what God’s will is for us at this particular time in our life together as a diocesan family.

As your bishop and chief pastor, I am inviting and urging that every congregation in this Diocese enter into an intentional 40-day period of prayerful discernment to be concluded the week prior to our Convention on November 14 and 15. This means that our start-up day would have to be either September 28 or 29. Furthermore, I am proposing that we all use the same materials and process that will lead us in this venture.

The Bishop's letter assumes, of course, that no one--especially those opposed to separation--has spent time in prayer and discernment. He also assumes that a diocese can unilaterally separate "from General Convention of the Episcopal Church" when what is in fact being proposed is the creation of new, self-identified entity that would leave their diocese (which was after all created by that same convention) and the Episcopal Church behind.

Katie Sherrod writes in her blog:

I am very glad Bishop Iker isn't going to "force" us all to participate in this, given that he has no power to force anyone except clergy to do so.

But as usual, he makes no effort to be even-handed. Just look at how he phrases the question: “Should we remain with TEC or with the Diocese?”

Many of us plan to do both, bishop, since you can't "take' the diocese anywhere.

The question should be "Should we remain with the Episcopal Church, or leave it for some other entity?" The diocese stays right here, and will reorganize itself, elect a new bishop, and get on with God's work in this part of Texas.

The materials the bishop mentions have been produced and copyrighted by The Falls Church and Truro Church Virginia, both of which have left the Episcopal Church to join CANA, the Convocation of Anglicans in America. They claim Martyn Minns, former rector of Truro Church, as their bishop, he having been consecrated by Peter Akinola, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Nigeria.

I guess I should be glad that at last, Bishop Iker is encouraging discussion of the issues here. But you know, somehow, I just can't bring myself to trust that anything produced by this group wasn't created to produce the outcome they want -- acquiescence to Bishop Iker's desire to leave the Episcopal Church.

Because that is the intent. To leave the Episcopal Church. That's what "separating from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church" means.

Citing the "40 Days" materials themselves, Mark Harris points out that the "thought experiment" at the end of the period

...is in reality a blatant effort to steer the participant into the third option. The first is totally discredited, as it assumes TEC to be the land of heretics and theological poison. The second option is little better, offering lots of suffering and little return except for a long period of attempting to regain control of TEC. Only the third is presented in any positive light at all.

In reading through the whole of the 40 Days of Discernment it is clear from the outset that the "problem" is presented as being the result of TEC's failure as a church, and who indeed wants to related to a failure? This is not an aid to clear thinking, it is an insult to clear thinking.

Diocese of Fort Worth: A Pastoral Request

Desert's Child: Thanks, but no thanks.

Preludium: Forty Days of Discernment: A Setup Job.

Writing in the Anglican Journal (Canada), Walter Deller, Principal of the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad, Saskatoon says:

More depressing, in my view, is that despite all protestations to the contrary and arguments about confrontation with Islam in Africa and elsewhere, the evangelical side of Anglicanism is leading us more and more toward a form of Christianity which is simply another variant of fundamentalist Islam. This is most evident in the insistence on treating the scriptures as the centre of faith rather than the living Lord Jesus Christ (book as authority rather than the uniquely Christian revelation of God), and on the inability to articulate Christian moral positions that may be distinctly different from the taboos of Islamic and animist culture.

On the other side, it is increasingly clear that our Catholic side is held captive by the desire to reunite with Rome. This is manifesting itself in the continuing denigration and deletion of the authority of all communion bodies such as the Anglican Consultative Council which includes lay people and clergy, and in the increasing desire for more Lambeth gatherings and for more authority over doctrine to be given to primates and other foreign prelates. It becomes clearer and clear why Queen Elizabeth I gave the authority over the prayer book and the church in emergent Anglicanism to Parliament and deliberately bypassed the bishops in many of her crucial decisions.

The Washington Window's coverage of the Lambeth Conference is now online. The main story begins: The bishops of the Lambeth Conference walked a novel route to a familiar destination.

The sidebar commences as follows: "The bishops at the Lambeth Conference didn’t talk exclusively or even primarily about sex. The rest of their conversations just didn’t receive as much attention.

Among the topics to which they devoted prayer, study and conversation were: evangelism, ecumenism, interfaith relationships, domestic violence, political advocacy and safeguarding the environment. Their spouses explored complementary themes at a separate conference."

The stories are based on reporting that has already appeared on the Cafe, but we pass them on nonetheless.

The Diocese of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania has being doing heroic ministry in partnership with the Diocese of Kajo-Keji in the Sudan. The most recent expression of the deep relationship between these to two dioceses was the decision by the bishop and people of the Diocese of Bethlehem to focus their diocesan capital campaign around the rebuilding of theological colleges and schools in the war ravaged Sudanese diocese.

It was against this background of cooperation that words of the Archbishop of the Sudan at a press briefing in Lambeth were heard. The Archbishop reiterated the stance of the Church in the Sudan rejecting actions taken by the Episcopal Church at its last two General Conventions.

Bishop Paul Marshall and Bishop Anthony Poggo have issued a joint statement to be read in their respective dioceses which clarifies the situation and reassures all that the partnership that exists will continue in spite of significant theological differences.

From their joint letter:

"We wish to assure you that as your bishops we are of one mind about the importance of our work together for the spiritual health of both our dioceses. This is a time of change in Anglicanism, a truth that is apparent on many levels, and no one can predict what the Anglican Communion will be like at the time of the next Lambeth Conference. We can and do trust God to work his will, and therein is our peace of mind. We pledge to work together and in each of our dioceses to build understanding and love as all of us seek to follow the Lord Jesus in word and deed. All of our work is begun, continued, and ended in Him.

One of the gifts that the existence of differences in culture and outlook presents all of us is the experience of being loved by people who are not like us and who may not share all of our views on any number of subjects. The grace of learning to receive love from those who are not like us is a gift from God that awakens us to the depth of God’s own love in giving Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world.

As we continue our vital work together, it is our prayer that the Holy Spirit will guide us into deeper levels of understanding, devotion, and dedication of the ministry our Lord has given to us in Kajo-Keji and Bethlehem."

Read the full article here (a pdf document).

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

On YouTube, you can watch video of a chewing-gum sculptor from Romania and an office badminton match among cubicle dwellers.

And then there are the videos of the Rev. Steven Rice, who ponders such theological questions as why we pray and whether observing the pagan ritual of Halloween is OK for Christians.

Rice, 29, has been the rector at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church since June. He has been writing a blog for three years and creating videos and posting them to YouTube since January 2007. He said that he sees the blog and videos as a way to reach an audience that may not look for God in such traditional places as church.

The Rev. Rice is following in the footsteps of the Rev. Matthew Moretz of Christ Church in Rye, NY.

It sounds like the start of a joke: one day some pastors got together to sing; a Methodist, an Episcopalian, a couple of Congregationalists and.... Although these men love to laugh, what they do is sing in harmony and they call themselves the Glory Land Parsons Band.

The Glory Land Parsons Band is made up of a group of local ministers who love to joke around, but when it comes to singing, they are nobody's fool. Each performance hearkens back to an older time when harmonizing was the central focus and musical selections were drawn from hymn books.

With humor clearly evident in the clergy's camaraderie with each other, it is surprising to hear that conception of the group came out of tragedy. It was during 9/11 when the Rev. Don Bliss of East Freetown Christian Congregational Christian Church happened to see the Rev. Bill Comeau of the United Church of Assonet putting up flyers, looking for participants in a candlelight vigil honoring the victims. The men quickly discovered they had more in common than just their faith.

"Our regard for each other rose out of Christian fellowship, then it turns out we had common passions, one of which was music," the Rev. Bliss said.

The group's first performance took place at the Biltmore Ballroom in Providence.

"We started at the top," said the Rev. Bliss, laughing.

The group has now performed in venues ranging from churches to coffeehouses, with one of their latest performances taking place two months ago during the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches convention.

The past few years have seen a rotation of members. Along with the Rev. Comeau and the Rev. Bliss, the Rev. David Milan of the Church of Our Saviour Episcopal Church in Middleboro and the Rev. Dave Hammett of Pilgrim United Church of Christ in New Bedford round out the group's current members.

Occasionally, others accompany them, but this group maintains their connection with a weekly breakfast. They said that their diverse religious backgrounds make their group stronger.

"But the Methodist guy sits at the next table," quipped one of the ministers.

The members say that the driving force of the group is devotion.

"(The group) was God's idea," said the Rev. Bliss. "Here's the odd thing. We've all been called to our churches all within the last eight years, and we all happen to have a background in music and performance in addition to our passion for the Lord. This is what I mean when I say it's God's idea. Nobody put an ad in the paper for tryouts. It's a devotion thing."

Beside humor and music, the group witnesses to God's ability to overcome difference and for God's love and power to shine through a diverse group of Christians.

"The truth is we have theological differences in our group, but we love each other," said the Rev. Hammett.

"We recognize in each other that we're all here because of God, to do His work and care for His people," said the Rev. Bliss.

"And to have a good time while we're doing it," added the Rev. Hammett.

Read it all here.

Riazat Butt of the Guardian has written a brief article about Bishop John Bryson Chane's column on the Lambeth Conference that appeared on the Cafe earlier this week.

She writes:

His comments, in an article called Stop the Scapegoating, published on a US website, are the most scathing yet about Williams, and he is the first US liberal to break ranks with his church and condemn Lambeth. Bishops from the Episcopal church maintained a united front at Canterbury, despite internal divisions over central issues, and remained on-message by stressing the positives. His assessment is more critical than the one issued by primates from the breakaway conservative movement the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon).

Do you agree with her interpretation of the column?

Last weekend there was a meeting between the clergy, bishops and laity of the Dioceses of Springfield and Quincy. The meeting was described by the bishops as forum for assessment rather than a decision making body.

Both Bishops Ackerman and Beckwith reported on their experiences at Lambeth and at the GAFCON meeting in Jerusalem. An open forum followed where members of the laity and clergy of the dioceses asked questions of a panel which included the bishops.

The most interesting bit of news from the meeting is that Bishop Beckwith explicitly stated, according to the reporter who sent us notes from the meeting, that he intended to remain canonically part of the TEC House of Bishops and that he did not believe that a bishop had the authority to take a diocese out of the Episcopal Church.

You can read an edited version of the notes from the meeting below:

Read more »

The Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall Harmon published an essay yesterday that asks congregations to try to maximize the possibilities for seekers to connect with them. He uses the metaphor of porches to describe what he calling us to do:

"To do better, churches need to provide porches. Although disappearing in many American homes recently, porches play a vital function. They are an intermediate ground in which people who live in the house come out of the house and can be seen, and indeed talked to, by passers by on the sidewalk.

It is a big risk to go into someone’s house, but not to talk to them on their porch. Indeed, most people when invited will go onto a porch and speak with people who ask them to come.

Such a safe intermediate ground is exactly what parishes need to provide. What will it look like? One example is the Alpha course, used in many Anglican parishes worldwide. It involves a meal, it has small group discussion after a presentation, and it seeks in its format to bend over backwards to allow people who do not consider themselves as Christians to partake."

Kendall goes on to list other sorts of ways that he sees happening around the Diocese of South Carolina such as Agnostics Anonymous and Questions from the Heart.

Read the full article here.

The theme of the 2009 General Convention is "Ubuntu", an African concept that's not only difficult to translate into American idiom but harder still to picture visually. But in spite of the difficulty, The Rev. Paul Fromberg, has risen to the challenge.

His submission to a logo design contest sponsored by the General Convention Office was chosen out of field of 82.

The full story is published here by Episcopal Life.

The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson:

With Barack Obama, we have someone who is utterly sympathetic to our full and equal rights as citizens. I know, he won’t say he’s for equal marriage rights (neither did Hillary), but he still is the most LGBT-friendly president we will have ever had. I know from my own private conversations with him that he is totally in our court. I believe him, and I trust him, not to throw us under the bus when the election is over.

With last night’s speech by Governor Palin, preceded by attack dog presentations by other Republicans, we have seen the official re-igniting of the culture wars. And along with attacking the media, Eastern liberals, and the intellectual “elite,” you and I know that gay-bashing is not far behind.

Emphasis added.

H/T Religion News Service blog.